#adventures in dice making

[chimchiri]

Poll Adventure: Rarijack Dinner

Index | [prev] - Part 03 - [next] Special thanks to @babydarkstar for putting out great writing

Previous Poll:

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“Rarity…”

Deep down, AJ knows she doesn’t want there to be any uncertainty about what this means to her. She doesn’t want to have to read Rarity for romantic feelings during dinner. It has to be a proper date or nothing at all. Though it might sting in the end, she’s going to have to rip the bandaid off. Inside her has lived a deep longing for this moment, long enough that she’s not sure what it’ll feel like once it’s gone. But at least she’ll never have to live with the guilt of a “what if,” and the pain of the unknown. She’ll be able to say she gave it a shot.

If it does end up badly, she knows at some point she’ll get over it. Hell, if the answer’s a no, maybe Rarity will just find the offer flattering and move on. Surely she’s used to turning plenty of suitors away.

“I’m callin’ because I wanted to ask you somethin’.”

She can feel the blood pumping in her veins.

“Anything, darling,” Rarity says, and the energy between them grows serious.

“I’ve been meanin’ to ask you for a while now,” she begins, taking a huge breath to make sure she’s still alive. Here goes nothing. “Would you…wanna have dinner with me? Just us, I mean.”

There’s a moment of silence. Then—

Rarity’s elegant laughter sparkles like bells in AJ’s ears—and she can’t decide if that’s good or bad.

“Is that what the fuss was about, dear? Of course I’d love to have dinner with you! Dining is much more pleasant with friends.”

…oof. Maybe she should have said it differently. Is it so unusual to Rarity that AJ would mean it romantically?

Though she can’t help but notice the slight tremor in Rarity’s voice, the brimming question of diffidence just beneath her perfectly curated tone. She has to know that AJ wouldn’t call so randomly and sound so nervous just to ask for bonding time between friends.

Well. AJ has to say it—loud and clear. She doesn’t want there to be any misunderstanding.

Her hands are shaking now; she feels like even a weak gust of wind could knock her over.

The voice that comes out of her own mouth—trembling, pitchy, almost timid—doesn’t even sound like her own.

“I meant”—AJ pauses; it feels like the room is spinning—“as a date.”

“Oh…!”

Adrenaline washes over her upon hearing that single reaction. Nothing matters right now except the voice on the line. Try as she might to stay focused, the pounding in her ears makes everything feel muffled. She feels like she does after finishing a rodeo.

Another sound on the phone, barely a murmur.

“Applejack, I—”

But Rarity doesn’t end AJ’s suffering.

Her grip on the counter tightens and she leans into it for support, the weight of her work-toned body causing the old wood to squeak.

The silence on the line is what kills her.

She feels like a lamb backed into a dark corner, timberwolf-shadows cast on the walls of her doubt-addled mind. This is certain death.

Seconds pass, each one growing longer and more painful than the last. She doesn’t know how to react; she doesn’t know what to say—or if she should say anything. All she knows is that with each passing second, fear and doubt cloud her mind until she’s blind with anxiety.

She shouldn’t have done this. This was a horrible idea. Why couldn’t she have just been happy as friends? Is friendship off the table now? What if Rarity thinks she’s a creep now, with all those times they went to the spa together?

Great, now she’s gonna be known as the stereotypical lesbian friend that hits on her straight friends—it’s a fucking myth anyways, but that won’t matter. Has Rarity ever even shown interest in a woman? Now that she thinks about it…

Hell.

AJ’s seconds away from telling her it’s a joke and just backing off. But before she can, she finally hears a response from her longtime crush, the heart-heavy ache that beats in her chest and haunts her dreams with a silver tongue and soft curls.

“Absolutely, I will,” comes the response, and AJ feels like she can breathe again, “I would love to go on a date with you.”

Rarity, however, sounds breathless, like a feather wisp floating on a breeze. The usual high-pitch, energetic frenzy of her cadence has been replaced with a certain poise and composure that’s hard to place. Maybe reverence is the word AJ’s looking for?

AJ blinks twice, trying to form some sort of a coherent sentence. Her brain feels fried. And. She’s kind of in shock? It takes her a few seconds to process that this is a yes, and not the blatant rejection she was expecting.

While it’s not quite the answer she usually fantasizes about in her daydreams, it still pricks the back of her neck with chills—and a wave of relief washes over her.

“I…Really?”

“Yes. Really.”

Okay. This is happening.

“That’s…that’s great news! Okay, well, uh, I’ll see you then and—”

She’s interrupted by a heartfelt giggle from Rarity.

“Slow down, darling,” she laughs, light amusement clear in her tone, “Where will we go? And when?”

Oh. Right.

AJ lets out an embarrassed chuckle. “Oh, yeah—sorry.”

“You must let me know what you have in mind. A lady needs to properly prepare herself…for a date.”

Rarity sounds a bit giddy now, and much more like her usual self again.

But. Shit. AJ hasn’t planned anything out yet. In her nervousness, she didn’t even consider what would happen after if Rarity said yes.

Hmm...

She could invite Rarity over. Cook something for her. Pinkie may do it more often, but cooking and baking are skills AJ takes pride in having. She knows she’s a good cook. Besides the obvious benefit of getting to show off, cooking for Rarity feels personal. It’s more work to do, but cooking can be very romantic. Plus, there are plenty of romantic spots on the farm. Though she doesn’t plan on dining on the floor of the barn, it’s still a farm (and a farmhouse) and she knows how Rarity can be. AJ would hate for one of her dresses to get dirty as a consequence. Even worse, get blamed for it.

There’s also the option of a more traditional romantic evening. A nice restaurant would mean less prep for AJ, and it shows Rarity that she knows what she likes. It would also give Rarity permission to go all out with her outfit, unlike the farm. (Though AJ has a feeling she’ll do that regardless.) She could put on a fancy getup herself and show Rarity she cares about the impression she makes when she’s not toiling in the fields. Oh, but the thought of leaving the fashionista unimpressed by her attempts at an outfit…it makes her itchy. She’d have to ask someone for help besides Miss Haute Couture herself. It’d feel a little taboo to have her pick it out for their date. While dining out means AJ gets to stare unashamedly at Rarity the whole night, it could also be…awkward to sit opposite to each other if it ends up being stiff. Hopefully it won’t be. It’s Rarity; she couldn’t be boring if she tried. And besides—they always find something to joke about, even if it’s themselves.

Then there’s the financial aspect of going out. AJ doesn’t splurge on anything. Ever. She would for Rarity, though. She’s got enough saved for that. Still, she gets annoyed at people trying to nickel and dime her on every little thing. If it comes to that, she hopes she can keep her annoyance to herself. For Rarity.

Ugh. What to say…

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Tag List: @mrrrpmeow @babydarkstar @butwerebothmares @chaosdraconequus @chrysaliswife

[stardustedknuckles]

See now that I have my tattoo I understand why nobody gets just one. First, it looks lonely out here on my otherwise blank leg. Second, perhaps even more important, is that I spent years looking up anecdotes of how much it hurts and trying to prepare myself and now I've done it and it's just. Huh! Yep that hurt. No I didn't really mind. And now I know what's possible.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Question about Frank! What is his fighting style? I know you mentioned he does hand on hand, but does he do any specific form of martial arts?? Or is it just kind of the basic, punching, kicking, ect. Also, does he have some form of magic, or is he basically like Howdy? (I'm just imagining they all play like.. actual table top DnD and Frank is getting irritated because his rolls are garbage-)

i'm not nearly well versed enough in martial arts to name styles or blend them - though i feel a "i need to know everything i can about this" fixation creeping up... so i might be able to provide a better answer later!

but for now lets just say he's adapted his own stylized form, blended from his childhood training, what he learns on the streets, and what he picks up on his travels / figures out himself. i imagine it would be an efficient, ruthless, and elegant personal style of combat

Frank has no magic! if he rolled for it he'd somehow get a 0! he and Howdy are the only magicless maidens of the group

[ilovettrpgs]

What's ttrpgs?

I just stared at my screen like this

[starry-blue-echoes]

oh are we doing fun au night? ok au where the land of jojo's bizarre universe is just like dnd for all the stats and mathy bits. Like they don't have the same races or class or magic or whatever, they all just have a page with all their stats and notable information and everyone has to roll dice for almost everything (except for this where you're so good at doing it there's virtually no way to mess it up, like ringing a doorbell or something) but anyway I just think it'd be funny that Jonathan rolls like a 19 on the killing blow for Dio but because it wasn't a perfect 20 he barely survives. Just a thought

-fanfic author anon

SJRDBNVJDBFVDFBVD THIS REMINDS ME OF AN AU I MADE FOR A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SHOW WAY BACK WHEN

basically the way the AU went was that at birth, every single person in the world has a special set of dice. It's impossible to steal, destroy or lose them, and any attempt to do so will backfire horribly on the person who tries. The stats and modifiers you mentioned are invisible to everyone except the person they belong to, and dice rolls happen whether the person wants it to or not, but most people prefer rolling the dice themselves for some semblance of control

so some possible thoughts:

what if Jonathan did roll a Nat 20 but because of Dio's new Vampiric Modifiers he managed to just barely survive

in turn, during the Stardust fight, Jotaro then manages to just barely defeat Dio as a bit of fun irony

Joseph's That Guy who seems to be perpetually cursed with shitty rolls EXCEPT for when it actually matters and he randomly starts getting back to back Nat 20s

Pucci is arguably even more of a fanatic this time because the Dice are essentially a "physical" manifestation of Fate

[orchideae]

Also, for whoever didn't catch this when it was originally released, I highly recommend it. I'm still absolutely feral about the nine tailed fox for Yelan. But they're all magnificent in this.

[artificer-dice]

I'm currently working on these which are a gift for my partner and I still can't get over how cute these are!

(Also I'm not home so the paper plate is my current sanding/polishing setup)

We like to play minecraft together when we can't physically be together much, and he also just likes blowing things up in the game, so this felt fitting.

[duck-newton]

I feel like i might be in the minority on this but I really don’t care if d&d podcasts like. follow the rules. I enjoy my fun little podcasts for the story i don’t give a shit if they’re not rolling dice right

[chirp-featherfowl]

rolled four fucking sixes for one of buddy dawn's ability scores. what the fuck. what the fucik. what the fuck. what the fuck. what are the statistics of that. how does that work.

[nyalternatehellkitten]

((Sometimes, Nyalter might be like Star Baker or Sky Baker from 100% Orange Juice's Bounty Hunt mode. Quest? Sure, she'll give you a quest. A quest to go to some godforsaken hole for rare baking materials-))

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 12: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should rest for the night in an abandoned barn ...

~

Somewhat nervous about being out in the woods alone at night, he decides to try finding a more hidden sleeping spot, further off from the path. Though with his injuries, and his exhaustion, he knows he shouldn't walk too far. He tells himself that he'll just adventure a little, only an hour or so, and if he can't find anything better by then, he'll just give up and set a tent in some bushes somewhere......

After 30 minutes, he finally stumbles across an old barn. He can't see it very well with just a trickle of moonlight and the dull glow of his flickering lantern, but it seems to have not been used for many years. Structurally sound enough (at least he hopes), yet shrouded in moss and blankets of various overgrowth.. It takes a few moments to pluck away all of the ivy blocking his path, but he soon closes the rickety doors behind him to focus on the interior. There's no space to light a fire or set up a real tent, and he'll have to block a few holes in the walls so wild animals don't sneak in, but, there are a few surprisingly clear looking sections scattered amongst all the musty hay bales and cobwebs. He chooses a "cozy" spot in the corner, hidden behind a few dusty crates. Though he tosses about uncomfortably in his bedding for quite a while, he's eventually able to fall into a peaceful sleep.….....

.. Suddenly, he's startled awake by rustling, catching a dark blurred movement in front of him. He's smart enough to always sleep wearing his backpack over his chest so nobody could just grab it without him noticing, but it seems for the first time in all his travels... someone is actually trying to. Still half asleep, he clings to the bag and yelps, pushing and tumbling away into a moldy wooden barrel after an initial struggle. He pulls himself up to face the hooded figure now looming above him, entirely obscured aside from their vague cloak-ish shape outlined by the faint moonlight behind them.. The Adventurer calls out in a shaky attempt at an aggressive tone, "Wh-wh.. whAT are YOU DOIng? WHo-whu..UHHH??? aahhhG" "Give me the bag." The hooded figure speaks in a smooth, stern, yet calm voice, slowly taking a step forwards. The cat scrambles to The Adventurer's side, hissing and giving a low growl.. "w-WELL , uh,, sORRY , n-NO , I would rrrather not DO THAT, I h-- I uh-- I don't have even anythi- I don't even have ANYTHING, I mea- wh-wh HWaAt d-do I look RICH to you?? EUggh-" he gulps loudly, holding back nervous vomit, "B-BACK OFF!! you-.. f- uh.. THIEF!!!!!" The hooded figure pauses for a moment, as if re-strategizing how to approach the situation. "Look, kid, I don't want to hurt you. But I need you to give me that egg." "WHWh-what egg? I-I don.. DON'T have an EGG, I'm uh…aCTUALLY a-allergic to eggs, s-sso-" "The egg that's in a wooden box. In your bag. Don't waste your time bullshitting me.. Come on, let's make this quick." The hooded figure extends their arm, motioning to be handed the egg. Still desperately fighting not to throw up everywhere, The Adventurer simply sits on the floor, staring up at the hooded figure blankly as he tries to think.. Is he seriously being robbed for the first time? Is that like, a cool milestone, or a bad one? He's read about it in adventuring books before but... the reality feels so much different.. How can he get out of this? Strategies scatter through his mind, but he's too shaken to find any clear answers.. What should he do?

-

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main quest: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

[ophexis]

After days of travel, you finally arrive at the small town of Royal Mount, so named after the sacred hill resting at its center. Your contact asked you to meet them at the local inn, where they would impart delicious culinary secrets upon you.

You quickly notice a sign advertising a place called Tym Hort's inn. This must be the place. As you enter, a hooded figure wearing a strange billed hat waves at you. They lower their hood as you approach, looking up through shining glasses. "Greetings my friend! You may call me Phex. I believe you are here to discuss a most delicious topic, are you not?"

You find nothing odd about them, save for your inability to settle on any pronoun to refer to them. They regard you with an amused look despite their clear sleep deprivation and as they invite you to sit, they open a large grimoire, surely full of secrets each more delicious than the last...

The first dnd cookbook! Winner of the last poll!

This is a book I hadn't planned on getting initially. I watched misohungrie's review, and it seemed like a really nice book, but despite the fact that I've played in a few campaigns using dnd, I've never actually played in the Forgotten Realms settings (or any other of their settings) and always in homebrews. So I wasn't that yet interested in the lore or references.

And then I played Baldur's Gate 3.

So I now have this book, and it's one of my favorites of my collection lmao. I haven't gotten the second book yet but I intend to eventually!

The book separates its recipes by "cultures", basically most of the basic playable races in dnd. Uncommon has a mix of stuff, from dragonborn, gnomes, tieflings. And then drinks have their own chapter. Between each chapter there's also a nice menu reproduction for various inns, which I love.

I'm only really familiar with forgotten realms now that I've consumed the entire wiki for Baldur's Gate purposes and finetuning my oc's backstories lmao but there are references to many others, like Greyhawk, Dragonlance, Ravenloft and a few more. My good friends, who are much more powerful nerds than I am, gave me a brief summary of all of them so that was also pretty cool. There's also at least one obligatory Drizzt reference, which I have to mention bc I'm about to get into that shit to indulge in the drow obsession I could never have in high school.

ANYWAY.

The recipes are varied, and there are a LOT in there that interest me ngl. I've already cooked two! I've made Dwarven Flatbread (easy and delicious!) and Halfling Chili which I believe I've posted about before. It is also very delicious (I remade this week! I didn't post about it bc I'm supposed to be cooking something new lmao). It uses cocoa powder and cinnamon amongst others in the spices. And delicious bacon.

Human recipes have variety, are pretty hearthy and generally go for a "comforting" vibe, I would say. They go from hand pies to seafood bouillabaisse or ribs to candied apples! Very fun chapter.

The Elven chapter unsurprisingly has a lot of light recipes, a ton of veggies, with some seafood! But for the most part it's a lotta veggies and fruits, and the one drow recipe, mushroom steak!

The Dwarven chapter, by contrast, has a lot of meaty recipes. You've got potatoes, sausages, beer, bread, rich desserts. (kinda my favorite chapter I think lmao)

The Halfling chapter is all about hearthy, homely(?) recipes that can be shared with many people, and many soups. This one is also very good.

Uncommon cuisine has a wide range of recipes. This is the chapter that has the halfling chili. Because normally it's made of...well you know. But you can make it with turkey, if you're not a dragonborn of very specific taste.

And finally the drinks are about half and half alcoholic and not, which I think is nice as someone who doesn't drink. It also has the second drow "recipe" which is like a mushroom "tea" (or like a stew?).

Now, there is one major problem with this book.

So many recipe photos missing!! So many!!

And it's particularely frustrating for this book because sometimes a page will have an environmental photo of like trees or whatever. But why not put food photo there instead?? Bummer.

This is a pretty village and all but do I really need it? I don't think so lmao.

Now after agonising over the meal choice (and over my mental health) for the last 10 weeks, I finally decided to make the Vedbread, a cheesy, mushroomy bread roll that sounds delicious. I just gotta go out and buy some shiitake mushrooms soon. Misohungrie happens to have made that one too (kinda the reason I chose it lmao it looks delicious) so you should check out his video too if you're interested in the book! He's also kinda the reason I bought the book in the first place, and he brings up the weird photo issue too.

Overall I really like this book, because I like ordinary daily life lore and you get a pretty good amount in that one, on top of having delicious recipes to try out. The recipes aren't super crazy in terms of trying to make them weird or unique, but they all seem pretty solid. They all have a little flavor/lore blurb before every recipe, and it's fun to get some tidbits like "tieflings love spicy food" or whatever yknow lol.

My tab crashed and I can't remember what I was following up with, but I wish y'all success in your culinary adventures and campaigns! I'll make a post for the vedbread when I get around to making it!

[hey-imma-fangirl]

Henchwoman: So, what seems to be the problem?

The Devil: This.

The Devil: *Thinks about Dice and grows a silly smile on her face*

Henchwoman: Daw! Boss! You’re in love!

The Devil: What?? That’s ridiculous!

[warlordfelwinter]

the worst part about writing out what happens in dnd games is when you're trying to translate what was obviously an extremely low roll into something that doesn't make your character sound like an incompetent idiot

[orchideae]

ᴍᴜꜱᴇ ᴅᴇᴍᴇᴀɴᴏʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴀɴɴᴇʀɪꜱᴍꜱ ɢᴜɪᴅᴇ.

ᴇʏᴇꜱ. Avoids eye contact when nervous, maintains eye contact when agitated, avoids eye contact due to being neurodivergent, enjoys eye contact as a means to read and convey emotion, looks down when emotional, looks up when emotional, cries openly, wipes tears quickly, suppresses tears, wandering gaze when lost in thought, holds gaze while thinking, seeks out eye contact for reassurance, seeks out eye contact to gauge enthusiasm during conversations, eyes constantly move during conversation, expressive eyes, emotions only evident through eyes, uses eye contact to intimidate, looks up while thinking, looks down while thinking.

ʜᴀɴᴅꜱ. Clasps behind back, rest in lap, fidgets with clothes, twiddles thumbs, chews at nails, pushes back cuticles, draws patterns on table/counter surfaces, makes animated gestures while speaking, only gestures to emphasize, utilizes sign language, speaks only through sign, callouses, scars, smooth, wrinkled, worn, soft, delicate, bone-y, slender, thick, vein-y, touches others while speaking, reaches out while laughing, reaches out to comfort others, reaches out to seek comfort, places face in hands when exasperated , places palms over eyes to hide when overwhelmed, rests chin in hands, taps fingers when impatient, taps fingers when nervous, taps fingers while thinking, scratches scalp,  strokes chin, rubs back of head, toys with objects around them, runs fingers over surfaces while walking by.

ᴍᴏᴜᴛʜ. Chews lip, chews at inside of cheek, licks lips, bites tongue, chews on straws,  resting frown, resting smile, neutral resting expression, resting pout, grinds teeth, flexes jaw, covers mouth when laughing, covers mouth when shocked, covers mouth when concerned, hands to lips while thinking, covers mouth when chewing, chews with mouth closed, chews with mouth open, smirks, grins, subtle smiles, wide smiles, sad smiles,  intimidating smiles, menacing grins, openly smiles, tries to suppress smiles, bares teeth when angry, lips quiver when emotional, stutters, speaks quickly, speaks slowly, good pronunciation, poor pronunciation, moderate pronunciation, purses lips, sucks in lips, holds mouth open when shocked or confused.

ʟᴇɢꜱ. Bounces leg when nervous, draws knees to chest when sitting, draws knees to chest as a means of comfort, sits on knees, sits with legs criss-crossed, sits with legs spread open in chairs, crosses legs when sitting in chairs, sits with one leg folded under the other, places feet on furniture, never places feet on furniture, sits on counters, sits on desks, sits on tables, sits on edge of seat, sits hunched over with forearms on knees, arches one knee up, sits on the arm of chairs/couches, feet on dashboard, swings legs back and forth when sitting somewhere elevated,  wiggles toes when nervous,  wiggles toes as a general tick, shuffles feet, kicks foot into ground, stomps feet, loud footsteps, quiet footsteps, silent footsteps.

ʜᴀɪʀ. Runs fingers through hair, tugs at hair, picks at scalp, chews on hair, twists locks of hair while thinking or nervous, smooths out locks of hair while thinking or nervous, prefers hair out of face, prefers long hair, prefers short hair, wears hair back, keeps hair down, smooths back hair, plays with other’s hair while talking, plays with own hair while talking, strokes hair to comfort others, likes having hair stroked for their own comfort, braids others’ hair while talking, braids own hair while talking, flips hair out of face, pushes hair out of face, leaves hair alone even when falling into face.

Tagged by: I stole it on the dash, but I forgot who, I thiiiiink it may have been @arlquin  Tagging: @delusionaid (Wriothesley) @immobiliter (Beidou first, and if you want to do it for Navia and/or Furina too, go ahead 💙) @feilyne @maquiscursed (Kazuha!) @infernaliscor @spiderwarden @avaere (Kaveh or Itto) @lunaetis (Hu Tao!) @sortilegii (Give me that Blade food!) @electrohunter @shrineofprophecy (Ningguang) @nivuruheim — gosh, who else, @narvvhal and whoever else wants to: steal it and tag me!