#and then add dragons and wizards

[castle-ravenloft]

your weird hack of some obscure game is more true to the original dnd than the contemporary game called dnd

[dood1e-bug]

Have my favorite Elder dragon for Appreciate a dragon day

Lucas from Spyro the dragon

[otherworldworldy]

31 days of Dragons! (part 1)

[mothmags]

I might be cringe but I am free

anyway, have a future Nashi (headcannon) for the soul

her guildmark might be facing the wrong direction. ignore her hand entirely, actually. i only breafly looked at a ref lmao

refs

[azaisya]

This campaign ended in May, but I still think about them! The fire genasi was our druid, Eddy, and he got to become king and marry the love of his life.

[arthur-lesters-spinal-cord]

Some dnd themed cats I painted as Christmas cards for my friends

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...

[blujaydoodles]

this isn't news or anything but it continues to be funny to me how much of any given character design is so often carried by things like hair styles or, like, a silly hat

[goatcheese-anon]

For those that play Dragon City, I have been dragged back into that game by a friend because they're raving about the Wizard's Hollow event character. Yk, that Wizard that steals your stuff. Well, I might've written a whole story about that guy. I literally gave the dude a whole backstory and everything. And I don't regret it. I call him Dave Johnson because Dave is a white af name and my friend and I thought it was funny.

DEE IS A KRIS-CORE (Deltarune) READER INSERT CHARACTER BTW. The name Dee M. is just DM = Dragon Master, because in the story, Dee refuses to say their real name.

I have even more doodles but they're very out of context because they're story related. And it's a strangely long story?? I literally made a whole magic system for wixen and Dragons in the Dragon City universe for the sole purpose of writing a story for a singular NPC the devs are probably gonna get rid of soon..

Dragon City really went out there and made a human character that they're just gonna discard. Smh.

[ambresin]

When wizard training goes wrong

[minidoodles97]

Made a few more of these this weekend! 🐭

ALSO! My dnd pins are now available too!!

(Here’s the link)

[coolseabird]

Random Musings on Gale and His Relationship With Mystra

I find Gale's relationship with Mystra to be one of the most fascinating parts of his story. It’s a dynamic that can be viewed in many different ways, depending on how you approach it and I think that’s part of what makes it so compelling. While some might see it literally, I’d like to explore it through a more allegorical perspective, though I want to be clear: this is just one way to interpret their relationship, and other viewpoints are just as valuable. This isn't even the only way that I personally interpret them haha. (I just have to be nuanced, it's a compulsion truly.)

In literature and mythology, take Greek mythology, for instance, relationships between gods and mortals can often carry deeper, symbolic meanings. The gods aren’t always just powerful beings they can represent larger forces like nature, fate, or human desires. This approach, called allegorical interpretation, is something I find really enjoyable! It adds layers to a story.

Consider the famous story of Paris’s judgment of the goddesses. The goddess Eris, seeking to sow discord, throws a golden apple inscribed “for the fairest” into a wedding attended by Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. They decide to have the mortal Paris judge who deserves the apple most out of the three of them and is thus the fairest.

Each goddess offers Paris a gift in exchange for the title. Athena offers great tactical ability, Hera promises leadership over vast kingdoms, and Aphrodite tempts him with the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world (who happens to already be married). Paris chooses Aphrodite, gains Helen as a lover and this leads to the Trojan War. Beyond the literal reading, this story can be seen as desire (Aphrodite) overcoming both wisdom (Athena) and marriage (Hera). Paris's fatal flaw is his lust for Helen. The story can also be interpreted as Paris losing due to declining to accept both of the other offers. He fails strategically in the ensuing war and also causes the collapse of his own kingdom.

Mystra, as the living incarnation of the Weave, can be interpreted similarly. She isn’t merely Gale's ex-lover. She is magic itself, the force that gives Gale his entire identity. Their relationship transcends romance; it’s more like that of a man consumed by his craft to an unhealthy degree. Like a mathematician to mathematics, or a physicist to physics, he's in love with something that can't love him back.

His attempt to give Mystra a gift she's never received before, something truly incredible, is due to his belief that transcending all limits to somehow earn Mystra’s (and thus, magic’s and his life's work's) recognition is both possible and necessary. It was 100% done with the best intentions but tragically any all-consuming passion carries the risk of blowing up in your face. (Just look at Alfred Nobel, pun intended) And, due to the aforementioned "blow up", his emotional low and his measurable low in his abilities correspond quite directly

There is a cut dialogue from early access about how much of his power he lost after this:

You see, this fire – there was a time that I could make it come alive. That it would take the shape of a dragon and roar in delight. There was a time I could silence a Beholder with a word, and lift a tower from its foundations with a flourish. There was a time I was all but one with the Weave. But no more – a mere shadow of the wizard I used to be. Why? Because I’ve lost.

A key theme in their relationship (in my opinion) is not just Mystra’s rejection but what her rejection represents: The collapse of Gale’s identity as a powerful magic user. (An identity he's built his life around and sacrificed for ever since he was a child)

Without this, he starts self destructing. He has to make do with consuming scraps of magic rather than the all encompassing sort he used to receive from Mystra's presence.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While Mystra’s treatment of Gale is undeniably harmful, I think it’s important to recognize that she is not cruel in a personal, calculated way. She is so out of touch with normal people that she’s more akin to a force of nature. As an arbiter of natural laws, she wants to control him/kill him because he represented a destabilizing influence, not out of any targeted animosity. (Which is arguably worse than outright hate depending on your point of view)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now for a bit of a change in topic I wanted to go over his different endings:

His "good" ending comes from the realization that magic, or any external force, cannot be the source of true self-worth. The deeper theme here, beyond just getting over an ex-relationship, is that Gale must learn to build relationships with people and and find a healthy balance between his work and personal life, rather than devoting himself wholly to impersonal things at the cost of his well-being. He has to learn that he is "Galenough," as @ekansbot once put it. Ultimately, his growth in this regard is best shown with his choice to embrace his ordinary, human last name "Dekarios", rather than defining himself solely as the archmage "of Waterdeep."

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More evidence about the meaning of names to him, earlier during the conversation with Mystra in the tabernacle, she will either call him "Gale Dekarios" if she's displeased to remind him of his humanity, or"Gale of Waterdeep" when pleased to inflate his ego with a title. This shows how revolutionary it is for him to willingly forego having a title at all in this ending as it had been something he sought in the past.

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Alternatively, and more fun for my tragedy-loving psyche, he can totally succumb to his flaws and lose himself. In this case the orb's desires fully supplant him as a person. He becomes a power hungry god, doomed to perpetuate the same callousness Mystra showed to him. His grand dreams of bettering the world fades, and his only goals shift to slowly gathering more power and followers and eventually challenging the rest of the gods. He entirely gives up on being a "person" he's the god of ambition now, and you can see it in the way he speaks how much he has mentally separated himself from the mortal world. He has fully given up on having a life outside of his obsessions. It’s quite dark. (Though not quite as dark as my absolute favorite, the Absolute ending, where you use thousands of mind controlled innocents to become Kratos.)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something that's extra sad for you. If the player character chooses to break up with him after becoming a god he says "so I'm still not enough for you" Aghh it's horrible. His insecurities only get worse as a god.

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Or... he could kill himself. Literally destroying his darker hungers (the orb) for an altruistic purpose, but he also, obviously, destroys himself in the process. Very sad indeed.

Now, here’s something I find fascinating:

If Gale chooses not to use the crown, nor to surrender it to Mystra, but instead lets it remain in the water, the orb stays within him but rather than being a catastrophe it actually becomes harmless and inert.

Why does this happen? Gale speculates that it's because he has found contentment due to the player character's romance with him.

Clip sourced from this video: https://youtu.be/gikRKEIpvQs

This reveals something crucial: the orb, from the very beginning, was tied to his own emotions. It was basically an extension of him all along. He was inadvertently the one driving the orb’s power. It was his own despair and obsession that were indirectly killing him the entire time! It's very tragic but also supremely interesting!

It is this somewhat gut wrenching realization, though, that makes this the best "good" ending. He doesn't have to apologize to Mystra to get a happy ending out of pity. Instead, it is his own emotional catharsis that resolves the problem of the orb internally, rather than it being fixed through external means. It also has a sort of Jungian quality to it that I really like. With the idea of integrating and accepting all parts of oneself (allowing the orb to remain, but becoming settled and integrated), rather than trying to shed them being a theme I think fits his character well. Additionally, he keeps the orb scar, which looks pretty neat. :)

[prokopetz]

Can you go over what is going on with Paladins and Clerics in DND, not from a mechanical or in universe perspective, but from what different sources/genres/tropes they are drawing on? They always seemed to have too much overlap in the basic concept to me to make sense as separate things in the dnd classes/stock character line up.

Clerics originated way back in the pre-OD&D days, when the game that would become Dungeons & Dragons was still a fantasy roleplaying add-on intended to be paired with your favourite historical wargame. One of the players in Dave Arneson's original Blackmoor campaign had an army whose commander/player character was a vampire named Sir Fang, who proved to be sufficiently overpowered that a mechanical "hard counter" was desired.

This ended up taking the form of a vampire-hunting priest character heavily inspired by Peter Cushing's turn as Abraham Van Helsing in the 1958 Christopher Lee adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula; that vampire-hunting priest in turn developed into what would become one of original flavour D&D's three core classes (the other two being the fighter and the wizard – the thief/rogue came later).

The paladin, meanwhile, was originally a direct, 1:1 lift of Holger Carlsen, the protagonist of Poul Anderson's 1961 fantasy novel Three Hearts and Three Lions, and was introduced as a subclass of the fighter – rather than a class of its own – in the 1975 Greyhawk supplement. Over the game's editions it's wandered from being a fighter subclass, to being a high-level "advanced class" to which qualifying characters can switch at 10th level, back to being a fighter subclass, and finally to a core class, where it's generally remained.

So, in short, the cleric was originally a purpose-built hard counter to vampire PCs loosely patterned after Peter Cushing's Abraham Van Helsing, while the paladin was originally for people who just really wanted to be one specific Poul Anderson character.

(I'm sorry if that's not a terribly satisfying answer, but you need to understand that practically everything in old-school D&D is a 1960s or 1970s pop culture reference – it just doesn't read that way to modern audiences because nobody gets the memes anymore.)

[cosmica-galaxy]

=Survival and Servitude= Cookie Run x Giant!Human!Reader

Part: 1 Genre: General Warnings: None Word Count: 3,ooo (3K)

The once noisy forest ominously remains unusually silent as a familiar pair of heroes make their way towards Dragon Hill to scope out a potential place to research a possible cause for a natural disaster. As the Cookie Kingdom they hail from that resided not too far away from Dragon Hill was rocked with a powerful earthquake last night, and numerous cookies were trying to look into the cause. Some cookies had speculated that the Ginkgoblins or Cake Monsters were up to something, others felt that it was just the land settling to a certain degree, and a few believed that something major must have happened not too far off. Gingerbrave, Strawberry, and Wizard cookie were tasked by the worried locals to search the area and see if anything was amiss… And amiss things were. For example, the lively forest of Dragon Hill was silent. Not a blueberry bird nor a cake hound could be seen nor heard in the immediate area. It was like the forest itself was abandoned for reasons unknown to the cookies. “Are you sure about this, Gingerbrave?” Strawberry Cookie squeaks out nervously. “This place is giving me the creeps…where are all the animals?” “Yeah…I understand what you mean, Strawberry. Where ARE all the animals? This place is usually so lively! Do you think that they were frightened off by the earthquake from last night?” Gingerbrave asks, looking at the trees as they passed through the woods. “I doubt it!” Wizard Cookie huffs out. “Even if they did get frightened, the earthquake happened at midnight! The animals would have returned by now!” He argues. “Yeah…that makes sense too…all better that we look for the cause! Which we know is somewhere in Dragon Hill!” Gingerbrave smiles, holding up his candycane. “Yeah, but WHY in Dragon Hill of all places? There’s nothing much but bones there—AHH” Wizard Cookie suddenly lets out a shout as he falls into a rather deep hole in the path. “Oh! Wizard Cookie! Are you okay!?” Gingerbrave and Strawberry Cookie look over the edge of the crater, seeing Wizard Cookie looking up at them both with a look of mild irritation. He moves to stand up and brushes off his cloak. “Now just WHO makes a hole in the middle of a path!?” Wizard Cookie gripes, looking up at his two companions. “It’s not that deep, but it’s still enough to hurt somecookie!”

“Do you think it was the earthquake from last night? Maybe it raised the ground a little or shifted the landscape…?” Strawberry Cookie quietly adds into the conversation. “Yeah! What do you think, Wizard Cookie?” “I doubt it…look. This hole has a shape…and there’s a pattern in the dirt?” Wizard Cookie mutters, analyzing the raised and compressed places in the “hole” he had fallen into. “Yeah…that does look…really creepy…oh! Strawberry! Wizard! Look!” Gingerbrave suddenly points with his candy cane, gesturing at the wrecked foliage and destroyed landscape that wasn’t too far from the path they were traveling on. “The roll cake trees…” Strawberry starts. “Have been leveled…? I doubt that was the earthquake’s doing…yes, definitely not. These trees have been broken by stress and not by natural causes…which means that…” Wizard Cookie clarifies while crawling out of the hole with the help of Gingerbrave. Upon closer inspection, the three young cookies can see that the fallen and broken trees almost seemed to form a path or pattern of some kind…and more of those “holes” in the ground seem to be occurring in a repeating pattern along the ground. “Something VERY big passed through here.” Wizard cookie finishes. The only sound that could be heard in the forest was the rustling of the leaves in the remaining trees, which only heightened the feeling of dread that all of the cookies were feeling swell up within their little cookie bodies. “S-Something big?? Like a dragon!?” Strawberry cookie trembles in fear at the sheer notion of fighting another dragon. “I doubt it…if my theory is correct, which it most likely is, these “holes” are the footprints that whatever passed through here left behind. I can’t see any claw indentions and the smaller marks in the holes are too oddly-shaped to be any kind of wheel. So that weeds out vehicles or dragons.” Wizard cookie ponders, looking at the damage surrounding the area.

“Well…we won’t get any answers sitting around here! Let’s follow the trail and maybe it will show us what made them!” Gingerbrave states, running off the path and leaping up to where the trail of destruction begins. “W-What?! Are you mad?!” Balks Wizard Cookie. “If we follow that trail, it will lead us to something huge! Did you forget that part, Gingerbrave!?” “Come on, Wizard! We have faced dragons, large horrible monsters from the licorice sea, and even The Dark Enchantress herself! What could possibly be at the end of this trail that we can’t defeat? When we are together, we can beat anything!” Gingerbrave encourages. “And hey! If we get to see what is causing all the earthquakes, maybe we can stop it so that the cookies in the Cookie Kingdom can finally relax!” Gingerbrave states. “Well…he does have a point, Wizard.” Strawberry cookie mutters as she slowly follows Gingerbrave up into the tattered roll woods. “I just-I just…Naaaooo…if you get us into a heap of trouble, don’t say that I didn’t warn you!” Wizard cookie chastised as he also follows Gingerbrave up into the destroyed forest. “Good! Then…let's run!” Gingerbrave, Strawberry, and Wizard cookie all take off into the flattened woodlands, finding that the wreckage seemed to go on for a while. It cut through the woodlands of Dragon Hill and more towards the Cookie Kingdom that they all loved so much. However, the woodlands eventually part and the trio comes skidding to a quick stop when they discover where the most-likely source of the earthquake from last night came from. “Naah!” “Eek!” “I told you so!!” The three make a quick dive into the thick brush nearby to hide from what was laying in the clearing just ahead of them. A human.

The large unnatural predators of Earthbread that seemed to have a desire to eat cookies like them for one reason or another. A witch, a wizard, a human. It didn’t matter. Most, if not all of their kind, liked to eat cookies. But, judging by the silence in the forest, it might not be just cookies that they were known to eat as well. All the cake monsters, animals, and even nature itself seemed to sit in silence to not wake the literal sleeping giant that had decided to rest in the clearing. This one was apparently sleeping on their side and had their face buried in the thick grass. Like it was taking a nap and enjoying the sunlight. “Why is a witch here!?” Gingerbrave hurriedly asks Wizard Cookie. “W-Why are you asking me?! I’m not the one that wanted to follow the trail!” Wizard snaps. “Though, it is very unusual…the witches never leave the dwellings. So why is it out here?!” “M…Maybe it got hungry and left their dwelling because…it wanted to eat?!” Strawberry quivers in fear at the thoughts going through her mind. “Eugh. That may be a possible reason why it’s sleeping because it has already eaten??” Wizard Cookie mutters, sweat dripping down his face. “We should go before it gets…Gingerbrave!?” Strawberry and Wizard cookie can only give Gingerbrave hushed whispers as he leaves the cover of the brush and slowly inches closer to the sleeping being. “Gingerbrave! Come back here! If they catch you, you are as good as crumbs!!” Wizard hisses from his hiding place. “Shh…I’m gonna take a closer look. Stay there!” Gingerbrave whispers back. “Get back here!” “Be careful, Gingerbrave!” Gingerbrave continues his slow approach as his friends hiss and urge him to return to their side in the bushes, but he continues regardless. He was known as the cookie with such a large amount of bravery after all. Upon coming closer, he examines their sleeping form. Their body was turned onto the side, their arms wrapped protectively around their midsection, and there appeared to be…wounds on them. Dried jam(?) could be seen on some of their cloth icing(?), but it didn’t appear to come from an outside source like Gingerbrave assumed. It seemed to be leaking from THEM as opposed to have been sprayed upon by some unfortunate confectionary creatures like he originally assumed. Witches could…bleed?

Looking at their resting face, he could see a contortion in their sleeping expression. A grimace that looked similar to pain was on their…face icing(?) and their breathing was deep and rhythmic…even a bit labored. A feeling of pity could be felt blossoming in his soulstone. 

The same type of pity he would give an injured cookie. You know…he never got to see one of these strange beings up close like this.

The only time when he actually saw one face-to-face was the witch that created him and tried to devour him back at the Witch’s house. He managed to escape, of course, but the witch never pursued him or his friends. In fact…he never saw the witch again because he fled from the house so long ago. Seeing one sleeping peacefully was giving him a different feeling and seeing one that was awake. Plus, this giant was wearing a different style of clothes and didn’t look too hard to look at…unlike the witch he was brought into Earthbread from. Upon looking further at the sleeping beast, he could make out a cuff-like device that was placed on one of their wrists. There was only one, as the other wrist was bare of any bracelets, and it had some strange insignias carved into it. Gingerbrave didn’t get a good feeling by looking at the bracelet. He decides to conclude his brief investigation there and return to his friends in the brush. “Gingerbrave, don’t do something reckless like that again!” Wizard cookie whispers harshly at him. “That beast would have woken up at any time!” For a moment, Gingerbrave stayed silent.  He was feeling…surprisingly conflicted.

“I don’t think it was going to wake up, Wizard Cookie.” Gingerbrave bemuses in a deflated tone.

This information surprises Wizard Cookie and Strawberry Cookie.

“Not wake up? You mean to tell me that this witch is…?” Wizard cookie trails off for a moment. “Dead?” He finishes.

“What?? No! It is sleeping…but they’re hurt. They have numerous injuries on their body and…jam…I think…is leaking out of their wounds. They must’ve fallen down at some point during the night because of their injuries and that was the cause of the earthquake last night. I wonder what attacked them…?” Gingerbrave openly ponders, staring at their sleeping form from the bushes.

“Augh…and here I thought I was about to make the best arcane breakthrough of my life! Can you imagine what I would be able to do with the remains of a witch? Powerful spells…probably.” Wizard Cookie hums in thought. “Well, if we give it enough time, either it will heal and move on or it will crumble here and no longer be a threat. A win-win for us! Well, a triple win for me because I get to keep the remains and such–”

“What?!” Gingerbrave is surprisingly aghast at the thought of waiting for something to die from being injured. “That is surprisingly cruel of you, Wizard cookie…”

“I…what?! Gingerbrave, if this was a cookie–that would be one thing! This is NOT a cookie! This is a massive monster that is known to EAT cookies like us! Did you happen to forget about that little tidbit of information?!” Wizard cookie argues.

“I still think it’s wrong to leave something, cookie or otherwise, to die like this!” Gingerbrave argues. “It just…feels wrong.” He mutters, crossing his arms and looking off to the side. “It…does seem cruel to let something bleed out in the forest, Wizard Cookie…” Strawberry mutters out and fiddles with the strings of her pink hood. Wizard cookie could only pinch the area between his eyes and mutter in exasperation. “Well, what do you want us to do then?? Take a thousand bandages, fix them up, and hope they don’t become healthy enough to run us down and gobble us up?!” Wizard Cookie continues to argue. “It’s not like we can carry this thing back to the kingdom!” The three cookies begin to ponder for any possible solutions. Then, Gingerbrave raises his candy cane. “Maybe we can!” Gingerbrave starts. “Gingerbrave, you can’t be serious. This isn’t some cake hound pup–” Wizard Cookie is cut off as he continues. “I think we just need more cookies to help us out! Why not gather up some magic user cookies and see if we can’t just levitate it back to the kingdom? Our magic and teamwork should do the trick!” Gingerbrave continues. “Then once we get it back in the kingdom, we can set up a place for it to recover!” He finishes. “And if it wakes up and panics or ramages…? Instead of being OUTSIDE our walls, it will be INSIDE our walls! What then?” Wizard Cookie flatly states. “I don’t think that will happen, Wizard Cookie. If it’s sleeping now, as it has been since midnight, I think it will be too tired to try and do anything like that…come on, let's give it a try!” “Gingerbrave…I swear, you are making such a reckless decision here.” Wizard sighs. “But if you want to try and help them…then let's go get those magic cookies…” “Believe me, I don’t think you’ll regret this, Wizard Cookie! Trust me!” “Don’t jinx it.” So, the trio of heroes go back to the kingdom with a request for cookies that have stronger magic abilities to help them lift something…pretty heavy out in Dragon Hills. Upon their arrival, though, most cookies seem to have thoughts similar to Wizard Cookie. What if it wakes up? What if it attacks the kingdom? What if it rampages and eats up all the civilians? What if despite their efforts, it crumbles anyway? Gingerbrave had to convince them that he has a good feeling and that he wouldn’t let any cookies come to harm if it woke up with a bad attitude. He promises to take full responsibility if things go wrong.

With only as much faith as the group of cookies was willing to give Gingerbrave, they all help to conjure up the levitation spell that was led by Wizard Cookie and the transportation back to the kingdom was slow, but a success at the end of the day. The sleeping human barely even twitched while they were moved. The heroes managed to clear out a space in an airship hangar for their new guest and they were placed there for the time being. It was a little cramped, but it allowed them to at least sleep curled up out of the curious gazes of the locals and the weather. Gingerbrave knew that things could go bad quickly, as most of the residents of the Cookie Kingdom were rightfully worried about what could happen if the beast awoke in a horrible mood. Yet, it barely made any movement to let them know that it was alive, other than their chest rising and falling in time with their breathing. They slept all through the afternoon and even till nightfall, not stirring even once. This gave the cookies time to examine them and to perform some research that they would have otherwise not been never given the chance to do. Their jam(?) was taken by some curious cookies, Wizard Cookie was among them, and others were trying to decode the cipher on their bracelet. Yet, they couldn’t explain exactly what it was supposed to say or do. Some cookies obviously worried about security, so some soldier cookies took up posts around the hangar that was currently housing such a large threat. The cookies argue that even while asleep, they had to be on guard all the time, especially with a threat of this size. All the cookies just hoped that Gingerbrave knew what he was doing and that he knew the risks that were currently in play while messing with a being of this size. Let alone a sleeping and injured one. Gingerbrave cared not for resources, research, or even security. He just can’t explain it. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this human was…different? 

In a strange way, he felt like the moment they woke up–they would find a friend in the cookies of the Cookie Kingdom. Maybe they would even become a powerful ally to help fight Dark Enchantress cookie! Still, their injuries were worrisome to him. With some examinations, the researchers deduced that most of the wounds were magically inflicted and were most likely done by arcane weapons. Deep scars would be left behind even after they had healed and their process of recovery would be slow and agonizing. If they did wake up again–they would be in a lot of pain. There had to be a better way to make them healthy again… Then, like usual, Gingerbrave had another lightbulb moment. He immediately hurries off to go to the local post office with the goal to write a letter to someone he knows very well…and who also happens to be a very good healer. With a quick send off via a messenger bluebird, he hopes his friend would be able to make a quick visit to the Cookie Kingdom to help them out during this rather odd moment in time. Gingerbrave can only hope he makes it in time to heal the sleeping giant…who may or may not wake up again if they don’t get the treatment they need. He just has a good feeling that they will get better. Besides! There is no other cookie that he can think of that is as kind and empathetic as Pure Vanilla Cookie!

[iyoonjh]

Beyond Plus Ultra! – The anatomy of falling in love

Chapter 16: From Dungeon to Deck Chair: The Fellowship of the Beach

wc: 2082 words

The apartment smelled like pizza, bad decisions, and the faint threat of Monster Mango Punch.

Soobin sat cross-legged on the carpet, pencil tucked behind one ear, a character sheet half-filled beside him, and a bowl of pretzel sticks within reach. Beomgyu had a bandana tied around his forehead for “battle energy,” Hueningkai was double-fisting Capri Suns like a sugar-fueled druid, and Taehyun—eternal Dungeon Master and occasional monk—sat at the head of the table with a mini fog machine and actual laminated maps.

“I cast Charm on the goblin guard,” Beomgyu declared, holding up a sparkly d20. “And then I ask him if he’s emotionally fulfilled in his job.”

“I’m going to scream,” Taehyun said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re trying to seduce the goblin again?”

“I’m trying to connect with him,” Beomgyu shot back. “Consentually. And with vibes.”

Sunghoon was perched on the edge of the couch in a hoodie two sizes too big, the sleeves swallowed his hands completely, giving him the appearance of a moody High Elf who’d been hexed into eternal comfort. He held a spell card up in front of him with the seriousness of a Shakespearean lead about to deliver a monologue in Act III of a drama no one else had read.

“By the celestial light of the twin moons,” he intoned, squinting dramatically, “I summon the sacred winds of Elarion—wait, wait, do I add my modifier to this?”

“Yes, but only if you’re not holding a cursed item,” Taehyun said without looking up.

“I’m literally holding a cursed item,” Sunghoon sighed. 

Beside him, Heeseung sat cross-legged with perfect posture, playing a kazoo version of The Lord of the Rings theme song like it was his druid-bardic duty. He was wearing a DIY cloak made from an old blanket and had penciled a tiny mustache onto his upper lip with eyeliner.

“I’m adding ambiance,” he said cheerfully, ignoring Yeonjun’s fourth aggressive glance.

“I will snap that kazoo in half like a breadstick,” Yeonjun hissed, glaring at him from across the table.

Yeonjun himself was the most overdressed person in the room—tight black jeans, silver rings on every finger, and a velvet choker that absolutely did not match his wizard robe but somehow still worked. He had two sets of dice laid out on a silk cloth like a tarot reading and a single tealight candle flickering dramatically beside his character sheet.

“You don't understand the mood,” he said when Taehyun asked if the candle was really necessary. “Besides, my dice roll better when they feel respected.”

Hueningkai was lying on his stomach across a bean bag, sketching an anatomically incorrect dragon with sunglasses on the back of a pizza box. He kept muttering things like “do goblins wear shoes?” and “how much emotional trauma can one elf carry before he becomes a bard?” Every few minutes, he’d gasp, snap his fingers, and write down notes for his future webcomic.

“Did you know octopuses have three hearts?” he said suddenly, looking up. “Imagine breaking all three. That’s so dramatic. I want to play a sea creature who just got ghosted by a mermaid and now he haunts tide pools.”

Leehan sat cross-legged by the window, furiously scribbling in a weathered field journal labeled Tidal Lore: Volume II. He wore a “Support Your Local Fish” T-shirt under a faded zip-up and had five different highlighters spread around him like a ritual circle. Occasionally, he’d whisper something to himself and nod solemnly, as if communing with the spirit of Poseidon.

It was chaos. Beautiful, stupid chaos.

Soobin had barely spoken in the last ten minutes. Not because he wasn’t having fun—he was, truly—but because his phone kept lighting up with new messages. From Y/N.

He couldn’t stop smiling.

That, of course, was his first mistake.

“Okay.” Yeonjun narrowed his eyes across the room like a hawk with better fashion sense. “Why is Soobin smiling like he just got kissed under a rainbow?”

Soobin blinked, thumb still hovering over his screen. “What?”

“Bro’s been checking his phone every six seconds,” Hueningkai said through a mouthful of gummy worms. “You’re glowing. Like, that glow people get when they are pregnant. It’s alarming.”

“I am not—” Soobin started.

“HE’S SOFT-LEANING,” Beomgyu gasped, pointing. “That’s the ‘I’m flirting with my crush and pretending I’m not panicking’ posture. Boobie, know your worth my boy.”

Sunghoon leaned forward. “Did Y/N text you?”

Soobin hesitated. And in that half-second of hesitation, the room exploded.

“Oh my GOD,” Heeseung howled. “She did!”

“Okay spill” Taehyun demanded, slamming his dice bag on the table with the weight of a federal agent.

Soobin sighed, but he couldn’t fight the grin crawling up his face. “Okay, fine. She invited me. Well, us.”

A beat. A pause so sharp you could hear the dramatic swell of nerdy destiny approaching.

“To…?” Hueningkai asked.

“Jake’s beach house,” Soobin said. “This weekend.”

The room erupted.

“WE’VE BEEN CHOSEN!” Beomgyu shouted, throwing his arms into the air like he was being knighted.

“We beat the social game,” Yeonjun said in awe. “We’re getting a beach episode.”

“I’ve been preparing for this moment my whole life,” Heeseung whispered, dramatically clutching his character sheet to his chest.

Sunghoon rolled off the couch entirely.

“I can’t go to a beach,” he groaned from the floor. “I’ll burn. I’ll melt. I’m pale and emotionally fragile.”

“I don’t own a swimsuit that’s not from middle school,” Hueningkai added. “It has Charizard on it.”

“BRING IT,” said Beomgyu immediately. “I’m wearing my sailor moon rash guard. We go down together.”

Leehan looked up from his sketchpad, completely serene. “Do you think I’ll be able to identify local tidepool species from the balcony?”

“Leehan,” Yeonjun said gently, “please do not give the crabs names again.”

“I only named five.”

“They followed him back to the Airbnb,” Taehyun muttered.

“THEY UNDERSTOOD ME.”

“Can we focus?” Soobin said, cheeks warm, eyes wide. “She invited us. That means we have to—like—be normal like we were at the party.”

Beomgyu laughed so hard he choked. “Yeah, right. Bro, you summoned a ghost in the last campaign by accident and apologized to it for interrupting her grave nap.”

“I’m just saying,” Soobin said, flustered, “this trip is kind of a big deal.”

“Because of Y/N,” Taehyun smirked.

“Because of—shut up. SHUT UP IMMEDIATELY.”

Yeonjun tossed a chip at him. “Just admit you’re already imagining a slow-motion beach kiss while a ukulele plays in the distance.”

“I—”

“And then you trip on seaweed and try to play it cool but she has to help you up,” Hueningkai added.

“And then you say something like ‘You’re prettier than the moonlight on the tide’ and we all die,” Beomgyu finished.

Soobin covered his face with both hands. “I hate all of you.”

“No, no,” Yeonjun said, leaning forward with a sparkle in his eye that could only mean chaos. “Important question. Who’s going?”

Soobin peeked out between his fingers. “I don’t know. Y/N said her whole group. Probably Jake, Jungwon, Yunjin, Sunoo, Jay—”

Yeonjun’s head snapped toward him. “Jay?”

“Oh god,” Soobin mumbled.

“JAY,” Yeonjun repeated, gripping the back of the chair. “My nemesis. My forever enemy. My beige counterpart. I must prepare.”

“Your what now?” Taehyun asked flatly.

“Listen,” Yeonjun said, standing up as if that would make his next sentence make sense. “We’ve spoken, like, three times ever. But every time he says something, I feel personally attacked. At the party he called my necklace ‘dramatic.’ Dramatic! It was a minimalist silver dagger!”

“He said in a fun way, he was trying to be social with you’” Beomgyu added helpfully.

“And yet,” Yeonjun said with a finger in the air, “Yunjin laughed.”

“Ah,” Heeseung said. “There it is.”

Yeonjun flopped dramatically back onto the couch. “If she’s there, I have to look good.”

“I saw a guy on instagram selling a cologne he promised to be aphrodisiac” Sunghoon offered from the floor. 

“And that's a pyramid scheme” Leehan told him.

“I’ll bring backup necklaces,” Yeonjun muttered to himself. “Statement pieces. Ones that scream ‘I'm in a band and also collect knives.’”

“You're in a band with Hueningkai” Heeseung mocked.

“Why do your accessories have backstories?” Soobin asked.

“They’re part of my lore.”

Meanwhile, Hueningkai, who had been very quiet until now, looked up with wide eyes. “What if we see dolphins?”

Everyone paused.

“I mean, yeah,” Soobin said slowly. “That could happen.”

“No. Like, what if they’re watching us?” Hueningkai whispered. “From just below the surface. Judging our land-walking rituals. Like, ‘look at these fools and their SPF 30.’”

Beomgyu gasped. “Kai. Have you been reading dolphin conspiracy blogs again?”

“I haven’t stopped,” he replied solemnly. “Also, fun fact: dolphins are one of the few non-human species that can recognize themselves in a mirror. So I’m gonna bring one to the beach. Just in case.”

“So what?” Heeseung asked, grinning. “You’re gonna walk up to the water, hold up a mirror, and wait to vibe-check the ocean?”

“Yes,” Hueningkai said without hesitation. “And if they wink at me, we’ll know. We’ll know.”

“You know what?” Taehyun muttered. “I’m not even gonna stop you. I want to see how that plays out.”

“Can I help?” Leehan asked, folding his crab journal closed with reverence. “I can chart dolphin reactions based on lunar phase and water clarity.”

“You’re all unhinged,” Soobin said, somehow fondly.

“Wait,” Yeonjun interjected, suddenly serious. “What are you wearing?”

Soobin blinked. “What?”

“To the beach. You’re the romantic lead now, remember?” Yeonjun leaned forward again, eyes gleaming, Heeseung shook his head. “You need to serve something soft. Boyfriend at golden hour. Wind in your hair, gaze full of longing.”

“He can wear that light blue hoodie,” Sunghoon offered. “It's very boyfriendable”

“Oh my god, I’m not—” Soobin buried his face again, this time in the nearest pillow.

“We are styling you for your beach romance,” Yeonjun said proudly. “This is our Clueless montage. I will not be denied.”

“Just don’t let him wear that one shirt,” Beomgyu said. “You know. The cursed one.”

Soobin looked up. “What cursed shirt?”

“The minions one.”

“I like that shirt.”

“We know,” everyone said in unison.

And then—

A beat of silence.

Soft. Happy. The kind of pause that felt like a smile exhaled into the air, filling up all the little spaces between them. Outside, the hum of late-night traffic drifted past Taehyun’s apartment windows. Inside, the glow from the string lights made everything look golden, like this wasn’t just another weekend but the beginning of something else entirely.

The map on the table was still spread open. The dice lay scattered, untouched for once. And around the room—this warm, weird, chaotic room—sat seven boys who had started this campaign as just friends and had somehow become their own little universe.

Taehyun looked around, his gaze quiet but steady, a knowing softness in his eyes. “You know…” he said, voice low, like anything louder might scare the feeling away, “I think we’re gonna have a good time.”

He wasn’t talking about D&D anymore. And everyone knew it.

Because this wasn’t just a trip. It was them, getting to be part of something. Getting invited. Getting chosen.

It was walking into a party and not standing in the corner.

It was laughing too loud and being laughed with, not at.

It was the quiet victory of being seen—the kind that doesn’t need a trophy or a big speech, just a look across the couch and a shared bag of snacks and someone saying, “You’re coming too.”

Soobin hugged the pillow tighter to his chest. He didn’t say anything right away. Just let the feeling sink in—the one that made his chest ache in the nicest way. The one that said this was all real.

And in his head, looping like a secret, was the image of Y/N’s smile.

That look she gave him whenever she teased him.

He hadn’t even told her how he felt yet.

But he would.

God, he would.

And maybe, when he got there, and the sun was setting, and she was looking at him like that again—

Maybe he’d finally kiss her without a dog interrupting.

And if not?

Well.

At least he’d have his friends. His party. His chaos.

And a beach full of crabs, apparently.

Not bad, for a bunch of kids who used to watch from the sidelines.

Not bad at all.

prev | masterlist | next

profiles: d&d saturday mass group | bling bling losers

author's note: SURPRISE! updating twice this week! hope you guys like it and look foward to the next chapter! as always, let's chat, please tell me what do you guys think in the comments ( i do not think aquarius are dumb, i'm an aquarius moon and we are elite). ALSO what do you guys think it's gonna happen at this beach trip? hehe thank you so much again <3

taglist: @heejamas @mingyustar @wintereals @mimimiloomeelomi @wonderstrucktae @delirioastral @gomdoleemyson @i03jae @irishspringing @bunniwords @kirbrary @sirenla @saladgirl @beomieeeeeeeeeeees @uvyuri @imlonelydontsendhelp @haechology @sanriwoozzz @stormy1408 @soobinieswife @ijustwannareadstuff20 @soobskz @jkeydiary @imnotsureokay @nyanzzn @lostgirlysstuff @lilbrorufr @beomgyusluver@lveegsoi@pagesoobinie @catpjimin @t-102 @sh0dor1 @i-am-not-dal @bbeomgyucafe @damn-u-min-yoongi @https-yeonjun @booksxandxlace @kookssecret

[autisticlalna]

how to watch Skyblock Kingdoms!

because i'm dragging all of you down with me.

what is Skyblock Kingdoms?:

Skyblock Kingdoms, or SBK, is a Skyblock survival server made by VikingPilot where 18 20 players are split into groups of 2 and have their own island to take care of. each island has a unique wood type, and have a monopoly over that wood type! trade between kingdoms is allowed and encouraged, but any saplings belong solely to their original island-- with the exception of oak, which is a freebie anyone can have.

the teams are theoretically a mix of seasoned skyblockers and people not as familiar with it, but in practice there's more novices than experts so comedy has quickly ensued.

what's the story?:

in most cases, SBK is more of a casual improv vibe. think Hermitcraft rather than Empires. what this means is that there's no overarching story everyone is following, but some players have bits they've decided to commit to that, in typical MCYT fashion, are spiraling. some perspectives stay away from the action, some are playing along with whatever bit is tossed their way, some have their stories to tell, and Avid is the reason i'm having to rewrite this paragraph.

we've got capitalists! we've got OSHA! we've got witches feeding the void to try and appease it so it stops eating their bridges! we've got signs of the timeline falling apart! we've got a fortune-telling wizard! we've got something trapped deep down in limbo! we've got somebody cursed to be a monkey by british sun tzu! we've got selling your soul for a weekly lootbox! we've got a kingdom being overtaken by snow and sculk! we've got an airline with a 75% mortality rate! we've got a lawyer?

as of this version of the post (Avid's episode 17, Marma1ade's episode 15, Viking's episode 13, Vintage's episode 13), the first major story arc has wrapped up and things are going in a very interesting direction.

what's the format?:

there are edited videos being released regularly on Youtube by most of the creators, but a couple of POVs are stream-only so far. however, you can easily keep up with the server shenanigans without watching any streams-- there's some stuff that doesn't make it into videos, but not anything that would leave you locked out of the loop.

you can find all of the episodes out so far in release order in this one massive playlist by Doovid! thank you Doovid <3

on top of videos and streams, SBK has songs written and performed by Avid for his episodes! please listen to Through the Void, it's really good. there's also an animation for it that's used as his intro, which is also really good. if you want to listen to cool tunes made for SBK by one of the creators, you should watch Avid.

who to watch?:

depends on what you're looking for!

if you want a focus on building, then Fixxitt and KingElffe are both working on large-scale projects that are downright stunning to see in Skyblock. if you're interested in the Void storyline, then your best bets are Avid, Marmalade, and Trog-- and if you want lore in general, you can add Rubyco, Vintage, Milkman, and Anathra (and potentially Viking) to the list. if you want something chill, then Doovid, M1G, Kale, Anathra, and Leon are pretty laid-back. if you enjoy cinematic editing, then you should check out Avid, Trog, Doovid, Leon, and Viking. if you're here for comedy, then you'll want to check out Viking, Doovid, Milkman, Leon, CodeNeon, and Kittrix, but honestly everybody gets in on that one as they mess with each other constantly. and that's still not covering everybody!

i recommend watching everyone's episode 1 to get a feel for their style and go from there. Anathra, Artemis, Neon, and Leon's perspectives start around the Ender Dragon fight, and Fool and Tea are stream-only.

who's on the server?:

as mentioned, some of these POVs are stream-only!

Dark Oak (VikingPilot + Fixxitt 412) - industry on a massive scale Cherry (Rubyco + vintage_applesauce) - friends with everyone Jungle (AvidMC + Doovid) - the universe has it out for them. Birch (TheFoolsFam + SadMilkman) - the villain is always capitalism Bamboo (M1G + KaleHameron) - space samurai shenanigans Mangrove (Marma1ade + Teaish7) - witches with a void problem Acacia (Dr. Trog + Kittrix) - triangle-loving chaos-causers Spruce (AcornBandit + Anathra) - very chill (both definitions.) End (CodeNeon + LeonSBU) - have been here the whole time! Mushroom (KingElffe + Artemis8bit) -

tl;dr Watch Skyblock Kingdoms.