#awkward small talk

[aropride]

*neurotypical meaning "typical neurological development or functioning". i.e. not neurodivergent, i.e. someone who doesn't have autism/ocd/schizophrenia/an intellectual disability/tourettes/a personality disorder/social anxiety/dyslexia/bipolar etc etc you get the picture i'm just listing off disorders atp. yes self dx'd or questioning/researching is fine i love you 👍

[rants-n-chants]

My Midnight small talk at the shop checkout.

All I can say is what a symphony of awkwardness that was. My stupid face non revealing while I died inside. every word i said was moment that will haunt me and replays in slow motion as I try to sleep. It's a never ending cycle of interaction induced trauma, why cant i just function with some casual flare for conversing, why has god forsaken me.

I was so desperately hoping for a swift and silent transaction, just wnating to be in and out. But oh no, the universe has other plans. The cashier, who was cherful and just being a friendly extravert, decided it was the perfect time for a chitchat extravaganza (can you not see i am avoiding eye contact!) Cue my introverted internal panic as I mentally prepared myself for the impending doom i knew would take place

"Hi, how's your day going?" they ask with unwavering enthusiasm. my brain scrambled to come up with a response that didn't sound like a rehearsed monologue from a socially inept robot(anyone else rehearse interactions they might have to have) "Oh, just fine," I managed, all while internally screaming, "Abort mission! You idiot ! What tf was that!"

But alas, the torture continued they feel the need to inquire about my plans for the weekend, (its Sunday, the weekend is over in like an hour, what do they think ive got planned for those 60 minutes) do I really have to delve into the riveting details of my exciting grocery shoppin trip, I tried to conjure up something remotely interesting, but all I ended up with is a week af, "Not much, just taking it easy". Smooth. Real smooth.

Anyone figure out how i can to reach through the fabric of time, to smother my past self with a plastic carrier bag.

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

I think we should stop giving Lance family problems and instead give everyone else family problems and then drag him into all of them as universe's most unpaid and unqualified therapist. As god intended

[utilitycaster]

Talking as players outside the game is an incredibly important part of having good PC/PC D&D relationships, and obviously the characters involved in the relationship talking to each other in meaningful ways is crucial, but I think the importance of talking in-game in depth to other people is really underrated, in that it not only tells the other player what your character is feeling without having to reveal it in-game to them, but also serves to engage other characters in the story and deepen those platonic bonds to the point where they might even serve as confidants or wingmen. To give a bunch of examples and what they achieved:

Vax telling Gilmore he didn't want to string him along made it clear out of game that his feelings towards Keyleth were his priority, even though it happened where the other characters were not able to hear.

Similarly, Vex giving her blessing eventually after her initial resistance signaled to Liam that this would not be a major break between the twins.

Vax asking Vex what she intended to do about her feelings for Percy served not only as an opportunity for her to voice them to someone; it also serves as a big green light for Taliesin as Percy to kiss Vex later that episode (which he had already from Vex's resurrection ritual, but it underscores it).

Pike talking about Scanlan with Keyleth and Vex allows her to make it clear that she does ultimately like a lot of things about him despite sometimes being annoyed, and her talking to him through her earring while Scanlan is very much not there but Sam is at the table also serves as this kind of green light.

Jester asking Veth about kissing in relationship to Fjord lets Travis know where Jester is at and invests Veth in-game in the relationship.

Caleb asking Jester if she's "sweet on [Fjord]" lets her openly reassess her feelings after an intense arc and also indicates in-game that Caleb has noticed.

Beau waiting to hear the sound of thunder signals to Ashley (who was not at the table but who was presumably staying updated on events) that Beau has feelings for Yasha; it also allows those playing Yasha (often Matt for pure RP and Travis in combat) to return that flirting, since the baseline was already established.

Possibly the most obvious example, but Beau and Fjord's conversation on Rumblecusp not only clarifies to the whole table where everyone is (opening the door, for example, for the scenes in the beer garden a few episodes later of Caleb having Fjord and Jester dance together and Caduceus encouraging Yasha to pursue Beau) but very much serves as a green light to Ashley and Laura respectively. This is then mirrored by them talking after Beau has asked Yasha on a date and Fjord and Jester have kissed, and everyone involved can "debrief" with their partners not present in-game.

As mentioned, this is mostly about PC/PC relationships because PC/NPC is an inherently different dynamic mechanically though still should be a conversation, but Veth describing Yeza and Jester asking Caleb about his feelings about Essek both give Matt clues for playing these NPCs and how things might be received.

FRIDA mentioning their crush on FCG to Deanna means it's not a complete surprise to Sam, since it is a very sudden relationship, and lets him prepare and decide how FCG would feel in the moment, and also establishes how Deanna will feel about it.

Similarly in the C3 Uthodurn arc, Fearne going to Chetney about Deanna is an incredibly good move from Ashley (to the point that talking about this is what led me to write this whole post). It lets Travis play out where Chetney is. It lets Aabria therefore hear not only where Chetney is, but also know that Fearne is potentially interested. It establishes a ton of the dynamics for a relationship that out of game everyone knows will not have a full campaign to play out since one of the characters involved is a guest. And finally, it signals to Christian as FRIDA what the situation is in case Deanna confides in them.

[themaskedlady]

[pratchettquotes]

"I take it there is no Mr. Ogg?" he said, eventually.

"Oh, yes, there's a Mr. Ogg," said Nanny. "We buried him years ago. Well, we had to. He was dead."

Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies

[call-me-copycat]

Did I hear right? They animated my favorite manga panel?! (　･`ω･´)✨

This is great! This is amazing! I'm so happy right now!

[electric-plants]

yaoqing trio absolutely FLOUNDERING any time they need to have conversations with people outside of each other is my aesthetic btw

[royalarchivist]

Pac: I wish I had a really nice background story for my- why I'm here. But you know, Felps just crashed the ship and I'm stuck! Fit: You've got an interesting history though, Pac! I mean, look at you escaping that prison! Like, that was not easy for you to do. [...] You've told me lots of stories about yourself and Mike's adventures. You've got a very interesting backstory. Pac: Thank you Fit, thank you. I'm glad to hear that you think it's cool. Fit: I mean– the cannibalism part, that sucks, but it is– It's cool! It's cool.

People keep wondering when Pac's going to tell Fit how he lost his leg, but during their date last week, Fit implied that their characters already had this discussion! Although this could've been an OOC part of their conversation, they've referenced this specific part of Pac's lore in past streams (this is just the most explicit example we've had so far).

[ Full Subtitle Transcript ↓ ]

–

Pac: I wish I had a really nice- um, background story - background story for my- why I'm here. But you know, Felps just crashed the ship and I'm stuck!

Fit: [Chuckles] Well no- you've got an interesting history though, Pac! I mean, look at you escaping that prison! Like, that was not easy for you to do.

Pac: ...No, yeah, you're right.

Fit: You know, and you've been- you have- you've told me lots of stories about yourself and Mike's adventures, like– You've got a very interesting backstory.

Pac: Thank you Fit, thank you. I'm glad to hear that you think it's cool.

Fit: I mean, I mean– the cannibalism part, I mean, that sucks, yeah, but it is– It's cool! It's cool.

Pac: Yeah, right? Yeah- that's- that's not a good part, right? Yeah, I- ugh, yeah, it's a– [He takes a deep breath] Yeah. It's ok.

Fit: Y-yeah, yeah...

Pac: It's ok.

[frootbyethefoot]

hm. the fact that ford dreams about being famous and becoming this household name in the scientific community while also uh. not being very good at social interaction is soo fascinating to me. which further backs up my belief that it's not rlly about being famous, it's about the praise, it's about feeling like he's proven himself as "more than a freak" its about going "see! i am a productive member of society! i'm more than a freak and i'm more than my circumstances! i'm worth something!"

because let's be real here, i don't think ford "local recluse who was so isolated from the town he lived in that nobody noticed when his brother came in and took over his identity" pines would've even liked being famous very much! do you really think this guy would like being under a magnifying glass? i think he would just be really overwhelmed 24/7.

it makes me wonder how better world ford deals with it. he's still in contact with fiddleford in that dimension, does he leave a lot of the social stuff up to him? i mean, fiddleford managed to start a cult, so he could probably do it if he wanted too, but even then i don't think he'd be fully comfortable with it. is he a very private and isolated famous person? or does ford do it himself? how does he feel about it? i have a million questions about the better world dimension, it's so endlessly interesting to me. god what i would give to see what better world ford is up too.

[stupid-elf]

Growing up with strict, neurodivergent parents while neurodivergent yourself will have you as an adult acting like you've recently escaped the feywild. What are the tricky rules? Is everything accounted for? How do I ensure I don't accidentally step over the line into Impoliteness. You know the consequences aren't death and dismemberment but you might look down one day and find you've lost your shadow and all of your friends if you're not careful

[dykexenomorph]

smth about getting older that literally nobody warns u about is the fact tht people in your life will eventually cease to be a part of it, even if it's completely unintentional on both of ur behalfs. like what the fuck do u even MEAN i will see people who I used to be extremely close with enter my workplace and I will have to treat them like any other stranger/customer. what the hell do u even say when u both KNOW tht u recognize one another but are too unsure about it to actually point it out. "haha yeah man I can split ur payment between card and cash. remember how we used to talk and hang out almost everyday? haha here's ur receipt. yeah I still have the art u made for me in 8th grade hanging up on my wall, I never actually took it down haha. anyways here's ur stuff, have a nice day ha ha ha". ABSOLUTELY SICKENING!!!!

[cheecats]

Can I request Shadowsight for the designs? Or maybe Frecklewish if you'd rather?

I'm curious what either would look like in your style! (Which I adore btw it's SO good)

i know Shadowsight is described as small in the books, but I prefer to interpret him with the Tigerstar(tm) tallness with Dovewing's build, and that he tends to shrink down/lower his voice while talking to appear as meek/non-threatening as possible because his peers get nervous around him

[primal-con]

Here’s how Earthspark Jazzwave can still win!! Aka I haven’t been able to stop thinking about girl Jazz in ES since @fanficmaniatic’s post about her and now I’ve got brainrot for she/her bisexual Jazz and he/him lesbian Soundwave (is delusional) :’//

[skitskatdacat63]

I would commit murder to see the interview these pictures are from

[13eyond13]

underrated funny thing about lawlight is they never actually did get to confirm that 100% of the time they were basically thinking exactly what the other person thought they were thinking every single time