#but my overall experience has not been great

[wemlygust]

In my experience the best fiction does not follow up the first situation with an emotionally similar situation, even if it's escalated. At least not too many times in a row/for too long relative to the length of the story. That can end up feeling like the same situation stretched out way too far. You can only get away with that for so long before the reader just acclimates and gets used to it and none of the excitement feels as exciting anymore. Instead, my favorites alternate moods between scenes. Just had a super stressful chase scene? > Now we have a relaxing and/or funny scene to take some of that tension off. Just had a really emotionally fraught conversation scene? > Now for the shocking action scene, or the methodical investigative scene, perhaps. Just had a slow, leisurely, peaceful scene, where everything is great and the characters are happy? > Here comes the Cascade of Problems! Just had a cascade of problems? > Here is the safety, everything is good now! Oh wait, > here is the oh god my friend died during the cascade of problems scene, everyone is mourning now, tearjerking scene. Now that you've made everyone cry, it's time for > a really funny scene that makes the characters laugh even though it still hurts, or another action scene, or a thoughtful conversation scene, or maybe a romance scene. Next, maybe a good scare, then an action scene, maybe a couple more humorous moments mixed in, maybe some philosophical moments, whatever. Add another romance scene. Then bring the dead friend back to life (yay!) or don't and instead resolve that thread otherwise by having the characters come to terms in some sense with their death. But wait, betrayal from stage left! And so on. What emotion you switch to doesn't matter too much, as long as you move on to something, though not without abandoning the context of the previous scenes or the character development throughlines and suchlike. It doesn't have to be literally every other scene that the mood changes, and you don't have to include every possible mood, you can just pick a handful that contrast well; the point is just that the mood has to change and shouldn't just be the same the entire time, to keep things engaging instead of boring and one-note, imo. This is more true the longer the work is. A really short story can get away with being just 1 thing, but the longer a story gets, the more a one-note angst-fest or series of fight scenes or whatever gets exhausting instead of fun. This is why there are typewriter-rooms in Resident Evil games. The peaceful moments enable the horror in the other parts of the game, and there are similar peaceful spots in other horror media - even though and because horror is all about scaring and/or horrifying people. Like, the alien isn't right there chasing Ripley for the entirety of the movie Alien - the most intense scenes are spread out and interspersed with mystery and interpersonal drama and suchlike. Without the typewriter rooms, or an equivalent moment to breathe in other horror media, people either get overwhelmed and stop, or they acclimate and stop being scared. The peace and safety is needed in order to bring down the terror. Tl;dr: vary the type of situation. And sometimes the situation can be nice. Just keep changing it up. With faster or slower switches depending on how you want to do your pacing, and how long the story is overall. Also I actually think it's also fine to totally discard this type of writing advice and just, like, write slice-of-life feel-good fiction sometimes. Our culture shapes the kinds of stories we usually tell, and genre shapes that further, and it shapes writing advice like mine and that of the people above me in this reblog chain, because of what we have experience reading and what advice we have heard ourselves and so on, and it's okay to just throw all that out and do something else, too. Including whatever thing you've been told specifically not to do. Do that, if you want.

The point of fiction is actually to put that guy in a situation™️, and he might try to tell you the point is to then get him out of the situation, WRONG, second situation

[markrosewater]

I think you made a great point about Universes Beyond from a design standpoint and true in my experience playing the cards. I've played Hobbits vs Sauron regularly and had a blast. I have a Lara Croft Commander deck that is one of my favorites. Captain America looks both fun and flavorfully perfect. Throw and Catch is a perfect encapsulation of how he functions in comics.

But as a person satisfied by the design, I still can't help but feel uncomfortable. A lot of this is a premium product, limited in it's release and distributed in a way that makes players getting it difficult. Most people don't know Lara Croft exists and won't know the fun of bringing Legendary Artifacts and Lands back with her.

It also just feels like too many cards. A lot of people had already been complaining about too many set releases before Universes Beyond ramped up, and this is just adding to it. Too many sets and cards to keep up with. And it's expensive. Personally, if Magic went back down in set releases and had 1 universe beyond a year, it wouldn't feel like too much.

The design team is killing it with these cards. You have to read so much negativity that I do want to make clear I'm loving most of what is being designed. Even the cards in Universes not for me I can recognize cool mechanical and flavorful design. The parts that dissatisfy me are the parts you and the design team are not involved in. Too much and too expensive. Thank you for reading and keep up the good work.

One point that I think has been missed is that 2025 has less overall product releases than 2024. Here's what released in 2024:

Ravnica Remastered

Murders at Karlov Manor

Fallout

Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Modern Horizons III

Assassin's Creed

Bloomburrow

Duskmourn

Foundations

That's nine new product releases, eight with new card designs (Ravnica Remastered was all reprints), and eight that were booster releases (Fallout was just Commander decks).

Here's what we're releasing in 2025 (and this is it, we announced everything):

Innistrad Remastered

Aetherdrift

Tarkir Dragonstorm

Final Fantasy

Edge of Eternities

Spider-Man

Unannounced Universes Beyond product

Note: Foundations continues to be on sale, but with the same content it had in 2024

That's seven new product releases, six with new card designs (Innsitrad Remastered is all reprints), and seven that are booster releases.

That's two less new releases, two less new products with new content, and one less new booster release.

[anarachussy]

DAN AND PHIL TERRIBLE INFLUENCE TOUR REVIEW. NO MAJOR SPOILERS (but you have been warned)

General: Absolutely hilarious, even if you have no clue who they are. The humor is very well balanced between goofy and raunchy.

Technical elements were incredible. If you have epilepsy uhhh well.. The set was very fitting for the purposes of the show. They had an aesthetic in mind, and they killed it.

One of the biggest draws of the show is their dynamic. I have never seen two people build off each other on stage as well as they do. You can very clearly tell they are partners before performers, and the level of comfortableness they have with each other enhances the experience.

Another huge selling point of the show is its interactive nature. The audience is literally vital to the show, and that is an incredibly good feeling to have as a viewer. They make you feel special, because to them you are special. It’s very fitting to have that level of engagement as influencers, especially ones with such a dedicated fanbase.

The atmosphere is absolutely unreal.

Before the show I had lost excitement over seeing it, as I had no friends that really watched them, so I thought I’d be lonely. Every video advertising the show Dan and Phil said something along the lines of “meet new people!” “You can go alone and still have a great time!” “You could bring your mom!” I kinda brushed it off as them trying to encourage sales.

They are telling the truth.

I have never witnessed such a level of kindness, friendliness, acceptance, and overall joy in one room in my life. I sat down and immediately the entire row started introducing themselves. The people next to me commented along with me. I sighed a copy of YWGTTN and took pictures with other fans. (I was somehow in the TikTok where it’s like: I hope they “play hot to go!” And I was like “this is Dan and Phil”.)

The connection between fans is hands down the most important part of this show. If you are going to see the show and you are maybe a little self conscious, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, you will feel loved.

Individually:

Dan is a phenomenal performer. He has a MASSIVE presence on stage, even when he isn’t yapping. His movements, especially his dancing, are VERY clean, you know he knows what he’s doing. He is a master at crowd work. You can tell he loves it.

Phil’s it factor is his energy. He perfectly balances out Dan’s chaos, sometimes with his own chaos. He is effortlessly funny, and his comedic timing is impeccable. He is genuinely such a lovely person, and he radiates the level of positivity people need. Incredibly infectious. You can also tell he loves it.

Minor criticisms:

I personally would have liked the confession segment to last a little longer.

I feel like Act 2 could have had maybe one more segment, but hey man it was also 10:45 at night, Phil needs to get to bed.

That’s it. The show was great.

[nothorses]

hi, im a trans guy and ive noticed that transtape has made my skin stretch significantly in the center of my chest and the skin on my breasts near the center of my chest is much looser than any other skin. is this normal ? will it go away ? and most importantly, will it affect top surgery ? im fairly new to taping.

I experienced some of that after I had been taping regularly for a while. I taped for like 2 years before I got top surgery, and the skin looseness there wasn't a concern to my surgeon at all.

I will say my results were not ideal, imo. I'm looking to get a revision at some point due to some fluid that built up in one side that still hasn't completely re-absorbed after nearly three years post-op, plus a couple of other shape-related things I'm just not entirely happy with.

My surgeon was great in general, but maybe not the best technically; I know at least one other person who went to him ended up getting a revision as well (even though they really liked him overall too, lol). So I chalk a lot of it up to him maybe just not being the most experienced with top surgery. Plus I opted for fishmouth- which I don't regret (it preserves the nipple stem/doesn't require nipple grafts at all, which I cannot recommend highly enough), but which also doesn't lend itself as well to the pec shape we were going for as it does to like, general flatness. so 🤷‍♂️

I've wondered if the skin looseness from taping contributed at all, but I do remember asking him about it in consults, and he didn't think it was an issue. It's also definitely gone back to how it was before tape since then, and I think that + other stuff that's healed over time has left me a little happier with how I look now than I was maybe one year post-op.

Everyone's different, and I think more data is important for sure- don't just take my word for it. But that's been my experience!

[oceanwithouthermoon]

ok thinking abt this again, a lot of the popular and more experienced blogs on here are really fond of vague posting and bullying smaller blogs "subtly" so thats probably a big part of where it comes from, its mainly what made ME think it was okay to vague post about people on here which is so embarrassing to look back on ☠️☠️☠️

i used to try really hard to like rationalize things online and figure out exactly what people meant and who anons were, but the amount of times people have tried to do that and made up a really elaborate literally evil plot about ME that didnt happen made me be like... yeah im not doing that anymore

[carcarrot]

its important to go see a low stakes concert sometimes

[alex-just-vibing]

i need him in a way that is concerning to feminism

[rozaceous]

ok so like, fanowrimo 2023 reflection thus far, since we're actually p close to the halfway mark which is already a terrifying concept.

total word count, i'm at 9.6k (abt 400 words under target for today but i'm probably not done), so yay! but holy schmokes have i not been consistent in output in the last week lmao. via nanowrimo's stats page, which is honestly excellent:

(nov 5th and 9th were rest days, and even tho on the 5th it says 0, i did still outline. ofc some of what i've written i've since scrapped--tho i've p much made up the difference while editing--and i've also done abt 600 words of not-tcba writing bc my brain needed a break.)

building habits is so hard...

and that's really what it is? historically speaking, i'm not a very consistent writer, i'm more motivated by whimsy. having a structured approach where i wake up in the morning and write for an hour has been good for me, but it's also really challenging bc i am a creature of indolence. normally i take ages to think about what's coming up next, and when i write i have the internal editor in my brain constantly giving me feedback on word choice and word frequency, on consonance and where to break the sentence with punctuation or how to re-word it so that the tone is right and making sure that i mention x and do the lead-in for y. at the same time, when i take a lot of time to percolate is usually when i'm able to do 1-2k in one go and it doesn't need any editing after except for typos. (measure twice, write once...)

so breaking it into writing only, and editing separately has been great, but it's still kind of a struggle bc it's still energy expenditure, just in a different form. but i think the other part of why i've always taken so long to write is that i don't have a job where i can just daydream abt my stories, or sneakily write. i have my commute and my lunch, but sometimes i want to think abt literally anything else. in general, i have obligations that take up enough of my mental bandwidth that it can be really hard to also be creative, esp when i have v strong meta-cognition going when i do write.

idk thus far w this project i've really been trying to give myself a lot of grace, and mostly succeeding. but yeah, if mariko is my wish-fulfillment in any sense it's that she has the energy to enact her stubbornness into discipline way more consistently than i do.

[tunapesto]

picking a course makes me want to cry and throw up so bad

[orcelito]

of all things, seeing goro and sumi interact makes me wanna work on the next ladue chapter more than anything else the past like 2 weeks

Wild

[goodmorning-hello]

Okay no yeah had a very Weird time with the gender wizard today and i think i gotta get it off my chest

So first time meeting the endocrinologist, to discuss the intersection of PCOS diagnosis and possibly going on T, yeah? And the whole time i felt like i was talking to a wall, so. zero points on bedside manner. But that got me sort of on my heels and wondering if I'm just not articulating myself well enough to be understood right, or if she's not really listening, or what.

And like. She was asking a LOT of questions about my depression levels and specifically asked about thoughts of self harm / si, and like. Yeah?? I've been at that rodeo for AGES, that's not your business??? That's for unpacking with my therapist; i didnt come in prepped to air out that laundry today. Let's get to the topic at hand, no?

And she was asking about my social history and who I'm out to, which like. Yeah okay, i guess that's a sort of fair question, but also i sort of fail to see how it matters? 1) You don't know my family dynamic, you don't know whether being out to my family means DICK ALL. 2) If my friends peace out bc i tell them I'm a boygirl, then I'll be well rid of them and i will find new friends. 3) It's not my boss's business AT ALL whether I'm a lady or not on any given day, as long as i show up and do my job they shouldn't, and don't, give a shit.

And she kept iterating that going on T will cause some permanent changes, which. Yes, that's the idea. Why are you telling me this. I want those changes. That's what I'm asking for.

And ultimately she decided that she wouldn't advise it "based on my social situation"

Bitch i am a grown ass man??? I KNOW my social situation, and I'm capable of navigating the changes that this would entail. I understand that this is going to cause some permanent changes, that's why im here. I have thought about this. I wouldnt be here if this was a fleeting fancy. Do you know how long i waited for this appointment.

And now that I've been percolating on it I'm belatedly realizing that actually yeah, i am kinda mad. Not even bc i didn't get what i want, but just at like. What the HELL was going on in that appointment? Does she think i don't know my own situation and mind, and don't understand what I'm asking for????

And i was just so mentally wrung out from the day I'd already been having before she even walked in that i just sort of accepted it, like. Yeah sure, whatever lady. I'll call back in a month or two so we can have this exact same conversation again on a day when I'm ready to fight you for it, let me out of here so i can go eat something today.

[sevenmothz]

time to shit on bg3!

this game does not autosave nearly as much as it should. hard to believe nobody at larian thought having a game this big might need more autosave triggers than just major story beats. i legit just spent half an hour rearranging my radials and accidentally triggered a spell and killed a pile of NPCs and had to load a save from AN HOUR PREVIOUS because this game doesn’t even have a timed autosave function. 💀 i don’t even want to think what a nightmare having the game crash or the power go out suddenly when you’re deep in playing and forgot to make some quicksaves. you ain’t a souls game bg3, so get with the picture!

bg3 also fails spectacularly at pushing you to visit camp, meaning you miss out on a ton of conversations and even quest triggers. i’m playing a tav that can talk her way out of fights more often than not, so i end up not needing to long rest as often. that ends up fucking up any engagement with companions and they can easily end up feeling like they’re just background noise rather than actual characters with their own stories.

swapping party members is needlessly tedious. i gotta run all over camp to tell companions to fuck off (with an added “are you sure” dialogue) and then run back to the other side of camp to tell another companion to get off their ass and come with me. as if rearranging inventories before heading out wasn’t enough of a pain in the ass by itself.

like too many games made these days, bg3 spends no time actually teaching you how to play in any way that actually sticks that is also engaging and fun. i got 10+ hours into this game only to restart start from scratch because it took that long to actually figure out the mechanics and rules of playing on my own. most of the shit i’ve learned about this game was through putting my controller down and grabbing my phone to google shit.

when i pause the game via the game menu, everything should pause when i’m not playing online.

i’m sure there’s more, but that’s the shit that’s been bugging me out the most, game mechanic-wise. for a game that came out this year, some of these issues are uh…embarrassing.

[dontforgetukraine]

Ukraine Donation Guide Master Post

(Ver. 2 updated Aug 13th, 2024) I will be reformatting this and adding more in the future when I have time.

Also a quick note, all of the groups I have found through twitter have been around long enough for them to be vetted by each other and the brigades they work with. In fact, a lot of these groups collaborate with each other too. Those that are in the fight for Ukraine have been diligent in calling out those that are grifters. Word spreads around quickly if an organization doesn't show up with what they promised. They also use their social media (often Twitter) as a means of transparency for their work.

Remember: When considering on whether to donate, always use your best judgement and donate to those you trust if you do not see what is listed is up to your standards.

Multi-Purpose

United 24 has various fundraisers dedicated to defense and drones, medical aid, rebuilding Ukraine, humanitarian demining, and science and education. You can pick which one you want to contribute to under their various projects.

Liberty Ukraine uses funds for humanitarian aid, medical supplies, protective gear and equipment, and rehabilitation therapy. You can choose which campaign of theirs to donate to.

Come Back Alive is a charitable foundation that supports Ukraine's military with competent assistance while also focusing on security and defense. They also have projects that use sports to help veterans rehabilitate. You can choose which campaign to donate to.

Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation works to help both civilians and Ukraine's army. You can choose to donate to an active project or any of their general campaigns. Civilian aid campaigns cover temporary housing, supporting crisis and emergency responses, schools, demining, and healthcare. Military aid campaigns cover drones, optics units, communications equipment, and support of air defense teams.

Food Aid

World Central Kitchen works with local partners wherever they are providing food aid. They make sure meals and meal kits are what the local population eats. Even though there is no separate fundraising campaign for Ukraine (that I can see), they still do great work.

Animal Rescue

Hachiko Foundation works to help displaced pets and strays in frontline areas. They help with veterinary care, outdoor shelters, setting up feeding stations, and rehoming animals.

Medical Aid

Hospitallers (Website) is a volunteer organization of paramedics that was founded in 2014. They evacuate the wounded, provide medical aid on the frontlines, assist in rehabilitation, and transfer of the deceased to burial sites. They are also supported by Ukraine Charity. Visit Hospitallers' website to see how many they have evacuated, different methods you can donate, and more information about them.

Other

Saint Javelin (Twitter; Website) is a great place to get apparel, gear, and other cool loot to show your support for Ukraine. They don't take donations, but instead raise funds through their shop with a portion of their sales going towards humanitarian aid and critical items needed by the defenders (generators, pick-up trucks, medical supplies etc). Part of their shop has items made in Ukraine to support Ukrainian businesses. Overall, their products are high-quality. I include them due to their impactful presence in the Twitter community I follow and how they make Ukraine visible in an alternative way. Consider buying someone a gift from their shop.

The Kyiv Independent (Twitter; Website) is a great English language resource for news about Ukraine. I include them because I think supporting good journalism is incredibly important, especially now when the information space is fraught with Russian propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation. My followers have probably noticed I've pulled a lot of quotes from their stories in an effort to amplify Ukrainian voices and experiences. Look on their website for more information on different way to support them, such as their Patreon.

---

If you're on twitter, there are a number of groups and people that fundraise for Ukraine and for specific units fighting on the frontlines. If there is no official website, a PayPal for donations is listed in their profiles. When considering on whether to donate, always use your best judgement and donate to those you trust if you do not see what is listed is up to your standards.

@/Teoyaomiquu almost always has a fundraiser for Liberty Ukraine with a specified purpose. At the time of writing this, he is currently raising funds for engineering equipment such as excavators. One such excavator is already in Kursk. Follow him to stay up to date with what he's fundraising for.

Dyga's Paw (Twitter: @/dzygaspaw) is a smaller group that has recently raised funds for starlinks, drones, batteries, and Ecoflow generators. You can look at the fundraising campaigns they currently have on their website.

@/DefactoHumanity represents and founded Planet of the People with their website U(a)nited for Freedom. She frequently posts updates about their fundraisers and what their partners need. They are known for providing Frontline medical aid supplies, protective equipment and other military aid, technical equipment (starlinks, drones, scopes, etc), and infrastructure equipment (generators, vehicles, power stations, etc). They even have a merch store of the battalions they partner with if that's your jam. Here is their link tree if you wish to explore more. And in case you're curious, there is an article bout the founder here.

@/wilendhornets (Website) specialize in making high quality drones that have gotten a lot of praise from Ukraine's army. They have attracted a lot of media attention too. Check out their website for the list of articles that have been written about them. Their Twitter is very active with strike footage.

Ants Kitchen Hub (@/ants_kyiv) is a volunteer kitchen that makes dry rations for the Ukrainian army. They are more active on their other social media. To learn more about them, check out their link tree.

@/frontlinekit (Front Line Kitchen) is represented by Richard Woodruff. Originally they made shelf stable food for the Ukrainian army, but now their fundraising has branched out to other campaigns such as raising funds for medical supplies and drones. They are a well known group that many battalions have come to for help.

@/bekamaciorowski (Rebekah Maciorowski) is as combat medic and nurse who helps provide medical care to soldiers and civillians at the frontlines. She raises funds for medical supplies and other equipment, but also helps train soldiers in first aid. More of her social media that features her work can be found in her link tree.

@/UkraineAidOps (Website) is another organization battalions frequently go to for help. They fundraise for all sorts of equipment from medical supplies to drones. If you're interested, they also have a shop with patches from different brigades and flags signed by soldiers. Their shop also includes a separate section called the Victory Gallery where artifacts from the war are turned into art. This includes shells that are painted on, scrap metal from downed enemy planes are turned into keychains, and pieces of a rocket are turned into lamps.

Chris Garrett is the co-founder of Prevail. His organization deals with humanitarian demining as well as training for trauma care, training of bomb disposal, and education to the public. Prevail works with local agencies in Ukraine as well as the army.

Project Konstantin (Twitter; Website; Linktree) is still going strong after the death of their founder, British paramedic Peter Fouché. His digital ghost can be found here. They collaborate with the military, thus giving them an insight into what is dearly needed. They often raise funds for starlinks, personalized first aid kits (IFAKs), generators, portable power stations, and other nonlethal military equipment. I regret forgetting them the first time this post went around. Visit their website to see everything they have done and more. It has more information on what and how they do it than this post can cover.

One Team One Fight (Twitter; Website; Linktree) has some of the original members that worked for Ukraine Aid Ops. They formed their own group after differences with the previous one, and are still helping Ukraine. They are very visible on various social media showing what they have accomplished in their deliveries to various brigades. They're another group that seeks to bring starlinks, drones, medical supplies and protective gear to the battalions that come to them for help. Check out their website for more information on their current fundraisers, their achievements, and received recognition.

NAFO 69th Sniffing Brigade (Twitter; Website) Another small group that focuses their funds on delivering drones, generators, vehicles, and saving the occasional furry companion. They are very diligent in their updates for their fundraising campaigns. Check out their website for more information and the articles written about them.

Postmaster General Boomer (Twitter; Website) focuses on humanitarian aid, animal aid, and logistics. Boomer is the beloved pet of one of the founders and the secret boss/mascot. They have many transparency reports and are diligent in reporting the various "tours" they do in getting supplies where they are needed to go. They are based in Germany but have built up many connections during their existence. They have also worked closely with Ukraine Aid Ops.

--

I am sure I have forgotten some, so please reply or comment with any more I should add to this master post. I will edit and update as I see and evaluate more.

Last updated: Aug. 13th, 2024

Version updates listed below

August 13th, 2024 Added:

Hospitallers

Saint Javelin

The Kyiv Independent

Project Konstantin

1 Team 1 Fight

NAFO 69th Sniffing Brigade

Post Master General Boomer

[lirotation]

This is my post-game Astarion, sporting the cloak of Dragomir. How he acquired it remains a mystery - perhaps they killed Hexxat for it, stole it from her, or even charmed it away. The cloak has become a recurring element in my fanart.

He is holding my Amaara's headpiece.

PS. I've been creating Astarion fanart and comics for quite some time, driven purely by my love for the character. While many who shared my frustrations with Astarion's story arc have moved on long ago, I remain captivated by his charm. As an art hobbyist juggling a busy life, I've been somewhat disconnected from fandom discussions, only recently becoming aware of various Astarion-related discourses.

I just want to say:

I'm incredibly grateful that everyone who has commented on my work has been respectful. The words of love and encouragement I've received mean a great deal to me, motivating me to continue and improve.

The most "negative" response I've gotten was probably a "Fuck you OP" tag on my "When You Are Old" comic - which I might deserve, haha!

Some of my favorite reactions have been from people writing thoughtful essays in their reblog tags, sharing their personal insights and experiences. I absolutely love reading those! Even more heartening are the tags along the lines of "I'm not even in this fandom but…" or "I don't even know these characters, but…" These unexpected tags are truly incredible and fill me with optimism

I've made friends here and come to recognize many familiar names. Overall, being in this small corner of the fandom has been a wonderful experience!

Thank you all!

[sprintingowl]

Deadball

Deadball Second Edition is a platinum bestseller on DrivethruRPG. This means it's in the top 2% of all products on the site. Its back cover has an endorsement from Sports Illustrated Kids.

It's also not an rpg I'd heard about until I discovered all of these facts one after another.

I was raised in a profoundly anti-sports household. My father would say stuff like "sports is for people who can't think" and "there's no point in exercising, everything in your body goes away eventually." So I didn't learn really any of the rules of the more popular American sports until I was in my mid twenties, and I've been to two ballgames in my life. I appreciate the enthusiasm that people have for sports, but it's in the same way that I appreciate anyone talking about their specific fandom.

One of the things that struck me reading Deadball was its sense of reverence for the sport. Its language isn't flowery. It's plain and technical and smart. But its love for baseball radiates off of the pages. Not like a blind adoration. But like when a dog sits with you on the porch.

For folks familiar with indie rpgs, there's a tone throughout the book that feels OSR. Deadball doesn't claim to be a precise simulation or a baseball wargame or anything like that---instead it lays out a bunch of rules and then encourages you to treat them like a recipe, adjusting to your taste. And it does this *while* being a detailed simulation that skirts the line of wargaming, which is an extremely OSR thing to do.

For folks not familiar with baseball, Deadball starts off assuming you know nothing and it explains the core rules of the sport before trying to pin dice and mechanics onto anything. It also explains baseball notation (which I was not able to decipher) and it uses this notation to track a play-by-play report of each game. Following this is an example of play and---in a move I think more rpgs should steal from---it has you play out a few rounds of this example of play. Again, this is all before it's really had a section explaining its rules.

In terms of characters and stats, Deadball is a detailed game. You can play modern or early 1900s baseball, and players can be of any gender on the same team, so there's a sort of alt history flavor to the whole experience, but there's also an intricate dice roll for every at bat and a full list of complex baseball feats that any character can have alongside their normal baseball stats. Plus there's a full table for oddities (things not normally covered by the rules of baseball, such as a raccoon straying onto the field and attacking a pitcher,) and a whole fatigue system for pitchers that contributes a strong sense of momentum to the game.

Deadball is also as much about franchises as it is about individual games, and you can also scout players, trade players, track injuries, track aging, appoint managers of different temperaments, rest pitchers in between games, etc.

For fans of specific athletes, Deadball includes rules for creating players, for playing in different eras, for adapting historical greats into one massively achronological superteam, and for playing through two different campaigns---one in a 2020s that wasn't and one in the 1910s.

There's also thankfully a simplified single roll you can use to abstract an entire game, allowing you to speed through seasons and potentially take a franchise far into the future. Finances and concession sales and things like that aren't tracked, but Deadball has already had a few expansions and a second edition, so this might be its next frontier.

Overall, my takeaway from Deadball is that it's a heck of a game. It's a remarkably detailed single or multiplayer simulation that I think might work really well for play-by-post (you could get a few friends to form a league and have a whole discord about it,) and it could certainly be used to generate some Blaseball if you start tweaking the rules as you play and never stop.

It's also an interesting read from a purely rpg design perspective. Deadball recognizes that its rules have the potential to be a little overbearing and so it puts in lots of little checks against that. It also keeps its more complex systems from sprawling out of control by trying to pack as much information as possible into a single dice roll.

For someone like me who has zero background in baseball, I don't think I'd properly play Deadball unless I had a bunch of friends who were into it and I could ride along with that enthusiasm. However as a designer I like the book a lot, and I'm putting it on my shelf of rpgs that have been formative for me, alongside Into The Odd, Monsterhearts, Mausritter, and Transit.

[maknaereality]

I shifted

I shifted to my nana dr for about six months (even though only six seconds have passed here, since I set the time so that one month in the dr equals one second in this reality). I'm still a little confused from coming back, but overall, I feel good.

This dr isn’t my main one but could become my main one. Before I share some details, I want to clarify that this DR doesn't follow the anime’s storyline. For example, that asshole Takumi will never meet Hachi. I'll try to keep it brief, as I don't like talking too much about my dr after all, it is real life .

I live about 15 minutes away from Hachi and Nana’s apartment, in a suburb of Tokyo. I work at a bakery and also do art. Living in Tokyo between 1998 and 1999 is a mix of nostalgia and surreal. It's hard to describe precisely. I’ve also learned to live without modern smartphones, using those old brick phones with buttons instead. This has taught me to live more in the moment, without the constant need to check social media or waste hours scrolling through TikTok, aimlessly losing time.

In this dr, I’m learning to be more independent. Thanks also to my experiences in my Kpop drs, I've learned to manage an apartment on my own here: I do the laundry, cook, manage my budget, pay bills, and work in the bakery. Oh, and I'm also studying to get my driver's license.

I’ve also started learning to play the guitar, especially thanks to Nana. Playing has always been a huge dream of mine, but I never had the chance to do it in this reality. Once, I even got emotional with joy while holding the guitar in my hands, because it’s something I’ve always loved doing.

My relationship with Hachi and Nana is really great.

Hachi is very close to me; she often texts to ask how I’m doing, how work is going, and invites me to hang out on weekends or go to the pub together. I love going out with her because she’s unashamed of anything or anyone, and with her, I never feel judged. She also has a great sense of style. Even though colorful clothes aren’t really my thing, she’s helped me find a style that suits me. I must admit, though, that she requires a lot of patience since she’s a bit naive.

As for Nana Osaki, I really love her a lot. She’s given me so much advice on some of my personal concerns, and she’s the kind of person who could listen to you for hours. She shows her affection through sarcastic jokes. We share the same taste in music. It took a little while for her to fully trust me and start confiding in me, but I understand her, and our bond has grown over time.

I’m still getting to know Shin and Nobu. Shin is very reserved, but I feel like we’ll become great friends. Nobu, on the other hand, has already opened up, and we’ve quickly become close.

Next time I shift, I’ll come back with a suitcase full of Vivienne Westwood clothes, necklaces, and rings!