#dcc youre hilarious

[charlies-current-obsession]

kind of random but I like hearing your opinions so: if you could assemble a dream les mis cast what would it look like??

Oh gods!! Oh gods. This is gonna be hard. Ohkay. 

Valjean- Colm Wilkinson. No doubt.

Javert: I literally can’t pick between Phil and Terry I’ve mentally written essays about both of them and anytime I think Phil is superior I am violently reminded that I’m in love with Terry. His rum tum tugger crosses my mind and I temporarily black out so that’s that 

Bishop Myriel: Earl Carpenter. He’s the only bishop I’ve paid attention to (other than Claude Dauphin, who is the best bishop but not from the musical so he doesn’t count)

Fantine: Lea Salonga. I loved her as Éponine, agh I also love Ruthie Henshall, but it’s gotta be Lea

Factory foreman: Michael Jibson (2012 movie) because he’s got the required  rat vibes

Bamatabois: Martin Smith (csr) who I’m including because I think he’s cool and there’s one picture where he looks like Chuck Panozzo, who has nothing to do with Les Mis but I Find All Sorts Of Connections

Young Cosette: Hannah Chick (dcc). I don’t even have an explanation, she’s just amazing 

Thenardiers: okay. Jenny Butt is certainly Mme. I love her voice. I compare everything’s to my perception of their brick counterpart, and she fits it well. Her voice isn’t too harsh, she sounds like a mother (and we know she was a mother to her daughters). As for M. If I’m going for creepy Thenard then Alun Armstrong. He’s so great. Al’s dog eats dog is such a bop. But if I’m going for comic relief then it’s gotta be Matt Lucas because he’s hilarious with the little quips between lines

Gavroche: Ross McCall. He’s got the energy!!

Marius: MIKEY BALL!! He’s just perfect. His voice is strong, yet he’s still got the “I’m too in love to care” vibe. Also I’m biased for reasons but he’s THE Javert for One Day More. But Mike is much too good at Empty Chairs. I always have to skip that song or else I end up sobbing and we can’t have that, can we?

Eponine: Frances Ruffelle because I’m in love with Ponine, especially Frances. Her voice is perfect. Like I said, I compare them to their brick counterpart and tho she doesn’t fit the physical description (none do) her stage personality fits it wonderfully

Cosette: Judy Kuhn. All the Cosettes I’ve seen are pretty but oh gods Judy is Beauty Incarnate and I can’t function to think 

Enjolras: MAGGIE ALL THE WAY WE LOVE GASTONJOLRAS IN THIS HOUSE!! Okay but seriously? He’s powerful. I can’t see him in love. Which in turn plays perfectly with-

Grantaire: George Blagden. Why? I can see him in love. I think they’re the perfect brick personification of ExR but that’s for a different essay. Also honorary mention of Raymond Walsh. I’m just a slut for an Irish voice

The Amis: I’m lumping them all together into the obc. They seem to have the chemistry between them and they all sound good of course. Plus the Courfeyrac sounds like Terry, I live for him

Patron-Minette: I’m also lumping them together into tsc solely because the brujon sounds so scary

National guardsman: for the life of me I cannot find his name but the one from tsc. I’ve talked about him before but I’ll gladly do it again. Nearly all the others have hardly any emotion. But him! He sounds stressed that he’s got to kill these kids! And then he’s angry in the final battle!! These kids are more talented than he thought!! But he’s still sad for them!! And he’s got so much emotion!! “Why throw your LIVES AWay?!” He knows they’re gonna die and it breaks my heart

[cosplayinamerica]

ARTIST ALLEY: Jamie Kaye

EJEN: Tell us how you got started in artist alley, what was your first one and what was that experience like?

JAMIE: The first con I did artist alley was at a con in The Woodlands, TX in 2008. I was 18 and fresh out of high school. I hadn't a single clue about how any of this stuff worked. My setup was pretty hilarious. On the front of my table I had a hand drawn sign made out of poster board that was like a school project.

My merch was a few low quality home made prints because I had a heck of a time trying to figure out printing formats. One of my prints was a Rayman Raving Rabbid if that tells you anything about the time.

Anime conventions were so different back then and a lot more accessible for amateurs to find their way. The standards and expectations weren’t nearly as high.

EJEN: After that first alley, we were you encouraged or discouraged from doing another? I know sometimes  a bad experience might sour going back and how did you learn to manage your table - experience, YouTube videos, all of the above?

JAMIE: Oh I was in no way discouraged! I had a great time and had low expectations. There were next to zero resources and didn’t have more experienced friends back then so it was so much trial and error in terms of getting stuff printed. I tried to pass on my knowledge as much as I could. Nobody knew how to get stuff made through manufacturers either so there weren’t merch trends like there are now. You just mostly had people selling books and stickers. Maybe keychains. 

EJEN: Was there a point that you went “yeah, this could work” and you made the jump to travelling out of state for artist alley?

JAMIE: Denver Comic Con! It was the first out of state convention I tried since it was still somewhat driveable even though it was still a 15 hour drive. I went a couple years in a row and the attendees were super positive and welcoming. The community was great.

EJEN: Did you share a table? How did you decide on DCC?

JAMIE: I didn’t, actually. My friend lived there for a while and recommended it. I mostly went so I could drive and not have to invest in flying. Wanted to keep costs as low as possible. 

EJEN: After all the time you spent in artist alley, what’s the most important factor that an artist must understand to do decently in sales?

JAMIE: Being patient! It’s not likely profits will happen in your first get go and it will take some time to figure out what works best. Start small and don't heavily invest in merch right away. Feel things out.

Don't be afraid to make merch of niche things you like. It may not make a ton of money but that one thing you sincerely like might more deeply connect with a customer. Those are the folks that’ll remember you and come back!

Along the lines of be patient, don’t sweat it when you have a con with bad sales. It happens for so many reasons. It’s not a good idea to fuss over “a bad table location” or “there weren’t enough attendees.” It’s most likely out of your control and will happen.

EJEN: How do you describe your style and how has it changed if any over the years you’ve done art? What were some of your earlier influences?

JAMIE: My style pulls inspiration from animation, manga, and western comics. Expressing energy, emotions, and passion are insanely important to my art.  My earliest influences were video game art. When I was a kid I would get a hold of any strategy guide I could just so I could see the art. I still have my Final Fantasy 9 strategy guide from when I was a child that’s just about torn to shreds from looking at it so much. I would say the strongest early influence on my art is the Ace Attorney series. 

EJEN:  Were your folks supportive of your endevours or were they more urging you to pick a more stable path?

JAMIE: My family was pretty supportive of doing whatever I wanted. My older brother and sister drew, but I was the only one that pursued it seriously.

EJEN: Describe to me a typical day in the Alley!

JAMIE: A day at a con is a thrilling but exhausting adventure where you get to interact with so many people. It’s always exciting to meet people that share the same interests as you and provide them with art of the thing they love. The community of artists is amazing too and feels like family. You can get so caught up in it all that it’s easy to forget to eat until you’re hangry. Don’t forget to eat!

EJEN: Besides doing the Alley, you are also the concept artist for a third person exploration game called Line. Tell us what does that entail!

JAMIE: LINE is a beautiful indie game made by my pal Dave Gibson, myself, and a super awesome crew of friends. It’s a relaxing exploration game about a little girl and her robot. Doing concept art for a game was always a dream of mine, so seeing my art come to life in 3D is pretty crazy. 

EJEN: And on top of all you do, you are a personal trainer/coach as well! Tell us about it!

JAMIE: Physical wellness and training is always something that was important to me and increasingly became at the center of my life. It goes hand in hand so well in art. Art can be so subjective and wild, but working on your body you see numbers improve. You become stronger, faster, feel better, and nobody can take that away including yourself. I love helping people feel that experience and thrill. It’s also insanely important for your mental and physical well being! Soon I will be starting virtual workout courses for artists! I’m super stoked for it.

EJEN: Oh, that’s a great idea! Workout for artists, inspiration for the creative and physical! Can you tell us more?

JAMIE: As an artist, maintaining physical health is as important as ever. These workouts include stretches, cardio, and strength activities targeting artists’ needs. I want to make them fun to do, while targeting specific areas that will help artists. For example, doing a yoga sequence of updog and child pose can do wonders for your back.

EJEN: Thank you for taking time to jot down your thoughts!

https://missjamiekaye.com/

[lady-olive-oil]

So Into You: Prologue

Note: AHHHHHHH it’s here! It’s finally here! The prologue for my first ever Chris Evans x Poc OC series! If you’d like to added to the Tag Squad, let me know. Without further ado, let’s take a journey through the friendship of Chris and Roxie and let’s see where it takes them.

Warnings: Slight spoiler for Endgame (If you haven’t seen it, then oops)

Word Count: 2.3k [this is only the beginning]

Choxie Squad: @themyscxiras || @honeychicana || @maddiestundentwritergaines @crushed-pink-petals || @dc41896 || @swirlevans || @areubeingserved || @stillevansbae

_____________

“Roxanne Alexander!” A voice called from the back of me.

“Yes?” Going over my notes for the interview with Jimmy Fallon, in my hands, I was nervous. Normally wasn’t nervous for my interviews, but that one meant big moments to come.

“You’re I’m in 15.” The producer, Katie Hockmeyer, smiled gingerly in my direction.

With a gentle nod, I practiced my breathing. Being an actress has always been a dream of mine. Only been in the game for a few years, 10 tops, I had a lot riding on these interviews.

I was recently in Avengers Infinity War and Endgame, as a fellow Dora Milaje. It was a fun job to have and soon, I’m gonna be in a new film which I can’t wait to start filming.

Hearing the theme song go off, I closed my eyes and let my feet do the walking as I got into position. This was going to be the interview of all interviews. To shoot my career even further, and make me a better actor.

Hearing my name being called by Jimmy, I got up on the stairs and walked on to the stage. The crowd was alive and well, to welcoming and warming. I felt at home.

“Roxanne Alexander. It is such a pleasure to finally have you on my show.”

“Jimmy, the feeling is mutual. Out of all the interviews I’ve had, or will have, I’m sure this one will be my favorite.”

The audience was eating this up so much. The conversation kept going; the energy was live and the vibes were right. Talking about my family; my pets, my friends, I’ve kept along the way and so much more.

Jimmy‘s smile lit up. “Ok! So I know everyone is dying to know about your endeavors. How did you get to where you are now? How did you career start?”

“It all started when I graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, class of ‘99. Boston gal born and raised. I did a few plays in school, I didn’t go to college until I was 21. Had what most would call a “Grace period” and went to Howard.”

“Howard? Nice! I know a few grey actors that went there.” He nodded in my direction to continue.

Explaining my journey always made me tear up a bit. I went through so much with trying to find myself; prove myself and just go on this journey of self discovery.

“After I graduated college in 2007, I went on another few years off; seven to be exact. I had my bachelors degree in theatre arts and a minor in business management.”

“Booked and busy. You go girl.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at Jimmy’s remake and high fived him.

I shrugged with a smile. “Have to be. I started a business venture called Cairo and The Nile, which is a skin and hair care line for natural hair. I’ve done a few movies, and a series, back when I graduated from Howard. I was also a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader for 2 years, from 2014 to 2016. That’s when I went back to school for business in Dallas.”

“I went to school while a dancer, with an acting background. Within the last five years I’ve done a few movies as well, which I know you’ve all seen.”

“Of course! Just to name a few Gods of Egypt, Pacific Rim 2: Uprising, Venom, Black Panther, Avengers Infinity War as a Dora Milaje and Avengers Endgame.  Along with some before those: Color Me Crazy, Meet at Midnight, The Get Down, Cards on Deck and Dear White People.” He nodded with a smile, while the audience cheered with enthusiasm.

“So, inquiring minds want to know: how did you get to be apart of Marvel first 10 years? And what can you tell us about Endgame?”

Smiling from ear to ear, I sighed happily. “Well like any other actor I sent in my audition tape and it went very well from there. But yet, I got a little push from a good friend of mine who just so happens to be in the films as well. So it worked out for us both.”

“As for Endgame, all of us don’t know. We all don’t rehearse together. All we do is come in; read what they give us, do the scenes and go home. With breaks in between. Because Holland and Ruffalo can’t keep their mouths shut. So the Dora Milaje and I including Okoye, I love you Danai! Know nothing.” With a gut busting chuckle, I felt tears spilling over my eyes.

“Dang, well I tried.” With a shrug, we both laughed.

“Good friend you say? Who is this good friend?” Jimmy leaned in close over his desk, arching a brow.

“Well he’s been my best friend since we were kids. We met at age 4; our mothers are best friends from college. The bond between our families is tighter than ever and just full of love.”

He tapped his chin in curiosity “Tight bond; Boston kids, mothers are still college best friends?”

“Mhm. Tight like glue on a lace front, as I’d put it and I’d get a weird expression from him.” Laughing a bit at the memory in my head. The audience seemed to like it too, so I got more comfortable.

“I got nothing. You gotta give us some clues or just tell us. We’re dying to know.”

“Now jimmy, where’s the fun in telling you? But I do have a little story to the day I became a DCC.” Smirking a little, I winked at the camera.

He pretended to be hurt, with a gasp “Ouch, Roxanne. I am hurt.”

“Do you wanna know how upset my best friend was when I told him, I was a DCC? I’m sure you’ll guess who he is. It leads up to us both starring, in an up an upcoming film, called Married at First Sight. Y’all should go see it.” Shameless plug.

“I’ll give it a shot, I have so many people in mind. How upset was he?”

“He’s a true Patriots fan. Like hardcore, and when I told him I made the cheer team he was filming another film. He didn’t talk to me for 2 weeks.” The audience gasped, causing me to shrug and chuckle. That day I told Chris was hilarious cause that following day, we went to lunch and then it started.

“Two weeks, two solid weeks. I can’t go that long without talking to my wife. I bet it was hard.”

I nodded a bit. “It was hard cause we talk everyday.”

“Childhood friend. Boston born and raised. Hardcore Pats fan.” He gathered all the info he had.

“Mhm.” I couldn’t help but grin like the Cheshire cat.

“Oh!! Roxanne, is your best friend is Chris Evans!”

“Ding ding!”

His facial expression was priceless, the audience loved it even more. This is the first interview I’ve had someone ask about my best friend and how we’ve stayed so close this long. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Chris, and vice versa.

Jimmy let out a cheerful exclamation. “That is amazing. 30 plus years of friendship and you’re still tighter than ever. Any nicknames?”

“Never better. We have our moments, but we come back every time. With our characters in Marvel it’s been a nickname I’ve had since we met, which I’m auditioning for one actually. He calls me Ororo Munroe, who is the badass Storm from X-Men, and Of course call him Steve Rogers. Never saw one without the other.” The thought of us breaking up our friendship hurt more than anything. We go to each other for everything and sometimes, I can’t tell him everything. Like the crush I have had on him since we were young.

“Munroe and Rogers. I like it, cause like another detective show. Can’t wait for the new movie to come out, will be on the lookout for the trailers. Anything you wanna say to the audience or your best friend?”

“Of course.” Turning towards the camera I smiled gently. “If you’re watching this like I told you to, then you’re already on the right track. Most of the time you don’t ‘wike it’ when I tell you to do things. Oh well! That’s what best friends are for right? I’ll see you soon, Evans!”

“Roxanne Alexander, ladies and gentleman! Thank you for coming. We’ll be right back after this break!” Shaking his hand, I waved the audience as the music sounded to the commercial.

The director yelled out to us all. “And we’re clear! 10 min everybody.”

Heading back to my little room noticing that my phone was blowing up with Instagram; Snapchat and Twitter. So much love from the fans and even a text from Chris.

“Oh shit. What did he say.”

Chris: Saw the interview today! You did amazing as always Rox, and great job plugging the movie too. Gotta get all the exposure out there.

Heartfelt. So far so good. I wonder if he’s free today.

Me: thank you bud! Means a lot to me to hear you say that.

Chris: any time. Say wanna catch up sometime this week? Sight see in LA?

Chilling with my best friend, or with the family? I’m always with my family or my other friends, and so now I think it’s best to chill with Chris. Which I never do outside of rehearsal.

Me: I’m free today and a few days this week actually. Aside from rehearsals and more interviews.

The drive to my LA apartment was a breeze. Normally it’s be hell in traffic but not this time around. Upon making it home, I saw the Boston boy in all his glory, in front of my driveway. Sending a goofy face my way, he moved to the left a bit.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the goofy string bean, parking the car in the garage. “You just can’t help yourself huh? You love being in my way.”

“What can I say? I love messing with you Munroe.” Showing off his cheesy grin, he welcomed me with a hug. It was as if he lived there and was happy to see me home. If only it was real.

“Ha ha, very funny Rogers. So where’s my son, can’t have ya home without- Dodger! There’s my boy!”

Giving the beagle some love, along with receiving them, I managed to hug him as well.

A pouty Chris emerges. “Why don’t I get a hug like that?”

“You on top of me, would cause a lot of controversy and issues my dude.” Arching a brow at him, we headed inside and for comfy.

He mumbled under his breath. “You sure about that?”

“You say something?”

“Nah. Just uh, so wanna do Disneyland tomorrow? I hear Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is open”

“Yeah we can do that. Oh and Lune is in her room, which Dodger found easily.”

Glancing at the two dogs in the little space under the staircase, we both smiled happily.

Clapping my hands together, I gave the Boston boy a look. “Happy dogs. Alright Evans, couch or bed?”

“Bed. The Mummy with Brendan Fraser, or Tom-”

“Fraser, no contest. Matching pjs, or just underwear?” We tend to finish each other’s sentences and it never gets old.

“Matching. This time, my old title.”

“Old title? What do you mean? Chris no way…”

“You don’t know?!” His face was hysterical. He got dressed in my walk in closet, as I changed in the bathroom. After a quick shower of course. Heading downstairs to make popcorn, I had to pull myself together.

“No! They didn’t tell the Dora’s nothing. Danai couldn’t tell me shit! Let me guess, Sam gets it?”

The look on his face as he saw me in my Captain America leggings and matching tank top, was blissful. I’ve never seen that look before. He looks damn good in his sweatpants too, along with being shirtless at that.

Snapping out of his trance, he nodded eagerly upon flopping on my king sized bed.

“Yes he does, and it’s a beautiful send off to Steve. You came into my trailer that one day when I was getting prospects done remember?”

Passing him the bowl of extra buttered popcorn, I slid next to him and grabbed the remote to program Netflix.

“Yeah. That’s what it’s for? Now I’m intrigued. Need a date for premier?” Finding the movie, I paused it for a second, pulling my curly hair into a high puff. I caught him staring at me.

“Why yes. Yes I do actually, would you like to go with me?”

“Why are you staring at me like that? Besides, I’d be insulted if you didn’t ask, I was going anyway.” With a shrug I played the movie and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

“I can’t look at my best friend without their being an ulterior motive? Don’t hog all the corn now.” Snatching the bowl from me, he got some on the bed.

“Nope! What would your girlfriend think? You’re cleaning that up, slov.” Throwing some at him, made it worse, seeing as though it caused a popcorn fight.

“Why bring her up? You two need to have a sit down, and chat. I can’t have the two most important women in my life hating each other.” He threw it back at me and tackled me down.

“Your mother and I get along fine thank you.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah yeah. I’m sorry. Let’s get back get back movie.”

“Oh, and I’m the slob? Says the one with candy wrappers on her dresser.” He pressed played on Netflix and cuddled me. Strictly platonic.

“My house; my room, my rules. Fine I’ll talk to her, you better catch her if she steps out of line.”

Hearing him stifle a laugh, he pinched my arm, which ricocheted into me thumping his head.

“Funny. Let’s watch the first 2, cause the China one made zero sense and the Scorpion King.

The marathon led to us both drifting to sleep, cuddled around each other.

Days like this never got old, and I hope they never change. Yet there’s always a few people who want to see you fall, and that person and I never got along when it came to Chris.

[rpgsandbox]

Listen up, puny humans! Grimtooth the Troll here. You sorry souls have been dying from my traps for decades. And in all that time, not one of you miniscule mortals has attacked me in my lair! Well, I’ve decided to take pity on you. For the first time ever, I’m going to show you my realm. You’ll finally get to see – Trapsylvania!

This Kickstarter supports the publication of Grimtooth’s Trapsylvania, a 144-page campaign setting and sourcebook! It will be available in print (softcover or hardcover) and electronic (PDF) format. It is fully illustrated, with color cover and B/W interior art. The publisher is Goodman Games, under license from Flying Buffalo. The book is written in a systems-neutral style like all Grimtooth books, with DCC RPG stats compiled in an appendix at the back.

Grimtooth's Lair

This Kickstarter also offers a rare collectible treasure: the "lost 8th Grimtooth book." Flying Buffalo published a total of 7 Grimtooth books. At the Origins Game Convention in 1983, an independent publisher released their own unauthorized bootleg adventure called Grimtooth's Lair. Today, only a single copy of this adventure is known to exist. Thanks to collector Bill Meinhardt, we have been able to scan the adventure for publication. It is being offered as an add-on for this Kickstarter.

At last – the legendary locations of Grimtooth’s Traps revealed!

For over 30 years, Grimtooth’s numerous Traps books have horrified players and inspired game masters with hundreds of dangerous devices, deadly deathtraps and hilarious hijinx! Now Grimtooth (with a little help from kid sister Grimtina) will take you on a personally guided tour of his realm and the central hub of his vast Traps empire.

Run your own Grimtooth campaign, or pick and choose locations you can use in your own adventures. Explore Grimtooth’s caverns, visit his Inner Sanctum, escape the Deathmaze Testing Center, attend Warthog’s School for Trolls, take a ride on Grimtooth’s Airship, tour Grimtina’s Petting Zoo or get lost in many more gigantic places of doom, like the Infinite Corridor of Hallways. Each of these infamous locations includes maps, descriptions, non-player character details, scenarios, and lots of art. Plus there are more traps (of course) and plenty of things with which to endanger your characters.  

Like all Grimtooth books, Grimtooth’s Trapsylvania is written in a systems-neutral format, and published in a way that it is fully compatible with the Dungeon Crawl Classics Role Playing Game (DCC RPG). A series of appendices at the back provide quick and easy stats for DCC RPG games, covering all the creatures, characters and items described in the book. It’s very easy to fill a graveyard with the corpses of your DCC player characters! (Because once you enter Trapsylvania – you won’t leave! Suckers.)  

Trapsylvania is written and illustrated by S. S. Crompton, the legendary “voice of Grimtooth” who has been working on Grimtooth products for Flying Buffalo for more than 30 years. We’ve rounded up the entire roster of historical Grimtooth contributors to illustrate the book, so you’ll find art not just by S. S. Crompton, but also by Liz Danforth, Micheal Von Glahn, Scott Jackson Phil Longmeier, and Jeff Dee – all the artists who have contributed to Grimtooth products over the years! The new traps are written by Grimtooth alumni S. S. Crompton, Ken St. Andre, Bear Peters, Rick Loomis, Paul O'Connor and Debora Kerr. The DCC stats are provided by Terry Olson, with editing by Jen Brinkman.

Trapsylvania is chock full of useful gaming material! How much is there? Well, here's the exact count!

1 whole country! (Grimtooth's, that is!)

15 large locations, all described and mapped

48 scenario ideas

60 traps or trapped items

86 creatures (with DCC stats in the Appendix)

26 NPCs (with DCC stats in the Appendix)

23 items (with DCC stats in the Appendix)

And loads of laughs!

What is Grimtooth’s Traps?

Originally published by Flying Buffalo, Grimtooth’s Traps is one of the most popular RPG accessories ever produced, with more than 250,000 copies in print since 1981. Flying Buffalo published seven Grimtooth’s books, all of them usable with any RPG. In 2015, Goodman Games compiled all of these into a massive hardcover compilation, and also published two additional DCC-compatible Grimtooth adventures. Grimtooth remains an eternally relevant character and his popularity has only grown since then.

The hallmarks of Grimtooth-style traps are wacky humor combined with deadly danger, plus, of course, extremely useful material that can be integrated into any dungeon-crawling RPG!

What’s in the book?

Everything you need to run a game in Trapsylvania! Whether a single session or an extended campaign, you can give your players a fun time. Here is a preview of the Table of Contents:

What's the Status of the Book?

Trapsylvania is written, edited, illustrated, and laid out. We are in final proofreading stages at the time of the Kickstarter. It will be ready to go to the printer shortly after this Kickstarter ends.

Kickstarter campaign ends: Wed, July 18 2018 7:55 AM BST

Website: Goodman Games

[quirky-middle-child]

I wanna branch past Disney a bit. Since Disney bought Marvel - I'd say you remind me of a good cross between Captain America, and the sass-butt Clint Barton. Which is freaking awesome. (In DCC verse we already know you're Steve Trevor.) Disney? You're totally Dipper Pines in your own hilarious ways. Yet at the same time I see a LOT of Balto's personality in you as well. (I know, not Disney, but try and stop me)

Well... ^^ thanks so much for the over kill XD but thanks as well. It is great to see all the character traits that others think I have. Even if I don't think I can see them. *kisses the anonymous messenger since he knows who it is ;)*

[tomatopudding]

Denver Comic Con 2017: Day 1

I did promise DCC recaps, so here I go. I have a few pictures, so I’m going to put this under a cut. I don’t want to clog your feeds.

As always, the wake up time is super early. I’m one of those people who would prefer to get up early and wait two hours for the door to open rather than getting up later and not getting into the Con until the day is half over. 

A brief overview of my morning (and what will be my morning the next couple days as well):

- 5:45am Wake up, shower - 6:15am Finished getting dressed and putting my bag together - 6:30am Leave the house - 6:45am Park at the train station - 7:04am Catch a train - 7:45am Arrive at Con - 10:00am Doors open

Let’s start off with my “haul” for the day. I’m not really a big Comic Con shopper, because it’s lots of money, but I couldn’t help myself. Thomas Estrada, one of the animators on The Emperor’s New Groove (and Prince of Egypt and several Disney video games etc.) was giving away free New Groove art pieces, first come first serves. Of course, I had to get in on that. He picked one at random and I happened to get Bucky the squirrel, who is so cute. I really loved his art and I couldn’t help but get a little 3x5 print of Dr. Strange, which he graciously signed for me. You can see both of those below, along with the shirt I bought, because it’s been a while since I got a new fandom shirt.

Sorry about my toes in the pic ha.

So that was the first part of my day. I also wandered around the expo floor again in the afternoon, but nothing came of it, so lets move on to the panels.

The Gender Gap in Film

This was an okay panel. There were four female screenwriters/directors/producers and it was basically what it said on the tin. Maybe it was the questions that the moderator asked, but I was kind of lackluster and I didn’t really hear much that I haven’t heard before about gender gaps in all career paths.

Dragon Ball Warriors

This was amazingly hilarious. 

Sean Schemmel (middle, the voice of Goku, King Kai, and others) and Chris Sabat (right, the voice of Vegeta, Piccolo, and others) are not just fantastic voice actors, they are also fantastic entertainers. They did mostly Q&A, but had a lot of diversions and digressions. Amazing.

Doctor Who: Regeneration of a Showrunner

This was very interesting. There was a panel of four people from a couple of different Doctor Who fan groups and they went over all of the past showrunners of the show over the past 50+ years as well as making predictions on how, based on his previous work, Chris Chibnall will be as a showrunner.

Harry Potter’s James & Oliver Phelps

This had to have been the highlight of my day.

James (right, Fred) and Oliver (left, George) Phelps are absolutely charming and funny as well as being adorable. Like the voice actors, they did mostly Q&A, although the moderator interjected questions here and there as well. I am so glad that I was able to see them (even though I waited in line for an hour to get into the room), since I will be missing their second appearance. You’ll find out why on Sunday.

[rfassholes]

Your favorite mystic messenger blogs?? Curious bc i see lots of fic reblogs and theres sooo many different blogs xD

Aw yis, I was sort of excited to do this. One thing, though, I’m not awfully acquainted with a whole of blogs, but I’m going to do my best

First off, writers:

@anyway-i-love-vanderwood Okay, I found this blog a few hours agp, but I l o v e it. To be honest, Vanderwood isn’t my cup of tea, but their writing is amazing so I can’t? not? like?

@choisgirls I read all of their masterlist in a couple of hours one day, because I just really love both of the admin’s writing. Speaking of the admins, they’re hilarious, and answer asks really nicely and funnily

@imaginethis-mysticmessenger (I constantly feel attacked that I can never see the profile picture and I associate the with the circle default icon lmao) They reblog lots of art and cute stuff! Plus!!! They also write cute stuff (and their requests are open if I’m not mistaken)

@mysme-fics This blog has such an array of writing and pretty much any scenario you could think of. They’re also really good with having posts for time zones and keeping up with masterposts if you feel like reading a lot

@mysmespoo So many writings that have make me laugh and smile. Everything’s so precious, and all the admins are excellent at writing!

@portuguesesinnerwrites SO! ADORABLE! With some art reblogs that I like a lot

@specialagent-606 Honey, how could I not recommend this blog. Honestly can't put it into words how much I love their blog and writing (also who I used the matchup format from!)

@thehoneybuddhadefender Absolute dear that is currently doing some rp if you nerds are interested and writes nice things!

Art blogs:

I don’t follow a whole lot despite me loving the art in this fandom but

@sallteas (Obviously) They’re such a good person and their art style makes me feel !!!, and I just love it a whole lot

@vess-hs Honey, if you’re not following them you n e e d to (also, I’m 80% sure they’re doing a stream at the moment)

@talentlessartblog Their way of drawing male MC makes me feel so pure and cleansed to be honest

@vo-dcc The! cutest! Jumin and V works!

@cygnetdraws They just did a series of mm characters and I love them so much

@thedailymushroom They’re the one with the blushy Saeran hug comic! Every work they do makes me feel ajfjdjfoisjffdf

@didem-dg They did the constellation set that makes me love space more than i already do

@hikcups Amazingly cute V, enough said

@ceceru did you mean: a blessing to this earth

@sketchyy-pencil Their custom MC is my life source

I think I like these blogs the most, but I’m sure there’s countless others! Also, since I’m a trashcan for JuminV, there’s a blog, @juminvweek, that are putting together work for April 10th through the 16th! Anyways, I hope I didn’t forget anybody, but I might update this later! Have a good day, nerds!

[astraris]

2, 3, 11, 13, 26, 29, 30, 34, 35 xxx

2: What was your first cosplay?Idk I once dressed up as Pikachu for carnaval when I was 7 or something?? But my first proper cosplay was probably Michael from the manga Angel Sanctuary. 

3: What are your next 3 cosplay plans?TOO MUCH YURI KATSUKI HAHA RIP. I am in way too deep. I got his casual gear from ep. 1 because for once I like to be comfy in cosplay for DCC, and I’m making his exhibition outfit for MCM London in May. After that I want to make his FS costume because I love bedazzling the shit out of costumes and crying. (also at some point I want to do Michele Crispino’s SP outfit because I hate myself and love dying)  

11: What is your favorite cosplay you’ve done?Probably Cullen, because it was the first time I was truly pleased with how it turned out despite being WAY out of range of what skills I thought I had. Wearing it also made me feel super badass. Although to be fair I have a massive soft spot for Kirk and Luke because they’re so much more comfy and I love my space nerds. 

13: What’s your funniest cosplay story?I swear I only ever remember the terrible stuff that I then cringe-laugh at later??? Although literally befriending your mother in cosplay and rekking you together was unexpected but hilarious (for me, mostly). Also to rek myself: that one time my pants ripped from extreme posing as Kirk and somewhere out there is a video of @spacetwinsies being asked “what are you doing??”, ending with her looking like a maniac while sitting on the floor behind my butt, literally sewing the ass of my pants shut while I’m wearing them and people walk by, whispering “cosplayyy…. : ) “. 

26: If you had a chance to meet your all-time favorite cosplayer, what would you say to them?“haha nerd” No idk, I’m not even sure who my all-time favourite cosplayer would be to be honest?? I LOVE all cosplay of my friends because it’s all so good and amazing and I love gushing about exactly which details I adore about it (but if they ask I did not say this, this goes for you too Tessa). Plus I just get insanely enthousiastic when I see a cosplayer doing a character I love and will likely just make an ass out of myself half-yelling about how great their seams and pockets and details are and that I love them and bye. 

29: If you could tell your past self anything about cosplay, what would you say?“buckle up bitch, you’re going for a ride” or “do yourself a favour and hide all your money”, either way

30: What is your ultimate dream cosplay?So many?? I’d love to be able to wear costumes I currently feel my body doesn’t fit in at its size so I guess that’s a dream cosplay thing as a whole. Also big constructions like a full-on power armor. I guess the main thing stopping me is money at the moment, because usually I’ll just go ahead and try the thing even though I know I have zero experience at it and it will probably result in spectacular failure and general insanity at some point. 

34: What is your favorite part of cosplaying?Sappy as it is, probably hanging out with friends at cons and sharing fandoms and such (and tears over cosplay stress because none of us can plan shit). Also making something and then feeling SUPER PROUD because whoah didn’t know I could do that!!

35: Make up your own question!“why is Tessa like this?” “we just don’t know”  you’re welcome 

[derkastellan]

Musings: “Having fun” XP - Ha!

spI just received my copy of The Hero’s Journey, 2nd edition and opened it up to a random page. XP awards. Browse... browse... XP awards for doing chores for the GM... browse... what?!

Making everyone at the table laugh out loud. 75 XP

Role-playing rewards are already... dubious. Chore rewards - depends on the style of reward. But for making people laugh?

The reward for making everyone laugh is an enjoyable game. It is rewarding in itself. Tying it to a price tag or award actually might invite clowning around and making the game less focused. Every GM has to hit the right tone for their game, but rewards is something the human brain quickly tries to get more of. That’s how we’re built.

Admittedly, I give out regularly awards for good role-playing and fun in-game things like when somebody just does a hilarious take on their character but stays consistent on what they are. They’re not just playing it for laughs. The reward then is a fleeting resource - the “Inspiration” of 5th edition D&D or a benny in Savage Worlds, both basically coming under the heading of free reroll or single-roll advantage. 

But this game awards XP... a permanent resource that drives how fast characters advance. Of course this game’s XP system already looks broken for modern sensitivities. Or at least mine. While trying to modernize the old school rules system it is based on it leaves a lot of the old sludge in... 

Humans (as opposed to demi-humans) gain more 15% more XP when being awarded XP. (Yet another attempt to do what Gygax did: Make demi-humans more attractive to play, then penalize players in some form for chosing them as a disincentive to playing them.)

Different classes advance differently fast. Your rogue type will advance faster than your wizard. (Leveling a group together is actually my preferred way. Players like it and it often is seen as “fair,” even though your mileage may vary.)

Combat only awards XP only if posing a real danger to the party (somebody likes 3rd edition, eh?) and only once per session. 

On quick browse I fail to see a section on skills, so one does wonder what else besides playing a something akin to a typical dungeon adventure in this game. I mean, yes, you can role-play anything, but you need tools to solve problems. Skill-like abilities are knit into the classes and are few and far between.

Ah, my bad, look, there’s a profession/occupation system. This game could use some sensible editing. Its universal resolution mechanic is explained on page 81 and not very prominently. Similarly to DCC where the professions are like borrowed from, they are not very useful. It’s certainly not something that will set two characters of same class (sorry, “archetype”) apart from each other.

But I digress. From my vantage this XP system is problematic. True, if you hit all its buttons you might make up to 975 XP per session - considering level 2 might be attainable as soon as 1,250 XP for some classes not bad, right? But this XP system tries very hard to force the table ambiance in a hamfisted way. Rewarding good team-work might make sense, but wouldn’t it make more sense if the group actually achieves its goals? If your goals are not easily achieved, doesn’t that encourage by itself the players to work on a solution together? There seem to be no milestone awards recommended in this section, so the core gameplay loop is not - by looking at the rules alone - working towards a goal, but simply adventuring, adventuring, adventuring without the context of an adventure.This might make sense in an endless dungeon but if the group has goals, it might make sense to reward achieving goals with XP.

Anyway, don’t reward laughs with XP. That’s all I wanted originally to say. Players will notice, they will notice it ties to a reward, and this makes you as the GM the arbiter of what’s funny. The “everyone” condition is poorly conceived, after all you have to take note, mentally, of “this was funny” so it will be always your funny bone that plays into this, it’s hard to objectify. Plus, some people ain’t funny. Don’t punish them. They’re not funny, it’s usually not their fault, and this ain’t a game of comedy - or is it?

And laugh about what? Oh, don’t open that can of worms.

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

LGB ALLIANCE SUMMER NEWSLETTER

LGB Alliance only started up in October 2019. We hope you agree we’ve played our own small part in helping to change the terms of the debate in the UK and elsewhere about sex and gender, gender identity, and the threat to LGB rights and to women.

We’re so grateful to everyone who follows us on Twitter and Facebook. We know that social media isn’t where this debate will be won. We’ll only win the debate if we all take the points we make and share on social media, the arguments we construct, the information we try to highlight and present them to our families and friends, to work colleagues and our schools, as well as the other institutions that have been captured or are in the process of being captured by … our good friends the trans lobby.

A special word of thanks must go to our donors. We are an organisation of volunteers. None of us get paid and we are determined to put every penny to good use.

You probably know already that we also have a shop selling a veritable array of customised must-have summer items – V necks, T-shirts, pens, mugs, bags – oh and beanies and hoodies for chilly evenings. https://lgballiance.org.uk/shop/

Check it out and please post photos of you wearing any of the stuff on our Twitter or FB pages.

Here is lifelong LGB campaigner (present at the Stonewall riots) Fred Sargeant being out and proud.

So, what’s been keeping us busy? First, we were delighted if a little overwhelmed by the enormous interest in LGB Alliance soon after the first meeting – both positive and negative responses poured in. As far as we know, we are the only LGB group in the world to push back against gender identity theory, and the lines were drawn almost straight away.

Allison Bailey, who has now publicised her case suing Stonewall, and Paul Twocock, then acting CEO of Stonewall, sent us into the Twittersphere. First Allison Bailey and the tweet that launched us in a good way: This led to a report in the Telegraph, 23 October 2019:

“Europe’s biggest LGBT rights organisation has split after being accused of promoting a ‘trans agenda’ at the expense of gay and lesbian rights.”

Then, Paul Twocock, acting CEO of Stonewall, responded by tweeting out the same day, 23 October 2019: “There is no truth to reports of Stonewall ‘splitting’, so please ignore the alarmist headlines.”

It was kind of Paul Twocock to alert Stonewall’s 200k Twitter followers to our existence. The reaction was immediate and global. On the one hand, we were showered with messages expressing enormous relief and support: “Finally you are here!” “Please help us in Canada!” “When are you setting up in Australia?” “Your organisation is so necessary!”. On the other hand, some people thought our mere name expressed hostility and set about defaming us rather than listening to our message and engage with us.

We have tried to strike a balance between pursuing our goals and taking action against those who defame us and try to bring us down.

However many times we explain that we are not anti-trans, that we believe it has become necessary to form a group specifically around sexual orientation, the concerted efforts to misrepresent us and stop our work have continued

Organisation

After the initial wave of attention and enthusiasm, the challenge was to organise ourselves quickly. LGB Alliance had only been our working title – but suddenly we were in the public arena and the name stuck.

Our two founders Kate Harris and Bev Jackson asked five strong people to join them in a steering group. The seven of us (majority lesbian) come from very different backgrounds but we soon forged a unified and effective group. We registered as a limited company, hired a brilliant designer for our logo, GIFs and other visuals, and set up a JustGiving page (yes…THAT JustGiving page)

Messages

We then set about communicating our message. Over just a few months we found ourselves name-checked in numerous pieces by major journalists from Janice Turner (the Times), James Kirkup (the Spectator) and Gina Davidson (in the Scotsman).

Here’s the Janice Turner piece:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stonewall-has-lost-its-way-on-the-trans-issue-hd3lw08wb?shareToken=0bdb8271417eadb4f00919a4c1c87cf9&fbclid=IwAR1Bq_52hTQ-nz0p_RTfl1QpgqGU1vGVjWfYW8e3zeLDJVRgbI8PcbYTXA

Funding

JustGiving was our only source of funding until it was taken down in May after several thousands of pounds were donated in the name of John Nicolson MP, who has taken a mysterious dislike to us. Now we can accept donations via our website. Once we gain charitable status we will start to apply for grants from charitable foundations.

Press, radio & TV

Our campaign against the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in Scotland helped break down barriers. As a leading force in the opposition to the Bill, we were harder for the press to ignore. We were quoted in everything from the Sun and the Herald in Scotland to the Guardian (in the latter case we should say misquoted since our activities prompted one of many outbursts by the Guardian columnist Owen Jones). We were interviewed on TV on both STV (the Nine) and the BBC’s Daily Politics. We broke radio too with an interview Kate Harris did on the Jeremy Vine show (one of Radio 2’s highest rated shows) and one Malcolm Clark did on BBC Radio Scotland’s John Beattie show.

Our most recent radio interview was with Bev Jackson on Talk Radio. You can hear it on our YouTube channel.

Twitter and YouTube channel

We have focused a lot of effort on how to get our message out on social media. We started with Twitter, where we tried to develop and cultivate a brand of reasonable messaging largely led by Bev Jackson: never personal, never abusive, always reaching out and seeking dialogue. Thanks to all of you we now have almost 27k followers – a fantastic result.

Later we set up our website and Facebook page, and a YouTube channel on which we started recording interviews with historical LGB rights activists.

Allison Bailey, Kate Harris and Bev Jackson gave several talks in addition to those at our Glasgow launch in January: Allison introduced the WPUK event “A Woman’s Place is at the Lectern” and chaired the panel of leading female academics. She also spoke at the Hackney Resisters event “Women & Girls Under Attack”. Kate spoke on “Stonewall Law” at the “Make More Noise” event in Manchester and Bev at the London event “Defend Us or Expel Us” just before the lockdown. All these talks are either on our YouTube channel or are available through a link to our favourites there

Defamation and sabotage

From the first day, we set up, fake Twitter accounts and web domains were set up to impersonate us and mislead our followers. We reported them and received a Nominet ruling against a mischief-maker in March 2020. Some of the domains were linked to Stonewall. Eventually, after we sent a warning letter to Stonewall about accepting this unlawfully redirected traffic, Stonewall stopped accepting this redirection.

LGB History

Like all of you, we are tired of our history being rewritten. We are particularly glad that we have the ongoing support of Fred Sargeant and other pioneers of the LGB movement in the US. Have a look at Bev’s interviews with Fred and with Martha Shelley on our YouTube channel. And there’s another one with Allison Bailey interviewing the British lesbian champion Linda Bellos.

Pink News

Early on, Kate Harris gave an interview to Pink News, which then misrepresented her words and defamed us. Since then we have declined every request to give comments to Pink News, which has escalated its campaign of lies about us. Hilariously, now every time they attack us they seem to fall over themselves or come a cropper. Maybe they’re getting desperate.

Application for charitable status

This has been a long process – made longer by a serial petitioner posting a petition full of defamatory lies set up with the intention of trying to block our application for charitable status.

Despite this, we are confident that we will become a charity in the next month or two.

When LGB Alliance is a charity

Once LGB Alliance is a charity, we will appoint head-hunters to seek LGB trustees representing protected characteristics in the Equality Act and all areas of the UK. The job descriptions will be written to ensure that we have a full range of qualified individuals to run the organisation and its campaigning work.

Labour Party

During the leadership campaign, we saw one of the most bizarre examples of prejudice against us. It is said that some candidates now regret this, but at the time Lisa Nandy, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Dawn Butler and Angela Rayner all endorsed a “trans rights pledge” describing us as a hate group. None of them has apologised or responded to our requests for a meeting.

No Labour party MP or Peer has agreed to meet us despite our requests.

Conservative Party

We’ve had more luck with the Conservatives both in the Commons and the Lords. We feel certain our influence and our arguments are finally beginning to percolate into the corridors of power. But this is just a start.

Allison Bailey

There were also shocking personal attacks, especially on Allison Bailey, who, as one of our most outspoken representatives and as a barrister, was in a particularly vulnerable position. As you probably know, Allison is now suing Stonewall and Garden Court Chambers. See @BluskyeAllison

Police

We met with senior Met officers to highlight the common misinterpretation of the Equality Act by the police and the peculiar LGBT activism of groups within the police force, which focus on protecting trans rights at the expense of the rights of lesbians and women in general. We are meeting DCC Julie Cooke, the national police lead on LGBT matters at the end of July for further discussion.

EHRC

We submitted a detailed complaint to the EHRC arguing that Stonewall is in breach of the 2010 Equality Act and will be following this up in due course. A copy has been forwarded to Liz Truss via Baroness Nicholson.

FOUR GOALS FOR 2020

Press Pause on Gender Recognition Reform Bill Scotland

Stopping the teaching of gender identity in schools

Get fair representation in all government discussions on LGB issues

Highlight the dangers of medicalising “gender non-conforming” children

GOAL 1 Press Pause on Gender Recognition Reform Bill Scotland – success!

In December 2019 the Scottish government introduced its Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would have introduced gender self-ID in Scotland. We turned all our attention to raising public awareness of the damaging consequences of self-ID to the rights of women and LGB people.

We organised a coordinated programme of events, ads, interviews and lobbying of Scottish parliamentarians under a campaign logo of “Press Pause” on this Bill. The idea was that the bill was too dangerous to rush through and lawmakers would need to think again.

The campaign kicked off with the launch of the LGB Alliance Scotland at Oran Mor, Glasgow, in January with over 150 people hearing speakers ranging from our supporter Simon Fanshawe to a range of feminist organisations and our own Rhona Hotchkiss and Malcolm Clark as well as Kate and Bev.

We took out a number of full-page ads in Scotland’s opinion-forming papers, the Herald and Scotsman in our trademark powerful graphic style and branding. These instantly became the subject of heated debate, raising public awareness, not least among our opponents, a motley crew of well-funded LGBTQ+ organisations and B-list celebrities, who were so incensed they complained to the Advertising Standards Authority. The complaints were roundly rejected, which gave us absolutely no satisfaction. At. All…

As part of the campaign, we presented evidence at a major seminar at Holyrood on the dangers of reducing the age of consent for a Gender Recognition Certificate from 18 to 16 (one of the provisions in the proposed reform) as well as the dangerous practice of treating children with puberty blockers. Many Scottish parliamentarians attended and expressed dismay that they had not heard this side of the argument before (something we hear almost every time we do get to speak)

Eventually the Bill had to be shelved: partly due to rising dissent among SNP members sparked by the increasingly negative press, partly due to the efforts of LGB Alliance and women’s groups in Scotland). COVID-19 also meant there would be less parliamentary time to devote to such a controversial bill.

GOAL 2. Stopping the teaching of gender identity in schools – postpone introduction of Stonewall’s “Creating an LGBT-inclusive primary curriculum” and other resources for relationship and sex education (RSE) – work in progress

We are very busy lobbying to stop some weird stuff going on in schools. First, we want the doctrine that there are over 100 “genders”, as taught by the BBC no less, in its so-called education programme for KS2 (age 7 to 11), to be taken down. Who is teaching this stuff and why is it being allowed? Second, we want to stop the introduction of the “LGBT-inclusive primary school curriculum”, written by Stonewall. Despite its pleasant-sounding name, it is a doctrinal curriculum that teaches young children that everyone has a gender identity and that kids who do not conform to gender stereotypes may have been born in the wrong body. It clearly needs to be replaced by a more sensible LGB curriculum, and that is what we are seeking to achieve. Third, we want to stop a whole series of groups going into schools and filling kids’ heads with nonsense. If a little boy comes home in floods of tears because he’s a bit “girlish” and thinks that he is suddenly going to change into a girl – just one of the stories that we heard – something has gone seriously wrong

In later editions, the Government Equalities Office logo no longer appears on the cover

Our campaign is underway right now. We started with an article in the Daily Mail by Andrew Pierce. We wanted to move outside the Twittersphere, and the Mail is now the UK’s top selling paper. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8457587/One-four-parents-aware-controversial-curriculum-11s-emphasising-transgender-rights.html

If all goes to plan, we will be following with a half-page ad drawing attention to what is going on. We will then ask all of you to write letters, tweet, ring up radio shows and generally lobby for the use of these resources to be suspended (some are already in use) while the Department for Education conducts a thorough review of curricula and materials put out by groups like Stonewall, Gendered Intelligence, the Proud Trust and others. We believe their materials encourage gender stereotypes and cause confusion in children from age five and up. No child should be given the idea that he or she may have been “born in the wrong body”.

GOAL 3 Get fair representation in all government discussions on LGB issues – work in progress

The great news is that we have been invited to have a call with Kemi Badenoch, Minister for Equalities next week. We have several discussion points for her, including our request for all government departments and the EHRC to ensure the correct use of the words sex and gender.

We are working to achieve representation in every institution that is involved in decision-making about LGB issues: we have applied to alter the composition of the so-called “LGBT panel” at the GEO, which consists solely of people who believe in gender identity

GOAL 4 Highlight the dangers of medicalising “gender non-conforming” children – work in progress

Following the 18 June exposé of the culture of “transing away the gay” at the Tavistock GIDS Gender Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTRnrp9pXHY

LGB Alliance has written to Nadine Dorries, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Mental Health and Inequalities). We are asking for a full inquiry into what is happening under the current leadership of the Tavistock GIDS.

In addition, we are working with some former GIDS mental health clinicians and other professionals to draw up a recommendation for a new NHS funded service for detransitioners.

There are many other areas on which to update you but that’s it for now. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all for your support – you give us the energy to keep going. Follow us on @AllianceLGB for all the breaking news.

We hope you all have a safe and healthy summer.

Best wishes from Kate Harris and Bev Jackson and the entire team at LGB Alliance

[I AM NOT ASSOCIATED WITH OR REPRESENTING THE LGB ALLIANCE]

[weightlossfitnesssinfo]

Kids, Candles, Countryside – Kath Eats Real Food

Thomas and I have been simply saying how we really feel that fall is whipping by and we've but to do any “fall activities.” Between Birch’s lengthy naps (which we're very grateful for!), Mazen and our soccer schedule, and splitting time with dada, we don’t appear to have vast open days to do issues like corn mazes and pumpkin patches. I’m additionally flying out of city subsequent Sunday, so we're going to must schedule one thing enjoyable for Saturday after which pack quite a bit into the massive birthday weekend following! But November is an efficient fall month too, so hopefully it doesn’t begin snowing too quickly!

At least the pumpkin beer consumption has been on level

Friday Lunch at Tilman’s

Just a fast little outing with some infants and mamas on a stupendous day!

Friday Sushi Party

We dropped the ball on dinner and determined to order sushi. Mazen has just lately introduced he likes sushi “but only with soy sauce” so we have been excited for him to have it. He ate the shrimp tempura roll however wasn’t too into any of the fancier types.

Little boy LOVES tub time! (Big boy hates it)

Friday Night Candlelight

Blog reader Sarah works at The Candle Lab and despatched me a sampler pack of a few of their greatest smelling choices. The candles are hand poured in-store daily utilizing pure soy wax, pure perfume oils, and cotton-paper wicks. They have over 140 fragrances to select from on the web site. For these of you who reside within the Columbus, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh areas, they've shops have been you'll be able to pour your personal custom-scented candle. I really like all the scents Sarah “scent” me (haha) and my favorites are Christmas Tree and Bamboo.

Use the code KATHEATS25 for 25% off your first buy (transport is free over $60)

Giveaway!

One fortunate particular person will win a $50 present card. To enter, go to The Candle Lab and remark with the scent of candle you’d most prefer to strive! 

Saturday morning exercise

I take pleasure in my Saturday morning gymnasium escape a lot! Thomas made the boys French toast whereas I sweated for a quick 45 minute sesh.

Refueled with tacky eggs, half a pumpkin spice bagel and strawberries.

Soccer Sat

After naps and a playdate for Mazen, we piled into the automotive for Mazen’s soccer recreation. He scored THREE targets this time – he’s in turbo mode!

Late Lunch at Lampo!

As we have been heading house from the soccer recreation we noticed T’s mother at Lampo and the timing labored out for us to hitch her for a quick lunch! Nothing like a shock go to to Lampo. One of our favourite eating places!

Afternoon by More Candlelight

I bought actual cozy on Saturday afternoon and watched TV (#DCC) and took a nap. It’s the time of the week I give myself 100% permission to do completely nothing.

A Trip To The Countryside

Saturday night we headed to the nation for a housewarming social gathering for one among Thomas’s purchasers. His firm constructed the house, and it was so cool to see all of it embellished and full! Also, is that this not the most effective image ever?!

Cheese plate + apps for din!

Look on the hilarious face Birch was making. He really does like being on my again!

Mmmm human child tastes so good!

This is how we calm down

We have been house and in lounge garments by eight:00. I commented: “Someday, when the kids are older, we will have end tables again!” But for now we've to make use of chairs for our tea!

Sunday Happenings

Biscuits for breakfast

Soccer (2 hours, no subs) at 11

Vineyard with some girlfriends for part of the afternoon

Football

Family dinner

Hope y’all had an awesome weekend!

Related

The post Kids, Candles, Countryside – Kath Eats Real Food is available on Weight Loss Fitness

from Weight Loss Fitness - Feed https://weightlossfitnesss.info/kids-candles-countryside-kath-eats-real-food/

[weightlossfitness2]

Kids, Candles, Countryside – Kath Eats Real Food

Thomas and I have been simply saying how we really feel that fall is whipping by and we’ve but to do any “fall activities.” Between Birch’s lengthy naps (which we’re very grateful for!), Mazen and our soccer schedule, and splitting time with dada, we don’t appear to have vast open days to do issues like corn mazes and pumpkin patches. I’m additionally flying out of city subsequent Sunday, so we’re going to must schedule one thing enjoyable for Saturday after which pack quite a bit into the massive birthday weekend following! But November is an efficient fall month too, so hopefully it doesn’t begin snowing too quickly!

At least the pumpkin beer consumption has been on level

Friday Lunch at Tilman’s

Just a fast little outing with some infants and mamas on a stupendous day!

Friday Sushi Party

We dropped the ball on dinner and determined to order sushi. Mazen has just lately introduced he likes sushi “but only with soy sauce” so we have been excited for him to have it. He ate the shrimp tempura roll however wasn’t too into any of the fancier types.

Little boy LOVES tub time! (Big boy hates it)

Friday Night Candlelight

Blog reader Sarah works at The Candle Lab and despatched me a sampler pack of a few of their greatest smelling choices. The candles are hand poured in-store daily utilizing pure soy wax, pure perfume oils, and cotton-paper wicks. They have over 140 fragrances to select from on the web site. For these of you who reside within the Columbus, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh areas, they’ve shops have been you’ll be able to pour your personal custom-scented candle. I really like all the scents Sarah “scent” me (haha) and my favorites are Christmas Tree and Bamboo.

Use the code KATHEATS25 for 25% off your first buy (transport is free over $60)

Giveaway!

One fortunate particular person will win a $50 present card. To enter, go to The Candle Lab and remark with the scent of candle you’d most prefer to strive! 

Saturday morning exercise

I take pleasure in my Saturday morning gymnasium escape a lot! Thomas made the boys French toast whereas I sweated for a quick 45 minute sesh.

Refueled with tacky eggs, half a pumpkin spice bagel and strawberries.

Soccer Sat

After naps and a playdate for Mazen, we piled into the automotive for Mazen’s soccer recreation. He scored THREE targets this time – he’s in turbo mode!

Late Lunch at Lampo!

As we have been heading house from the soccer recreation we noticed T’s mother at Lampo and the timing labored out for us to hitch her for a quick lunch! Nothing like a shock go to to Lampo. One of our favourite eating places!

Afternoon by More Candlelight

I bought actual cozy on Saturday afternoon and watched TV (#DCC) and took a nap. It’s the time of the week I give myself 100% permission to do completely nothing.

A Trip To The Countryside

Saturday night we headed to the nation for a housewarming social gathering for one among Thomas’s purchasers. His firm constructed the house, and it was so cool to see all of it embellished and full! Also, is that this not the most effective image ever?!

Cheese plate + apps for din!

Look on the hilarious face Birch was making. He really does like being on my again!

Mmmm human child tastes so good!

This is how we calm down

We have been house and in lounge garments by eight:00. I commented: “Someday, when the kids are older, we will have end tables again!” But for now we’ve to make use of chairs for our tea!

Sunday Happenings

Biscuits for breakfast

Soccer (2 hours, no subs) at 11

Vineyard with some girlfriends for part of the afternoon

Football

Family dinner

Hope y’all had an awesome weekend!

Related

The post Kids, Candles, Countryside – Kath Eats Real Food appeared first on Weight Loss Fitness.

from Weight Loss Fitness https://weightlossfitnesss.info/kids-candles-countryside-kath-eats-real-food/

[derkastellan]

Impressions: DCC86 - Hole in the Sky

This week saw the first of two session we’re going to spend with the Dungeon Crawl Classics module Hole in the Sky. Four players joined me in this level 0 funnel with a total of 24 freshly generated characters (the maximum recommended for this module). Level 0 “funnels” are DCC’s way of vetting new characters for play - a lot of peasants go on an adventure, a fair share of them dies, and the rest level up and become regular characters in their own right in one of the seven classes (wizard, cleric, warrior, thief, elf, halfling, dwarf). 

I chose Hole in the Sky because it is explicitly a funnel. Not so many are published by Goodman Games themselves, most of them in themed boxed sets. There’s one in the rulebook, and I’ve also run 3rd party funnels, but given that they fit only right at the start of a campaign there is a bit of a dearth of funnels to chose from still. (In comparison, characters spend several adventures in level 1 and the selection of level 1 adventures, both from Goodman Games and 3rd party, is much higher.)

One endearing fact, as always, is the retro artwork. Several illustrations, including the cover, feature peasants, even their pets and livestock. It’s simply funny seeing someone going on an adventure armed with a frying pan or bringing a goat along. Especially since the goat proves to be quite stubborn and bothersome...

Spoilers follow after the page break.

Hole in the Sky (HitS) did not impress me that much when reading. It is very linear and I got the impression that it features too many occasions where players cannot do much about the fate of their characters. As first impressions from reading go, I was actually wrong!

You see, the writing style of the author is a bit terse for my taste. He often mentions what happens when players make bad choices (make a Reflex save or die, for example). But when playing you realize there is absolutely no penalty for good choices. Players are perfectly capable of navigating the first part of the adventure without any harm, and so in fact they did! I was impressed because this what the OSR movement always claims - that it’s about playing smart, not having lots of powers. Well done, sir, well done.

The players are sent by a mysterious entity over an invisible bridge across the ocean to a hole in the sky. There they enter a pocket dimension, enter a strange hive-like structure, evade a monster hunting them, try to not wake a sleeping giant, battle mad former adventurers, and finally free the prisoner of the pocket dimension. 

The bridge itself proved quite memorable. Players proved quite adept at making sure the bridge is there - all thanks to Indiana Jones 3. The perils of the bridge are not knowing if it’s there - which they undid with probing with a staff, throwing dirt, and by the virtue of all the animal droppings... Yes, players can start with a pet or livestock, something hilariously depicted on the map accompanying the outer world part! When storm winds threatened to blow PCs off, they tied themselves to each other - and the cow.

You see, not a single character died at this stage because it was about smart choices - as became clear during play. There’s also one combat on the bridge but I rolled so abysmally for initiative they made confetti out of the enemies without taking a scratch. 

In fact, there is only one thing to criticize here: The intro (readout text) does not reveal how long the journey takes (3 days) or that the PCs have to wait 2 days once there. By sheer luck they brought roughly five days of provisions for the party. They tried quite a lot of weird things at the end of the bridge. I guess this was unnecessary tension and racking of player brains. Probably should not have run this as written...

All 24 PCs still accounted for and unharmed. They made their way through the hole into the pocket dimension and made their way to the prison. There’s potentially two random encounters along the way but the chance is low so nothing happened. A bit of waste of good monsters if you ask me. Still no casualties.

They entered the structure and as written in the script the guardian snuck up on them and killed one, then retreated. This spread terror and chaos alright. The group then decided to kill that thing. I could have played hit-and-run here but frankly did not want to. Also: 23 attacks of opportunity... The stats as written for this monster are... a bit bogus. The hit points don’t last that long with so many attackers. Also, for a creature of many tentacles a total of 2 attacks/action dice seems low. Given that I rolled two fumbles I was not very effective in culling the herd. This thing was supposed to follow them around, spreading terror. Since they refused to be terrorized they deflated this quite quickly with minimal losses. Oh well. Don’t get me wrong! This is great from a roleplaying and player perspective, but it does not do much “funneling...”

Anyway, the main battle against the mad adventurers I scaled from 12 (+1 leader) to 16 (+1 leader). There is advice that you should scale it, but either I missed it or it simply was not written what to scale it to. I mean, 1 per PC? Per 1.5 PCs? I went with my gut and the battle proved suspenseful enough and left a quarter of the party dead. It would have been more like a third to a half, but the “discovering the body” rule let all the luckier characters off the hook. Bigger opposition might have been a total party kill, so fair is fair.

The finale is yet to be played but they took the dwarf leading the mad adventurers as prisoner which should be quite interesting. Many DCC adventures suffer from having enormously cool backgrounds that the players don’t learn about in play. Here’s a chance for some exposition! The surrender is in the adventure and I count it as a plus.

What I like is that this is not a brainless meatgrinder. It is not so random. Sour Spring Hollow from DCC83 - The Chained Coffin is a very interesting, colorful funnel, but it involves a lot of random, arbitrary dying (and led to my first DCC total party kill). HitS compares favorable even though I personally think there are some questionable choices in its writing, especially the finale. 

I have to admit that you do get spoiled by the high writing standard of DCC modules, though. In spite of its near-absolute linearity the module is indeed memorable. Since every room or waystation in DCC proves to have some depth and even potential for a discovery, player expectations of what a dungeon could be rise with every module played. Modules for other systems can compare quite unfavorably, in fact. 

The session has been fun. Critical hit rolls excited players. My personal experience of “No fumble ever created an exciting or interesting situation.” persists. The players did quite well but also had Lady Luck on their side. I read in another review that funnels instill good habits in players, showing them that PCs can die. I beg to differ. I would personally say that funnels quite often play like a game of Paranoia! “I have six clones to burn so let’s take some risks.” is how I feel most players react to funnels. Sometimes interesting funnel characters emerge from the fact that players send them into danger over and over and rolling lucky. Nebin Pendlebrook's Perilous Pantry is the best funnel in this regard as a lot of fun stuff can be gained or done by doing this. 

The horrible truth is much likelier to emerge if funnel habits get your level 1 PCs killed or maimed. My long-running DCC campaign saw a continuous degradation of ability scores because players could not shake their habits of rushing into harm’s way. When switching to D&D5 later the unstructured, random style of approaching situations led to a character kill on pretty much the first combat. And at level 3 D&D5 is not that deadly... So, I think the claim that funnels instill good habits has not survived the facts of my own DCC experience. 

However, funnels are fun! And so was this one, rewarding both player skill (though the Judge has to figure this out, it’s not exactly written) and providing memorable experiences. I like it. It’s not my favorite DCC published module to date, but it works and does the trick. A good entry point for new players. More to follow when we finish.