#dnd shenanigans: found family trauma

[riceuchi]

summer specs

[pukner]

✨masterpost of my works✨

posted to my ao3

[this post is subject to editing in the future]

Since I intend on using Tumblr a bit more now, and because I like neat lists, I thought it'd be prudent do make a little list of what I have out on ao3 right now!

My name's Looth, and I am ENTIRELY at the whims of my hyperfixations. I'm on twitter and pillowfort by the same handles, but I rarely use the latter.

fandoms: Stranger Things, Our Flag Means Death, The Witcher (Netflix) and Good Omens

[list under the cut!]

fanfiction

Good Omens:

A Nanny? In MY Summoning Circle?

A twoshot wherein Warlock Dowling meets his Nanny again, via the very normal uni student past time of trying to summon a demon with a book you found in a dodgy bookshop. Very fluffy, genderqueer Warlock.

[Complete] 2/2, 10.5k

The Witcher (Netflix):

The Viscount

[geraskefer endgame]

A 5+1 that works on the premise that "I'm from Lettenhove" is a sort of codeword in the royal class for children that have fallen out of grace with their court/family? And the higher your rank in Lettenhove, the worse the thing you have done is? Lots of Jaskier shenanigans, aggressive found family and genderfluid Jaskier.

Based on a post by @artistsfuneral.

[WIP] 3/?, 1.3k

build me up, buttercup [rated M]

[geraskefer endgame]

A longfic I've been chipping away at since 2020, dear God. Features Jaskier and Yen being fake married and co-parenting Ciri, Geralt getting adopted, the found family inherent to bards and the city of Oxenfurt, ftm Jaskier and Ciri having a well-deserved identity crisis. Also, ocs galore, gratuitous academia, and also Valdo Marx is immortal and Jaskier's annoying best friend.

Geraskefer endgame. My baby, who I will return to as soon as I am able.

[WIP] 15/?, 64k

Our Flag Means Death:

the inertia series [rated E]

a three-part series following Israel Hands as he attempts to move on from the things keeping him trapped in amber, unable to grow.

[steddyhands endgame]

[Complete] 62.9k

1. love like a dog on a leash

Izzy Hands encounters an old friend in the form of Sam Bellamy, Ed starts a barfight, and Stede learns some backstory.

All of these men are haunted in some way.

1/1, 5.5k

2. open season

Izzy Hands finds himself inexplicably being courted by various pirates to be their first mate. No one has addressed that fact that he isn't looking for a new Captain; he already has two. Steddyhands endgame, features some Jackhands.

A long look at the dynamics between Ed and Izzy, and now Stede, and the older dynamics of Ed, Izzy, Calico Jack Rackham and Sam Bellamy. Actually, it's a look at Izzy himself, and his various traumas and the way he's transitioning from being in a Black Sails type dark genre to this weird muppet land everyone else on this ship seems to live in.

7/7, 44.5k

3. red sky at morning

An epilogue, wherein the boys all contend with the future on the horizon; the good and the bad of it.

1/1, 11.9k

stranger things

[my current hyperfixation send help]

Eddie Munson and the Dreamboy

[steddie]

Wherein Eddie and El traverse the inside of Steve's mind, and encounter various Steves at different points in his life trying to find where he's hidden himself to escape Vecna's final curse.

A 5+1, featuring Steve's Scoops Ahoy flirting, a little baby Steve, and El's hair.

[Complete] 1/1, 8k.

Dustin Henderson and the Lovebirds

[steddie]

Five times Dustin Henderson was subjected to Eddie Munson being gross and sappy and in love with Steve Harrington, and one time Steve didn't even have to be there.

Features Steve being serenaded, Eddie Munson's Roger Rabbit Impression, Steve's Tiny Gym Shorts, and a good old fashioned worm conversation. Also, gay dnd.

[Complete] 1/1, 9.7k

always burning, world keeps turning

a two-part series set in a soft post-apocalyptic Hawkins, where community and family keep everyone going. And Steve and Eddie kiss about it.

[steddie]

[WIP]

1. took you for a working boy

In a post-apocalypse, mildly nightvale-flavoured Hawkins, Steve and Eddie are the only ones who aren't aware they're dating. Steve does not have a gender crisis but does have a lot of difficulty finding the words for it all, Eddie is oblivious but earnest (and running a radio show, Dr. Death Defying or Cecil Palmer style), Steve and Robin are ACTUALLY soulmates, and everyone's doing their best.

I cannot stress how much everyone thinks they're already dating. Featuring genderqueer Steve, disaster gay Eddie, scheming younger teens, and lots of stobin fluff.

[complete] 6/6, 43.8k

2. hometown blues

The sequel to working boy, wherein Gareth, Vickie and Steve's mom encounter how fucking weird Hawkins has got in their absence, and take it with varying degrees of grace.

[WIP] 3/? 17k

off-script

Wherein Steve Harrington has his sexuality all figured out, Eddie's in comically heavy denial, and everything rapidly snowballs from there.

[steddie]

1. off the beaten path

Wherein Steve figures out he's bi before Eddie figures out he's gay, but Eddie STILL manages to fall first.

Features Steve talking himself though discovering his sexuality in approximately five minutes while on the phone with a baffled Jonathan, and him aggressively flirting with the local metalhead. He's also very good at being an unreliable narrator.

It ALSO features said local metalhead (who thinks himself straight) accidentally flagging, calling Steve Harrington princess in a totally straight way, and doing the ttrpg equivalent of doodling your crush's name on a notebook over and over. Also, somehow he's convinced himself he just hates Steve.

This won't end badly for anyone, I'm sure.

[Complete] 6/6, 34.2k

2. no boys allowed

Robin Buckley has her very first Girls' Day. She gets her hair braided, consoles her heartbroken best friend, and everyone muddies the water a bit on the exact definition of what a Girl is.

Steve Harrington has a good cry about Eddie Munson.

[Complete] 1/1, 7.5k

3. here be dragons

Eddie Munson has kissed a boy, and now he has to handle the fallout. He's got to grapple with the fact that he likes boys, likes a boy, and the harrowing fact that he may have inadvertently broken said boy's heart.

Or, a rapidly snowballing fic that's become a series of character studies by accident. Features Mike Wheeler kicking Eddie's ass into gear, ruminations on being a fashion-assigned dom, Steve Harrington's Various Abandonment Issues, and a surprise Tommy Hagan.

[WIP] 6/?, 38.9k

original works:

court of law

A mildly unhinged second person pov piece about a person going to college and finding that he's trapped in a bizarre dreamscape with no memories. And a new body. He accidentally steals a cute boy's name.

Lots of shenanigans, lots of gender and bad jokes.

[WIP] 6/?, 13k

[gloomiedyke]

I don't normally like anime (no shade, just not my thing) but Delicious in Dungeon just hit so many boxes for me that I HAD to give it a try, and IT'S SO GOOD

- food as love & life

- DnD party shenanigans (or general fantasy ttrpg)

- getting into the biological and ecological implications of fantasy monsters/finding interesting detailed explanations for magic systems

- found family

- fun balance of lighthearted comedy and trauma

- extremely gay and neuro divergent characters

Seriously, it's got a very Discworld vibe to it with the whole "take this common fantasy trope, ask a question about it, and chase that line of thought into wild world building territory". In this case the questions being things like "what is the ecosystem and animal food chain like in a high fantasy monster-filled dungeon? The magical creatures are all still there when our heroes aren't around to fight them, so how does this work?" and "how does a society with monster-filled dungeons and heroic adventuring parties as a common thing work? What does that economy look like?" and "what does death become when adventurers in a dungeon can nearly always be brought back to life? What happens to people's minds in a world where resurrection is possible and even common under certain circumstances?"

[ironmandeficiency]

tf boys + dnd headcanons (bc i clearly have nothing better to do)

pairings: benny miller / reader (romantic) but platonic w the rest of the tf boys

word count: i’m typing this in the post itself good luck fuckers

summary: i got nothing y’all. just know that benny & will have a little extra info idk why

a/n: i’m semi-new to dnd but i’m armed w the player’s handbook and google so i will do my best

benny: i think dnd was a guilty pleasure for him during high school. yeah he was seen as a Hot Popular Guy™️ and played football and baseball, but there is and always has been a nerd living in that heart of gold. had one (1) set of dice he used for every campaign and even kept them with him when deployed. he joined a campaign for the first time in years after coming back from The Mission That Shall Not Be Named™️. creating new characters & a homebrew or two became a way for him to cope with everything that happened there and heal.

details abt (one of) benny’s character(s):

half-orc barbarian-bard multiclass, affectionately known as a bardbarian

college of lore + berserker pathways

himbo af and benny laughs a lot when he gets to act out said himboness

character has a tendency to start bar fights if his talent is questioned, and usually it’s beating them with his fists and/or lute. there’s an npc that owns an instrument shop the half-orc frequents that gives him a glare every time but will always repair or replace said lute

uses vicious mockery against the BBG (big bad guy) every time they face a new one and the guys have never laughed so hard at benny’s random insults

focuses more on utility spells bc it’s just that easy for him to beat the hell out of someone with fists and weapons. becomes a jack of all trades kind of guy (similar to irl) and enjoys the “oh shit he can do that?” questions when he pulls off an intricate

when you offhandedly mention dnd night with your friends while planning for a date, benny’s eyes go wide. “you play dnd?! why didn’t you tell me earlier, lovebug? i love dnd!” precious baby boy will gush abt his first campaign back in high school and find his first set of dice to show you. he’s excited bc dnd is now another thing you can do together as a couple. will ask if you two can make characters with interlocking backstories 🥺

will: he didn’t play in high school but knew some guys in basic training that played who explained the basics to him and his first thought was “oh benny would love this” bc he knows his brother that well benny never had the heart to tell will that he had been playing dnd for years before will told him abt it so will takes credit for introducing benny to dnd. didn’t join a campaign but a character was built & he was gifted a set of dice from that group’s dm in case he ever wanted to start. ends up taking this character with him when he joins one of your campaigns and enjoys it a lot more than he thought he would

details abt will’s character:

goliath male, abt 7’8” and 300ish lbs bc he a big chonk

ranger-fighter multiclass — “warrior who used martial prowess and nature magic to combat threats on the edge of civilization” & “master of martial combat, skilled with a variety of weapons and armor” (pg. 45, dnd player’s handbook)

you can’t tell me that william miller wouldn’t enjoy the FUCK out of this combo without your pants catching fire

favored terrain: mountain, forest at level 6, and arctic at level 10

fighting style: two-weapon fighting

archetype: beast master. prefers a wolf, hawk, or mule companion but isn’t too picky

less of an emphasis on strength (goliath characters already get +1 to strength & rangers need more dexterity and wisdom anyways); instead, put his higher stat rolls into dex, wisdom, and constitution

you mention dnd early in getting to know will partly to just make conversation (and to snuff out whether he was the kind of guy to look down on the game as a whole). he tells you abt benny and a few of his army friends that played, and that he didn’t consider himself a player bc he hadn’t used his character yet. you called bullshit and, after getting him to play once, discovered that will would make a fabulous dm. his memory? impeccable. session plans? infallible, no matter what the party can improvise. is somehow always able to steer the party in the direction he needs them to go without being forceful. no one has ever heard a “you can certainly try” sound so encouraging yet foreboding at the same time.

frankie: poor man is absolutely clueless. he joins in on the dnd fun bc he saw how excited benny was and figured that it would be better than sitting at home by himself watching western reruns. ends up being inspired by said westerns (namely “the rifleman”) when creating his character and is crossing his fingers the entire time hoping that no one calls him on the similarities. despite the emphasis placed on charisma, he’s drawn to the paladin class bc of their self-chosen holy quest and the desire to vanquish evil (trauma 🥺). is learning how spells work as he goes and is frequently apologizing for holding up the session bc of this.

details abt frankie’s character:

half-elf paladin male

neutral good alignment

worships helm, god of protection (forgotten realms)

strength & charisma highest stats

protection fighting style

takes the oath of vengeance — “a solemn commitment to punish those who have committed a grevious sin” (phb, pg. 87). the character’s own purity is inferior to serving the justice they believe is required. to me, this just SCREAMS frankie

with the guidance of helm, his character became the sole caretaker to a child whose village was slaughtered by his character’s sworn enemy. strives to defeat said sworn enemy both in the name of his adopted son’s lost family & simply bc helm was like “dude you gotta stop this guy” shortly before frankie’s character found the child

has a bunch of healing & defense spells instead of combat spells bc why would he need combat spells if he can just fuck someone up with a weapon of choice?

santiago: like frankie, santi was absolutely clueless. but unlike frankie, he did a fuck ton of research during the days leading to the first night of the campaign. he he showed up after actually having done research with a well-rounded character with fitting stats and an intriguing backstory. does what a lot of men can’t and won’t by giving the party a female that is a genuine badass and respected for her badassery instead of being talked down to simply bc she’s a female. enjoys putting feline tendencies into his rp and the guys make cat jokes a lot.

details abt santiago’s character:

female tabaxi monk, way of the open hand

chaotic neutral alignment

was raised in the monastery and became a teacher in the ways for a short time. left the monastery after her curiosity revealed corruption within the ranks & was only allowed to leave freely under the condition of not telling anyone what she found

she was called back to teach when a sickness took down a lot of the elders and despite the reluctance, when she learned her mentor was sick, she went back. taught until his death and is in search of a medicine to save the monastery

her curiosity is fueled by her passion to learn everything she can. sometimes this gets her into some shenanigans but nothing too bad

triple frontier taglist: @pedropasscals @max--phillips @likeshootingstarsinthenightsky @obirain @themarcusmoreno @catsnkooks @battletales @darthadeline @jedi-mando @book-of-anarchy @andysficrecs @purelypascal @whovianwar @lv7867 @kaermorons @princess76179 @greeneyedblondie44

[lethesbeastie]

I've Been Challenged

Currently, the fucker whose been rolling around in my brain the most is this pathetic wet cat of an individual

Their name is Chorus and they are the bearer of the curse [so much fucking trauma]

This feral rascal is the bard I played in my very first dnd campaign, and while the original campaign is no longer running, the dm and players are still working with the characters and world in the hopes of eventually creating something more from it.

The premise of the world/story is that Chorus and the rest of the unfortunate socially inept pcs are normal highschoolers who get tangled up in a magical adventure when they learn they've somehow gained the abilities of various dnd classes. There's dimension hopping, neurodivergency, eldritch horros, shenanigans, found family, multiple gender crisises, plus the typical highschool circus where they're juggling social lives, crushes, schoolwork, and extracurricular activities. In summary, there's something for just about everyone who enjoys urban fantasy and or crackfic highschool au stories.

[This Is Gonna Be A Long Ramble So If This Hasn't Caught Your Interest, Escape While You Can

Tw for mentions of violence, trauma, and the typical things used to traumatize the average blorbo]

So, being that I deeply enjoy both of those things, I think it's understandable that my autistic self hyperfixated on these fuckers with the intensity of a southern summer, and I've been extensively exploring the relationships Chorus has with other pcs, the npcs of New Haven, and the people from their past. Through this, I've also been able to deeply explore how the specific traumas they've gone through as an individual affect the way they see the world, other people, and themself. As someone with trauma, this has been very cathartic, but I somehow also managed to make this fucker so damn relatable in their trauma responses that every one of my friends has asked me if I based Chorus off of them. The answer is no, but I think it's fucking hilarious (it may only partially be due to the fact that most of my friends are also some flavor of queer and neurodivergent so, uh, whoops).

So, what exactly is Chorus' deal you may ask? Good question! The answer would require an essay, so I'm gonna break it down as simply as possible:

- dead mom, estranged dad

- shitty legal guardians

- being queer in the Deep South

- best friend/sister* went missing

- ran way from home and spent almost a year being homeless/living out of their truck

*this is important keep this in mind

"Wow Beastie, that seems like a lot to do to a character, shouldn't you tone it down a bit?"

No, it's my character and I get to shake them like a pathetic plush toy

"Does Chorus have anything good in their life??"

Yes! They have a found family with their mother's best friend Allison, and her two kids. Allison considers Chorus her own, so they tend to just refer to her as their mother. Her eldest son, Caleb, essentially raised them, as Allison divorced her husband and moved some ways away. Her youngest, Artemis, was the same age as Chorus, and the two were essentially inseparable.

As the only two trans kids in a tiny Alabama town, it often seemed like it was just Chorus and Artemis against the world. Add to this the neglect and abuse Chorus dealt with at the hand of their legal guardians (aunt and uncle), and it made out for a pretty bleak childhood. Hoping to free Chorus from their abusers, Artemis convinced them to begin planning to run away together, promising they'd go on adventure like the characters in the stories they told.

But sadly, life isn't like the stories.

Artemis disappeared, upending Chorus's entire world in one night. With nothing left to tether them to their hometown, and no safety in sight, they bided their time till they could make their escape.

Free at last, but at the mercy of the world, they wandered aimlessly until they arrived in New Haven, the setting of the campaign. A couple of the residents took an interest in them, and upon learning of their situation, worked to help them find a secure place to stay.

[Old Art]

As of now, Chorus has been living in New Haven for about a year, and for the first time feels like they can just be a normal kid.

Enter The Visions, Stage Left

With the discovery of their new magical talents, Chorus begins to wonder if perhaps their sister's disappearance was brought about by a supernatural circumstance, and seeks to find answers, and protect the friends they've found in New Haven.

Now, this probably sounds sorta cool. Troubled kid gets magic, it's pretty cliché these days, but it's still fun to mess with. However, personally, I think the most entertaining part of this campaign/story is that fact that all the characters act like normal highschoolers: ie, Fucking Stupid. There's times of seriousness, compelling moments, and frightening stakes. But there's also a kid who fell asleep in an oven (don't worry, it was turned off), a girl who talks to rocks, a himbo dealing with a sexuality crisis, a boy who's only friends are magic birds, and Chorus, resident gender enjoyer and mom friend. All in all, it's a recipe for disaster in the funnest way possible, made all the better thanks to the friends we made along the way! (Plus this sword we found—).

Some more fun tidbits about my blorbo:

- will cry from any strong emotion, and has a lot of feelings

- jacket has infinite knives for comedy reasons only

- is canonically the reason for 3 gender crisises and 1 sexuality crisis, and counting

- plays, among many things, the French horn. Only bringing this up because my partner said they look like they play French horn after I mentioned it akcjskfj

- has a YouTube channel. Originally started as a fun hobby with their sister, has evolved into a way of processing her disappearance and exploring their own goals. Mostly makes videos about music and storytelling, however also makes a bunch of shitposts.

- Caleb (their older brother) is the editor for their YouTube channel. If you know Caleb as a person, this is incredibly entertaining to picture

- has a ukulele reinforced with metal that they use for self defense. They named her Cub. They bring her everywhere

- names all their important belongings. Their car's name is Rusty and they'd fight God for her

- completely oblivious to the fact that people have crushes on them, while also being very aware that people find then attractive

- has a cat named Munch, pictured below. They would die for Munch

- current best friend is Willow, pc played by @maddienotsograceful, and one of the most entertaining characters I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing. She's a league of her own, and I cannot possibly express to you the power she has at the table, it's fantastic.

She currently holds the record for times she's left our dm speechless

- has a crush on an npc named Wolfmire, who was introduced session one only for me to Immediately call dibs. (If You Didn't Want Me Getting Attached You Shouldn't Have Put A Himbo On The Table Alex—)

- considers fistfighting strangers on the street at night a replacement for therapy*

*has however been convinced to stop doing so to avoid worrying their friends + try and be a good example for Willow

- bites. So much. All their family members have bite scars from them. It's basically a family rite of passage at this point

- nickname is Bear, due to a large variety of reasons. Only allows people they're very close to to refer to them as such

- does drag some weekends

- has eaten gravel

- has worked various customer service jobs for roughly 5 years, currently works at the EZ Gasmart in New Haven

- firm believer in mothman, secretly hopes so see him since they live in Virginia now

I wanna ramble about my ocs

[laritheosis]

hey look more dnd fun times

(note: this was a flashback session between my character and the character my DM will play once I take over running the campaign)

rogue: hey, wanna see a magic trick? :)                                                        wizard, fresh out of magic school and full of innocence: do i!!! :D

her rogue was supposed to steal something from my wizard in order to get the story going, except i kept rolling really high on perception checks, leading to multiple instances of her trying and failing to trick him. she tried breaking into his room at night, but he immediately woke up and told her to fuck off

when my wizard saw her steal a guy’s wallet and tried to let him know, except the guy failed a perception check and didn’t believe him. we found him the next morning sitting in the same exact spot, still wondering where all of his money went

the rest of the session they had to work together to find a stolen museum artifact, making them the embodiment of the “Unlikely Strained Alliance Who Bond Through a Series of Wacky Shenanigans” trope

her rogue rolled a nat 20 when trying to intimidate a gnome. he shit his pants and fainted. 

the number of times her rogue messed with my wizard and just sat there watching him flip out like :)

our two characters having a Bonding Moment™ when our rogue threw my wizard into a river, only to realize he couldn’t swim and had to fish him out

finding a gravestone with Tom Hiddleston’s name on it, making him a canonical part of our universe, and also dead

the disgusting amount of failed rolls throughout the entire session

seriously i think our dice were cursed

her rogue rolled two critical failures in a row

my wizard waited through an entire fight to cast Jump on her so she could do a sick leap up to the top of a watch tower and kill the archer. take a guess at what he rolled. take a wild fucking guess.

wizard: eh, my family doesn’t have much to steal from, except cows          rogue: i’d steal a cow. i’ve done it before and i’ll do it again

our characters learning that they both came from abusive families and basically having a “same hat!!!” moment except with childhood trauma

tiny halfling wizard: *interrupts a ritual human sacrifice* hail and well met my friends!! c:

my wizard successfully distracting the cultists by pretending to be a traveling performer and juggling fire bolts so our rogue could sneak past

both our characters got knocked down to zero HP, but since this was a prequel session and we couldn’t die we had get some divine intervention and have the god of the temple we were in take pity on us and bring us back to life.

wizard: *sits bolt upright* i think i died and met god

the human sacrifices thanking us and then leaving in typical video game NPC fashion

rogue: you DIED                                                                                      wizard: yeah, but I got better

the two of us bursting into the police station at 6 am, holding a stolen priceless artifact and a cultist’s bone crown, looking like we’ve been through hell and back

rogue: you wouldn’t want to leave without forgetting..... this! *pulls his wallet out of her pocket*                                                                                wizard: *finger guns* aaayyyyyy                                                                  rogue: AAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

rogue: hey i got us some horses!                                                            wizard: sweet! where did you get them?                                                      rogue: not important. also we need to leave town immediately.