#do you think ANY of the new cast know that the games channel used to do something called “GAME BANG”?

[tame-a-messenger]

Do you remember the video that made you a Smosh fan? For me it was definitely that one Nintendo rap Ian and Anthony did back in 2015 (I don’t remember when exactly I watched it but it was within a year of its release). I used to play that song all the time along with the classic assassin’s creed and Zelda. Idk if I watched their sketches first but it’s for sure my earliest memories.

Ok. So,

back when I first started watching Smosh I was much younger than I am now, and didn't try and keep track of time AT ALL. Which means I don't have a totally concrete answer...

BUT, I do know it was and back when they used to do the "TOP 5" stuff on the Games Channel, which I went and looked and the videos I REMEMBER seeing at time of release are 11 yrs old... god.... ANYwAY- but even some older videos I remember watching I just don't know if I went back to watch them or watched them as they came out. So I can't pinpoint EXACTLY WHEN I started. Just a rough estimate.

For Smosh Main it's even harder to pinpoint... Because when I get obsessed with something, I go back and watch all the old videos (which, as you can see makes this pretty fricken hard..) but I think I remember watching PARANORMAL EASY BAKE OVEN! around when it came out, so that's-oh.......13....yrs........damn....I'm old......

But when I became a fan? I've on-and-off been a fan of Smosh for something like 13+ yrs I guess?

For a fun tidbit! The first EVER song I bought was THE Assassins creed song + THE Legend of Zelda RAP and I still have them!

[windvexer]

Crafts of the Witch Useful to Learn

Welcome to December 25th, here's some stuff about witchcraft to think about because you're on your phone looking for a distraction :)

So anyway here's stuff that's really useful to learn how to do before you actually need it because putting it all together for the first time on game day is stressful.

Creation and Desecration of a Poppet

A poppet is a deeply sympathetic representation of someone or something (usually another person).

According to the law of sympathy, whatever you do to the poppet will happen to the person it represents. You could cleanse and bless it, or smite it.

Poppets can be made in a wide variety of ways, from paper dolls, to clay figurines, to crocheted stuffies - anything you like. They also must be worked over magically to link them to their target.

The most ideal poppet is decorated to look very similar to the thing it represents, and is imbued with a taglock (such as hair, nail clippings, footprint dust, etc).

Learning Prompts:

The handicraft of creating the poppet - start with any arts and crafts you're interested in and see if they'll work for you

Practice making several poppets - you do not need to consecrate them. How easy is it for you to decorate it just like the real person? How easy is it for you to include taglocks?

Find a disposal plan. ""Voodoo dolls"" are steeped in public awareness; will it be safe for you to throw away the poppet in the trash when you're done with it?

Consecration or enlivening poppet as target. Find or develop a ritual to fill the poppet with magical life so that it becomes the target. Practice this once or twice (perhaps on a poppet of yourself, to cast blessings or prosperity magic on yourself)

Desecration or severing link. Find or develop a ritual to end the sympathetic link between the poppet and its target. Practice this once or twice.

Storage and tending of enlivened poppets. They are alive and they act like it. If you intend to have poppets sitting around for long-term spells or to use as-needed, you will need a system of storing them so that they "go to sleep" and remain undisturbed until you need them.

Consecration, In General

Here I mean "consecration" to be an act of magic which anoints an object as sacred unto a purpose, and therefore primed for magical use. In crude terms: you're making an object magical and giving it a purpose at the same time.

Consecration is a very useful thing to know how to do. In and of itself it can form a kind of minor enchantment (I consecrate this mug of oolong tea to be a potion of survival +1), but it can also prepare the way for powerful enchantments (I consecrate this ring to become a divine protector, ready to receive the powerful enchantment I soon cast upon it).

Learning Prompts:

Find or create a minor consecration spell which can be cast in under a minute. Strive to obtain one which is covert and can be done even in the presence of others. (Perhaps we could call this a 'cantrip'). Such a spell tends to be suitable for moving fate a few degrees over, or to dig a shallow pool in the tides of reality.

Find or create a hefty consecration spell. Consider what abilities or access you have that allows you to redefine the fate and purpose of an object. Contemplation of this spell can provide great insight into one's own belief and path. Such a spell may completely reorient fate, and carve new channels into the waterways of reality.

Practice minor consecrations on 5 different types of objects. Consecrating the tea, that's easy - stir it a few times. But how to consecrate a hairbrush? How to consecrate a mirror?

Practice major consecration twice, unto two very different domains. Perhaps a pepper oil of fiery smiting, and a crystal bracelet of deep soothing. This is an opportunity to compare and contrast the powers you raise when you work within different domains.

Desecration, In General; and Spell Reversal

To make profane; as in, to remove the magic from something and make it no more than a lump of physical matter, or a meaningless event like scattered dust on the winds of fate.

In my opinion, all witches should learn this - "don't raise up what you can't put down" also includes "don't enchant shit if you don't know how to undo enchantments."

To know how to nullify magic also means you can nullify unwanted and harmful things around you, and take the force and energy out of them.

Learning Prompts:

Find or create a minor desecration spell, one that you can cast on the fly and without tools or ingredients. Such a spell may be like a slapping a broom on a dusty rug; it will shake free things not tightly held.

Find or create a major desecration spell. Such a spell is like steam cleaning and shampooing a rug; it must remove every particle of magic and leave nothing behind but stripped fibers.

Practice minor desecrations 5 times in day-to-day life, targeting stank vibes and irritating situations that do not serve you.

Practice minor consecrations and desecrations 5 times by consecrating a stone, candle, etc., unto a magical purpose, and then removing the consecration.

Find an opportunity to cast a major desecration, which you may find the opportunity to do the next time the need for banishment comes up; or when sorting through old magical tools you no longer need, etc.

Find or create a solid spell reversal, one that you can use without having to have physical spell remnants on hand. Note that reverse to sender is not the same as nullifying your own magic.

Binding Divination Tools to Veracity, and Sundry Divination Management

Or if you like, binding veracity to divination tools. Binding is not baneful magic. Binding means to attach one thing to another thing, or to prevent something from being ways.

You can cast a binding on your divination tools to constrain them to only tell the truth, to truly peer beyond the veil, and only deliver what it can see; and never reflect your personal whims.

There's plenty of magic you can cast for your divinatory tools to make your life easier.

Prepare a binding spell to constrain a divination tool to only reflect the kind of truth you want. Do you want a tarot deck to only show your true state of mind? Do you want a set of runes to only read the will of the gods? Do you want your charm set to only read on the future, and not the past?

Find or create a protection spell to stop undue influence on a divination tool. This does not mean "evil spirits are manipulating your reading." Undue influence also means the strong emotions of querents, random psychic garbage, and the like; but it can also have an impact on the way you phrase questions and work with the tool itself.

Find or create a spell to enchant your tool as a magical seer/oracle. You can use a tarot deck out of the box, of course. You can also enchant it to be a magical object that obtains truth from mystical sources. Try it and see if you like the difference.

Find or create a charging ritual to revitalize your divination tools. This is a good opportunity to examine elemental energies; what kinds of energies are best suited to the purposes of divination and seeing beyond? The full moon is classically used for such purposes. Challenge yourself to recharge your divination tools once a month for 3 months, and see if you like the difference.

Blessing, In General

You have the power to generate and coalesce benevolent and helpful energies, and to distribute them into the world around you. You can bless anything you like, and perhaps the more the merrier; it's a very fine way to transform a space, and put love into the world.

Try considering blessings to have 2 parts; the first is to evoke a desirable force, and the second is to apply the force in a certain way: You could evoke the winter dawn as a blessing power, and then ask it to do something specific (provide a calm day, to make wise choices, to avoid bad traffic, etc).

Write your own minor blessing spell that you can perform in a minute or less. Try centering this blessing around a wonderful and benevolent force, whether it be a certain god, mushrooms, unconditional love, and so forth.

Write a separate minor blessing spell using a very different focus. Try the deep blue calming waters of the deep ocean, or the sprightly breezes of alpine hills, or the feeling of the first sip of a perfect bowl of soup; but make it have really different vibes from the first blessing.

Practice both minor blessings and see the difference. Challenge yourself to use each blessing cantrip 5 times. Try clustering the blessings to fill a space with that kind of energy (such as five items on desk blessed under the alpine breeze, and five items in the bathroom blessed under the deep ocean). Can you feel a difference in the spaces as you move in and out of them?

Write a major blessing using the various benevolent and lovely powers of your practice. This is another good opportunity to explore your practice. When you are in need of love, kindness, grace, and softness, what part of your path rises to meet your needs?

The Big Practice

Consecrate a poppet unto yourself. Bind and enchant a divination tool to be a powerful oracle of truth, and read on the most helpful equipment the poppet needs (RPG style: weapon, armor, familiar, potion?).

Whatever the answer, make a tiny container spell which serves the purpose. Consecrate it to be the tool that the poppet (you) needs.

Give the enchanted container spell to the poppet and cast a blessing on it, to be empowered with the new tool it has been granted in life.

Carefully store the poppet and its tool.

Periodically, perhaps between 1 to 6 times a year, recharge your divination tool and discern what new tools the poppet might need. Desecrate the old tool if you need to (or let them stack up), and consecrate new tools.

Keep the poppet and its tools for as long as you like, carefully severing the link between yourself and it when you're done with it.

[bettys-redwinesupernova]

DREW STARKEY & CHARACTERS MASTERLIST ౨ৎ

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐗:

𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙛𝙛 - ☀︎ 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙨𝙩 - ☾ 𝙨𝙢𝙪𝙩 - ☆

A/N: finally created a masterlist for drew & rafe (and other characters if requested), so i hope you enjoy !! fics are posted in chronological order from oldest to newest (top to bottom), series will be updated when i begin to do any !!

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐖 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐘:

ONE-SHOTS —

the prank that backfired (sort of?) ☀︎

drew starkey x fem!reader

reader and drew decide to play a prank on the obx cast for her youtube channel. they do the “asking to have another girl over” prank, which results in a very angry obx cast who are out to get drew.

i think he knows ☀︎ ☆

drew starkey x fem!craig!reader (daniel craig’s daughter)

daniel craig introduces his daughter to his co-star drew starkey at the after party for the ‘golden globes,’ and they do more than just hit it off.

you were, faking? ☀︎

drew starkey x gn!reader x obx!cast

the unspoken prank war between the obx cast finds a new pair in the lead when Y/N and Drew decide to pull a fainting prank.

head over heels ☀︎

drew starkey x fem!reader

in which drew starkey is head over heels in love with his girlfriend, y/n.

this was a prank? ☀︎

drew starkey x fem!reader

y/n pulls her family into a trending prank where you pretend to embarrass your partner in front of your family…i wonder how drew reacts?

not your bro ☀︎

drew starkey x fem!reader

y/n decides to use some ‘unusual’ nicknames for her boyfriend, drew, except it drives him insane.

my masterpiece ☀︎ ☆

drew starkey x plus size!fem!reader

after drew catches his girlfriend crying about the hate she’s receiving, he decides to show her exactly how much he loves her.

waiting ain’t easy ☾ ☀︎

drew starkey x fem!reader

after 6 gruelling months of long distance with drew, y/n decides to surprise him on set.

bigger than the whole sky ☾ ☀︎

drew starkey x fem!reader

while filming an emotional scene, y/n receives devastating news about her mum, leading to a heartbreaking breakdown on set as her boyfriend drew and their co-stars comfort her.

SERIES —

nothing to see here yet…

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍:

ONE-SHOTS —

i’m not him ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

in which rafe snaps at reader during a heated argument and she flinches, her past trauma resurfacing. rafe breaking the main promise he made to her: to not be anything like her father.

all mine ☆

rafe cameron x fem!reader

rafe has to give his bratty gf an attitude adjustment. maybe a little teasing should work?

i get you ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

rafe and weird!reader are one of the strangest couples in the obx. nobody has any clue how the cunning and cruel rafe cameron is dating the epitome of sunshine. but rafe just gets her, and she just gets him.

animals ☾ ☆ (potential series !!)

rafe cameron x fem!kook!reader

in a world where obsession blurs the lines between love and hate, y/b and rafe cameron are locked in a toxic game of desire and dominance. as the tension between them reaches a boiling point, rafe’s possessiveness and y/n’s defiance threaten to expose the truth—some animals can’t resist the hunt.

mess it up ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

rafe realises he’s been neglecting his girlfriend to hang out with the guys, so he pulls out all the stops to make it up to her.

someone to stay ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

when rafe’s girlfriend doesn’t show up to his safe house during a hurricane he fears the worst, and wonders if he’ll get to tell her that he loves her.

linger ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

a sweet, introverted bartender and obx’s very own troubled golden boy share an unspoken connection—until jealousy, misunderstandings, and unspoken feelings finally push them to confront the truth.

crazy ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

y/n knows exactly what makes rafe angry, and after a fight she uses it to her advantage.

million reasons ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

rafe cameron’s fear of love/commitment pushes y/n away—until he realises losing her is far worse. desperate, he finally confesses his feelings and gives her a reason to stay.

him & i ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

rafe confronts the pogues after they try to get his girl to turn on him—big mistake.

subtle is a strong word ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

rafe uses a tiktok trend to his advantage.

block me out ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

haunted by her ex’s cruel words, y/n wishes she could block herself out. but rafe sees her differently—like she hung the stars in the sky.

fear of water ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

after an abusive past, y/n struggles with toxic communication in her relationship with rafe. when fear pushes her away, love teaches her to stay.

blowing smoke ☾

rafe cameron x fem!reader

after rafe betrays her trust, y/n exposes his lies at a party, humiliating him in front of everyone—and walking away without looking back.

begin again ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

a revenge plan turns complicated when y/n falls for rafe cameron—the one person she was never supposed to love. but was it ever just revenge?

favourite crime ☾ ☀︎

rafe cameron x fem!reader

trapped in a deadly chase through the desert, y/n kills to save rafe—forcing them to confront love, heartbreak, and the ghosts of their past.

SERIES —

nothing to see here yet…

⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺ ⁺‧₊˚ ཐི⋆♱⋆ཋྀ ˚₊‧⁺

[tritoch]

i know a lot of people (very understandably) dislike the paladin job quests in ffxiv, particularly HW, but i do think it's fun that, now that the pre-ShB MSQ revamp is complete, paladins now have a very cool and thematic in-game storyline that happens without a word being spoken: the development of passage of arms.

none of the below is directly stated in the script, but imo it's a fairly obvious gloss on what the game presents, if you assume a paladin warrior of light. spoilers for all expansions through the end of 6.X.

in the new version of steps of faith, as vishap breaks through each ward protecting ishgard from attack, lucia mounts a final desperate effort to hold him back, with a very familiar looking animation:

but even lucia can't hold back vishap's flame alone, so the temple knights surge forward to assist her. their efforts make the shield visually more powerful and larger. the temple knights here band together in defense of ishgard, and their knightly resolve to protect their home is the difference between victory and defeat.

lucia and the knights do ultimately succeed in defending the last ward, as you have to defeat vishap before their shield falls or you lose.

later in heavensward, obviously, we will get ffxiv's most famous (failed) attempt at blocking something with a shield.

this moment can be read as fairly impactful on the warrior of light's development; as i've noted elsewhere, after the trauma of watching haurchefant bleed out in their arms at level 57, at level 58 paladins learn to channel their magic into healing (and it's called "clemency," or mercy. mercy for whom? who was guilty?), and as someone pointed out on that post, at level 58 dark knights used to get "sole survivor", letting them heal in response to a marked target's death.

for a time, you literally carry haurchefant's shield with you, and 3.3 very much literalizes in genre fashion the idea that even when you are standing alone, your fallen friends stand with you. you don't need to call any allies to stand at your side and raise their shields with you because they are already there, in spirit.

stormblood marks a pretty important turning point in the warrior of light as a combatant, in my opinion, and the text makes this clear in several ways. first, in pretty much all your jobs, you've now far exceeded your trainers and are pioneering new techniques. this is no less true of paladin, which for 60-70 abandons any trainers at all for you to show off your peerless skills in a tournament.

second, stormblood is straight up a story about you getting stronger. at level 61, zenos kicks your ass. at level 70, you kick his ass. why? because you fought and got stronger and developed incredible new techniques and became a one-man army.

for a lot of classes, this story lines up nicely with the big rotation changes or flashy new finishers on the way from 60 to 70. SMN is now busting out bahamut and casting akh morn; RDM gets verflare and verholy; DRG starts harnessing nidhogg's power directly through dragon sight and nastrond.

the tanks are divided in two: warriors and gunbreakers get huge damaging upgrades at 70 in the form of inner release and continuation, each of which lets them hit the same button many times for lots of damage and satisfying animations. paladin and dark knight get more protective abilities; dark knight gets the blackest night, and there's been plenty said about that already by pretty much everyone.

paladins get passage of arms. instead of a relentless new attack (and you get requiescat at 68, which is a way bigger deal for your dps rotation), your big reveal at 70 for zenos in your fight in ala mhigo is a superior way to protect your party, a shield that lets you stand for your allies so they never have to fall for you again. it's lucia's same shield, except you need no allies' shields to reinforce you, proof of your martial prowess and your ability to transcend limits, and perhaps in truth a reminder that you never really stand alone.

in many respects passage of arms should really feel like a paladin signature move to you now if you are playing it at this point, because you should be popping it in pretty much every fight (you are using your mits, right...?). basically every FFXIV fight has at least one big AOE with downtime that warrants passage of arms usage, usually after the mid-fight add phase with slowly filling bar. since that AOE usually drops during downtime, there's no reason not to pop passage of arms (which otherwise restricts your movement and actions), and even on normal, sometimes every little bit counts on a damage check even if it means dropping DPS (thinking here of harrowing hell P10N on release, which was...less consistent for a lot of roulette parties than you might hope).

so from 70 onward, passage of arms is in a sense a paladin warrior of light's signature move, and certainly the one a player gets to most actually enjoy (since if you're using it, you're by necessity not doing anything besides moving your camera and admiring your sick animation). it doesn't have any competition in terms of spectacle until confiteor, and those you're usually throwing out in the middle of movement.

it's such a signature, in fact, that the only other person shown using your one-person version of passage of arms is your greatest admirer, who studied your legend for over a century.

and it's when he fails (should've popped arm's length, bud) that the warrior of light decides they can't let their friends fall for them, and sends them away with the transporter beacon. this is all wrong: you were meant to die for them, not the other way around. yours is the shield that stands between your allies and defeat. it is you who will win this passage of arms and break your opponents lance. and you do.

and then later, when they need to quickly establish zero's domain as a place of fallen grandeur, the home of someone who once believed in heroes but is now a cool and cynical vampire hunter d, what do they use? a decayed statue of someone in the paladin endwalker gear doing the passage of arms animation, of course.

from a visible instantiation of knighthood as a joint effort to defend what is sacred, to a tribute to the fallen friends whose memories stand by you and animate you, to a symbol of the wol's power as emulated by their allies or darkly mirrored in other shards.

not bad for a mit button you hit once per fight and otherwise never think about!

[writeforthepeople]

Smosh Summer Love Triangle part 1

Damien Haas x f!reader / Spencer Agnew x f!reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Drinking, cussing

summary: MULI-PART SERIES edited from my old posts on wattpad and translated to 2nd person from 1st, so I apologise if there is any improper grammar!! You are a Sims 4 twitch streamer who watches a lot of Smosh. You were making the Smosh cast on stream and they see it, inviting you to collab. In the process a love triangle begins with you, Spencer, and Damien.

The screen is filled with the familiar loading screen of The Sims 4, your face pinned in the corner of the screen and your chat exploding with excitement over your new series.

"Ok ok, the day is finally here," you start, "Today, I will make the Smosh Cast!" You smile, it’s something you’ve been promising your viewers for a while. You’ve really grown quite the community over the last few years while streaming, and found a love for being on camera, something you never expected. You started streaming as a way to play out a lot of the storylines you were writing and to keep flexing your writing skills in between jobs.

You start to build the cast, taking suggestions from your chat and laughing along with their inside jokes. You watch a lot of Smosh and had been planning out some fun storylines for the cast members. You start with Ian and Anthony, trying hard to find a way to nail Anthony’s tattoos. You begin to tell chat about your time meeting Anthony.

"He was super nice the few times our paths have crossed. I used to do some writing for a channel under the label who must not be named," you pause, and chat knows you're talking about Defy, "but I never worked directly with Smosh," you continue, expanding on the story of how chill Anthony was and how excited you were when he and Ian were able to get Smosh back. "If you've been here a while, you know that I geeked out about the news on stream," you laugh. "It is such an amazing story if I’m honest."

You continue to build out the cast, putting up a poll to see which other members would fit in the limited Sims 8-character household. "Ok, I think we’re set. Ian, Anthony, Shayne, Courtney, Damien, Amanda, Angela, and Spencer!" you chuckle. "This is a chaotic group and I love it."

Chat floods with messages as you let the game play out a little.

"OMG, why is Ian's Sim always grilling?! 😂"

"NOT COURTNEY STARTING A FIGHT WITH DAMIEN AGAIN."

"Wait, why does Spencer look like he hasn't slept in three days??"

You laugh, shaking your head and answering a question in chat about your favorite Smosh videos.

"Listen, I only create what the Sims tell me to. If Damien and Courtney are fighting, it’s because the game WANTS CHAOS." You dramatically click your mouse. "Alright, let’s make this worse."

You lock Courtney and Damien in a tiny room together—no doors, no windows.

Chat explodes:

"Y/N NO."

"Y/N YES."

"This is why you have a god complex."

You smirk at the camera. "I don’t have a god complex—I have a 'making great content' complex."

"Y/N, you should really be writing for Smosh."

You smile big. "Well, someone let them know that, it’s the dream," you joke. "I do miss writing. It would be so cool to write game content."

And unbeknownst to you, someone at Smosh is actually watching.

Meanwhile, Spencer at Smosh has the stream up as he goes through his emails.

Spencer leans against his desk, watching your stream on his second monitor. His arms are crossed, a smirk playing at his lips.

Tommy, passing by, glances at his screen. "What's this? Another one of your deep-dive YouTube spirals?" Spencer shakes his head, tilting the monitor toward him. "Nope. This girl is making Sims versions of all of us... and it’s kinda hilarious." Tommy watches for a second. "Damn, she actually nailed you. You do look sleep-deprived." Spencer rolls his eyes but can’t help but chuckle.

Your voice crackles through the speakers: "Oh no. Spencer's Sim just autonomously walked into the pool. That’s... concerning."

Chat floods with messages:

"SPENCER NO."

"ACCURATE TBH."

Spencer raises an eyebrow, amused, and Tommy laughs, nudging him.

"You should DM her. She'd lose her mind if she knew you were watching."

Spencer leans back in his chair, thoughtful. "Actually... I’ve got a better idea."

Hours later, you wrap up your stream, shutting off your camera and stretching. You feel your phone buzz. You glance at it, expecting a random notification—only to freeze.

Instagram DM from @Spennser:

"Hey, Y/N. Just watched your stream. I don't think we've formally met but I know we have some mutuals from Defy. Would love to have you on Smosh Games sometime—maybe even help us write a Sims 4 Reunion sketch? Interested?"

Your brain short-circuits and your eyes widen. You stare at the screen, rereading the message a few times when another notification pops up.

Spennser has followed you.

"WHAT." You almost yell aloud to yourself.

You immediately text your friend Shannon.

"SPENCER AGNEW JUST MESSAGED ME. WHAT DO I DO."

You see the typing bubbles appear as you stare at the screen, willing your friend to answer quickly.

"I want to support this moment... but I do not know who that is."

You shake your head to yourself.

"My god woman, you call yourself my best friend? He works on the Smosh Games channel and asked me if I would be interested in coming on a guest spot!"

Shannon replied quickly:

"OH GIRL! That is so cool! Just stay calm, wait like 10 minutes and say you would be interested."

You absolutely do not wait ten minutes.

You hurriedly type back:

"Wait, WHAT?! You actually saw that? I am forever embarrassed, but yeah I’d LOVE to. That sounds amazing!!"

You hit send, then immediately panic. Thinking to yourself, "Too many exclamation points?? Should I have played it cooler?? Oh god, I’m already embarrassing myself—"

Before you can spiral further, another DM appears:

"Awesome. Let's set up a meeting next week. You're hilarious—think you’d be a great fit with the team."

You let out a strangled noise somewhere between excitement and sheer disbelief.

The next morning

You spent the entire morning overthinking how to present yourself. They said "casual," but what does that really mean? You chose to be a little more formal than normal. With a plain white t-shirt, a trendy blazer, dark jeans, and penny loafers.

You pulled into the office parking lot and texted Spencer, as he instructed you. By the time you grabbed your purse and got out of the car, he was standing near the doors smiling.

"Well, you made it. No turning back now," he smiles. "I’m Spencer," he continues.

You follow him inside, your heart still pounding from a mix of nerves and absolute excitement.

Walking into the main office space, your eyes dart around, taking everything in. You’re seeing familiar faces from the channel, posters of old sketches covered the walls. The air smells like coffee and somehow ice cream.

A few people are huddled around a whiteboard, brainstorming something that looks like pure madness, but before you can fully process it, a familiar voice calls out.

"Yo! Is that Y/N?"

Anthony Padilla is grinning from across the room.

You barely have time to register your brain that he remembered you before he’s walking over.

"Welcome to the madhouse! It’s so good to see you again," he says. You, scrambling to form coherent words: "Wow, um, thanks! I love the madhouse, but I didn’t expect you to remember me."

Anthony laughs, completely unfazed by your awkwardness.

"Of course I do! I was stoked when Spencer mentioned seeing your stream. Glad you’re here. Writing for us is a lot like playing Sims—except instead of controlling little digital people, you’re controlling all these little people," he gestures around himself.

"That sounds... perfect," you grin. Spencer leads you into the writing room, where the rest of the team is gathered.

Seated at the table:

Ian, sipping coffee like he was running on fumes.

Shayne, mid-rant about a video he had seen the night before.

Courtney, scrolling through memes while half-listening to Shayne.

Damien, leaning back in his chair, spinning a pen between his fingers.

The moment you walk in, Damien looks up and shoots you a grin. "Oh, a new recruit? Are you sure you’re ready for this?"

You, fighting the instant warmth in your face: "I think I can handle it."

"That’s what they all say... until Ian makes you rewrite something four times," Damien jokes, shooting a glare at Ian playfully.

Ian, deadpan: "I take creative integrity very seriously." The room laughs, instantly making you feel more at ease.

Spencer claps his hands together. "Alright, let’s get started. We’re working on a Sims 4 Reunion sketch. To that, I brought in my favorite Sims 4 content creator!" You perk up immediately, your cheeks blushing slightly.

"Oh, I have SO many ideas."

Spencer smirks. "Yeah, we figured. That’s why you’re here."

Courtney chimes in, "I LOVE the Sims, put me in coach," she jokes. "But really, I love your streams. I like to put them on while I do the dishes," she admits. You’re surprised to know so many people at Smosh already knew who you were. As they start tossing around ideas, you feel yourself relaxing into the process. Ideas are thrown like dodgeballs, some sticking, some getting immediately roasted.

You had come up with a few ideas to bring to the table.

"So the thought is that just like a lot of your other reunions, you have Chanse hosting and baiting you guys with questions to uncover the lore that is the Sims," you smile, seeing everyone listening to you. "Some of the biggest drama is about the Goth and Caliente families, so I thought that might be the best place to start, and the most people would be able to understand right away," you explain.

"PUT.ME.IN.COACH," Courtney yells again. "Sorry... I just really love the Sims," you both laugh and continue to brainstorm.

Somewhere in the madness, you realize something—you’re not just some guest here, watching. You’re contributing... and they’re listening. After the session, you linger behind, still buzzing from the energy of it all. Damien walks up, leaning on the table beside you.

"So, first day in the chaos. How’s it feel?" he asks earnestly. You smile, shaking your head. "Like I accidentally stumbled into the best gig ever."

Damien chuckles, nudging your arm. "That’s how they get you. Next thing you know, you’re part of the furniture." You share a grin, and you feel a weird little flip in your stomach.

As you’re packing up your things, Ian walks over, a casual but knowing look on his face.

"Hey, Anthony and I are grabbing food after this. You should come."

You blink. Wait. What. "Like... with you guys?" Ian smirks. "No, with the ghost that haunts the office. Yes, with us." You laugh, shaking your head. "Yeah. I’d love to."

They ended up at a small, hole-in-the-wall diner a few blocks from the Smosh office—the kind of place that you might just walk past, but if you know it, you know it.

You slid into the booth across from Ian and Anthony, still feeling slightly surreal about this whole situation.

Ian flipped open a menu. "This place has the best grilled cheese in LA. Trust me."

Anthony, without looking up: "It’s just grilled cheese, dude. It’s the same everywhere."

Ian narrowed his eyes at him. "You take that back."

You snickered, already loving the dynamic. You took a second to just soak it in—sitting across from two people you had watched on YouTube since you were a teenager. Casually grabbing lunch with them like it was nothing! You forced yourself to act normal.

As you waited for your food, the conversation flowed effortlessly. Ian leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "So, I know Spencer found you through your Sims stream, but I’m curious—how’d you get into writing? I heard you were with Defy for a little while too?"

You hesitated for a split second, then let yourself be honest. "I was, yeah! I was writing for a gaming channel they had called The Escapist. I’ve always wanted to be a writer. That’s why I moved to LA."

"That’s cool. I can’t believe I never ran into you there," Ian spoke, and Anthony shook his head.

"You are the people person, and even I met you in passing a few times," he joked with Ian.

"I pretty much kept to myself. You know how they were, wanted everything to be segregated and stuff," you both nodded like you understood exactly what she meant.

"So what have you been working on since then?" Anthony asked, taking a bite of his vegan burger.

"I’ve done some freelance work here and there, mostly digital content and gaming-related projects. But... my Twitch channel really took off because of how I built stories in The Sims."

Anthony’s interest piqued. "So the storytelling is what makes people come back to your streams?"

You nodded. "Yeah, I think so. I love giving characters depth and making storylines that feel... real, even if it’s just in a game. It’s what keeps me excited about creating." You carried on, lost in the passion. "I just found myself coming up with all these stories in my head and I just started writing them down and eventually made them into Sims content. I didn’t have a channel or anything right away, so I was just doing it for fun and a friend suggested I started posting." You grinned. "The rest is history. It quickly became my main gig, which I love, but..." You trailed off. "I miss the writing and working in a team, you know?"

Ian grinned, looking at Anthony. "She’s one of us."

You snorted. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

Anthony, stirring his drink with his straw, gave you a knowing look. "You said writing was your dream. Does this project light that match again?"

The question hit harder than you expected. You blinked, caught off guard. "I mean... yeah. Honestly? Yeah."

You hesitated, then decided to just say it. "I didn’t realize how much I missed being in a creative environment until today." Ian and Anthony shared a quick glance. "Good," Ian said simply, taking a sip of his drink. "Because you bring something special to the table."

You blushed at the compliment. You nodded. "I work solo so often, I forgot what it was like to have that energy to play off of." Anthony laughed a little. "There’s no shortage of energy or ideas with the cast you were working with." You giggled. "I picked up on that pretty quickly." You admitted. "I didn’t expect the cast to have so much Sims knowledge either. Spencer really did his homework."

Anthony smirked. "Speaking of Spencer... interesting that he is the one who found you. Must be a big fan."

You, mid-sip of your water, almost choked. "Wha-no, no. I think we have mutual friends from the Defy days?" you sputtered.

Ian and Anthony both looked way too entertained.

Anthony, completely deadpan: "Oh, and he just so happened to be watching a stream you were doing that involved Smosh?"

You let out a nervous laugh, shaking your head.

Ian chimed in. "I don’t knoooow," he started. "If anyone is a fan, it is Damien." His comment caused Anthony to snort. "Ok, so you caught that too. I wasn’t just going to call him out like that in front of Y/N."

"Damien is just flirty with everyone, and Spencer is just—Spencer. He’s nice."

Anthony raised a brow. "Right. And I’m a nun."

You groaned, burying your face in your hands. "Oh my god. I cannot believe we’re talking about this." Ian smirked. "Just saying. Pay attention. You might be surprised." You shook your head, still refusing to acknowledge what they were implying.

"Let’s change the subject before I throw myself into traffic."

As the check arrived, Ian pulled out his phone. "We should make a group chat. Now that you’ve survived lunch with us, it’s official."

You raised an eyebrow. "Officially... what?" Anthony smirked. "You’re officially not a weirdo. Congrats." You rolled your eyes, but you were smiling. Ian quickly added you to a new chat:

Group Chat Created: 'Chaos Committee'

Ian: Welcome to the dumbest group chat you’ll ever be in.

Anthony: If you mute us, we’ll know.

You: I regret this already.

Ian: No, you don’t.

As they stood to leave, Ian clapped you on the back. "We hope we’ll get to work with you more in the future." You felt a small spark of excitement in your chest. "Me too."

[fandoms-without-fics]

The Cutest Discovery Ever. (Damien X Reader)

A/N: I’ve never done x reader stuff before so I’m sorry if this is bad… also this is based off a dream I had. Also, also, I know Damien or any of the cast wouldn’t act like this. This one is definitely fan fiction this time.

Words: 2,977

Ships: none

Characters: Damien Haas, Amanda Lehan-Canto, Arasha Lalani, cast member!reader.

You had been working at Smosh for some time now. You joined along side Angela and Chanse. You had always been known to be the rational yet funny one, like Shayne or Amanda.

But there was a side to you they didn’t see. You had been keeping it a secret this whole time, for fear of them thinking you’re weird.

See, before you joined you had been a long time fan of the channel, and the fandom. But it was the corner of the fandom you were embarrassed about. The Tickle Community.

You had been on tumblr many times to read fanfics and see short clips taken from videos about them being tickled or mentioning it or what have you.

So when you were in LA at one point and just happened to meet Courtney at the store, things got awkward for you real quick.

But despite that, you hit it off and she said you were very quick witted and funny, and then one thing lead to another, and you got a job.

You’re very pessimistic when it comes to luck and winning and all that. More logical and realistic. So you didn’t expect anything from that meet up, other then a hello, a few laughs, some jokes here and there and maybe even a picture.

But, a job? No way.

But all that aside, after awhile you got used to working here and had made good friendships with the rest of the cast and crew.

Well, except for that one tiny thing in the back of your mind that made you panic a little inside when one of them said hi or even mentioned your off demeanor.

That would go off every once and a while, while you guys were filming this one video.

You were put in a board af video with Damien, Amanda and Arasha. Three people you loved hanging out with, so this should be easy… right?

While Arasha was talking with Spencer about something, and Damien was doing a bit for the beginning of the video, You were explaining everything to Amanda.

“Ok, so when someone pulls a exploding squirrel card, that means they do what?” You asked. “They have to pick up 6 cards.” She answered, a little tired of having to be told how to play games.

“Ok, we’re gunna start rolling in 10 minutes. There’s some technical stuff we need to show to the new intern first.” Spencer said off camera.

You were sat sort of across from Amanda, Arasha was sitting at the end on your left, and then Damien came back and sat in-between you and Amanda. (This’ll all make sense soon, trust)

Damien sighed. “I’m kinda bored, Whata you guys wanna do while we still have some time?” He asked you and Amanda.

You were now focused on talking to Arasha. “I’m gunna go get water and pee before we start rolling.” She stated. You nodded. “Hello?” Damien questioned. Just as Arasha left and you were about to answer Damien, he poked you in the side to get your attention.

It all happened so fast. So fast that you actually didn’t have enough time to hide your reaction, and instead jerked so hard you fell out of your chair.

“Woah… are you ok?” He said, with confused laughter. “Yeah, I’m fine. You just caught me off guard.” You made an excuse, which Damien didn’t buy.

He gave another poke once you sat back down. You made another jerking motion, but not as severe since you expected this one.

“Are you sure?” You swear there was a teasing tone to his voice. He then quickly scribbled your side, and you clamped your arms down.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking all of the sudden?” He asked, full well knowing what he was doing.

You fell again, but this time he followed you down and hovered his hand just over you side.

“Nooo!” You blurted out on accident. He immediately stopped and sat back normally in his chair and helped you up.

“Ok, I get it. I’m not gunna keep doing it if you don’t want to be tickled.” He said the dreaded t word that made butterflies in your stomach.

You sat back up in your chair too, now looking away a bit. Hoping no one notices your sadness that it ended.

But someone did. Amanda. She looked you up and down, and then it clicked. She got up and walked over to Damien’s left side and started to whisper in his ear about something.

When she did, he looked back over at you in surprise, and then gave a warm smile and ‘aww’d. But then that warm smile quickly turned to a mischievous teasing grin.

You felt your stomach flip flop as you saw the change, and grew a nervous smile.

Amanda stopped whispering in his ear and they both stood up. Amanda stood back as Damien stood over you slightly.

You, with giddy panic, stood up yourself and started slowly stepping back. But every step you took backwards, he took forwards.

Arasha finally, at the worst possible time, came back from the bathroom with a water in her hand. “Hey, what’s going on? Why does Y/N look so nervous?” She asked, unaware of what went on when she left.

“Oh nothing, me and Y/N are just playing a game of try not to laugh.” Why?! Why was he so goddamn teasy out of nowhere?? Where was this coming from?

“Oh, can I play?” She asked. “No, this game is more just between me and them.” He said, with another prowling look to you.

“I’ll just watch then.” She then sat back down in her chair and watched this go down. “No, please! Go do something else Arasha…” You whined slightly.

“Why? Is something wrong?” Your face got hotter as you looked back over at Damien, who had the biggest amused grin on his face. “Yeah, why can’t she stay Y/N?” He asked, teasing you more.

You couldn’t handle the teasing and the eye contact. So your retreated into your hands to cover your red face, and so you didn’t have to look at Damien’s smug expression anymore.

“Because!” You didn’t have a real answer, you were too flustered to think right now.

“Because why?” Arasha asked. Damien happily answered for you. “Because they’re to embarrassed to have someone else find out about their adorable secret.” He teased.

You sat in the chair closest to you, out of fear of your knees buckling under the pressure of the teasing.

You brought your knees to your chest and buried your face in them instead of your hands. Damien used this as an opening and started to scratch a finger on your neck.

Arasha looked confused as you scrunched up as much as you could without revealing your bright red burning hot face.

“Come on… Amanda told me you wanted this. Why’re you holding back?” He teased.

You couldn’t protect your neck very well, and when he added one finger on each side you couldn’t help but let out a few giggles.

“Aww! Wait, are they ticklish?” Arasha asked the obvious. Damien nodded as he went for your open pits.

The dam broke and you finally threw your head back in laughter and clamped your arms to your sides.

“That’s adorable.” Amanda finally spoke. “Oh no! My hands are stuck… I’m gunna have to wiggle my way out.” He said, as he scratched his fingers as best he could in your armpits.

“Nahaha! God!” You exclaimed. He managed his way out and then went for your sides again.

You kicked your feet out as best you could without kicking him and wiggled around, trying to escape the tickly feeling. He smiled warmly again at you.

“Hmmm… I wonder about these kicking legs.” He thought out loud before squeezing the top of your knees.

You hugged yourself as your laughter went high pitched and squeaky, with a couple of snorts here and there.

“I guess my thoughts were right! You do have extremely ticklish knees.” He stated. He then went behind the knees and it was the end.

You were now wiggling around in the seat more and belly laughing while covering your face with your hands again. You even tried to involuntarily pull the trapped leg back, but stopped immediately when you realized you were doing it.

“If only I had better access to your stomach. Then we could really get this party started.” When he said that, Spencer announced it was 1 minute til rolling and he stopped in his tracks.

He helped you sit back in your own chair and you fixed your hair before they started filming. Though you couldn’t ignore the subtle knowing glances he’d direct towards you every so often during the video.

The video seemed to end as quick as it began, and you were exhausted. Mentally not physically. After everything that happened before the video you could use a quick nap to get your mind off things.

You headed down to the lounge area and plopped yourself down on the green couch, ready for unconsciousness to take you away from all the flustered thoughts your brain wouldn’t stop giving you.

5 minutes go by and you’re out. However you’re not the only one who sought out the couch for relaxation. Damien walked into the room to find you asleep on the couch.

Impulsive thoughts clouded his mind and he gave in. Making his way over to kneel by you, he starts giving you a gentle calming head massage.

You stir but find the touch soothing. He then brushes your ear a bit and you stir again. But this time you make a soft hum noise and scrunch up a bit before relaxing into the touch again.

He notices this and scratches behind your ear a bit. You let out a breathy mumbled giggle and a small smile grows on your face.

He screams internally at how cute you are and continues the gentle head massage. But after a while, flusters his fingers in the crook of your neck.

You stir again and this time let out a tiny giggle and roll over so you’re now laying on your back, your shirt has ridden up a bit too.

He remembers the statement he made earlier and takes advantage of this new found opportunity immediately.

He sees the ridden up shirt and swipes one finger across what’s showing of your belly. You stir and let out full on giggles, but you’re still fully asleep.

He then pulls up the shirt a bit more, only to show just above your bellybutton. He then glides his finger gingerly in a big circle around your bellybutton.

You squirm a little and let out more high pitched squeaky giggles. Then, you mumble something in your sleep that surprises Damien. “Ihihim so hahappehe, ihi lohove thihihis…”

Damien smirks and swirls his finger closer to your navel. As he gets closer the giggles get louder.

Then, it happens. He swirls his finger in your navel and your eyes shoot open, as you start letting out high pitched laughter, squeals, snorts, squeaks, you name it, you did it.

You wiggle around to try and get his finger out of your bellybutton, but you’re only making it tickle more.

You kick your legs out and twist around as much as you can but nothing is getting his finger out of there. But you don’t care.

You’re as a happy as can be. You’ve actually been in a massive lee mood and in need of tickles and now your wish is finally coming true.

As you’re lost in the lee thoughts that take over your brain, he then takes out his finger and scratches both hands on your belly.

You explode with joy, and start laughing like there’s no tomorrow. But, you realize it’s beginning to be to much. You start pushing at his hands and he stops.

“So, are you as happy as you said you were?” You give him a confused look. “What do you mean?” He gives you a smirk.

“When you were asleep you were saying how much you loved this and that you were so happy.” When he said that your eyes widened, you then looked away with a wobbly smile on your face and a growing blush.

He laughed a bit. “You’re so cute.” You roll over so you’re facing the back of the couch and cover your face with your hands as you groan a bit.

“Oh come on, you know it’s true…” He teased, as he gave the middle of your back a claw scratch. To which you squealed and rolled back over on your back to protect it from tickles.

He laughed at that. “Man, you’re just ticklish everywhere huh?” You put your hands back over your face in embarrassment.

“What? You know it’s true~” ok, that time he was teasing for sure. “Don’t say that though…” you mumbled out.

“Say what? How ticklish you are?” You groaned and shifted on the couch at that word. It always gave you butterflies.

“Oh, so I can’t say tickle? You can’t handle me saying tickly-tickle?” You smashed a pillow in your face and threw one at his.

He laughed at the silliness. “What? Are you too ticklish to hear the word tickle? Does it make it more tickly?” You muffled a ‘shut up’ into the pillow that was just loud enough for him to hear.

He scratched one finger in the crook of you neck and you started to kick your feet and giggle into the pillow.

“You’re way too cute for your own good.” He said as he took his other hand and softly scritched at your belly.

You wiggled around and kicked your feet all you wanted, but deep down you knew you wanted this.

He knew too. “Is there a favorite or especially tickle-tickle-tickly spot I should know about?” He teased, he did that every two seconds. It was driving you up the wall.(in a good way)

“Nohoho! Ihihi don’t hahahve a fahahavohoRIHIHITE!!” As you said that he started squeezing your sides.

“Really? Cause I think this is a pretty damn good spot.” He pointed out, as you tried to squirm and buck away from the sensation.

He then went up your sides, not all the way to your armpits, but to your ribs. Scratching in between each one.

You lost you mind. You were belly laughing, cackling, squealing, everything. You were in hysterics. You were bucking and jumping and jerking and squirming all over the place.

“Oh wow… I’m surprised I didn’t try this spot out in the first place. This is a gold mine!”

After a little bit he finally stopped, seeing as you were pretty much in tears. He figured that was a pretty good spot, and noted it for later.

You laid there drinking in air like your life depended on it. Your brain was too far gone though, it started having thoughts about things you could never confess that you desperately wanted to.

So you begrudgingly listened to it and blurted out. “My hands, neck and ears are my favorite… and my hands are a melt spot…” you said it without even thinking first. You immediately realized what you’d just said and clamped your hand to your mouth.

But it was too late. You wish you hadn’t looked over, cause when you did you saw the amused expression on Damien’s face that gave you goosebumps.

“Really? Then let’s test that out right now, shall we?” He took the hand that was on your mouth and started grazing his fingers over your palm.

You instantly let out a little stream of giggles and closed your eyes, and just soaked in all the tingly feelings on your hand.

“Well I’ll be damned… this is a melt spot! That’s absolutely adorable~” God. Why did he have to keep teasing. It was driving you crazy!

“I think I’m just gunna stay here for a while…” he said. “Noho… go sohomwhehere ehehelse!” You had a small bit of shock come across your face. ‘Did I just really say that… out loud??’

“Ok. I’ll go somewhere else.” He then walked his fingers up your forearm, on your bicep, then your shoulder and then finally stopped at your neck. Making you let out little giggles all the way up.

“Damn! Is there anywhere you’re not ticklish??” You shook your head with a big wobbly grin on your face, anticipating and waiting for that hand at your neck to move and crumble any ounce of resolve you still had left.

“Well, then I guess this is gunna tickle…” why did he have to keep saying the dreaded word??? It was making it worse! But he knew that.

The hand at your neck finally moved and all the build up and anticipation made it ten times worse. You immediately squealed upon the fingers even twitching and then slapped your hands to your face to cover up how red it was.

He added both hands and started fluttering them all over every spot on your neck. It was maddening! It was amazing.

They then heard over the speakers. “Damien and Y/N to the games stage! Damien and Y/N to the games stage!” With that he stopped.

“Here.” He held out his hand that you were hesitant to grab. “I’m not gunna tickle you anymore, I’ll do that later.” He winked and you looked away as you took his help up.

With that you both went and had a fun time playing don’t win Mario party, with a couple extra distractions along the way.😉

[open-hearth-rpg]

“Why Do Your Actual Play Videos Look Like Ass?”

ROUGH BUT FAIR

I got asked this, albeit indirectly, back in January. At the New Year’s Open Hearth Community meeting someone relayed they’d heard this comment about our Actual Play videos. This referred to not just my channel, but our community collection of actual plays built up over eight+ years. 

It’s a lot of sessions. A lot of games. My stuff alone is over 1000 sessions over dozens of systems. 

And it’s a fair question. They might stumbled on to one of our video roundups or seen a session shared. I can understand their reaction, especially if they’ve watched heavily produced and edited videos like those from Critical Role or Dimension20. Or even if they’ve followed one of the many talented teams who stream on Twitch or elsewhere with seasons, transitions, and nice visual templates. They’re all great watches– especially streams featuring indie games and diverse casts.

So what’s up with us?

Answering that question takes a little bit of set up and explanation. 

The short answer: You know that reliable YouTube repair video recorded on a phone by someone in their garage? That’s us. 

The long answer…

WHAT THE WHAT IS OPEN HEARTH?

We’re an online tabletop rpg community. We’ve been around in some form since 2016. Game facilitators post series and sessions on our calendar and people can sign up there. Every game’s run under our code of conduct and has to use a layered set of safety tools. Our GMs teach any rules and while we lean into indie and storygames, we also have folks who love OSR and more trad-leaning games (like my runs of 2d20, GUMSHOE, Imperium Maledictum, 13th Age, and the like). 

We have a patreon which gives backers a 48 hour window to sign up for sessions before they’re open generally. But we also have folks running games specifically for new players which set that aside. We’re always looking for ways to get new folks into sessions– like the open gaming events we do a couple of times each year. After folks have played with us a couple of times, they’re welcome to post their own sessions and series. We also do irregular “Game Facilitator Camps” to help people learn and polish their online GMing skills. 

Since the beginning some of our GMs have videos of our sessions and collecting those on our YouTube channel. Game facilitators mention in their event description if they plan to record. Not all sessions are recorded and posted. It’s not a requirement. In most cases, players can say they’d rather not be recorded– and in all cases a GM needs to confirm before posting any session publicly. For example a couple of times I’ve had folks ask for me to trim out personal info or emotionally fraught moments from a session. 

All of these recordings are rough. They’re the raw play of the session: unedited and wysiwyg. I’m recording from Zoom, some folks use Streamyard, and a small group of the more technically savvy use OBS+. On occasion I remember to pause the recording over breaks or during character creation when everyone’s tooling away on their sheets. But generally it’s like sitting in the room while someone’s running a home game. They’re messy, mostly on topic, trying to get to grips with the rules, figuring things out together. 

And I love it for that. They’re not polished. A comment made in connection with that “why do your APs look terrible?” question suggested we were some kind of ‘elite gaming association.’ I fear that impression might come from my posting a lot of game thinking, history, and analysis in our social media feeds. 

The truth is that I post those things in a desperate bid to have content. In our community we mostly talk about what games we’re playing and what games we want to play.

Bottom line: we’re a bunch of folks getting together to play our elf-games, make silly voices, and try to tell fun stories together. We’re trying to do that in a way that’s inclusive, takes safety seriously, and evolves over time. 

So why post actual play videos in such a state? I have some answers, in order from most important or probably least important…

FIVE REASONS

First, these videos shows how a particular game actually works at the table. Our community plays a lot of different games– I’d argue one of the largest collections of different systems. It serves as a great resource if you’re curious about a game, setting, or system. Most of us who record include our session zero as well as play sessions. So you get to see what’s involved with that, how to manage set up, and the kinds of collaboration which happens. You also see, warts and all, the rough patches and stumbling blocks. 

For example, I love Hearts of Wulin, but building Entanglements takes a lot of work during character creation. Don’t get me wrong: it's also the most important. Entanglements up the conflicts and plots you’re going to explore. But it requires you to both do some heavy creative work and listen to the other players at the same time. Sometimes I manage that phase really well– sometimes I forget that it has a higher cognitive load. Then I have to lean in and help folks navigate creating those. 

In a similar way, our AP illustrate the flow of play. What does resolution involve? How long does combat take? Where do folks get bogged down? That’s useful and can tell you if this is a game you’d be comfortable playing or running. Beyond that you get to see how much people seem to be enjoying and engaging with it. We present the naked truth of the game. All the rough edges remain and I think that’s great. It’s not for everyone— especially if you like a more polished presentation.

Second, you get to see safety tools in action. If you want to know how GMs carefully present a layered set of safety tools, watch a couple of session zeros. Different game facilitators will approach this in different ways, but we stress that GMs explain and actually implement a couple of tools. In my case I use Lines & Veils as a baseline, the X-Card as a reactive tool for resetting & calibration, and Open Door so folks know they aren’t trapped in a game. You can see how these tools don’t present a burden, don’t get in the way, and do enhance play. It reduces some of the worry people may have about joining a group of strangers online. It isn’t perfect, but these tools offer a baseline. I’m a white dude with all the privilege that brings, but I wouldn’t join in a random online game unless I knew tools like those were in place. 

Third, like other online streaming games: curated, edited, or otherwise, you get to see good GMs and players in action. It’s a great way to learn and pick things up. Not necessarily the full-on art of theater and improvisational acting, but what good play looks like. How you move the spotlight around. How you work to bring others into your scenes. How you collaborate to build a setting and vibe. How you handle end of session debriefs and feedback. That’s useful and, I think, confidence building. 

Fourth, and more selfishly, these videos are a decent advertisement for our community. It’s a decent and cheap way for us to keep our name out there. Beyond the videos, as I mentioned above, people can listen to these sessions as podcasts now. It’s also a way for us to boost the work of designers. It’s not a review, comment, or five stars but it does show how much we’ve enjoyed a particular game. I always dig it when I see designers resharing sessions, I hope it helps them increase their audience. 

Fifth, I like having those videos out there because they celebrate our GMs. They’re the engine of our community: folks who enjoy running games and put in the effort to entertain and engage a group of folks. We have amazing game facilitators and what strikes me is how different their approaches can be. I learn something new whenever I play with another GM here.

But on a related note, I will admit that I like having cover for my vanity. By placing my sessions alongside others, I manage to conceal how much my posting these sessions is an act of ego. I’m more than a little vain about my GMing.  

STARS AND WISHES

Overall we hope to be a useful and accessible resource for folks playing ttrpgs online. We hope folks will find their place in this hobby. If someone comes and plays with us, that’s great, but we’re more interested in just getting people to play anywhere. 

If you want to check out our collection of Actual Play Sessions, like and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

If you’re interested in just listening to sessions, you can subscribe to our podcast.

If you want to see the Playabl calendar app we use for organizing

If you want to find out more about our community, see here. 

We have Discord we’re working to do more with.

[hyohaehyuk]

KTLA 5 - Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid preview Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire Season 2

Unfortunately the one that is on their official channel on yt is not completely but someone uploaded the full version on yt

KTLA 5 - AMC's 'Interview with the Vampire' returns for 'guts out' second season

Interview:

KTLA: How would you describe this season compared to the first? Jacob Anderson: It is a very felt season. Everything is heart, guts out, tears in your eyes. Extreme emotion. Sam Reid: And it’s a bigger season, too. It’s just bigger. It’s more vampires, it’s like the world has opened. You saw a little crack of it last season and this season, this is the world and it only gets bigger.

KTLA: Jacob, who is Louis this season compared to last? Anderson: I think in this season Louis is reckoning with who he really is, what is his nature. I think in season one it’s very much about coming to terms with how is he gonna hold onto his human nature in the face of becoming a monster or a vampire. And this season is about him coming to terms with… the other side of his nature and figuring out how to do that on his own terms. But it’s quite a trial to get there, if he gets there. Yeah. A lot of things are bubbling up.

KTLA: You welcomed a new actor into your cast right at the meaty crux, this tender point in their journey. What was it like working with Delainey Hayles, who brings this fierce and tender Claudia to life? What was that transition like? Anderson: It’s kind of remarkable. She just fits like a glove and was incredibly—from day one—was just game to do [and] try whatever. Amazing. She’s amazing. We’re very lucky to have her. Reid: It was a great gift we were given that Delainey joined us. She’s so, so phenomenal. We’re really lucky. Anderson: She will break your heart and terrify you at the same time.

KTLA: Sam, the last time we saw Lestat, he was in the dump, munching rats. What do you think his takeaway is at this point? Has he learned from that experience? Reid: Well, I think you will find that out. I feel like it would kind of be a mistake to explain it at this point, but I think, somewhere deep down, Lestat knew that he had to die. And I would say definitely he was proud of Claudia. I think he spent a lot of time thinking about what happened, but I think he and Claudia are a lot more similar than either of them would like to admit. I think he spent a lot of time being very proud of Claudia [and] ashamed as well.

KTLA: We’ve been told that memory is to be questioned and that the Lestat that we’re seeing is maybe not a full picture. As an actor, how do you make choices knowing you may be playing different versions of this guy? Reid: With great pleasure. (laughs) It’s very fun, you know. That’s one of the great joys of this character. I don’t have to stick to any form of continuity, so I feel like I can change things up. Particularly when you get some new perspectives coming in, which we have this season, a whole other point of view. I can go, “Well, what’s that version? What’s that guy like? What is it like to be his ex? What’s he like there?” So it’s a very fun thing to do. And also the majority of the season he’s a vision through Louis’ imagination… Anderson: That was giving Jeff Goldblum. Reid: (laughs) …Louis’ imagination. I’m also playing Louis, as well. They’re so intertwined. Lestat can also be a part of Louis, because he is a part of Lestat. So yeah, it’s a great joy.

KTLA: I read that you once wanted to study clowning in Paris, and we see a bit of Lestat’s history as a stage actor. Was this your showrunner Rolin Jones’ Parisian clown school? What was it like playing this Commedia-style, period actor? Reid: I actually always treat Lestat like a clown. When I did study acting, clowning was one of my favorite things. And I do see Lestat like a clown. I see him like an auguste clown, which is like a clown that’s kind of high status… Anderson: (laughing) Reid: (laughing) I think he’s funny, I think he’s… Anderson: I can never hear you talk about clowning and not think of, like, clowns… (laughing progressively harder as Reid earnestly explains theatrical clowning) Reid: Yeah, so… it was kind of funny. It was fun for him to do that scene as a clown. But you know, the fun thing about it as well is that he’s playing Harlequin, he’s not playing Lelio. So why is he playing that clown and who’s put him in that clown costume? That’s kind of the joy…. Anderson: (laughing) KTLA: It’s been a long day, I can tell. Anderson: No, I just find the idea of clowns hilarious. [To Reid] It’s not what you’re saying. Reid: Jacob has a fear of clowns. Anderson: I don’t. I’m not afraid of clowns. Reid: He can’t actually say the word without… Anderson: I find serious clowns very funny. Like, the idea of earnest clowns. Anyway… no disrespect to the clown community.

KTLA: We’ve met Armand (Assad Zaman) and we know he’s a powerful character. Who are Lestat and Armand to each other? Reid: They have a really wildly complex relationship and I think one cares more than the other. I think if Lestat had a choice, he would never see him again and would be very happy to have no interaction with him whatsoever. And doesn’t think much of him. But he’s one of those characters that just, because he’s so old and so entwined with all of vampire life, keeps turning back up. So they’re like foes—foes, is that the word? Yeah, but I can imagine that when Lestat found out Louis and Armand were together, I can imagine that he would have been pissed but not surprised in the slightest.

KTLA: Louis and Armand’s relationship in this season was very potent and surprising, and it’s complicated in a juicy way. Jacob, how did you and Assad carve out this distinct relationship when both the characters and the audience are in the shadow of a relationship from season one? Anderson: I don’t think we really thought about it that much. We didn’t really talk about it. Before we started shooting, we just said the one thing that’s really important about their relationship is to not try and replicate Louis and Lestat’s relationship. The minute you try and do that, it fails. They have such a different dynamic from each other and it’s based on such different factors. Those characters are in such different places compared to where Louis and Lestat are when they meet each other. There was just never any point in comparing. In terms of how people who watch the show think of Louis and Lestat, and Armand and Louis, I genuinely don’t think too much about that, because I think then you can sort of try to play up to things too much that don’t really serve the story. You want to tell the story that you’re telling and not try and play up to anything else. So we didn’t really talk about it so much, we just tried different things. They have quite a gentle relationship in the beginning. Or certainly it seems that way.

KTLA: What do you enjoy most about playing these characters? Reid: The show asks a lot. It gives us the opportunity to do a lot. It’s very rare when you get a role where you get to do all of the things that we get to do in the show. It’s so much fun— Anderson: Every day you’re like, “What? Is this my job? Is this what we’re doing today?” Reid: Obviously it’s a lot of drama, beautiful dialogue, you’re going through the 500 degrees of every emotion. And it’s also funny and it’s also lots of action and we’ve got blood and we’ve got crazy contacts in. It’s fantasy and it’s raunchy. It’s just like, wow, it’s a bit of everything. It’s a mixed bag, you never know what you’re gonna get. It’s a joy. Anderson: I feel like that as well about, specifically, playing Louis. He is so many different people. I don’t just mean the difference between 1910s Louis and modern-day Louis, [or] 1945 [Louis]. I just mean Louis’ brain is a storm and sometimes you get to go to the different stages of that storm within a few minutes and that’s very fun. And he’s not clean. He’s not a clean-cut character. He’s not easy to pin down. He’s complex. And he behaves in ways that I don’t love sometimes. And he also does things that, you know, he… I love Louis. Although it’s heartbreaking.

[armorabs]

I wanna throw a spongebob themed birthday party and i definitely want to do a sort of quiz/trivia challenge! You are the blog i follow with the deepest spongebob knowledge and i was wondering if you have any good material for a trick question or a trivia question the average fan would be shocked to learn?

okay without completely getting into stuff that has contradictory but multiple correct answers, which is just kind of unfair, we have some options:

"what is mrs. puff's name?" - its fairer to use her current legal name, penelope (yellow pavement) or poppy (spongebob squarepants typing, contextually reasonable to assume is a nickname short for penelope) ... but you could also go in a tricky direction and drop that her real name is bobbi blowfish (storyboards for lighthouse louie)(the canon status of this is obviously dubious since it's cut material, and it isnt really accessible to someone who doesnt care enough to actively look into storyboards for an episode, so i wouldnt recommend it)

"which main character owns another main character's soul?" - without really taking note of the phrasing, one may assume the answer would be flying dutchman owning either mr krabs or spongebob's souls, both of which are technically true. but the real answer would be that mr krabs sold a fraction of his soul to spongebob (money talks)

hmmm. could get some mileage out of mr krabs' moms name - "what is mama krabs' name" is mean because it's not actually, technically ever given in canon. "where was betsy krabs' name given?" could work although its still a little tricky - but the answer is that old man jenkins calling his old jalopy "ol' bessie" in friend or foe was mistakenly assumed to being in reference to mama krabs and misheard as betsy, became a fanon name for mama krabs as a result, then later slowly adopted into canon through, in order, a q&a for the new zealand website, the official youtube channel, and then the storyboards for momageddon.

"who is squidmund?" - appearing in issue 24 of the spongebob comics, squidward's cousin squidmund is a relatively obscure character despite my best attempts otherwise. i've seen plenty of people forget squilliams name, and without knowing squidward's dad is named jeff you might assume he has a similar name to squidward. so there's no guarantee the average, casual fan will automatically know this one.

"when was the first time squidward's dad appeared?" - you can decide to keep the question straightforward and the answer would be the book hooray for dads (2006) or amend the question to "when was the first time squidward's dad appeared in an episode?" and then the answer would be the episode momageddon (2024) ... but i would personally stick with the straightforward question and tricky hooray for dads answer

"which main character's parents appeared in drawn to life: spongebob edition, released in 2008?" - it'd be easy for someone whose never played the game to assume spongebob's parents, or even just assume this would be referring to mr. krabs appearing at all since pearl was conceptualized as being a main character. the answer is, however, patrick's parents herb and margie star.

"which characters in the cast were adopted?" - average, casual fan might answer pearl despite no evidence in favor of the idea in canon. larry the lobster could probably be an acceptable answer since it's implied he was adopted in spongeguard on duty. but the verifiably correct answer is that spongebob and patrick were adopted by mama tentacles (scavanger pants)

"who is the parent of sandy's nieces?" - without seeing sandy's nutty nieces (2019) one may not realize sandy even has an older sister, and assume randy is the parent since he was mentioned as being sandy's twin in rodeo daze (2010) and later is the only adult sibling that appears in saving bikini bottom (2024) or sandy's country christmas (2024) ... the answer is rosy cheeks tho.

okay thats all i can think of at the top of my head, good luck with your party planning!

[houndsofbalthazar]

I like high concept reality gameshows. Watching a new one called The Underdog: Josh Must Win, which is a bog standard voting popularity contest type reality show, but the twist here is that it's two games in one - the game the contestants are playing, and then there is a celebrity panel trying to manipulate the show from behind the scenes to ensure the "underdog" wins. If they can get the underdog voted to be the most popular at the end of the show without anyone suspecting that it's rigged, all the contestants win a share of prize money.

It's a fun idea, you get this very clear look at the sorts of massaging of challenges and framing to persuade players to vote one way that I imagine goes on behind the scenes of any reality gameshow to make it more interesting. The celebrity panel is the "real" game, but they are also subject to the same sorts of twists that regular reality shows are, and I feel like the show is trying to have its cake and eat it; it's offering us this backstage glimpse, saying that we all get that these things are massaged, wouldn't it be fun if you actually got to watch the people doing the manipulating and their decision process? And it's right, it's a great idea, but it's also being manipulated behind the scenes with some of the same techniques so that we can still have our tense dramatic reality gameshow and watch people without perfect knowledge, and it just feels a bit fake, you know?

I'm also not really sure that I buy into the idea of the eponymous Josh being an underdog. The entire panel seemed to really like him from just his introduction video, he seems quite sweet, and he's a professional wrestler. I spent the whole first episode saying that there's no need to manipulate things anymore because they obviously cast the most interesting and broadly likeable person to be their underdog! I was not totally correct in this assessment because he did lose the first vote, but I think he's an obvious pick for a long term winner.

Overall, I am enjoying it as an entertainment piece, and I like the meta nature of the game, even if it is cheapened a bit by the extra twists. As usual, Channel 4 is at the top of the game when it comes to reality gameshows pushing the format.

[blazingstaro]

Big changes on the horizon! DotS updates and more!

Happy New Year!! With a new year in front of us, there's new opportunities awaiting us all! This year I've decided to finally go for it, and chase a dream I've been running away from for years!

I'm finally going to launch a YouTube channel sometime this year alongside dusting off my poor old Twitch account! Right now I've got a lot to prep, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time, and never thought myself prepared or good enough for it. Well, last year was all about taking big leaps and just gunning for it, so that's exactly what I'm doing

The channel will (unsurprisingly) be about games, and bringing a new method of reviewing games based on multiple factors. Throughout the next few months, I'll actually be reaching out to gaming communities and asking you all various questions to help me identify different types of gamers! I'm creating a gamer spectrum and multiple profiles to help gamers find their matches.

No more confusing numbers and biased reviews! Finally asking the most important question at the core of every game: is it fun? Visuals, style, narrative (or the lack there of) can be easily cast aside if the core of the game is just fun! That's what a game should always be at base 💖

It's a huge ambition, aiming to shake up the reviewing world, but it's something I'm passionate about! I hope it'll take off, and inspire more people to give the system a shot. I don't plan to do it forever, and eventually move on to new things or just focusing on let's-plays (which I intend to do in addition to reviews, clips from Twitch streams and the like).

This is basically gonna be my day job that I'll juggle alongside my comic, and since I won't be under time constraints or physically exhausted, it shouldn't affect my comic any!

So how's DotS:MMM going to look like going forward?

My posting schedule for DotS:MMM is going to likely be 1 page a month for the time being until I can really make headway on pages! Frankly I've been stuck on one page in particular, since I've needed to remake it entirely, and it's been bugging me for months. I believe I've gotten something down finally, so with the Holidays finally behind us, I should finally have a bit more time to work on pages. My mobile tablet setup helps so much with my art away from my computer!!

My drawing energy has been really low in past months since it was so busy, but I'm getting the itch again as I'm shaking off the holiday glaze! You guys will know I'm back in action when a page suddenly appears, hehehee!

In conclusion—

The comic won't stop anytime soon, just pages are gonna be slow for a while! I have loads of graphics to make for my new channel, and I'm also making a Live2D model to accompany. My reasons for this is simply that I don't like putting my real face on the internet, and prefer my privacy, so I'm creating a cartoon avatar that represents me— much like Saberspark has, with still images in various poses, and of course an actual live model to represent my face on both videos and livestreaming. It's a lot to learn and program, so I've got a bunch of work ahead of me!

I'll do my best to involve you guys in the future of this channel, asking questions and what you all think I should name things for the channel!! You all have been with me for so long, it only feels right, y'know?

Anyhow, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you've had a wonderful New Year, and that great things await you on the horizon!💖

[egoat]

magic da gathering - how to play sealed

hi gamers. ff mtg is coming out soon and i wanted to recommend trying a prerelease event for yourself if you're at all interested in the set. prerelease events play the sealed format - you'll open 6 booster packs for yourself, and from those cards build a 40-card deck and play three rounds of best 2 out of 3 magic against other gamers burdened with the same responsibility. i think sealed is a great & fun way to experience magic, particularly if you haven't had much experience before -- it's casual and for fun but has a degree of depth to it that allows you to be as competitive as you want to be (you do generally earn additional booster packs for each round you win). if you're just learning the game, ppl are likely to be patient with you and talk you through anything you're confused about or help you with the deckbuilding process. these events are hosted at local game stores and u can locate most of them with this website - https://locator.wizards.com/.

that said, sealed can be a bit intimidating if you have no experience doing it, whether you're new to magic or you've mostly played commander or online or whatever, and it can be frustrating not knowing how to win or make the right calls about deckbuilding at first blush. i want to just go over some of the stuff i've picked up about what you're looking to do in sealed, mostly "common knowledge" advice from a variety of sources. if you're looking for more comprehensive or specific advice, try the channels good morning magic and tolarian community college who always release specific videos about sets and videos talking through the deck building process closer to the prerelease date. also, everything i'll talk about is more or less directly quoting the podcast limited resources which covers a lot of how to play limited magic like draft or sealed. if you've ever listened to an episode of that there's no need to read the rest of this.

also ill assume you already know basically how to play mtg, lots of other resources to learn that if you're looking into it

to start with the basics, sealed is a format where you'll make a 40-card deck from your card pool of six booster packs of 15 cards, 13 of which are actually cards as one is a basic land and one is a token or art card, so 78 cards. your ideal sealed deck will look like 23-25 nonland cards, and 15-17 lands. lands are always provided for you so don't worry about bringing them. (you can build a deck of any size, 40 is only the minimum deck size, but it is recommended to adhere to the minimum to give you the best chance for smoothness and drawing your best cards.)

most stores will give you a time period of about 50 minutes to build your sealed pool, so if you want to be a bit efficient about it, as you're opening your pool, take the time to separate all your cards into piles by color (5 for each color, a pile for multicolor, a pile for colorless cards like artifacts, a pile for lands). as you're doing this, take note of any cards that may particularly draw you to one color or color combination. a useful tool for this is understanding rarity - a given booster pack will have seven common cards, three uncommons, and one to two rares or mythic rares. these rarites (neigh) are denoted by the color of the set symbol by the typeline in the card, black for common, silver for uncommon, gold for rare, red for mythic rare. take note of any rares or mythics you open, as well as any particularly powerful / attractive uncommons you want to play - a generally good principle of draft and sealed is to try to include and play your rares wherever possible.

once you've separated your pool, you want to narrow down which cards you actually want to play. it is very recommended you play exactly two colors. this should give you the highest chance at playing your best cards and minimizing the chance that you won't get to cast your cards at all - fixing for mana in three or more colors with only basic lands and random pieces of fixing is challenging and can lead to you having non-games. additionally, these sets are built to support this - all modern magic sets have "draft archetypes", particular strategies that are supported across two particular colors and have a number of cards that are designed to work well together within that strategy. the full breakdown for the archetypes in ff isn't out yet, but a printout of what the archetypes are and what they're all about will be in your sealed pool. one archetype they've already talked about in previews is red-white equipment. the idea being, if you open up your sealed pool and choose to play red and white cards from it, you're going to have a number of cards that are equipment, benefit from you having equipment, and work to convert having equipment into a strategy to win the game. one useful tool in identifying which archetype might be best for you is "signpost uncommons". these are cards at uncommon rarity that are generally two colors and signify what the draft archetype is all about, and will work well with other cards in that set, acting as the glue that will sort of solidify your strategy.

as an example, in the last set tarkir: dragonstorm, kishla skimmer was a particularly good signpost uncommon. its an on-rate creature that will benefit you with card draw if you have a strategy that involves other cards leaving your graveyard, such as cards with the harmonize mechanic or renew mechanic in the set. on its own, its a perfectly decent card, but uniting it with its archetype is what pushes it over the edge and can give you a winning advantage.

sealed is a unique experience as you often will be presented with a nearly equal grab bag of cards from each of the 10!! archetypes due to the random nature of booster packs, and its up to you to determine which of those you can make the best pile out of. this can lead to a lot of hard decision making and can lead to choice paralysis in even the best / most experienced players, i.e. opening one good black-white rare and one good red-blue rare and having to choose which one to build a deck around. there are some basic principles of what you're looking for from your sealed pool you can rely on - cards you're looking for over other cards - and knowing which of those you'd prefer to have and what colors are giving you a better selection of those cards should help you make that decision.

the basic principles of limited magic are - curve out - in other words, concentrate your deck on easily playable cards, including a large density of cards in the one to three mana range, in addition to a smaller top end of four to six mana cards and avoid seven mana or more cards unless you can truly justify their inclusion. - fill the board - include at bare minimum 15 creatures in your deck, and ideally more, around 20. limited gameplay revolves around combat and not being able to have a blocker or attacker on the board can lose you the game before it starts. include cards like utility artifacts or enchantments at very low quantities if at all, and focus on maximizing your board presence - have a win condition - have something your deck is trying to achieve, and work to build your deck around that goal. if you want to win in combat, prioritize higher power and toughness creatures, include combat tricks. if you're looking to play a "control deck" of sorts, then make sure you have a reasonable amount of answers to your opponent's threats, and don't forget threats of your own to seal the deal. if you want to deploy a seven mana bomb to win the game, ensure you have enough removal to survive the earlygame, ramp to get to seven mana, and even card draw effects to ensure you draw lands and your bomb in a timely fashion. this can also just refer to having synergies, particularly those in line with the draft archetypes i've talked about earlier.

these ideas are a little vague, but in terms of deckbuilding you can narrow down what you're looking for to ensure you're achieving those goals. what you're looking for in your deck are bombs / build-arounds, removal, value & card advantage, and synergies. i'll also talk about utility / fixing which isn't as much of a must-include. bombs covers cards that are at the rare or mythic level (usually) that offer exceptional value, impact on the board, and fit into the category of "cards that win the game". in the particular set i'm talking about, this is going to be a number of legendary creatures that are main characters from video games. following the principle of you want to include as many rares in your deck as possible, these are the cards you'll want to include above all others and also work to make sure your deck can cast and work well with. for example, if you get a legendary creature that benefits your other creatures most, you'll want to prioritize including more creatures and things that help you build a wide board to ensure that that card can function. this is what build-around refers to - a great card that can win the game, just not necessarily completely on its own, as it requires you to build your deck around it in some way to function. there's a lot of different degrees to which something can be a build-around, so i'll go over two examples.

this card falls into the category of "signpost" for an archetype i talked about earlier - it needs other enchantment creatures in your deck in order to be anything other than a 3/5 (with several great stats). if you open this card and no other enchantment creatures in the colors of green and white, i would not prioritize building around this card - but if you can generate some synergies with it and include at least two or three of the saga elementals from the set in a deck with this card, it becomes an incredible finisher.

on the other hand, there are some build-arounds that may seem tempting due to their rarity and potential, but are not possible for a limited deck to achieve. this is a card with a tremendous ability to win the game (i will not show the backside here as it is a spoiler for the game final fantasy fourteen but trust me) but requires the condition of having fourteen or more cards in your graveyard. this is unfortunately not a condition you are going to be able to meet in limited - this falls into the category of a card designed for constructed formats, in which you can ensure that your entire deck is built to mill yourself and achieve this end result. without having this upside, this is simply a very decent creature that provides a repeatable loot effect which is certainly desirable, but one i would not recommend building a limited deck around. there are going to be a number of cards in this set at rare and mythic that fit this category - it can be a bit of a heartbreak to not include these flashy expensive cards in your deck, but just keep in mind limited mtg has different gameplay priorities and limitations that these cards aren't designed around, and also you can sell them for probably 10 bucks so its not too bad.

also along the lines of identifying powerful rares and mythics, keep in mind this set contains a bonus sheet you may or may not find cards from in your pool. these cards have flashy borderless concept art jpegs on them and are reprints of cards from throughout mtg history that are not legal in standard but are legal to play in your sealed deck. you will frequently want to play these cards as they are generally of a high power level , although some of them fall into the category of not fitting with limited in particular.

the next category ill talk about is removal, referring to a range of cards that deal with or answer your opponent's threats. this can include direct creature removal, artifact/enchantment removal, counterspells, discard effects, and even combat tricks. this is an important principle of mtg and is as important in limited - having some way to disrupt or deal with your opponents gameplan is as important as having your own plan to win. you can make an aggressive limited deck with no removal cards, but it is highly not recommended - the potency of creatures and bombs printed is such that a single great rare coming down on your opponent's side of the board can completely turn the game around, unless you have some way to deal with it.

in limited, your options for removal are far different than you may be used to out of constructed formats. you may open colors with no removal in them at all, and you will frequently have to rely on conditional removal, fight spells, combat tricks, or very inefficiently costed commons as tools that you should regard as valuable in limited as swords to plowshares is in other formats. you'll still want to evaluate the actual use cases of cards worthy of inclusion - for example, twin bolt is not a particularly good card from tarkir dragonstorm. you should prioritize including any unconditional removal you find, such as banishing lights or murder type effects, and reasonably include as many other pieces as you feel is appropriate for your deck - two to three is considered a good amount.

value is a bit more of an ambiguous category. it will come down to your personal evaluation of the cards in your pool that generally aren't rares, but fall into the catchall of "things you're looking to do." a given sealed pool is going to have a huge range of cards, & it's going to come down to your knowledge as a player to identify which cards in the colors you've identified provide more value on cast than the others. consider the mana value of a card, particularly remembering you want to prioritize creatures at low mana costs. consider if the card provides card advantage in any way. this can be as simple as drawing you additional cards, but can be more abstract. magic is a game about cards against cards, in many ways - a kill spell answers your opponent's creature card, so you've traded one card for another. a card like doomed traveler, for instance, is simply a 1/1 that creates another 1/1 (with flying) when it dies. this too is card advantage - you've generated two "cards" - creatures, though one is a token - out of one. also consider cards like "flametongue kavu" card advantage - you can play it, eliminate one of your opponent's creatures, and have a creature for yourself - two cards for one. its important to remember that card advantage isn't the end-all be-all particularly of limited - a board full of 1/1s is still inferior to your opponent's single 6/6 with trample. but just evaluate the rate of your cards and what they provide for you in the game. a great example is the "job select" equipments in the set. these are somewhat inefficiently costed at the lower rarities, but they provide great value. they are in themselves creatures, and you can consider them as such when you include them in your deck, and they provide a continual advantage after that creature has died, as you can re-equip it to give your next creature an edge.

one aspect of value is synergy, as the value of a card is frequently going to be dependent on if the rest of your deck enables it. i already talked about this with yuna, but it applies to a variety of cards particularly at common and uncommon - you're going to see effects that check if something is true, like if you have a +1/+1 counter on another creature, and then reward you for it, such as drawing you a card. synergies range from game-winning strategies to occasional curve-fillers - just identify what is going to have the greatest impact on the board, evaluate how easy and possible its going to be for your deck to achieve it, and trust in the heart of the cards or whatever.

the last thing to touch on is utility / fixing - a variety of cards that aren't going to be the most exciting thing you'll open in your pool, but can be a healthy and sometimes greatly advantageous inclusion in your deck. it is important to rate fixing - cards that find you lands, either putting them in your hand or on the battlefield, or cards that generate mana in some other way - much higher in limited than you would any other time. your mana base is likely to be bad, and even playing two colors carries with it a risk that you might want to consider correcting. having a card that can find you your next land drop is a great advantage and can prevent you from falling behind on mana, or being unable to cast spells with specific color pip requirements. additionally, if you're drawn to play three colors, i would recommend doing so only as a splash - ideally, play primarily cards of your primary two colors, then include one to three lands of your tertiary color to allow you to cast perhaps a three-mana rare creature bomb in the late game, and then include cards that can find you lands, or generate mana of any color, to allow you to cast that card. other kinds of utility are risky to include. generally, stay away from including anything that doesn't provide board presence or creatures in some way, such as artifacts or enchantments that don't interact with the board, or provide a specific synergistic effect that isn't likely to come up in the rest of your card pool.

there's a lot else to talk about in terms of sealed, and i didn't go over any examples of talking through deckbuilding or anything, but there is lots of other resources out there. if you've never played sealed before, like i said i highly recommend it and the magic community is generally not scary or caustic a lot of the time, and i recommend stopping by an event where there will be judges, store staff, and helpful ppl who are willing to help you with the process. i can make additional poasts or address any qs fr but this post is too long and has covered a decent amount. goodbye forever and good luck

[adelarsims]

Hi XD

I actually do wanna learn more ab them! And I have a few specific questions if you don't mind!

How old are they really?

They seem a bit obsessed with looking young, is there a reason for that?

Why don't they use a wand if it helps keep their hands looking younger?

What changed them from a snob to a slightly more uhm personable person?

What do they teach?

Also here is your excuse to ramble about world building and magic cus I love this stuff

Another more vague one, you mentioned their childhood was rough, can you talk more ab that?

Finally because I feel like I'm overstaying my welcome, how did they discover they have feelings for Caleb?

1. let’s just say over a hundred. caleb once told cassie that 100+ years old feels better than 97 or something, because there's something romantic about being 'over a hundred', like straight out of a fairy tale, while 97 is just a really old grandpa :D

2. when they imagine looking in the mirror and seeing their hair grey and face wrinkled, they're terrified. it’s not a simple vanity - many spellcasters share this fear, when you don't see the constant flow of time when you look in the mirror, your image of yourself freezes like a fly in the amber - and going back into that flow gets more and more terrifying because it feels like suddenly the end nears faster. not all spellcasters choose to prolong their life, but those who do find it hard to stop. as for the youthful look... i think Morgyn just craves to feel at their peak, being the perfect image of themselves in everything. they were deprived of feeling worthy in their early years, so they keep proving and proving otherwise. especially after some discoveries about themselves that upended their understanding of who they are and thrown them into a deep identity crisis – they would grasp at all perfection that is still within their power to maintain. well... maybe it's also a bit of vanity, too.

3. it’s just more natural for them to cast with their hands and gives them access to much stronger magic. a wand doesn’t hold any magic itself, it’s like a laser pointer for magical energy, helps you focus and direct it. spellcasters need wands, innate mages don’t, though they of course can use them too. hand magic is raw, it’s more powerful but requires mastery and precision, and allows to weave spells that aren’t accessible to wand users, because wand is a single-channel magic focus, so to speak, and hand magic allows multi-channeling it (so basically, there's a limit that former humans who learned magic can do, and for innate mages this limit is very far, if existing at all)

4. oh no, don’t mistake a snob for an insufferable asshole. they were always personable. they’re likeable, cheeky, warm and affectionate to those they’re close with, especially those who appreciate and accept them, even though their position as a grand sage and academia headmaster naturally made them more reserved. and they’re still snobbish about magic, they know no one will do it better than them when it comes to spells, tend to nitpick mistakes in others' spellcasting, and get annoyed when someone is being lazy or unreasonably cocky with their magic. they just were hot-headed about people doubting their prowess as a student, but they have matured a lot and have good self control now.

5. mostly advanced elemental magic, and a few arcane disciplines i’ve yet to find names for. magic schools in my morgynverse are quite different from what they are in the game, for example, practical school isn’t about cleaning dishes. it covers healing, herbalism and potions, enchanting equipment, crafting amulets, like that. the new jewery creating pack will work so damn good for my story, i can’t wait!

6. i already gave bits and pieces here and there on this post. i can tell you a couple minor things if you want. there’s a plant that is used in potions, it’s called cyclop’s brain, it has huge leaves and massive seed pods, and tiny tiny seeds. also, every four years, on 29th of february, “the day that does not exist”, the academia holds a huge event called Masquerade of Mysteries, it’s grand and magical and everyone is allowed to go all out with enchantments and costumes, every student and teacher is looking forward to it.

7. i’m not sure how much i should say considering that i hope to start telling my story one day and it’s a spoiler, but let’s just say they weren’t really accepted for who they are and were considered dangerous even though they never gave anyone any reason to be afraid of their magic (it’s not simply about them being a mage, that wouldn’t be as much of a problem as their origin)

8. slowly. eventually. they were physically attracted to Caleb from the beginning, but it’s doing right by one another that truly brings people together. Caleb was there for Morgyn when they needed it most.

[yullalightk]

Mario teaches parenting🐾👨‍👨‍👦

Okay, today's review post will be similar to my older stuff with words and only a small amount of pictures.

I did download all of the screen shots but, It didn't make it to my computer and my phone has a system where it doesn't work after 9PM.

Anyways- I really did love this new episode, it was heartwarming and glad to see more episodes focusing on the rest of the smg4 casts.

So, let's start with the review!

I just wanted to say Karen is such a relatable and enjoyable character. And by "relatable" I mean, I relate to how she's busy with work and trying hard to provide for her kids but neglecting them in the process.

I kinda do something similar:

Busy with school work

Being busy that I ignore my family members and always spend most of my time by myself.

And, I was surprised how Mario did know the way of parenting!

At least, in his own "Spaghetti Jesus" way😂🍝 Which makes me think: Since Mario knows some bases of parenting, maybe if he and Puzzles EVER dated, Mario could be the funny and less seriously parent while Puzzles being the serious and overthinking parent👨‍👨‍👦

Anyhow, I'm getting distracted, overall I appreciated Karen trying her best to spend time with her kids and seeing her realize how talented and wonderfully creative her kids are just made me tear up a little.

I think we need more episodes focusing on side characters a lot more 'cause we have soo many episodes with the smg4 main casts being the main focus and the side characters being added in, and not having a lot of episodes surrounding them, I think it's a nice change of pace for the channel. And I hope it'll stay that way for the long run.

And here's the screenshot of my favorite scene:

I enjoyed making Karen in gl2 since It made me explore some parts of character design in this game!

I also tweaked her design a bit 'cause I mean who doesn't love a turtleneck!

And I also wanted to say something:

I'm not making smg4 episode reviews

I'm not kidding. This is probably disappointing to some of you all since the majority of you guys follow me and stayed because of it.

I mean, I understand but it's just something I don't really enjoy making anymore.. I'll make a few? but won't necessary be "Review episodes" just me talking abt what I liked and there will mostly be some theories.

I'll make other Mr. Puzzles AUs I'm working on so don't lose hope in that yet! I just think it's a good idea to cut the cord of connecting myself onto something I don't find any fun in making like I used to.

Still, I am very sorry for doing this but hope some of you all understand. And I don't mind the followers lowering because of this choice.

I'm still excited for the new episode though, don't get me wrong!

But, I want to make other stuff from other fandoms 'cause I made so many insert ocs of mine and want to show them to you all✨

[wyked-ao3]

most likely to tag game

game was started by @paeliae-occasionally

Rules: answer with which of your OCs would be the most likely to do the statement, then give new statements for the next person.

I was tagged by @fortunatetragedy here

Some i have answered before but I'm going to have fun elaborating.

My wip TPKODR cast and crew

Most likely to arrive ridiculously early.

Amon always arrives early, he is a seer and a trouble maker (I'm not sure why he is always early yet but he is) I theories it's to get the outcome that he wants but he refuses to answer... *Can I feed him to the fishys yet?* (Please ignore my sanity as I threaten my characters)

Most likely to be in a relationship for less than a week

Oscar he's not on the ship long but he's a playboy and an absolute idiot..with a good heart kinda (not a fan of him)

Most likely to secretly be really good at music, but just not tell anyone.

Adoh plays the drums it is how his grandmother taught him rhythm for his blacksmithing. He doesn't share that with just anyone.. Daimhín and Galen might know but they have not told me lol

Most likely to burn something while cooking

Daimhín he is not allowed to cook after heather saw his attempt at making bread...they were later used in the canon efficiently....(Not in story yet but on my list if possible mentions)

Most likely to stop a robbery if they see it taking place.

Oisìn he doesn't like robbery...but if he's going to commit it he commits 0_o (yes I did a scene and the brat decided to take over they were after 1 set if items and did they leave with just that no they didn't) *unimpressed author glaring at oc*

Most likely to not tell people they’re sick until they really need the help.

Oisìn, Daimhín and Jade would take the cake for this one. Jade and Oisìn don't like to show weakness so it'll have them on death's doors or passing out before they admit to being sick...let alone needing help. Daimhín just doesn't want the crew mother Henning him

Apologize first.

Depending on the situation but most likely Heather Heather is a very caring character.

Survive on a desert island.

Oisìn he would actually probably enjoy the vacation and hopes everyone forgets that island exist

Break up a fight.

Galen and Adoh usually break up any fights Galen can make them clean the latrines so they tend to stop when he says enough Adoh's method is they can't fight if they can't lift their arms for a month.....(That means he has assistant's for blacksmithing....) He will also knock them out so there's that...

Most likely to own a cat.

Technically the cat belongs to the ship but is often found in Adoh's workspace or harassing Daimhín... the crew claims the cat but Daimhín and Adoh have been claimed by the cat... Oisìn will be soon as well ;)

Most likely to swim across a large river/channel without getting fatigued.

Adoh has the muscles for it but I think the answer would be princess Anne 😂 she's of the merfolk

Most likely to not be a morning person and hates getting woken up too early.

Jade if he is woken up early it's usually not going to be a good day for him. Taz is not for being woke up early unless it's an emergency either...which a few pirates are about to find out... 0_o

Most likely to use magic tricks.

Amon or Morana although does it count if they have magic of sorts?

Most likely to start with just one drink and get blasted.

Amon as a full blooded fae has the worst resistance to getting shit faced.... As he will soon find out the hard way

Most likely to fall asleep wherever the place.

Braith although she will have a dagger to your throat before you know it if you wander in while she's asleep....she sleeps lightly

Most likely to lose their phone/wallet/other very important and period appropriate item. .

Amon the maps he's in charge if navigation and always setting down the maps 0_o

Most likely to hold a grudge over something minor.

Braith ....not necessarily a good thing for whoever the grudge is against

Most likely to try an unfamiliar food.

Jade as a prince he has tried some interesting things. He is usually willing to try anything, even when he hates it he will eat it if in a public setting.

Most likely to get stage fright.

I'm not sure that any of them would.

Most likely to crash a wedding.

0_o don't give them ideas but Death would definitely crash a wedding so would his wife Nyx Along with Rob 😇

Most likely to cheat on a test.

Rob 🤣 (not explaining this one)

Most likely to faint.

Oscar (he's the most likely but I'm not sure why.)

Most likely to enjoy art.

Adoh especially metal work of any kind.

Most likely to hate sports.

Oisìn it's connected to some bad memories and he doesn't understand why anyone would participate in sports

I'll add 3 but feel free to answer any

Most likely to get stomped on by a horse

Most likely to shoot a rifle

Most likely to hide their emotions

No pressure Tagging

@the-golden-comet @gioiaalbanoart @sableglass

@aintgonnatakethis @saturnine-saturneight @willtheweaver @jev-urisk @sunglasses-in-the-bentley @theaistired +open tag

Tag list

@thatuselesshuman @lychhiker @goth-automaton

@thecomfywriter @evilwriter37 @saebasanart

@mauannacreates @kind-lion @alinacapellabooks

@kuebiko-writing @kaeru483 @differentnighttale

@theink-stainedfolk @unstableunicornsofasgard

@mysticstarlightduck

[mlleclaudine]

Hannah Einbinder Channeled “All the Great Mob Bosses” in ‘Hacks’ Season 4: “I Was Trying to Go Ava Corleone”

by Kirsten Chuba - The Hollywood Reporter, March 29, 2025

The new season will see Einbinder's Ava and Jean Smart's Deborah Vance sparring as they get to work on their new late-night show.

Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart at PaleyFest LA 'Hacks' event. Steve Granitz/FilmMagic

“I wasn’t surprised. We deserved it,” declared Jean Smart of Hacks‘ unexpected — to most — win for best comedy series at last year’s Emmys as the show’s cast and creatives gathered at PaleyFest LA on Friday.

Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Mark Indelicato, Megan Stalter and Rose Abdoo joined co-creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre to unveil the hit show’s upcoming fourth season, while also reflecting on that big Emmy moment for season three.

The series picks up almost immediately where it left off, with Deborah Vance (Smart) landing the late-night show of her dreams and comedy writer Ava (Einbinder) having just blackmailed her for the head writer job, after Vance previously promised the role and took it away.

“You leave season three on such a tense moment that it felt like to skip ahead any more than that, you’d be leaving so much juice left unsqueezed, so to speak,” Statsky said of the decision to continue season four from that moment. Downs added, “We really did want to go off the runway and just deliver on that feeling because it was a feeling that people really reacted to.”

That means there’s also a big change in Deborah and Ava’s relationship, as Smart noted that betrayal has been the theme of her character’s life and “the more she thinks about it, probably the more upset she is and definitely she feels incredibly betrayed. Also she’s thinking, ‘I’ve been working for this for 30 years and you’re gonna screw it up for me?’ So she thinks anything that she might do in retaliation is fair game.”

Einbinder teased she came into the season “really looking forward to channeling, kind of like all the great mob bosses. I was trying to go Ava Corleone on her.” And when it comes to shooting those tense face-offs, “We have fun with that stuff because we have so much love, so for us to be like fighting, we’re completely playing.” Einbinder added, “There is so much that Ava channels in Deborah this season. But also, I like to think that Ava is not actually changing inside. I think she is herself, but she is forced to act in a certain way.”

The season also goes behind the scenes of late-night TV, which Smart said “is so much harder than it looks” for the host. Statsky worked for two years as a writer on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and noted, “We really, as we were writing this season, wanted to do a love letter to Late Night, both in the fact that it is an important American institution but also it is such a grind.”

Los Angeles will also be getting some love this season, as Aniello acknowledged they filmed a lot of the show in Altadena, which was heavily impacted by the wildfires in January.

“Not only was it where Deborah’s L.A. house was, but it was just an area that we loved because it felt like such a cool, funky, unique part of L.A. and so we really always gravitated towards it when we were just finding locations,” she continued. “There is — I guess this is a spoiler — an episode dedicated to L.A. this season because we love making a show here; we love having our crew here.”

And although the team has previously spoken about a five-season plan for the series, Downs said with the fourth season now in the books, “We pitched the last scene of the show when we pitched the show, so we know where we’re going. I think sometimes the length of time we tell a certain chapter of the story changes. I don’t know.” Added Aniello, “We are aware of how many turns you can do in a relationship before it starts to feel worn out. We still feel like we have a lot to explore with the Deborah and Ava relationship.”

Both Smart and Einbinder claimed they don’t know how the show will end, but Einbinder mused, “Whenever I get the finale script, my jaw is on the floor; I never, ever have predicted,” promising that this season, “episode 10, you don’t even know. You’re not ready.”

Hacks season four starts streaming April 10 on Max.