#it's the apocalypse they get to choose whatever last names they want
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It comes up in a way no one expected it to about three weeks after they return to Jackson when Maria sets down a carved wooden sign on their kitchen table.
"For you front door," she explains when Ellie and Joel simply stare at her, and while Joel nods shortly, she keeps looking between the two of them with a question in her eyes. His hand his warm against her lower back, a soft gesture supposed to ground her since she picked up the habit of floating away even more often than before winter, and the circles his thumb rubs along her spine distract her when Maria elaborates.
"Most people like to put a sign on their door, usually with their first and last names, so everyone else knows who lives where."
Why would I want anyone to know where I live, is a a follow-up she decides to let go unsaid, happy when it is just the two of them again and the anxiety prickling in her chest calms enough to allow her to breathe.
They keep it on the kitchen table until dinner time, moving it out of the way and onto the counter instead, just to leave it on the coffee table when it's an annoyance there, too. Out of sight, out of mind, though, and they both completely forget about it for the next couple days. Joel finally picks it up on Saturday morning to both burn their names onto it and put it next to their door, hesitating and glancing back at her just as he is about to leave for the workshop.
"What do you want me to put?"
Ellie looks up from the comic book she is reading, a new volume of Savage Starlight he found for her in Jackson's library, and stretches her legs along the length of the couch now that she has the space for herself. Ellie, is the first thing that comes to mind before realizing that is probably not what he meant. Her last name is the only connection she has to her mother, or at least that's what she assumes, not that she trusted Marlene enough to simply take her word for that, but the thought of her and Joel's disconnect being on full display makes her cringe. Then again, she has never asked him what exactly she is allowed to call herself, them, anyway.
"Whatever you think," she responds, trying to go for nonchalant and missing, and she half expects him to question her, but Joel simply nods and leaves her to it.
Neither of them talks about it for the rest of the day, and when she hears him nail it to their porch, she doesn't go to look at it, a little bit too scared of what she might find to do so while he is there. Only once Joel is asleep does she tiptoe down the stairs to unlock the front door and slip outside, her arms wrapped around her to ward off the cold spring night.
The breath that escapes her is close to a laugh, a drifting white cloud dissipating almost immediately, and she is glad no one can see the stupid smile taking over her face.
Joel & Ellie
Miller-Williams
When she curls up in bed with Joel ten minutes later, they both know what the crushing hug she gives him is for. Maybe she doesn't mind people knowing their names after all.
#alex writes tlou#the last of us#tlou#joel and ellie#ellie williams#joel miller#fanfic#it's the apocalypse they get to choose whatever last names they want#me? intending to write a short post and actually writing a short post? fucking miracle
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I found a goth speakeasy/coffee shop by my school that does a Thursday tabletop night where you can bring and run your own games and I was wondering if you had any recommendations for games you'd feel comfterble running with a table of strangers / mostly strangers? Thank you!!
THEME: Games to Run with Strangers.
Hello friend, fall comes upon us and I finally get around to answering your ask. Thank you so much for your patience! I’d definitely recommend bringing some safety tools to any of these games, since you’re playing them with strangers. That being said, I tried to pick games that were easy to pick up and quick to learn considering you’d probably want each session to be a standalone one.
I often run games with groups of people who don't know each-other beforehand, and I'd recommend allowing silliness to blossom when possible, even if you're running a spooky game. Let’s see what we can find!
Wizardry and Bureaucracy, by Oh Little Moth.
You are a member of the National Parks Service. You and your team would do just about anything to protect your national park. Also, you’re wizards. But all the magic in the world can’t save you from the slog of paperwork you have to endure as a civil servant. Your mission is to preserve your park and all creatures living in it, promote a love of nature and the environment, and also keep park visitors from seeing through the curtain separating the magical from the mundane.
Like most Lasers and Feelings games, this has quite a bit packed into one page. Easy character generation, a standard list of gear, an introduction where you collaboratively design your park, and the classic Lasers and Feelings mechanic that makes you automatically better at one thing and worse at another. The game is also set up to be raucously silly. This game includes the very good piece of GM advice that I adore for improv: ask questions and build on the answers. You don’t have to come up with the entire story yourself! Give your players the chance to tell you how exactly magic interacts with the local National Park.
The Children of Saturn, by Dan John Crowler.
The people of Petrikstein are tormented by a blood craving beast prowling the night. Players take the roles of parish appointed investigators on a mission to find and slay this alleged Vampyr, before it claims even more lives. Will they be able to find out the truth in web of lies, myths, and fear fueled superstitions? Play to find out!
The Children of Saturn is a neat little game that combines the Keys mechanic from John Harper’s Lady Blackbird with the graded 2d6 roll of Powered by the Apocalypse. You can accumulate dice to roll depending on whether the action in question is in line with your character, and failure increases the chances of success the next time you roll. The characters are pre-made to some extent, but the players will be able to make them unique through names, descriptions, and how they decide to role-play. This game also come with a small hex map for your characters to explore - and everything fits on one page! If you want something spooky and quick to prep, this is definitely worth checking out.
2400, by Jason Tocci.
2400 is lo-fi sci-fi. It’s centuries in the future, and it’s a decades-old modem that screams like a dying robot when it connects to the net. It’s a space ship with an FTL drive, artificial gravity, and a flickering display you gotta tap a few times to see the jump coordinates. It’s hacking something together with whatever cheap materials you have on hand, ignoring the rules until you need them, banging out something that might not sound finished, but definitely sounds fun.
The 2400 system is a stripped-down ruleset inspired by the OSR that has been used to create a number of hacks in different settings. Every time I’ve run a 24XX game, the session lasted about 2 hours, so it definitely has the ability to play quick. The original page for 2400 currently has over 20 different settings to choose from, so if one of them really hits off, you could come back with a different setting each week for your friends to play through!
The Great Soul Train Robbery, by Cloven Pine Games.
On the road to hell there was a railway line. An express train to the infernal city of Dis, crewed by furies and carrying treasure and souls to damnation. You’re going to rob it.
The Great Soul Train Robbery is a tabletop roleplaying game for 2–6 players and 1 gamemaster about Desperados robbing the train to Hell. Spin an allegorical Weird Western yarn as your sharpshooters, fiddlers, homesteader widows, and other Desperados attempt a Hellish train heist. Will you claim your prize from the train, or be overcome, damned, or broken by the heist?
This is probably the biggest Honey Heist - inspired game that I’ve seen to date. It’s a solid pitch, with very little background needed in order for your players to grasp what exactly it is they’re doing. If players aren’t sure what kind of character they want to make, all of the options have d6 roll tables to give your group a goal, your train some complications, and your character a name and a special item. There’s quite a few pages of GM advice in this, which is probably a big boon to anyone running the game, as it allows you to construct a more complex train than what you might have created out of the top of your head. I’d probably even just steal the train construction section to use for other similar games!
Hold Your Own, by Sharkbomb Studios.
It's a time and place, not unlike the one that you, the players, grew up in. A dark mirror of the decade of your youth. You play as a group of friends at the cusp of adolescence and life is hard. You're unpopular and unwanted. All you've got is each other.
But it comes worse: A strange menace threatens to devour everyone you know. And nobody wants to believe you, not the teachers, not the parents. It looks like it's up to you to save your home.
Fans of It and Stranger Things will probably like this game. This game uses small dice pools and four basic stats. You’ll be facing off against an antagonist called the Menace, a threat that the rest of the community believes doesn’t exist. The Menace will always be strong enough to provide a challenge, and as you play, you’ll learn more and more about what it is exactly that you’re fighting against. This is a great game for fans of suspense, and it’s also small enough to learn it within the few hours that you’d have at a coffee shop.
Games I’ve Recommended in the Past
Something is Wrong with the Chickens, by Elliot Davis.
Koboldly Go, by CoffeeSnake Studios.
Faewater, by A Smouldering Lighthouse.
The Station, by pidj.
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the lovliest of friends tagged me in this weeks tag game, thanks pals! @deedala @heymacy @jrooc @mybrainismelted @energievie
Name: Jen
Age: 38
Location: New Zealand
And now...
What is your DJ name? I don't have one, but I want one. How does one acquire a DJ name?
If you were a genre of music, what would it be? Whatever Sleep Token is, and not because I love them, but because they slip into a little bit of everything from soft melodies to heavy shit and that kinda fits my current state of mind
What would you title your biography? Seriously?
What are the first three things you'd do if you were invisible? Probably the same thing I do most days - get the kids ready for school, grab a coffee, study.
What subject do you wish was taught in every school? Same thing Deanna said - personal finance basics, which, I've recently learned, they teach at the high school my kid will be at next year!
When was the last time you tried something for the first time and what was it? I recently tried not leaving my assignments to the last minute. 10/10 would recommend
What is the most underrated city you have ever visited? Dunno. The one I live in?
What day in your life would you like to relive? Hmm, probably one from when I took my girls on holiday to Australia last year
If you could eliminate one thing from your daily routine, what would it be and why? Currently, winter. In general, housework.
How long would you last in a zombie apocalypse? Not long, and I've made my peace with that.
What would be the most surprising scientific discovery imaginable? That this is the bad place.
If you could have any view out your office window, what would you choose? A sprawling park or beautiful beach.
tagging @mickeym4ndy @samantitheos @deathclassic @loftec
@hubrisandwax @jademickian @grumblesandmumbles @vintagelacerosette
@blue-disco-lights @francesrose3
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could u tell me some stuff about ur ocs ? /nf
you didn't specify Who so i am picking ones i don't talk about often, *ahem*
in a world much like ours, sometime in the 2010's, magic became (or maybe always was) real. whatever mystique veil had hid these properties from humanity before had worn too thin. suddenly things like mermaids, unicorns, dragons, gryphons, vampires, you name it-- are spurring up, and their existence is slowly tearing society apart.
the history gets blurry between the beginning of the Magic Apocalypse and the year the story takes place, and it isn't really important until later- but here's what is important :
every creature tends to stick to a specific biome or region that they are from or thrive best in, with some exceptions. the one creature that is found practically everywhere and is the Most Pressing Threat to all life :
The Fae.
the fae are territorial, expanding, mysterious, and their realm bends reality itself. the main thing they are known for doing is setting up Trap Circles (of plants or various items). the consequence for crossing into "their" territory is that they must take something important to you. they'll normally let you choose, but if you try to trick them (ie: pretend something you have is important when it isn't) they will decide for you. in fact, most material items aren't Enough for them. the main thing they take from humans is body parts. but they will "generously" offer to trade you - they will take your human appendage, and replace it with an animal/creature's! (most of the time, they still cut off the limb beforehand, because the process of magically transforming a person's atoms into a different structure is so psychologically horrific and physically painful that Amputating Is Considered Merciful In Comparison..)
Now, In Roughly The 2040's, In A "Post-Apocalypse" Setting :
ELTON KYROGUE and his best friend GATOR have been playing in a two-man band named Grand Tour for the last few years. Elton sings and plays guitar (+ other stringed instruments), Gator drums and has a sickass keyboard.
Elton (he/him, 20--22 over the course of the story) is a young man with a seemingly unbreakable spirit. he believes in humanity, sometimes to a fault, but is not by any means naive. he knows that some people only want trouble- but he'd prefer to use clever tricks and schemes to make his way out of a fight.
Gator (any prns, 17--19 over the course of the story) is a crafty little guy, not much for conversation but loves people just as much as Elton does (albeit a bit more wary of them).. she likes making murals on abandoned structures as they travel, as a sort of landmark of where they've been.
the story begins with them a few months on a traveling tour, just the two of them (i call this story Grand Tour's Grand Tour.. very funny i know)
they encounter many interesting characters and places. people are attempting to rebuild society, around or alongside their magical neighbors, so there are lots of makeshift communities that range from small villages to entire functioning towns- each with their own rules, kinds of people, and ways of managing the new world. plenty of these places are delighted to have a traveling band show up, so Elton and Gator find many places to crash while bringing music to the world.
there are quite a few characters they run into (remind me later to talk about the unicorns, the cyborg-cowboy sector, dragons, and skvader, if you want..) but the two i get most excited about are..
Cowboy Dan and Domino(/Dominic).
Cowboy Dan (44, he/him) is a sphinx-like lion man who wanders the desert by himself. a bitter man whose insecurities have plagued his way of thinking, who thinks people are either evil and untrustworthy, or just plain stupid. he's also probably the world's last remaining Catholic (joking, but religion is scarce nowadays). he destroys every opportunity and relationship that comes to him with the belief that this is how people "survive". he's on the hunt to enact revenge against Dominic, but no one can ever seem to get the full story..? (note: Dan normally stands on two legs and covers up his lion body almost entirely, these are just the sketches i had on-hand haha. it's difficult for him to walk bipedal but he is Incredibly Stubborn and Clings To His Humanity For Dear Life.)
Dominic (around the same age as Cowboy Dan, he/him, referred to as "Domino" by everyone but Dan) is a donkey man (entirely donkey) who is the leader of a settlement inside an abandoned amusement park. or, atleast, everyone there insists that "Domino" is like their mayor. if you ask him, he's just "someone who likes to help out". they live an oddly comfortable life away from danger, and Elton (with some manipulation from Dan) grows to find this setup suspicious.
there's a lot more to these guys-- to all of this story, but i'll leave it at that for now ;-) im not quite done writing GTsGT, but it will be turned into a comic at some point. my plan is to first make Curtain Call, and if im done coming up with GTsGT by then- it'll be up next! if not, i have a ton of other completely finished projects on the backburner that im waiting for a good time window to create.
#jeepers art#jeepers oc's#jeepers speak#grand tour's grand tour#elton kyrogue#gator#cowboy dan#domino#answered#included their moodboards because I Love Making Moodboards
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Leather and Silk
image sources: 1 | 2 | 3 [AO3 link] 18+ the ghoul x oc, eventual smut, eventual romance warnings: suicidal thoughts, medical trauma, violence, body horror, cannibalism, stalking, age gap summary: what if the Howards had a babysitter who survived the apocalypse? Index: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
Chapter 1 (1.1k words)
She was not certain why she hadn't just died already. She was pretty sure she still could. God willing, they hadn't surgically excised that final human courtesy out from her contorted flesh. Certainly she could still choose to die, but instead she watched her feet carry her puppet body forward. Were either of those even originally hers? There had been countless transplants and procedures performed on her unwilling body, and she had no way of telling which parts of her were synthetic or organic. It was all equally wrong, all ached the same down to the reconstructed bone marrow.
Still and all, she felt better the further she got from the facility. That was enough reason to keep going. If she kept moving, broke far enough into the distance, maybe she would find something like a purpose. Or a better place to die, whichever came first.
The day quickly faded and darkness began to fall around her. She hurried towards the building up ahead that would be her shelter tonight provided it was empty. Getting closer, she drew out a knife and proceeded cautiously. She crept over an empty window and combed through the structure without a noise. A few disemboweled radroaches. That was all, but it could prove to be an issue if whatever was responsible was still hanging around. She found a spot on the upper floor where the drywall had crumbled and kicked it until she had made a hole her size. Then she moved some ruined furniture over to conceal herself. That should be enough security for a night. Satisfied, she took off her meager equipment and settled in for a dreamless slumber.
Two voices startled her awake. One was high and tense, the other was deep, languid, and incredibly familiar. They were already coming upstairs and it was too late to escape, so she went stiff and slowed her breathing to an inhuman degree.
“I wonder why CX404 ran ahead, there's not much here,” the first voice remarked.
“Judgin’ from those roaches downstairs, she got peckish. Also, not her damn name,” snapped a rich southern accent. It twanged in her ears and the space between. She knew that voice, it was practically a trademark, worth a fortune. She had to look at its source, but that was impossible without the risk of revealing herself.
“ Dogmeat isn't her darn name either!” The two voices bickered back and forth as they moved across the room. Her heart was in her throat as jingling footsteps wandered close, but she was able to catch a glimpse under the furniture barricade. A very dusty pair of pointed boots with honest-to-god spurs. Incredibly familiar. She watched intently as they kicked past her and left the room.
Once both footsteps had faded down the stairs, she quickly strapped herself back together. Worn boots hurriedly laced, knife sheathed to her thigh, and a leather eyepatch secured to her head. That was a lucky find a while back. It covered the scarring on her face, had adjustable straps, and little holes so she could still see with both eyes. She desperately wanted to see the people who woke her up, particularly the cowboy whose voice and boots tickled at her memory. Trailing them would be a massive risk and being caught would mean certain death, but maybe satisfying her curiosity was worth it?
Gunshots rang out, abruptly ending her internal debate. If there was a fight, they would be distracted. It was a chance she couldn't resist, she slinked downstairs. It helped to be small and malnourished at times like these, it was easier to hide and stairs didn't creak under her. The shots were coming from the front of the building. Having noted the layout last night, she made a path that would avoid sightlines.
The last body dropped at the moment she managed to position herself in a hiding spot behind them. She barely made it to cover by the time gunshots no longer filled the air, but the risk paid off. She saw a young woman with dark hair wearing a Vault-Tec jumpsuit and a ghoul dressed in full western regalia. Once more she went still and turned her breathing off.
“Are you going to do that agai—” he slowly waved a small curved knife in the woman's face. “Geez Louise! I'm going outside,” the woman looked sick to her stomach as she rushed out the door. The devilish cowboy scoffed and knelt down over a corpse.
She recognized him almost immediately. Or she thought she did, she couldn't say that she had ever pictured Mr. Howard doing what he was now, hunched over a human body slicing and devouring its flesh. But his boots and spurs, the hat angled just so, and that blue and yellow western style shirt he had paid her to embroider peeking out from his leather duster were all from the one and only Cooper Howard’s wardrobe. She had picked up his dry cleaning more than once.
She drank in the sight of him ripping into his meal, and a memory of a shared dinner flashed across her mind. He bit into a juicy rib-eye the same way. She examined his jawline, how the muscles flexed in his face, his teeth. They were no longer beaming white, but still impressively straight and intact. He carved off a few choice cuts and strung them on his saddlebag to dry before rising and dusting himself off. He sauntered casually out the door, leaving the carnage on the ground before her.
The smell of meat reached her nose. How long had it been since she last ate? Was it weeks? Starving was no longer as critical an issue for her anymore, but watching him eat unearthed a buried hunger. She crept up to the body, now realizing it was a dead ghoul, and faintly wondered if it was stranger that he was eating a ghoul like him rather than a smooth-skinned person. Her mouth watered and she examined the butchery. It seemed like he'd pulled out a particular organ, liver maybe, and ate it raw before finishing his meal. Did he always like liver? She tried to remember but came up blank.
She tentatively carved off a small piece and brought it to her lips. She hadn’t previously tried cannibalism but the meat was right there, dressed and everything. It was Mr. Howard’s treat, just like all the meals they shared before. He always liked to provide for his people. She swallowed a few bites—still warm and a bit tough—then followed after them.
Next
#fanfiction#fanfic#the ghoul x oc#the ghoul#medical trauma#violence#cannibalism#body horror#stalking#suicidal thoughts#cooper howard#fallout tv series#fallout prime#fallout show#it's gonna get weirder from here!!!#also my oc is asian#(im also asian)#baby's first fanfic#Leather and Silk
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Episode 49 Notes-
Heheheh I had a snow day so I got to listen early!!!!!!!!!!!
THE INTRO SONG OMG
We are winning with the dndads music lately hehehe
“Like there’s a Druid in my mind saying it’s gonna be oak” SOBBING
Oak this is a bop actually
Holy shit there were so many things bad that happened to normal lately 😭
They’re in the past!!!!!! Oh my goddddddd
Taylor’s Teen Fact: Taylor was the runner up of the Teen High Teen of the Year award (which Margarita Pizza won). Taylor is a very good cup stacker (third place in a competition)
We forget that Taylor is canonically the most popular kid
Freddie’s facts are always the craziest of all time. I love it
Linc’s Teen Fact: Linc had to do things other than soccer playing so Marco and Grant got him into artsy stuff. Of course he only would pain/sculpt soccer type things. So he decided to start selling them on Next Door (with an account called Foot King). Marco and Grant took him off of the app. He’s a good painter basically
Normal’s Teen Fact: Normal always keeps his hot glue gun on him
Scary’s Teen Fact: Scary doesn’t have a New Years Resolution because she decided it was too resolute (too firm, too definite). She wants to be able to choose whether or not to do something
Daddy Fact: Anthony’s goal is to write a porn thing and he was reached out to by a porn website to write for them. He was gifted a care package (picture as you will)
He’s already written the script 😭
OH SHIT TAYLOR AND SCARY AREN’T WITH THEM
Ooohh AU where they ARE the four horseman of the apocalypse
THE DOLPHIN CULT YAYYYYYYYYYYAGAJAHHSJDND
Sitcom staring the Porpy and Flippy: Cop sidekicks
NO DOOD HAS DOODLERIZED EVERYONEEEEEE
Well Willy did but whatever
Screw Willy
Grill Master the Dolphin!!!!!!! Ayyyyyy
Dang Willy is God
They’re in a five person (well four person now) marriage don’t judge the dolphins!!!!
Awww they’re only like. Fifteen.
Heh Glenn Close/Jodie Foster (a good guy) in charge of Hell, Willy Stampler (a bad guy) in charge of Heaven
Yoooo wait the FBI is apart of the Hell now
Lark still hates Henry omg
Sparrow!!! Omg
Normal and Scary are so similar omg omg omg
Damn Good Omens much
What is it with Willy getting at the Oaks?
OH IS IT BECAUSE THEY HAVE PART OF DOOD IN THEM!?!?!?
“Brother” AYYY THEYRE BACK
The codependents of all time
HENRY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This dumb spell my goodness I love their debate
Why are they so set on killing Henry 😭
Oh only 49 damage that’s not that bad
TAYLOR BREAKS LARKS ANCLE OMG
Scary noooooooo
SPIDER BOIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Scary’s gonna die 😭 😭 😭 😭
Taylors such an ass omg
Scary got 44 damage
“I say no once in six years of podcasting”
TEHYRE ON FUREEEEEBSJAJAHIWIW
SCARY AND HENRY A DUO I DIDNT KNOW I NEEDED
Lark and Sparrow make me so unwell omg
NO LARK LETS GO OF SPARROW NOOOO
Begging for Lark to have a whole thing about Sparrow with Normal
No one catches Lark 😭
Taylor is so funny omg
TAYLOR WITH SPARROW OMG
They seriously are having season one vibes I missed this so much omg
Nooo that was such a good transition
Taylor having his own mini adventure is because they played a Taylor Swift song for their intro
CASSANDRA OH NO
TAYLOR JS GOING TO KILL WILLY IF HE DOES ANYTHING ELSE TO HIS MOM
This whole Taylor thing is giving off BIG Leviathan Fabian vibes with Chungle Down Bim
YOOO THE MARRIAGE THING OMG STRIKES AGAIN
Please say this works
Roll high
Ohh a 12
LINC JUST PRAYED TO WILLY
Voicemail box 😭
Of course Taylor is going to find his name
OMG WAIT FREDDIE’S PLAN WAS LITERALLY OREDICTED BY SOMEONE ON TUMBLR I SWEAR
I DUNNO WHO
BUT MAY APPOLO’S VISION BE UPON YOU OR WHATEVER
Nooooo and it’d be easier for Taylor too because HIS MOM MARRIED WILLY OMG OMG
HIS LAST NAME TECHNICALLY COULD BE STAMPLER MUCH EASIER NOW BECAUSE OF THAT
SCARYA ND HENRY YAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYSGHAHWHSHSHSHSVSAHWJHAHSB
Henry stopppppppp you’re messing with Scary :cccccccc
Nooo scary still has the hat omg oh dear
Oh dear Willy’s God now he could probably control someone’s mind through their sleepppp
Oh god I hate Barry so much. He sucked so much I hate him
AHHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHSHHAHSHHSHSH SCARY BEING A SOCCER OEROSN OMG OSBAKAJSH
Taylor squints so hard that someone dies 😭
AYYY THATS CANON
I wonder if he’s gonna get the original daddies as well as the Kiddads
Scary’s pulling what Riz did with Biz ayyyy
Aww that would’ve been sick if he believed her
NO NO DONT TELL HER SHE WAS LIKE YOU FUCK YOU WILLY
FUCKING GET HIM SCARY GET HIS ASS GET EM
Scary just wants attention :ccccc
“Good luck” ANTHONY THAT HAD NO BUSINESS BEING SO OMINOUS OMG
Noooo remembering the thing with the cheese :ccc
I miss early season two
NO THATS WHERE EVERYRHING WITH HERMIE HAPPENED AYLGHHHHHHSVSHHSHS
“YOU BITCH” omg normal 😭
“Give me an L” “You’ve had enough Ls” “I’ll give you one of mine”
No the way it fits the intro
AHHH NORMAL USING HIS CHEER TO CHEER UP LINC
This episode is making me giddy omg /pos
Linc is getting so sad this is worryinggggg. He’s acting like Grantttttt
This whole eye thing is seriously the math questions on my tests
A happy normal is something I’ve missed so so much
I think literally all of these kids (except maybe Taylor) have a guilt complex (Scary/Willy, Normal/Code Purple, Linc/im not quite sure)
DARRYL AUYYYYYAYAYAYYAYAHAHABBSHSJSJS
JODIE AND GLENN YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYABSJAHWH
Omg Jodie and Glenn together 😭
WIAT WAIT OKG WAIT
THE THING THAT MAKES THEM BELIEVE JN SHIT
THE WHOLE THING WITH THE CLOSE FAMILY DID THAT FOR TAYLOR
AND HE GOT THE PERSUASION THING
DOES THAT MEAN THATLL HAPPEN FOR THE OTHER TEENS WHEN THEYRE THING IS COMPLETED
ITS LIKE WHEN IN FH THEY GIT TO REROLL A STAT AFTER SOOHMORE YEAR
Scary looks like Larry!!
Omg Freddie is genuinely so smart omg
HAMILTON AYYYYYYYY
Yam ya
I’m gonna use that
He had a flying spell wowwww
REVERSE GRAVITY AUAGAHHAJAHAHHAHAHJW
OhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHH
Will and me both man
Larry is so cool omg
Dood nooooooo
RONNNNAHGAHAHAHAHHSHS
FUCK YOU WILLY
FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOUHAGSJSHHAHAAHAHS
Mfer admits that Ron posed a threatttttt
Honey badger waits for no one
I’m gonna start using that too
GO BETH OMG
Willy likes the science kid oh my god I’m gonna sob
Larry gives off church camp vibes
Willy’s doing the spaghetti thing 😭
OMG OMG
WILLY TAYLOR IS GOING TO KILL YOU IF YOI HURY CASSANDRA PIOE THAT HOLY SHIT
“You’d be a lot prettier if you smiled Cassandra” GET HIS ASS TAYLOR GET. HIS. ASS.
You know I hated Willy before
But this is a whole new fucking level
Awww that’s so sweet at the end <33
AHHAHAHAHHAHA THIS EPISODE MAN
I don’t know how I’m gonna be able to wait for the next episode ahhh
IVE LISTENED TO THE ALBUM BUT OMG IM SO EXCITED TO HEAR THE ONE THEYRE RELEASING TO ADVERTISE IT
I’m betting it’s either the Potatoe one or Dead and Gone
Hmmmmm
January 30th!!
Oh screw off siri
AHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAIT IS DEAD AND GONE
YAYAYAYAYYAYAYAAYAYAYYAYAYYA
THIS EPISODE IS MT ABSOKUTE FAVORUTE THIS SEASON
#Dndads#dungeons and daddies#dndads spoilers#dndads s2#I had to delete some of my key smashes so that i could post this within the key limit
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"Hey, Stanley."
Stanley looks up from where he is sitting in a grouping of cubicles, playing Solitaire. Solitaire is his forte, and he is totally unmatched by any other not only in the Office, but in the entire world. The fact that the rest of humanity has ceased to exist as a result of the apocalypse is irrelevant. If they were still around, Stanley would still be the unmatched Solitaire champion, and that is a fact. As it is, this knowledge is something that everyone is blissfully unaware of, even as he plays game after game after game of it, day in and day out.
Alas. This is how anyone who finds Stanley knows they'll find him. They don't mind interrupting him, and - on the whole - Stanley doesn't mind being interrupted. He can play the game to his heart's content, at his own whim, per his own free will, because here, now, outside the Parable, he can make his own choices, even though that's sometimes difficult for him to do. It's never difficult for him to choose to play Solitaire. Solitaire is his go-to choice. His "default", you might say.
(Cut here due to length!!)
Choosing how to respond to Thursday, though... is something entirely different.
He doesn't know how to respond to her. Not now.
It was easy at first, when they first met, when she came at him with excitement and adoration, the way the rest of them did. A new Stanley. Not just a new guest in the Office, but a whole new Stanley. Whatever that meant. Of course, he learned with time that he was not a lone Stanley, perhaps not even the first, perhaps not even the last, but one of many, one of a long, long line of Stanleys, a circle, a fractal, a never-ending parade of Protagonists going by the same name with the same purpose, a man created to fill this... role of a man named Stanley. And these people loved him for it. For that one, simple fact.
It took Stanley a while to come to terms with that. Not just that one, simple fact, but the whole of it. His role, his existence, the fact that there was one who came before him, what happened to the one who came before him, what this meant for him now, what this meant for all Stanleys out there, what he wanted for himself, if this meant that he was really free or not, just... who was he really? He's still trying to figure all these things out. Was still trying to figure out all those things when The Big Event Happened, bringing him to now.
Which brings Thursday to him now. Again. He can feel it. There's no other reason for her to be here. At first, back at the beginning, she'd have approached him with unbridled joy and excitement, pulled him along by one of his arms on some adventure or other, and he'd have gone along willingly enough. She was fun to be around, as much fun as any of the others, but now...
Stanley regards her with the same look he's been regarding her with for the last seven months - one of guarded acknowledgement, like letting her know he can see her, but that's about it. He doesn't want to engage her much in any other way. There's too much resentment there now.
He does decide to grace her with a small nod, though, and in response to that Thursday seems to brighten. Moves closer. Says, "How are you?"
Stanley shrugs. Looks back at his computer screen. Moves some cards around.
Thursday deflates at that. Sighs.
"Stanley, I, um... Can we talk, please?" she asks, tone low and soft.
Stanley doesn't really want to talk to her. Not now. Not ever, really. Not after everything that happened. Not after what she did to him. But who knows. Maybe she'll have something different to say this time. And knowing her, she won't leave him alone until she says what she has to say, so he may as well sit here and let her say it and then he can get back to playing Solitaire.
He shrugs again and moves a few more cards around before sitting back in his chair and giving her at least some semblance of his attention.
Thursday stands like she doesn't know whether she should sit or stand or approach him in some other way. Like he might attack her. Like he's a loaded weapon. Or a delicate wet piece of paper. Either way, she stands there, her hands opening and closing in a moment of indecision before she finally spits it out. "I'm sorry, Stanley. I'm sorry for what I did. For going against your wishes and- and putting your body in that bag, and then- and then putting it in the freezer. Okay? I'm- I really thought- Honestly, Stanley, I thought that's what you wanted- what you would have wanted. I didn't know that you wanted to- that you didn't want that. I didn't know."
Stanley doesn't answer her at first. He just sits there quietly, not looking at her, not only because this is a touchy subject for both of them - it's not only a touchy subject, it's the subject, The Big Event - but because he can't stand the look she's giving him, that beseeching look. She's the one who violated him. Who violated his autonomy. Who took away his right to die. Who stuck his body into a bag and put it in a freezer. Like an experiment. Where was his right to any dignity in any of that? And yet she wants to look at him like she's the victim?
Every time. Every time she does this, just like his Narrator. And he can't fucking stand it.
Taking in a sharp breath, Stanley finally raises his gaze and looks at her. Pins her with his sharp, dark eyes. Raises his hands and signs, "I tried to tell you. I tried, when I was a ghost, and you wouldn't listen. You wouldn't listen to me. You-"
Thursday tries to cut in, "But, Stanley-"
But Stanley doesn't let her. He puts up a hand, stopping her. And then he continues. "You instead put up a sign in that freezer telling other people NOT to help me. Telling other people NOT to move my body, NOT to bury me. You wanted to keep me prisoner here!"
"I didn't want you to die, Stanley!" Thursday interjects, a bit angrily.
"I was already dead!" Stanley counters, the contraction of his expression illustrating his own anger.
"Wh- You know what I mean! I didn't want you to stay dead! And I thought you didn't want that either! What happened to you was an accident! A genuine, freak of an accident! I was trying to preserve your body until we could find a way of bringing you back! That's why I did what I did!"
Stanley huffs a sharp puff of air between his lips. "Except I DID try to tell you-"
Thursday scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Oh, come off it, Stanley! Tried to tell me how exactly? Huh? By shoving me down the stairs and killing me? Exploding a bunch of light bulbs over my head?" Thursday illustrates all this by waving her hands over her head dramatically. "How exactly is that clear? And you know what? I didn't hold that against you! And yet you're- you're- rrrrrgggh! - you're gonna sit there and hold all this against me! Only me?"
Stanley presses his lips together, folds his arms, and leans back in his chair, raising his eyebrows at her, as if to say, Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am, what do you plan to do about it?
"Ohhhhh, that's great, Stanley, just great," Thursday practically growls back at him. "So that's it then? This is it? You're just gonna- You're just- You're gonna be mad at me forever? You're gonna-" Her voice breaks, and it must have been unexpected because she presses both hands against her face, as if trying to stop herself from crying. "You're gonna hate me forever for trying to help you. For what I thought was the right thing. For- For making a mistake. An honest mistake."
There's a beat of silence. Of no reaction from Stanley.
And then...
...another quiet shrug from him.
For a moment, as Stanley sits there and looks at her, seeing the passage of emotions on her face, he sees fire there. He sees rage. He sees a serious moment pass where she looks like she wants to hurt him. Like she wants to shove him out of his chair, or worse.
She doesn't do any of that though, although the anger remains there. She says, "What about Cyrus?"
Stanley's eyebrows go up in question.
"Cyrus - what about him?" she repeats.
Scoffing, Stanley signs, "What about him?"
"You've forgave him. Why?"
Stanley doesn't answer, because he doesn't understand what she's getting at. So he sits there quietly, and waits for her to elaborate. A moment later, she does.
"Cyrus did the exact same thing I did, and yet you have forgiven him. In full. For all of it. Did you know that?" she says, breathing hard with anger, perhaps with something else Stanley doesn't understand. There are tears in her eyes and she looks like she wants to hurt him again. "Yeah. He was right there with me, shovel in hand, scooping up your splattered remains off the ground and loading it onto that cart. Pouring it into that body bag. Zipping it up. Loading it into the freezer. I mean, sure, he didn't write the sign and didn't touch all your insides as much as I did because he's a lot more squeamish than I am, so don't blame him for that, but other than that, he agreed with it all. With everything else. He agreed to keep you in there until we could find a way of bringing you back. And yet you didn't fucking attack him. Didn't shove him down the stairs. Didn't explode light bulbs over his head. Haven't held anything over his head. Nope. You've forgiven him completely. Gone right back to having tea time right up there in the control booth with him. Why?"
Stanley still doesn't answer. Doesn't have an answer for all that. Because he didn't know. He had no idea. Why had his ghost latched so easily onto the idea that Thursday had acted alone and that Cyrus hadn't had anything to do with any of it? Was it because he loved Cyrus? Or was it because... something else? Some other reason he couldn't understand? Was Thursday just messing with him now? What was going on?
"Pfft," Thursday scoffs. It seems all her anger has been redirected, funneled into a different direction. "I'll tell you why, Stanley. It's because you never thought he could do it. You never stopped to think he could, because Cyrus is perfect, isn't he? Cyrus can't do any wrong in your eyes. But me? I'm just the fuck-up. The one who makes mistakes. The obnoxious girl who... who what, Stanley? Won't leave you alone? Won't let you die? Well. All right. You get your wish now. I'll leave you alone now." She pauses only to wipe away some tears that have fallen, seeming more annoyed by them than anything else. "And I want you to leave me alone, too. And Mae. I don't- I don't want you around us. I don't care what else you do. I don't give a shit anymore, Stanley. I can't care anymore. Just stay the fuck away from me and my daughter."
And that's it. That's the last thing Thursday says before sniffing back more tears, turning, and leaving. Leaving Stanley to his Solitaire. Still the best in the entire world.
#not sure if any content warnings are needed except for maybe long post#cw long post#writing for days#i don't expect anyone to actually read this but alas it exists#also i haven't proofread it yet so there may be typos but i'll get to them later#⭐ Thursday#🧍♂️ Stanley Johnson
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MAG 186 Relisten
Activity on my first listen: taking a bath.
Right at the start of this episode Martin at least sounds like himself and not totally lost like in MAG 170. So when I was first listening this was already relieving. (He even sounds a bit annoyed...)
ALSO MARTIN: "Wuthering Heights." I have no idea what Wuthering Heights is. I guess it's, like Pride and Prejudice and War and Peace, something people in English-speaking countries usually learn about in literature?
MARTIN: "Yeah. God, I hated studying that. It was all just so…" I love how much Martin just rolls with the fact, that he himself just answered him xD
ALSO MARTIN: "Right down to the monochrome." Speaking of monochrome. Also!Martin sounds so monotone, it's really easy to tell them apart!
MARTIN: "No, I just… I’m ashamed to let him see this place, alright. To see what – I don’t know, what feeds me?" ALSO MARTIN: "Sure, that’s part of it, but… it’s not the whole thing, is it? Not really." MARTIN: "What do you mean?" ALSO MARTIN: "Well, if you don’t count ‘memory manor’, when was the last time you were even on your own?" NOT REALLY! And yeah, Also!Martin then describes it perfectly. It's ok to want some space. That wish is probably easier to express and still have it come across like a mundane thing when you've not been a victim of an Eldritch fear god of being lonely. I do, generally though, enjoy long stretches of time spent with my spouse a lot more than long stretches of time without them. It makes me feel distant from them, and I don’t like that. Doesn't mean that a day home alone isn't really refreshing every now and then. But, I know of couples (I say know of because these people usually aren't my friends cause they're more... "normal") who have very, veeeery different interests and they do pursue them separately and I'm like "why are you even together then??". I mean, it's totally okay, if it works for them, good! But that's just my personal quirk on relationships.
ALSO MARTIN: "Like I said, I’m not your enemy." MARTIN: [Archly] "Oh really? I thought you said you were me?" Haha, yeah, standing in your own way.
MARTIN: "Eurgh. Oolong. Of course. Of course! Whenever I asked a question she didn’t like, or she wanted to stop the conversation –" ALSO MARTIN: "Off you’d go to put the kettle on." Can't have shit in the apocalypse. Aaaalso, do you know the story about why it's Oolong? It came up in one of the Protocol streams during the Magnus quiz, Jonny answered it and got it wrong (I don't know what the tea was, something I can neither pronounce nor spell, so I immediately forgot the name), then Alex got it right with Oolong. Jonny was super confused about it, cause iirc he apparently chose that tea because Sasha doesn't like it. Buuuut, turns out, Alex couldn't pronounce it, so he just went with Oolong instead and never told Jonny xDDD
MARTIN: "She was still my mum! Our mum. Whatever!" Yeah, but you didn't choose to come into this world. She made that choice. So parents owe their kids to do their bloody best to provide for them, care for them, make them feel loved! Sure, in this case, it wasn’t like this from the start, Martin’s mum started to resent him cause he reminded her of his father you broke her heart. That’s why there really should be better health care regarding therapy out there...
ALSO MARTIN: [Emphatically] "And we’re glad she’s dead." Still, all considering, that hits pretty hard...
MARTIN: "If I’d done what Peter had asked… If I’d not chickened out, and just killed Elias when I had the chance…" ALSO MARTIN: "Really? Really? That’s how you’re choosing to remember it? Chickening out?" MARTIN: "I remember it was the wrong choice." Actually, nobody knows what would have happened. Once you chose a path, you will never know if it was the "wrong" one.
MARTIN: "I get it, alright? But I need it. I-I choose the guilt, because…" ALSO MARTIN: [Leading] "Because…" MARTIN: "Because it motivates me to do better!" ALSO MARTIN: "… Does it though? Or… does it just keep paralysing us, make us shrink back and wait, hoping things work out?" Yeah, that’s a thought pattern I'm familiar with. Or like, always prepare for the worst and then it can only turn out better! Hm, didn't get too far with that.
JON: "Like with Jon, when we thought the worms had got him." MARTIN: "Hey, to be fair, he still kind of hated me back then. I’m really not sure it would have been the time to take my shot." Wait, did Martin actually consider to tell Jon back then??? I mean, he obviously chose not to, but that sounds like it at least crossed his mind. I mean, I get it, when I had my crush on my spouse it was so unbearable to keep it unsaid.
ALSO MARTIN: "Fair. He was projecting hard. Between us, that guy’s got some real issues." MARTIN: "Hey! Pretty sure we love ‘that guy’." ALSO MARTIN: "Yeah, and all his many, many problems." I mean, that's not a big revelation that Jon has some real issues, everybody knows that. It’s like written all over his forehead xD Still, it's okay that people have their own baggage. Friends or loved ones don't have to be these perfect figures, that's simply not possible for real persons.
ALSO MARTIN: "You do though. You daydream about it! The big climactic showdown with Elias, and then the two of you kiss, and push a button that just magically saves the world and makes everything better." MARTIN: "It’s actually not a button, so –" ALSO MARTIN: "Stop. Deflecting." MARTIN: [Angry] "S-So what, okay? We should just give up? Hmm? Just stay here and curl up into a ball and just accept the world as is? Hmm? That’s your big solution?" ALSO MARTIN: "I’m saying there aren’t any easy solutions. We have no idea what’s going to happen. Even if we make it to the tower, we don’t know there’ll be a fix. And if by some miracle there is, we both know the price will be awful. Just look at Melanie." Hm yah. You need a bit of something you're moving towards. But you can't have it all perfectly laid out in your mind, that you're waiting for this exact thing to happen. You can't live for a hypothetical future. (Also more on topic: yeah, we've seen that the fears always crave more and more horrible things. They’ll not gonna let them off the hook easily.)
MARTIN: "So, this price. What do you think? Are we going to have to kill Jon?" Oh, that's going to age horribly...
ALSO MARTIN: "Even dying?" MARTIN: "Yeah!" ALSO MARTIN: "Jon’s as bad as we are. He wouldn’t let it happen." MARTIN: "It’s not his decision." Uhhh, the way the world works nowadays, I think it very much is his decision xD
Martin then wanting to know about the people in his domain feels like he has indeed processed a bit and is now moving on. Accepting, that this is his place and situation now instead of running away from it.
ALSO MARTIN: "We never met them in the old world. Although one of them is named Tim. Just a coincidence, I think, unless it was a subconscious thing on our part." Martin subconsciously being: "Yeaaah, I want to twist that knife a bit more"
ALSO MARTIN (STATEMENT): "I can’t tell you their names, because we don’t know them" Except for that one Tim though. Coincident? I think not! It's all about twisting knives!
"His family were cold, and so to keep that coldness at bay, he built a towering wall between them and him. He hid it in jokes and practiced smiles, but on a cloudy day, they could see it." Ah yes, sounds like the classic depressed-people-making-funny-memes thing!
"She was among this joy, yes, these sparkling friends, but she was not a part of it, not really. She tried to be, wanted so desperately to be a part of their easy warmth, and maybe they thought she was. But they hadn’t known her, not really." Ahem...
MARTIN: "I’ll get Jon to destroy me like the others." ALSO MARTIN: "You don’t really believe he’d do it?" MARTIN: "I don’t know. Maybe?" ALSO MARTIN: "… This took a dark turn." MARTIN: "Yeah. But… this time, it doesn’t feel like despair. It feels like resolve." I think that's even worse. Because as I see it that’s the most scary part of being suicidal. How utterly convinced you are it's the right thing.
@a-mag-a-day
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Fucking Amazing Game Alert
So Goodbye Volcano High just came out today, and I played it all in one sitting. (6.9 hours, nice) And like holy fucking god. It was so good. I mean it was buggy in places and some of the minigames weren't fully polished but whatever. The storyline, and the characters, and the music, and the story!!
Heads up. Minor spoilers but I wanna talk about it so here I go. HUGE REVIEW / INFODUMP BELOW (There's also a bunch of screenshots from my playthrough mostly of the last couple episodes.)
Fang's VA sounded like Chloe from Before the Storm (not Ashly Burch but Rhianna DeVries) and it was so cool, and speaking of Life is Strange, there's so much Life is Strange vibes throughout the whole thing. Apocalypse, queer teens, great music!
Oh my gosh great music! The music minigame didn't work 100% but when they did it felt so great and I loved all of the songs actually all of them.
The main cast was great Fang was relatable and flawed and well written. And I loved them so much. Trish was an amazing backup to Fang and drove the story so well. Reed was amazing especially as GM, and his L&L character Sydd was hot as fuck. Sage and Stella were great and reminded me so much of my friends @hearthurian and @spookyscarynik it was amazing. While not everything matched up them, Sage being a femme presenting trans boy was handled well and remind a lot of Arthur. Especially him talking about horoscopes and being so invested in Stella but still being so strong on his own, and Stella crushing on fictional characters was so Nik lol. And they just kept being so great as a duo even if they weren't dating in game. I ship it. Rosa was nice but I definitely missed some scenes with her and after seeing the name of the achievement "Surprise Friendship" I do wish I knew what her story was like. Naser was so fun, was a well written older brother character, and did great in the L&L session.
And Naomi. <3 Lovely Naomi, her reveal as the secret admirer was done so well. Like even though I was thinking maybe it was her the reveal that I was right in the end of the 3 episode had me screaming, I loved it so much!!! And their short time together was great and I really want the best for them even if their world's story is almost definitely ended.
The game aspect of it wasn't great, like honestly this could have been a short miniseries kind of thing, like Looking for Alaska and it could have been so much better. Because as medium all the game aspect let me do was play along to the music (which I did like though), and miss some scenes because I didn't choose the right dialogue options. I guess there were the unlockable flashback but those could have been added as like little cut between episodes or commercials. (Maybe like the Sk8 the Infinity stingers idk) I did like getting multiple dialogue options but if choosing ones that felt right to me means missing out on scenes, it's not worth it. Like I really wanna see all the story has to offer and it's a shame I couldn't see the full story just because they wanted the story choices to feel important. According to the achievements I missed scenes with Rosa, Stella, Trish, and Reed.
Rosa's story felt the most lacking. Stella's story felt fine as a side character but maybe I just don't know what I'm missing. I kept wanted to see more of Reed's story but it never happened. Trish's story felt whole as I got it but apparently I still missed something, possibly connected to Rosa's story but maybe it was just more with her. Maybe I'll go back if there's a guide on which dialogue options result in getting to see every scene in the last act (the achievements say it's possible to get all of them in one playthrough), but that depends on how restrictive it is and how much that would take me out of the game. I might do it like how I did the Life is Strange Ultimate playthrough a few years ago, where I looked at the wiki to get every scene I wanted. Cuz yeah I could just play the game over and over again but seeing a story like this over and over again can make it lose its magic. I know the last time I played Life is Strange definitely wasn't anywhere near as impactful as it was the first couple of times I played it. I couldn't even finish True Colors on my second attempt going for 100% because it just felt like I wasn't in the story like I was the first time I played it, and I don't want this game to be the same. It deserves better, so I'm just gonna leave it at one playthrough for a while and MAYBE I'll come back to it at some point.
And now for the storyline. Holy feels dude. So much worm drama! The story is so deep and emotional and tackled a bunch of rough issues really well, all with an amazing friend group. Dealing with the apocalypse felt so real after the pandemic, and that brought a lot of emotions back up which felt almost nice? now that I'm in a better place and have had to sit with them. And having dealt with my dad's death last year, some of the family scenes did hit me more than I was expecting even if I wasn't too close with him or my family. Fang being non-binary was handled so well and all the scenes with their parents deadnaming and misgendering them also hit me really hard, Naser was being supportive the whole time and that meant a lot. And even though the scene at the end with Fang's parents correctly calling them Fang and them saying they love you back felt a little undeserved, it's the end of the world and there's some love there even if they don't fully understand Fang. Which doesn't always happen with trans people and their parents so I guess I'm happy for them if their happy.
The Battle of the Bands plot was fun, after reading Steph's story (the Life is Strange book) [SPOILERS FOR THAT], I wasn't actually expecting Worm Drama to win. But I guess even more amazingly they did and it didn't matter; and they had to find their own meaning in their music and with their friends. And they did, and it was great.
The dino characters were great. It was like lowkey furry energy (I mean that in a good way) but it wasn't just thrown it. They thought about it the emojis faces and hands were dinos. All the character's clothing made sense with their dino features. (I loved Fang's horn choker thingy.) It just brought me into the world way more than took me out of it.
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Can we PLEASE talk about how Crowley KNOWS heaven's plans during the confession scene?? Whatever. I'm gonna talk about it you dont have to listen.
🛑 SPOILERS 🛑
I'm convinced Crowley is Lucifer so much of my interpretation is based on that sub theory which I'm not going to go in depth on here because its a whole post on its own (and I'm already getting bored writing this one lol). I'm also not convinced that Metatron is really going to let Aziraphale run heaven. I think he's going to lock Az up (either as prisoner or as commander-in- chief) (but probably a prisoner) to keep the Our Side™️ team up from interfering. I’m focusing on the subtext in the confession scene conversation and implications for season 3.
Crowley knows the plans for Apocalypse 2. Which means he knows how it STARTS.
We viewers only see the last bit (the amens) but its implied that Crowley sees much more while we're viewing Aziraphale in the cutaway. The line "Tell me you said no." is repeated twice and increasingly desperate. Yes, he wants Aziraphale to stay with him, but more importantly, I think Aziraphale returning to heaven is the first step to start the End again. This is supported by Crowley saying "You can't leave this bookshop." Because if Az DOES leave the bookshop (and goes to Heaven) then the End is started.
Also why he confesses - "I didn't get a chance to say what I was going to say, I think I better say it now." Why now? Because he won't get a chance to later, because they'll be on opposite sides. Likely fighting each other. (Assuming Metatron is being truthful) (which... eh).
It explains Crowley's agitation while Aziraphale is with Metatron. He already knows what Metatron is doing (tempting Az). Earlier in episode 4 or 5 (can't remember, not looking it up), Crowley is worrying about Aziraphale and says "it's always too late." This time is also too late because by the time he returns, Aziraphale is already convinced he should go to heaven/leave the bookshop.
I think the Job story is included because that's when God and Satan made a bet over the devotion of God's most faithful. A parallel to what is now happening with Aziraphale. (Don't get me started on the almond syrup implications rn omg). (Side note, most scholarship distinguishes Lucifer and Satan as two entities/concepts and knowing Gaiman keeps within the theologic cannon, I think we'll find that's true in the Good Omens universe too)(Either they're two separate entities or Satan is a mask of Crowley's)(but thats another post omg thats like the third time I've said that I need to stfu).
In the "I forgive you/Don't bother" exchange, I dont think Crowley is deflecting because he doesn't think his past is worthy of forgiveness. I think it's because he knows what will happen in the future. Namely that season 3 will show Crowley and Az on opposite sides rather than together as they have been. Aziraphale (might be) leading heaven's armies against Crowley (Lucifer). And Crowley doesnt think that is worth forgiving.
I'm especially convinced of this because of the sudden interest in the "or give me death" name that Crowley and Metatron take in the last episode(s). "Does anyone ever choose death?/How predictable" especially makes me think that Crowley is going to be the one to choose death - his own death - to save everyone else's, especially Aziraphale's (and surprising Metatron). A parallel between "The Second Coming" and the... idk first coming (? lol) since Jesus sacrificed himself and all that.
Like the ladies said, Aziraphale and Crowley don't say what's on their minds. Crowley isn't talking about them, he's talking about the plans he knows about. And he knows that he doesn't want to be opposed to Aziraphale.
I'm sure I have more, but this is enough to chew on. (And I'm tired of typing).
I'm foaming at the fkn mouth.
#good omens#good omens 2#spoilers#good omens spoilers#good omens 2 spoilers#verify this rant when season 3 comes out#or whatever
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this started as a comment but the autism won
(I have come to realize that I'm going to be a nerd with Opinions about Media for the rest of my life and I have to stop hiding who I am. If that makes me cringe, so be it.)
Hot take: Betty Grof is the actual villain in Adventure Time
Yall just gonna let FaC tell you Simon was a selfish jerk and what happened to Betty was his fault like Betty isn't totally yandere for their entire relationship.
Betty invites herself on a trip with Simon, Betty decides not to go to Australia because she finds out Simon likes her even though he didn't ask her to do that, Betty ignores Simon saying losing her was devastating to him and jumps through the portal to try to skip over whatever boring part of Simon's life he was talking about, Betty makes Simon be crazy again, refuses even talking to the Ice King until she has exhausted all other options (including giving him brain damage and stealing his beloved little guy), gives up trying to talk to him after like ten minutes, and then tries to kill him, then almost ends reality itself over him = Simon being selfish?
Why *would* Simon get on the bus with her? He doesn't have a ticket for Australia! He just wanted to tell her how he felt before she left!
Simon uses a poor choice of words when he says "I forgive you for leaving me" but he's not the best with people and he was clearly just trying to make sure she felt no guilt about his terrible fate or imminent death. And then she interrupts him in order to literally abandon his past self in his hour of fucking need so that she can skip the unpleasantness, without knowing what it was or how long it lasted. She put herself in Ooo. Then she insists he become the Ice King again so she can save him, but doesn't stay with the Ice King or even talk to him. She leaves him rather than work on the problem with him by her side. She is never apologetic for this utter rejection of the Ice King at any point. She is willing to kidnap Gunter just for a chance to give Ice King brain damage and see if that brings Simon back. She is willing to use IK as a spell battery (which is where he must get the idea to use Choose Goose- I felt like that was both out of left field and out of character tbh) to go back in time and prevent him putting on the crown.
No matter what the Ice King, who is a version of Simon, asks of her she refuses. She does not want to know his friends, she doesn't even know Marceline's name at any point iirc. We don't know if she ever sat down and listened to an explanation of what has happened, but I am guessing not or she would know that the Mushroom War would have killed them both if he hadn't put the crown on, not to mention left Marceline alone to either die or be corrupted by the vampires.
As another fan pointed out, she could have shared the crown with him, shared the burden with him, but she didn't want to do the hard work of loving him as he was. She wanted him to be exactly how she had originally perceived him to be. She was willing to risk the lives of everything in existence to force the mental illness out of him rather than help him deal with it in a healthy way.
Yeah, she sacrificed everything for him, entirely by choice! Simon never asked her to do any of it. In fact, both he and the Ice King asked her specifically not to do what she was doing multiple times.
Simon managed to take care of a scared little girl during a nuclear zombie apocalypse while going slowly insane, summoned her deadbeat demon dad in an effort to try to keep her safe when he couldn't anymore, and was basically guilty only of the crime of wanting a little closure.
Hell, even the Ice King was better at caring about people. He was willing to walk through lava for his Goontz. His admiration for Finn and Jake led to him becoming a better person over time, once they accepted him, and he never forgot about Marceline even if he didn't remember how they became friends.
Maybe I take it personally as someone with a mental disability (autism) but I think the way Betty treated the Ice King, and Simon, was disgusting. Simon was a good person. He had a few character flaws, like everyone else in the universe, but fundamentally he just wanted to help people and to share his life with someone special. Hell, the Ice King's ability to treat Gunter better than Evergreen treated the original Gunter is what finally broke the curse of the crown. Did yall miss that part too? They're different versions of the same dude.
I cannot believe how dirty FaC did him in the ending. Totally uncalled for. Literally no one asked for that.
I'm with the people who wanted Simon and Ice King to interact, to have Marceline play a bigger role in the story both because she is literally Simon's best friend and because she's fucking awesome, and oh yeah- to not be condescendingly spoon-fed the conclusions that the showrunner wanted people to draw only to then totally contradict them two minutes later because he couldn't keep a coherent narrative running if his life depended on it. Man did us all dirty with that half-assed ending to a convoluted story.
Betty had to become Golb to clean up the mess she herself had made, and it seemed like she understood and accepted that. That act was her redemption. Why take that away just to shit on the character who arguably suffered more than just about anyone else in the narrative? Simon had magic alzheimers for a thousand fucking years and this asshole is saying he deserved it. I can't even.
And another thing:
If their genders were reversed, do you think people would still defend Betty so much? I highly doubt it, and I find that messed up. Women can be the toxic side of a relationship. Men can be victims. It's almost 2024 we're still not able to see a failed hetero relationship as anything but the guy's fault? Come on.
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Relationship History Tag Game
Tagged by @authoralexharvey! It was interesting to see a little bit of background on the cast of ASMLP's relationships (or their avoidance of them rather?). I'm sure it's manifesting in all sorts of fascinating ways during the actual story. Well, fascinating for the reader--Nadia, Etienne, and Simone might find it less entertaining.
Rules: briefly (or not) describe what kinds of intimate relationships (platonic, romantic, sexual, or otherwise) your MCs have had PRIOR TO THE BOOK STARTING. Have they had their hearts ripped out before jumping into your fluffy romance? Are they aro/ace and have never been in a long-term relationship before?
I did this for Isaac, Renato, and Dorian last time, so let's hear from Ben, Ollie, and Kinslayer next.
Ben
Yeah, yeah, laugh it up about how you could fill an encyclopedia with all the people he's slept with. But he puts just as much effort into platonic relationships as he does into screwing around. Of course he's close with Desmond, and not just because he's Ben's sire. Desmond was the role model he'd needed since his father and older brother died when he was still a kid (thanks WW I). Desmond showed him that a man could provide with more than just money. That he could fight not just for dominance or honor (whatever that is) or his own anger, but justice, love, and the protection of others. Hanging around Desmond also helped him figure out that he could check off "all of the above" when it came to which genders he was attracted to. That figurative encyclopedia started filling up pretty quick afterwards.
As for Theodore...look, they fight like cats and dogs, but Theo's all right (do not breathe a word of this, got it?). Ben wouldn't say the guy's like an older brother or anything. More like a rival. Micaela likes him anyway, and she's always had a knack for reading people.
Hell, probably because Micaela is good people. She gets a little gloomy sometimes, and maybe wanders off by herself for a decade or two, but she always goes out of her way to help everyone. She's also a crack shot with a rifle, and has a lot of guts in a quieter sort of way. He likes to just lay out by the lake with her sometimes and stare up at the stars.
Same goes with most everyone he lives with in Olympia. They drive him crazy sometimes, but that's kind of how it is with family, whether they're related by blood or not. Well, he is related to them by blood, only in the vampire way, not the--oh, hell, nevermind. You get what he means, right?
Ollie
You're going to make her say it, aren't you? Fine. She loved...loves...feels something for Renato. You don't survive an apocalypse with somebody and just stop caring when you're not dating anymore, okay? Even after you've been broken up for years and you're afraid he'll do something that'll force you to kill him.
Mergus is their father. For all intents and purposes, and through magic if not genetics. They quite literally owe him their lives. So, Renato can have his little rebellion, work out whatever shit he needs to work out, but if it comes down to the two of them...she knows who she'll choose.
As for other relationships, she keeps it simple, no strings attached. Why would she want to try for anything more after she found out she could be replaced by a fucking goldfish?
Kinslayer
They've lived a long, long, looong time, friends. So, for the sake of brevity, they're obviously not going to get around to naming everyone.
Haru gets first mention, though. They've known each other for...well, at least the better part of few hundred years, give or take. Things started out rocky, as they usually do for all their kind. But Kinslayer had grown patient enough over the centuries to not obliterate some scrappy little class three at the first annoyance. And Haru had the sense not just to realize that, but to be curious instead of mistake their disinterest in territorial pissing contests for weakness. Eventually, they took to traveling together sometimes, even settling down and having kids now and then. Haru is, in a nutshell, their partner.
While they haven't forged quite the same bonds with the other ragtag psychic vampire misfits who chose to trail along after them like ducklings at some point, Kinslayer doesn't mind them either. Well. Luxe can go piss up a rope most days. But once in awhile his mouth does come in handy for getting out of a scrape.
On the subject of their kin, if they were capable of regret, not living up to their moniker with Tristan Knox would be their biggest. But they're a mind reader, not a fortune teller. It took some time and doing, but they eventually corrected that misstep. Yessir.
Which brings them to an honorable mention for their little black sheep cousin, Renato. Despair and desperation aren't bravery maybe, but they'll do in a pinch. Kinslayer looks forward to finding out what havoc he'll cause next. And whether he'll figure out how to dig deep enough to find out what he's really made of.
No pressure tags @theimperiumchronicles @k--havok @vacantgodling @korblez @late-to-the-fandom @words-after-midnight & an open tag for anyone who wants to give this a go!
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Still working on some drawings but I wanted to share some ideas for the Gamtav Good Omens AU.
I've been thinking about how, on Alternia, angels are considered the scary evil ones (like how we consider demons), as explained by Sollux, and while we don't have anything specific with demons, at the very least the Dark Carnival in Hiveswap Friendsim has vaguely demonic motifs, and since that's technically clown heaven...I guess demons are good?
Anyways, I decided that the roles of Heaven and Hell in Good Omens should stay the same, but they should have the angel/demon wings and titles (like archangel) be swapped. It sounds really confusing but essentially angels and demons are just swapped in name, not in narrative role.
Essentially, Tavros, Eridan, Cronus and Rufioh (the last two because they're Hopebound, Tavros and Rufioh because it's funny) are the demons who are trying to sway humans in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Gamzee, Kurloz, and Meulin (Maybe? Aradia and Damara too? Jury's still out on the angels) are trying to get people to turn evil and start Armageddon.
I decided to go a bit more canon-adjacent with Tavros and decided that if this man was immortal and could decide what to look like and what to do, he'd look like a perpetual young man (not a child because he wouldn't be able to do whatever he wants but also...Pupa Pan reference??!) who runs a GameStop and his reason for not wanting humanity gone is that he likes movies, videogames and Pokemon.
Plus Gamzee gets to cry with grief in front of a GameStop on fire.
Gamzee is pretty much the same character as in canon, but he also doesn't want humanity gone because then he'd have to fight Tavros and be in the army.
Gamzee's role is to swap the child of the American ambassador, Jake English, and his wife Jane Crocker (both in their closeted era) with two Cherub twins, but by accident Caliborn ends up with them while Calliope ends up with Dad Egbert and Mom Lalonde.
To avoid them starting Armageddon, they disguise themselves as Nanny Makara and the Gardener. They don't realize Calliope isn't there because Mom's void powers hide her, so they literally just forget she exists.
They only realize on their 12th birthday, after Caliborn's spoiled ass makes fun of Tavros' magic act, and Gamzee gets a call about a Guardian choosing one of the twins to start Armageddon and uh-oh, it's not here, it must be with the other twin.
In the meantime, the Four Horse-people of the Apocalypse are riding together to start Armageddon, and those are War (Spades Slick), Pollution (Clubs Deuce), Famine (Hearts Boxcars) and Death (Diamond Droog).
That's it for now lol.
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I feel like that is an ADHD version of doing it. An autism version is:
The Dinner List
Once a week (on saturdays, before I go do the grocery run) I make a list of the foods we will have that week for dinner. It's usually five basic dishes to be done during the week and two a bit more effort-y ones to be done during the weekend. And then during the week we just pick from the list until they are all gone. If some foods use more perishable ingredients we prioritise those.
Recipies that we know and like are written on recipe cards, kept in the recipe box.
The weekend is also the time when I will try new recipies, and if the recipe is a success it gets a card, and once it has been made enough many times to be familiar it can become one of the weekday basic dishes.
To make the dinner list I choose from the cards, and then I take out the cards for the ones we want to do this week and I go through the kitchen to see if I have all the ingredients that I need for all of them, and if not, the missing items are put on the shopping list. So for example if two dishes need cream and I have enough cream for only one of them, I put cream on the list.
Extra challenge point: when selecting the recipies for the week, I try to make sure there is some variety in the proteins and carbs: so like if one dish is done with potatoes and tofu, I try to make sure a different tofu dish has noodles instead of potatoes, or that the other potato dish is done with lentils, or whatever. But this is more of a vegan problem probably, when you don't have that many different proteins to choose from. But might be worth thinking if you restrict your proteins for any reason (say, you never eat any fish or seafood).
To finish the shopping list, I look at various pantry cupboards and see if there is a situation where the last bag has been opened. I am a very light weight prepper thanks to Mormonism so I do a very small scale version of food storage, namely, I never want to run out of a thing before buying a new one. So if we have a package of rice that has been opened, I will buy a second package of rice. With canned goods I try to have about five cans each of crushed tomato, black beans, and chick peas in my pantry, so if a recipe calls for beans, I will buy more beans despite still having three cans.
Crucially I only store food that we already eat. So for example white beans and canned mushrooms are on their way of being added to the storage, since I have found good recipies for those lately. Nothing stays stored for months on end, its a constant rotation. If I buy beans today, I will eat that can within a few weeks. Like. I'm prepping for a tight financial spot, or a truckers strike that causes shops to run out of products, or stuff like that, a temporary hiccup, not the apocalypse. Like, I store potato chips and pepsi, because we like those and if we hit a spot where we don't have electricity or water for a day or two, we can use those to keep the feeling of hunger at bay. Same with chocolate chip cookies and other biscuits and some chocolate bars. And cat food too of course. Gotta make sure the whole family is taken care of.
One drawer of the freezer is also full of frozen pizza, so if any evening we don't feel like cooking for any reason, we can just do a pizza instead. We don't do a pizza every week, but if the times get tough we can do pizza more than once a week, there are no rules.
Leftovers I eat as lunch, as my wife is not into leftovers.
How do you like. Decide what to eat?
It's a complex calculus of what I have in the house, what I can afford, if I've already got side dishes handy, how tired I am, and what sounds good.
I am really really basic about what I eat in some ways because I would be perfectly happy to have tofu on rice every day for dinner for a month, but that would make Large Bastard insane so we don't do that and I try to limit us to having the same meal a max of 2 times a week (for him. I'll eat that meal six times as leftovers IDGAF).
I do better if I take a lot of choices away from myself. Like right now it's a problem that I've got spanish rice, turkey lunch meat, and hard boiled eggs in the fridge because that means I've got three options for lunch (rice and eggs, turkey sandwiches, spinach salad) and all of them have been slowly going bad because I can't decide.
Earlier this week was a LOT easier because I had leftover spaghetti and meatballs from cooking on Saturday so I was just alternating between spaghetti sandwiches (do not come at me, if you think that sounds like bullshit you're wrong) and meatball sandwiches, but now that the spaghetti is gone and the meatballs are in the freezer I probably have to eat those eggs.
So basically I just have like twenty recipes that I really like and will eat under any circumstances and I try to keep the ingredients around to make those things and when I make those I make a lot so that I can have leftovers. I'm *so* happy when I cook ten pounds of mashed potatoes and get to have mashed potatoes and turkey patties and peas for the rest of the week.
When it comes to getting the actual cooking done, I get motivation by hating wasting food.
Do I really want to cook pork chops tonight? No. But is that what's in the house and what will go bad if I don't cook it tonight? Yes. So pork chops it is.
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Here's an update to what I've been listening to during my daily commute.
Previous Podcast post: https://www.tumblr.com/angevon/738730790493552640/podcasts-im-listening-to-and-not
Still listening to:
Hey Riddle Riddle
Inn Between
Life with Althaar
Mission to Zyxx
No Such Thing as a Fish
Stellar Firma
Finished:
Blueberries Hill - a comedy podcast in a Peter Rabbit-like world, the actors are animals like Mr. Bear and Mrs. Rabbit. I like how there’s a coherent narrative to each episode, despite the ad-libbing. Makes the magic happen. Only 6 episodes.
DUST: Chrysalis - I found the ending a little anticlimactic, but it fit the narrative and I'm mostly satisfied with it. Recommended for anyone seeking a relatively short and self-contained sci fi narrative.
Sidequesting - Tal Minear has an enjoyable voice to listen to. I can’t say I loved this podcast, but it was wholesome and lgbt+ so I recommend it for that. My main issue is that I'm listening during my commute, and, particularly in the last episode, there are characters with hard-to-hear/ hard-to-understand voices. I just can't hear it well over the sounds of the road so it kinda frustrated me.
The Sword that Explodes - a barbarian named Clive quits the barbarian life to end up an adventurer instead, with a lady alchemist and a clever rogue. They get into various shenanigans. British style humor, only 7 episodes, seems to have been abandoned.
New!:
1865 - a dramatic reenactment of the events occurring directly after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The actor playing Edwin Stanton is enjoyable to listen to. Warning for coughing a lot, though.
Absolutely No Adventures - the owner of a small bakery was unfortunately born under ALL the signs. Everyone seems to think he’s the chosen one or whatever, and to him it really is “whatever” — he just wants to be left alone. Every episode he has to weasel his way out of being forced into saving the world by whoever’s found him next.
Bananas - funny news from around the world - what it says on the tin. Similar to Hey Riddle Riddle where it’s mostly a group of friends hanging out, with a focus on goofy headlines.
Death by Dying - this one is difficult to explain. The protagonist is an obituary writer for a small town, and each episode he’s explaining the death of a person in the town. But the stories are outlandishly entertaining. The narrator is fun to listen to.
Mission Rejected - when a secret agent chooses NOT to accept the mission, the mission gets passed down to, well, the B team. This is their story. It’s… okay? The humor doesn’t quite jive with me, but I keep thinking it might need more time to get better, so I haven’t dropped it.
Solutions to Problems - a human and an alien host a futuristic helpline radio show. The human is named Janet, which reminds me of The Good Place, and the alien is Loaf, short for Meatloaf, a name he chose for himself since his name in his native tongue is too difficult for Janet to pronounce. A relatively wholesome show with fun character rapport.
True Tales of the Illuminati - similar vibe to Mission Rejected. Stories about how the wacky Illuminati B team tries to accomplish Illuminati business. The first story was about them trying to get the Great Pyramids of Egypt built.
Victoriocity - in a cyberpunk New London, murder and conspiracies are afoot. Detective Fleet finds himself in the middle of the mystery and determined to solve it. This podcast has a fun narrative style, similar to Kingmaker Histories, but more humor focused, so I'm enjoying it.
Warlock - basically a magic school anime made into an audio drama, it even has a Japanese opening song. The characters are over-the-top and tropey, but that's the point. Despite the focus on combat, it's fun.
Zed 1 - a British couple and their hilarious shenanigans during the zombie apocalypse
Dropped:
Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet - started to get a real privileged feel from the hosts.
Tower 4 - season 2 is just plain frustrating to listen to. We know what’s going on, but the protagonist doesn’t, and he’s frankly being an asshole to the only people who can help.
The Judgies - too similar to Bananas
The Kingmaker Histories - a girl ends up with the valuable magic gem known as the Kingmaker inside her head. Now she’s on a journey to escape the people who want it from her. The world is interesting, an alternate-history-with-magic. Unfortunately, none of the characters have sold me and I decided I’m just not enjoying it.
StarTripper!! - this was fun at first, but got kinda horny…? An alien named Festin leaves his office job to travel the universe, in a style like Hitchhiker’s guide.
Tales of the Extraordinary - I honestly had a hard time following.
On hold…?:
Bridgewater - I like the mystery, but I’m not a fan of the dialogue patterns. I dislike when a dialogue has too much “character a says something, character b replies WHAT??? or repeats it again as a question” or similar. It really takes me out of the story. Put on hold due to being similar to Tower 4, but since I dropped Tower 4 I might come back to this.
Dungeons and Daddies - I’m already listening to a lot of dnd stuff via Dropout so I don’t need another one. Also, after one episode, I kinda only like the Druid haha.
Finding Pattersby - a ghost writer tries to find the guy he writes for, who went missing under mysterious circumstances. The protagonist has anxiety and the narrative generally feels real, I like him a lot. I was pretty hooked in the first couple of episodes but turns out it’s unfinished/ongoing. I don’t want to get invested haha.
Welcome to Night Vale - I do like this but it’s quite formulaic? Which is fine but after 100 episodes feels like it kinda wore out on me. I’ll come back to it at some point, I’m sure.
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Scavenger World
I'm a GM. When my players and I have a concept for a campaign, but I can't find a game that fits, I design one.
This was my first TTRPG design. We played Microscope to define the world, and came up with a wild world with no agriculture or metalworking. Horizon: Zero Dawn was cited as a major inspiration.
At this point I had run six campaigns: two D&D 5e, two FATE, Blades in the Dark, and The Sprawl. What I came up with looked like this:
This is Basically Just Apocalypse World Not only is this a Powered by the Apocalypse game, almost all the moves and mechanics are straight out of Apocalypse World itself. I have no regrets about this. The setting was post-apocalyptic in tone and I was familiar with this style of move from The Sprawl.
Stat Names Naming stats is hard. They need to be evocative both individually and as a set, short, descriptive, and consistent. This is the best set I've done: Daring, Compelling, Vicious, Aware, and Savvy. I like how they're all descriptions of personality, not body or skill set.
Exhaustion When you take harm, exhaust that many stats. When you roll an exhausted stat, take -1 to the roll and clear exhaustion on that stat This was my harm mechanic, inspired by MASKS. It worked great. It struck the right balance between gritty and heroic: getting hit put you in a bad space, but you could get out by powering through. It encouraged players to use approaches they wouldn't normally because of which stats were and weren't exhausted.
Team Impulses At the end of each session, choose another PC. Say what you wish they will do next time. Write that down as a team impulse on their playbook. If they already have two team impulses, they must erase one first. When you fulfill a team impulse, mark XP, then erase it. This was my relationship mechanic, and it also worked great. The incentives lined up well. Players didn't want to give team impulses that their allies would have done anyways, but they also didn't want to give team impulses that their allies would never do, so they gravitated to interesting options. It was fun to write on each other's character sheets, and it was always interesting when a player deliberately turned down an opportunity to fulfill a team impulse.
Last Breath There's a different one of these on each character sheet, and they all read: When you sustain mortal injury, roll +0 On a 10+, you’ll show up later with a story to tell On a 7-9, choose 1 On a 6-, choose 2 Whatever you choose, you can never choose that option again And then 7 options, the last one of which is "Embrace Death" This is directly from Night Witches. It's less evocative here than it is there, but it did good work. The most interesting option was "Exchange two of your stats", which forced some character development at crucial moments. The roll was a bad idea: I should have just required the player to choose 1 every time.
The Layout This was back when I played in person. I was adamant that the rules fit on one sheet of paper, double-sided, and the playbooks each fit on one sheet of paper, double-sided. That way each player would only need to have two pieces of paper in front of them, which is the maximum amount of paper you can keep comfortably in front of you. I maintain this is the only right way to do things.
The Bonded There were ten playbooks, which was far more than I needed for my 5-player group. By far the most successful was The Bonded.
There are many playbooks about having a companion, but most of them have a companion that is completely obedient, more of a tool than a friend. This playbook represented a more give-and-take relationship. Sometimes, the Beast would do what you wanted, and sometimes you would do what the Beast wanted. It was effective and funny every time.
Misses For my first design, I got lucky (and played it safe). Nothing ruined the experience. There were some things that just didn't get used. The idea of a party that ventured into the wild, running down their resources and accumulating loot, before returning to civilization to trade it away, never came to pass, and so Gear, Barter, and Recuperate never found a purpose. There was also a move, Appeal, players could use to give each other extra team impulses, but they never needed it.
Here's the whole game if anyone's interested:
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