#its miss Riz!!

[kayteonline]

Hey, sweetie! It's so good to see you on my dash again 😊I know it's been quite a while, and I think you've interacted with both of us, but had to let you know, I'm Riz 😁not Liz (she's @jensensgotyoudean). No worries, it used to be in my URL and when I changed it before the SPN finale, it's not there anymore! lol

Riz!! HIII!

I appreciate the clarification! LOL I think Liz had a similar URL at one point, but I think it might have been on IG, so I thought for a split second it was her! Imagine my surprise! :D XOXO

It's so good to see you still here too and that you're still actively posting fics! I'm headed back that way in my Tumblr re-emergence journey to catch up on the many things I've missed since I've been away, and read some oldies but goodies. I've always loved your stuff! Can't wait to dive back in!

Hope all is well with you lady! <333

[ribbittrobbit]

oh also the scene with riz’s dad makes me weep every time and murph’s gleeful expression when he say “you’re an undercover angel” and when his voice cracks a little when he talks to him and the awkward conversations i just

[bacchuschucklefuck]

riz gukgak is SO distressing to have as a favourite character I can never funckign rest out here

[fauvester]

ballister blackheart would have beat the shit out of ballister boldheart

[gilears]

i miss being active on here with everyone and writing and yelling about the new season every week :( i hope everyone is doing so good, i will maybe be more online more often soon ... but pls yall in the meantime give me the update. what have i missed?? what is everyone up to??? who will i be seeing at msg next year???

[mongeese]

It's so hard being obsessed with Riz and Fabian's platonic relationship bc no one understands them like I do. They're boy best friends they're foils they're equal and opposite. The thought of kissing each other makes them both want to vomit. It isn't a qpr but they are still soulmates. They're a little obsessed with each other. They make each other better. When they're together it inevitably becomes teen boy chaos. And it's so categorically not romantic I cannot stress enough how non-romantic it is. It's the best thing ever and it's tragically misunderstood

[chisatowo]

I love making aro characters as an aro person cause it's just self inflicted relief after spending so much time seeing the weak alloro aro hcs as the "nothing" option for a characters romantic orientation to just remember that aro characters can in fact be written to be complex and interesting characters and their aromanticism can be incredibly meaningful to their character and story even if it's not a point of conflict

[housesunstone]

I'm just thinking about how things are going for Fabian this season. He comes home from a restless summer of saving the world again, only for his mother and his stepfather to leave him alone in a giant house. Fabian has never been alone; he doesn't know where anything is. He doesn't know what to do. He is, for the first time, truly alone. So he decides that he is going to be THE popular guy at school and throws the biggest party during the first week of school, complete with a shrimp jump, so his giant home doesn't feel as lonely. But that's not enough, on weeknights he's still alone. So, he makes a study space and invites all the grade levels just to not be alone. But that still isn't enough. He then has the owlbears, where he can be not only with his team but with one of his best friends, but then that best friend isn't into blood rush, and suddenly it dawns on him that he wouldn't have that time with his friend anymore. He's home alone, missing things, and wants and needs help, but he can't call Riz again it's been 4 times today alone. So instead, Fabian sits in his big house alone, missing his mom and dad, and he's scared that he's too reliant on his friends. He's the most popular kid in school, but that popularity means nothing when you have to sit alone every day because no one else is there to fill the all-too-quiet home that feels less and less like home every day. No one wants to stay ones the party ends and once the dust settles its just Fabian alone again.

[meteortrails]

god I love the way that riz’s very open and honest emotionality is, for all its honesty, still very much a smokescreen for his deepest and most strongly held vulnerabilities. like he's so obvious about the way he loves his friends and family and what he'd do for them but the level of 'and here's the semi private stuff i share with those who are close to me' is just. missing. what do you have going on in there INDEED jawbone!

[malachitebeck]

This season of Fantasy High seems to be dealing a lot with perception. The Bad Kids are perceived negatively by the Rat Grinders for some reason or another, and they seem hellbent on vindicating that. Adaine is being perceived as someone in a position of financial comfort that shouldn't be struggling to fund her own wizard classes and thus shouldn't need help where up until this last episode she really did. Riz's conversation with his mom seems to be about his perception amongst his friends; how it doesn't sit right with her that they call him "The Ball" and take advantage of his desire to succeed so much that he will often help them get work done... "Riz is the only person who can take stress tokens for someone else." Fabian is being perceived as the "Maximum Legend", party house extraordinaire and Owlbears star who is coasting along without any worries; when in actuality he is deeply lonely in his mansion by himself day in and day out, struggling to meet his needs, and clearly missing his father and fearful of what his mother's relationship with Gilear is going to mean for him.

Gorgug is literally being forced to fight against Porter because of how the man sees him; demanding for so long that he be allowed to pursue what makes him happy, but being countered by someone who perceives him a certain way, who thinks they know what's best for him. Fig... Fig is going through an entire identity crisis. Her perception of herself is in shambles and she seems to be hitting roadblocks just like Gorgug in how she wants to be seen and what she wants to try versus what the adults in her life think she should try. And then there's Kristen. Kristen is fucking going through it. In large part she's being treated the way she is because so many people seem to see her as flippant with her faith because Cassandra is her latest god in a line of many; and it feels like her self-perception is also struggling to be defined.

Baron was destined to come back this season somehow, someway, as Brennan has explained in Adventuring Party -- and Baron's whole thing is literally mirrors. The surfaces we use to perceive ourselves.

Gods can be altered due to how they are perceived. Bakur seems to outright address this; asking if Adaine was talking about Sol himself corrupting Ankarna, or his followers. Gods are bureaucratic, Gods can be standoffish to those they share domains with-- and followers, it seems, can change the course of a God's perception, can shape how they are remembered and corrupt them through denying what they are: like calling a Goddess of Conviction a Goddess of Conquest.

And if the responsibility for a God's perception can fall onto its followers? If you want to keep that God centered around rage, burning fires, horrible conquests? ...Then maybe that's why it's a bad look for one of your friends to go back out into the woods to resurrect rats after you've killed them. It can't be a conquest over helpless forest critters if someone is bringing them back, is holding to their personal convictions and showing them mercy.

Convictions don't have to be driven by greed or pride. Your convictions are your morals, are what defines you. And maybe whoever killed Lucy Frostblade didn't like what she stood for.

[utilitycaster]

Hope I can phrase this in a way that makes sense but—

What well-known actual-play cast member is your favorite for each of the core D&D class? Not necessarily a specific characters, but I’m interested in which players you think brings the most to each class.

This is a very interesting question! It's a hard one to answer for some classes and very easy for others so bear with me; also there are a couple where I could not pick just one.

I'm sticking to the PHB 12 for, as you said, core classes:

Barbarian: While Travis did give us "I would like to rage," I think Ashley and Taliesin get to share this one for me. I think they both really explore what rage means to someone and while I love a good "I'm a tank because I can take the hits and that's what I do and what I'm good at" story, I also think Yasha's messy relationship with her feelings of guilt and grief, and Ashton's chronic pain, are both incredible ways to play with the barbarian archetype.

Bard: much easier. Sam Riegel and Krystina Arielle. I'm a sucker for someone who actually sings even as I don't think you have to (and have played bard without doing so). It's both clearly a class they each love dearly and it shows, and they're incredibly musically talented performers to boot.

Cleric: Lou Wilson. Especially since I didn't like Fantasy High season 1 Fabian until the end of the season Kingston blew me away. I would love to see him explore cleric again, though it's exciting to see him as a paladin on WBN.

Druid: Emily Axford as Moonshine. Emily as a rule understands D&D classes very well anyway, but I think the culture of the crick and the ways that Moonshine must grow as a character while being a druid take it to the next level. (Also I prefer a caster-heavy druid to a shapechanger-heavy one; that's just me).

Fighter: Back to NADDPod because literally who could I say other than Jake Hurwitz, the man who only plays fighters. People who are new to D&D when they start actual play can be hit or miss imo; some pick it up and some lean harder on being showy to make up for it and it doesn't play well for me personally, but Jake is the greatest hit.

Monk: Marisha Ray; Beau is just generally a great character, and I think Marisha's own experience with martial arts informs the way she plays her; monks can be kind of repetitive in combat even with strong players and she manages to avoid this through her description.

Paladin: This is actually super hard because people don't play straight paladin a lot. This is incorrect of them, but it is an intense class. I think Luis Carazo and Zac Oyama are like...the duality of paladin (and indeed, redemption paladin). The tragedy and the comedy.

Ranger: Laura Bailey, natch; it's funny because Vex is in many ways not the archetypal ranger due to having high charisma, but she is simply my favorite and that's that on that. Sorry the mechanics were so bad; I would love to see more rangers in D&D even though Vex will be hard to dethrone. I promise Tasha's fixed them!

Rogue: I think I'm actually going Murph on this one. I like when rogues are more of the detective/spy type than the assassin/criminal type [obligatory "of course that's what you'd say you stupid paladin stan"] and inquisitive and arcane trickster are probably my two top rogue classes so Riz it is.

Sorcerer: I do consider PF1e cheating here because it's technically a different system that also imo addresses a lot of the weaknesses of sorcerer/makes it way better, but Bryn Monroe of RQG did play a great sorcerer. In D&D? Giving Emily Axford a second spot here for Saccharina. I'm going to talk about this for warlock, but I think sorcerer is a class you don't have to justify but if you don't it's a little unsatisfying. Sorcerer really shines in the Crown of Candy setting, and metamagic often doesn't live up to its reputation but Emily makes it work for her.

Warlock: Travis Willingham. I think there are classes that are kind of self-explanatory, for lack of a better term; you can play a fighter or rogue or even a bard or druid without going super deep into why the character is this class and still be an incredible character (though a good backstory never hurts). But there are others where you really need to be engaging with the class at all times to make it work, and warlock is one of them, and Fjord explores the warlock pact and what it means like few others.

Wizard: Aabria Iyengar. NO ONE gets wizard hubris as a player like Aabria. Knowledge is power and boy do wizards love knowledge. I especially like that most people in 5e play wizards as genuine adventurers because it feels very easy to play them as old guy in robes swept up in events beyond them; Aabria plays wizards who are combat ready with the humanity and backstory to make the difficult decisions sympathetic and meaningful, and I think that's how you have to play it.

Note: I want to specifically call out Liam O'Brien and Siobhan Thompson as "people I trust in basically any class or system and just didn't happen to hit a favorite here due to sky-high competition/personal preferences". They are both very close seconds for wizard.

[bugboys-art]

junior year i will miss you

this was lots of fun to make and i really like how my riz and gorgug designs ended up

i timed the music wrong but its close enough

[thenerdyindividual]

Want stories featuring queer characters in fantasy, science fiction, or horror settings, where being queer is central to the character but not the only thing they have going on? Let me introduce you to my list of podcasts!

To start we have Welcome to Night Vale. You’ve likely heard of it thanks to the tumblr sexy man poll, or if you’re old school tumblr like I am. It’s a classic for a reason, it kicked off the fiction podcast renaissance and was queer from the jump.

Welcome to Night Vale is an episodic podcast taking the form of radio broadcasts from a strange desert town called Night Vale that appears to be in a parallel universe to ours. It follows the bizarre occurrences within the town and the oppressive government’s clumsy attempts to cover them up.

How is it queer? The show also follows the personal life of radio show host Cecil Palmer who met new-to-town scientist Carlos, and “fell in love instantly”. Not only are they now married, they’ve adopted a child together.

Alice Isn’t Dead

From the creators of Welcome to Night Vale, Alice Isn’t Dead is a horror fiction podcast that follows Keisha, a woman who became a long haul truck driver to go in search of the wife (Alice) she thought was dead, but discovered was alive. In the process she uncovers monsters lurking among us and a massive government conspiracy trying to hide the truth.

How is it queer? As stated, the inciting incident is that Keisha discovers that her wife is secretly alive.

Dimension 20: Fantasy High

A dungeons and dragons actual play show. This season is set in a 1980s John Hughes-esque fantasy high school called the Arthur Aguefort Adventuring Academy. It follows six high schoolers starting their first day of freshman year as they form their adventuring party and try to uncover the mystery of why girls at their school keep going missing.

How is it queer? Kristen Applebees is the cleric of the party, and most of her arc in the first season is based in the struggle between honoring her religious upbringing and the god that gave her her magic, and realizing she’s a lesbian. Fig Faeth (the bard of the group) does not have a romance arc in this season, however in season 2 she does end up in a romantic relationship with another woman, and much of her arc in that relationship is based around the insecurities hidden behind her rock and roll persona. Riz Gukgak (the rogue of the group) does not use the term asexual on screen, however it is clear in a conversation in season 2 where he discusses feeling awkward about not being horny when all his other friends are. He was later confirmed as asexual by dungeon master Brennan Lee Mulligan.

Dimension 20: The Unsleeping City

Another story with the same players as Fantasy High. This story takes place in a fantastical New York City where the waking world intersects with the world of dream and magic. The story follows six adventurers as they struggle to keep the two worlds in balance with each other, and prevent the big bad from ruining the world of dreams forever. It’s Brennan’s love letter to New York.

How is it queer? Pete Conlan (the sorcerer of the group) is a bit of a dirt bag drug dealer who is struggling to learn to take on the responsibility of being the voice for the dreams. He is also a trans man. His awakening into the magical New York occurs because his dad attempts to deadname him, and he uses his magic powers to fill his dad’s mouth with bubbles and blast him away.

Not Another D&D Podcast Campaign 1

This is another dungeons and dragons actual play set in a more traditional D&D world. It follows the story of three adventurers living in the shadows of the saviors of Bahumia that came before them. Only to realize one of those saviors might not have retired, and is up to no good. They will have to save Bahumia from one of its saviors.

How is it queer? Beverly Toegold The Fifth (Paladin of the group) is the fantasy equivalent of a Boy Scout and ends up in a romantic relationship with another boy from his troop. (They’re both meant to be 16 by the end of the campaign I believe.) Moonshine Cybin (the Druid of the group) is just generally horny for everyone and anyone that impresses her, but she does also spend her last night before the final battle hooking up with Hardwon’s (the third party member) sister in law.

Not Another D&D Podcast Campaign 2

This story is set in the world of Eldermourne which delves heavily into the aesthetic of gothic horror. It follows three adventurers as they go in search of a missing witch that will help them protect Eldermourne from the conflicting factions of gods and religious extremists each trying to take the world and remake it in the way that suits them.

How is it queer? A major thrust of the story is that Fia Boginya (the wizard and cleric multiclass of the group) once saved her dear friend Irina from execution, but they end up needing Irina’s magic to protect the world. The party goes in search of her, and Fia admits to having always been in love with Irina, even when they were just children.

The Adventure Zone: Balance

Another D&D actual play. This one is set in a fantasy world that draws heavily on both fantasy and other aesthetics. The three adventurers encounter an extremely powerful and destructive magical object, and manage to capture it. In doing so they are inducted into the organization called the Bureau of Balance, and are sent on missions to recover the other objects of power that have been scattered across the land. There is more to the characters than even they know.

How is it queer? Taako the Wizard (one of the adventurers) ends up in a romantic relationship with the Grim Reaper who in this world is a man. There is also a romantic relationship between two women who are also members of the Bureau of Balance that hangs out in the background of the story. A trans woman is also prevalent in the story, but explaining anything else about her reveals major spoilers for the campaign, but trust me she is narratively important.

The Adventure Zone: Amnesty

This is another actual play show, but it uses the Monster of the Week system that was created using shows like Scooby Doo, X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is set in the fictional town of Kepler, West Virginia and the Monongahela National Forest. Cryptids are real and they all hang out in Kepler. Three friends band together to stop monsters with ill intent from destroying the town, and learn more about the world that parallels theirs. It is Dungeon Master Griffin McElroy’s love letter to the West Virginia town he and his brothers grew up in.

How is it queer? Aubrey Little is the magic user of the group and identifies as bisexual. She ends up in a romantic relationship with a vampire girl in town.

Campaign Skyjacks

It is another role playing game actual play. I’m not entirely clear on what system they are using, as a lot of it is the creation of the game master. It is set in a fantasy world where crossing the oceans has become too treacherous, so pirates, privateers, and sailors alike have all taken to the sky in airships. The story follows four crew members of the ship the Uhuru as they try to make the ship profitable all while trying to hide from the rest of the crew that the captain has long since died and the doctor has been puppet-ing his corpse for weeks now.

How is it queer? I am still in the early stages of the podcast so there may be more queer characters later, but off the bat there is Gable who is the quarter master of the ship. Gable is non-binary.

These are not the only podcasts that fit the bill, but these are the ones I listen to. I’d also like to give a special mention to most other seasons of Dimension 20. There are a ton more, and you’re likely to get at least one queer character per season. However, I wanted to keep it to things you could find for free. Fantasy High and The Unsleeping City are both free on YouTube, but all other Dimension 20 seasons are on the streaming service dropout tv (which I do recommend getting because they do a lot of other good shows too.)

Feel free to add more shows in your reblogs!

[18catsreading]

Brennan: Riz, let me know what you get on your Investigation as you're looking at the Ragh stuff

Murph: nat 20

Suobhan: fuck yes

Emily: Yes!

Lou: can't be stopped

Ally: making cheering crowd noises "aaah"

Emily: honor the cock

Brennan: today --

Murph: there was no cock on this one. We don't have to honor the cock. There was no cock on it.

Today and every day, we honor the cock.and in no moment more --

Murph: no reason to honor the cock. We're missing the meaning of it. It's if its cocked, you have to reroll it. This is not one of those situations. It's a natural 20. It was regular.

[whirlwindsworld]

Fantasy junior year finale thoughts

SPOILERS!! And long post ahead

First thought: The pacing. I know there were good reasons for things ending up being rushed. But I can still be sad that they were rushed.

A bunch of stuff was kind of forgotten or left on the cutting floor. Bucky, Fabian and his mom and her broken promise to be better, the full timeline of the Ratgrinders, Jace and whether he was potentially resurrected, and finally, Jawbone trying to talk to Riz!!

Even if this’ll all be further explored in senior year, I believe most if not all deserved some lip service be paid so we know these plot threads didn’t just buried.

Second thought: Fabian. This boy’s entire situation all season had me so sad. It’s so deeply fucked up.

We laugh at the baby nemesis thing, but with how much time Hallariel dedicates to Fabian, its not too far fetched to liken Fabian to a practice kid for her. Her new kid will be a full elf. Able to live for hundreds of years. Fabian’s life span is like the blink of an eye for her. She’s barely emotionally invested in Fabian as it is.

From Fabian’s perspective, he might really be thinking, “How invested will she actually be when her “real kid” is born?”

She straight up broke the promise she made in sophomore year to be better. I am deeply surprised that was not a detail to have come up when Ankarna asked him about injustice.

Third thought: I hope we either get poly Kristen and trackerbeeshield, or that trackerbees don’t get back together. Its not that deep a thought. I think its a big swing to revive a relationship that was genuinely a good bit codependent.

Fourth thought: I’m gonna miss fig so much. I know she’s dropping out so emily can give her a happy retirement, but I swear there’s more story to tell here still. I don’t just want to see her admit she struggled asking for help I wanna see her try her ass off to ask for help when she needs it. It’s a skill you gotta practice. And she is absolutely still her own worse critic. She sets these crazy high standards for herself and beats herself up when she fails to reach them.

And thats it for now!

[dullgecko]

The Bad kids made up a game: They have a game called “Find me”, Riz picks when it starts and when it ends. He’ll randomly vanish from the group while they’re all hanging out at either of The Manors.

It might take them awhile to notice but once they do, it begins. Everyone starts looking for him, he picks how hard it is to find him. Once someone finds him, they have to pretend like they don’t know. The winner of the game is actually the one who doesn’t know where Riz is.

Once Riz is found he’ll tell them where he was hiding and who found him in what order and who didn’t at any point find him.

Most often the winner is Gorgug and the first losers are Fig, Fabian, or Adaine.

(I'm going to assume you meant the loser is the one who doesn't know where Riz is)

He's secretly training them all to improve their investigation and detection skills. Sometimes he'll purposefully set up clues to lead them to where he's hiding, sometimes he won't. Sometimes he sets himself up basically out in the open and they'll totally miss he's there because they're expecting him to be well hidden. He spent two hours sitting on a kitchen bench once (he was in a corner but still FULLY visible from the doorway) and no one saw him.

Honestly its a fun way for him to not to have to interact with people for a while without feeling rude.