#one more dnd podcast for me to fall behind on let's go

[brionbroadway]

babe wake up the rotating heroes podcast is on headgum now

[hypahticklish]

Ticklish Headcanons for

DnD Honor Among Thieves

Listen…I love the shit out of this movie and if I had more expendable funds I would go see it again in theatres to bask in the good good vibes. This goes out to @amazingmsme for banging on pots to rouse the TTRPG Podcast branch of the TFB community from it's winter hibernation. Please ignore that it's taken me months to get this out ✌️😅

Edgin

Bardic School of Lee Moods

Edgin is the kind of lee who will instigate for that sweet sweet retaliation

Which is so so very foolish for someone with a terribly ticklish torso

Sides that make him fold like a cheap tunic, belly that makes him gasp for breath, ribs that have him swearing fealty to whom or what ever is demanded of him

Like seriously? What did he think was gonna happen when he flicks Simon's ears or scatters Holga's potato cache?

Or when he presses Dorick and Xenk's buttons by talkin' mad shit about their respective organizations?

And then has the audacity to dial up the drama in staunch protest at the torture inflicted upon him

Have I made it clear how much of a goofy lil guy, what a silly lil brat Edgin is?

With his crinkled crows feet eyes and a smile so bright it makes the Neverwinter sun seem dull

But but but

While he lives deep in the Lee trenches, he enjoys giving lil tickles here and there as a form of affection

As well as introducing others to the joys of tickling and inviting them to explore it on him

Taking the time to encourage when they've found a good spot and guiding them toward more effective techniques

Freely and generously leaning in to his reactions, and inspiring theirs; seeking laughter just as he does song (though Edgin argues they're one in the same to his ears)

Holga

Totem Switch Barbarian

Most assume that Holga is a ler of the highest degree since she can turn any table in her favor, but she loves receiving as much as giving

She adores easily hoisting and grappling her play partner into a submissive hold

And plucking all the silly noises they make from all the tickle spots she can find

While her grip may be firm and holds taut, her touch ranges from soul scrubbing to breeze kissed depending on what gets the best reactions

However

If someone is fast enough to tickle her back before they're trapped?

She crumbles endearingly quick

Her most ticklish spots are the easiest to normally defend - under her arms, behind her knees, the circumference where her legs join the rest of her body

Holga is so very aware of her strength that she makes concerted efforts to not flail or fight when getting got

And while she's usually distrustful of being bound, she finds it helpful and a relief in these sorts of situations with her true friends

Allowing her to let go and fall like a comet into the moment

Cackling, happily and wildly, for as long as the moment lasts

Simon

Ancestral Switch Bloodline Sorcerer

Simon gives off such lee energy which makes him like a sleeper agent switch that no one expects

Can he actually say any variant of the word "tickle"? That's entirely dependent on his proximity to being tickled

Or teased

Simon cannot handle being teased in the slightest, becoming a bumbling blushing mess

Soft n squishy lil spellcaster with his tender legs and uncalloused feet that make him helplessly squirm

His sensitive ears and neck that melt him to quivering giggling goo

Should he get the upper hand though? He is ruthless

Cooing and toying with whomever is trapped, either by spells or comrades, and drawing slow attention to their vulnerability before studying their every reaction

An absolute menace of a man utterly inebriated on laughter

"Oh shut up, you're not dying, I cast Detect Thoughts and know you're fine"

Dorick

Circle of Ler Druid

It takes her quite a while to come out of her shell but once Dorick does, she's a devastating ler

Equipped with nimble fingers that can easily slip into all sorts of ticklish nooks and crannies

A dexterous whip thin tail that gives her quite the advantage when startling those used to only worrying about two hands

And unshakable confidence that defies any sort of embarrassment when hunting for peels of squeals

Speaking of hunting, you know Dorick gets the biggest thrill out of chasing and hide-n-seek

Flexing her wild shapes to delight and frighten her friends while draining the fight outta them

Does she have a signature move?

Oh yea

Pouncing on their back and taking then down

Making it all the easier to ensnare her mark with tickle torture until they tap out

Where she can then spend her time in peaceful silence, watching the scenery while idly stroking their scalp and back

Xenk

Oath of Turnabout Paladin

Like everything about Xenk, he is an utter enigma that the party can never figure out

And likewise it takes him a while to determine when they want him to rise to the bait and engage in play fights

(Not that that ever stops the party from starting them)

He's incredibly ticklish damn near everywhere but most of his reactions are subdued, internal, compared to the others

Soft snickers and squinchy eyes and slight curls away from his assailant betray the perceived immunity

Meanwhile his heart and belly flip at the waves upon waves of ticklish butterflies fluttering head to toe

But Xenk always comes next in the initiative

And is a mirror - replicating their tickling ministrations practically perfectly

Tutting when someone cries at how unfair he is being by holding them accountable for their "crimes"

And congratulating them afterwards for valiantly overcoming such a challenge while they're panting on the floor

[obsoleteozymandias]

May I request for a Resident Evil Matchup?😊 I love your page. 💚 You're amazing, I hope you're having a nice day!

My pronouns are she/they and I am bi with a preference for masculine presenting individuals.(Usually, with the occasional exception)

My personality type is INTJ, and when I'm around most people I'm very quiet, withdrawn and antisocial. I do my best to be polite, however if I can avoid interaction I do so without question.

If I'm around someone I know well, or someone I like I usually am more social and friendly. My circle is small but I love my friends dearly and I'm very loyal. I'm emotionally sensitive underneath everything and I'm a pretty affectionate person. Trauma has made me a little clingy and I just need a hug tbh.

Most of my hobbies include reading, listening to podcasts, painting, gardening, videogames, DND and hyper-fixating on different shows/media I'm watching at the time. (X-files is my current obsession).

I'm around 5'7" with pale skin, black and white hair, blue eyes and a smallish/fit build. I almost always am wearing dark colors and I don't show a lot of skin. (I don't want to be perceived 😭) mostly a lot of professional outfits. I also have facial piercings and multiple gothic style and nature tattoos.

Anyways I hope that that was enough info I haven't done one of these before so 🫠😭

Thanks queen and nooooo worries

== Resident Evil ==>

I match you up with…

Chris Redfield (Notably from the later games, I’m talking 7-8)

After everything he’s been through, what Chris deserves in the end is someone who stays by him, and who loves him despite all his damage. And boy, do you provide. 

He’s comforted by your quiet nature at first. He’s not too much of a people-person either, and prefers to keep to himself. When he’s at functions or large gatherings, he finds comfort in knowing that he can sit next to you and not have to speak. 

This does evolve into a quiet companionship, of course. And later, into a deep unspoken love. 

He appreciates your sense of style - practical and professional, yet personal to yourself. He loves hearing you speak about the story behind each tattoo, and eventually you’ll likely get matching ones. 

Chris likes that you enjoy simple things - he can never go wrong with simply sitting next to you and listening to a podcast, or reading over your shoulder. He’s quick to pick up gardening too - it makes his hands feel less…bloody.

He’s glad you have such supportive people around you. Sometimes he worries that you’ll be lonely without him, just as he is without you - but you always have someone to fall back on, and he’s eternally grateful. 

He does like when you rely on him, though. 

At the end of the day, it’s all about the tenderness. He needs to be held and to hold, even if he’s hesitant at first. He’ll make a habit of wrapping his arms around you tightly when he need it - and you let him. He doesn’t need to say anything - not with you. 

[grifalinas]

All right so who wants podcast talk!

Along with Hit The Bricks I found four others that seem promising as podcasts, one of which is both really good (I’ve burned through the first season since just last night) and may be leading to an eventual mlm romance, and one of which has an explicitly m/m couple as two of their four leads but has me wary because of teasers.

The other two just seem like promising premises but for the three remaining, I’ve only listened to the intro feed for two and couldn’t get the third to load (that’s a me problem, my ipod is at times uncooperative). If anyone has listened to Mythos the Series or Dark Ages, and wants to drop in to tell me things/warn me about stuff, by all means feel free!

Of the other two, the one with explicit-from-the-intro mlm is Munchen, Minnesota. This one, from what I can tell, has a bit of a Gravity Falls vibe to it, that is, people in a small town dealing with family issues while supernatural stuff happens to them. Could be wrong, this is just what I’m vibing so far. As I said, two of the main characters are mlm, which has me tentatively excited, but one of said mlm seems to be the flaming queen stereotype that everyone writes, so I’m hesitant; while flamboyantly gay men are just as deserving of stories about them as the rest of us, they’re also the only one straight people know how to write, and at best hit or miss when it comes to whether I’ll like them as characters, so before going in I’m going to float some feelers out and try to get an idea of whether this is a sincere and genuine portrayal of a gay man or a walking punchline. (So, if any of you listen to Munchen, Minnesota, then by all means let me know what I’m tentatively signing myself up for.)

Finally! The one I’m actually listening to, Inn Between, which is a fantasy adventerer story that appears to be based on the writers’ dnd game. However, the premise is one I talked about on the blog awhile back, with a traveling waypoint that got attached to a group and kinda tagged along behind them. All of the episodes take place in the Inn (or another waypoint, beginning in season two) with the “previously on/next time on” segments giving us what we get of the story otherwise. A bold premise, but an interesting and ambitious one that is doing really well for them. I definitely recommend checking out Inn Between; I feel like it might end up pretty near Saffron and Peri in terms of fave podcasts (but not above WSBA). Oh, and there’s the possibility of a romance between the two male party members; there’ve been moments that could be interpreted otherwise, but could also be a slow-burn romance. Here’s hoping? (Also, one of the party members is non-binary; that’s always a good thing, and I know my nonbinary peeps are always on the lookout for stories, too.) Also, the guy who does the music also works for one or more of the Alba Salix universe podcasts, so it was nice hearing a familiar (and trusted) name in the credits.

So that’s where we’re at right now. If you guys listen to any of these podcasts hit me up! We can be fannish together, or you can tell me what to look out for.

[nat-20s]

top 5 podcasts

HRRRG I LIKE A LOT OF PODCASTS but i’ll rank the top five by like, which ones i became particularly obsessed with rather than just enjoyed. In no order as per usual:

1.  Welcome to Nightvale: the og podcast love. The granddaddy. The first main character canon lgbt rep I was personally given. Loves me and wants me to be happy. If you dropped nightvale for a while i HIGHLY recommend picking it back up. eps 108-110 are legitimately some of the best long term storytelling in existence. Holy fuck.

1a because im cheating and making this list six podcasts long and it’s the same creators so it’s fine. Alice isn’t Dead: do you like horror? Do you like lesbians? Do you like nightvales sense of storytelling but creepier? This is the podcast for you! The story is finished and it’s FANTASTIC both in podcast and book form. Cannot recommend it highly enough

2. The Penumbra Podcast: everyone and their mom recommends this podcast and everyone and their mom is right. Has probably my favorite best friend dynamic since Ten and Donna. Literally stan Rita and Juno’s friendship

3. The Magnus Archives: seems to have blown up in popularity here on ol tungle dot com and it’s probably for having an incredible slowburn romance hidden in a horror anthology. You know those shows that have a set plan and endpoint and they’re like : this is the story we’re gonna tell, here’s how many seasons we’re gonna do, and here’s the character beats we’re gonna hit and how they’re like? almost always incredible? I’m talkin ur craxy ex girlfriends ur avatar the last airbender ur gravity falls. This is one of those shows. There’s still a season to go but GOD jonny sims is an incredible writer. Would recommend even if you’re not a horror fan.

4. Wolf 359: literally CAN you go wrong with spaceship found families. Hits a lot of my favorite sci fi/space show tropes in a delightful way, I ADORE the characters, it’s like hey you know what sucks? capitalism. apparently space is NOT the last untainted place. cried at the ending because it was bittersweet and you KNOW bittersweet makes me sob. Highly bingeable, highly recommend.

5. Dungeons and Daddies: IT’S A DND PODCAST!! ABOUT FOUR DADS!!! THEY ROLL PSYCHIC DAMAGE FOR DAD JOKES!! literally the fucking FUNNIEST podcast i have ever listened to in my LIFE. mbmbam whom??? I am in tears MULTIPLE times an episode from laughing. I’m so sad that the fandom is so small because I want to make EVERYONE listen to it. Beth May is the finest comedian of our generation. If you pick one podcast from this list to binge and you love things that are stupid in the best kind of way pick this one. Do it do it do it anthony burch is my favorite DM of all time. (barring my friend james who let me get away with way too much) 

Honorable mentions (aka like every other podcast I listen to bc i..like all the ones i listen to): all of Taz (you’ll notice im fond of real play narrative podcasts whoops), wonderful! aka the artist fomerly known as rose buddiez (rachel mcelroy has the voice of an angel and her and griffin are just EXTREMELY cute), sawbones (medica history AND hearing sydnee mcelroy giggle at her husband saying dumb shit what more could you want),BomBARDed which just BARELY didn’t make it to the top 5 because I haven’t full blown had a meltdown over it but it’s a very good dnd play podcast where it’s 3 multiclass bards on an adventure played by an irl band!! they make an original song every episode for MAGIC!! it’s delightful!!!, Limetown (which isn’t my usual fare but it’s a very well done horror/thriller/mysteryish shorter story, still need to read the novel, i will say i was more into the story than the characters, which is rare for me), Two Princes (which is an EXTREMELY cute 7 episode series about two rival princes falling in love and one of the only fully family friendly podcasts on this list. Quick listen, Christine Baranski is in it, some shitty fathers die and it’s VERY satisfying), Lore (which is real life stories behind various, you know, lore. Good for cryptid fans)

[erinelezabeth920]

Love in the Time Of

Nostalgia. Do you remember the last trip you went on? Maybe it was a road trip, or a flight above patchwork plains? Or maybe a visit to family, the old and familiar grating with the growth of life? Do you remember that feeling of just... moving? The passing trees, the stirring as the landscape shuffles and re-arranges itself into your own soul puzzle. It’s a wanderlust- inherent, vital and deep. I remember wind on the mountains- Wyoming maybe or wildflowers in a spring breeze in Colorado. I remember a trumpet in New Orleans in the rain, walking the streets in a whisky daze, taking in melodies that wedged their way into my body like the droplets that fell from the sky. Last night I drank rose and watched an episode of Ken Burns’ documentary on country music. They were at the beginnings, origins until 1930s or so. The sound of the banjo, harmonica, fiddle, mandolin all merging from different areas of the word- the banjo out of Africa and the Caribbean into the horrors of slavery, used to uplift out of a deep and lasting persecution until even the whispered legacy was taken and mangled for white gain. The mandolin from Italy and continental Europe, and the fiddle from the English ballads, Scottish Highlands all merging for something completely new. As I watched, and the melodies faded in and out, I remembered nights in the mountains trying to strum my little guitar under a desert moon. I remembered Indiana, driving through rain listening to bluegrass. I remembered stories my mother and aunts told me of my grandfather, who died when I was in high school. He used to sit on the porch through summer nights and strum his guitar, singing all the old country ballads out of the hills and radio of the 1930s, occasionally throwing in a yodel to the fireflies dotting the upstate New York corn fields. Add that to the Irish and Scottish heritage that runs through my veins, and I’m drawn to the fiddle and picking like a moth to light. I had been listening to an episode of ‘Dolly Parton’s America’ while I cooked dinner; pasta and vegetables while the rain pounded outside. From my headphones, Jad Abumrad had been describing Dolly’s ‘Tennessee Mountain Home’ and the essence of nostalgia in country music. A longing for simpler times. ‘Country music,’ he had said as I strained the pasta into the sink, “is immigrant music.” He went into it a bit. Country music, at its core, is about a longing for something that is gone. A home that once was. A front porch. The sound of a river, or the whistle of a train to unknown places. A sense of home that can’t even be expressed except through a melody that you somehow feel you’ve known your whole life. Once the podcast ended, I sat with my glass of wine out of a can and pasta in front of the TV.  Andy was hosting a DnD sesion in the bedroom. I scrolled until I found the PBS episode. I drank my wine and slurped pasta as we went deep into black and white photos and voiced-over stories as Ken Burns does. The origins of those old folk songs we know well, (think “O Brother Where Art Thou” soundtrack), one song taken from the other until they’re blended into our conscious and unconscious history. “Music,” Jad had said, “is the soundtrack to our lives. Wherever we go, its with us. And that’s how we mixed.” Jimmie Rodgers circa 1929 travelled around “catching songs.” He’d drive sometimes 90 miles into the hills to listen to someone singing in their kitchen, gather it up in a flutter of shifting memories and dust, and put it down to record. When “Mule Skinner Blues’ began playing over some old photos, I yelped, “Holy crap that’s Dolly’s song!” I knew it was an old folk tune, but I didn’t realize it was Jimmie Rodgers, the OG of country according to most. Dolly took the original lick and turned up the volume to 10. “That song,” Jad had said at one point, “is fire.” Twenty or so minutes later, as the episode credits rolled, lo and behold Dolly’s version began playing. I let the credits roll until finished. Then I turned off the TV and sank into the couch. Silence. 

“Okay Google,” I called to the kitchen, “...play ‘Mule Skinner Blues’ by Dolly Parton.” 

Jad’s right. That song is fire. 

When it finished, too lazy to bother, the Spotify algorithm marched on with the next song. It was Dolly’s voice, but she was singing ‘The Story.’ “Isn’t this Brandi’s song?” Andy asked from the computer where he was now playing video games.

“I think so?” I googled it. Brandi Carlisle, 2007. Dolly Parton cover. “Damn,” I said, “Dolly’s covering Brandi? That’s epic.” “Okay Google, play ‘The Story’ by Brandi Carlisle.” Dolly’s version was fine, but Brandi is the new queen. I laid on the couch and listened. As her gritty, smooth voice washed over me, I remembered Chattanooga, Tennessee in early September. I remembered sitting in a lawn of a big park, festival lights strung through the heavy leaves, a wide river, humid skies, a big moon. The day had been sweltering, but by the time Brandi came out for her headliner it had cooled to an ease. The grass was full of people, standing, sitting, or somewhere in between. The air dripped and hummed and turned indigo as she sang her first note.   Google then moved on to Joni Mitchell. Good job algorithm, because I happened to remember that Tennessee night in September, Brandi telling us that Joni was her idol. She was going to have a chance in a month or so to play the album ‘Blue’ all the way through for Joni herself. ‘I’m going to royally fuck up,” she told us. “I need to practice on you.” So she did. I closed my eyes. The moon reflected in scintillations on the river. I thought she sounded like warm honey. I went to get up, to turn off the music and go to bed. It was late and I had to work in the morning. As I walked over toward the kitchen the little white screen on the counter tucked behind the coffee maker, as if in a small act of defiance, struck up some solemn piano chords. The beginning of ‘I And Love And You’ by the Avett Brothers. I sighed softly, cursed the Spotify algorithm for being too damn good, and slowly walked back to the couch. I laid down and closed my eyes.

Immediately I saw in my mind the wide Columbia River at sunset, the sweeping rocks and plains of Eastern Washington. The music filled the gorge like a bowl, rising up as if from the river itself. I’ve seen the Avett Brothers twice live, both times at the Gorge Amphitheater sitting next to friends as the sky lit on fire. The clouds turned orange to dark blue, and the lights of the stage looked like heaven twinkling. I could feel the blanket beneath me, the cold grass, the gentle swaying of the bodies of my friends beside me. “Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in... are you aware the shape I’m in. My hands they shake my head it spins. Brooklyn, Brooklyn take me in.” The mighty Columbia flowed dark and wide in the space beyond. 

(The Gorge, August 2019) Back in the apartment, eyes still closed as the notes lingered, trying to hold on to the wisps of memories, Google moved on to “The Joke”. Back to Brandi. If you know that song, I don’t need to explain. The music swelled. She basically shattered her emotions through the ceiling in a soaring arc of notes. I thought of her, young and unknown busking at Pike Place, the folk ringing through her voice surrounded by the grunge of the 90s in back bars and alleys. You can hear it in her songs, the moody gray sky, ocean and deep misty mountains, chunky guitar and angst. They try to put us in boxes, slap on labels but the joke’s on them. It’s ‘the rub’, as Ken Burns called it. Seattle and folk, Tennessee and jazz. Slavery and persecution, reconstruction and high rises. The rub of people and place, the mixing and sighing of ideas like notes mingling in the night air. “Imagine a ship,” says Jad. “Nineteenth century, whaling ship maybe in the Indian Ocean. Full of people from different cultures, places. What did they have with them? Likely instruments. And a lot of free time.” Do you remember the last trip you took? The sounds, the sights, the smells passing you by like dandelion seeds drifting in the wind. They latch onto your coarse sweaters, stick to your old shoes. Maybe they’re discarded, or they take root, slowly growing into something more. You know that scene at the end of Lord of the Rings, where Sam and Frodo are on the side of Mt. Doom and Frodo says, “No Sam, I can’t recall The Shire, nor the taste of strawberries?” Sometimos, especially recently, I feel like that. I know it’s dramatic, but it’s also true. The hug of a friend, a seething mass of bodies at a concert, the electricity of a new city, or moonlight floating on a river as Joni Mitchell is practiced to the Tennessee sky. It’s the rub, brushing up against life, re-inventing ourselves over and over, growing like the dandelion into our veins, a little newer each time.  I miss it. I told Google to turn off the music. The rain outside had stopped. I got up off the couch. Andy sat at the computer, headphones on. I brushed my teeth and went to bed, the silence of the apartment heavy as a blanket. And somewhere in the space between sleep and dreams, a fiddle flickered a tune, fading into the ether like moonlight falling on the dark water below.

[trustlup]

idk i never really got the feeling that magnus was "overriding conflicts" by rushing in, just being true to his character. and during the body conflict, merle and taako *were* able to stop him from going into it right away. travis isn't forcing anyone to "bend to what he wants," imo. he's playing the game in a way that best represents the character he's clearly put a lot of effort and heart into developing and allowing him to have genuine heartfelt moments, which is also what griffin wants.

I definitely do not blame Travis for this on any part, let me make myself clear nor do I think he’s being disingenuous to the character that Magnus is. I think it’s more of just an unfortunate combination of who Mags is compared to who Taak and Merle are as well and the fact that this is an hour long podcast. 

I’m more critical of the parts where say, before Wonderland where Taako has hesitated outside of it and Magnus has literally picked up Taako and carried him in (and I believe that has happened more than once? where one of the other two have objected and Magnus has sorta just gone ahead) granted I think if one of the boys had actually been really against it then Travis/Magnus would have definitely stepped back and asked the boys what’s up (...like Lup does as an example where she makes it very clear that she will not be pushed as a character and wants her point to be taken seriously as opposition when taako was not taking it seriously) 

But, the boys never really objected against Travis or Magnus and went with it which is where the part that it’s an hour long podcast comes in--they can’t spend an hour long lining out the pros or cons and Justin is very much the type of a player that doesn’t want to spend time muling over something (as seen how he constantly insists on moving on from a goof or other things to get to the plot) and Clint might not question as much (which this is all assumptions from my part) because he might feel that he has an inexperience with dnd and might defer to the other two so in no way would I consider this all on Travis’ own doing much more just how the whole story ended up on its own

I mean, along with this I am quite self referential when it comes to dnd and so I do relate it a lot to my own experiences where I have been there where as a player i’ve not been able to carry out my own ideas because a player has “rushed in” and because they play a larger character i’m unable to stop them, and as  a DM i’ve had players like Travis who do take the lead and the other players just fall into line behind them accepting whatever they choose (which is much more how I feel taz tends to fall) so Magnus as much as I love him I do have problems with him from a narrative stand point because for a long time through the campaign I would consider Magnus as the main character over the other two but that also comes from the fact that Travis has put in exponentially more care into crafting Magnus, which has paid off!! he’s the most fleshed out by far!! which griff did try to offer up for Justin and Clint to also flesh out their characters, but them being very closed off characters, ended up not happening...which harmed their characters leading to them feeling much more a secondary in comparison to mags 

again, i am very much projecting onto griff, and am only able to guess from the small hints that he’s dropped in ttazz and how he’s tried to set up the campaign itself with what he wants from the rest of the boys, but he has been trying to even out the playing field between them and player conflict would have helped so much from that but it just hasn’t happened because of the composition of the group, which itself is not in fault of any of the boys but more so the combination of the boys

if i’m not clear on anything or didn’t address what you asked feel free to message me again!! i am still a bit tipsy rn so this might be a bit rambled so please feel free to question anything