#this is why dimension 20 is the best show ever

[sugaldean]

This adventuring party (ep4) is really just punching me again and again and again.

Like the subtle neurodivergent talk at the end? With talking about your hyperfixation as a love language, and yet not being able to hold on to hyperfixations? And he has a lot.

Siobhan emphasising with

All of this coming after the talk about forgiving yourself and understanding that bad things do happen and things not having a purpose shouldn't be scary, but just a fact of live.

Our lives aren't narratives and that's ok, things sometimes just don't make sens and trying to push them into sense can hurt ourselves more than anything.

[sugaldean]

So so good campaign

mentopolis e4 vocab explainer

episode 1, episode 2, episode 3

this series just scratches such the perfect itch in my mind i stg, anyway WORDS

autonomic nervous system - section of the nervous system that controls automatic functions

jacque ennui - ennui describes “listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement.”

vagus nerve - the largest continuous nerve in the body, part of the parasympathetic nervous system, has been linked to lots of exciting research about epilepsy, trauma, parkinson’s etc. (if this season has interested you, this is a really cool emerging area to look into!)

sympathetic nervous system - subsection of the autonomic nervous system that is activated during stress

parasympathetic nervous system - subsection of the autonomic system that is active during peaceful activities (non-stress lol)

parietal lobe - primarily controls sensory perception, including your 5 senses and your sense of space and time

hv lance - i think is reference to high vigilance? which is the state of anxiety where you are constantly aware of possible threats

[deconstructthesoup]

I think the reason that Dimension 20 really scratches all those itches in my brain is that it really shows what you can do with D&D---and TTRPGs as a whole.

Fantasy High, by itself, is an incredibly compelling concept. What would D&D look like in a semi-modern setting? What would a high school that's all about teaching teens how to be adventurers look like? And the way it's done is beyond inventive, especially if you look at all the encounters in the first season---we've got a literal food fight, a high-speed road chase with tiefling greasers, a nightclub brawl with zombies, vampires, and werewolves, a skating match with a bunch of dwarven middle schoolers and a concrete golem, a high-stakes game of football (ish) with undead jocks that give off major teen slasher vibes, a fight done in an arcade where characters can get trapped in the consoles, and the final battle is done at prom. PROM! How cool is that?

And then we get to the Unsleeping City, which takes the urban fantasy elements that Fantasy High already had and elevates it. The way the D&D lore and magic is interpreted in a modern New York setting is excellent, as is the whole take on the "American Dream," magic literally coming from dreams, ideas, and the imagination. I know that I need to actually finish the UC saga, but from what I've seen and experienced, it is truly fantastic.

And the same energy carries through to the other seasons---my personal favorite outside of Fantasy High being A Court of Fey and Flowers, just because I'm a sucker for any Fey Realm content and I've been raised on Jane Austen---where the genre mashups shine through in the best way possible. I'll admit, I haven't seen A Crown of Candy, purely because I know how heartbreaking and devastating it is and I don't think I can physically handle it, but the concept of Candyland Game of Thrones is so beautifully bizarre that I totally get why people love it so much. Escape from the Bloodkeep hitting that workplace comedy vibe that we love to see in villains. Misfits & Magic being a love letter to the "magical boarding school" genre while also calling out all the weird contradictions inherent in it. A Starstruck Odyssey literally being an homage to Brennan's mom and exactly the kind of madcap and unhinged energy I need from my sci-fi. Neverafter perfectly encapsulating the true horror of fairy tales. Mentopolis hitting my noir-loving heart and personifying hyperfixation in the best way possible.

I'm not even kidding when I say that, if it weren't for Dimension 20... I probably wouldn't have even started my own campaign. I'd had snippets and ideas ever since officially getting into D&D and joining a game with some old friends (and getting back in touch with them in the process), but after I saw the Mentopolis trailer, I realized just how much variety TTRGPs had to offer. I could do a time-blending, history-meets-future campaign. I could go out-of-the-box. I could have endless amounts of options available to my friends and still tell the story that I wanted to tell. And when I sat down and watched Fantasy High---and when I got that Dropout subscription so I could consume whatever I wanted---it felt like the show was actually giving me advice. It's fantastic.

Also it helps that the episodes are usually only roughly a couple hours instead of being, like, an entire afternoon long. And that each season is 20 episodes, tops. No offense to Critical Role, but the sheer amount of content literally makes it impossible for me to get into it.

[holyadoptionpapersbatman]

Wendolyn "Wendy" Jane

Here's a fic idea that I'll never be able to flesh out because I'm super burned out, but here's my take on a TimKon Clonebaby AU!!

***

So, when Tim was kicked out of the window, he didn't bother to call Kon because he thought the whole encounter he had with him was a hallucination. But, he's calm. And an extra thought he had as he fell was that his and Kon's clone-baby is secured with Martha Kent.

"I can't wait to meet you, Wendy," he says as he falls.

No one catches Tim.

Dick was too late.

Another family member he wasn't fast enough to catch.

***

Kon, Bart, Cassie and the rest of YJ had been devastated when they heard the news. Tim's body was going to be cremated, so chances of him being brought back to life by enemies would be nonexistent.

To comfort himself, Kon walks into the room Wendy had been lightly snoring in.

When Kon came back with Bart, he was surprised to see this baby in Ma's arms, wondering if he actually landed himself in an alternate dimension. But when Ma explained the circumstances of her birth, that Tim tried creating clones of him and Bart to bring them back into his life, Kon gently took the baby into his arms and wept. Then, he went to find Tim.

He didn't think Tim was crazy, but the whole time he was with him, Tim was definitely not in his right mind.

Now, Wendy won't know who her other dad was. Because Tim's gone.

But not completely gone.

Unlike Kon and Bart who left only memories of themselves, Tim left this child. She's not Tim, but she's made with all of his desperation and love.

Kon, after a few hours of mourning, vows to take care of her the best he could.

***

"Pa, why I haf two fiwst names?" Wendy asks one night as she's tucked into bed, after her first day of school. "An' why's my nickname Wendy?"

Kon chuckled. "Your nickname is Wendy because it's the name of my favorite character from my and your daddy's favorite show," he explained, also tucking in her favorite stuffed animal since she was a baby - a chubby, red duck called Mr. Duck. She immediately hugs it close to her and snuggles into its head. Mr. Duck gave out a hearty 'QUACK!' that sounds a lot like Tim's voice.

Kon's heart doesn't ache anymore. Just bursts with love.

Then, picking up the book, 'How to be a Pirate', Kon opens it and flips it to the bookmarked page, a new chapter of when Hiccup and the rest of the Hooligan boys discovers a coffin. This is the 19th time they're reading this book. And it will take 20 more times until they move on to the next book of the How to Train Your Dragon series.

"Your name 'Jane' is from your daddy's mom's name. Her name was 'Janet', and your dad was downright a mama's boy," he continued, causing Wendy to giggle.

"An' Daddy's name's Tim, wight?" she asked.

"Timothy, actually," said Kon. "Timothy Jackson Drake. He has a long name like you. But he likes being called Tim. Just Tim. Not Timmy. Not TJ. And definitely not Timberlina."

Wendy cackles loudly, kicking her legs up and repeating with her lisps Tim's funny 'Timberlina' nickname over and over.

Then, once she's done laughing, Kon starts reading.

The chapter isn't even over and his little girl, his and Tim's little girl, is already asleep.

***

There was a skateboard in the attic. It was right beside this box full of envelopes and journals handwritten by her late Dad, and it had some kind of engine at its base. It also had a whole bunch of scratches on its underside.

It's also one of the most beautiful things 12 years old Wendy had ever seen.

"Pa!" she shouts, running down the stairs to the kitchen, finding Aunt Pru and Aunt Cassie burning down her Pa's stove, like usual. She turns to her Pa who had his head in his hands, most likely trying to calculate how much he needs to buy himself a new stove. "Pa, can we buy me a skateboard?"

Aunt Pru smirks. "Tryin' ta' get cool with the boys, are we?"

Wendy rolls her eyes. Her? Getting cool with the boys? Not a chance. She couldn't fit in with anyone if she tried.

She's heard stories of her dad being able to become friends with anyone, from jocks to nerds. He wasn't popular, but people of all kinds just seem to be able to hang out with him with no trouble.

Not to mention, both of her dads looked unfairly handsome in their teens. It really wasn't fair when the beauty gene doesn't get passed down or genetically inputted into her. Ugh.

But, scratch that!

"Pa! Can we?? Buy a skateboard?"

Pa glanced to his stove. Then to Wendy.

It really wasn't a choice to begin with.

"Sure, I also know someone who could teach you," he said.

***

"YOU ACCIDENTALLY SENT MY DAUGHTER BACK TO THE PAST?!"

Bart rolled his eyes. "It wasn't an accident. She was meant to go for a little time-travel adventure!"

"Of course you'd know that," muttered Kon.

Away from them, Lizzie laughed. "I remember my time-travel adventure!" she said, ignoring Jon's deadpan stare towards her and Damian's completely subtle wince. "I got an A+ on my essay!!"

Kon ignored Lizzie and started pacing the floor. "Our timeline could be changing and we wouldn't even know it!"

"Thank you!" Jon said, throwing his hands up finally feeling validated.

Damian rolled his eyes. "We're fine, aren't we? The universe isn't getting destroyed or fading from existence. Additionally, Allan did mention she was meant to travel back in time."

Bart wiped a fake tear away from his eye. "Thanks, Dames."

Damian scoffed.

On Wendy's side, she was standing right in front of an abandoned warehouse in Paris. Or, to be more specific, an abandoned Lex Corp Cloning Facility.

She clutched the letter in her hand and stepped inside.

'I guess I'm illegally a Parisian,' thought Wendy as she walked through the creepy halls, further down into where the cloning tech could be.

Then, finally, she reached it, the big, green 'ATTEMPT 100 SUCCESS' glaring back at her.

Looking before the railings, she finds a familiar figure. One she's only seen in pictures. But, instead of the strong, smart and confident hero, she sees the most broken and saddest teenager in existence.

"Dad..." she calls, heartbroken.

Her dad's head snap's up, but he slowly stands protectively, clutching the bundle in his arms closer to his chest.

He takes one look at Wendy, and--

He...

He relaxes. He relaxes his hold. His stance. His everything.

He goes up to Wendy, a hand reaching out to gently caress her face.

"You have my mom's eyes," he said.

Wendy smiled back at him. "Yeah," she says, her voice almost a whisper.

"You have Kon's stupid smile, too."

Wendy rolls her eyes. "Pa keeps telling me it's your stupid smile, Dad."

Her Dad laughs. He's almost in disbelief. But.

"How are you here?" he asked.

Wendy opened her mouth, then carefully chose her words. "You left a letter for me. For my sixteenth birthday. I'm not going to get into detail what you wrote in it but, you said it was okay to tell you that you encouraged me to head to the past and--- here I am."

Her dad's brows scrunched together, the same way she saw in stolen pics how her own brows does.

"And you're okay to be in the same... vicinity as... your past self?" he asked.

Wendy nodded her head. "Uncle Damian told me so!"

Her dad laughed, bewildered. "Uncle Damian!?"

Wendy nodded. "He's an ass, but his heart is made of gold." She reached a hand out for her Dad to take. "I have so much family growing up, Dad. I... I have so much to tell you."

Nobody told Wendy how her Dad died. Or when he died. Just that he did.

So, lets her Dad take her to this apartment he rented. It was barely touched, there wasn't even the mess he was known for making. She guesses the mess was down at the clone labs.

But, once the both of them settled down, her dad changed into more comfortable clothing. And. It was almost like looking at a mirror.

Wendy's heart burst with emotion.

From there, they both exchanged stories of their lives until it turned morning.

She watched as how tenderly her Dad held her baby-self with the same love her Pa gave her. She longed for it. But. She couldn't stay any longer. She felt the timer Uncle Bart gave her vibrate in her pocket.

"I have to go back," she said.

Her dad nodded, gently laying her baby self in the middle of the bed. Then, he turned to her with his arms open wide.

Wendy took it. She hugged him back just as tightly.

Then, after a heartfelt goodbye, she left the apartment.

And then, she disappeared home.

[cloudmancy]

I have no desire to get you in trouble but I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the new episode and the preview because I also have.. thoughts and I'm interested in what other people clocked as not great or kinda.. idk. other people's concerns, because I have had a lot of them and I never see people really talk about those things

they're doing a new format this season where they film a bunch of rp episodes in a row then take a break when there's a battle so the crew can get the battleset ready, so I understand the dissonance. but the tone of this episode from the tone of last episode was SO jarring. I was ready to chew drywall at the end of episode 17 but we head into the episode 18 fight and at the end all I can say is... damn! that sure is a battle that happened. the entire fight felt really low-stakes even though objectively a few of the bad kids were in mortal danger, but the mood at the table was so relaxed and chill and there was almost no roleplay at all... which drove me so crazy

>no rp except for fun silly party stuff (no callbacks to the adaine elven oracle in a storm thing? after all the fun setup last time??)

>fought 8 different antagonists and none of them said a word

>nobody questioned why or what oisin's grandma or all those dragon were doing there they just started taking them out one by one like raid battles in world of warcraft

>cassandra/nightmare king showed up only to not make any impact or get a single word in

>dos2 lady vengeance fight did the floating boat/ballistas/dragon fight better SMH

and then after all of that we're headed straight into ANOTHER battle episode judging by the preview... and it's against the rat grinders and porter/jace! let me out I want PLOT & DIALOGUE fhjy cannot end like this (5 hours straight of battle where they just kill everyone that moves). there's 2 eps left so I really hope they do the last ep as a 4 hour long roleplay only epilogue episode because as we've all seen ending campaigns on a battle leads to frankly really rushed character and world decisions. it's ultra disappointing too because I loved this entire season so much so far. the setup and buildup and plot points and mystery of fhjy is the best they've ever done it in dimension 20 period

ep 18 fhjy battle was a letdown to me... not giving the party an rp episode after 3 hours of loredump + going straight into a final battle without being able to interact with the world after gaining info is bad. they should've had a chance to process everything they learned about house sunstone, porter's plan, the rat grinders being used as ascension fodder, whatever the whole deal behind ambrosia and lucy frostkettle and why they needed a helios cleric in buddy IN ROLEPLAY. I don't want all this stuff explained to me after the battle by brennan or in some throwaway lines in the adventuring party - I want the bad kids to talk to people! I want them to investigate! I want fig to pull some BS with porter knowing the full extent of all his plans. it really sucks for us as an audience too to be hit with all this lore and get approximately 0 time for it to sink into the implications of how the worldbuilding was shaped by it or realizations of "ohhh that's why that happened at the beginning of the season" before we go straight into killing everyone.

with the way this is going I don't have any confidence they're gonna be able to actually empathize at all with the rat grinders too before they start lopping heads off because in battle episodes everyone kind of just. becomes numbers and an objective to take out except for pet favourite npcs of the cast. and they've mostly been interacting with the rat grinders as nuisances all season 😭 I'm PRAYING to be proven wrong and the last 2 episodes of this are fantastic but it's not looking good folks

[adamsmasher]

Okay it's after 1am and I've had a lot of wine so obviously it's time for a late night wall-of-text post, but this time it's less likely to piss off your weird uncle or whatever because once again, I gotta talk about the best $4.99 a month I've ever spent.

Please, if you haven't yet, I'm begging you to look into all of the incredible content available on the Dropout.tv streaming service (formerly known as College Humor) . Not only did Whose Line Is It Anyway's Wayne Brady say that the Dropout crew are the only ones doing improv comedy on the same level as Whose Line, but they were also one of the only studios/streaming services allowed to work during the writers' strike because their contracts went above and beyond industry standards. (And, from my own observations, Dropout LOVES hiring queer, trans/nonbinary, and BIPOC performers + crew. Obviously I don't know much about the industry, but they seem like one of the most inclusive companies in Hollywood.)

"Alex, thanks for the recommendation! What shows do they have that you think I'll like?" Oh, you're asking me to gush about my favorite tv shows? Don't mind if I do!!!

Are you D&D curious, but took one look at actual play shows like Critical Role and thought "6 hours an episode? and there's like 750 episodes or whatever? oh baby not my adhd ass..." Don't worry, me too (sorry CR I love you I promise). But Dropout has a show called "Dimension 20" where comedians play Dungeons and Dragons with emotional, immersive storytelling, gut-busting laughs, and spectacular set design that makes you forget it's a fully improvised series controlled by the roll of the dice. They even did a miniseries perfect for D&D beginners called "Dungeons and Drag Queens" where absolute novices and Drag Race royalty Jujubee, Monet X Change, Alaska Thunderfuck, and Bob the Drag Queen embark on an adventure full of mystery, intrigue, and stupidity. I mean, Alaska plays a muscle-bound, axe-wielding, caveman-grunting Orc named Princess, what more could you want? Plus, the primary game master Brennan Lee Mulligan is so easy on the eyes. Oh, you're not into dorky ginger dudes? How about Aabria Iyengar, a 6 foot tall goddess who's equally as nerdy as Brennan but loves basketball. that's right, if nothing else, there's eye candy for every person in every season.

"Oh, why aren't there any good game shows on TV?" you wonder, wishing that the Game Show Network could come up with something that isn't a lame remake of a free-to-play phone game. Well how about Game Changer, "the only game show where the game changes every show (except for [...] Game of Games, Taskmaster, and a few others that have come to light AFTER [Game Changer first aired]. That's right, [the] players have no idea what game it is they're about to play. The only way to learn is by playing, the only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning." And yes, I did sit there and watch the beginning of an episode to make sure I was accurately quoting Game Changer host (and Dropout CEO) Sam Reich's description of his flaghship game show that has THREE separate spin-offs. (for context, he only mentions the other shows that copied his in the one episode I pulled up to get an accurate quote. could you imagine how uncomfortable it would be if he said that every episode? hah!)

Are you more of a traditional Whose Line fan? Look no further than Game Changer spin-off Make Some Noise, where contestants act out "improvisational prompts that [they have] never seen before, isn't that right contestants?" ("We won't know if we've seen them before or not until we see them!" Brennan insists every time he's on...)

You like musicals but wish they were less... ya know, scripted? Check out "Play It By Ear", a fully improvised musical! (you may be familiar with its primary cast members Jess McKenna and Zach Reino from the podcast that inspired it all, "Off Book: the Improvised Musical Podcast with Zach and Jess")

Or maybe you're more into trivia, cuz you're a total nerd like me (and every single performer that's ever appeared on dropout.tv). How about "Umm, Actually" where contestants are given an incorrect statement and have to buzz in to correct it - but you have to say "Umm, Actually" first!

Straight up, you can't go wrong on Dropout. Please, check it out. They're nearly doubling the amount of original shows they have in 2024, and no other streaming service is doing it like them. If I haven't convinced you yet, get the 7 day trial and give em a chance. There's no referral code I can give you that gives me some sort of kickback or whatever, I genuinely wrote what looks like a thousand word essay about Dropout at 1am just because I love them so much.

[bestygogirl]

BEST YGO GIRL: FINAL ROUND

please use this as an opportunity to say why you like a character, not why you don't.

Propaganda under the cut!

Isis Ishtar

gorgeous, very caring sister, strong duelist, and the only woman to ever make Seto Kaiba squirm

anyways. not only as mentioned above is she the first woman to make kaiba squirm, but she was by all means going to beat him if not for the millennium rod's millennium interference. yami marik admits that she's a strong duelist with a strategy that's been working for literal years-- and given that she's not like, a professional duelist, thats pretty impressive

she also recently got some really cool meta bumps and let me point out that an "ishizu deck" now includes obelisk the tormentor-- which we knew she had prior to giving it to kaiba, but i think it only solidifies my opinion that she very much could wield an Egyptian God Card, an exclusive little club for top tier duelists

as a character she presents herself with an amazing amount of poise and grace, shes compassionate and kind and stays with mai and serenity even though she only just met them. shes struggling through living the past 5 years of her life drowning in guilt for her family's tragedy just because she wanted to make her little brother happy and shadi is a fucking liar. shes foretold her own death and marches towards it grimly but with so much love in her heart. and even then shes 20 years old and holds an important position in the egyptian government that typically requires a doctorate degree AND has been dealing with mariks off-and-on bullshit entirely by her lonesome. she also likes to flex her fortunetelling a little which is awesome i think she should do that more that scene where she tells the guy exactly how the stele is being transported was so everything

speaking of shes got such an attitude. "is it your destiny to waste my time?" iconic. never seen before will never be seen again. watch the duel between her va and joeys its so fucking funny

shes excult. shes doesnt flinch in the face of god nor death. seto kaiba and yami marik respect her. shes so sad and so sweet and battle city couldnt have happened without her.

also her parallels with kaiba are what motivate kaiba to give yugi the card he needed to beat marik.

kaiba, in duelist kingdom, was ready to jump off a ledge if yugi didnt let him through to face pegasus while trying to save mokuba out of sheer desperation to save his little brother. he KNOWS what that dedication feels like and the iron kind of will you need to have to make that kind of gamble. isis is being so fucking legit with what shes saying and he respects that and her judgement enough to change his mind and not only watch the duel, but give yugi a card that eventually helps him win, even if he has no real confidence in the odds. but theres a CHANCE, which is the same thing he taught her when he beat her in a duel. the layers its her faith that moves him to act. which is so crazy

anyway vote isis shes my best friend forever and a real rep for all the 20 year olds who honest to god did not sign up for this bullshit

Yuzu Hiragi

The entire show would not work if the cast wasn't obsessed with her, and they're all right to stan her, literally gets Sora and Serena to defect from Academia with her sheer charisma, beat Masumi at their gay little rivalry, Yugo spends a few days with her and is ready to die for her, Yuya is simply just the loudest about adoring her And why not? She is so clever and determined, doing the most work out of anyone to figure out the myth plot. Actively trains to keep up with the rest of cast. Even when the universe is conspiring against her and trying to keep her down, she fucking headbutts Roger and tells him off or manifests to help save the world in the ultimate girlboss team-up that was the Arc V finale. Truly any dimension without her is worth upending.

The mysterious magical bracelet that isekai's her to different worlds, the Can-Do attitude, the cool poses (fusion summoning), the ADORABLE character design, AND she was 1/4 of a world-saving hero in the past?? If it weren't for the meddling writers, she would have been the main character

yuzu is everything. literally the plot of arc v hinges on the fact everyone who meets her become just as obsessed with her. and they are totally right to do so

[realclaramorrow]

wat spoilers (whole thing this time). more thoughts I'm full of thoughts (made better from my emotion blinded previous finished book rant)

ok now that I've had some time to sit and think, I enjoyed the book AND I think it couldve taken a couple more editing rounds. I'm sure none of these are new thoughts. I can't believe in my previous post I was right about everything except my opinion on dalinar.

kaladin telling ishar hes szeth's therapist and then being like man idk either was a clunky joke and really took me out of the moment. "honor is dead but I'll see what I can do" is a good line but also a bit cringeworthy at this point? I think his ending is at first glance what he needs but if you look deeper he's isolated from everyone he's ever loved (except syl) and has to be on the clock as a therapist for 9 people with multiple millenia of trauma 24/7. I'm upset for him. This is not a break.

adolin's situation is also good at a glance but bad long term. just like kaladin and shallan he's completely isolated from his loved ones (except maya). shakadolin was too powerful, they had to be stuck in different dimensions. he never got to forgive his father. maya is basically the only method of communication between free nations. at least he and gawx can be bros? I love the way they won azir. he's possibly continuing the absent kholin father tradition by accident.

shallan is pregnant maybe? I dont like that, I think pregnancy plots are usually stupid and poorly done. hope she can get back to the physical world because giving birth in shadesmar seems bad and dangerous (painspren, no midwife, not much access to food/water, no one she loves to support her). I wish shallan had had more complex thoughts about rlain and renarin because she's smart and while dealing with a great many things I think should've at least briefly thought like "oh god they are going to have such a terrible time in the physical world I need to make it so clear that I am supportive."

I understand that Jasnah was exhausted but the argument for thaylenah felt a tiny bit out of character for her. she's admittedly not great at talking to people and was caught off guard at every turn, but I think previous scenarios showed she could've handled it better, especially with so much on the line.

I can't believe (actually, I very much can) that odium did that to gav. thats so fucked up. and preserving his city's souls in the spiritual realm? absolutely fuck off. his grandchildren are safe but the only kholin grandchild doesn't get to be, directly because of him? this is a 20 year old with almost no real memories of the people that loved him, maybe a few faint ones from age 5 or before. this kid was groomed to be a lamb for slaughter for fifteen years.

I have hope for moash redemption? I imagine kaladin showing up and he's literally a herald (of second chances) and moash (with investiture vision) is like WHY ARE YOU GOD WHAT THE FUCK

the shattered plains got the best ending it could, in my opinion. free listener state!! yes!!

I appreciate that dalinar's death wasnt in combat, but by the strength of the storm. he was a king until the end, and I feel bad that I ragged on him so hard because he immediately started changing for the better. also, claimed by another? I can't tell if that's just death or if thaidakelsier wants him bad or if another god has spoken for him. gotta know. maybe valor?

also, I really need to read the sunlit man. for as much as I love sigzil you'd think I would've gotten around to it already. I also have not read: warbreaker, elantris, the emperor's soul, yumi and the nightmare painter, shadows for silence, sixth of the dusk, or white sand. its not like I wont be busy during these 7 years.

[weirdmageddoon]

The Cipher Show!

[written by bilicipher and CryptidIver on twitter go follow us :)]

You are now watching The Cipher Show!

Featuring: Bill Cipher, Scalene Cipher, and Euclid Cipher. 

Today's episode is Family.

Camera pans to the Ciphers standing in the middle of their cozy living room. Bill is between his 2 parents

SCALENE: This family means the world to me! Euclid, my husband, works hard to make ends meet for us. Bill, our child, is our pride and joy!

EUCLID wraps an arm around BILL who has a sheepish smile on his face 

EUCLID: Bill is a smart kid, one day he’ll be the smartest triangle in Euclydia! 

BILL: Thanks dad! Thanks mom! You guys are the best parents anyone could ask for! I love you guys.

SCALENE AND EUCLID (in unison): We love you too, Billy!

Everything slowly fades to black.

The opacity lowers, the Ciphers are now eating at the dinner table.

BILL is playing with his food and SCALENE is not too happy about that. 

SCALENE: Billy, we don’t play with our food.

BILL: I’m sorry mom. 

EUCLID (facing the camera): Bill’s kinda stubborn. He doesn’t like to follow the rules.

SCALENE: Would you like to be reminded of the rules, Bill? 

BILL: Yes, please. 

SCALENE: There are several rules we have to follow in order to live peacefully in this household but also not to get in trouble with other Euclydians! 

Camera pans to EUCLID:

EUCLID: Rule number one! No shoes inside of the house!

Camera pans to SCALENE: 

SCALENE: Rule number two! Always be polite and respectful. 

EUCLID: But don’t hesitate to give anyone the finger if they treat you like an ant! Am I right?

Laughing track plays. 

SCALENE: Here’s one very important rule now… do not talk about the third dimension. 

BILL: But why? I can see it. 

SCALENE: We know, Billy. But it is strictly forbidden! 

BILL: But, mooom! I just want you guys to understand! There’s stars and the third dimension —

AD BREAK. 

[Somber music starts playing.

Do you have a loved one who was born with a mutation? Do they see things no one else can see? Do you wish… they were normal?

Upbeat music starts playing.

WELL, PEOPLE I GOT A CURE JUST FOR YA!

I PRESENT TO YOU, THE TRIDIMENSIO-BLOCK! 3 SIPS A DAY KEEPS THE VISIONS AWAY!

YOUR LOVED ONE WILL BE BACK TO NORMAL SOONER THAN YOU THINK! They will never talk about seeing “the stars” ever again! 

BUY TRIDIMENSIO-BLOCK!

This ad was brought to you by Euclydia’s health department. 

2-9-12-12 3-9-16-8-5-18 8-1-19 20-18-21-12-25 12-15-19-20 8-9-19 13-9-14-4. 1-12-15-14-5 9-14 20-8-5-18-1-16-18-9-19-13 6-15-18 20-8-5 6-9-18-19-20 20-9-13-5 9-14 6-15-18-5-22-5-18 20-8-5 16-1-9-14-6-21-12 13-5-13-15-18-9-5-19 15-6 5-21-3-12-21-4-9-1 8-9-19 14-1-20-9-22-5 4-9-13-5-14-19-9-15-14 20-8-1-20 8-5 8-1-4 2-21-18-9-5-4 12-15-14-7 1-7-15 1-18-5 19-20-1-18-20-9-14-7 20-15 3-12-1-23 20-8-5-9-18 23-1-25 15-21-20 20-8-5 19-3-18-5-1-13-19 20-8-5 3-18-9-5-19 8-5 3-1-14’20 19-20-15-16 8-5-1-18-9-14-7 20-8-5-13 20-8-5 19-13-5-12-12 15-6 2-21-18-14-20 6-12-5-19-8 1-14-4 19-20-1-20-9-3 2-12-15-15-4 5-22-5-18-25-23-8-5-18-5

Back to the show!]

SCALENE and EUCLID are sitting down. They look a bit tired. BILL is nowhere to be seen.

EUCLID: We just put Bill to sleep…

SCALENE: He got a bit too agitated, we told him to take his medication.

EUCLID: 3 sips of TriDimensio-block keeps the visions away! Like the doctor said. Bill gets real fussy and refuses to take his medicine unless he drinks it through a silly straw.  

EUCLID and SCALENE laugh softly in unison. 

SCALENE: We love Bill, he’s our only child and means the world to us. 

EUCLID: But he gets us in trouble, constantly. We had to pay 3 fines in the past 6 months because he talked about that damn dimension. 

SCALENE: He’s temporarily suspended from school because he talked about the third dimension to a group of kids at recess.

EUCLID: The school board is run by triacontagons, they have no mercy. They threatened to permanently expel Bill from school! 

SCALENE sighed. 

EUCLID: We’re just triangles in a world run by circles. It’s tough out here for us as it is and Bill’s keeps fooling around.

SCALENE: Euclid… calm down. 

EUCLID: Look, I’m just worried about Bill. Don’t you see him murmuring to himself sometimes?

SCALENE: I do, but…

EUCLID: Something’s going on with him. I fear that one day he’ll step too far out of line and someone will get hurt because of it!  

SCALENE: Euclid… he would never hurt us, or anyone, for that matter. Bill is fine. 

SOHDVH KHOS PH.  L’P QRW ILQH.

The scene switches to BILL, who is not asleep. He has been in his room this entire time, listening to his parents. 

BILL has a sad look on his face. 

BILL: No one even tries to understand me! I like mom and dad but they don’t listen to me! TriDimensio-block HURTS! And it makes my vision all blurry.

BILL sits at his desk. Numerous sheets of paper lay before him. It appears he’s been doodling some kind of…plan?

BILL: I’ve been hiding my work from mom and dad. I’m trying to come up with a big plan to make everyone in Euclydia see the stars! I’ve scrapped a lot of my ideas… because according to my calculations, it would just end up killing everyone.

BILL scribbles on his paper… he seems content, overjoyed even. 

BILL: Ah ha! I think I did it! I’ve found a way to show everyone the stars with 0 casualties! 

BILL proudly shows the plan he made to the camera. 

BILL: I’m gonna have so many friends! I hope the hexagons will let me hang out with them, they’re so cool! People will love me! Dad won’t be scared of me anymore. 

BILL gets up from his chair and hides his plan under his bed. 

BILL: Mom and Dad can’t find out about this. This has to be a surprise.

BILL tucks himself into bed. He has a hopeful expression on his face, but it turns uneasy. 

BILL: I’m not a bad person, right? Sure, there’s a mini-me inside my head that’s always telling me to do bad things but I just ignore it. 

BILL: The truth is, living here kinda sucks… flat people with flat dreams. I have so much potential but they’re holding me back! They won’t let me help them see there’s so much more.  

BILL: But now that I’ve come up with the perfect plan, the insults and dirty looks will finally stop. I can’t wait. Goodnight.

BILL drifts off to sleep, hoping to show the stars to his people the next morning. 

NEXT EPISODE! Bill finally puts his plan into motion and hyhubwklqj zhqw devroxwhob zurqj. Hyhubrqh glhg. Eloo zdv fryhuhg lq eorrg. Kh frxogq’w vdyh dqbrqh. Wkh odvw olylqj Hxfolghdq.

What? I said Bill finally puts his plan into motion and everything goes great. The people of Euclydia cheer for him and he is declared a genius. That’s what happened. 

SEE YOU NEXT EPISODE!

[pricemarshfield]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

thank you for the ask, neutral!! time to show my deeply multifandom roots and not have any of these share the same fandom 🫡 below the cut because i’m chatty as hell

number one on the list is a recent one but absolutely my all-time favorite thing i’ve ever written: talk, a bg3/raphtav-and-also-haarlep-is-there smut oneshot

i don’t use this tweet here because it’s smut, but because no fic has EVER gripped me by the brain and haunted me for months until i wrote it like this one did and also because the devil’s hot. i laid awake at night in a cold sweat thinking about this even before i’d finished house of hope for the first time. i’m not even being hyperbolic here, this fic GOT me. also this fic converted me from haarlep-neutral to haarlep’s personal cheerleader. they’re so fun

my beloved darling tav already had a very strong characterization to me but i still feel like i Learned her through writing this, and certainly learned a lot about her dynamics with raphael and haarlep. enough that i’m braving actually writing a longfic for them, and feel free to hold me to this because otherwise it’ll languish in my drafts for another six months. but i’m actually formatting the first chapter for ao3, it’s Genuinely almost done !! promise

fun story about this is i cheerfully told my mom i’d finished writing something after i posted this and she asked to read it. i was like haha. well i’ll do that after work! and then i didn’t ♥️

-

number two on the list is what i’d have confidently said was the best thing i’ve ever writtennbefore talk, and that’s one of my dimension 20 big bang 2021 fics: plant a garden in the yard, then, a fantasy high/aelwyn & ayda friendship fic where they explore the deeply haunted tunnels beneath aelwyn’s deeply haunted house

it’s hard to overstate how personal this fic ended up being to me, enough that i hold it as close to my heart as my other d21bb fic which i wrote about grief while Actively grieving. both fics for that event ended up being a good deal more melancholic and introspective than i thought they would at the start, but this one Feels more intimate (for lack of a better word)

aelwyn & ayda are both characters that mean a lot to me on their own, and figuring out their friendship—prickly and uncomfortable as it starts—was honestly healing. there’s something really cathartic about writing a character who’s gone through such extraordinary circumstances in their canon finding a path Towards genuine connection and happiness, even if they don’t find it and Especially if things still aren’t perfect.

also the only time i’ve ever actually hit ao3’s comment length limit was on a reply to an absolutely lovely comment my friend shark left on it so :) the response to this fic was also really nice!

-

number three on the list is my queen b magnum opus even though i have one that’s like 8 times longer than it: teeth, the book 1 mc/poppy romance i craved/theoretically a smut oneshot that became something more.

this is a remix of another fic i wrote, so it feels weird to prop it up higher than the original, but i’m just so fond of this one. queen b is a very silly game and poppy min-sinclair can be a VERY silly character but my bea for this fic is another oc i grew deeply attached to, and i think the sheer self-indulgence of the fic shines through, in a good way.

also, i think the characterization in this is strong enough that i’ve been able to recommend it to friends with better taste who haven’t played queen b, and they’ve still enjoyed it! which is just IMMENSELY validating as a writer :’)

-

number four and five on the list are my niche oneshots which i wrote for a target audience of me, myself, and i, and i think that’s part of why they work as well as they do!

four is a session with dr. martin whitly, a prodigal son fic which focused on ainsley & martin, namely ainsley relying really heavily on her father, despite the fact he’s a serial killer that she Knows he’s manipulative and terrible.

the fact that i wrote this before the season 1 finale is astounding to me. i have never called characterization beats harder than this, and i feel comfortable saying that even though the actual plot points are quite different, and also even though ainsley isn’t canonically gay. that’s okay because i know and perceive the truth <3

prodigal son’s cancellation is something i’m hard-pressed to say i’m Upset about this far out, but i wish every day that the episode where some ainsley issues got addressed had lived to see the light of day.

this fic i Cannot recommend to people who haven’t watched prodigal son because it’s me extrapolating and picking at lines of dialogue that Suggest a lot without confirming much, but that’s also really fun, in its own way. some of the best fics i’ve ever read are enjoyable specifically as transformative media.

-

five is walk with the devil, a the martian/ares3some noir au which was honestly 90% a style experiment but like i fucking nailed it?? there was a stretch of a couple years where some of my best work were from smashing together whatever pairing i wanted to write with a bunch of prompts and seeing what i could make from it (werewolf au caitvi was also one, and a runner-up on this list)

this fic has a lot of hallmarks that i know people aren’t usually a fan of, but i love it. non-linear narrative. major character death but also maybe not, you won’t get closure and neither will the characters. actively avoiding concrete details in favor of a strong, hopeless tone. bringing in a ton of the cast for no reason. LOTS of 1940s slang. and because of that it’s my baby. weirdly i feel like my johanssen characterization is better in this than in either of my two canonverse fics?

i don’t know that i’d write fic for the martian like this again—a lot of what i like about it is really different from the more transformative fandom approach for the things that compel me to write—but i’m glad i did, because this fic is my darling. more people should be experimental in their fics because some of the weirdest stuff will almost always be some of the best !!!

anyway answering this made me so very hyped to write more once i’m off work !!!

[my-name-is-bunnyfoxy]

~ TMNT February Day 20: Dream ~

Rant time: Raph thinking he will become Shredder and be just like him is the biggest wasted potential in the show.

Context: In the episode "The Darkness Within", the turtles go to help their friend Angel get her brother back. Stuff happens and they are suddenly trapped in their worst nightmares. And you wanna know what Raph's nightmare is? That Raphael, a guy who has done nothing but has been saving people, doing his best to protect his brothers and care for them, literally saved the entire world, thinks he is anywhere near Shredder. Shredder. Yeah that guy who has done nothing but terrorize and is the reason so many horrible things have happened in the show. He genuinely thinks he is a monster. A cruel heartless monster.

That concept is to me, the most interesting thing ever. Admit it, you wanted to know why Raph would have thought himself in that way and think he would become Shredder. But why do I call this wasted potential? That's because it's LITERALLY only mentioned ONE TIME. It only happened in that episode. And that episode only. We don't get details as to why he thinks that way or what made him think he shared even the slightest in common with Shredder. Also remember those dimension episodes? As much as I enjoyed Raph's episode, I wish now, he was sent in a universe where he was Shredder. Also also, he is the only turtle to have never defeated any version of Shredder. So I feel like this would have been his chance to finally defeat one.

I really hope that in a future iteration of TMNT, this sort of idea is brought back and we get to explore it a bit more.

Now this isn't related to 2003 but, I did actually learn later down the line that Raph actually did become the Shredder in the image comics. Damn.

[sugaldean]

Justin talking to Phux about how Conrad isn't to blame for his problem.

As a parallel to middle class people (fux) thinking poor people (Conrad) are the root of their problem instead of the ultra rich (Bition)

[vapid-gay]

I was tagged by @aegisblaze and @virgologist to answer some questions

Last song I listened to:

Big Houses - Squalloscope

Favorite color:

I can't pick just one and recently I have had less of a fave color and more fave color combos like brown, pink, green; blue, white, gold, etc. Love blue, green and brown in general though.

Last TV show I watched:

I started the first season of Fantasy High on Dimension 20 since the new one is coming in January.

Currently watching:

Savoring the latest season of Jujutsu Kaisen. Have not read the manga but shit is spicy rn

Sweet, savory, or spicy:

Why pit three bad bitches against each other. There is a time and place for all the baddies and that generally depends on my mood

Current obsession:

Baldur's gate 3, I am married to that game, it is all my deepest fantasies and more

Relationship status:

Chronically single, not mad about it, mostly all of the ppl I would ever like to romance are very far away as per the tumblr terms and conditions

Last thing I Googled:

1) “best barber shops in my area"

Girl desperately needs a haircut

Thanks for tagging me @aegisblaze and @virgologist ☺️ I shall pass this on to @flying-bi-son, @brownie-bread-man, @african-nerd, @ablackboysblog, @starbornpheo, @baddielabelle, @yddaw, @anime-penis

No obligation or pressure to participate, only if it fits your fancy.

[nerves-nebula]

i dont usually do tag games but i liked this one, tagged by @alighted-willow

20 questions for writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

4 (technically 5 but i abandoned and privated one of them) on my main account and 9 on my smut account

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

37,751 on my main, around 47,000 on the porn account

3. What fandoms do you write for?

uhhhh dimension 20 (not really but it was my first posted fanfic) and tmnt. i write mainly about one other fandom on my smut account tho.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

well i've only got about 5 of them so i'll just put them in order

caracal carousel

show me already

time to think

a modest comparison

it's my turn on the Being Abusive

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

most of the time. i do it to encourage people to comment, because really really like comments. but if i get a comment i SUPER like i put off answering it because i wanna give it the time it deserves. ironically that means i have yet to respond to some of my favorite comments. oops.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

idk i think they're all pretty equally angsty. like a lot of them end with the implication that more abuse is going to happen after the story's been concluded, lol.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

definitely Show Me Already, it's the only one that doesn't end with someone feeling like garbage or implying some kind of abuse is about to happen. just an alien brain slug excited to make his boyfriend happy.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

i dont think so? I think someone commented something rude once on one of my smut fics but im not great at telling tone so idk.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yup, the fucked up kinky kind that could get me harassed by ppl who's opinions i dont care about but who would prolly be really fucking annoying to deal with

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

nah

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

idk

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not to my knowledge

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no, that sounds stressful

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

thats like asking what my favorite song is like how da hell should i know they all serve different purposes.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

GOD. on my smut account i have an outline for a 2 chapter fic and i posted the first chapter and never the second one. it haunts me. idk if i WONT do it but it wont get done any time soon.

16. What are your writing strengths?

i can write ok and people like it :)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i dont know enough about writing as an art form to properly assess my weaknesses :(

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

too complex a question for this kind of game. if i were to do it i'd want to get the input of someone who like, actually speaks it or something. but idk. i'd try my best on my own, cuz im unlikely to find someone willing to do that kind of beta reading for me, and though i'd want to compensate them somehow i'm so fuckin broke.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Dimension 20 Starstruck Odyssey. i think it was the first fanfic i ever wrote and posted and i have no idea what drove me to it.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

hhhhhhhhhhh this really depends. I have a lot of fun writing about abuse and since that's what basically all of my fics are about in one way or another it's like. idk. i've re-read my smut ones more often than my non-smut ones tho so uh, maybe one of those.

[takaraphoenix]

There is something both poetic and ironic about the first Dimension 20 campaign I watched being Misfits and Magic and the last one I now had left to watch (until the next one airs) being A Court of Fey and Flowers.

Poetic because both are Aabria DMing season, ironic also for that reason, considering this is the Brennan Lee Mulligan show.

There were two reasons why I picked Misfits and Magic as my entry to Dimension 20, and to DnD in general actually. One was the obvious length - this was only one of two seasons that are four episodes long and as someone with no knowledge or experience with DnD, the thought of kicking it off with 20 episodes which each were like 2 hours was absolutely mortifying. This felt more... doable. Even if I don't entirely vibe with it, it's just 4 episodes, I will finish it. The other reason was Danielle Radford, actually, because I adore her and seeing her on this was really ?!?! to me.

Six months and 18 campaigns later, you could say that I got very hooked, on both Dimension 20 specifically and DnD in general.

The funny thing is that I saw Brennan as a player first, before I met him as a DM. And I loved him playing. I love him as a DM even more, but looking at how many campaigns I would get to see him DM vs how few D20 campaigns he is a player on, made me quickly put A Court of Fey and Flowers back.

I had a whacky and random ranking system by which I watched them, it started out by length (well, more or less; the second campaign I watched was Mice and Murder for the all College Humor cast, since College Humor was what introduced me to Brennan and why I came to Dimension 20 to begin with), but after the first four campaigns, I knew I was hooked on this style of storytelling, so it became more like "this premise sounds particularly promising, I want to save that for later", so I saved what I hoped would be the best for last.

(And I more or less did; A Starstruck Odyssey and A Court of Fey and Flowers were the last two left and they absolutely will make it into my top three.)

And A Court of Fey and Flowers is genuinely such a good place to "end" (it's not really an ending, the next campaign literally dropped a trailer last week), I am enjoying this so much.

And that is partially due to loving Brennan's player energy, it is also very very much my growing love for Aabria's storytelling and world building, it's the incredibly dynamic that Lou and Emily chose for their characters, it's the incredible Rue/Hob romance because I didn't think I'd ever be invested in a PC/PC romance, it's the whole setting and fairy theme that is something I love already, and it's also the lack of fighting.

I know DnD is a lot about fighting. But I think I prefer it when it's more roleplay and less fighting (and it doesn't have to be no fighting, I just think 50/50 is too much fighting, and with many fight heavy campaigns, this was very refreshing and delightful to watch).

The point, to get back on track, is that A Court of Fey and Flowers really hits all of the right spots. I am deeply in love with this campaign and I know I will be revisiting this a lot and I'm grateful for the beautiful world Aabria crafted, and for the talented lineup of players she invited to take part in it. And I'm grateful to her for being my introduction to DnD, to begin with.

[everywishway]

My Top 5 Favorite Seasons of Dimension 20

Before I start, these are all great and they could alternate depending on my mood, especially the top three. I'm also watching Unsleeping City for the first time right now (im sorry. i know it's great, i just never got around to watching it because i was rewatching Fantasy High for the 10th time) so that's why it's not on the list.

Also, there is a poll at the end to see what everyone's favorite is out of these 5 choices and whichever wins I'm going to rewatch.

5. Misfits and Magic. My personal favorite of the shorter seasons (6-8 episodes). I loved all the cast members, they were all amazing but it just felt very rushed for me? Like, throw in a fifth episode for me just for the sake of pacing. The Tri-Wizard Tournament thing came out of nowhere and I think the pacing would've worked if they lead with the fact the Magical Misfits had to prove themselves to stay (and they had to do it too). I know the Headmistress was trying to blindsight them but anyone else could've mentioned it. Other than that, this was amazing. I love this and am trying to get my mom to watch it with me because she loves the books that shall not be named

4. Fantasy High Season One. It was really good and I love all of the Bad Kids so much it's not even funny. Bill Seacaster and Jawbone are my favorite NPCs in any TTRPG show ever and I love Fabian, Riz and Fig so much My main thing was the fight scenes. Fight scenes every other episode was a lot for me, someone who hates combat in my actual games of TTRPGS. I'm glad Brennan paced it so fight scenes were only every couple of episodes afterward, it made them feel more heavy and exciting that way.

3. The Seven. This season feels so underrated for some reason? No one ever talks about it, I never see fanart for it like I see the others on this list. All six Heroic Highschoolers did such a great job bringing their characters and teen struggles to life, it made me feel every single emotion at once. Two problems with this season though: One, no one played Zelda which I'm willing to forgive since they were playing it safe with covid regulations. Number two though is how much Sam Nightingale hogged screen time. Don't get me wrong, I love Sephie so much and she really made this season great, but I can't help but feel like she just got more attention that could've gone to other members of the Seven. Maybe it's the fact she got more one on one scenes since she was always talking to Zelda who was played by Brennan? At times it just felt like the Sam show and not an adventure about The Seven. But everyone go rewatch this though. I think I'm the only person who's rewatched it since it came out and I've rewatched it at least six times.

2. A Court of Fey and Flowers. Literally a perfect season. It has my personal favorite cast, amazing characters, and one of the best blends of humor and emotions a season of Dimension 20 could have. My only trouble is that parts of it don't have the rewatchability the other seasons have with all the secrets and rumors. I do still cry at Hob's confession though, even after the fourth time.

1. Fantasy High: Sophomore Year. I think this is one of, if not the best, seasons they have ever done. You get so much world-building for Spyre compared to other campaigns, you already know the characters so you spend more time fleshing them out and meeting new amazing side characters, like Ayda and Kalina, or fleshing out ones we already know, like Sandra-Lynn and Cathilda. I still openly sob every single one of the Bad Kid's troubles and I love them so much. Give me a season of the Bad Kids and The Seven, Brennan!

So, now that we're done, which is the best season out of these? Are there other The Seven lovers out there? IDK, VOTE!