#we're missing out on so many cool campaigns

[robotbeetle]

day XXX of wishing Dnd would release official 5e content of the questionable non-european continents they created like thirty years ago and have never acknowledged since. Zakhara, Kara-tur, Maztica, you could've been great and I think of you often.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/27/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Adopt Our Crew - Adopt Our Quiz!; Queerties Reminder; Cast & Crew Sightings; How to Help W/New Stuff; Hunt for The Pirate Home Twitter Watch Party; Articles; OurFlagMakesADifference; Love Notes; Goofy Shit For Morale

== Adopt Our Crew ==

Had some fun stuff going on across the platforms today with Adopt Our Quiz hosted by @adoptourcrew! You can still go do them! I'm including them here for those who don't have the platforms. Ordered from left to right 1, 2, 3. You can see the answers here on twitter (which have cool animations)

Answers below in picture form:

Twitter Thread Instagram Story

== Queerties ==

Just a reminder to vote for the Queerties if you're up for it!

TV Comedy Best TV Performance Wanna help another Taika/Rhys verse Queertie? Vote for Kaimana for Best Film Performance in Next Goal Wins!

== Cast And Crew Sightings ==

It's the weekend so as you can imagine there aren't many sightings. Definitely some personal stuff posted but nothing campaign related so I'll leave it out. Couple things I didn't know you could do was look at peoples likes on twitter, and now I know how to be a proper stalker if I ever wanna get into that kinda thing, which I don't, let me tell you. That being said, these are to make people feel warm fuzzies so here we are! Alex Sherman is out here liking our tweets all over the place! He's been doing it for days, just sweet to see the support.

Kristian Nairn sending love and support to fans on their art!

== How To Help ==

How To Help Save OFMD Task List - US

How to Help Save OFMD Task List - Outside US

Some new stuff added to our usual How to Help Lists, feel free to check them out!

== Talking About the shows Creativity ==

If you wanna talk about the shows creativity, referencing some of the awesome show-crew like Ra Vincent, Production Designer for OFMD can be great! Here's Ra Vincent's site Great inspiration and pictures to use to show off to the networks. Please be sure to credit them just like anything else you're using. Other great crew members for inspiration: Gypsy Taylor Costume Designer/Stylist!

== RADIO! ==

Some awesome new suggestions from @AdoptACrew Check out the thread here. Link to the NPR suggestion site: Here

== Reminder - Twitter Watch Party ==

=HuntForThePirateHome=

HuntForThePirateHome Watch Party Starts Sunday Jan 28 at 3 PM EST, 12 PT, 8 PM GMT. Hashtags for that event are:

#HuntForThePirateHome

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

== Petition Update ==

We hit 82,000!! Definitely things slowing down, but I think in generally we're focusing more on going after specific platforms (not saying more signatures isn't good, just saying we seem to have shifted priorities)

== Articles ==

I didn't see any new articles today, but I did see one I didn't notice the other day so I'm including it now:

Why Our Flag Means Death’s Cancellation Should Make You Angry

==OurFlagMakesADifference==

I had a couple people ask about what's going on with some fan led Palestine Efforts so I'm linking the current thread from Our Flag Makes A Differences Resource thread on Twitter. I know there is a great tumblr thread but tumblr search sucks so please share it with me if you have it!

== Love Notes ==

Just a little reminder for tonight--- you deserve happiness. You deserve kindness, and grace and you deserve a break from all the stressors that bug you on a day to day basis. Sometimes it's other people who can give you that break, and sometimes the only person who can give it to you is you. If you can, talk a little nicer to yourself today, give yourself a little extra time curled up in bed, or watch an extra episode of your favorite show. Remember to give yourself some love too, lovelies. You deserve it. You're gonna be okay.

== Goofy Shit for Morale ==

So I'm gonna combine a couple things tonight and end tonight with some fun goofy shit also feat. Rhys, Samba, and Taika

@buckrogers2491's post

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Samba Schutte (@sambaschutte)

Alright, night lovelies! Let me know if I missed something or made any mistakes! (I think I double checked everything this time!)

[bananathebookworm]

TLOVM S3 Eps 4-6 Ramblings

Ep. 4

Ashley is just... so good at what she does...

Hell is disgusting. I love it.

I know splitting the party is almost always a bad idea in D&D, but I really like how they've done it in this series. It helps to get through so many important plot points. (And also makes it easier on the animators to have less characters involved in each scene.)

The concentration check fail to drop their disguises is a nice touch

I like that we get more about the NPCs stories simply because they introduced things like EXU later. They expanded on lore that didn't exist when this campaign was originally played and it's really cool to see. I'm only disappointed we didn't get to see Senokir.

Loving this card game between Pike and Zerxus.

I really want Bell's Hells to go to the Hells and talk to Zerxus. I mostly just want Luis back at the table. Let him take over like Abu did.

Also the Aabria, Brennan, and Matt in the stained glass pictures while Zerxus is retelling of his friends during the Calamity is phenomenal.

"Do you want your family here?" Damn Pike. Get him.

"We all have blindspots." I refuse to believe that wasn't a deliberate reference to Ashley's show. Especially after Scanlan's reference to Phoenix Wright a few episodes ago.

I need a mini-series of Zerxus life in Hell please.

Ep. 5

Kima and Allura being badass is always a plus. I want a mini-series of their adventuring days.

I wish they had included Scanlan slaying the pit fiend with Mythcarver. It was one of the only times Scanlan used his sword and we got one hell of a cutting words song from it. And also no one but Keyleth saw his victory which would've added to the "Scanlan is not appreciated enough" story.

"Let's get weird." I love that they throw in the various player phrases too. Not just the one-liners from characters, but the actual quirks of the players at the table that span all characters.

Kaiju battle! The only thing missing is Pike's Divine Intervention punching Vorugal out of the sky.

The Magnificent Mansion baby!

Ep. 6

Chateau Shorthalt! Love it.

Okay, but the cannonball contest is one of my favourite downtime moments. I know it was probably passed over for time, but I'd love to see it animated.

Oh god, the bath scene. I knew they wouldn't pass it over just because of how everyone reacted to that moment, but I wasn't sure how they were going to do it. Welp. Here we are. Fucking hilarious as always.

I love these moments of character bonding so much. I know we can't have as many of them in the series as in the game, but it's good that they include at least a few.

Oh this scry is rough... Scanlan is not well.

Well shit. I didn't think he'd leave at that moment. Though I do like that Pike both knows and encourages it because Ashley wasn't there for this whole thing. Sam said that if she'd been there Pike would've been the only one that could've convinced him to stay. I'm really curious if we're still going to get the "What is my mother's name?" breakdown.

Are Kash and Zahra going to return? I know they were there for at least part of this lead up to Thordak.

I really love how these different battles are choreographed. I love that they can combo and support each other's abilities now that initiative order doesn't need to be tracked.

General

I'm really enjoying this season so far. So many important character things are happening both independently and as a group.

I don't necessarily love the pacing, but I also understand that condensing a 500 hour campaign into seasons that are about 4.5 hours long total is a fucking behemoth of a task. Like even if we go two more seasons, that's only 20-25 hours total. So much has to be cut and reworked to make a coherent story.

[ardienothesieno]

I agree, you should talk more about DND here

i would be honored to talk about D&D here

i don't want to go to deep into the details of the campaign without getting permission from my DM, but i have been taking notes on each session so far... >:)

this is the first full campaign i've been in and it has been INCREDIBLE so far. i've had the luck to have both an amazing DM and already the coolest freaking storyline (AND WE'RE ONLY ON SESSION 4. THE REAL STORY APPARENTLY HASNT EVEN STARTED YET.)

it's almost entirely homebrew because. well. it's in space. IT'S A FREAKING SCI-FI FUTURISTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR CAMPAIGN AND WE'VE ALMOST DIED SO MANY TIMES ALREADY AND AHHHHHGGFGB IT'S. SO. COOL.

and. just from the sessions we've had already. AUGHHHHH i'm going insane and bouncing off the walls and rampantly theorizing about parallel realities and geeking out over giant factories and being thrown into leading all the big crucial decisions and ACK

my character is named Theo! he's a robot. but nobody knows he's a robot. he's a very... inconspicuous robot! of course if you hang around them for more then a couple minutes you will notice that they're a bit. off. not quite right... not quite human.

he's on this mission (the one that the campaign is centered around) because he has the alternate motive of looking for his little sister! who went missing seventeen years ago and no one has heard from her since... until a very distorted and broken message comes in from the far reaches of space... from where no one has gone before... hmmm...

it's been so fun and chaotic and amazing and as soon as I get permission to talk about it more then HOOOO BOY. you guys will have to bear witness to my insanity lol

[frenchy-and-the-sea]

KICKS DOWN DOOR. multiples of 3 for the oc ask meme (for tritchett OR val)

WAHHH THAT IS MANY!!! Thank you!! I will do Odds for Val and Evens for Tritchet. :>

Val

3. weapon of choice? any particular reason they chose their weapon?

HER TRIDENT!! God, she misses her trident. She loves polearms, both for the reach and the versatility, and while she'll be the first to admit that handling a sword alongside a shield is much easier, she feels like her trident was sort of her calling card! It's what people remembered!

She originally chose it because she spent a good long while on a monster hunting ship pre-campaign, and ended up favoring a harpoon. The trident seemed a natural choice when she stumbled across one while back on shore, and she kept it...basically until my DMs put a dragon slaying sword in front of her that was just TOO powerful to leave behind.

9. favorite food? least favorite? are they a picky eater? do they have any dietary restrictions

Val is a terrifically simple woman; she will pick a handful of fresh blackberries over just about anything else. At this point, most of the love for them is simple nostalgia. She spent a lot of her youth getting scratched to shit while digging the little bastards out of the wild bushes that she and her family found, and now they are a taste of simpler, better times.

That said, her simple taste means that she's also not particularly adventurous? She's kind of a simple eater, which means she's kind of a picky eater, and she is hyper sensitive to sweet things, which she actively dislikes. Her family were wandering tradesfolk, so she grew up on road food, and I'm very sure it absolutely destroyed her sense of taste LMAO.

15. how big or small is their family? who did they live with growing up? do they live with anyone now?

Oh, very small, if we're talking blood family. She grew up almost exclusively with her parents, and with the occasional visit from her very cool, definitely-not-part-of-a-thieves-guild uncle, and almost no one else. She has...met...her aunt on her mother's side, and her cousin, but since her mother passed, Val has felt no urge to reconnect with them.

Her parents passed something like eight years before the campaign began, and she is under the (incorrect) impression that her uncle is also gone, so at this point? Her family is this group of weirdos that she took up with on a whim. And she loves them so, so much.

21. their favorite place to be?

ON THE ROAD!!! Anywhere on the road!! Traveling is her hobby, her passion, and her oath!! Val took up with the god of travelers a few months back and pledging herself to his cause has only renewed her sense of peace and joy while traveling the world's highways. She LOVES the outdoors, and she loves helping people love them too.

It's really no wonder she fell in love with a druid.

27. if applicable, do they have a favorite sport? do they play any sports or prefer to watch?

Val has never sat down to watch a particular sport in canon, but I could see her being a soccer nut. God. Actually, now that I say it out loud, I'm so afraid that she would be obsessed with soccer. Not to play, naturally. She's not that dexterous. But to WATCH....

33. if applicable, how would your other characters describe them? i mean specifically the people around them.

STRONG. A huge sap. Bit of a goody-two-shoes. A little too overprotective for the sort of bullshit they get into. Cheesy and fond of really stupid jokes. Willing to throw down for any one of the idiots she's traveling with at the drop of a hat. Hot.

(She is deeply embarrassed by this last one.)

Tritchet

6. how do they wear their hair? do they care a lot how their hair looks?

Tritchet has worn her hair short since leaving home, and she will probably keep it short forever. It just makes sense! She is usually trying to cultivate a very specific Look, and thus cares a lot about how her hair looks at almost any given time. Cutting it off means it's less of a hassle for her to manage. She also just thinks long hair is kind of silly when you're jumping around all over the place in a fight.

12. how long have they been around? do you know their birthday? is their birthday the day you made them or another day? what do they think of celebrating birthdays?

Tritchet has been around since...2022? Ish? Her birthday is canonically on November 17th (thank you FFXIV for saving that data for me so I can remember) and she is very keen to let almost no one else know about it! She loves to be the center of attention, yes, but she thinks that attention just because she happened to be born on a specific day is very silly.

That said, she will absolutely go all in for someone ELSE'S birthday. That's all fair game!

18. their opinion on lying, stealing, and killing?

Lying - something that happens, but that she would be devastated to find out happened to her. She takes being lied to VERY personally, and certain people who have done it in the past *coughcough*Urianger*coughcough* have had to claw their way back into her good graces.

Stealing - generally bad, but not wholly damning. She actively doesn't support the idea of stealing to get by, since she spends a lot of time with struggling craftsfolk and traders for whom their business is their life, but folks that are starving need coin too, y'know? She won't ENTIRELY hold that against them, even if she will try and step in to stop them.

Killing - something that she would love to avoid overall, but that tends to run rampant in her line of work. Tritchet values freedom intrinsically, and will do her damnedest to avoid handing down a consequence that you can't walk back. But...she's also not going to roll over in a fight. And in the case of Zenos, it was a matter of giving him plenty of fuckin chances before he forced her and her sisters' hands.

24. do they have any creative hobbies? (art, writing, music, etc)

Goldsmithing! Tritchet likes the fiddly little work it calls for. It calms her down and gives her something to laser focus on. :> She also likes making accessories for herself that are totally one-of-a-kind, and she finds that it makes gift giving SO much easier. Typically, if you find her sitting still for a long period of time, it is because there is food involve, or because she's working on a Project.

30. do they smell like anything notable?

There is a...fairly notable scent of warm scales that comes about whenever the weather gets hot. Tritchet got a pretty nasty wound during the end of Endwalker that was compensated for by Dragoon Shit, which left her with a sizeable patch of scaling that healed up over the scar. So she gets a touch of Warm Lizard smell during the warmer months. It's one of those things that SHE hasn't really picked up on yet, and that she would be absolutely mortified to find out about.

Present company has yet to mind, though. :>

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 66

Stray Gods? Ooooh ... yeah, that does look pretty cool. And yeah, shout-out indeed to our own girls on board! And ... oh boy, here we go ... Sam's singing ... great ... and it's bloody awful as always ... that's it, Sam, make my ears bleed ...

Yes, last Candela Obscura ep coming SOON ... but I heard it's only the FIRST story, apparently there are more on the way?

Oh sweet, Daggerheart? Cool. Can't wait ...

And so we begin. Again. And I'm like STUPID excited about this one ...

Yay! Zephrah! Sweet! I've missed this place ...

And yes, Orym is home ... I'm so happy for our boy ... super nostalgia for him ...

Wow, that's a SHIT roll for Chetney's sense of smell, Travis ...

Strength Save? Already? Gah ... roll good, guys ...

It fucken wimdy ... and now we're losing THREE OF OUR PEOPLE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!

Oh, so it's just a welcoming committee? Sort of?

Yes! Hello Orym, yes, he's a welcome defuser of tension, definitely.

Maeve? Half-elf? Wait ... HIS SISTER?!!! Really? Awesome! Awwwww ... hello, cutie! :3

Take forms? Oh, so she's a druid? Cool! I mean yeah, of course she is, but still ... COOL!!!

There's a Nexus close? Crap ...

Whoa ... Maeve was AT THE BATTLE!!! Okay then ... and now it's all fucken CRAZY ... yeah, it would be ...

No communication with Whitestone? Crap ... but not unexpected ... and folk got scattered? Again, not a surprise ...

YOUR mom ... oh, so she was WILL's sister ... yeah, I get it. But slso awwww ...

No, I'm ahead of you, FCG. They're IN-LAWS.

Yeah, he was in love, very much ... and my heart's breaking all over again just remembering ...

Matt once again reminding us that Zephrah is one of the most beautiful places in all of Exandria ...

Maeve (regarding Laudna): "Is that her? She looks cooler than I thought." Awwwww ... :3

More reunions ... yeah ... awkward ... but yeah, hello Leeta ...

Red dragon? Thordak, yeah ... cool ... Nice trip down Campaign 1 memory lane ...

KEYLETH!!! Yay!

FCG tries to bow and just faceplants cuz he ain't got knees ...

Ouch ... that's gotta hurt ... that looks NASTY ...

Oh yeah! THE Staff! Nice!

Yup, just as we thought, it's that nasty shit poison again ... a remedy? Blue Perennium flower? Oh boy ... no, not LIKE THAT!!! Matt is irritated by the smutty jokes that now ensue and I don't blame him ... oh, how many PCs is he gonna kill for this? XD

So this COULD heal her? Oh yes ... so ... quest time again, maybe?

It grows in places marked by strife? Hmmmm ...

So there are THREE others hurt like her? Two dozen more dead? Ouch ...

The last thing SHE saw ... yeah, OF COURSE it was Vax ... this is gonna be hurting her WAY worse than her wounds ...

The white light? Hmmm ... so what, Illianna might have sent them all away to SAVE THEM? Interesting ...

Ah yes ... so here we go ... revealing Imogen's connection indeed ... Keyleth: "But you're here to help?" Oh yes ...

So the Ruby Vanguard are OPENLY recruiting now? That can't be good ...

Orym: "I've been struggling with the blood in my eye for weeks now. I've never been so fucking angry!" Oof ...

Keyleth: "Sometimes it's just what you need, so don't let go of that anger. Learn how to use it."

Orym: "I promise you I'll give you every last breath to make this right."

Keyleth: "Together we'll rain the fury of every power in Exandria down on these ... shitheads."

Get hold of the toxin, reverse engineer an antidote? Smart, Chetney, smart.

Yeah, Keyleth never really had that much to do with the gods, generally.

"The Ascension and the Sealing". Oh yeah ... so cool ...

Letting the Voice of the Tempest rest, then ...

Laudna: "We dropped the airship." Leeta: "That was you? That was GREAT!!!" Yeah ... :3

Ah yes, finding out what happened after they all got shunted away at last ...

27 ... Whispers! Yay! What's Leeta hiding, Fearne?

Wait, MOLES? Really? Like another Bor'Dor situation? Hmmmm ...

Thollo? Okay ...

The Scattered War of Gwessar? Intriguing ... so the Grey Valley is ... a creepy, fucked up place ... sounds about right. And apparently this is the SAFEST place for them go look for the flower? Ye gods ...

Liam: "We all know what you WANT to hear, Travis Willingham." XD

The Hishari helmet? Intriguing ... oh, here we go, then ... so Ashton COULD finally get some answers after this? Cool ...

So, going to meet Orym's mum ... sweet ...

Home sweet home! Cottagecore? Cute! :3

Awwwwwwwww ... she's the sweetest mum ever, hi Alma! Oh yeah, she DOES know Fearne already. And she's definitely fascinated by FCG ...

Oh yeah, Laudna does love her some biscuits ...

Oh, intriguing, the possibility that Chetney might hit on Alma ... XD

Such a lovely cosy place, I love it ...

Muffins? Really? Cool ...

No stealing stuff, Fearne. "I would never steal from a mother." Okay then ...

Yum! Freshly baked goodies! Yay!

Alma: "I worry about you, Orym. You carry a lot of weight on your face."

Whoa ... the Ashari have means to delay births to prevent babies from becoming Ruidusborn? Intriguing ...

Alma:"Just don't be a hero if you don't have to." Orym: "I just do what I have to, mom."

So Orym was a truly TINY baby? I mean OF COURSE he would have been ... awwww, the cavalcade of baby memento-based embarrassment for Orym, I love it ... XD

Recipes to go for FCG? Adorable ...

Chetney's carved a little wooden Orym for her? That's so cute ... is this Chet flirting? Wait ... Orym ACTUALLY HAD C-POP toys when he was little? Oh my gods ...

Orym: "Did you invent Optimus Prime?" Chetney: "I killed him, too." LOL

FCG trying to work out if Orym looks a little like Chetney ... 4 perception roll? Yeah ...

To Torth's shop for fresh armour, now ...

Sage and herbs in the metal AS IT'S BEING TEMPERED?!!! Intriguing ...

Old Fanny Z? Hmmmm ...

Oh, this place looks FASCINATING ... oh, and Fanny is too ... wow ... oh yeah, she is just FABULOUS, definitely ... XD

Fanny: "Anti-hero chic?" Oh yes ... that's perfect Ashton, definitely ...

Marisha: "Whitestone's for lovers, Zephrah's for fuckers." LOL

Meanwhile Laudna's flying Pate on a string like a kite. Pate: "Hey, there's a big hawk up here, circling! I think he wants to be friends!" O.O

Big-ass backpack? Okay ... so they need to fill THIS with the flowers ...

Oh boy ... a shit ton of healing potions ... NEVER a good sign of things to come ...

Whoa ... so Orym's fighting style is like THE regimental style of Zephrah? That's so cool ...

Maeve can do the tree portal thing too? That's so cool!

Matt: "And we're gonna go to break!"

Oh, so they're actually Blue Perennum flowers? Ah ... so basically Matt dug his own grave there ...

Liam: "I'm just glad we don't have to find some Taintweed." Snort ...

Always nice to get to see a pair of Jesters drawing little cartoon dicks in the air ... XD

Back to the game ... and the Grey Valley ... hmmmmm ...

The smell of ash and BURNED FAT?!!! That's not, like, foreboding at all ...

The whole place is COMPLETELY monochrome ... fascinating ... in a really creepy way ...

Perception check for blue flowers ... 30? Fucking hell Orym ... no joy, though. Not here ...

FCG doing a Divination spell on the inside of Orym's shield to find the way from the Changebringer ... oh ... is it working? Intriguing ... cool, another genuine divine visitation ... ooooooh ... and a marker? Cool ... go west, young man!

Chetney trying to get a read on the burned fat smell ... what ... a Religion check? Hmmmm ... oh, it's a smell of demons? Oh shit ... not great ...

Hello again, Pate ... he turns invisible and goes looking for possible demons and blue flowers ...

Single file, to hide their numbers ... and Pass Without A Trace? Okay ... sneaky sneaky ...

Lightning split trees? Yeesh ...

Bits of tarnished metal? Hmmmm ... that's suspicious ... not fresh, at least, but ...

So it's a helmet ... with a skull still in it? Not good ...

Nothing inherently fancy about any of it ...

Pate sees fuck all ... with a Nat 1 ... oof ...

FCG casts Death Ward on Orym in order to make sure they can get him back to his mum ...

Something's flying in ... TWO somethings, in fact ... bug and black ... black SMOKE?!!! Oh hell ... they don't spot thd party, but ... creepy ...

Chetney climbing a big rock to get a look round ...

Smells like a volcano? Lovely ... that's not a good sign ... and part of the forest is smoking ... great ...

Everybody's doing Pate impressions while Matt looks stuff up ... it's adorable. XD

Oh, the TREES are smoking? Hmmmm ...

FCG casts Owl's Wisdom on Fearne? Intriguing ...

Orange glow under the tree bark? Hmmmm ... FCG casts Detect Thoughts ... nothing in particular ...

Some kind of potential damage site? Hmmmm ...

An ash MARSH?!!! Seriously? Urgh ... hard going now ... no surprise there ...

Back onto solid ground without incident ... phew ... or not ... some kind of ancient battlefield now ... lovely ...

Something got badly charred here ... and there's some kind of dark crater? Hmmm ... AND there are flowers ... okay ... is it a trap?

Bollocks ... turns out Pate is colourblind ... THAT'S not exactly useful for finding the flowers ...

Pate land on the bush ... and falls into it. "They're thorny!"

Chetney goes in to try and see what's what ... and starts doing an English accent when he finds himself interacting with Pate.

So THESE are the flowers ... BINGO!!! Chetney starts cutting blooms, also casts Hunter's Bane just in case ... and he gets a little prickle of SOMETHING ... hmmmm ...

Oh fuck ... some of the bodies start moving ... great, it's undead time ... and there's something else there too ...

Okay, this thing definitely SOUNDS like a demon ...

Chetney pretends he doesn't actually see this thing znd starts to nonchalantly walk away ... yeah, this thing ain't convinced at all ...

Oh yeah ... "Roll initiative." HERE WE GO!!!

Battlemap time! Wow, that shit is BLEAK!!!

Top of the round, then ...

Here come the undead! Aaaaaaaah! Chetney's under attack ... crap, and he is now GRAPPLED ... oh shit, they're Ashari! It's some of the missing warriors!

Chetney: "Nuke us!" FCG: "I'm a healer! I don't Nuke!" Chetney: "Bring the falling fire!"

FCG casts Compulsion and they both FAIL!!! Now they're dragging Chetney through the nasty ashen mud ...

Imogen's up ... Laura has a very dubious plan ... Watery Sphere? Interesting ... she tries it on the demon ... a strength save? 17 plus more ... nuts ... then she uses her Telekinetic Shove to try snd free Chetney ... nope, it's like FREAKISHLY strong ...

The demon just SINKS INTO THE GROUND ... andnow it's FUCKING CLOSE to them all ... CRAAAAAAAP!!! A Soul Rend Vortex? WHAT THE FUCK?!!!

38 points of Necrotic damage to Orym and FCG, 19 to Fearne ... ouch!

Ashton RAGES!!! YEAH!!! Yeah, he's making some crazy gravitational wave as he charges the thing ... Density Well? So cool ... BOOM!!! 18 points of bludgeoning damage AND it's knocked prone ... AND some fire damage? 8 points! Nice .. but it's fiendish, so not yhat much of zn effect ... another attack ... another 19 points of damage because it's BIGGER than he is? Awesome ...

Orym performs a Disarming Attack to free Chetney ... yes! Success! AND 11 damage on the undead! Second hit ... only 8 points more? Not so good ...

Oh man ... Orym KNEW this guy? Crap ...

Chetney wolfs out ... he charges and while taking damage from the undead (8 Necrotic) as he moves away, inflicts LESS damage on the demon within ice attack than he'd like ... hmmm ... how CAN they kill this thing?

Fearne speaks Infernal? Of course she does ... "Stop it!" And here comes Mister ...

Laudna casts Mirror Image on herself, then ... oh man, that is HORRIFYING ... oh! Hey! It's the wolf! Laura is DEEPLY impressed! Matt: "That's your girlfriend!"

Here we go ... the wolf attacks the demon ... 14 piercing damage! Nice!

Oh crap ... now there are creepy shadow wraiths coming out of the marsh... great ...

A TOTAL MISS on Imogen! Phew ... now Ashton ... Erratic Defence? What is THAT?!!! Cuts it down to 11 points of Necrotic damage, but Fearne's fancy aura softens it ... now he's just chucking one of the wraiths around ...

An attack on FCG ... but Silvery Barbs from Laudna AND Fearne's spell saves the day AGAIN!!!

Undead longbow attack? Really? Both miss, though ... but the other one hits Orym with its sword ... crap!

Orym strikes back HARD!!! 15 points of damage! Nice ...

Spiritual Weapon from FCG ... a chainsaw? Really? Crazy ... attack on the undead! 7 points of radiant damage? Hmmm ... not THAT impressive ...

Imogen tries to get the Watery Sphere to actually DO SOMETHING this time ... okay, that's more like it ... ooh ... 4th Level Lightning Bolt AND it's Quickened by Ashton? Wow ... double hit INCLUDING the demon ... okay ... NINE D6 OF DAMAGE?!!! Fucking hell ... 24 points ... wow ...

Demon boy VANISHES again and reappears in front of Fearne? NO!!! Shit ... 10 slashing damage PLUS 13 Necrotic? Oof ... second attack CRITS ... 13 slashing and 21 Necrotic? AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! Damn, that hurts ...

Soul Rend? Crap ... EVERYBODY but FCG has to save ... oh man, this is all round SO BAD ... pain all round, but SOMEHOW Fearne still maintains her concentration ...

Ashton hits HARD on one of the wraiths ... POW!!!

Orym jumps over Mister and charges in to pull Bait and Switch on Fearne, then attacks the demon! POW!!! 18 points of damage all round! Oh shit ... another Ashari inside the demon? Not good ...

Chetney tries to just JUMP attack the demon ... in the end just GRAPPLES it ... okay ... second attack then ... still not that heavy with the ice damage ... hmmm ...

Fearne casts Daylight right on its chest ... oh shit! Oh, and that HURTS IT BAD!!! Nice! AND it repels EVERYTHING!!! Okay, then!

Mister chucks some flaming shit! XD 7 points of damage ... meh ...

FORM OF DREAD!!! YES!!! Always awesome ... Laudna sends Pate into the Watery Sphere and then twins a Shocking Grasp through him ... NAT 20!!! Oh shit! Pate: "Special delivery!" She electrocutes the guy ... and gets the HDYWTDT!!! Nice ... oh shit ... TWO kills? Way to go, dead girl!

Now the wolf attacks the demon again ... 11 damage! Sweet!

Undead attack on Fearne! Crap ... Laudna casts Silvery Barbs, but it still hits ... 12 slashing damage! Double crap ... and she's unconscious! NO!!!

FCG casts Mass Cure Wounds! Phew! 16 points all round! Nice! Fearne's back up!

Buzzsaw attack from FCG! Oh, Divine Strike? No ... ALMOST killed that zombie ...

Imogen chucks a 4th Level Witchbolt at the demon ... 42 points of damage ... and she gets the HDYWTDT!!! YESSSSSSS!!! Oh yeah, she full on LIGHTS THIS FUCKER UP!!! Oh yeah, the demon is TOAST.

For the sake of brevity, Matt lets the rest of the thralls die ... yeah, seems fitting ...

Orym finds a fading spirit within the demon's body ... oh man ... it's tragic, but bittersweet ... at least he gets to put her to rest in the end.

Ah, they at least found enough flowers before they died to fill a 3rd of the satchel ... cool. Meanwhile Orym's looking for personal effects, then performs last rites in the Ashari manner.

Moody, mournful wind ... hmmm ...

Matt: "And that's where we're gonna end the night."

All round, EVERYBODY is in awe of Ashley saving the day so it wasn't a TPK ...

[diana-fortyseven]

HITMAN SPRING ROADMAP 2023

Here's the full blogpost!

Details and my thoughts on them under the cut!

Elusive Targets, cool cool, happy for those who started late and still need to unlock the suits.

I'm also kinda happy to see a return of Featured Contracts, they're fun to figure out. Curated Contracts too, nice nice.

Paris and Sapienza as free locations is amazing for me, because that means I can take nice photos with NVIDIA Ansel. I don't own the game on PC. I'll definitely get a lot of use out of this!

Let's talk about MAY.

First patch for HITMAN WoA is coming in May.

Patch 3.150 will feature a bunch of fixes that has been reported by our community and we're adding a lot of QoL improvement to the whole game in general. Among all the fixes is the known issue regarding GPU memory leak (VRAM). This patch will also have many tweaks, fixes, adjustments and QoL improvements specifically for HITMAN Freelancer. Full patch notes and more information will come closer to May 11.

Can't wait for the patch notes to learn more about the QoL updates for the whole game. (But of course I'm also looking forward to a more balanced version of Freelancer)

New HITMAN Challenge: Boom Beats Blah w. unlock.

What will explode shortly after being thrown, but is also sharp enough to kill on impact? The exploding Pen, that’s what. On May 11, this very useful pen can be yours after you complete the new challenge called Boom Beats Blah where you need to Eliminate Craig Black with an explosion while he is reading. Poetic?

Yes, poetic! Thank you! I love new challenges in this game, this one sounds fun and it's something 47 would actually do, aaaand I'm happy to see a return of the original Exploding Pen! 10/10!

HITMAN Freelancer Challenge: The HITMAN w. unlock

On May 11 we also add an awesome unlock to the HITMAN Freelancer challenge “The HITMAN”. Here the task is relatively straight forward, however not easy. You need to complete a Freelancer campaign with the Hardcore Mode Enabled. When you’re successful, you’ll unlock The Black Bruiser Suit. Maybe the most appropriate suit to wear after a full hardcore campaign. If you’ve already completed "The HITMAN Challenge “in HITMAN Freelancer, you’ll automatically get the suit unlocked and added to your inventory when it becomes available.

I love this suit omg omg omg. Finally a reason to play Hardcore Mode, apart from just completing the trophy collection upstairs. This just increased my willingness to put up with Hardcore by 470%!

Contracts Mode Enabled on the ICA Training Facility.

From May 11 you can turn your favorite training yacht into your very own playground. We’re enabling Contracts mode on the ICA Training Facility. Get cracking, in this relatively safe entermeted.

Ahh that's so cool! Only the yacht though? I'm a moron, I completely forgot we already had contracts mode on the Final Test. xD

THE ROAD AHEAD

We’re just getting started, look forward to more Year 3 versions of Elusive Targets, as well as a chance to catch up on any Years 2 targets you may have missed. In addition, we will be introducing new unlocks, challenges, and a fresh escalation for you to sink your teeth into. We'll also be rolling out game patches throughout the year packed with fixes, tweaks and QoL improvements. Keep in mind that some details may change as this is a tentative production plan, but this timeline should give you a good sense of what's to come in HITMAN World of Assassination in the months ahead.

Now this is interesting!

We'll get a new challenge with unlocks every month!

November will also give us contracts mode on Holiday Hoarders and Snow Festival! That's dope!

Really looking forward to all of this!

Thank you IOI, I love you!

[youngster-monster]

real talk you WOULD be a really good writer for blizzard theres more conciseness in your fics than there is in the actual official lore, i spent like 2 hours one time trying to figure out how old illidan was and i STILL cant get a clear answer

i actually hadnt watched wc3, but since you mentioned it i thought i might finally get around to watching it because Why Not and .. no yeah you were right kael is so obsessed with him there. he is so funny for that

i cant play ffxiv because i fear what the double mount collecting opportunities will do to my brain as if itll like turn me into a shrimp or something. mmorpgs are crazy dangerous forreal

also the best part about recent content- or like. recent...ish... it was in shadowlands and now we're in dragonflight and i still dont know whats happening but kael AND vashj showed up in shadowlands and they had BANTER!!!!! i was going absolutely nuts about it it was great. i miss them (can replay shadowlands at any time)

devastated that neither of them had a Massive role in shadowlands though. i remember prior to launch i found out they would both make an appearance and i just about went feral abt it but then they only really appeared in covenant campaign stuff.. and not even for the full campaigns.. and also only for like two of them... i will never get over this ever

oh illidan's age is really easy! he was already a few thousand years old during the war of the ancients so... that's not right... no he was a baby when... wait a minute... (checks notes) (increasingly frantic riffling of paper) yeah okay so he's anywhere between 10,001 year old and Old As Balls, hope that helps

that's very sweet of you to say though. my secret is that when i make a story choice i try to stick to it and make it work even when my understanding of the universe changes with time :)

(@ blizzard's "rule of cool" i am COMING for you)

also bold take to call my fics 'concise'... i AM looking at a few thousand words of completely unrelated worldbuilding that i snuck into this soulmate au but thank you for the vote of confidence <3

i'm SO GLAD you gave w3 a try!!! it's my favorite warcraft content for many reasons (nostalgia and 'best and only correct kael characterization ever' first and foremost) and it's SO funny like kael truly abandoned kin and country to go on a gay vacation to space mojave with some hunk he found in a ditch. iconic.

(also arthas' arrival to lordaeron is branded permanently into my brain, kid me was so in love with his undead ass it's not even funny)

you should play ffxiv tho... it will absolutely turn you into a shrimp but in a good way. you would not BELIEVE the amount of elves they're hiding in there. also the free trial including-- (i am dragged offstage by a comically long hook)

KAEL AND VASHJ BANTER.... god that's the dream. #1 item on my wow wishlist at all times. rare blizz w for that one now release more kael and vashj content PLEASE

they had to shove illidan in space forever because my level of normalcy about the whole thing would have risen to truly unsafe levels if they had had even the SLIGHTEST Possibility of interacting post-legion

[dungeonsandblorbos]

Welcome and Tag Masterlist

hello and welcome! i love playing TTRPGs, and as it says in the bio, i have Too Many Thoughts about my PCs from my various campaigns to keep them to myself anymore. so i made this sideblog to infodump about my beloved PC blorbos!

as a general note, this is not a family-friendly blog. there's a lot of adult language, adult themes, and written descriptions of TTRPG violence that can at times get pretty gorey. i do tag potential triggers by the specific post and try hide more triggering parts of posts under cuts, but i am only one human. please feel free to let me know (either publicly or privately) if i missed a trigger tag or if there is something you would like me to tag for!

also please feel free to send me asks about any of the characters or campaigns, or even just TTRPG things in general. i love these topics and will gladly take any opportunity to chat about them!

finally. there's a lot of blorbos on this blog, and a lot of NPCs, and a lot of campaigns, and a lot of tags, so under the cut here is a handy little guide to help keep them all straight!*

*disclaimer: nothing and no one here is straight. i am incapable of making characters and stories that aren't queer and so are most of the people i play with.

without further ado, the campaigns! i will probably be redoing my campaign intros and character intros at some point, and will add the links for those once completed. these are listed as Campaign Title, System Used, in reverse chronological order.

Curse of Strahd, DnD 5e my current obsession. this is a heavily homebrewed version of Curse of Strahd (like, we're talking a good 80% or more homebrew) DMed by my husband, @somethingclevermahogony. it's all of your dark queer gothic horror dreams come true! this campaign is just absolutely chalk full of dead doves like body horror, child abuse and death (almost entirely off-screen), animal cruelty, body horror, gallows humor, cannibalism, oh my god so much gore, and body horror. but don't let that get you down; there's also a lot of very funny and very heartwarming moments in this campaign and the worldbuilding our DM does is so fucking cool. this is also technically two campaigns, as we have both a present day game with two PCs, based on the Curse of Strahd book, and a prequel campaign with just me as a player, which delves into some of the history around when Barovia was first closed off from the rest of Faerun, roughly 400 years before the main campaign. in the present day, i play a human tempest cleric named Cerris Dalca Tempescu, who is just so very very tired. our other PC is Shalden Broadfist, a purple half-orc paladin who serves a desert worm cult. our party is rounded out with a couple of NPCs; Vasillica, a flesh golem made out of pieces of the bodies and souls of at least a dozen different people by an insane angel, and Milo, an adorable little klepto halfling boy who used to be the Bagman and still has Bagman powers. in the prequel, i play Kire Dalca, a human eldritch knight fighter who came to Barovia as part of the original war effort against Strahd and then got trapped in Barovia. coincidentally, she's Cerris's many many greats aunt and she's also so very very tired (and maybe pregnant shhh). the tag for the present day campaign is #curse of strahd homebrew, and the prequel is #curse of strahd prequel, and you can find them both or general CoS things under #curse of strahd. recurring character tags include #cerris tempescu for my cleric, #shalden broadfist for my companion PC, #ireena my beloved for (of course) the brilliant NPC Ireena Kolyana, #meow meow milo and #the bagman for Milo, and #kire dalca for my fighter. pretty soon there will also probably be tags for the secondary PCs we made as backup characters in case our first PCs die, as they have actually both been introduced in canon now.

Hot Gay Pirates in Your Area! Avatar Legends: The RPG my other current campaign, with my college TTRPG group (which includes my husband as a player). it's set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, during the era of Kyoshi. specifically, it's late summer in 250BG (Before Genocide). there are some promised darker elements, as well as a lot of enemy deaths, due to the nature of this campaign, but overall it's a very fun, chaotic, and queer story! we play as a party of pirates/smugglers on a small ship called The Confusion, working for the Ruike clan, a coastal Fire Nation crime family. our total ship crew currently numbers 10, with four PCs, but it might very well get bigger given that we started with a crew of 9. i play Aila Ruike, granddaughter of the head of the clan and heir apparent after her father. she serves as The Confusion's sort of second in command, and is a talented firebender and swordswoman, though she's much better at environmental control and defense than offense. she's stoic and stern and kind of mean in a hot way, and has two priorities in life: upholding her family honor and taking care of her team. my husband plays Bo of the Foggy Swamp Tribe, a waterbender who ran away from home to avoid the pressures and responsibility of leadership. he's flirty and silly and a little bit vicious in battle (his bending style is based on the US "boxing" style rough-and-tumble), and pretends to be a lot dumber than he actually is. we also have Onartok of the Southern Water Tribe, a sweet but naïve waterbender prince who, like Bo, ran away from home to avoid the pressures of leadership. before joining the crew, he was "roommates" with Aila's cousin Jai. and finally, the enigmatic Lì, a former EK child soldier who ran away from the army and is now a fabulous genderfluid pirate who goes off on violent side-quests with Aila while the waterbenders are doing nice people side-quests. tags for this campaign include #hot gay pirates in your area!, #our ship is called the confusion for a reason, #atla, and #aila ruike.

Acquisitions, Incorporated: Cauldron & Kettle Questing Company, DnD 5e this was our second campaign with our college TTRPG group, and was a fun romp set in the world of Acquisitions, Inc., an actual play podcast by Penny Arcade based around the idea of "classic adventuring parties but make it capitalism." it was primarily played out of the official Acquisitions, Inc., playbook, with some additional homebrew expansions and a nice little extra homebrew arc on the end that introduced us to the incredible chaos of the D10,000 wild magic table. we played as the Cauldron & Kettle Questing Co., a subsidiary branch of the larger Acq Inc. corporation, based in Phandalin. at our branch, we also owned a tea shop named the Cauldron & Kettle Cafe, and we had a steam-powered teapot-shaped vehicle dubbed the Tea Trolley. this campaign accidentally ended up going very hard on the found family vibes. i played Jun Vyardes, a half-elf light cleric/bard, travelling priestess of the fire and revelry goddess Vestia. she's very devoted to her found family, and after a life of wandering, is finally starting to learn how to settle down and grow roots. my husband played Tim Cobbletoss, a half-orc barbarian primarily raised by a blind halfling woman, so in personality he's basically a british grandma with occasional anger issues. he and Jun share a human father we affectionately referred to as Daddy Bard, who is such a terrible father that complaining about him is actually part of how these two started bonding. we also had Briny (played by the same person as Onartok), a goblinoid blood hunter who likes shells and the ocean and gambling even though they don't actually know anything about gambling; and Taku (played by the same person as Lì), a whooping crane aarakocra monk who is very smart and powerful and unfortunately also fragile, and whom Jun regarded as a little brother and became very protective of. tags for this campaign include #acquisitions incorporated, #Cauldron & Kettle Questing Co., #bard is only one letter away from bad (for Daddy Bard nonsense), #jun vyardes, and #tim and jun.

The Orphic Uprising and The Amazonomachy, Cypher these were two continuous arcs that together formed the first campaign with our college TTRPG group. they were set in the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, so we sometimes refer to them collectively as the PJO campaign. we played as a group of Camp Half-Blood kids, all in their late teens by the end of the story. in The Orphic Uprising, it was a group of four of us sent on a prophecy quest to the Underworld to rescue Dionysus and prevent the children of Nyx's attempted takeover of Olympus. in the Amazonomachy, it was a group of five sent out to prevent the Amazons' attempted takeover of Olympus, because apparently Olympus just cannot catch a break! i played Nina Grayson, daughter of Nike, a talented gymnast, dancer, and rock-climber lowkey obsessed with victory and willing to fight a little dirty if that's what it took to win. i had a lot of fun with her mechanically, as she was basically an unkillable damage- and debuff-dealing machine--she just, ya know, also didn't really have any social skills and was very much a himbo. iconic himbo acts of hers include solving a puzzle by punching a horse statue in the face, getting set on fire and then putting it out by drenching herself in monster blood, solving a locked door problem by punching the lock open, splitting the party to go undercover with the Amazons without telling her friends she was only fake-betraying them, and punching a bitchy goddess so hard it temporarily killed her. i love her. at some point she acquired the nickname Larry. my husband played Chuck Hickey, an Italian-American son of Dionysus who lived on his grandparents' vineyard who really embraced the chaotic side of his godly heritage. silly and goofy but also a talented battle strategist, highly charismatic, and capable of turning into a fire-breathing leopard. cause, ya know, Dionysus. the other character present for both arcs was Beatrice Starveling, a NY-based daughter of Apollo raised by her two gay dads. she was an incredible performer, a true bardic legend, and alongside Chuck, played a key part in helping Nina come out of her shell. for The Orphic Uprising, our final party member was . . . i gotta be honest i don't remember his name, just that he was kind of an obnoxious Mary Sue type son of Aphrodite, who the rest of us all had a grand time poking fun at and complaining about when the player did not return for the second arc. for The Amazonomachy, we welcomed two new players and their PCs, Bryce (played by the same person as Onartok and Briny) and Murph (played by the same person as Lì and Taku). Bryce was a dumbass (affectionate) son of Eros who was sweet and well-meaning but generally clueless, and somehow had really good game with the ladies. Murph was a son of Epimetheus (hindsight), a surfer bro and himbo extraordinaire with amazing luck and an incredible knack for having just the right tool for the job, somehow. tags for this campaign include #confusion crew, #the orphic uprising, #the amazonomachy, and #nina grayson.

North Pines Camp, Monster of the Week, and Grovington College, Demon Hunters: A Comedy of Terrors these two campaigns were my first dives into TTRPGs, both with the same GM and both with slightly altered versions of the same PC for me, so the GM and i had a few fun inside jokes and callbacks during the second one. these were played before i met my husband and before i got good at note-taking, so my memory of them is very hazy. tbh any content posted about these two will be undetailed, completely out of context, and full of holes, but the basic shenanigans are still very fun to look back on. North Pines Camp was a kids' summer camp in ?????, built on top of what used to be monster-hunter training grounds. our PCs were all camp employees, and our main goal was typically to keep the kids safe (or rescue them) from whatever ~monster of the week~ showed up to wreak havoc. there was a deeper mystery element running through it, about what happened to the old monster-hunter camp here, but we never got far enough into the story to really get anywhere with it. Grovington College was a decently sized college with greek life located in Grovington, ?????, USA; it housed a chapter of the Brotherhood, a demon/monster-slaying organization. our PCs were all members of this chapter, tasked with taking care of various demon and monster problems around campus and the town as a whole, in between doing college student/professor things. in these campaigns, i played Indigo Sullivan, a queer psychic with both a caffeine and an attitude problem. technically they were two separate characters for the two campaigns, but like, the version of him that continues to roll around in my head is an amalgam of both PCs plus all the additional things i've tacked onto him as time has gone on. most of those additions can be summed up as "he's now even more queer and has even more problems." tags for these campaigns are #north pines camp, #grovington college, and #indigo sullivan.

and that is all of them, phew! that's a lot thank you for reading this all and please enjoy my blog!

[phazius]

Id say i havent been around tumblr in a bit but really i havent been around anywhere for a bit, kinda fell into a hole but we are gonna work on that. My WoW guild stopped raiding so I get to reclaim that time so maybe we'll see a return of ttrpg recap posts among other things. My mental hasnt been the best but i do attribute that to just being too busy between work, warcraft, and so many ttrpg games, that when i had a bunch of time off from work i feel like i slept about 60% of the time. Either from just depresso, or the immense amount of sleep debt lol.

As for the ttrpg games they are still moving along.

Strength of Thousands: they've started the last part of book 4 and im really looking forward to book 5

Abomination Vaults: nearing the end of "book 1" probably just a session or 2 left there. Just found The Whispering Reeds and still need to following the spectral trail to its conclusion. They did realize how many secrets they missed when the found the blueprints in Volluks lounge lol. Theyve been doing anything that is the obvious plot line lol.

Quest for the Frozen Flame: my understanding is we are getting close to part 3 of book 2 but we'll probably do a bit more hex wandering before tackling that, knowing that its gonna be a dragon lair.

Outlaws of Alkenstar: next session is the start of the end, book 3 part 3. The boss of part 2 would have been insta-killed by a phantasmal killer if the incapcition trait wasn't a thing, instead we got a close boss fight in a cool set piece.

The Saturday game: we're picking up the start of a new mini campaign later today, taking our pirate characters we played from a conversion of Plunder and Peril into kinda continuation a few levels later. More Shenanigans in the Shackles.

We've also got games laid out forever lol. After Outlaws of Alkenstar, that group is gonna be doing Gatewalkers :D and after Quest for the Frozen Flame we're gonna bring back my first Abomination Vaults group for Stolen Fate which should be mostly out by the time we finish.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 8th August

And we're steadily working our back towards "real time", relative to me writing this post :) Summer is properly underway, and this week's songs are (thankfully) a far cry from the mopey drag we got last week - I love a summer hit that actually feels summery, and I think both of these probably count?

Island in the Sun - Harry Belafonte (peaked at Number 3)

Look at the title and artist combination, right there. You know exactly what you're letting yourself into, here - and sure enough, it's a calypso tune about life on a sunny Caribbean island, complete with cheery flutes and some low-key marimba (?) work. Add in a strummy guitar and some vaguely African drumming, and you've got an incredibly chill island vibe already.

Except the lyrics aren't content just to wax lyrical about how lovely the island life is and be done with it. Sure, we've got lines about how All my days I will sing in praise / Of your forest, waters / Your shining sand. But we also get a focus on the hard work that it takes to live there, and the sense of ownership that that creates for Harry, the sense of the island being willed to me by my father's hand, a place where my people have toiled since time begun. It's Harry's island, because it's him and his people who've really put the work into it - and still are doing so, going by lines about Harry's heavy load and his sweat falling to the earth. He joins a cast of characters cutting cane for their families or going out to fish - hard, honest workers, out to tame and tend the island.

You could absolutely do some sort of post-colonial reading of this, of the poverty that the locals seem to be living in, and of Harry's defiant insistence that it's his people's island, that it's a place and a work that's worth taking pride in, despite it all. And you also see the pride in the culture and musical traditions that have sprung up there, especially in the verse where Harry sings about how I hope the day will never come / That I can't awake to the sound of drum / Never let me miss carnival / With calypso songs philosophical. Caribbean music - and calypso, in particular - is portrayed as something profound and worthy of celebrating, even as Harry moves to the US and pursues a career there. It's cool stuff.

I should also mention here that the song is from a film, also called Island in the Sun. And honestly, it sounds pretty awesome - it's about various interracial relationships, and how they all play out on a fictional West Indies island called Santa Marta. Harry's in the film, playing an ambitious young union leader, hence the focus on work in the song, who falls for the widow of the former heir to a local plantation, as one of the many plot threads. And when I say many, I mean it - scanning a synopsis, there appear to be four romances, a murder and subsequent investigation, multiple reveals about key characters' parentages, a whole lot of political campaigning and at least one attempted suicide. So yeah, I'd definitely watch that.

In the film, Harry romances a character played by Joan Fontaine, and apparently she got threats from the KKK as a result. The film wasn't shown throughout parts of the southern US, and the filmmaker eventually had to step in to say he'd pay the fines of any theatre-owner who got in trouble for showing it. So yeah. Definitely a cool film, in a way that makes me like the song considerably more, too. It's going to be a tough one to beat, for sure...

Lucille - Little Richard (10)

Ah. Right.

Gosh, did this song really only make Number 10 in the UK? Further proof that the record-buying public in the UK can have some real dodgy taste, because this song is a certified banger. Words like iconic are overused when talking about music, but if any song merits them, it's this. It's just *chef's kiss* perfect!

The whole song's insistent, driven along by this bass ostinato that just hammers away at this one rhythm, shifting it up a bit occasionally, enough to give the song momentum. Honestly, it sounds like something the Beatles will be getting a load of praise for in about five or six years. Which is almost certainly not a coincidence - heck, they apparently covered the song. Still, it's awesome to see this sort of riff-driven approach a few years "ahead of schedule".

This riffing, combined with the gun-shot drumming, the hammering piano notes and Little Richard's yowling, screeching delivery, gives the whole thing much more of a striaghtforwardly "rock" feel than you'd expect. It's got all the rock and roll hallmarks, sure - we've got a bluesy chord pattern, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it bit with those rock and roll triplets and even some sax for good measure - but overall, it just feels heavier, a bit more aggressive.

And in among all of this, Little Richard, performing like only he seems to be able to, rough and scratchy by turns, then high and squealy, the ends of his lines ticking upwards with a sort of camp abandon. There's a reason that Little Richard's songs always have a bit where the backing drops out and just lets him sing for a line or two - his vocal style and random screaming vocalisations are just that interesting and weird, they easily become the song's star attraction.

Lyrically, it's straightforward, but a bit more emotional and anguished than your typical rock and roll song, with Richard basically begging his wayward woman to come back to him, imploring her: Oh Lucille, please, come back where you belong. It's a straightforward story, and Richard doesn't jazz it up in poetry, or anything. You don't come here for fancy lyrics, you come here for Little Richard selling the emotion of it all. And that he does, line after line after line. As I said at the start, iconic.

I almost feel sorry for Harry Belafonte in this match-up, because I really did like Island in the Sun. But pitted against Lucille, there's really only one song I can pick as a favourite, and it's not Harry's.

Favourite song of the bunch: Lucille

[jaesrri]

My group tends to go in for homebrew worlds, and our DM has a tendency to throw a significant amount of world building at us before character creation. As such I find it best to choose some aspect of the world and deep dive into that, which really gives a lot of opportunities for everything that happens to matter. This works out brilliantly with a DM who enjoys weaving world and characters.

Below the cut are some examples of how this has gone.

Thus in the game where we knew I'd be missing occasionally, @notyourfathersdungeonmaster went, 'ok, so you think you might be feeling cleric? How about the Order of St Altheus, they act kinda like FEMA/the red cross, getting into disaster areas and helping out. That way when you have to miss you're off doing that.' Cool! I can work with that- and so I made Vexation of the Gravehounds, a tabaxi orphaned by an incursion of undead that wiped out her home and who was raised in the order. Near the end of act two I was out two sessions, so Vexi, having become something of a rising star (adventuring will do that) was invited to travel with the head of the order on a peace-making tour. Big honor, very exciting!!! The tour culminated in a special mass for the feast of St Altheus (gift giving holiday) in the city the party had made home base- with Vexi assisting and the party as guests of honor.

After, the head of the order had us meet with him privately and gave us all gifts. The first few were fine, thoughtful and sentimental, but the last few, while sharing those qualities were *also* creepy and sus. When questioned, the father went into a monologue that revealed him to be: a) St Altheus himself, b)a lich, c) incidentally responsible for Vexi's orphaning, and d) THE SHADOWY MASTERMIND WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO COUNTER.

He did the typical 'and you should join me' to which we were like. Uh no. Ends are not justifying the means here. And then he power word killed himself in order to try and start the wars he's been setting up. It was fucking fantastic, Vexi changed subclass, went Martin Luther on the order and caused a schism. Later our wizard managed to kill him by punching his soul-container to pieces with bigby's hand while holding the lich in it's fist. To this day it's one of the greatest twists I've been a part of.

Our current campaign I did much the same- there was an oppressed culture in the world doc and I was intrigued, so I built that as the deep threads of Alondra's backstory- her ties to her culture, her contact with the colonizer culture, and the impact that has had on her life. From a lone warrior from a tiny village she's grown to be warrior-prophet, leader of her people and teamed up with people dead set on toppling the colonizer state- and yet at the same time she's positioned to understand that *most* of the other culture's people are just people getting by, so she's working to build peace between the peoples while bringing down the powers, especially those that have been revealed to have the end of the world as their goal. We are doing so many politics! I don't know if we're going to succeed! I'm obnoxiously invested!

Anyway don't listen to the haters; your D&D character doesn't actually need a twenty-page backstory for your GM to read as homework so they can integrate as much of it into their prep as possible. The GM shouldn't have to read a lore document that they then carefully integrate into their prep so they can feed you Da Slop.

You can just show up and go "hey check it out my guy is an Elf named Morningwood" and then play to find out what this Morningwood guy's deal is.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

05/17-18/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Rhys Darby; Nathan Foad; Kristian Nairn; SaveOFMD Crew; Int'l Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Intersexphobia, Biphobia; Uproar; Fan Spotlight; Mermay; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika

Hey crew, sorry yesterday and today have been busy ones for me, so we're doing a joint day again. Hope you're all doing well the beginning of this weekend!

== Rhys Darby ==

Rhys just getting to be his goofy self, which we love so much.

Source: Rhys Darby's Tiktok

== Nathan Foad ==

Nathan out for a boat ride with his co-stars of Love's Labours Lost. They had their last showing recently, and there are lots of dedications out there to Nathan and this wonderful cast! Gratz Nathan! Can't wait to see what you do next!

Source: Nathan Foad's IG Story Wow Nathan's been busy!! Greta Gerwig will be available on Vimeo on May 31st!

Source: Marybeth Barone's Instagram ALSO I've been meaning to post this for days, but I'm finally getting around to it. Have you seen the ADHD Short Film Nathan was in?

Source: Nathan Foad's IG Stories Days ago

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian's joined the list! Kristian, Con, Nathan, and Vico will all be at Galaxy Con in Raleigh NC July 25-28, 2024! Ticket here.

Source: Kristian Nairn's IG

The latest episode of Kristian's podcast Spektrum is OUT NOW! You can find links to listen on his Linktree!

Source: Kristian Nairn's IG

== Rosy Maple Moth Pie ==

Hey lovelies! Did you miss out on Samba's baking class? Good news! You can access it now on the Momentus website! You can also access the recipes here.

== Int'l Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Intersexphobia, Biphobia ==

Our dear friends over at These Thems posted a tribute to Int'l Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Intersexphobia, Biphobia. It was yesterday-- sorry for the delay. To learn more about this day, you can visit UNFPA

Source: These Thems Instagram

== Save OFMD Crew ==

Pride month is approaching and Save OFMD Crewmates would love your feedback on how you'd like to help show Max, other streamers, the media, and the world that we NeverLeft! Fill out their survey here.

Source: Save OFMD Crewmates Tumblr

== Uproar ==

Still havent gotten to see Uproar? It's available on Amazon to Rent and Buy! Uproar on Amazon

Source: Blue Fox Entertainment's IG Stories

== Articles ==

So I thought I posted this back on the 16th with the trends but I guess not! So here's that article, you all have probably already seen it, but if not here you are:

‘Our Flag Means Death’ fans launch #DontStreamOnMax campaign, want David Zaslav fired

Robert Reich: How To Make $50 Million A Year While Your Corporation Goes Down The Tubes – OpEd

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Today's Cast Card is for the brilliant composer Mark Mothersbaugh! Thank you @melvisik and to the tumblr requester for including this fantastic guys work!

= OFMD Colouring Pages =

More colouring pages from @patchworkpiratebear. I feel like we need a bound book once these are complete. There's just so many fun ones.

Source: Patchwork Pirate Bear's Tumblr

= MerMay =

Can I just say that I am loving seeing how everyone's Art has developed over the past month? It's really cool to see slight changes in style/included details! You all are just so dang talented! <3

= SpencerDoesArt =

More catch up mermay prompts from our darilng crewmate SpencerDoesArtt over on Instagram, they've got some really cool stuff please check them out if you have an IG!

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= Snejpowa =

@snejpowa Love you have been just stepping it up with all these gorgeous Mermay prompts. Calypso is stunning~~

Day 17: Have you ever been sketched? / Day 18: Calypso's Birthday

= ErosTheArtist =

More prompts from @erostheartist - I am loving the colour contrast on these, they're so pretty <3 Day 13: Roads to Moscow Day 16: Kraken

= Blueberreads =

Eeeeee I didn't know I needed little pixel Ed drawings, but now that I have them I love them so much. I went them as stickers for my water bottle or something. Look at the little Ed-Gull. I'm dying @blueberreads these are so adorable.

Day 17: Have you ever been sketched? / Day 18: Calypso's Birthday

== Love Notes ==

Hey Lovelies <3 I hope you're having a wonderful start to your weekend (or mid weekend, wherever you are).

Tonight I'd like you to take a few moments to repeat after me, okay? It won't take long.

"I am beautiful"

"I am kind"

"I am loving"

"I am worthy"

"I am a force to be reckoned with"

"I deserve rest"

"I deserve love"

"I am enough"

You are all those things. It's easy to forget sometimes how hard we work and how far we've come. You are so many wonderful things lovelies. Remember to tell yourself that once in a while. You deserve recognition from others, but also from yourself. You are so brilliant, and you continue to surprise and delight us all every day. Rest well <3 A few more love notes from some lovely folks on instagram, feel free to visit them below :)

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A post shared by Darra ✨ Baltimore Artist & Branding Design (@deardarlingdesignstudio)

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== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is just goofy headwear I guess. Now we know how Rhys keeps his hair so silky smooth.

Gifs Courtesy of some of the most darling folks: @fandomsmeantheworldtome and @meluli

[aanakin]

any steddie recs ? 👀 I’m just starting to get into the ship

oh yes, been reading quite a lot of steddie recently, so here’s a list of some of my favorites. I arranged them by length, starting from the shortest. All of them are completed works.

tell me that it's not my fault (tell me that i'm all you want) by penguinwritesbooks | 3.1k | Steve leaves Eddie a message.           

what a match, i'm half-doomed and you're semi-sweet by DeadAndDying | 4.6k | Steve feels a little feral about Eddie like all the time.

and here we are in heaven, for you are mine at last by obsceme | 6k | 5 times Steve steals Eddie's clothes, and one time Eddie returns the favor.

third nat one by acetheticallyy (judesstfrancis) | 7k | Steve agreed to sit in on the kids’ silly little fantasy game for one reason and one reason only. He didn’t think those stupid dice would be so hard to manipulate.

you could let it all go (it's called freefall) by anniebibananie | 7k |  Good things don’t happen to Eddie Munson, so he has no idea how to wrap his head around Steve Harrington’s sudden appearance in his life as an unmovable fixture.  No fucking clue.

the unmapped places by groaninlynch | 7.5k | Eddie confesses. Steve, amazed, confesses back.

I can't save us, my Atlantis by kissmejusttokissme | 8.7k | Steve will relive the night of the battle as many times as it takes to make things right.

Whole Lotta Love by stereobone | 9k | Steve scoffs. "I think if I was dating someone, Robin, I would be the first to know about it." "Would you, though?" Robin says.

Keep It for Me by  stereobone | 9.7k | It's 1993, and Steve is attending Lucas and Max's wedding. It's 1993, and no one has seen Eddie Munson in seven years.

Monster Killer, Holy Diver by shibbi | 10k | Steve gives Eddie a one-way ticket to New York as a graduation present and spends the next few years being sad about it.

stay through the night by zach_stone | 10k | after defeating Vecna, Eddie's having trouble coping. Luckily, Steve's around to help.

Of Kings and Cult-Leaders by ladyofthenorthernlights | 11k | Dustin convinces Steve to host Eddie's latest D&D campaign.

You Oughta Know by thisapplepielife | 12K | Days stretch out, long and slow. Steve tries to ignore the only thing he’s sure of: Eddie ran. He ran from him, ran from all of them. Or: Steve's having a rough couple of years, thanks for asking.

pulling your strings byThorinoakentwig | 14k | Steve lives the same day over and over again trying to save his friends

Rock of Ages by BoudicaMuse | 16k | "Eddie's having a love affair with my stereo." "Don't make it sound so tawdry, Harrington. We're well on our way to a committed relationship."

STRIKE TEN. by oaseas | 16k | Steve’s striking out. It’s the summer after his graduation, he’s working 9-5 at Scoops Ahoy, and hey, did you hear? He’s striking out. Enter Robin, her ‘you rule/you suck’ board, and a promise to romance the next girl through the door. Except, that’s no girl. That’s Eddie Munson.

Steve Harrington's Guide to Touch by how_about_no | 18k | Eddie won't stop touching anyone and everyone, except for Steve. He has a plan to change that.

the summer of '85 series by ToEdenandBackAgain | 20k | it's the hottest day of the summer so far, and Eddie just wants his due of free samples. Annoying the shit out of Steve Harrington is just a cherry on top. 

Eddie Munson's Vampire Mixtape by Springandastorm | 21k | Vampire!Eddie AU, Post Season 4 fix it.   

this is your home. these are your people. by oaseas | 21k | Ma Henderson & Wayne Munson get cosy, Dustin makes an off-hand remark, and Steve spirals. It works out in the end.

cool just doing nothing with you by anniebibananie | 24k | It's never easy, recovering from the trauma of a battle with the supernatural, but this time Steve has Eddie. And weed. Hopefully one of those two can help him sleep at least.

Sanctuary by SpicedSage | 47k | After Steve Harrington goes missing, Eddie Munson gets exposed to the secret dangers of Hawkins, Indiana in 1985 instead of 1986.

sub-culture by palmviolet | 60k | steve is pretty convinced eddie now hates him. turns out eddie has the opposite problem.

Lovesick in Loch Nora by red0aktree | 62k | Steve gets Eddie a job as an anonymous columnist at a local newspaper.

the lathe by palmviolet | 82k | Time loop AU. steve relives the day they try to kill vecna over and over, and eddie just can't seem to stop dying. steve finds this totally unacceptable.

[eddie-van-munson]

could you do a eddie x reader where the reader is like, rly into legos still? or something like that? they think it’s dumb but eddie thinks it’s the purest thing in the world seeing them flip the instruction book and get to work :D

Warnings: Gender-Neutral but Uses Pet Names (Babe, Angel, Sweetheart, Etc.), Cursing, One Sexual Innuendo, Fluff.

***********

-Ok! Legos in the 80s were not what they are today? But we're going to pretend they were!!!

-So, maybe you're feelin' sick today, right? You've had a little cold.

-You called Eddie before school and told him you'd be out so he wouldn't worry.

-You rest on the couch for a good while and drink a lot of fluids, but the only thing on TV during the day is Days of Our Lives, and while you find it surprisingly gripping, you do get bored after a while.

-Eddie gets your make up work from all of your teachers and walks over to your place. When he gets there, he doesn't want to wake you if you're resting, so he just let's himself in.

-You're not in the living room or anything so he goes to check your room. He knocks on the door softly, "Y/N? It's me. I'm coming in."

- "No!" He hears shuffling, "Just a minute!!!"

-He frowns, concerned. "Are you ok?!"

-"Yeah!! Yeah I'm just...I'm naked!!"

-"Naked?"

-"Yep."

-He smirks, "Well, shit. Don't threaten me with a good time, sweetheart..."

-He opens the door to find you disappointingly clothed, but you've got on little pajamas and your cute nose is all rubbed red from tissues, so he's willing to forgive this.

-You're sitting on your bedroom floor with an instruction book in your lap, surrounded by about a million Legos.

-You cover your pale face with your hands, embarrassed.

-He tosses his backpack to the side and plops down beside you, leaning against your bed as he snatches the book from your lap. He studies it curiously, flipping through its thin pages. "Whatcha got?"

-You bite your lip nervously, ears burning. "Legos."

-"Oh shit!" He gasps when he realizes what he's looking at, "Is this the Death Star!?"

-You nod, hesitant.

-"Oh man, how do we start it?"

-Your eyes go wide for a second and you stutter dumbly, reaching beneath your bed and pulling out piece of cardboard. Sitting on it is about 1/3rd of the Death Star, already perfectly assembled.

-His jaw drops, "Fuck, babe!"

-Your whole body relaxes a little when you realize he thinks it's cool.

-"Look!" You smile, holding up a piece. "I just finished the Superlaser Focus Lense!"

-He grins, carefully taking it from you to admire it.

-You show him all of your favorite details and what parts you're working on now

-Guys he's just so in love

-You're just so eager to show him this thing you like!! And that's so precious and special!

- Side note, Eddie hyper fixates on things really easily right?

- He can't count how many times he's rambled on about something that's really exciting to him...a new campaign he's written or a book he's just read...only to slowly realize that the person listening doesn't care.

-And that's the shittiest feeling in the world.

-So when people talk to Eddie, especially about things they're really jazzed about, sweet boy listens.

-Even with his attention span being absolute shit, he listens so actively. He nods and responds and asks questions. He shows people that he cares about the things that make them excited!!

- After the Death Star incident, he'll come over sometimes and find you working on building something new at your kitchen table.

-He LOVES watching you. You get so focused and your little tongue sticks out when you frown. Your brow always furrows when you're trying to work something out or find a missing piece.

-But the best is when you figure it out or connect a section, and your whole face lights up. God, he could just pinch your lil smiling cheeks bfdybnk

-Sometimes he sits with you and "helps".

-Mostly he just makes you endearingly wonky flowers out of the pieces you aren't actively using.

-You still get a little embarrassed about it sometimes? Maybe one night you ask Eddie if he'll stop and pick up a new set you've ordered because you don't like to be stared at :^/

-He frowns, "Stared at?"

-You shrug, frowning as you scratched your neck. "I mean...a lot of times people think it's weird. You know? 'Cause they're supposed to be for kids?"

-Eddie raises his brow, pointing at the box sitting in front of him on the table, "Babe, the box says 'six and up'!! You're up!!"

-You're not quite convinced.

-He croons down, "Hey...Look at me.”

-You obey, cheeks going pink.

-"Does your Super Wicked Lego Mastery hurt anyone?"

-You shake your head no.

-"Does it make you happy?"

-You shake your head yes.

-"Then fuck what anyone else thinks, babe! I love that you build with Legos! It's cute as shit!"

-"You really think so?"

-"Oh my god, sweetheart. I could watch you all day. It's fucking precious! You get so excited!"

-In the end, Eddie comes along with you to pick up the set you ordered, shooting protective glares at anyone who dares to look twice at you.

-He starts helping you find places to display your creations when you're done.

-And best of all? You're proud!!! You take pictures and bring them to school to show them off to the Hellfire boys (who always lose their shit because that's SO COOL).

- And you have to agree. It's very cool ;^)

***********

[aroaceacacia]

why you should check out future smp!

future smp is a small minecraft server started by mysticat, frostbyte freeman, and animagician. the server's whitelist now has a roster of 23 very cool creators, including people like pixelcraftian, zyphon, and firebreathman!

every player is genuinely such a sweet person. like i cannot tell you enough how great they are. theyre thoughtful and they try to learn, and listen if theyve been corrected. they're all so nice to be around. a rly great bunch.

they have lore! it's not super intense, just every few streams or so they do in character stuff. and they let us know beforehand and usually will have lore in the title. and if you're behind on lore, they have a lore document summarizing events so far for people who've missed things! in addition, the events of the christmas arc are on youtube :)

frostbyte freeman's monologues are legitimately a reason you should watch this, mans improvises dramatic ass speeches and heartfelt, real, and raw character arcs and THEN goes on twitter and posts screenshots of a build hes made as part of a character beat and leaves us an emotional playlist with a title in italian

they're all pretty young! the streamers range in age from 13 year old apden to 23 year old mysticat. it's honestly really cool to be watching creators who are younger than me (and who are peers in age with many of my friends) because it feels kind of like I am supporting a younger sibling sometimes. makes me proud. and especially with that in mind, their maturity is astonishing - apden in particular was one of the creators at the forefront of calling out a creator who was scamming and sexually harassing people.

they are Queer !! that I know of there are 4 members who use any pronouns, two gay people, and two bisexuals!

they are funny! frost's weird ass dynamics with literally everyone else make me laugh out loud, mysty has such great comedic timing, deadhawk and longjaws have a really cozy and fun dynamic that fills me with joy, they're all so much fun. wolfeei showing up to a presidential campaign debate wearing a shirtless buff skin. keegan deciding that his detective uniform is a maid dress. bigman walking up to the mic and saying "free my mans he ain't do nothing wrong" in response to wrongfully incarcerated animagician asking which candidates would free him. jack notsouls being a flower loving catboy who thinks that giving flowers to the ominous void rift in the sky is a good idea

the community is really great! we're mostly based on twitter where the creators tend to hang out but its really great being able to easily interact with them and each other, like we have a groupchat there and a discord server! it's a lot of fun and just about everyone in the community is wonderful. it's an interesting mishmash of people from the creators' stream chats/fanbases pre-smp, irl friends, online friends, and people who came because they saw frost's "how the blue bats won mcc 9" video and liked his content and found future that way

they appreciate artists SO much. a bunch of them have fanart reels with credits on their streams, they reply to just about everything, they get so happy to see art you have no idea. they have the custom pictures in item frames plugin on the server so they can hang fanart! they have art by me and by many of my friends on the walls of the government building! hell j even wrote a fic and linked it on twitter and the guy I wrote it about read and approved it! and to top it all off they Commissioned Me to make them their official group picture, like! that's supporting artists baby!!!

you want interesting character designs? they have two frogs, a cat, a penguin, a bird, a tedsattic, an ironstarr, and a literal cookie. rinnly wears a box on their head. dec is a goth. pixelcraftian is a funny little man. john needs a life is a jojo cosplayer. bigman is a snowman. bigman is also the president. the penguin is his secretary of defense.

a handful of them are current or former MCC testers, many of whom met or became testers because they were runner-up mcc 10 applicants, and dec is a noxcrew artist! theyve also participated in smaller events in the community, or even bigger ones, like minecraft ultimate! the upcoming retro rivals event has 4 future smp members on team space invaders (the fact that they didnt put pixelcraftian, the man whose brand is Loving Mario, on the mario team is a crime).

this is a long post but I'm dead serious please check them out!! I'll link their introduction slide show in the notes, which is a good place to start for most of these creators!