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duhragonball · 6 years ago

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Dragon Ball 084

Tien Shinhan Saga! 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai! Launch can’t stand the excitement! She wants to hijack this plane and crash it right into Papaya Island, because it’s gonna be extreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeme!

Also, Roshi can’t contain himself, because he’s gotta take a dump. Well, he’s just gotta hold it in, because the plane is landing. Seriously, why did Roshi eat all those bran muffins and drink all that coffee during the flight anyway?

Anyway, here’s your “embarrassed by Master Roshi collection.” VLC media player screen caps the subtitles too, which is handy, but I gotta remember that.

Meanwhile, Goku’s paused his trip to get some food on an island. He’s still got Shu’s ninja gear with him. He looks like he’s about to plant the really awesome costume flag on this uncharted land. Some tigers give him a hard time, but I think we all know how that’ll turn out.

On Papya Island, Roshi announces that he has successfully dropped a deuce. Former Vice President Dick Cheney looks pretty relieved to hear that.

Just so we’re all clear, they brought Turtle along for this one. Used to be, this poor guy would get nervous if he was too far from the ocean, but now he’s in the big city and he’s totally chill. You know what that is? Growth.

Also Launch tagged along, and she looks awesome every time she’s on screen.

She considers entering the tourney herself, but Turtle reminds her they don’t allow weapons. Really, Launch ought to rob the tournament organizers before the event. They’re relatively wimpy, and the prize money probably isn’t guarded in any meaningful way...

The boys all register with the tournament officials, and they ask if Goku’s already signed up. He hasn’t. While they wait for him, Roshi remembers to register himself, under the alias of Jackie Chun.

Then these dudes show up. We’ve seen the before in Epsiode 82 and 83, but this is the first time they show up in the manga, and it’s also the first clear indication that Chiaotzu (left) and Tien Shinhan (right) are students of the Crane Hermit (center). Crane heard that Roshi’s students did well in the previous tournament, so he figured he’d enter his own students and show them what gonzo-super-fighting is all about.

Everyone looks in awe at the Crane School, except Launch, who can’t even be bothered to turn her head. This is ironic, considering how things eventually play out.

Finally, Goku arrives right before registration closes. He’s wearing a tiger skin, and it’s really saying something that this is actually less awesome than Shu’s ninja suit. I can only assume that Goku donated Shu’s clothes to some poor nerd who needed to impress his classmates at school. It was tough parting with such a sweet costume, but that’s Goku for you. He’s strong in body and spirit. Besides, he’ll probably run into Shu again some day and he can just mug him and get another set of his clothes.

Krillin’s upset because Goku grew more than he did over the past three years. Roshi is pissed because Goku took so long getting here. Why didn’t he use Kinto Un? Because Roshi told Goku not to use it, that’s why. This whole episode is a really bad day for Roshi. He offers to take the gang out to dinner, but then he remembers he doesn’t have any money to pay for it, so he has to convince the owner to put it on his tab, since he plans to win the tournament. He can pay with the prize money, right? Riiiiiight?

Look at Launch just tearing into that meat. This is the sort of content I look for in cartoons. Is she holding a hard boiled egg in the other hand? Probably. This is terrific.

Goku asks Krillin how his training went over the past three years, and Krillin says he did the exact same stuff as before, but this time he graduated to the 100kg turtle shell. I appreciate this, because if this wasn’t spelled out for us, I might assume that Krillin’s training was a waste of time. Yamcha, I get, since he just joined the Turtle School, but Krillin already did all of this before the previous tournament, so I always thought it was kind of unfair to have him repeat it all.

The gang retires to the hotel to play cards, and Roshi loses at Old Maid.

Then he tries to talk his way into Bulma and Launch’s room, but they deck him. At least the girls are of legal age this time. Bulma’s 19, if I’m not mistaken, and I just always assumed Launch is the same age as Bulma. Master Roshi still belongs in jail, but at least he’s not running up a bigger bill every time he appears on screen.

Krillin’s got those pre-tournament jitters, so he gets up and jogs a bit to relax.

So does Yamcha. I don’t want to be too hard on Yamcha’s outfit, but I really am glad it’s going to go away soon.

There’s also a bunch of other fighters doing some late-night exercises. Check this dude out. Wild.

The next morning, everyone shows up for the preliminaries. I think they said 182 people entered this year. This is impressive, because that’s about fifty more than last time, and Roshi said they started doing the tournaments every three years instead of every five because of the extra participation. If anything, more and more people are signing up, including Speedo Man here.

Yeaaaaahhhh, back in the Turtle Hermit colors. The blue-and-yellow had a good run, but it’s good to be back in Turtle Orange.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaahhhhh. It’s been a long time coming, but we’ve finally arrived at Yamcha in Turtle School fighting duds.

Also, Jackie Chun is back. The reigning and defending champion says he’s come back to see how Goku’s improved since last time. Goku hopes to defeat him in a rematch, but Jackie’s still very confident. Apparently Roshi didn’t just train Yamcha and Krillin; he trained himself in secret. Kind of curious how he pulled that off, but we’ll see if it was enough.

Yeah it was 182 this year. That includes that cow-dragon guy on the left, as well as the smuggest guys in the room. Well, not Crane Hermit. He didn’t enter. Or maybe he did and he lost in the prelims while no one was looking?

LOOK AT THIS WALRUS MAN THIS IS INSANE! That green cyclops behind him ought to be the main event of this screencap, but he’s not even close. And who’s the guy in the helmet. You can’t use armor in the tournament either, so is that his real head? Is he a robot? I would have thought it impossble, but look at Walrus Man and tell me anyone in charge of this cartoon had standards. Walrus Man is livid about weapons being forbidden, by the way.

Also, they dropped the time limits on preliminary bouts. Last time the fighters had to win their preliminary matches in under a minute in order to advance. I think this system is more fair, but in theory some of these matches might take a long time to settle.

So we’re off to the races. My money’s on Walrus Man.

#dragon ball #2019dbliveblog #goku #tien shinhan #chaiotzu #yamcha #krillin #master roshi #bulma #launch #oolong #puar #turtle #crane hermit #22nd budokai saga

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hopelesstargazer · 7 years ago

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End of the Year Tag

So....I was tagged by @saijspellhart....never done one of these before so here goes nothing.

~favourite food?~

Okay, so I am a Minnesota raised girl and do love a good wild rice hotdish (and yes there is a difference between hotdish and casserole and if you don’t know, let me know so I can explain!). However my favorite food is either pupusas or pozole (latino cuisine). Both of them I over eat when my godchildren cook them for me and never regret it!

~favourite drink?~

Ummmm....Diet Pespi. Yeah, we won’t get into how cranky I get if I don’t have at least one pop a day. My godsons might have a story or two about how possessive I get in the late morning over my can of pop on the weekends....

~favourite clothing?~

My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fleece pants and my long sleeve Cuddle-Duds. Comfort for the win. After a long day of dealing with people, nothing is more comforting than cozy wear.

~favourite product?~

.....Pespi?.....I think. Does that count when you are an addict? Like can a pot head say that their favorite product is potbrownies? If not, I would say Google! Because it owns me and my information searching needs. After all, if you don’t know something, Lord Google will know it. Thus, All Hail Lord Google!

~favourite month?~

I’ve never thought about it. I guess you could say I like March. It was the month I was born and I like the little myth that comes with the month. The month of the Lion and the Lamb. My grandmother (a wonderful mother to 11 and a farmer in Northern MN) would always tell me that you knew how the month would go in the very beginning. If the weather was shitty and roaring at the start, it would leave calm and sweet at the end. Or in other words, if March came in like a Lion, it would leave like a Lamb. Of course, the opposite applies as well. If this is true, I honestly couldn’t say. I think it does, but I’m already bias so who really knows?

~favourite season?~

I’m fond of either Spring or Fall. It’s not too cold, but it’s not too hot. You really get those glorious days where the sun is shining, the air is crisp, and there is a magnitude of colors everywhere. It is just rejuvenating.

~favourite holiday?~

I’m partial to Easter. And before you ask, yes I happen to be Christian, BUT that is not why I like the holiday. I like Easter because it symbolizes rebirth. It symbolizes a new beginning, a fresh start. When you go into this season, you might have just experienced a shitty winter or the pervious year was just horrific. Thus, your soul is all crusty and flaky and thinking that nothing gets better. Then this season of new beginnings start and there are baby animals, new flowers, laughing children, and brightly colored eggs everywhere! It is a reminder that life is nothing more than a cycle. Yes, horrible things can and will happen to you. Yes, it will be dark and sad to deal with it all. Winter, both figuratively (in your heart/soul) and literally, SUCK ASS! But! BUT! There will always be a moment of something new. Something bright. Something colorful. Something living. Something that will bring you up out of the ground of cold despair and into the light of a new beginning. Even if it is for a moment, it is there. Easter is the holiday/season that best represents what it means to be human. A shitty start that only turns into the brightest and warms of sun rays. And that is my Ted Talk, thank you for listening.

~favourite place?~

Minnehaha Falls! Gooseberry Falls! Or any waterfall. I adore waterfalls. The sound of crashing water and rushing waves drowning out bad thoughts. The scent of crisp water pulling you into the moment. The sensations of moving water rumbling in your chest. The sight of dancing sprites in the sky as water droplets create rainbows. Cold water taking the heat from your body only to leave a pleasant tingle in its wake. *blush**cough* I’ll stop with the poetry now.

~best experience?~

So, I took a trip to Scotland with my Father at the beginning of this year. I would definitely say that was my best experience of 2018.

~best song?~

Best song? Of all time or this year? This year I really like Burning Man by Dierks Bentley. Of all time, you can’t beat the Hokey Pokey. It is a must have dance song at every public gathering. I have no shame when I say that I request it and drag EVERYONE to the dance floor.

~best movie?~

We have to clarify this nonsense for next year. Honestly, it’s just too vague. Best movie? This year? Of all time? Genre? Or is it just me that over thinks this stuff? *sigh* Okay, I thought Black Panther was extremely good, not just because it was an excellent superhero movie, had amazing female leads, astonishing action sequences, and wonderful humor. It really made me think about how hatred can pass down through the generations. It made me reevaluate how I teach my students in karate class and how I speak with/to them about social problems. Since most of them are immigrants or children of immigrants, it was an eye opening experience. Let’s leave it at that.

~best series?~

TV series right? (again with the over thinking simple questions) I really enjoyed Miraculous Ladybug, Voltron, How to Train Your Dragon, The Dragon Prince, and My Hero Academia. Granted, I also rewatch a bunch of anime classics as I taught the ways of being a nerd to my godsons. I’m proud to say that we have finally left the realm of Naruto and moved on to the great chasm that is known as Deathnote and One Piece.

~best book?~

Okay, so this one is exciting for me. I was suffering Tumblr and found a post that simple said “if Deadpool wrote a book, this would be it.” So of course, the ten year that still loves poop jokes and crude humor in me scream in joy and bought the book. It is called “Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology” by Cory O’Brien. I wish I could find the link so you could read some excerpts from it. I’ll just have to quote it.

“So one night Uranus is about to get busy with Gaia again I guess so he can father another baby and then stuff it back into her but instead of getting sex he gets a SURPRISE PENISECTOMY”

“So the moral of the story is that if you are not ready to be a father consider all of your options before skipping directly to cannibalism”

“ARE YOU READY FOR DISTENDED RACCOON TESTICLES? NO? WELL, YOU BETTER GET READY QUICK BECAUSE JAPAN JUST CALLED AND IT’S ‘BOUT TO DELIVER ONE WHOPPER OF A BALLSACK TO THE BAINPAN”

“So the moral of the story is that we should seriously consider firing the moon because I didn’t know we could do that and I bet we have the technology now to genetically engineer a WAY BETTER MOON than some dumb rabbit.”

So...10/10, greatest book I’ve read this year

~best video game?~

I don’t play many video games. Frankly, if it is not a bashing the buttons kind of game, I’m no good at it. Thus, I really like Shounen Jump battle game. I can hit random buttons while having no real skills. I also like watching people play them. That would lead me to Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Such a pretty game!

~have you unlearned any bad habits?~

hahahaha...oh, are you serious?

~biggest disappointment?~

I didn’t get back into college like I planned on. I just couldn’t find the time to give myself in order to achieve what I wanted.

~worst experience?~

If we are talking about this year, then that would go to almost dying in a bus accident in the middle of the Highlands in Scotland. It’s a great story that I love to tell, because it turns out to be the funniest tale of my really long list of horrific stories. Minus the thought of dying on some random hill and how inconvenient it would have been for my mother to retrieve our bodies cause I didn’t buy travel insurance.

However, if we are talking about ever in our lives, then that golden trophy would go to the time I, a store manager at Dollar Tree, was threaten with a plastic shank over $0.50 on hour 15 of my shift where I slept in the store that night so I could be there for the delivery at 5AM. That was horrible. Funny in hindsight, but horrible at the same time. Let me know, I can tell that story too.

~any new hobbies?~

Where do people find the time to start new hobbies? Serious, could you donate that precious time into a bank so I could have some? I would greatly appreciate it.

~did you achieve your goals for 2018?~

hahahahahaha....oh, you’re serious again?

~have you fulfilled a long-term wish?~

Ah, this it did! So, back in 2011, I studied abroad in Scotland and vowed to take my father back so he could see the country that I fell completely in love with. Severely in love with. Like, I would marry any Scottish man that said to me, “Ach, lassie, yer bonnie and me heart tis yers. I have this castle in ta middle of the great Highlands. Would ye leave with me to Gretna Green to marry ov’r an blacksmith’s iron?” I would say yes in a heart beat. A HEARTBEAT YOU HEAR?!

~have you tried something new this year?~

um, I dressed myself in a kimono for the first time by myself. That was stupid hard. Also, I did a bang up job if I do say so myself (after the fourth attempt).

~what plans or wishes do you have for next year?~

Let’s see, I am the best man at my best friend’s wedding in May, so I got that going. Also, in September, I’ll be going to Japan to visit my sister who is working as an English teacher, so I got that to look forward too. I would love to find some time to myself so I can try and finish my college degree that I started back in 2009. Cross your fingers. Also, I would like to complete this book I’m writing for myself. I would really like that. Oh, and finally, sleep more. Yeah, sleep. Good thing that is.

~what was the funniest moment?~

Serious, I teach kiddos karate at my church. I have no shortage of amazing moments in my life. Also I have three godsons and a goddaughter, stories are made every weekend. But I can tell you one of my favorites.

So, I’m teaching this not-yet-seven-year-old an introductory class to karate. I’m explaining to him that not only does yelling scare the bad guys away, but it tells the teacher that you are breathing. So I asked him playfully, “Do you like to breath?” And he stops all motion and looks at me. Then he shrugs and says “not really.” Needless to say, I too stop to stare at him, stunned by a response that I had NEVER received in my 13+ years of teaching children karate. So, I logically asked why not. This tiny little american-latino child that comes up to my waist tells me with the straightest face I have ever seen “Cause it take a lot of work to breath and I don’t know if I have the time for that.” (#mood much?) I’m losing my mind trying to hold in my laughter. Thus I spend the next few minutes with a 6 year-old having a philosophical discussion about the pros and cons of breathing. Eventually, we agree that blue is an ugly color on people’s face and we cannot do karate in our sleep so he had to stay awake and moving instead of passed out on the floor due to the lack of air in his body. Once that was establish, I asked another instructor to take over because I simply had to find a corner to sit in as I collected my laughing ass off the floor.

I will forever remember this child as the boy that I had to convince that breathing was a good thing and made me almost piss my pants in the middle of karate class. TWICE because that little stinker had to randomly blurt out in the middle of a different class weeks later that we were wrong because blue was a flattering shade on dead people and we should not be racist to dead people.

I will now kindly remind you that this boy is 7 YEARS OLD.

~what are you thankful for?~

I am thankful for family and friends. I am also thankful to @saijspellhart. In my desire to let her know that she is not alone, I am finding the courage to become more open with myself and other around me. So thank you. I hope that this year will be a rebirth for both of us and tons of smiles for everyone that reads this.

As for tagging other Tumblr users, I am too damn shy for that. Instead, if you are reading this and want to do this, tag me! I would love to get to know you and your likes. It’s nice to see the humanity on this site. Thank you for getting to the end and I hope to get to know you too!

#text #long post #end of year #hopelessstargazer get to know #well this happen #this was fun #blog #ask blog

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friendliest-place-on-earth · 8 years ago

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brave enough

hey guys! mod rose here! this is a songfic i felt the impulse to write a few weeks ago, and i actually really like how it came out. the song is brave enough by lindsey stirling which i think i’ve mentioned is a song that reminds me of javid. the lyrics themselves are in italics. anyway, there might be a part two? we’ll just have to see. enjoy! -mod rose 💜

there's some things i should have said.

“One week of school left! Finally! I can't wait to get out of here,” Jack said as he slid into his chair Monday morning.

“Somebody’s chipper,” Davey said, mustering a grin.

“I know that means we still have to suffer through this week, but how bad it could it really be?”

“One word, Jack: exams.” Davey watched Jack’s eyes as the excitement slowly left them, and he felt bad for a moment. Jack was cuter when he was happy.

“We don't speak of those cursed things, Davey. Didn't anybody tell you?” Jack playfully elbowed him, and Davey laughed.

“Honestly, those are the least of my worries right now. I’m just trying to make sure I get my room packed up. There's not much left, but it all has to be gone in a month.”

“Why do you have to go?” Jack asked dramatically. “Why can't you stay?”

“It’s for my dad’s work, Jack. Trust me, if I could stay, I would.” Davey quickly took out his binder as the teacher came in and tried to cram a bit more.

i was too afraid.

“Okay, Davey, this is ridiculous. You can tell him. I guarantee he likes you back,” Katherine said around a mouthful of yogurt.

“It's not the rejection part that I’m afraid of most, although that's high on the list. It's his reaction in general. And then I’m leaving at the end of June. It’s just bad timing. I can't do it now. Maybe I’ll tell him once I’m gone or something, but now, it's definitely not happening.” Davey flipped through his notebook. “Why isn't your stuff out?”

“I’ve just been looking off yours this whole time. I left mine in my locker on accident.”

“You left it in your locker the night before the exam. The night before finals,” Davey said slowly. “Are you crazy?”

“Not quite. I’ve seen crazier.”

it was just so hard to let you know.

“Well, I failed that test. And if I didn't fail it, I got a D- at best. I don't know how I did that bad.” Jack was only half-joking. Davey knew it has hard for him to study, and test environments freaked him out.

“You should’ve told me you needed help or something. I could've studied with you,” Davey offered, shutting his nearly-empty locker. The only things he kept in there now were books and his lunch.

“I know, I know. I just figured you were under a bunch of stress as it is with the move and your own tests,” Jack said, putting away a hoodie. “That room is always so cold. It’s like Hell, if Hell was cold.” Davey snickered.

“I know there's not really any future opportunity, Jack, but I’d figure out a way to help you out. I always would.” Davey felt the silence settle, and he looked at Jack, who was spaced out, staring at the wall. “Let’s get going before we’re late for lunch, or else Weisel’ll bite our heads off,” Davey grinned, and Jack shook his head.

“You’re not wrong there, Davey.”

and now it's all too late.

stripped away the walls i built

Jack and Race were messing around outside the building while they, Davey, Spot, Katherine, and Crutchie were waiting for the bus.

“I don't know if it’s because it's the end of the year or what, but the teachers really don't give any shits anymore,” Spot said. “A month ago this would’ve been a detention or something lame. Now they don't bat an eye.”

“Saves us from hearing about it, I guess.” Davey scrolled absentmindedly on his phone, looking up at Jack every so often.

“Okay, you're killing me here. You and Crutchie got me and Race together this year, so now it’s my turn to push you into a whirlwind romance.” Spot gave Davey a sidelong glance, and Davey tried to come up with a response while feeling his face heat up.

“Shut up, Conlon. You know I can't do that. Not in a million years,” he sputtered.

“That's what I said. Now I have a boyfriend. He’s a dumbass,” Spot yelled at Race, who shot him a look before pushing Jack again. Davey winced as the teacher looked up and then back at his computer. The bell rang and students flooded the narrow doorway, and Jack shoved Davey lightly with a grin.

“Want to hang out at my place tonight? I think I’m gonna need some help with studying.”

“Oh, sure. I’ll come over around 6?”

“Sounds good.”

like no one ever has.

“Hey, can you check this over? I think they’re right, but I want to be sure.” Jack pointed out a few problems on the page.

“Sure.” Davey put aside the pages he was working on and scanned the numbers over. “It looks right to me.”

“You’re a lifesaver, Davey.” Jack picked the paper back up and started working on the back. He didn't notice the blush that danced on Davey’s cheeks, or his picking at the pencil he was holding. He looked at Jack quickly to find Jack looking back at him, and they locked eyes for a moment before Davey broke eye contact and cleared his throat.

“I should probably head home. I think my mom wanted me back by 8, so I’ll pack up my stuff and then just head out.” Davey started to gather up his papers and his notebook, pretending not to notice the slightly hurt look on Jack’s face.

the hardest part’s we’ll never know

“I can't believe you’re actually leaving,” Jack said as he and Davey carried some of the last boxes from upstairs. Sarah had nothing in her room besides a blanket and pillow, some chargers, and a few days’ worth of clothes.

“I still can’t believe it myself, and my house is nearly empty. Our new house is pretty nice, though. I’ve been up there a few times.” Davey nearly slipped as he went down the last set of stairs.

“You alright? You nearly crashed into the box.” Jack seemed like he was trying to lighten the mood, but it wasn't really working.

“Yeah, I’m alright,” Davey replied, although he felt shakier than he should have. “Let’s just get these out and then maybe we can watch something on Netflix.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know. Maybe-”

“Can like, the last thing we watch together be the Bee Movie? That just feels right somehow.” Jack wore an unabashed grin on his face, and Davey couldn't help but laugh.

“Why not?”

if we were meant to last.

i wish i was

Jack pulled Davey into a hug in an effort to hide the fact that he was close to crying. Davey chose to ignore that he felt like he’d do the same as soon as the car pulled out of the driveway.

“This isn't like goodbye forever, I guess. I mean, we’ll still text and stuff, right? And God knows nobody ever shuts up on that one group chat. So I’ll still be in the loop, then.” Davey was grabbing at straws. Sure these things were true, but he also knew that not seeing a person without a screen took a toll on a friendship, or whatever he and Jack had now.

“Yeah. Not forever. Definitely not. Who else am I gonna bother when Race and Spot get mushy in my basement?” Jack said with a chuckle, and Davey snorted.

“Is that all I am to you?” Davey was laughing now, and they still hadn't let go of each other and Mayer was about to honk the car’s horn to get Davey’s attention. Davey gave Jack one last squeeze and broke the hug.

“I have to go, Jack. I’m gonna miss you a bunch.”

“I know. I’ll miss you too, Davey.”

brave enough

Davey yawned as he turned off his alarm. It was the first day of school. Back in New York, all his friends were sound asleep. Back in New York, Jack might still be awake, actually. Jack never slept, it seemed. He hadn’t texted as much as he would've liked, but Davey wouldn't have been able to answer much anyway. The summer had been a whirlwind of unpacking and new furniture because something happened to one of the trucks and most of the bedframes were ether broken or had missing pieces. The Jacobs still weren't fully unpacked, or even halfway, and Davey gave it a solid year before they were. Les had already thrown out or donated most of what he’d insisted on keeping, so Esther had made it her mission to go through everybody else’s things. The alarm screamed again, jolting Davey back to the present, and he got out of bed. But not before he sent Jack a text reading, first day of school! wish me luck!.

Jack woke up to his phone playing some old Imagine Dragons song that Davey had bought on his phone without Jack knowing. Ever since then, he’d made a point of using it as his alarm and Davey’s ringtone. The screen, although dim, still made Jack’s eyes hurt for a second. Davey had texted. It was his first day at the new school.

good luck nerd, Jack replied, before falling back asleep for another few hours hour before he had to get up, too.

brave enough to love you.

#newsies #jack kelly #davey jacobs #javid #newsies live #mod rose #i'm not tagging anybody else bc they're only in here for short bits

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nerdarchy-blog · 7 years ago

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Hello! The Nerdarchy crew is back home from Indianapolis and back to work on all our nerdy projects. Gen Con 2018 was an incredible experience for Nerdarchists Dave and Ted, Nerditor Doug and Intern Jake, and we wanted to share some of the highlights from our excursion to the Best Four Days in Gaming. Our favorite thing about conventions is meeting up with and hanging out with friends from all over the place; seeing all the awesome roleplaying games, art and other swag; and the incredible costumes and cosplay. But more than anything, the best part is hanging out with thousands of fantastic folks from around the world to celebrate nerd culture. Down below you’ll find links to a lot of the stuff mentioned in this recap, in case you’re interested, plus a photo gallery of our adventures at Gen Con 2018.

Working vacation at Gen Con 2018

Rolling into downtown Indianapolis for Gen Con 2018 was a special treat for all of the Nerdarchy crew in attendance. For Nerdarchist Dave and me, the now-familiar territory felt like a home-away-from-home. The Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, the Gen Con Block Party and all the surrounding hotels were decked out as always, ready for the tens of thousands of us to enjoy the Best Four Days in Gaming. For Nerdarchist Ted and Intern Jake, it was their first time attending so they got to experience the wide-eyed amazement at the size and scope of the event.

After hotel check-in, the crew wasted no time getting down to business though — we were there to enjoy ourselves, sure, but we had serious work to do. With the studio equipment in tow, we set up a makeshift studio in the hotel room to shoot as many videos as we could over the weekend. With so many amazing people in town, we had to get some of them on camera. Intern Jake scheduled set visits like a champ, contacting and coordinating a ton of creators who stopped by to talk nerdy with Nerdarchists Dave and Ted.

Instead of doing interview-style shoots though, we produced a string of videos like our regular daily content to discuss the same kind of helpful topics, tips and tricks we usually do, except with a special guest sitting in for one of the Nerdarchists. Stuff like designing monsters for D&D, live streaming roleplaying games, creating pantheons and deities, running the best game ever, and creating an urban campaign (with a bit of insight into the upcoming Waterdeep: Dragon Heist) are just a few of a videos you’ll see in the coming weeks. There were so many guests, it’s hard to remember them all! But here’s a few to watch for on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel in the near future:

Keith Baker

Monte Cook

BJ Hensley

Ryan Schapels

Dan Dillon

James J. Haeck

Sarah Dahlinger

Brian Stillman

Andrew Armstrong

Rob McCreary

All in all we shot about 24 videos between Thursday and Sunday! There’s a bunch more cool people who swung by the set and we’ll be posting those videos in the weeks to come. Stay tuned to Nerdarchy for those!

Hanging with friends new and old to celebrate nerd culture

Pretty much everywhere we went, the crew ran into someone we knew and had great experiences spending time with them. If you enjoyed any of the official video content from Gen Con 2018, you can give thanks to our buddy Bill Allen. He and his crew handled videography for the official Gen Con Twitch channel. Bill was super busy all weekend making sure everything ran smoothly. But we managed to sneak in some time with him on Wednesday night. He’s an awesome guy, and his job as an educator means he brings student creators along to learn while doing. How cool is that? His students get fantastic experience behind the scenes at big events like this, plus chances to network with industry professionals and help build their future in the field.

Along with Bill, we hung out with our friend Cody Lewis from the Taking 20 YouTube channel. Cody was there with his wife, who got to see another side to her husband’s endeavors. Fans of Cody’s work stopped to say hi and thank him throughout the weekend, which is an awesome feeling for any creator. On top of all that, his wife played her first RPG session at Gen Con 2018! She played a barbarian in a Second Edition Pathfinder Playtest game and genuinely loved rolling her first critical hit against a kobold.

Another night, unMadeGaming’s Mike Hunt co-organized a Twitch streamer meetup with fellow streamer Speedy, where a whole bunch of people showed up to celebrate together and get to know one another. Andrew Armstrong from Dawnforgedcast, Grant Ellis, MsGingaNinja, Jorphdan, Askren, Ted from Nerd Immersion, Eric Vulgaris, and a whole bunch of other people hung out. It wasn’t just for Twitch streamers exclusively, or even gamers. There were streamers who make pottery, streamers who make quilts, authors, game designers and more. It was really terrific to meet and spend time with so many creative people.

On Saturday night, Nerdarchist Dave and I wound up at a party hosted by Peter Adkinson. There were a ton of people at the shindig. Our friends Satine Phoenix and Ruty Rutenberg were there, Kyle Vogt, Matthew Lillard, Dwarven Forge founder Stefan Pokorny, Ivan van Norman, filmmaker friends Kelley Slagle and Seth Polansky and a throng of others. I had a wonderful time geeking out about layout design and editing with Chris de la Rosa from Hunters Books, and Nerdarchist Dave did what he does best — making new friends and talking shop. (Okay, maybe tied for best — he’s a pretty good Game Master too!)

Nerdarchists Dave and Ted ran into a ton of people they know on the convention floor, and fans stopped for photos or to say thanks to the guys for doing what they do. So may awesome people we know had booths at Gen Con 2018 too! Everytime we turned around, there was someone we knew. Creature Curations’ Brian Colin, the entire Starcalled Studios crew, Jetpack 7’s Aaron and Sarah Hubrich, Dan Dillon and Stephen Rowe manning the Kobold Press booth, Rone Barton at the booth for…you know what? I don’t recall exactly. There was a bunch of different stuff there.

A very special sighting for me was Jared Sorensen at the Burning Wheel booth. I’d been hoping to catch Adam Koebel there, since he was sharing the booth with his Dungeon World RPG. He wasn’t around, and as I turned the corner I caught sight of an indie RPG called Lacuna Part 1: The Creation of the Mystery and the Girl from Blue City. I literally exclaimed “Holy $**t!” when I saw it. Years ago, after I saw the film Inception, I immediately felt like I had to find an RPG similar to the world of the movie. I discovered Lacuna Part 1 while searching for such a game. It’s a really terrific RPG where you travel into dream worlds looking for anomalies and insidious thought-creatures. The guy at the booth asked me how I knew the game and I was gushing about it before realizing he was the creator, Jared Sorensen! This was one of my most fond convention memories right away. Jared was super cool and we talked about games for a while, and he gave me a sticker and patch of his game company logo, Memento Mori.

Lauren Erwin (@ThatSaltyGinger on Twitter) and Nerditor Doug, two original members of the Iron Dabbers.

Oh! And I ran into D&D party fam! Late one night heading back to the hotel I spotted Lauren Erwin in the hall. She is an original member of the Iron Dabbers, a D&D party from the live stream Secrets of Castle Greyhawk game I play in every Thursday on The Greyhawk Channel on Twitch. It was super cool to see her. I love that campaign and although Lauren wasn’t able to continue (she’s a busy lady!) she’ll always be an OG member of the crew and I am happy to call her a friend.

And we got to see the premiere of Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Dungeons & Dragons! Nerdarchist Dave and I were among the first people anywhere in the world to see this phenomenal documentary by our friends Brian Stillman, Seth Polansky and Kelley Slagle. IT IS AWESOME. If you have ever played D&D, you will love this movie. They traced the history of D&D art back to the beginning and talked with dozens and dozens of artists whose iconic work has been bringing the game to life for over 40 years. And I’m not the only one who thinks this film is the most — it won the Gen Con Film Festival award for best documentary.

All of this only scratches the surface of everything and everyone we saw at Gen Con 2018!

Awesome RPGs and other stuff

For me and Nerdarchist Ted, filling out bags with new games, minis and other swag is one of our favorite convention activities. I don’t have a complete rundown of Nerdarchist Ted’s haul, but I know for sure he got a whole slew of minis. On top of his own gets, many creators donated items to add to the Nerdarchy giveaway vault. Make sure to check out the Saturday Quests & Adventures live chats on the Nerdarchy YouTube channel and stay informed about these giveaways. We do them all the time so there’s lots of chances to get all sorts of great stuff.

This year I tried to be a little more conservative with my purchases. Usually I come home with twice as much luggage as I arrive with, but I reigned it in a bit for Gen Con 2018.

For starters, I picked up two Kickstarters I backed. Masters and Minions from Jetpack 7 and Kids on Bikes deluxe edition with the Powered Character Deck are two things I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. The PDF versions were sent out already, but there’s something special about having the physical books in hand for any RPG product. Masters and Minions is gorgeous. No surprise there, as the artwork in Jetpack 7 stuff is always top notch. The book is packed with detailed NPC creatures and the forces serving them, featuring design work from Aaron Hubrich, Jim Pinto, David Adams and one of my favorite creators, Dan Dillon. I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this one particularly to check out Grissek’k The Orc Queen, which does not disappoint. My other favorite master and minion combo is The Created. Check out this book if you like fleshed out villains for your Fifth Edition games!

Kids on Bikes is another one I hotly anticipated. Anyone who knows me knows I’m one of those D&D nerds who is comfortable using those rules for all sorts of genres beyond fantasy. So beyond the D&D ruleset, my favorite sorts of RPGs are modern-era (or close to it) games featuring regular folks in extraordinary circumstances. Kids on Bikes is all about regular people confronted with irregular situations like the supernatural, along with a group-controlled character who has special powers. It’s a toss up between this and Tales from the Loop for the one I like the best. But if I’m honest, after reading through them both I might take a bit from column A and a bit from column B. Kids on Bikes contains a ton of awesome ideas for creating characters and group dynamics, making it a valuable resource for roleplaying games in general.

Outbreak: Undead Second Edition from Hunters Entertainment and Renegade Game Studios is the other RPG I added to my collection. Truth be told, I didn’t know anything about it but the book is slick, and after flipping through it looks like a suggested style of play is taking the players themselves as characters and imagining a zombie apocalypse in your own hometown. Told you I like those sorts of games 😉 What really sold me though is the layout and design of the book. It has a lot of cool thematic and artistic elements making it fun to look and read through. And guess what? The person who wrote it and contributed to graphic design and layout is Chris de la Rosa — the guy I would wind up talking with the next day at that Peter Adkinson party!

On the same whim I picked up Arboretum, a tabletop game by Dan Cassar. Never heard of it, didn’t demo it but got it nevertheless. Why? The art intrigues me. The cover has a big purple tree and a multitude of colorful symbols around it, and the back shows the various card types, also trees of various colors. The goal of the game is to “create carefully planned paths for your visitors to walk as they take in the colorful explosion of buds and leaves.” Doesn’t that sound wonderful? It’s a competitive game, but with all the players competing to create something beautiful, it sounds like a delightful way to spend 30 minutes.

One game I did demo was the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game. I loves me some Final Fantasy, so I had to try it out. It’s really fun! Cards feature all the characters you’d imagine like Cloud, Lightning, Squall, Tidus, Yuna, Garland, Sephiroth and pretty much every character from all the games including Dissidia, Tactics and more. It was easy to understand and pick up, but of course like any card game there’s deeper strategies to discover. I got two decks so I’d have enough to play with friends, one featuring Lightning and the other Cloud. Also, I got a free Kain card for doing the demo. Dragoon FTW! On a side note, it just struck me while at Gen Con that many FF protagonists are named after atmospheric conditions. Derp.

I also came home with two Atmar’s Cardography dungeon decks from Brian Colin/Creature Curations. These are really special to me, because I was part of the team that brought them to life! Brian is an amazing person, and I did some editing work on the project. These are very cool products, basically huge dungeons with a room on each card. You can play through the whole thing following a preconstructed pattern, or follow small mini-dungeon setups, or just deal out rooms randomly as you go. There’s one for the Fiery Pits, a volcanic dungeon, and another for the Icy Divide, a frozen labyrinth. PDF guidebooks are available for both Fifth Edition and Fate. The adventures are designed to take place in Brian’s World of Revilo, a fantasy realm he created with his son while telling bedtime stories. It’s really amazing. Coming up, he’ll be launching a Kickstarter for three more sets as well. While at the booth, some passersby stopped to take a look and since the booth attendant was occupied, I explained the decks to the two people who came by. The attendant made their way over and commended my on the salesmanship. (I’m pretty familiar with them!) Also I got to meet Isaac Skaggs in person, another creator on the team.

Of course, I had to get myself some dice because…dice. It’s a tradition for me at any convention. For Gen Con 2018 I went with Elder Dice: Astral Elder Sign. They’re pretty snazzy and come in a spell book box you can use for a dice tray. Hopefully I’ll be able to snag a Yellow Sign of Hastur set at some point too. I missed the Kickstarter for them but maybe with a little eldritch luck things will pan out.

The last two things I picked up are both pieces of art. The first was a print from Voidbug, an illustrator who had an awesome selection of vibrant, ethereal art. Choosing one from everything she had to offer was tough, but I’m more than happy with the one I got and can’t wait to hang it up in the office. The second piece of art was one of Chris Seaman’s Cameo Creeps. Chris is a phenomenal artist who’s done a bunch of work for D&D, Magic: The Gathering and other games. One of my favorite pieces of D&D art is by him, the tiefling Star Pact warlock from fourth edition D&D. His Cameo Creeps are tiny monster paintings inside cameo frames. There’s a ton of them, making this choice even harder than my Voidbug print. In the end I went with Lady Wanda Glubberneck. She’s got an aquatic look reminiscent of sahuagin, one of my favorite D&D monsters that I’d been talking with someone about earlier that day.

Best part of Gen Con 2018

All parties, get-togethers, events, games and fun new stuff aside, there’s one thing about Gen Con that’s better than all of it combined. Being a nerd and enjoying this culture with so many others is absolutely priceless. By and large, the nerdy community is supportive of one another, encouraging, and welcoming. When we invite others to our games or accept invitations to theirs, we’re making new friends and connecting with new people. They might look different, or see the world different, live vastly different lifestyles or whatever. But overwhelmingly, one similarity is despite any of these differences we can all come together to share these fun and often deeply personal experiences. You can always find a fellow nerd to remind you that you can do anything you set your mind to, you can be you — the best you — and that’s a great thing. Maybe I have rose-tinted glasses on a bit, but I know there’s a heck of a lot more good out there than bad, and my fellow nerds do a fantastic job of showing it.

Round up and wrap up

Here’s a bunch of links to check out some of the stuff I mentioned above. And I also want to know about you! Did you go to Gen Con 2018 and have some awesome stories to share? Or have you gone in the past, or plan to go in the future? I’d love to hear about your best Gen Con memories, or any of your favorite convention stories in the comments below. And if you got any photos of the Nerdarchy crew from the convention, please share them and tag us on social media!

Official Gen Con Twitch channel

Hunters Books/Hunters Entertainment

Kids on Bikes

Jetpack 7

Arboretum

Final Fantasy Trading Card Game

Atmar’s Cardography

Elder Dice

Voidbug — Keep an eye on streams with me, Nerditor Doug, to see which print I got!

Cameo Creeps

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The games, cool swag, parties, and Nerdarchist Ted polymorphed into a cow #truestory there's one thing above all else making #GenCon2018 the Best Four Days in Gaming Hello! The Nerdarchy crew is back home from Indianapolis and back to work on all our nerdy projects.

#Gen Con

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