#worked surprisingly well in preventing me from reading her dms

[cinammonelles]

making up for the lack of baby pingping and yingying art 👍

[rosebloodcat]

Toonkind Storyline Idea

Not too long ago, I got an interesting idea for a DnD storyline thanks to some interesting spells I found in the Player’s Handbook. I’ve also been listening to the Toonkind DnD recordings as well. So, as one would expect, the two have been slowly melding together into (what I think) is a fun/interesting story that could be played.

The only awkward thing about it is that I’m not actually in the Toonkind Discord (I’ve got my eye out for the next invite link and I’m praying I’ll be online and aware enough to join in then), so I can’t really share the idea and see if anyone would be up for it. This awkwardness is only increased by the fact that a character I want to see/use for it is one that isn’t mine.

Because of that, this idea has just been festering in the back of my head for several days now and I just- Need to talk about it now.

Like, the fear of possible embarrassment is being replaced by the pure need to talk about this. It’ll probably just sit in my posts/notes forever and not get used, but I want to have it down and out there. (Keeping hopes/expectations low on that front.) I mean, what are the chances that, even if I At’d the players here on Tumblr, they would actually read through the idea? Or want to talk with me about it? Pretty low as far as I can tell.

So honestly, there’s nothing actually stopping me from just rambling into the aether about this. Might as well go for it.

Anyways, let’s get into the meat of this.

I’ll start off by telling people that I had been curious about spells to revive/bring back the dead because I was curious about how many there actually were. 

Unsurprisingly, I found four spells that involved reviving/bringing back the dead.

Surprisingly, though, only three of those spells were necromancy spells! (Revivify, Resurrection, and True Resurrection.)

The Fourth spell was called Reincarnate and was a transmutation spell used/learnable by Druids. (If you’re curious about it, you can check out the exact details here! https://www.dndbeyond.com/spells/reincarnate )

A quick summary of it goes like this: If someone has been dead for less than 10 days, you can touch them (or a piece of them) and create a new body for that person and call their soul to it. The spell causes their race/subrace to change, and the new one can be decided by the DM or via Dice Roll. All their abilities and memories stay the same, but their racial stats/abilities are exchanged for ones matching their new race/subrace.

And I thought, “What if this spell (or a variant of it) was used on a character that died in one of the Toonkind games?”

(Also, I realize I should mention this before continuing, Spoiler Warning for anyone who’s never listened to the Taffy Train Saga and the Coup De Blues games? This involves characters from those.)

I can’t think of too many toonkind characters who are actually Dead-Dead, but I do have one that I have a little bit of a soft spot for. One who was killed in the very same game he was introduced in.

Victor Tim, the (very dead) accountant for Dodo Studios.

(Who has been played by both @modmad and @snailcomicz and I’m not sure which of them he actually belongs to, so I guess he just goes to both for now. I know he was presented as a tool/not very liked character, but I just found him weirdly charming. I can’t explain it if I tried.)

Thus, the seed of an idea was planted in my brain.

What if Victor Tim was brought back from the dead by someone using a variation of this spell? Either as someone experimenting with magic or something. Heck, it could even be done with a machine instead of a spellcaster. (I’m not opposed to the “Illegal or at least Unethical Science” route for a villain. Seeing if they can expand the limit for how soon the spell can be used.)

I mean, considering the chaos brought by Dora Z Scale after the Taffy Train, would it really be so crazy to say that someone took advantage of it?

Someone could have noticed Dora robbing graveyards, seeing that the reports on it were few and far between, and decided to piggyback off her and snatch up remains in her wake. Get some free test subjects that didn’t need to sign waivers whilst everyone was focused on the Engineer and later Dora drama in the papers. Of course, they could have also been a bit more careful and waited until after Dora was captured/arrested before starting their experiments. To give more time for people to forget about them (if they had been spotted during that time) and let their focus be taken up by the former actress instead.

And it probably took a while before they got around to Vic, likely from how little they had of him due to Dora drinking a large portion of him. The Perp probably took their time refining their materials/process since they didn’t want to lose what little they had of him.

All things considered, the extra grave robber probably wasn’t noticed for a long time thanks to the sorting that needed to be done with Dora’s undead army. After figuring out who came from where and sending them back to their proper graves, I’m sure the police were very surprised to find that there were still a number of graves that remained empty.

That lovely little problem was probably kept buried to prevent the public from panicking/getting the police in even more trouble. Especially if The Engineer or Mrs. Tim found out that Vic’s remains were among those missing.

(Not to mention the field day the press would have about it. Like that one, very intrepid young reporter. The one with the dog, you know who.)

I’d say that Vic, when brought back, is still a toonkind but probably a different subrace. (Maybe a Frankenalie? Or a Warne? Unless Mod or Snail see this and think of something that would be more fun/interesting.)

He also probably has no idea what’s going on. Just that he’s pretty sure he’s supposed to be dead but somehow he’s not and he’s stuck somewhere he doesn’t recognize and are both his eyes facing forward? And “Oh no this is bad. I’m pretty sure there is a bad thing happening and I’m alone with no help, oh no, oh no, oh no.”

Because definitely not-okay, illegal/unethical experiments tend to mean the “Subjects” are basically captives/prisoners of the person responsible and need to either be rescued or find a way to escape.

Both routes could go in fun/interesting directions.

Cause, on one hand, there’s the possibility of getting the info out and having Engie pulling/being part of a rescue mission, or at least someone from the studio/Taffy Train may want to check it out. (I mean, who fakes being a dead guy? That’s weird enough that someone would want to look into it.)

On the other hand, there’s also the fun of Vic managing to bust out with the help of other victims in the same situation. Which could actually be a cool set of stories/games to be played. (I’d- I’d actually love to make a character to play that out if I’m being completely honest here. I may have one slowly being drafted out in my head as I type this.)

There’s also the potential hitch of Vic having to try and convince people/prove that he really is Victor Tim, the guy who was murdered by Dora Z Scale. Or that Vic’s note/message really was from him. Even more so if Vic’s talking to people who actually knew him before. (Powerful potential Angst and feels right there if they don’t believe him. Or it could be really funny, depending on how it’s played.)

There are also some fun shenanigans that could happen too. Mostly from Vic trying to figure out how his new race/abilities work. Like (if he was a warne)  accidentally using Expeditious Retreat and yeeting himself into a wall. Or (if he was a frankenalie) getting into a heated argument with an animal via Speak With Animals but not knowing it.

(“Uh, Vic?” “Wha- Oh! Sorry,  I was caught up talking with this guy-” “Vic, you’re talking to a dog.” “...Oh. Suddenly this makes a lot more sense.”)

But- yeah. That’s my idea for a potential storyline for Toonkind DnD, Victor Tim brought back from the dead but not as a Yupyaen and all the possible chaos that could entail. 

Honestly, I have more thoughts on the story, but it’s one of those things that would probably go better if I was able to talk with others about it.

This will probably sit in my posts for who knows how long and never actually get used/played, but I have said my piece now. Who knows, maybe I’ll use the initial idea in something and just remove Vic from the equation.

(... It would be cool if I actually got to use/play this in Toonkind though.)

[angeltrapz]

oosdkk dude im sorry ur mood dropped too.. i hope u feel better soon <3 but like i wld love 2 hear more abt ur thoughts on Art in general bc Boy Is He Interesting, and also a lil more abt Daniel coming out as nonbinary to his dad (whether he knows Eric is trans or not at that moment skjdfhdskf)! + if ur feelin it just more abt Mallick in general ESP cuz we agree that Brit doesn't make it thru V

djhfjdks thank u sm <3

okay Art first. I genuinely wonder abt him so much, something in specific I think abt is that aside frm Amanda (+ Eric, obviously, but talkin abt disciples) Art is one of the only trap victims EVER 2 be tested twice and it’s like... what’s that abt? Why? as u’ve said b4 it rly depends on how you personally view his character: whether he’s a disciple or not. fr me, both options are equally plausible, n honestly I don’t rly confine myself to either; it sorta depends on what I’m feeling/writing. if we’re talking abt art being a disciple, then the Spinecutter not going off (one of my BIGGEST questions) makes total sense, as Hoffman’s side of the trap was never set up to work either, + Jigsaw disciples have a history (aside from Lawrence) of appearing as victims in other tests/traps. if he were not just another pawn and was in fact a disciple himself, then the Spinecutter was never meant to go off - it was there just to make Eric think it COULD go off/make it look convincing to outsiders. which brings me to ANOTHER question: what does Art know abt Eric? does he know anything? what does he think of Eric?

(lil side note: if Art is a disciple, then I kinda wonder if it’s a lil bit of a Hoffman + Lawrence situation where Hoffman didn’t know abt Art either? just bc he looks so shocked when he sees Art’s face fully fr the first time... that could’ve just been acting on Hoffman’s part but IDK. food fr thought)

personally, I feel like Art probably does know a lil bit abt Eric - at the very least, he’d know tht Eric had been previously tested + failed by John’s rules, but then I feel that he wld also know Eric didn’t rly have a chance in his second test. that is why Art trying so fucking hard to keep Eric alive is interesting 2 me: what is his motivation 2 do that? like he’s been told Eric’s basically just there to get Rigg to participate, he doesn’t have any personal obligation or anything like that. sure, the aim is to keep Eric alive + see if Rigg can pass his “test,” but nobody said anything about grabbing a man you barely know around his ankles to keep him frm hanging himself w a noose made of chains. nobody said anything abt speaking to him so softly, not even raising your voice beyond saying “hey,” and asking him do you understand? when you tell him to keep still and prevent him frm killing his counterpart (which, if Art is a disciple, he knows it won’t, but he still speaks to Eric so softly, so compassionately, doesn’t he?)

nobody said anything abt grabbing him around the waist and steadying him again after being punched by said man. but Art does that. he stabilizes Eric’s feet on the ice as best he can and he keeps his hips straight and he basically says “look, we’re all stuck here, you need to keep it together ‘til that clock counts down if you want us to live, but I’m giving you a choice,” and he presses the gun w the single bullet into Eric’s hands and tells him it’s up to him. nobody said Art had to care but he does, I think, and it’s just like. he really didn’t have to keep Eric alive over the course of Rigg’s test. he didn’t. but he did and I just,, where does it come from? why does he care? this is even going beyond the fact that we’ve talked abt them being together after their test in a scenario where they both survive - I just think that Art at his core is a very stubborn but very compassionate person, whether he wants 2 be or not. like he HAS to know that kind of involvement cld prove to be extremely detrimental but he cares. I feel like that says a lot abt him (even if he does call Eric an asshole a couple times while doing it,,).

plus I also just. I think his reason for being tested (as it seems to be in most cases) is extremely flimsy. he was doing his job. he’s a LAWYER. often times it has nothing 2 do w personal feelings; they’re there to do their job and sometimes, unfortunately, that is defending possibly reprehensible people (in cases like Rex’s & Ivan’s). + John was already upset w him regarding their argument abt the urban renewal group so like it just feels So Very Petty, y’know?? even in the scenario where he IS a disciple, testing him twice seems entirely like John having a personal vendetta against him. Amanda is the only other person to be tested twice aside from Eric, so like. what. is that abt Mr. Kramer.

like I’ve said b4 in dms one could argue that Art is grey morally, bc we never rly see anything of him outside of flashbacks + acting as a test controller in IV, esp given that he... rly doesn’t seem too bothered abt it all? which is fair. but I also feel like the concern he shows towards Eric is smth to be considered as well.

-

+ YESS NONBINARY DANIEL I know I’ve mentioned it b4 but for reference, I read Daniel as masc nonbinary (he/they)! so I feel like Daniel wld b pretty comfortable w his identity, he’s never rly had a reason not to be (it’s rly anyone’s guess here tho bc we never see Eric + Daniel + Kate... as a family unit, for obvious reasons), so I feel like he’s vry chill abt it? and in the scenario where Eric survives n is dating Adam, I feel like Daniel wld talk 2 him abt it first (Adam is an adult they quickly come to trust + he’s vocal abt being trans himself so there’s that added layer of understanding - other than his mom maybe Adam might b the first person they come out 2). they’re just kinda like “so I wanna tell my dad I’m nonbinary but like I’ve literally never thought abt coming out what do I do” and Adam’s just like. Aha. bc he knows Eric is Also Trans so like, he doesn’t tell Daniel that bc it’s not his info to share, but he’s definitely like “oh it’ll totally be fine. trust me you have no reason to worry” so Daniel’s just like Okay. I Got This

+ I know I mentioned this in dms but Daniel wld absolutely wear those floral ripped hem skirts over jeans, so I feel like on one of his visits to his dad’s, he just. wears that combined w a completely random niche graphic tee he bought when shopping w Adam (I adore this hc n I am Holding Onto It) n is just like. not super open abt it bc he doesn’t know what to expect? he just kinda waits fr Eric to comment on it but when he doesn’t, Daniel gets nervous n is like “do I look okay?” and Eric’s rly chill abt it, like “yeah! it looks vry cool, vry alternative.” n like Daniel is relieved, of course, but also he’s just like God Pls Say Something so he just comes out w it like “okay this is not working. I’m nonbinary.”

and he’s COMPLETELY SHOCKED when Eric is just like “oh why didn’t u say so? do u have a different name u wanna go by? is Daniel still okay?” bc he wasn’t sure how much Eric knew, so he’s just like “uh no Daniel is still good, he/they pronouns though” and Eric’s just like alright cool but internally Daniel’s just like ??????

n THAT is when Eric asks him 2 come sit out on th front steps w him n is just like. “I don’t think I ever told u this but I’m trans. I transitioned during training in my early 20s” n Daniel is nodding while internally he’s like Adam I’m gonna throttle u. he worked himself up fr NOTHING. he just kinda laughs abt it and Eric is like “are u good?” ‘cause he’s a lil worried but then Daniel just smiles and is like “yeah I’m fine! just realizing I had nothing 2 be worried abt” and it’s a rly good moment fr them. they sit out there together talking abt their experiences for quite a while n at some point Adam steps outside 2 find them deep in conversation + he just smiles n goes back inside bc he cares abt them both so much and seeing them talk like that makes him so 💞💞 (Eric is SO PROUD u can see it on his face)

-

ohhh gosh Mallick,,, I spend a lot of time thinking abt him actually. he’s just one of those characters I feel vry connected to (me 🤝 Mallick: Ambiguous Disorder 💕) n one I got surprisingly attached to? hello (he IS one of my f/os)

I feel like Mallick is a very lonely person at his core. the way he sort of clings to Brit (w out the whole like. adrenaline of being in very very real danger w ppl trying to kill u SEVERAL TIMES) somewhat confirms this fr me. this is someone who has no reason to look out fr him, no reason to keep protecting him when their fellow captives hit him over th head w a club or attempt to push him into a bathtub to ELECTROCUTE him, but she keeps doing it and he’s just. in awe of it a little bit? ‘cause she could just let Charles knock him tf out or let Luba push him in but she fights for him, some1 she has no obligation to n met fr the first time literally when they woke up.

the moment they share b4 they stick their arms into the saws to activate the 10 Pints of Sacrifice is so very vulnerable and maybe even a little tender. yes he calls her a monster, yes she calls him one back, neither of them deny it. it’s an admission and an acceptance. they’re monsters, sure, fine, okay. but they are monsters and they are in this together. Brit tells Mallick it’s okay when he says he can’t do this alone. she says okay, okay, it’s okay, we’ll go together. and they help each other secure their tourniquets and they stick their hands in together bc it’s the two of them, literally hand in hand, fighting for their lives n for each other n they’re in so so much pain but they are doing it TOGETHER. I lose it thinking abt it!!! they even have a head bonk moment!!! I very much feel like it has some cinematic parallels to Adam & Lawrence’s moment in SAW 2004!!!!

+ as u mentioned, we both share the thought that Brit likely died since she wasn’t present at Bobby’s meetings, and. I want to touch on how fucking despondent and lost Mallick looks when we see him again in 3D. lights on but no one’s home. I feel like for Mallick, losing Brit was losing the first chance at a real connection he’s had in god knows how long - and for him, that’s just very shattering. he’s been thru hell, he’s watched three people die right in front of him, he sawed his ARM IN HALF, n the person he went through all of that with didn’t make it. but he did. and I feel like for Mallick that’s just like... he doesn’t understand it. but he feels even lonelier than he ever has b4 because the One Person who was there w him thru it all, the one person who could ever possibly understand what happened that night, is gone.

the Mallick we see in V would NEVER sit down n willingly listen to Bobby Dagen’s bullshit abt loving yr scars n taking pride in the fact u survived. he wld hate that man with a passion n I am very much sure of this. the fact that he’s sitting in that chair looking numb and glassy-eyed and silent? Mallick is trying to find some1 to connect to, find a place where maybe he belongs. trying to fill that hole that losing Brit made. why else wld he be sitting there, listening to someone he would ordinarily tell to shove his self-love bullshit up his ass? he’s lost. he’s just trying to keep his head above water and find a way to shore even though everything in him is fighting not to. he’s adrift without her.

+ ALTERNATIVELY, bc the reality of that is just. crushing n maybe not where I needed 2 go, in the scenario where Brit survived + just doesn’t want to put up w Bobby’s bullshit, I imagine them to actually move in together after a lil bit of time getting 2 know each other better w out the pressure of “oh god we’re gonna die.” she kinda helps him build up a sense of self-worth bc GOD it’s practically non-existent n thinking abt possible reasons why makes me sad. she’s definitely just like “no, you do deserve to be cared for and you deserve help when you need it, you deserve good things n to be happy.” she just kinds shuts it down while still making sure to talk 2 him abt WHY he feels that way (she’s not dismissing, but she’s trying to nip it in th bud) n Mallick is just like. huh. bc no one’s really done that fr him before. but it rly does end up helping in the long run, even if it is a very slow pace toward actually getting 2 a place where he recognizes his own worth + realizes he deserves all the things he wants Brit 2 have too. they’re there for each other thru thick n thin and if they made it thru their game, they can make it thru anything.

[kyloren]

Saw on your blog that you ship Hermione and Draco! Got any fic recommendations for someone who hasn't read anything with that pairing before?

I’ve never been asked to give a Dramione fic rec list to anyone outside of DMs, so here’s hoping my list would actually be good. *fingers crossed*

* marks WIPs.

canon (ish?): 

lost and found by Anuna: “Draco Malfoy, a single father and a Curse Breaker employed at Ministry of Magic wants few things from his life. He mostly wants to be left alone. However, his work, his reputation and his mother’s schemes are to prevent him from being left alone as he wishes. Working with Hermione Granger doesn’t help much either.” post-Hogwarts, disregards Cursed Child. [you need an ao3 account to read this one.]

a primer for the small weird loves by unicornesque: “In the glow of the fires, her unkempt hair was a halo, her eyes were Baltic amber, and he was panicking.“ Born and raised in France, Draco Malfoy attends Beauxbatons and leads a privileged, well-ordered existence. He meets Hermione Granger for the first time at the Triwizard Tournament, and that’s when things get… strange. But kind of wonderful, too.” Wildly Canon Bending. [this is the one that makes me cry. every. single. time!]

gravity by luckei1: “It’s about arranging stacks of books, wall colours, and jumping off a cliff.”

the redemption of draco malfoy by luckei1: “Can Draco be saved from his Deathly Hallows fate of being a snivelling coward?” Alternative DH.

heavy lies the crown by luckei1: “For seven years, Draco has carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and just when he thinks he’ll be released, something happens that will make him seek help from the last person he could have imagined.” Canon Divergence.

grey tuesdays by luckei1: “Hermione goes on holiday for three reasons. A calendar date, her mother, and spontaneity.”

++ just everything that luckei1 writes is solid gold. unfortunately, one of my favourite fanfics of hers — Elephant Walk — was published on dramione.org and is now unavailable till further notice.

unexpected* by @avdubs & @hexrmionegranger (oeuvre24): “Hermione was not expecting Harry to outshine her in Potions, and she was certainly not expecting an unlikely friendship with Draco Malfoy to form because of it.” Alternate HBP.

clean by @olivieblake: “Malfoy’s handsome face was contoured into a condescending smirk. “No faith in that giant brain of yours, Granger?” She looked up at him defiantly. “Maybe I don’t have faith in you!” she said, raising her voice. Malfoy only looked at her. “You’ll find I’m very surprising.”” Alternative HBP, first instalment of the This World or Any Other series.

red hands by Bex-chan: ““Comparatively, he was a wolf and she was a sparrow.” A story without an ending, but a story nonetheless. A story about Firewhiskey, tea, and murder.” Wartime one-shot. 

the disillusionment of draco malfoy* by Little Witch1: “…and His Accomplice Hermione Granger.” Canon Bending.

it is the cause, my soul by DrSallySparrow: “Having completed her N.E.W.T.s Hermione decides to pursue a niggling interest in muggle literature and study at Oxford. Little does she know, she isn’t the only Hogwarts alum looking for answers among the dreaming spires. When a performance of Othello brings her together with two former enemies, sparks can’t help but fly.” post-Hogwarts, disregards Cursed Child.

the unseen army* by meupclose: “It is not us to fear my dear; for we are the assassins built for a revolution within the very frame work of evil. Believe me love, this is the price of peace. I will be successful in my plans, in my leadership. I will help in the downfall of Voldemort.” Canon Bending. [for me, this is the fic that got away. it’s been WIP for years.]

for her favour by Captainraychill: “A man in love is always apprehensive.” Alternative HBP. [okay, so this fic was deleted ff.net, so I had to track it down to fictionhunt.com]

the sorting by KathSilver: “Dumbledore stated that sometimes he thought students were sorted too soon, Minerva McGonagall took this to heart and resubmitted 7th years to be sorted again. What will happen when their world is turned upside down, and where will they find comfort?” Eight Year AU.

shadows of ourselves by InkFairy: “Draco Malfoy has played both sides of the war for years, but when Voldemort gives him an ultimatum—bring him Hermione Granger or die—she surprisingly agrees to be handed over to the Dark Lord. Together, they take pureblood society by storm as Master and Madam Malfoy, all while trying to help the Order find and destroy the last Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort forever.” Wartime Canon Divergence. 

blind my eyes, sew them shut by Greenaleydis: “After a close brush with the Death Eaters, Hermione awakens blinded and on the run with a familiar snarky Slytherin. In hiding, Hermione and Draco must find a way to survive - and somehow thwart a plot that could alter their very world.” Wartime Canon Divergence. 

unforgiveable* by EStrunk: “Draco is part of the Dark Lord’s Inner Circle, but secretly using his post to bring the Dark Lord down. Hermione is his contact in the Order and he is soon going to discover that she means far more to him than that.” post-DH.

seven days in april by inadaze22: “They were still the same people with the same problems on either side of a bathroom door.” Canon Divergence. 

the gates of istanbul by pagan: “A Death Eater attack in Istanbul throws together two unlikely allies. As they unwillingly cooperate to reach safety, attraction and emotions flare up between them.” post-Hogwarts, canon bending.

god given solace by bluesuitharold: “Draco comes into his Veela heritage and must attempt to survive through all the trials that entails.” Alternative DH, veela!Draco.

a past erased by Ariel_Riddle: “His face contorted with a mixture of rage, indecision, and determination. Hermione did not care, she ran all the way up to him before flinging herself in his arms, wrapping herself tightly around him—she would never let go.” Alternative HPB & DH.

alternative universe:

fortuna major by @olivieblake: “She’s with Ron, he’s with Astoria, and nothing a cheap psychic on the Venice Boardwalk says is going to change that. Or will it?” Muggle AU.

a muggle-born magic by Musyc: “Physician’s daughter Hermione Granger finds herself in need of a way to pay off her father’s debts after his death. Draco Malfoy finds himself in need of a tutor for his son, Scorpius, who appears to be incapable of magic and must learn to survive in a world without it.” Regency AU.

time travel: 

once, maybe twice in a lifetime by Ally147: ���It’s still. Placid. An unbroken sheet of glass rippling with low, late afternoon sunlight. Nothing at all to be afraid of, really. Stupid that she still is, after all these years.” Canon Bending, Time Travel

regrets collect like old friends by ScotlandEvander: “Traveling into the past, Draco Malfoy finds himself in his eleven-year-old body with all his memories from the past seventeen years. Using this knowledge, he sets out change time. His first mission: befriend Harry Potter.” Time Travel, first instalment in the Rewritten in Time series. [I talk a lot about my love for time travel fics and this is among my favourite ones! Dramione doesn’t happen until later instalments though, so mind that.] 

eternity in an hour by hiddenhibernian: “The doomsday prophets were right: the end is nigh. This time, having the right wand won’t be enough to save either wizards or Muggles. Hermione’s younger self would have been horrified by what she is planning to do, but she stopped caring about such things a long time ago.”

turn back this cursed clock* by @wingsofmercury: “As the Battle of Hogwarts rages around him, he curses the decisions that led to this moment. His wand is gone, his family ruined, and Harry Potter-the supposed savior-is dead. There is nothing left for him but ignominy and death, so Draco Malfoy heads to his sanctuary, the only safe place he’s ever known, and begs the Room of Requirement to grant one last request.” Time Travel. [so this is technically not Dramione, at least, not yet. It only has four chapters so far.]

.

.

I have read more, but either the stories have been deleted, or the links no longer work *cough* looking at you dramion.org *cough* so it’s fruitless. I hope you enjoy these recommendations, whoever you are, nonster.

[creative-cauldron]

Inter-party Conflict, the Horrors of Bleed, and DM-Style

I know I promised more on Cardinal but I got a few specifics to figure out and something happened that I wanted to talk about. So, I’ve been participating in some one-shots recently and what happened occurred at the one I played in this past weekend. It was D&D 5e with the DM running a mystery-horror setting, basic set-up being a random spooky mansion in the middle of the woods filled with death traps and strange magic. Fun right. It gets better because it turns out the place is a home to a lich who is trying to bring back his long dead family through various necromantic experiments. We were a party of three; me a halfling arcane trickster, the elven trickery cleric, and a human fighter (forget the subclass). All character were pre-made by the DM at level 7.

Me and the fighter had good banter going with both of us playing our characters as sort of goofy characters who are constantly making jokes. I think we both just subconsciously decided that we were going to play that type of character that makes light of any situation. The cleric though was being played by a player who had only played in few one-shots and didn’t keep up with our character’s humor. Whether it was a a character choice or not I’m not sure, but I don’t think it was. Not a big deal though me and him formed what seemed at first to be some fun friendly rivalry, when I told him to go first walk across a trapped puzzle floor citing age before beauty. The fighter also joined in on this but kept repeating the more targeted jokes and started only referring to the cleric as age. Why didn’t I disable it as the rogue you asked, well because it turns out that my rogue didn’t have thieves’ tools, something the DM made sure of when making the character. 

This was the first flag, and issue that I had with the DM. They designed the characters with the goal of making them unsuited for the one-shot. Another example being that there was Deep Speech everywhere and they said they made sure that none of the character options knew Deep Speech and no one had access to Comprehend Languages. Now there might have been some item or something in the mansion that would allow us to read Deep Speech but I kinda doubt it. Our characters were almost designed to fail, something I felt especially when I realized that all of my spells didn’t work against Undead or Constructs which were all that we were fighting. The exception was Invisibility which when I cast it on myself was useless because the creature I was running away from didn’t rely on sight. I was frustrated but it was a one-shot. Our cleric was not so accepting go. It didn’t help that this was his first time playing a full caster and he blew most of his spells on a homebrewed golem with magic resistance. 

Things got worse for him when we encountered the Lich. I had maintained my invisibility and was scouting but it didn’t matter because I forgot that Liches get truesight. So I was captured and, using my brains, suggested he question me about why we were in his house while being magically prevented from lying. The reason why was because well we had technically done anything that wrong, we were a little railroaded with the way our characters were designed and surprisingly, our characters were invited into the house by a mysterious voice, we didn’t just barge in. After that the rooms were basically just one after another each with really only one door, and no details were given about the room until we asked to perceive the room. We didn’t even know there was a door, just that this was a dining room, a parlor, or whatever have you. Anyway during the questioning I accidentally lied because when he asked had I touched this NPC boy he had kidnapped I said no because I forgot that one round of combat when another player “put him on my back” before taking him back the next turn. 

So I was in the hands of a deranged Lich who I just accidentally pissed off as he marched after the aforementioned child. The fighter was in another room with the child who we find out was getting the soul of the Lich’s son put into him and the two souls were fighting but the Lich’s son had just one. The fighter had been really good about building a relationship with this boy before the “personality change” and then went on to build a great relationship with the new child in the few second before the Lich arrived, somehow (mostly dice rolls, but also a little of the DM’s showing a slight bit of favor). Due to his relationship with the boy and the fact that he had actively worked to keep the child unharmed, the Lich was okay with him, and you guess it, the fighter starts to betray the party. The cleric meanwhile, was in a little girl’s room and soon discovered the zombified daughter of the Lich, then starts playing dolls with her, then realizes that the dolls were former intruders into the mansion who are still kinda sentient but tortured. Then when the Lich entered, with me in his grasp and the fighter following behind, the daughter decides she wants the Cleric as a new doll.

This is were things really go downhill especially for our. The Cleric is put in a cell, the Fighter got the Lich to let me and him leave, but I don’t want to leave the Cleric behind. So the Fighter is talking with the Lich and the Zombie while I try to get the Cleric out of the cage (I eventually found Thieves’ Tool in the mansion). However, as the Fighter is talking he officially accepts a job as the the kids nanny, which means he’s gonna do whatever it takes to make the kids happy. If you haven’t put it together yet that means stopping me from getting the Cleric out of there. So now I and the Cleric are fighting our Fighter while the Cleric is still trapped in a cage which the Fighter is keeping held shut. I’m happy at first because I can start using my spells since they work on the Fighter, but get annoyed when they don’t really work. The sleep was my fault for using it too early, but the charm person was him trying to find a loophole which I’m a little upset the DM allowed. Basically I told him to stop holding the cage door closed and let the Cleric out. He stop actively holding the cage closed and instead just leaned up against it. 

Meanwhile, the Cleric was having horrible rolls to attack the fighter and was getting frustrated. Luckily the Lich wasn’t paying attention to us because it got distracted by his ghost wife who had been helping us. So our boss battle was us trying to kill the Fighter while he tried to keep us distracted long enough for the Lich to turn the Cleric into a necromantic doll. What was annoying was the whole time Fighter kept making jokes about how he was trying to help the Cleric achieve immortality. When the lich finally got back to us he decided he was done playing around with us. I got my soul put in a gargoyle which was apparently always sitting on fireplace mantle which was always in the dining room we walked through before. The DM was running theatre of the mind, which is fine, but my problem with them is that they never truly painted a well enough picture of the scene to do that. I eventually managed to escape back to my body and get out though. Meanwhile, the Cleric was sent to a room we have never been in before and strung up awaiting to be turned into a doll. He does manage to escape and after asking to perceive the room notes that there is a closet and hides in it. The fighter eventually comes in following the daughter and immediately goes for the closet. 

This is when the player playing the Cleric gets real mad and start telling the Fighter to stop meta-gaming, claiming he had been doing it all night. Had he been, a little, nothing major. It made sense for Fighter to check the closet when he found the room empty, but he did have the luxury of not having to ask if the closet was there in the first place. He was getting the benefit of slight favoritism from the DM because he was a source of constant weird and interesting ideas. The problem ultimately was poorly managed bleed. If you don’t know bleed is when emotions, skills, and thoughts carry over from player to player character or vice a versa. The Cleric was feeling betrayed and so the Cleric’s player was feeling betrayed. I picked up on the favoritism the DM showed to the Fighter’s player and it annoyed me as a player and I’m sure the Cleric’s player picked up on it. That frustration mixed with the in character frustrations, the frustration at the poor rolls he’d been having, and he boiled over. The DM did defend the Fighter’s player, which I wish wasn’t the first thing out of their mouth, but ultimately they helped the Cleric deal with their frustrations in character by coming up with creative solutions to their situation. Luckily the session ended soon after and we talked a little about the tension before packing up. 

Ultimately, emotions are weird and difficult. People have enough trouble with emotions when they only have their own to control. I don’t hate the DM, they had a style that worked with players who are used to them but if you aren’t it is a little clunky to work with. Narrative heavy which is great but super fluid, they didn’t even use initiative for turn order so that it doesn’t break the narrative flow of the scene and everything was time sensitive so if you want to stop in think, you can’t. It was cool to play with I just wish they toned their style to the table and were a little better at reading and addressing the problems that were forming. All-in-all though not sure I would have done better but I know I would have done it differently and maybe our Cleric needed different, maybe not. 

[adventuresaroundasia]

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info. 

Pin Me!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done the Freedom Life monthly recaps, but I decided it’s finally time to get back into it! That said, I may or may not have started writing this post with the intent of it just being a July monthly recap and then… got too busy to finish it. Story of my life…

So anyway, here’s what I was up to this summer living in Tbilisi, Georgia!

On the way to Kazbegi!

What I Was Up To This Summer

Over the last two months, I’ve been very busy! Firstly, Chris and I took a quick weekend trip to Kazbegi along the Georgia Military Highway!

In addition to that small trip, I attended a baby shower, prevented my cat from dying via surgery, rescued a NEW kitten, launched a new website with Chris, and more!

**For those of you who are concerned about me traveling during COVID-times, the Republic of Georgia handled the pandemic very well (we only had 17 deaths TOTAL) and things are really starting to open up. We did have a very strict mask protocol at the hotel though, and we specifically went to the countryside where we could explore with almost no people.

Where I Went in July

Tbilisi, Georgia

Mtskheta, Georgia

Pasanauri, Georgia

Kazbegi, Georgia

Sno, Georgia

Gudauri, Georgia

Gergeti Trinity Church is lit up behind me!

Highlights

Here are the best moments from July and August!

A Quick Trip to Kazbegi

After being cooped up in a small apartment for months and months, Chris and I were so excited to finally get out and see a bit more of Georgia. Unfortunately for us, we only had about 2 months to enjoy Georgia before lockdown, so aside from a quick wine tasting day trip, we really hadn’t seen much of the country!

Now that things are (almost) back to normal here, we decided to head to Kazbegi in the mountains near the Russian border. The lack of tourism has been really hard for all of these beautiful mountain towns, so it was nice to be able to provide some business while enjoying the fresh (and chilly) mountain air.

We booked a heavily discounted room at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi, which is one of the nicest local hotel chains in Georgia. It was so nice to take a few days away, and enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains and Gergeti Trinity Church.

Honestly, I think Kazbegi is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to in my life.

The Russia Georgia Friendship Monument!

Driving the Georgian Military Highway

Driving to and from Kazbegi was an adventure in and of itself! We hired an awesome driver named Timo from GoTrip.ge, who not only stopped at all the major sights along the Georgian Military Highway, he also suggested additional stops and activities for us!

On the way to Kazbegi, we had the opportunity to visit Mtskheta to see the beautiful Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in town and the Jvari Monastery which sits up on a hill giving you an incredible view of the entire town.

We also stopped at the famous Ananuri Fortress, Pasanauri for their amazing khinkali dumplings, Sakuriani to drink mineral water from a natural spring just off the highway, an area just off the highway with “sticky rocks” you could climb up without slipping despite the slight waterfall, and of course, the Russia-Georgia Friendship Monument, which we had completely to ourselves!

On the way back a few days later, we stopped at Sno to see the famous carved head sculptures of Georgian poets, and we even got to take an hour-long cable car through the mountains to Gudauri! We really thought the cable car would be closed considering no one was there, but they let us ride which was such a fun surprise! That said, it was super weird to ride a cable car for an hour and see NO ONE.

Honestly, the trip to and from Kazbegi is amazing, and I’ll have to write a blog post about it soon!

Fruit Baby!

Attending my First Baby Shower

This July was my first experience attending a baby shower! Two of our friends are having a baby literally any day now, so it was very fun to be able to celebrate with them!

We played baby-themed trivia, ate tons of great food, and there was even a gender-reveal with cupcakes! I also loved being able to shop for a few cute baby things as a gift!

Chris and I Launched Multiple Nerdgasms

Over the last two months, Chris and I launched a brand new blog together: Multiple Nerdgasms! This is a site where we can talk about one of our other loves: Dungeons and Dragons. (Yes, we’re both giant nerds).

Chris has been DM’ing D&D games for 24 years (seriously), and I started playing a few years ago. While I used to play once every two weeks, during lockdown, I got involved in three different online D&D games!!

Chris and I thought it would be interesting to write about D&D from the perspective of both the player and the DM, as well as exploring both a male and female perspective. I’ve already written a few posts for the site, and set up social media accounts. I can’t wait to keep writing more!

Surprisingly, the very first post I wrote about gender equality and D&D actually got a lot of traction! People were sharing it on Twitter in women’s D&D groups, and many people reached out to me with their own stories of sexism in D&D. I even inspired a few men I know to create strong female characters.

it’s hard to get a good picture of him

I Rescued a Kitten

So at the end of August (aka last week), I may or may not have rescued ANOTHER cat. After coming home from a nice dinner out, Chris and I stepped out of the taxi and were immediately accosted by a 2-month-old kitten who wouldn’t stop meowing at us.

He looked fairly healthy, so we thought that there was a possibility he belonged to someone in the area, especially considering the fact that he kept running up to people, looking for help/food.

We were originally going to leave him because we didn’t want to take someone’s cat, and even if he was a stray, Georgia has a ton of street cats and kittens that do very well. We even waited for a solid 40-minutes just to see if we could find a mother or owner, but no one came for him.

But on the way home, this little kitten decided to follow us, almost getting hit by two different cars in the process! Worried that he wasn’t going to survive on his own outside, we decided to take him home until we could figure out where he belongs.

After a visit to the vet the next day, we learned that he is definitely a street kitten, but doesn’t have great street-smarts and was relying on people for food and attention. Now he’s happily at home with us and is probably the most loving kitten I’ve ever met in my life. So… welcome to the family?

Yasmina relaxing after her surgery

Challenges

This summer wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Here’s what didn’t go so well…

My Cat Almost Died

If you didn’t already know, I’ve been fostering a cat named Yasmina for a few months now. She’s also a street rescue and has a ton of medical problems. At the beginning of the summer, Yasmina started to go really downhill. She was having a lot of trouble pooping, barely ate, slept constantly, and appeared to be in immense pain.

I kept taking her to the vet, who gave her IV treatments and lots of medicine, but she wasn’t getting any better. We even gave her an enema to try and clear out her bowels! (She hated it).

While my vet seemed great (and refused to take any money for any of these treatments?!!), she also didn’t speak English very well and couldn’t really take the time to fully explain to me what was wrong with Yasmina. I kept offering to pay her (seriously, she’s a saint), hoping she would give me more time, but even the paying clients were extremely rushed in this very busy clinic. I started feeling like it might be worth my time to go to a different vet that comes highly recommended from other expats in Tbilisi.

So after not hearing back from the original vet for a few days, and getting very worried about Yasmina not making it, I had Chris take her into the Veterinary Clinic at Georgia Agriculture University. Apparently, Yasmina is 8-10 years old NOT 2-3 like a vet originally told the girl who rescued her, and her biggest problem is not her kidneys, but the fact that she had a solid kilo of poop stuck in her intestine! She needed to undergo emergency surgery IMMEDIATELY and there was only a 50-50 shot she’d make it due to her age and medical problems.

On hearing this, I contacted the company I work for remotely and asked to have my remaining shift covered while I raced to get to the hospital to be there for her surgery. The entire surgery I was so nervous I felt sick! But thankfully she’s such a strong girl, she came out of surgery just fine, and has completely recovered!

I had to give her a lot of medicine, and take her in for IVs every day (and this vet clinic is NOT nearby my house…). I also have to feed her Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Wet food in 4 small servings a day which is not cheap.. but it’s a small price to pay for my fluffy baby!

As of now, Yasmina is a completely different cat. She’s constantly playing with toys, and went from barely ever making a sound to becoming an extremely talkative little lady. A little too talkative to be honest… 

At least I have khinkali

My Course Launch Didn’t Go As Planned

As many of you know, I have an online course and coaching program called Teach Abroad Squad that helps people to be successful teaching abroad in China!

Understandably, this year has not been great for my business. With the Chinese borders closed and no end to COVID in sight, it’s been a tough year for me.

That said, I did have a very successful launch of my program in April! I had my highest grossing launch yet, and had a bunch of really awesome people join the program. I’ve been working with a business coach who has really helped me through the entire thing (from positioning for the pandemic to dealing with my many mindset issues about selling during this time).

So after that successful launch in April, I decided to do another one in July! I made the free webinar training even longer and better, and had just as many people sign up as I did in April. However, no one joined the program, despite many people seeming interested.

Honestly, this is not really something I wanted to be open about, because I felt really ashamed of the results. I have this fear that if I talk about the struggles I’ve had with my program this year, people will think Teach Abroad Squad isn’t a success and they won’t want to join.

But deep down, I know Teach Abroad Squad is an incredible course, and I have full confidence in it. It’s really just the current situation that’s made things very hard.

Back in April, people still had a lot of hope that the borders would be open by now. So investing in Teach Abroad Squad was a no-brainer! But now with the pandemic raging in many countries like the US with no end in sight, I have the feeling that many people are choosing to hold off until things become more stable.

That said, it doesn’t make my July launch any less disappointing! I put a ton of time and work into promoting Teach Abroad Squad, and sometimes it’s hard not to equate your business to your own self-worth. It’s definitely something I’m working on!

This failed launch has definitely given me the time and perspective to look at potentially creating a second program I’m really proud of, with a different topic that’s more relevant right now.

While I still love and fully support Teach Abroad Squad (I mean, we do live Q&A’s weekly and monthly Zoom Coaching Calls!), it might make the most sense for me to stop pushing it for the moment and focus some energy on a new topic. Now, just to figure out what that topic will be…

For those of you who are interested in Teach Abroad Squad, I’ve decided to put a hold on webinars and big promotions for now. So if you want to join, I’m leaving the cart wide open for you! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! 

Drinking cocktails with social distancing in Kazbegi

Work Overload: Course Launch, Freelancing, and Interviewing!

Most of July and parts of August were EXTREMELY stressful for me. Earlier in the summer, I started a new part-time job interviewing Chinese students for their college admissions applications, which has been a great source of extra income, but also takes up a lot of the time I used to use to work on my blog and Teach Abroad Squad.

I also have a position working as a social media manager for my business coach Merilyn! Yes, I joined her Lead Your World program, and then she ended up hiring me a few months later to do Social Media! (I help run her Facebook Page and Facebook Group!)

Trying to do these two jobs, and run a launch for Teach Abroad Squad, while also running my cat to the vet 30 minutes outside of town DAILY… is a giant recipe for burnout.

I ended up having major pain in my jaw that’s only just now calming down. But wow, I really overloaded myself these last two months… hence, why this blog post never got published and it’s a 2-month recap!

Georgian bread and cheese on the balcony for brunch!

Major Payment Plan Issues

To make financial matters worse, I had a few people in my program ask me to postpone their payment plan payments by a month due to financial issues. While I wouldn’t normally allow this, I know COVID has been super rough for everyone, so I allowed the payments to be pushed back by a month and followed the instructions from MemberPress to put their payment plans on pause.

IT WAS A DISASTER.

Not only did the system charge them anyway, but it also created a second subscription for them when I turned their access back on, meaning it charged them TWICE the next month. WTF!

Unfortunately for me, MemberPress only does tech support via email (seriously! It’s a paid service!), and my tech support person literally had no idea what I did wrong when I sent them screenshots of my system. They eventually had to get more advanced tech support in the backend of my website to try and fix the problem. It was a complete nightmare and I’m still mad.

Look at them not killing each other!

Trying to Introduce My New Kitten

While I’ve loved having my new kitten Mordie, my older cat Yasmina has NOT been happy. We’ve had to keep Mordie in the bathroom while Yasmina gets accustomed to him, and then we bring him into the bedroom to hang out for large chunks during the day and evening.

I know this is normal, but we have a very small apartment, and keeping them separate has been hard!

Not to mention, Yasmina was pissed at ME for bringing him home. She’d even smell his scent on my hand and growl at me. One day Mordie escaped into the living room and she was so mad she slapped me in the face! She also completely refused to come in the bedroom because it smelled like him, and hissed at me the one time I brought her in there.

Finally, after a week she’s starting to come around. They even napped next to each other on the bed today and she only hissed at him if he tried to come within a foot of her. Baby steps!

Here’s a Georgian tomato and cucumber salad with walnut paste

The USA is a Giant Mess

I could write an entire post on this, but this summer has really showcased that the US has some big problems they need to fix. Firstly the way we’ve handled the pandemic is absolutely ridiculous (and this is coming from someone who lives in a country that locked down hard and only had 17 deaths nationally). Then on top of this, the police brutality and reactions towards the BLM movement is horrifying.

While I’m glad I’m in Georgia right now, there is definitely a part of me that wishes I was in the US so I could participate in the BLM protests to demand racial equality, police accountability, and justice for the many victims of police violence and racism.

I’ve been trying to do my part to help, and have the difficult conversations with the few people in my newsfeed (and on my Adventures Around Asia page!!) who just DON’T get it. While I would typically just block these people for my sanity, I’ve realized that this isn’t productive. But wow, is it EXHAUSTING to talk with people who refuse to recognize their own biases, and will literally never change their minds.

But every time I feel like I just want to walk away, I remember that many people don’t have the privilege to do so. I think many of us have felt exhausted, hurt, and angry these last few months, and I really hope the protests (and upcoming election) create some positive change for our country.

Hello Tbilisi!

Blog Posts I’ve Written Lately

Here are the blog posts I wrote and guest posts I published on Adventures Around Asia since my last major life update/recap!

Fun Fact: I’m a Huge Nerd

What It’s Like to Teach in China as a Black Woman (Guest Post)

Moving to China With Kids: Teaching Abroad With the Whole Family (Guest Post)

I’ve also written two blog posts for Multiple Nerdgasms!

Why I Always Play Female Characters in D&D

Tragic Backstories: 10 Subtle Traumas for Your D&D Backstory

Travel Product of the Month

This month I want to give a shoutout to my amazing Teva W Ysidro Sandals that have gotten me through the summer. Not only are these things super cute and go with pretty much every outfit, but they’re also SO comfortable and supportive. They even have extra cushioning on the ball and heel of the shoe!

I had a pair a few years ago that I literally wore to death, which is why I was so excited to get these for Christmas! Now that the weather is warm I can finally wear them.

This cat tried to eat our food for the entire meal.

What I’m Reading Now: Wisdom of the Enneagram

If you didn’t know, I’m more than a little obsessed with the Enneagram, a personality categorization and self-help tool. The Wisdom of the Enneagram is considered by many to be the “Enneagram Bible” and the book that you really need to read if you want to learn the Enneagram in-depth.

While I’ve owned Wisdom of the Enneagram for quite a while now and had read through most of it, I decided to start reading through from the beginning again now that I have a better understanding of the Enneagram. I’m also taking notes and highlighting important info!

I honestly feel like I’m back in college again and I don’t even mind. It’s always fun to learn something new!

Best Instagram Post

I took this one from the balcony door of my room at Rooms Hotel Kazbegi! Man, the view here is so amazing…

  View this post on Instagram

  A post shared by Richelle (@adventuresaroundasia) on Jul 25, 2020 at 4:24am PDT

What I’m Up to in September

To be honest, I don’t have any big plans for September, but there are a few things that I want you all to keep me accountable on!

Firstly, I plan to start writing a blog post EVERY WEEK on Adventures Around Asia. I know, right? I’ve been so horrible about writing since the pandemic started because I just haven’t felt the passion for travel right now (and neither does anyone else…).

My plan is to write every week about something I’m passionate about, whether or not it has anything to do with travel. To be honest, most of what I’ll say will at least be tangentially related to my life traveling and living abroad (because that’s my life!), but I’m not pressuring myself to write travel articles and teach abroad posts right now when I just really don’t feel inspired.

I hope you all enjoy my passion-led blog posts this autumn and keep me accountable if I haven’t posted anything in over a week!!

The Freedom Life: July + August 2020 This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.  It's been quite a while since I've done the…