#I don't talk about it much at all but dungeons and dragons is a pretty big interest of mine

[toastsartcornerthesequel]

I think Tim Drake would be the forever DM when it comes to D&D. It's not that his friends force him to constantly be the dungeon master for their campaigns, but it's something he enjoys doing. He actually prefers being a dungeon master more than a player.

While he's not much of a writer, I think he'd love world building. He probably has his world's currency system figured out. He creates his own conlang for it that no one is gonna take time to learn but that's okay because he has fun doing it. He's got spreadsheets and documents filled with lore that he can look back on later. He has his whole campaign figured out from start to finish and all the twists and turns laid out

His friends derail it instantly. Kon hits a nat 20 when seducing the buff orc lady that was suppose to be the big bad. His friends take almost a full session to get out of a room because they thought a tipped over chair was important to solving the puzzle when really it was there for set dressing. Cassie accidentally kills an important plot related NPC. Tim sighs and goes back through his documents to delete what he had planned.

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

A part two for Changes was requested by @ali-r3n 💞 In part one the reader changes her style to be more like Chrissy's since Eddie has a crush on her.

She hopes this will make Eddie notice her but he doesn't want her to change herself for him and she's crushed to find out that he's not interested in her like that.

The first part of this fic was written so long ago and my writing style has changed a lot 💞

Now that you're all caught up here's the summary for part two;

After realising that Eddie will never be interested in you, you decide it's time to move on. There's a new guy at school called Jenson, he's a metalhead like Eddie and very much your type...

Angst, jealous Eddie, Eddie wakes up and smells the roses, Mutual pining, fluff. Mdni.

💌💞

After your humiliating experience with Eddie you do your best to avoid him. He didn't even want you when you dressed like Chrissy because she was his dream girl. Not you.

You had to accept that you would never ever be his type. Just his friend. His buddy.

Robin met you after school and she could tell by your face that you're big plan to get Eddie to notice you had gone out of the window. Steve watches you concerned as you wipe the make up of you face and attempt not to cry.

"Steve can we stop off for some ice cream. I think she needs it" Robin gestures to you and Steve nods.

"Ice cream and movie night. Does that sound good honey?" You nod and feel extremely grateful that you have such amazing friends besides Eddie.

You would eat ice cream and mope for a while and then you would finally try and get over Eddie. It was better this way, you couldn't stand the thought of him feeling pity for you because he didn't feel the same.

It would ruin your friendship and you never wanted that to happen.

...

Things are awkward with Eddie. Extremely awkward. You don't know what to say to him and he's being overly nice and just not himself with you.

Fuck, you wish you didn't say anything, didn't go ahead with your stupid plan in the first place.

Then to make matters worse principal Higgins calls you into his office. Grudgingly you make your way there and when you enter the office he's talking to a new student that you had never seen before.

He was tall, wild curls of long blonde hair and big brown eyes, he was wearing a Black Sabbath t shirt and leather jacket. Ripped black jeans and black boots. He's glaring at Higgins.

"I don't need a babysitter dude" the principal ignores this mysterious boy and gestures to you.

"Yn will be your guide around school. Your buddy while you settle in. You've been here for two weeks and you've barely made any effort to include yourself in anything Mr Jenson"

Jenson flips Principal Higgins the bird when he's not looking and you stiffle a giggle. He winks at you and you feel your body heat up, all the way to your toes.

"Fine. Lead the way pretty lady" he gestures to you and opens the door.

Hey maybe school won't be so bad after all?

"You can join me and my friends at lunch. We sit at the our own table, the Hellfire table. We play Dungeons and Dragons" you explain and he nods along as he follows you to the cafeteria.

Quickly you explain to the boys about what the principal asked you to do.

"Jenson is new and he needs some friends, people to show him around and get him settled" Eddie who's immediately suspicious of new students, studies Jenson. His big brown eyes sweeping over him and narrowing.

You do your best to explain who everyone is and point out Chrissy and the cheerleaders, you feel that pang in your chest about Eddie again.

Jenson scoffs and turns to you. "I'm not interested in the cheerleaders. I'm interested in you, beautiful"

Wait what? You nearly choke on your can of soda and meet Jenson's eyes.

"Me?" he nods and leans closer to you, so close you can smell his spicy cologne. "Wait, what was I talking about again?" You're kinda dazed by him if you're being honest.

He smirks then leans back in his seat.

"I think I like this table" his gaze stays on you and you hear Eddie mutter something under his breath.

"This table is only for Hellfire members" Eddie's voice is tight and full of dislike. Jenson pouts and turns to you.

"You'll sit with me this week yeah? Help me get settled and all?" You nod and avoid Eddie's livid gaze.

Things will be okay after all...right?

💞

For the next week you accompany Jenson at his table. Eddie isn't happy about this.

"Eddie he's not a Hellfire member, unless you want to see if he's any good at d&d" you suggest and Eddie shakes his head vehemently.

"I don't want him in Hellfire" he pouts and it's kinda adorable. Fuck, no it's not adorable, you're trying to get over this stupid crush.

"Not even for me? He's kinda dreamy" Eddie stills at this and you look away from his fierce gaze. What's his problem anyway? Feeling brave you point out to him that you finding Jenson dreamy is a good thing.

"Things have been weird between us since...well since the other week. You made your feelings clear and I need to move on. We can still be friends and there will be no awkward tension or anything like that" Eddie looks like he's about to say something else but Jenson shows up and the conversation stalls.

"Hey princess" Okay this time Eddie definitely does stiffen and his eyes flash as they turn to Jenson.

"I call her princess, no one else does dude" Jenson snorts and claps Eddie on the shoulder.

"You can't own a name dude. Anyway she likes it when I call her princess. Don't you honey?" Oh shit. You look between the two of them and feel torn. Eddie was your friend and Jenson well maybe someday when you were over Eddie he could be more than your friend?

"Shouldn't you be chasing that cheerleader you like Munson... leave Princess to me" Jenson winks at Eddie.

Your stomach sinks as Jenson goes to wait for you at a table. How could you forget Eddie mooning over Chrissy? It hardens your resolve.

"It's just a name Eddie. Why do you care so much anyway?" you ask him and he doesn't answer. Sighing you head over to Jenson and the knot in your stomach tightens even more.

💞

Eddie is quieter than normal during today's lunch. Dustin can sense something is wrong with him but Eddie's moods could be unpredictable and he didn't want to cause his hero anymore upset.

He didn't like seeing Eddie like this though, he had a funny feeling it was to do with the blonde metalhead currently taking up all of your attention.

Doesn't Eddie notice the way your gaze still strays to him? Don't you notice the longing way Eddie gazes at you?

Then again did Eddie even realise the way he looked at you? Why were the two of you such pining idiots?

Jason who is passing the Hellfire table nudges Eddie and smirks, "Aww freak, looks like you're not the apple of her eye anymore"

Shit. If looks could kill Jason would be dead. Eddie flips him off and Jason walks away laughing.

"Asshole" he huffs and Mike chuckles. "He's right though Eddie. She definitely has a type though doesn't she?" If possible Eddie's eyes narrow even more yet Mike doesn't notice.

Dude, stop talking Dustin begs but Mike carries on oblivious. "If you didn't spend so long pining over Chrissy then you wouldn't have lost your chance dude. It sucks, I'm sorry" Eddie deflates and whispers quietly.

"Do you really think I don't have a chance anymore?"Mike shrugs and Dustin tries to give him a hopeful smile but it doesn't seem to help Eddie who settles back in his chair with a glum expression on his face.

He watches you and Jenson and sighs. "you're right Wheeler. I wasted my time pining over the wrong girl"

💞💞

Even with Jenson being sweet and obviously interested your stupid traitor heart still aches for Eddie.

Robin who likes everyone has her reservations about Jenson. "I saw him flirting with some other girl yesterday, I think he's messing with a lot of girls hearts"

The thought of Jenson doing this should hurt you but it doesn't. Fuck. This was hopeless. How would you ever get over Eddie if you couldn't open your heart to someone else.

"Munson was in here yesterday. I mentioned that Jenson dude and he kinda ranted a bit" Steve says as he stocks the video tapes on the shelves.

"He's been weird with Jenson since I started hanging out with him"

Robin exchanges a knowing look with Steve and they both say at the same time. "He's jealous"

Hope briefly encompasses you then deflates. Eddie being jealous of Jenson? That was ridiculous. Plus Eddie still liked Chrissy didn't he?

"No he's not" you shake your head adamantly but there's no changing Steve's mind.

"Honey, I'm a guy and I know when a guy is jealous. Munson is jealous of this Jenson guy. He's another metalhead honing in on his girl and Eddie is like a feral raccoon warning him off"

A feral raccoon you stifle a smile at Steve's description of Eddie. Speaking of Eddie he comes into the store with Chrissy. Oh.

Suddenly Steve's thoughts seem completely wild and far fetched. See. You try to communicate with Steve that he's completely wrong.

"I really think you should just ask Eddie" Chrissy replies to Eddie and you wonder what. Was he going to ask Chrissy out? You don't want to stick around for that.

You gather your things at the same time Eddie spots you and freezes. Chrissy smiles at you warmly and you return it even though your heart is threatening to beat out of your chest.

"Dude, did you hear that Jenson was in here wanting to ask princess out" Steve suddenly pipes up, completely out of the blue and Eddie's eyes widen as they meet yours.

Jenson hasn't asked you out. If Steve was trying to make Eddie jealous then it wasn't going to happen, you're kinda tired of hoping for something that wasn't meant to be.

"I'll see you tomorrow, gotta get home and cram for this biology test" you hurry out of the store and tj your car.

Blasting out Black Sabbath helps clear your thoughts and you're relatively more relaxed as you get home.

There's the telltale sign of Eddie's van and you nearly jump out of your skin when it comes careening around the corner.

Eddie parks the van and jumps out. His eyes are wild and he jogs over to you still looking panicked.

"Don't date him" he says breathlessly and you pause unsure if you've heard him right. Did he seriously rush all of the way here to say this and why?

"Excuse me?" What the hell was going on?

"Don't date him. He's not right for you, he's egotistical and smarmy and...and he won't treat you right or love you the way you should be loved" you raise your eyebrow and when you speak your voice comes out all shaky.

"And how should I be loved Eddie?" He softens when he gazes at you and reaches out to caress your cheek.

"Like you're everything. No other girl compares to you and you're the best thing that's ever happened to a guy. Like you're the one and you always have been"

A small part of your anger comes roaring back and you groan exasperated. "Eddie. I practically told you I was in love with you. I have been for years and you basically rejected me and now that someone else shows interest in me you get a clue!"

He shrugs sheepishly and nods, "Robin said I was the world's biggest dingus. I fucked up okay? I know that and I know that it was the shittiest time to realise how I feel but I'm begging you, give me a shot and I'll never break your heart again. I promise you that"

You've always wanted to hear him say these words and you're torn between wanting to kiss him or yell at him some more.

"What about Chrissy?"

"Chrissy was a dumb crush, even if she was interested I don't care. I'm over that. Jenson helped me see what's been in front of me all along... It's you. It's always been you"

Well damn. You're still confused though because didn't he just come to Family Video with Chrissy and she was telling him just to ask someone something.

As if Eddie reads your mind he begins to explain. "I ran into Chrissy when I was heading to Family Video and she mentioned I was unusually quiet and everything about you poured out. She was telling me to just ask you out when we were heading into the store and then I saw you and I choked"

You bite back a smile and move closer to him, the need to kiss him feels a little overwhelming now.

"You really are an idiot Eddie but you're my idiot" you add affectionately and he kisses you. It leaves you momentarily stunned at how amazing it feels but then you're kissing him back.

When the two of you break apart you're both breathless, eyes shining and happiness written all over your faces.

"Shit, uh I was thinking maybe I could take you on a date. Maybe we could go to Lovers Lake and camp out for a little bit. Thought it would be romantic sweetheart"

"It's a date" you press another kiss to his lips and head into his van leaving a dazed and smug Eddie strutting to the van once he realised what you said.

💞

[mintmatcha]

Kinktober: Monster Fucking

Fandom: Dungeons and Dragons

After months of adventuring with your party, you can't help but be curious about a certain dragon born....

cw: cisfem reader, Monster fucking, OC x reader, fantasy racism (someone is not nice to dragonborn), biting, slight mention of bleeding, fingers in holes

PART ONE OF TWO

a/n: A very special thanks to @tyga-lily, who talked with me about her little dragonborn and made me fall in love with this concept and to @saetyrn9 who came up with his name :)

"The bath is free, Obi."

For how much a night costs, the room is nothing special, but any inn with running water is heaven sent. It’s been almost two months since anyone in your party has slept in a proper bed and your body can feel it. Simply wearing the silk of your nightgown feels luxurious at this point; sleeping on down is going to feel obscene.

"I'll be quick." Your party mate stands with a grunt, the day heavy on his joints. You almost want to tease him, but after this adventure, your knees are screaming too. It's hard enough for you to throw yourself on to the bed

Despite knowing him for the greater part of a year, you always forget how large the dragonborn is until he’s next to you. Towering over you with delicate horns and ridged crest, Obsidian Vyke -Obi, to his friends- is all black scales and teeth. The air crackles around him the way it crackles around all sorcerers, subtle yet wild, so it’s unfair that he’s also built wide. Thick biceps and a barrel chest: no magic user should be that muscular.

"Take your time." You watch him as he moves around the room, dipping around the singular bed and pulling his sleeping clothes from his travel sack.

"I'm sorry about this," Obi says, peering over his shoulder, "I know I'm not as nice to room with as Kiri."

The two other members in your party had been fast friends-- unfortunately, they were also quick to become lovers. Usually, that did not pose any issues to the group, but tonight, the inn only has two rooms available. It seemed cruel to separate the lovebirds, so you and Obi agreed to cohabitate for the night.

"I don’t mind sharing a bed with you." The idea gives you butterflies, this flitting, nervous energy. You trust the man with your life-- fuck, he’s saved your life in battle -- but something about sleeping next to him makes your skin goosepimple. "As long as you don't snore."

His eyes narrow in a smile. "I'll try my best."

The dragonborn undoes the lacings of his leather outerwear using the sharpened tips of his claws, delicately catching them under and pulling. The motion is careful and patient, repeated until he can toss the garment into the room's only chair.

It’s not that you don’t want to share a room with him. In fact, you think you want this a little too much. You're absorbed with all of his movements as he primps a bit, adjusting the hem of his shirt so it sits properly, running a palm over his crest, sliding off his traveler's boots. If you're lucky, his shirt will be next and you can catch a peek of the toned spance of his stomach.

"My lady," His teeth flash in the fire light, pearls against the deep, dark opalescent hues of his scales, "You're staring."

"Ah, I'm sorry!" He’s one to talk; you’ve felt his gaze following you for weeks now. That's the only reason you're thinking about him and his body.

And, using that logic, he's the only reason you bought that bodice ripper last week, the one starring a pretty red dragonborn and his human lover--

"Is there something in my teeth?" Obi teases. That earns him a giggle, but, when you don't respond, he exhales through his nose and moves closer. "We're rooming together tonight, so if there's any tension between us, I'd rather-"

"I heard a rumor," you blurt out.

He goes pale. "About me? What did Thyrll tell you?"

"No, about dragonborns in general."

Relief relaxes his features.

"And you just want to know if it's true?" There's a click in his voice as he laughs, something strange and inhumane, "It's okay. You can ask. Let me guess- I eat poor little gnomes? I enchant humans with my-"

"Is it... inside of you?"

The dragonborn pauses at that, eyes wide. "Excuse me?"

"Your..." You cannot believe you're about to say this, "Cock."

"Oh."

You scramble up, hands over your face as you head towards the door. You aren't sure where you're going to go in a nightgown, but anywhere else has to be better than here.

"Oh, I'm sorry! That was so rude of me."

A wall of muscle suddenly blocks your way. Those dexterous hands that you were admiring moments ago are now touching your shoulders, rubbing up and down affectionately.

"It's alright, my lady, I'm just... surprised." He smells like petrichor, something strangely earthy and yet unnatural clinging to his scales, and laughs like summer rain, "I think it's natural to wonder about different races, I just didn't think..."

His sharp eyes are dilated a bit, the pupils closer to almonds than slits as they bounce up and down your body.

"I've had my own... curiosities about others as well," he admits, "So, who am I to judge?"

Your spine prickles at that. Who exactly was he curious about? One of the elves in your party? The barmaid downstairs? Or is it you that the thinks about at night, cock in fist?

The dragonborn misreads the upset look on your face. "I promise that I am not cross with you. How about I answer your questions and you'll answer mine? No judgments."

You settle a bit. "If you're sure."

He smiles a draconic smile, all teeth and the smallest flick of his tongue.

"Of course I'm sure. I'm not embarrassed because my species is a bit different than yours."

You watch him for a long moment. He’s kind. A scoundrel at times, but kind. It's etched into his face, always reflected in his wide, chartreuse eyes.

"So, it is different,” you say carefully.

"It is."

“Very different?”

“When my cock is hard?” He says it so easily. Always proper, it makes you squirm to hear him curse, “No. But when I’m not, it is, in fact inside.”

"It's just... flat down there?"

"Yes- give me your hand."

You weave your fingers in between his without a second thought, but he just shakes his head and pulls away. Then, he takes your still open palm in his and brings it to his torso. The muscle there is just as firmed as you imagined and it's hard not to linger in once spot to appreciate it, Slowly, Obi guides your hand down, running it over the linen of his pants. Underneath, you can feel how it's slightly ridged with larger scales than the rest of his body and, subsequently, larger gaps form in between. It's just skin-- well, it's just scales. You're touching nothing technically intimate, but your heart races anyway, caught in your throat.

"See?" His voice has the edge of a tremble and, when you look up, you realize just how close you two have become. Practically chest to chest, his snout is only inches from your face, close enough that you can see how each individual scale slightly shifts in color as the fire dances. He seems to have realized too; dragonborn expressions are hard to read, but you don't miss how deep his breathing has become.

"It's nothing like touching a human, is it?" he mumbles, hand squeezing yours ever so slightly, “Not intimate at all.”

"Well." You curl your fingers up, clumsily feeling through the fabric, "Maybe a bit.”

The fire crackles in the fireplace. He breathes again, on the brink of a sigh, and you think he’s just as caught up in this as you are.

"Just a bit?" Heat radiates from him. If he were human, it'd be alarming, but instead there's a comfort to it. You're still warm from the bath, and yet you chase that heat, slipping your hand from his just to bring it under the waistline of his pants.

"More than a bit."

He's hot underneath it all, almost uncomfortable to the touch as you explore the space blindly. His eyes haven't left yours, his lids getting heavy with every prod and poke of your fingers.

A vertical line of soft, exposed skin catches your ring finger and his body jumps reflexively as you accidentally dip inside of him. It’s strangely dry, yet much softer than the rest of his scaled body. Despite yourself, you explore it a bit more, pressing in the same way you’ll be playing with your own pussy tonight.

"A-ahh--" The dragonborn sucks in a deep breath and you can feel his abdomen crunch under your touch, "Be careful."

"Did I hurt you?" you ask as you pull away.

His chittering laugh returns. His hands rest on the small of your back, not pushing, but not entirely platonic either. When he talks, the air tastes like distant embers, just far enough away, yet not close enough, "You didn’t hurt me, don’t worry."

“Are you sure?” you press, “You made a weird noise.”

“Very sure,” He dips low enough to press his lips against the shell of your ear, "You’d do the same if I put my fingers inside of you."

This time, the heat is coming from inside you, twisting and pulling with want.

"With your claws?" You manage to joke through your suddenly dry throat, "I might cry."

"I could cut them," His voice is rolling and low as his hands explore, one traveling up your spine and the other dipping the smooth over your ass. When they both reach their zeniths, they switch directions. The silk of your dress catches against his skin, pulling it up and revealing the fat of your ass to the air. "Nice and short."

His nails dig gently into your skin, nothing more than a nip, a test.

"You’re so soft, all over. Your body just gives when I touch it,” There’s a distant tone to his voice as he speaks into the curve of your neck, “Too delicate for me, aren’t you?”

You hum in disagreement and his teeth prove you otherwise. It’s barely a graze, but the nip against your pulse point drags a whimper from deep within you. Your companion chuckles, then coos with pity as he does it again, much, much kinder this time.

“Oh, you’re knock kneed and sweet for me,” The already blossoming bruises are soothed by a warm, textured flash of wet. His tongue is rougher than a humans, longer too, and it leaves behind a string of spit that is more viscous than any human’s. “Like a fawn. My sweet fawn.”

The hand that once explored him is trapped in between your bodies, unable to move, but you can feel something against your stomach: something hard, something thick. Too much cock for your human body, but, fuck, you’re going to try.

“Bet you’re even softer down here.” A singular clawed drags over your bare ass, searching for underwear that isn't there and your body trembles with want, “Oh, look at that, shaking like a leaf. I bet you’d melt if I-”

A sharp knock at the door scrambles you two apart. A moment passes and the sound almost feels imaginary, but then it happens again. You smooth your still wet hair and try to gather yourself, heading to the door in a hurry. Somehow, the dragonborn is more flustered than you. His scales are physically ruffled and his usually stoney brow is creased. He can’t blush, but you swear you can see his face alight as you swing the door open.

There stands a familiar elvish figure, with dark straight hair and the prettiest of smiles.

“Kiri!” you exclaim. She’s a natural beauty, like most elves. All legs and sharp angles, she’s a good head taller than you, leaning over with almost a condescending grin. She’s so beautiful that you almost hate her for it.

“I am sorry to be a bother, rogue.” She speaks in Elvish and the dragonborn’s head tilts slightly side to side, like a dog who hears his name, as he tries to listen. “I came to thank you and the sorcerer.”

“Oh, yeah, no worries,” Your Elvish is unnatural on your human tongue, “We are fine here.”

“My lover thanks you too,” she winks and giggles. She’s over a hundred years older than you, and yet still head over heels like a schoolgirl. Elves might live for thousands of years, but they take hundreds to mature. “We will not be sleeping much tonight.”

You roll your eyes and pretend to gag, biting back a smile, but then Kiri grows serious.

“If he scares you, please let me know,” she continues.

“Obi?” you say, “He’s a sweetheart.”

“I’m sure he is, but those teeth! Like needles. Braver than me, sleeping next to a monster like that.”

You glance at your dragonborn and he looks away before you can meet his eye. A disappointment settles in your stomach. Monster is such an ugly word for a pretty man. Everything about him is charming and refined, from the way he speaks and the way he walks, to the way he shines his scales when he thinks no one is looking.

“That’s rude.” You’re quick to reply. Kiri grew up around only her own kind and their ideas-- she doesn’t always know what’s uncouth or offensive because of it, “Don’t say such awful things.”

“It seems like he’s already gotten hungry.” She jerks a chin to your shoulder. You reflexively reach to cover it, only to pull away when the spot feels wet. Blood speckles your fingers- not enough to warranty any worry, of course, just the slightest graze of the skin.

“That’s not--”

“I tease, I tease!” she continues, “I know it is just a scrape. Can you imagine? To lay with someone who is all claws, fire and untamed magics! I-”

The man in question stalks in between you two silently. With a towel in his arms and a chip on his shoulder, he stomps by with a snort of his nostrils.

“I’m going to bathe.” His Elvish is worse than yours, but it's enough to make Kiri’s face drop. The worst part is that he doesn’t sound angry-- you could deal with anger. Instead, he sounds heartbroken. “I don’t mean to be frightening.”

You both walk him stalk down the hall until he disappears around a corner. Kiri swivels to look at you, bewildered. “Since when does he speak Elvish?”

PART TWO

[missingexaltation]

A few years after Vecna, Steve gets invited back to the high school to play in a charity basketball match with (and against) other Hawkins basketball alumni. It's for charity, and he misses the rush of playing (and he kinda wants to see if he's still any good), so he agrees.

He asks Eddie if he'll be there, but although Eddie's somewhat enthusiastic to Steve's face, he whines about it for days to Wayne. He fucking hates sports, why did he have to fall for a fucking jock, of all things. UUUGH! Wayne puts up with it for a while before realising that Eddie's not going to talk himself around, and gives him a blunt, verbal kick in the ass.

"You think your boy enjoys watching your dungeon and dragons shtick, son?" He asks, sipping at his beer.

Eddie's offended, immediately.

"He's never missed a session, course he loves it." he says. "And i know he pays attention because we talk about it afterwards and he's always..."

"And how's that make you feel?" Wayne interrupts.

"Fucking amazing." Eddie grumbles, knowing what's coming, and hating it.

"...and how do you talk about his hobbies?"

Eddie sighs and covers his face. Wayne carries on, knowing he's made his point but hammering it home nonetheless.

"Your boy loves his sports, he's always here just in time to watch the games with me nowadays. And don't think I haven't noticed how bored you are when it's on. I reckon he's noticed too."

Eddie's silent, starting at the ceiling with a dramatic, melancholy pout.

"Ah shit." He sighs. "I'm a bad boyfriend, aren't I?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. But learn from it if you want to be better." Wayne shrugs. "He makes you happy by indulging in your hobbies, maybe you should think about doing the same. Guarantee it'll put a smile on your boy's face, if nothing else."

So next time Steve brings it up, (tentatively, like he knows Eddie will complain) Eddie is much more genuinely enthusiastic. Steve's surprised for a split second (and doesn't that hurt), before he's beaming and looking absolutely delighted. And shit, yeah ok. It does make Eddie feel good to see Steve happy. Course it does.

The game rolls around, and hell yeah, it's boring to watch. Eddie's been reading up on the rules, so he's not entirely confused, but it just seems so pointless. Steve's good though. From what he's seen (and he's totally not biased, thanks) Steve's running rings around the other team, and Eddie's so fucking proud! It helps that Steve's in those shorts, showing off damn near the full length of his legs.

More importantly, he looks so fucking happy while he's playing. He keeps shooting Eddie these big, beaming smiles when they've scored a hoop, or point, or whatever they're called, and Eddie finds himself melting where he sits, face aching from smiling so much in return.

By the end of the game Eddie's fully invested. Sure, he barely understands what's going on, but even he knows enough that getting the ball in the hoop is a good thing, and Steve does it loads. Their team wins, and there's a huge group hug, pats on the back and other sporty, manly things before they all part ways and start making their way out to the parking lot.

Eddie stays put. He knows Steve will come right to him, and he does. They walk back to Steve's car together, and Steve's on some sort of winner's high; all smiles and cocky strutting. It's kinda hot. Screw that, it's totally hot, and suddenly Eddie's glad that Wayne's working tonight and they've got the place to themselves.

"Surprised you lasted the whole game, Eds." Steve says, teasingly, before he just downs a water bottle. "Thought you'd have died of boredom halfway though."

"Pssh." Eddie waves him off, trying not to feel embarrassed. "You know, Stevie, you're pretty amazing at that." He waves his hand vaguely back towards the court. "That shot you made from almost the centre? Chills, baby, full on chills."

Steve doesn't even bother checking to see if anyone's watching. He slams Eddie against the side of his car and kisses him, cradling Eddie's face with his hands, as though he'd die if he didn't have full body contact.

And Eddie knows the feeling. Like when Steve had recounted a particularly awesome moment from his campaign, and all Eddie had wanted to do was drag him right to the bedroom.

Steve pulls away.

"Get in." He said, opening the car door for Eddie like the gentleman he is.

And fuck, if this is the reaction he gets for paying attention, then he's definitely doing it more. If he's honest with himself, he should have been doing it from day one, but yeah sometimes he's a bit dense and needs a push in the right direction.

So basketball's boring as shit usually, but when Steve's playing? Hell yeah. He'll even put up with listening about it (and even football), if it puts that smile on Stevie's face. That's the price for dating a jock, he guesses, but it's miniscule, and it's fucking worth it.

[bikiniarmorbattledamage]

Baldur's Gate 3 (Part 1 - Introduction)

It's a great time to be an old school Dungeons & Dragons player, you get to smugly observe millions of people realizing the game is good actually... or at least that the game can facilitate heart touching romances with imaginary, terrible people.

(To be clear, I'm not judging you - these two are, but I'm not)

As one of the biggest AAA games of 2023, it's unsurprising that it's big and complicated - and there's a lot that can be talked about with many aspects of it - including female armor and costumes. Indeed, there's already a lot of commentary on it and community activity, from the confusing, to the life affirming.

It has also been the topic of how corporate practices continually reward those who participate in the creation successful art with notice of dismissal.

And of course, both Dungeons & Dragons and Larian Studios have histories that we've touched on before - and I can confidently say it represents a huge improvement in quality, style and attitudes. Plus sometimes their advertising is just gay.

There's good, there's bad, there's inspired and there's missed opportunities - so it'd be impossible to sum it all up in one post.

Also, now it's finished... I can feel safe commenting on it and not being told "that's changing next week" - that's the excuse I'm using for being so late to the party on this one.

It'll also be impossible to avoid talking about it without some spoilers. So I'll try to cover as much as possible spoiler-free, then put spoilers below a read-more break.

-wincenworks

In General

It's pretty good. Most of the costumes and armors are essentially gender neutral and the ones that do change seem to do so in response to social conventions, rather than a desire to sex shit up sexy - but where you can sex shit up sexy, it applies equally across genders. (Seriously, Lae'zel's lingerie looks amazing on Gale (nsfw 🖼️) and he's not the sort you'd think could rock it).

Looking at the artbook that I have because I'm one of those people who buys deluxe editions - it looks like there might have been a few early stumbles in concept but these were smoothed out before release.

There are some amazing examples (Minthara), and some baffling designs (all Githyanki armor), some interesting (Orin's) and some that are complicated (Dame Aylin's).

But overall it's pretty good and I would certainly like to see more fantasy media take it's lead from these sorts of designs.

So let's start with a few examples of how everything is complicated.

Why goblins have sexy armor?

The goblins in Baldur's Gate 3 are disgusting, sadistic raiders who are primarily interested in killing, torturing and enslaving all other races. They don't seem to have any crafts people of their own, preferring to steal and adapt.

So it's puzzling that, statistically, when most players encounter them they get this cutscene to showcase a goblin in sexy leathers.

Now, these goblins don't have a sense of shame - or at least not one related to things like nudity taboos. They're not exactly tactical masterminds or great crafts people.

So there's no reason for her to have masterwork armor, or hide her body... but this particular piece looks like pretty lovingly crafted lingerie made specifically to be sexy and flaunt as much skin as possible.

And the couple of goblins that have this, stand out among the rest of the goblins... who are mostly wearing scraps and bits and pieces they've cobbled together with nowhere near this level of craftsmanship.

Obviously, this outfit is not ideal with the sharp bits poking out... but it's pretty intimidating and it'd make it things more difficult for an enemy trying to stop Zurga from killing them so it works.

The end result is weird… but also oddly foretold.

Great armor, terrible disguise

Now, this is great armor - a little flashy with a lot of extra doodads - but from a fantasy perspective, it conveys the message and that the wearer is a pragmatic person prioritizing their own self-preservation.

Honestly this is one of the best examples of armor that is designed to be fancy without becoming completely unworkable, like it is real armor that's been adapted for ceremony. It has layers and while you would expect it to quickly become damaged beyond recognition, if you needed to be ready for a surprise scrap - it'd do the job and do it well enough (a cosplayer friend advised the breastplate is a little prone to being bumped but otherwise she didn't bump into anything)

(Though as a random reminder, if you're going for the very realistic approach - helmets should be a top priority. We accept that doesn't happen in video games like this though because we want to see those emotive, sexy faces - judging us for loving them.)

But Shadowheart is a priestess of Shar, and if you accept her as a companion she will happily tell you all about that and how an important part of being a priestess of Shar is secrets and concealing your faith from the masses...

There is also an explanation for why she happened to be in her ceremonial attire... but for most of the game, she demonstrates no awareness that she was in vestments when you met.

Now I understand that a lot of these choices are due to various experiments, iterations, etc. Shadowheart being an "authentic" priestess of Shar is not as important as her being an interesting companion in a fun game.

And now that I've definitely made sure nobody is going to "well actually" about the armor design or Forgotten Realms lore... a conspiracy theory:

Karlach's outfit (#freethenipple)

So when you meet the tiefling muscle-mommy known as Karlach, her default outfit indicates that she does not partake in bras. (She's barbarian which is a class in D&D that protects themselves not with armor, but by getting so angry weapons do less damage to them... just go with it...) and despite the forced sexiness of this design - it kinda fits her backstory:

So, she has a definite look, and apparently does not partake the wearing of bras... good for her! She's literally so hot that fire flickers off her, the boob sweat has got to be epic.

Interesting, Karlach is one two female characters who's "camp clothes" are listed specifically as "trousers".

The other one is always in pants and bra on female characters (but not male), but for some reason Karlach's trousers include this top that... just doesn't match the rest of her style and is nothing like her underwear (which also doesn't match her style):

So it seems this seems to be an odd case where in a game where you can access full nudity easily, and they gave her sexy armor... they did a last minute cover up to prevent the woman who would have the epic boobsweat imaginable walking around camp topless... and her model has a lot of detail that gets hidden by that top and her armor. (nsfw 🖼️)

And I know I am not the only one (nsfw link) who has had this idea.

Unless you just go into inventory and take her clothes off..., then toggle so she's always in "camp clothes" and always nude. It's just weird that the players are fully able to make her a nudist, but the game seems to have stopped at the last minute at making her go casually topless.

-wincenworks

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

Aesop's Birthday Gift Is You

I love you grey little mouse!

Rated: Mature | Warnings: none is horny and sweet

Embalmer's room fits his job description and personality, or preference is a better word for it. Everything here is for his craft with a basic small bed by a dark corner to the side wall. Aesop is content, so long as he can work and keep to himself in peace, he is content.

“Happy Valentine's Day, (Name).” He gifted the flowers to you after your impactful words, words he did not expect any living person to care about his work. Your outlook and input are something he did not find many from his time who cares about his profession…

Then you came along like the sunrise upon a grave, another morning shining on all even those who passed. Aesop found you are the sun, blinding and inescapable, warm, and something he did not realize how much he wanted. The Embalmer knows he is… Not the typical partner, the ones he has read in books or seen like Ada and Emil— He is grateful you love him so much, adjusting for his comfort.

You are the sun and he is the earth.

Aesop is limited in how intimate he can be with you (you refuse to say he is limited, you tell him this often and happily take what he gives). He wants to give more, give those things lovers give each other. Aesop appreciates it, appreciates you, it however does not stop him from wanting you to experience his touch without crossing his limits.

Then he found a way! Something you can appreciate and something that satisfies his desire for you.

“Aesop Carl.” You say out loud, “Aesop Carl.” You sound adored right now to him. He puts back the syringe that he used to inject the anesthesia, a slow-acting one to give him time with you.

With glossy eyes currently looking up at the ceiling, “Aesop,” This time saying his first name quickly. “Carl.” Now slowly saying his last name.

Affectionately he adjusts his position to fix the blanket over your body, “Is something the matter?” Checking on you as he stands above the coffin you are lying in.

It is going to be very hard to explain why you are in an open coffin and not dead.

First, this coffin is not the usual coffins Aesop uses for those to be buried, this coffin glows!— Well, it supposedly does more than that from what Hippocampus told you.

Two, part of what one was getting into is that you were asked by Aesop— Hippocampus, an alternate reality version of Aesop (the logistics of that statement is not something you are going to try to understand or explain. Just accept it with this wacky manor)— To sleep in the dream coffin.

“I want your last name.” You saw as waves sooth you, “So pretty.” Blunt, you are very blunt about love, “Aesop…”

“Shh,” You are talking nonsense, “Don't fight it,” The Embalmer's gloved hand touching your cheek, “Go on, I will watch over you.” He means that too.

Anytime he used drugs or toys on you, he made sure to always be mindful of what you could or could not take.

You see him then the world fades away to darkness.

Hippocampus

When you wake up— No, you still are dreaming! You know you are because everything is different! There you stand in the coffin, the coffin disappearing into the water you are standing on. The realm, like some dungeons and dragons scene with the warlock's patron, is dreamlike! The crescent moon high in the sky is surrounded by nebulae and stars! The water ripples making a soothing sound like in those ASMR sleeping meditation videos.

Beautiful and peaceful.

Then you see him.

He looks like the costume you have seen Aesop wear a few times, Hippocampus is what it is called. The figure is—

“Aesop, you're huge!” Shouting in this dream void getting his attention from his drowsy state. He is lying down as eyes lock on you.

“My dreamer,” He yawns, “I am glad to see you.” A sleepy smile on his handsome face, “So he dreams about you in this way.”

“Huh?” You did not look at yourself and when you did look down at your reflection in the water, “AH!” Pulling down his shirt as you are only in your underlings and the Embalmer top he always wears.

Hippocampus chuckles, “Cute.” Though he wears a mask, you know he is smiling gently at you. “No need to be ashamed, I am him and this dream is created for you.”

“For me?”

“Yes, his gift is to express his love for you.” His hand moved towards you and a finger used to rub your cheek, “Our joy, like a shooting star.”

You are bashful, smiling wide and looking away, “Aesop…”

“There are many ways he wishes to give you our gift. You need only to accept.”

“Just accept… But it's his birthday!”

“We are aware. You are the greatest gift in our lives, my dreamer. To give you this, will give us joy.”

It is sweet to know Aesop loves you, he does not always say it but he tries. You are happy with him, in love with him, and glad to know his other selves like you too.

“Dreamer, we offer you a piece of us each.” Speaking once more, “For the love you show Aesop, we only ask this of you to share it with us.”

“Can you tell me who us is?”

“You shall see.” The world becomes hazy and you stumble backward into a coffin before falling asleep again.

Trickster

This one is called Trickster, he is from a world being taken over by something called the Abyss. Apparently, in that world, you were corrupted by the Abyss. Isolating yourself as you created creatures made from the Abyss. You, the one who is only trapped in a manor, is the closest he has seen to the one he loves.

Trickster is a bit emotional, needing to touch your hand or kiss you— A lot of kissing as you are you but not you from this world, not that matters as you give back the affection he needs badly. You hold him, keeping him in your arms as his mouth wanders from your lips to your neck.

Aesop, this Aesop is not like yours, lives up to his codename. Loving you as he does for the other you while also teasing you too. Keeping you breathless from giggling as he tickles you.

He wants your smile, your laugh, your gasps, and your moans fresh in his mind. He will keep this memory of you, the Abyss will not take that away from him.

The naked lover in his arms who says his name in the sweetest way he recalls before that thing took you, this is you, the one he needs to separate from the horror he saw.

“I love you.” Saying to you as if he has to let you go, “I'm sure he does too.” He does have to let you go, the other you is not the same as you… They are tainted, the one he loved died a long time ago.

“It is nice to know in another world you and I still find one another.”

His smile is sad as you fall asleep.

Watchman

When you wake up to this Aesop, you are pretty sure of two things: there are people around the covered bed (one of those fancy beds with curtains around it types) and you are naked. Naked with markings on you. You should ask what the hell is going on, you should not just be letting him worship you, again you are very weak for Aesop.

One with dragon scales is really hot to you.

You moan, and your body feels like more hands are touching you as he whispers strange words on your skin. This is like some Dungeons and Dragons sex tape thing that is doing wonders for you as the moment his mouth is on your intimate part, you are gone! Not to say you are certainly going to be confused about this experience, but you will say the cult dragon thing vibes are having you cum faster than you expected too. Also, you realize the marks and seed left on and in you are gone! It is like Trickster never touched you which hurts but you know why.

All of this is a dream, each Aesop is dreaming of their time with you or a version of you.

You are glad when you feel him inside of you, glad when speaks to you though you understand nothing he is saying. He is not much of a kisser, he kisses like he going to eat you but stops as if realizing he cannot do that. Rough until you show him how to move, his nails are sharp like claws and threaten to cut skin, you biting the scales on his neck gets him going. Oh, and you bite and scratch his back as he moves inside of you, on his lap riding him as he speaks more to you but then you recognize the few words he says.

“I love you.” It is by chance that you cum with him as he tells you those words, you are grateful to cum at those words and with him. His cock buried deep within you marking you as much as he has marked your body.

“Aesop,” You feel tired, “Aesop.”

He shushed you and you realize he is purring and he is warm, you hate how comforting as he rubs your sore thigh while kissing your shoulder apologetically for his bites break skin several times.

The damn you pass out again and with no way to ask what the hell happened outside of semi-dragon sex.

Exorcist

“Welcome, (Name).”

You rub your eyes, blink a few times, then yawn, “Huh? Oh.” Waking up a bit to the smell of warm tea and the sound of wind passing through trees and grass, “This isn’t a bed.” Surprised to see yourself sitting at the tea table at… Night? The crescent moon is high in the sky and the garden is illuminated by lanterns.

“No, my apologies if you were expecting another Aesop to take you.” He is currently pouring himself a cup of tea, “I have not had the pleasure of meeting you yet in my world.”

“Then how do you know me?” Examining the teacup he must have made you while you were phasing in? You are not going to think of the logic of that question/statement.

“I have met you but not in the others have,” Looking at you, studying you, “We have crossed paths in the form of combat.”

Right, because Exorcist is a vampire meaning… “Am I a vampire hunter!?” Excited.

“You are. One working with the church currently trying to find the Embrace.”

“Embrace… That must be like your vampire god, right?”

“In a form yes. Very observant.”

“I guess, I used to play a game where the Embrace was how vampires described their turning and their ‘father’ was Cain or something.” Shrugging, “I don’t understand why you would want to meet someone you do not know uh intimately.”

“Because you, the hunter, have plagued my thoughts night and day.”

You drink your tea has you make a ‘hm’ sound with a bit of a giggle coming from your throat. Those red eyes, his grey eyes with a red tint to them in the center, are studying you. Following how you swallow your tea carefully, then your hands.

“Aesop, please, either kiss me or wake me up this activating a lot of feelings.”

He places his elbows on the table as his hands make a bridge for him to rest his chin on, “Oh?” As if he fucking knows! “Does my other self often stare?”

“Yes, mostly at my face though.” He is an Emblamer so it makes sense he wants to memorize your face within his mind.

“Understandably, you are a sight to see.”

Oh, you definitely giggled which made him laugh at the sweetness of it. You both talked more, mostly him listening to you talking about random things.

When you started to yawn, he took your hand, your left hand, rubbing the place where a ring would be on your ring finger. “Such a lovely creature you are, (Name). Like the sun.”

You close your eyes with a smile on your face.

You open your eyes to Aesop, your grey mouse, checking your vital then falling forward when you snatch him into your arms pulling him into the coffin as you kiss his face a million times.

[rollforfelicity]

Why Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Didn't Use D&D Combat Rules (And Why They Were Right Not To)

The D&D movie was really fun, and since at this point most of my friends play D&D (or at the very least other TTRPGs), almost everyone I talk to on a regular basis has also seen it and liked it. The consensus is that even though there's no "meta" that the characters are controlled by players sitting around a table, or jokes about the DM, the movie feels like D&D. The jokes feel like jokes people would make while playing. The constant pivoting from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C feels familiar to anyone who has spent an hour at a table deciding what to do, only to have a roll go sideways and screw things up. Before I get too far, I should say this post contains some mild spoilers for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.

What didn't feel like D&D were the fight scenes. In one scene, a Paladin quickly dispatches a group of enemies before any of the rest of the party even acts, showcasing that even though he's kind of a square, he's an incredible fighter. In another scene, the Barbarian grabs and wears a helmet in the middle of a fight, using it creatively to get the upper hand. During a fight against a gargoyle, the Bard blinds an enemy by throwing a blanket over their head, but gets pulled along with them when a loose rope wraps around his leg. These are all pretty big moments in the movie, and Rules as Written, would never happen at a D&D table, because D&D combat doesn't work like that.

Here's what I think is interesting. The vast majority of the rules of D&D revolve around combat. It's not all of the rules, but most class abilities, spells, items, and rules have a combat focus. So why does a movie that functions partially as advertisement for the game spend so little effort to replicate the bulk of the content of the base game?

In my opinion, it's because, Rules As Written (or RAW), combat in D&D is not, generally speaking, narratively satisfying. Let's look at a few reasons why.

D&D is a game where, RAW, things either happen, or they don't. If someone misses an attack, nothing happens. If someone misses a skill check, nothing happens. DMs can work with this, but in the base game, there isn't a lot of guidance for what to do when a player fails at something they're trying to do. This may seem trivial, but compare that to something like Powered By The Apocalypse, which is much more narratively focused. In those games, a full miss means the Game Master changes things up. The enemy gets the upper hand. A new danger surfaces. An NPC is put into peril. Not only does the player fail at what they're trying to do, but something else, bad for the Player Character (PC) but good for the story, happens. On a mixed success, the PC might get what they're after, but at a cost, or with a complication they weren't expecting.

This calls to mind the example of the Bard throwing a tarp over the gargoyle in the final fight of the D&D movie. That's a classic example of a mixed success. He succeeds at temporarily blinding the creature, but in the process, he gets caught up in the gargoyle's rope and is dragged along for a ride. This is a dynamic thing to happen in combat, but wouldn't happen in actual D&D. Instead, a PC would either succeed at what they're doing, and blind the creature, or fail and not blind them. You could argue that the Bard's action was the result of a Natural 1, but that also doesn't fit RAW, because the Bard does succeed as what he's trying to do, and with a Natural 1, he would have failed and been pulled along.

D&D doesn't really reward player creativity. Something like throwing a tarp over a creature wouldn't be likely to happen in a session at all, because in the actual game, it would take a full action to do that, and depending on the Difficulty Challenge (DC) the DM sets, there's a good chance of a wasted turn. Creative actions end up a huge gamble, and when you're playing a game where it could be 20+ minutes before you get to take another turn (more like an hour if you're playing with a Wizard, amirite), you're disincentivized from "wasting" your turn to do something less than optimal. You can describe what you're doing to add to the narrative, whether you succeed or fail, but that brings me to my next point.

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this question from Rise Up Comus since I read it a month ago. In D&D, a player can describe all kinds of flavor to what they're doing, and there's no change to the mechanics of the game. You could read this as saying "Oh, well that means you have the freedom to do what you want!" but if you look at game design through the lens of "what kind of play does this game encourage or discourage" the takeaway I have is that description just...doesn't matter to D&D. In my experience, that can lead to a few different unsatisfactory outcomes.

Both players and DM treat combat as purely rolling, and describing only what is required. A DM announces, "The enemy wizard casts fireball, roll dexterity save, take 25 damage. Turn passes to the Rogue." Sometimes players who describe what they're doing are seen as showboating or taking up too much time. Worst case scenario, the DM penalizes descriptive players.

Some players like describing what they do, others don't. This has no mechanical effect on the game. Players who aren't descriptive might be frustrated that an already slow process is slowed down even more. Descriptive players may become frustrated because there's no mechanical benefit to what they're describing, and spend time fruitlessly arguing with the DM that focusing on a weak point of the enemy should give them advantage. I think most tables fall into this category. It's not a bad game by any means, but not everyone is there for the same reason when it comes to combat.

Rule of Cool Table! Everyone describes whatever they want, the dice rolls don't really matter! Combat is generally pretty easy because fuck the rules, if it's cool for the dragon to die based on how the fighter described the attack, even if it's only the first round of combat, hell yeah let's do it! For players who like being more strategic and enjoy the confines of the rule structure because it makes things challenging, these tables can be frustrating. (If you're familiar with Dungeons & Daddies, this is essentially how they play D&D).

Because there's no guideline in the rules, people come to the table with different expectations. Some people want combat to feel like a strategy game, where following the rules in the most optimal way (or combining rules elements in an unexpected way) is mechanically rewarding (usually measured by damage output). Some people want to describe themselves doing cool stuff! Some people don't care about their characters looking cool, but want the story to be compelling. If everyone isn't on the same page, this can lead to players ending combat feeling unfulfilled, and when combat is the bulk of a rules set, it feels strange to me that there's no guidance for DMs or players as to how to incentivize the kind of combat your table is interested in.

This leads to a situation where combat in D&D is the part of D&D that takes the longest, that the majority of spells and abilities are focused on, but it is, narratively, the least satisfying part of the game, unless the table alters the base rules significantly.

If you're not familiar with other TTRPGs, you might be thinking "Okay, but that's why the DM is allowed to do whatever they want and make up new rules! My DM gives inspiration when we describe something cool, that solves this problem!" My critique isn't necessarily of individual tables. DMs and players come up with all kinds of mechanics that aren't in the rules. My critique is that D&D is a role-playing game that essentially has no incentives, and many disincentives, for role-playing during combat. For example, RAW, characters don't really have time to communicate during their turns, as each round takes about 6 seconds. There's no time for banter or negotiation between PCs and enemies. You can see this disconnect by the way people talk about D&D. How many times have you heard people say "I love D&D but I don't like combat?" How could this rift be rectified? Let's take a look at some other TTRPGs.

In 7th Sea, if you take the time to describe how your character is doing something, you get a bonus to your dice pool. In Thirsty Sword Lesbians, when you get a mixed success on a Fight roll, you and your opponent are given narrative prompts to build tension (like flirt with or provoke your opponent). In Kids on Bikes, you can fail or succeed rolls by different number ranks, which determines how significant the successes or failures are. In Wanderhome, you get a token when you "take a moment to bask in the grandeur of the world, and describe it to the table." In Good Society, each player gets a "monologue token" which they can spend to prompt another player to deliver their Main Character's internal monologue. I just played a bad-action-movie-themed game called Action 12 Cinema, where players can boost a roll if they call out the song that would be playing during this scene of the movie, and get an even FURTHER boost if anyone at the table sings it.

Each of those game mechanics gives you an instant understanding into the mood of the game, and the kind of stories its built for you to tell. Even if you've never heard of any of those games, I bet, based on the title and the move, that you could hazard a guess as to what playing the game is like. Dungeons & Dragons certainly has rules that add to the lore of the game, and prompt you to create characters that act a certain way. But when it comes to combat, players and DMs are left to their own devices. Some may see that as a strength of the game, but I see it as a source for a lot of disappointing play experiences.

And it seems as though, at the very least, the writers of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves thought the combat rules were narratively unsatisfying enough that they eschewed using any of them.

[dairy-farmer]

Okay but hear me out. Tim is Ra’s pillow princess. Maybe Tim gave in during the time Bruce was lost in time or Tim has always been Dami’s grandmother. But a happy Ra’s/Tim and really, really jealous Bruce and batfam

!!!!!! tim is stressed and in mortal peril every other day while on his bruce quest and ra's has offered reprieve, resources, and...well the belief in tim's hunch. which makes him the most supportive person in tim's life at the moment so...tim's willing to overlook the whole 'evil megalomaniacal leader of a secret guild of assassins'. though honestly it's not all that hard.

if tim was still 13 and deeply into dungeons and dragons he would've absolutely swooned at ra's and his pretty accent and fancy capes.but baby tim is not running the show. tim is. and tim is only human...

he's under a lot of stress and trying to find bruce and trying to navigate all the weird power plays and politics in the league of assassins and ra's keeps going that thing where he comes up behind tim and rests his firm hands on tim's hips, bending his neck slightly and whispering lowly into tim's ear, the ghost of his beard caressing tim's sensitive neck. he's being seduced. that much is obvious. tim tries desperatly to work out what for- maybe this is part of some mind game, or some preparation for ammo to launch at bruce when he comes back and ra's is happily swiping at him like an allycat throwing hands with another fat-cheeked tomcat.

some kind of 'i saw your son's pussy' sort of trash talk.

tim's already in his hands so it's not like ra's has to lure tim even closer. much of what he could potentially want to manipulate tim for could just as easily be something accomplished by trying to bribe tim with some mashed potatoes and gravy and not that salad with a million seeds he insists on serving for dinner each night. 'it's good for your health' tim's ass he sounded like tim's grandma.

bruce quest is lonely. and isolating. tim finds himself yearning for companionship and company. and ra's fills the hole but....tim also desires...more.

it's no secret in the caped community that the bats have a tendency to....sample one another. it's just one of those quietly unacknowledged things.

sex is a decent and better coping mechanism than things like...drugs or alcohol. things that could seriously impair their judgement or health.

when it had just been him and bruce, bruce had needed a lot of comforting to help him curb the worst of his destructive habits and maybe there was something to be said reguarding to morality of bruce sleeping with a thirteen year old but it helped.

just like it helped dick when the pressure of nightwing and bludhaven came to be too much.

both dick and bruce had wanted active lovers. lovers who would distract them from their miserable lives by bouncing on their cocks and sweetly accepting every drop of their cum into their little wombs.

it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that tim did all the work. and when you've just spent all night patrolling, are nursing bruises/ cuts and have to ride your brother/dad to completion so they don't have nightmares?

it's a lot. so tim isn't a huge fan of sex. but it does feel nice. and the warmth and connection does a lot to deepen bonds and help tim forget his own world of problems.

so when ra's finally propositions him- tim doesn't hesitate to accept.

however it's with a caveat.

ra's does all the work.

tim is tired. mentally and emotionally exhausted and if ra's want to fuck him well then tim gets to just lay there, look pretty and take it.

tim tells ra's as much and gets a darkened look of desire in return.

apparently ra's would love nothing more than to show tim what centuries of experience have taught him. ra's loves the sight of tim being a sweetly gasping and squirming thing, little body so unsure about what to do with all he pleasure flowing through him as ra's gently but surely fucks him through another orgasm- his cock pressing all the way into the opening of tim's womb while fingers decorated with gold rings and jewls toy with tim's little clit that ra's calls adorable.

tim doesn't leave ra's chambers for three days. they only leave because of urgent matters ra's wants to deal with and even then they just take their business out to the office ra's operates out of.

ra's talks to shadows in some coded tongue while having tim seated in his lap and plugged with his cock, his hands holding onto tim's hips and working him up and down until he's shaking from another orgasm.

it's not an exaggeration to say that ra's gives tim the best sex of his life while tim just lays there and takes it.

even when bruce is finally recovered from being lost in time tim's not even there to see it becuase he's too busy getting fucked stupid by ra's.

tim's also pretty sure ra's had some plan to screw over gotham and tim but that appears to have been scrapped in favor of getting unrestricted and free access to tim's cunt whenever he wants.

of course the bats go on red alert when ra's is spotted at gotham airport but until he does something they're forced to just monitor. which is how they find out about ra's and tim regularly meeting at hotels to fuck (not tim's nest because tim wasn't stupid like ra's because tim had entire hard drives of ra's many bases that he would blow up in a heartbeat if ra's broke up with him).

bruce, dick, and the rest of the bats all insist that tim should break up with ra's. but tim has decided the reward is well worth the risk. besides how is this any different from bruce with selina or any other cape having affairs with a rogue?

they're not happy. tim can tell his family is deeply unhappy with his decision. but either way tim gets wonderfully fucked and he doesn't have to lift a finger for it.

[chuckeroo777]

Dungeon Meshi Volume 5 Part 1

Welcome back to my liveblog! Gonna keep doing the bigger posts. As always, spoilers ahead so beware!

Don't spoil people, or a ghost will haunt your soup.

Please help. I haven't opened my eyes for 23 years, and now that I finally have, I don't know how to close them.

So... does Thistle actually know what happened, or does he seriously think his dragon decided to turn into a pretty girl?

Yo, imagine if Thistle turned Falin into a dracolich. That would be sick! And much harder to draw regularly.

Indeed senshi. Just be glad she didn't have one of her maces.

The audacity of this witch. That's what I get for being stylish. Guess I'll just use "Rocks fall, everyone dies."

Priorities. But seriously, what makes you think he wants to talk? It's really sad how desperate Marcille is to make her dream a reality.

An important image.

Correct! Just not right now.

Please don't smile so widely as you say that. Also, where the hell did the orcs get a moose antler?

Orc medicine not monitored by the FDA.

Floof!

This seemed like a bit of a continuity error, but we see later that the ghosts are able to warp reality a bit.

I like how you can pinpoint the exact moment she figures him out.

MY CHARACTER SHEET SAYS CHAOTIC NEUTRAL. That means I can't have feels. My dude, you founded a union. That makes you lawful good at minimum.

Oh, hey. When did that start happening? I thought it didn't start till the cleaners chapter.

See? Chilchuck wasn't kidding about his tenaciousness.

Tansu doesn't do much to make himself likeable, but he really isn't a bad guy.

Man, it's hard to get a good handle on the geometry of the forth floor. All the areas look the same, so for a while I thought it was just one big room.

You can tell they're illusions since they aren't phylogenetically consistent. Seriously, why is the king of the Zora a whale when everyone else is based on cartilaginous fish?

As the caster, this is probably exactly what he is seeing. Run.

It's always the same old story. To eat is to live.

Part of respecting Half-foots is respecting their right to nope out in fights.

If you saw how I was behaving back in chapter 28, I think you know what joke I have for this.

I really hope the fact that Chilchuck is a union man is brought up in the anime. I believe it is only referenced in extra material, the succubus monster extra to be specific.

God forbid a guy has hobbies.

I, uh, don't think that's how chanting works.

Tade craves the meshi.

Approaching the limit, so lets continue with chapter 33 in the next post.

[s-che]

From the Game Designer Tarot, I'd like to draw JUDGEMENT. Tell me about something you designed that taught you something important, please?

From yesterday's Game Designer Tarot ask game

Judgement — Talk about a game you’ve made that taught you a lot.

In 2022, when I was, like, a year out of college and already pretty burned out by teaching, I wrote the extremely quick and angry first draft of Queen of the Moon, a game which yanked the lindworm oracle from Jay Dragon's Sleepaway, slapped a couple of playbooks in for different the types of children, and said there you go. There's a game. Kids and a thing that hurts them. That's all there is in the world. I was angry with the educational system, I was pessimistic about the craft of teaching, and I wrote a game that was miserable as a result. It was extremely important to me to write it the way I did — to make a point — but it wasn't until last year when I finally started revising it that I realized how little fun there was in playing the thing.

All this to say, I think a lot of people write bit-based games. Polemical games. Games that only exist to make one point. And I think it can be really therapeutic to write that way, or just to write for a joke (God knows Queen of the Moon isn't the only time I've done it — Ritual & Experience, another early game I'd love to come back to and make into something more interesting, basically works the same way). But I do think it's worth considering the limitations of writing one-note games.

I had a really good conversation while helping @jdragsky move apartments a few months back (great setting for design yapping, tbh) about how super duper rules light, one-mechanic games can be extremely restorative to play after dealing with a bloated, clunky, D&D-esque system — but that there's something to be said for the fact that D&D & co. have all those goddamn mechanics in them. There are, whether we like them or not, multiple things to do in dungeons & dragons, and playing a game with that much shit to do in it can be fun! I don't want one universal dice roll -- I want lots and lots of little bespoke systems overlapping nibbling at each other! I like it when there is a lot of games in my games! One good mechanic is still just one mechanic — it might be better than any one of D&D's twenty mid mechanics, but D&D still has 20 of them.

Anyway, I bring up Jay's writing specifically because that's a hallmark of what PCG does — Yazeba's Bed & Breakfast most obviously, but Sleepaway too. It took me a long time to get to a point where I could joyfully make Queen of the Moon less one-note. It's still pretty pared down compared to Sleepaway (although some of that is on purpose), but it's a lot bigger than it was when I started. And that isn't because of bloat: it's because it's good to write more good game.

[ekko-idk]

YOU 🫵

Explain what dungeon meshi is

(You don't have to i'm just new here and wanted to hear it from someone who already knows a lot about this media)

(If you can't / don't want to that's absolutely fine but I would greatly appreciate it if you did :) )

Be careful what you wish for! I'm a professional rambler :)

Dungeon meshi (or Delicious In Dungeon) is a manga that recently started getting an animated adaptation on Netflix. The Manga is completed and the anime is ongoing. And just to be transparent I'm anime only so I don't know the whole story yet :0

The story follows a party (like a DND party) after they lost one of their members to a dragon, and they decide to go back to the dungeon to try and save her.

Laios, the blond guy with the armor, is the brother of the lost party member, Falin. he's very passionate and excitable (some people think it makes him awkward or difficult to talk to), he's just very in his own world.

Marcille, the blond elf girl with the blue dress (i think it's a dress?), is a childhood friend of Falin, she's a mage and casts mostly explosions lol. Marcille and Falin went to magic school together and it's pretty obvious they also have feelings for each other, that's why Marcille wants to save her so much.

Chilchuck, the tiny guy with the green neck wrap, is the group's lockpick. He's often cynical and sarcastic, and honestly at the start of the series I didn't expect to love him as much as I do, there's way more to him than what it might seem at a glance.

There were two other party members in their party but they decided to quit, each for their own reasons, and since the party lost almost all of their belongings in the dragon fight they were now broke. Eager to go save Falin they had a debate on what to do next, in which Laios mentioned he had expert knowledge on monsters and had always wondered what they taste like. Somehow Laios managed to convince Marcille and chilchuck to eat monsters to save up on money, although they were very opposed to it at first.

Laios knows a lot about monsters, but he doesn't know a lot about cooking, that's when they meet Senshi. Senshi is a dwarf that lives in the dungeon and is very passionate about cooking and living healthy. Senshi decides to tag along with Laios, Marcille, and Chilchuck, on their quest to save Falin, slaying and cooking monsters along the way.

This is the premise of Dungeon Meshi! Obviously there's a lot more that goes into it like other characters I didn't mention and a whole bunch of twists and turns in the story. If it's not apparent already by the amount of fanart I did, I'm enjoying the anime a lot lol. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, it's genuinely hilarious, the characters are all expertly written and bounce so well off of each other, there's little to no weird yucky "fan service" (the author is a woman and treats all her female characters with the respect they deserve) and at its core (as I see it) it's a story about passion, and how far following it can bring you.

There's a million and one other positive things I can say, like the LGBT and neurodivergent representation (Marcille and Falin are very clearly Sapphic, and Laios is widely headcanoned as autistic) and the various and diverse body types for both men and women, but I don't want this to go on for too long 😭

I hope this is what you had in mind when you asked me the question lmao💀

[munson-blurbs]

Hello! Would it be alright to request something where the reader joins Hellfire because she wants to get closer to and spend more time with Eddie and all of the guys figured that out except for Eddie who remains completely oblivious till the end?

Warnings: lil bit of language, fluffy fluffy fluff with a smidge of angst, fem reader

WC: 1.3k

A/N: this combines two of my favorite fluff tropes--clueless Eddie x clueless Reader in love + meddling friends <3 let me know what you think!

--

It was actually Robin's idea for you to join Hellfire.

You'd been working at Family Video with her and Steve for the last few months, trying to save up some money for college. It's where you'd formed a friendship with the unlikely duo.

It's also where you'd gotten to know Eddie Munson.

He'd come in a couple of times a week, mostly just to talk to Steve and Robin, though he'd occasionally rent a movie. Your heart fluttered every time he'd come in and lean against the counter, biceps flexing under his denim jacket.

"Y/N, this is Eddie Munson," Steve had introduced you the first time he came in during your shift. "Munson, this is Y/N. Be nice to her, please."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I'm always nice, Harrington," he retorts, "especially to pretty girls."

You'd felt a heat creep up your neck. You didn't say much for the rest of the evening, but you listened intently as he talked about the Dungeons & Dragons campaigns he was planning. You were smitten.

After months of watching you make heart eyes at the gorgeous metalhead, Robin puts her hands on her hips and says, "Oh my God, just ask him out already!"

"Me?" you squeak. "Ask him out?" You shook your head. "I don't even know if he likes me."

"Well, let's ask the jury," she replies, turning to Steve. "Has Munson said anything about Y/N?"

Steve nods. "He thinks you're really cute, but quiet. Wants to get to know you better."

"How do I do that?" you ask, basically pleading for an answer.

Robin purses her lips, considering. "What about joining Hellfire?"

"I've never played DnD before, though," you protest. "Aren't they, like, experts?"

"So he can teach you! It's perfect." She claps her hands together.

~

The next time Eddie comes into Family Video, Robin doesn't waste any time.

"Hey, Munson," she calls him over, "Y/N wants to learn how to play DnD. Got any room in that devil cult of yours for a new player?"

His eyes widen. "Uh, yeah, of course. Always." He looks at you. "You've really never played?"

"No," you admit shyly, "but it sounds like fun. At least from how you describe it."

Eddie flashes a huge grin. "Well, we meet on Fridays right after school in the drama room, if you can make it."

Robin cuts in before you can respond. "Yeah, but she needs someone to teach her how to play before she just jumps right in," she bats her eyelashes at Eddie and puts her hands on your shoulders.

"Oh!" he says. "Are you free tomorrow after school? We can hang out in the library or somethin'."

"She's free," Robin says for you, smiling from ear to ear.

~

But when you show up to the library the next day, Dustin Henderson and Mike Wheeler are there in Eddie's place.

"Y/N, right?" Mike asks, continuing when you nod your head. "Eddie said you needed someone to teach you game rules."

"Oh, uh," you stammer, trying to hide your disappointment, "y-yeah. I was thinking about joining Hellfire."

"You wanna join Hellfire but you've never played DnD?" Mike questions suspiciously, eyes narrowing.

Dustin's jaw drops. "You like Eddie!" he shouts. "Oh my God, you like Eddie!"

"Shut up!" you hiss. "Y'know what? Never mind. I shouldn't have let Robin convince me this was a good idea."

"No, wait!" Dustin clears his throat. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make fun of you. I just got excited because Eddie keeps talking about how sweet and pretty you are and..."

"We can teach you," Mike jumps in, saving Dustin from further rambles.

"Thank you," you smile gratefully. "Please don't tell Eddie that I like him." He may have complimented you to his friends, but he couldn't even be bothered to show up today, so how did he really feel about you?

Mike and Dustin nod, with zero intention of keeping that promise.

~

Eddie's sitting on his bed, strumming his guitar mindlessly, when he's startled by a pounding on his trailer door.

"Eddie! Open up!" Dustin screeches. "Open this door!"

Eddie flies out of the room, expecting the kid to be in imminent danger. Instead, Dustin is completely fine, just annoyed.

"Henderson, I thought you were dying!" Eddie exhales, putting his hands on his knees and scowling.

"No, but I'm about to kill you!" Dustin shouts.

That kid has one volume: loud, Eddie thinks. "Why? What'd I do?"

Dustin sighs. "You sent me and Mike to teach Y/N. But she likes you and you like her, you dumbass!"

"Wait, what?" Eddie can't hide his smile. "I thought she was afraid of me."

"Why would you think that?" Dustin asks, exasperated.

"Because!" Eddie sputters. "She barely talks to me when I visit her at work, which is all the time, and Robin was the one who had to set up the whole Hellfire thing. I thought I was doing her a favor by leaving her alone!"

"She's not scared," Dustin explains. "She's nervous. Because she LIKES you!" When Eddie just stares at him, shell-shocked, he orders: "Go fix it, idiot!"

Eddie nods, grabbing his jacket. "Is she still at the library?"

"Yeah, she's with Mike. I caught Steve before he drove Robin home and asked him to drop me off here. Told Y/N that I left my rulebook at home."

"Okay," Eddie says. His heart feels like it'll pound right out of his chest.

Dustin claps a hand on his back. "Let's go get you a girlfriend, big guy."

~

Mike is trying to explain the different creatures and how they interact during gameplay while Dustin runs back home to grab his book. Your head is spinning with information, but you're trying your best to follow along.

Your concentration is broken by the library doors flinging open. Dustin's back; this time, with a surprise guest.

"Eddie." You feel like the wind's been knocked out of you. "I thought you were busy."

"N-no, I..." he looks over at Dustin sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"Christ, do I have to do everything around here?" Dustin rolls his eyes. "Fine. Eddie thought you were afraid of him because you don't talk to him when he visits you at Family Video."

"Oh," you say with a giggle, because the idea is so ridiculous. "No, I'm not afraid of you, Eddie."

"I told you!" Dustin yells, immediately shushed by the librarian. He nudges Mike, and they leave you and Eddie alone.

"So if you're not scared of me," Eddie starts, biting his lower lip shyly, "why don't you talk to me?"

"I guess, you do scare me, in a way," you mumble. "But because I'm afraid of saying something stupid in front of you."

"In front of me?" He laughs. "I'm the king of saying dumb things. Just ask...well, any of my friends."

You laugh, too, feeling a bit lighter. "Yeah, but you look cute when you say dumb things." Did you really just say that?

Eddie looks just as surprised as you feel. "You think I'm cute?"

You can only nod, unable to make eye contact.

"Well," he says finally. "If you think I'm cute, and I think you're cute, then we should probably do something about that."

Your head snaps up at that. "You think I'm cute?" Sure, Steve had said that Eddie thought that, but you never believed he was telling the truth.

"Sweetheart," Eddie takes your hand, lacing his fingers with yours. "I like talking to Buckley and Harrington, but not enough to visit them that much." He clears his throat and smiles. "D'you wanna grab some pizza or somethin'?"

"Only after you teach me how to play DnD," you tell him. "You look extra cute when you talk about your campaigns."

Eddie sighs contently. Oh, he's falling fast for you.

--

[leasstories]

The New Girl

Eddie Munson x fem!reader

TW: SH, blood, drug use, depression, mentions of bullying

Your family just moved in Hawkins Indiana, you're 18 and this is your senior year. You were your old town's freak, and the fact that you were a girl made it even worse. You were considered the town’s freak because you were mainly listening to metal and Rock N'Roll  but also because you loved Roleplay games. One day, you saw this magazine about Dungeon and Dragons and you really enjoyed the game's concept, you knew pretty much everything about this game but you had no one to play it with. This year means new resolutions and you decided to be the most "normal" that you could be. It means you have to say goodbye to the ripped jeans but also goodbye to the band t-shirts. And you even consider joining the cheerleaders even though you hate what they do. You won't be able to go through another year of bullying, all alone. Your high school years were really hard on you, you went into depression and school phobia and started having self harming habits. This year has to be different. You're even gonna hide your tattoos and you dyed your hair back in your h/c which is far different from their previous color which was claret-red.

This is your first day at Hawkins High, you dressed in a plain white, long sleeve t-shirt and a blue jean, and you only did your make up with foundation and mascara. You rush downstair, take your bag, a pancake and rush through the door while screaming "See you tonight !" to your parents. You hear your mom wishing you a good day before sitting on the driver seat of your car. You drive to school even though you are early and you hope you can find a calm spot in order to hide and smoke your cigarette before heading to class. You park your car on the parking, get out and see a little path leading to the forest, you take it and arrive at a picnic table, you sit thinking it's a very calm spot for your little pre first day cigarette. You sit down, take your cigarette out and start smoking when you hear leaves scrunching behind you. You jump off of the bench, to see a teenager, or young adult you don't know, with brown curly hair, brown eyes and his clothes are very similar to your former clothes. He raises his hands in surrender to show you he means no harm before speaking.

"I never saw you around"

"I'm new in town" you answer

The boy looks at you with his big brown eyes, you can't help but stare at him, but also admire him for being confident enough to wear the clothes he wants, you remember that once, you were like him, but that led you to be in such a dark place that you think it doesn't worth it.

"Then welcome perfect stranger, I'm Eddie Munson !"

You chuckle before answering "I'm Y/N, Y/N Y/L/N"

"Nice to meet you, I actually can't believe you are talking to me, most people would have ran away"

"Why is that ?” you ask

"Because I'm the town's freak" he makes invisible quoting marks with his hands "mean and scary"

"You don't seem mean and scary to me"

"Well thank you,  but you shouldn't hang out with me at school, not that I don't like you no, you are pretty and I enjoy talking to you but-"

You cut Eddie's rambling. "I can manage hanging out with the outcasts, I actually was an outcast in my old town"

"You don't seem an outcast to me, you seem the most normal person I've ever seen, and it's not an insult at all I promise" Eddie is all flustered and keep rambling.

"My style, my real style is similar to yours to be honest, I just changed it because I couldn't take being the freak anymore but I admire you. I admire you for not caring about what others think, and" you take a deep breathe "I want to learn, that's why, if you accept it of course, I'm gonna hang out with you at school"

While you were talking Eddie took a black lunch box out and started rolling a joint.

"I'd be honored to hang out with you, and I'll help you, I'll help you see how unimportant people's opinion is, all that matters is that you are comfortable in your own clothes, that you feel yourself. Do you even feel yourself in those ?"

You look at the ground, ashamed before answering "Not really..."

"You don't have to feel ashamed. I promise to help you be yourself" Eddie lits up his joint, you look at the joint tempted before Eddie asks you "Wanna share it with me ?"

You think about it, and if you're gonna walk into the hall of your new high school with him, you'll need courage, plus you haven't had one in two days now and the withdrawal is getting really strong so you nod.

"Before I share it with you I need you to say it out loud, please"

"Yes I want to share it with you"

Eddie hands you the joint and you take a few hits before handing it back to him. You look at your watch before cursing "shit ! Eddie we're gonna be late !"

Eddie shrugs but then he sees the panic in your eyes and takes his stuff before leading you to the high school.

When you both enter the halls, everyone looks at you. You start fidgeting with your fingers, really anxious for this first day when Eddie says. "You have nothing to be afraid of, if anyone is rude to you come to me and I'll flip them off"

You chuckle slightly before answering "thank you Eddie". Gosh you find this boy really sweet but also insanely attractive, but of course you keep your thoughts to yourself.

Eddie leads you to the secretary office and waits for you outside while you go pick up your timetable as well as your locker number and code. When you head out, you look surprised that Eddie is still here.

"What are you still doing here, you're gonna be late."

"I wasn't going to let you get lost in the maze that is Hawkins high, plus I don't care about being late"

"Thank you, I'm going to my locker and then to my first class"

Eddie snatches your timetable from your hands and look at you, grinning.

"We are together almost all morning !" he seems very excited at the idea of spending the morning with you and deep down you are too. You are also relieved.

"Sounds amazing" you answer

After your last class of the morning, that you had to spend without Eddie, you're going to the cafeteria, you enter and go grab food, once you have your tray, you look around for somewhere to sit when one of the basketball player, you think his name is Jason, goes to you and tell you "Wanna sit with us new girl ?"

You look at him in disbelief because of what he just called you, but you're kinda scared of him, you knew people like that at your old school, one of them used to hit you every single day, you start trembling a bit.

Eddie is sitting at his table with his friends from Hellfire. Gareth, Jeff, Dustin and Mike all look at the scene happening a few meters away which is your interaction with Jason when Gareth says.

"Look at the new girl already being seduced by the King of Hawkins high"

At those few words, Eddie raises his head from his plate and look at the exchange between you and Jason, he can sense that something is off but before he can say anything Dustin speak up.

"Why does she look so uncomfortable ?"

Eddie gets up on the table and scream "YN, you can come sit here if you want"

The whole cafeteria look at you and then Eddie in disbelief and Jason look at you with a glare saying 'don't you dare sit with him'. Before you could say anything Jason turns to Eddie and says "Want somethin' freak ?". The nickname make you wince and you get out of the cafetaria, running, with teary eyes. You run until you reach the picnic table you were sat on this morning.

Meanwhile, Eddie makes a face at Jason before jumping from the table and going to look for you. After 10 minutes of searching the whole High School, Eddie comes to the conclusion that you are at the picnic table. He goes there and see you with a bloody razor blade in your hand, crying. He delicately sits next to you and take the blade from your hands, he doesn't say anything because to be honest, he doesn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry" you manage to say between sobs

"Don't be YN, I am the one who is sorry, I should have been waiting for you at your class. What happened with Jason, did he say something ?"

You start crying even more at the mention of what happened in the cafeteria, Eddie start rubbing your back before he remembers the bloody blade. He looks at your bloody wrists and take one in his hand, he take his bandana and start wiping off the blood while you keep crying.

"I'm sorry if it hurts sweetheart but I have to clean all that blood"

You wince when the fabric of the bandana touch your wrist but you don't back up. You're ashamed that he saw you like that though.

After Eddie finished wiping the blood from your left wrist, he wipes the blood from your left wrist.

He keeps rubbing your back while you sob before asking "do you wanna talk about what happened in there ?"

You take a shaky breath before saying "I've known someone like Jason... back in my former high school, and he-" you start crying again "he hurt me almost every single day..."

"I'm sorry to hear that YN... Jason is a dick but he'd never hurt you like that, and even if he tried I wouldn't let him"

You look at Eddie, still sobbing, with your teary eyes and you mutter a shaky "thank you"

Then Eddie looks back at yout wrists and hesitate before asking "do you hurt yourself often ?"

You burry your face in your hands, ashamed and keep sobbing.

Eddie gets up from the bench and kneel before you, taking your hands away from your face. He lift your chin up so you can look at him before saying "You don't have to answer YN, but I want you to know that you can tell me anything, I'd never judge you or tell anyone what you tell me"

"I do..." you end up answering

Eddie look at you with saddened eyes before searching for a pen and a paper through his bag, he writes down his adress and phone number and hands it to you.

"The next time you want to do that, call me or  come see me, I'll try taking your mind off of it, and if you can't help but do it, I'll at least clean your cuts"

You take the paper after thanking him.

"Do you want me to bring you back home ?" You nod, you and Eddie go back to your car, once you've unlocked the car Eddie opens the passenger door for you.

"What are you doing ?" you say

"Driving you home" Eddie answers

"But what about your car ?"

"Don't worry for me YN, I won't let you drive when you're all shaken up, please let me do that for you"

You nod and climb on the passenger seat. Eddie close your door before climbing on the driver's seat. You give him the direction to your home. The ride is silent, but it's a comfortable silence. Once you arrive, Eddie open the passenger door for you before leading you to your door.

You unlock your door when Eddie says "See ya tomorrow YN !"

"Can you... can you stay please" you ask

Eddie look at you before saying "Of course I can, I have nothing better to do anyway, I can stay until your parents come back"

"Thank you so much" you say with a weak smile.

You lead Eddie to the couch and instruct him to sit down.

"I know you've been wanting to ask me something all the way home, please go ahead, ask me, whatever it is I'm prepared."

"Why do you hurt yourself ?"

You take a shaky breath before answering "Because the pain I feel inside of me is eating me alive, when I cut myself my focus is on another kind of pain, one that hurt less than the pain inside of me"

Eddie takes your hand. "I'm sorry, I wish I could take away some of your pain"

After this conversation, Eddie cheered you up, he made some jokes to make you laugh, you listened to Iron Maiden together, and when it was time for him to leave you kissed him on the cheek and Eddie was all flustered.

The next days, you spent a lot of time together and Eddie was always trying to put a smile on your face, he was doing everything in his power to make you forget the demons from your past, and it worked, every time you were with him  you were laughing and smiling. Thanksgiving holidays were approaching, which meant you would be all by yourself for a week. But you decided that you won't tell Eddie, he has to enjoy Thanksgiving holidays with his family, he needs to take time for himself. You can't ask him to spend his entire holiday with you even though you'd really like that. You can't be selfish, he's done so much for you in the past weeks.

This is the last day before the holidays and you decided to go to school with your style, you put on a black Metallica t-shirt with a black ripped jean, Doc Martens and let your tattoos show, you didn't tell Eddie that you would come to school like that, when you entered the hall, everyone was whispering, you went to class and sat at the last raw, next to Eddie's usual place.

Eddie was late as usual, when he entered the class he saw everyone whispering but paid no further attention, until his eyes spotted you. When he looked at you, his jaw dropped, he didn't think you'd be ready yet. He went to sit next to you and saw you figdeting and your knee bounce, you two had gotten really close in the past weeks so he put his hand on your knee and look at you, a look meaning 'I'm here for you'. The class go by and you keep fidgeting but Eddie keeps his hand on your knee until the teacher notice.

"Can I help you Mister Munson" she says

"I'm sorry Miss, I wasn't feeling well and Eddie was showing me emotional support" you answer

"The freak help the freak" says a cheerleader. Chrissy turn to you with an apologetic smile.

"Mrs Smith, I didn't ask for a comment, Mr Munson just remove your hand from her knee"

Eddie look at you before doing so, you nod, making him understand that it's okay. Deep down it isn't and you know that you aren't going to your next class.

When the bell ring, you don't even wait for Eddie and run to the bathroom, you lock yourself until the bell ring to indicate that the next class is starting.

Eddie enter the next class, he scans the room but doesn't see you, he doesn't care about what the teacher will say, he just get out of the room, ignoring the teacher who was ordering him to come back to class. He knew where you were but he also knew that you were hurting yourself, he knows how hard it had been for you and also know you weren't ready to handle everything that was coming with assuming your style, your mental health was still very fragile even though Eddie had helped you a lot. He had to find you, you needed him now more than ever.

You were sat at the picnic table, looking blankly at your bloody wrist when Eddie found you, he sat next to you and you were so afraid that you disappointed him that you decided to speak first, looking at your shoes.

"I'm sorry Eddie, I couldn't help it"

Eddie looks at you with a saddened but understanding look. "I'm not mad YN, I promise, let me fix this."

Eddie goes through his bag and take out some gauze and a bottle of antiseptic, he always has it in his bag since the first time he saw you hurt yourself, just in case. He didn't have to use it in a while, but he knew that you would probably relapse one day, and Eddie was glad he didn't take it out of his bag.

Eddie put some antiseptic on the gauze and started cleaning your wounds, he then looked at you in the eyes before saying "I really like your style" Eddie is grinning, even though he shouldn't be flirty, he can't help, you're just so beautiful, even more when you’re yourself. Eddie doesn't care about your scars, and even if it saddened him, the fact that you happened to hurt yourself wasn't something that made him run away. Eddie fell for you in those few weeks you spent together.

"Thank you for cleaning this up, and for the compliment" you blush at each special attentions.

"You’re not so bad yourself Munson" you added

Eddie got closer to you and took your hand in his. "I have something to tell you YN, and I know that now might not be the best timing but I can't keep it to myself anymore."

"I love you Eddie" you blurt out without thinking. When you realize what you just say you put your left hand on your mouth and take your hand away of Eddie's, ready to leave.

Eddie grabs you by the wrist and kisses you passionately before saying "I was going to say that I love you more than I should love a friend. And please don't interrupt me, let me finish. I really enjoy every moment with you, and I'm proud of you for coming to school like that, I'm proud of you for not self harming for weeks. Yes you've relapsed today, but relapse is part of recovery and please believe me when I say that you can tell me when you've done it, I'd rather be there for you, help you clean it up and help taking away your guilt than not knowing what you're going through. You've come such a long way YN, and I'm so so proud of you. I love you and nothing can change that."

You have tears in your eyes, what Eddie said is so beautiful, you don't even know what to answer to that, no one as never been this kind to you before and it's overwhelming, so instead of saying anything you hug him and don't let go.

It is Thanksgiving today, your parents left in order to spend Thanksgiving with your grand-parents as well as your aunts and uncles that you don't particularly appreciate, that's why you decided to stay home. You have been trying out outfits all morning long to find the perfect outfit and now you found it, you're gonna wear a black leather dress, tights and heeled boots, you put on some black eye liner, mascara and red lipstick. You've just finished putting your hair in a tight bun when you hear Eddie's van pulling up in your backyard. You rush to the door taking your keys and bag. Your run in Eddie's arms and hug him tight, your legs around his waist. Eddie chuckles and kiss you before saying "Ready to spend Thanksgiving with me and my uncle ?"

You seem a bit stressed so Eddie looks at you in the eyes before saying "Wayne is gonna love you YN, I'm sure of that"

You spend the ride hand in hand, listening to your favorite song, 'Rainbow In the Dark' by Dio.

"Eddie ?" you say, breaking the silence

"Mmh" he answers

"You are my Rainbow in the dark"

Eddie smiles and squeezes your hand. "I love you Sweetheart"

" I love you too Eddie"

And as Eddie predicted Wayne loves you and you spent the best Thanksgiving you've ever spent, surronded by people you feel safe around. Not thinking once about hurting yourself. Eddie is really your Rainbow in the dark.

If you or anyone you know has to deal with SH, depression or suicidal thoughts please reach out for help. https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/depression/resources.htm

[rynris]

Dungeon Meshi: Thoughts and Impressions

I've been thinking about how quickly I consume media these days and I feel like I've been desperately binging shows in order to keep up with the times. I hope this will be a series where I can thoughtfully absorb everything from a show that made a lasting impression on me and have something to come back to and review. This is more for my own fun and journal keeping - all thoughts are my own musings and can change over time. If there's something you'd like to add, please do! I'd love to hear your impressions as well.

*Minor spoilers below*

Overall Impression

What a well thought out and interwoven story with fairly interesting characters and a great hook/ mystery! I think rescuing Falin as a plot device works really well because the heart of the story is about relationships and everything around it caters to the journey and development of these characters and how they work together.

Cons/ Issues

I still don't really buy the world building, the dungeon idea seems a bit weak, but it's anime, so some plot holes are forgivable. The beginning felt weak, it was hard to buy into the stakes of losing Falin without knowing the characters but thankfully the exposition was rather quick (1/4 of an episode it felt like) which is good. The dragon fight scene seemed a bit off. I felt like the shots were framed too close - probably to emphasize chaos and keep the red dragon mysterious until the final reveal but with my tunnel vision, it felt messy.

Ok one big con is the character tropes. They sort of make up for it in the middle, but it was enough to make me want to stop watching. I've seen these tropes a million times now and am TIRED of it. And there's so much good stuff out there that it's so easy to dismiss shows these days.

Pros/ Love

CHARACTERS! I was surprised to see more depth in the characters and I love how the mysterious were presented depending on the encounters. Thought each scenario were expertly crafted and it didn't feel too forced.

FOOD! Besides the glorious food p*rn, I was definitely taken aback by the later recipes. I didn't expect food to be woven in during some scenarios, but when it was, I was very pleasantly surprised!

At first I thought Laios was kind of unrealistic, but then I remembered that my ornithology prof was passionate about eating every single bird in the world at least once and I was like... this is real. There are DEFINITELY people like this. +1 for the representation!

On representation, I like the potential LGBTQ representation and was surprised the show took that route. The show itself is coded to be super straight so I wasn't expecting it. This is a con, but it does feel a bit like queer baiting or for the male gaze unfortunately.

Later action scenes were good/ interesting.

The pacing between comedy and darkness was well done, Trigger never fails with good comedic timing.

Shots economy is good, I feel like there are not a lot of unmotivated, extra shots, and talking/ dialog/ exposition were all well done. The used the same layout for the exposition scenes from the manga and the added animation punched it up and mode those scenes interesting. - **I'd like to study these scenes in particular more.**

Final thoughts

I think this is a great show to study how you can make a slice of life comedy and weave in some darker themes without overwhelming the audience. A lot of shows usually stay in their chosen genre, or lean very heavily on the dark/ edgy themes. I like how this show isn't reliant on solid world building, but focuses on creative storytelling to keep audiences coming back for more. Overall, the design/ setting feels basic, but it is the creativity behind the idea of monster food and how well thought out every dish is that makes this show shine. The manga and show have pretty good pacing and doesn't linger too long on mysterious or draw things out, dropping enough tidbits and lore to keep you watching/ reading.

TL;DR I think this is one of the better amine series I've seen this year and I love that this show feels refreshing with very creative storytelling. The concept is feels surprisingly unique and original but you do have to commit to a few episodes before it kicks in.

**I only read a few chapters of the manga so my opinion is not 100% and may change if I have time to read more.

[sugar-omi]

If you are interested, can you plz share how you see the Our Life (1+2) characters as DnD classes and races included? 😆⚔️🍃🏹

Im craving Our Life with some medieval whimsical vibes, Baxter dancing with swords, Derek singing with bar goers while MC goes pickpocketing the villains, Cove as a MERMAN living his life like Ariel. So many wonderful thoughts wanted to share ✨️✨️✨️

okay this took so long bc i know nothing abt DnD so i did a bit of research!!! my friends have talked abt DnD and i never understood but knew it was smth cool n involved alot of creativity, but now i just think this is sm cooler <33 anyway im not creative at all rn so im referencing everything from this website im using👍

tags : Fluff, 'Dungeon and Dragons' headcanons + drabbles, cove is the only one w hc's for if you're dating (+ qiu kinda?) i couldn't think of dating hc's for everyone else in this world as well but you could imagine some of the hc's that way

synopsis : DnD races and classes of ol:nf & ol:ba characters.

qiu:

okay I couldn't decide but qiu is half-elven.

(his dad is so whipped for his elf wife<3<3<3)

i can't really think about what class he'd be in, but i think i could see him as a bard

he's the laziest bard though 💀 and thus is mostly a wanderer.

qiu will wait until they're on their last coin and then will go perform

would perform a very good show while MC pickpockets the assholes that were disturbing the bar just a moment ago

otherwise, he just performs for you and his friends.

they'll have/be at a party with all their friends, and will perform some type of magic trick to entertain everyone

qiu will sing you little songs, read you poetry he wrote while watching you sleep that morning<3

for any important dates like birthdays, or anniversary (if you're dating), etc., they'll do a cool magic trick and perform a elven dance that he learned from his mom

tama:

human! BUT. she's a druid

she loves the forest, the forest loves her

maybe a bit of sorcery as well? idk how this works lol

she has a little house in the woods omg

goes foraging and learns lots of sorcery stuff from ren

will show you how to cast cool spells

also you're the first person she comes to show you any new spells she learns!!

you two beat up any bandits/criminals you come across

renee (/darren):

human and like i mentioned in tama's, is a sorcerer

!!! wants to be like her mom in canon right?

i think she's a teacher n teaches young sorcerers/wizards

baxter:

isnt baxter special. just crossovering worlds 💀💀

anyway.. he's an elf! is also rogue...

bringing baxter's issues/trauma into this DnD au as well <3

you find it very weird that a elf is on his own, but ignore it ofc and befriend baxter anyway

after much warming of baxter's cold heart, i imagine he settles in some civilian town or nearby and opens a bar!!

and every night its full with laughter and good music, and occasionally he'll come out from behind the bar

(honestly, he's mostly just cleaning the glasses and looking pretty <3)

and he'll pull you or one of your friends into a dance

omg imagine its not just a bar, its also a bed & breakfast

of course he's decent enough at cooking, so every morning he lays out a nice breakfast for his customers

derek:

knew this was derek insantly!!! he's half-orc

orcs dont have horns, do they.... well they do now

(realizing he's more Oni than anything in my head...)

anyway i need you to imagine arataki itto and if u don't know who that is Please find the beefiest fanart of him n thats derek LOL

derek grinning with his fangs and he's like 7 feet tall and buff, covered in scars.... yessir <33

i imagine he's a wanderer, but before that he was a cleric.

derek always helps people, he's very reliable but i imagine he's tired and somehow ends up working for baxter!

he's chef during the day and security at night!!!

no fighting in baxter's bar/diner unless you want a ass-ful of derek's boot <3

i also imagine when he's not running the place with baxter, he's helping the towns folk

the kids love him

they make flower crowns and run to the bar/diner to give them to derek <3333

ofc there's that one shy kid who offers one to baxter! bc they think he's really cool!!!

cove:

like you said he's a merman!!!

mmm, but i also imagine he can shapeshift into a "human"

(this is some ariel shit isnt it LMAO)

(also im imagining mer!cliff x human!kyra. mmm, i wonder if she'd be a bard? or maybe a healer, cleric maybe? why do i wanna write a whole fic on this now....)

although i imagine he needs to stay hydrated to stay on land like that. so please remind him to drink water when you're out n about otherwise he'll turn back into a fish in the middle of the market LOL

(you've learned this the hard way

!!! imagine if there's some way for you to come into the sea as well, be it a air bubble or potion of some sort and you have lil underwater adventures/dates n cove shows you all kinds of cool things <3333

he brings you lots of pretty things

if you like jewelry, he has his dad help him string up some pearls into a necklace or bracelet. or even better an anklet

+ if you're dating/crushing on each other

he'll do his little mermaid mating and courting rituals

like bringing you food

(will show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night w a big fish he caught or some breakfast derek smuggled him (cove doesn't keep many coins since mer-currency is more like sand-dollars or smth like coins made out of ore only found in the sea. the ore is good for nothing else than to be coins LOL))

OH MY GOD HE CAN CHIRP N SHIT

will chirp n shrill and do other cute mer sounds that you don't really know what they mean sometimes

COVE: *watching you dreamily* MC: *flustered from the staring* what?... COVE: *flirtatious chirp*

[chimerafeathers]

thinking about Frieren and Dungeon Meshi today and just remembered seeing a post/comment or two saying that people have no reason to compare the two stories since they have nothing in common except being non-isekai fantasy. different tones, different pacing, different themes, etc.

i don't know if whoever said that were dunmesh manga readers or not, but i kinda assume they were making judgments based purely on however much of the anime was released at the time, because i think about how similar these stories are a LOT, actually.

[spoilers for the dungeon meshi manga below, and a little bit of frieren manga]

i think that's a pretty fair assessment to make based JUST on the "prologue"/setup arc leading up to the red dragon. while some of the main themes are very in-your-face, others are still being woven into the characters and established much more subtly, and we don't get the full weight and payoff for that early work until later into the story.

Frieren establishes its identity within the first episodes and never drastically deviates from that first impression. on the other hand, dunmesh takes its time to build its foundation...but instead of using it as groundwork to build a house above, it then leads you into the depths of the dungeon below.

the stuff about conflicts between long-lived and short-lived races seem like just jokes/banter and a touch of political worldbuilding, in the beginning, but that tension is absolutely central to both Marcille and Kabru's arcs. both Frieren and dunmesh are about elves facing their (near) immortality in contrast with the brief mortality of their companions.

I think about the ways Frieren, with a thousand years of life behind her, carries the memories of those she's outlived along with her and all the ways she emulates them to preserve their lives and values. I think about the way Marcille, with a thousand years of life ahead of her, clings so tightly to the people she holds dear and fears the future she sees beyond their deaths.

I think about the way Serie talks about training Flamme on a whim, casually dismissive of short human lifespans. I think of the way Kabru resents the way elves treat short-lived species like children and fights so desperately for their agency and right to speak on the same level as the rest, fully informed of the dangers that threaten them all instead of being left in the dark.

beyond that, too--you can really feel that these series come from a place of love for the genres that inspired them. dunmeshi's speculative biology for the monsters and the ecosystem they're a part of, the exploration of how and why different races get different "stat" bonuses (dwarven constitution, half-foot perception, tall-man versatility, elven/gnomish magical affinity), the side comic about "Grease" as a starter spell--all obviously come from deep knowledge and affection for D&D and/or similar rpgs.

meanwhile, Himmel gives thoughtful weight to doing "side quests" for paltry rewards--they help because they're heroes, but they accept scraps and useless items for rewards because no one wants to feel pitied or indebted to anyone. he says they "went the wrong way" if they find the stairs to the next floor in a dungeon, because the "right" way is to explore every nook and cranny first before you progress. it would be very easy to mock how annoying fetch quests are, or make the dungeon bit a pure joke--but this is a story that relishes the process and the journey of it all, down to the smallest detail and silliest quest.

flashbacks to Falin being achingly kind and gentle, and also strange and awkward. flashbacks to Himmel being blindingly heroic and noble, and also vain and goofy.

these are both stories about the weight of death and loss and the things we'll do to see our loved ones one last time, when we are destined and doomed to outlive them. they're about the joy of the journey even when it's painful, thriving on silliness even when things are "serious," and loving the people in your life knowing you will lose them, and how you carry them with you when they're gone. dunmeshi is heavier on the comedy side of things, but both have their fair share of emotional gutpunches, and their themes and values mirror each other.

all this to say, these stories are holding hands.