#IT CAN BE LEARNED WITH LITTLE DIFFICULTY

[gunkreads]

Cairn session recap from Friday, which will also function as an advertisement to play Cairn with your friends. You should play Cairn with your friends.

My group of players have had very little contact with TTRPGs. Pretty much all they have is:

(friend 1) One completely horrid 1-hour D&D 4e session back in like 2011, plus about 50 hours of Baldur's Gate 3

(friend 2) Watching about half of said BG3 gameplay

(girlfriend) Two acceptably decent 4-hour D&D 5e sessions, plus hearing me talk about it endlessly.

So I have them going through a bog on a 3-day trip, escorting a merchant through it. Each day is supposed to have an encounter--day 1 was about 2 hours of Session 0/rules review/character creation, then about 2 hours of gameplay, about 20 minutes of which was combat; day 2 was about 4 hours, about 3 hours of which was combat (kinda overdid it on the difficulty ramp).

So, day 2 has my players with a reasonable grasp of the tenets of tabletop gaming and my personal philosophies on GMing. For some background, said philosophy basically starts and ends at the Rule of Cool. They wake up with their stinky sketchy merchant man, then proceed down the path before seeing a Rust Monster dash across the path, which the Merchant chases because he knows they tend to accidentally collect lots of non-rustable precious metals (my canon). They run into this small ruined outpost that happens to have a treant in it.

Now, something you should know about Cairn is that it has almost no progression system--no classes, no leveling, no stat increases, just "gear". It is designed to be deadly, so consequently there's very little you can do to invest into your character. This deadliness is something I heavily emphasized to my players, mainly focusing on the fact that I didn't know HOW deadly it'd be, since I hadn't GMed it before.

I ended up making the first session's combat VERY easy, forgot the rule about critical damage, and happened to see my players roll INCREDIBLY well, so that ended up giving them a false sense of confidence about their combat power.

They run into this treant in session 2. To say it "fucked them the hell up" would be a blinding understatement. It does a base of 1d10+1d8 damage, which I had already reduced to 1d10 before the session started (wanted to eliminate the chance of one-shotting my least tanky player). It downed two of the three players in one hit, and it basically got worse from there.

Because Cairn's rules are so loose, I was effectively able to build a ruleset on the fly to suit this particular combat scenario. I could roll with my players' ideas to do basic movement and inventory manipulation actions while downed (you're not unconscious, just unable to fight). I also loosened the restrictions around getting players back up--it just burned a turn for each player, which let me keep the combat going without completely sidelining a player for over an hour.

This led to one of my initially-incapacitated players killing the Rust Monster, which was hiding in the outhouse of this fort, by dropping a lit torch down into the pit and having the methane explode, then dropping a jar of tar on the still-burning enemy.

It also led to another player using a bottle of perfume as a Molotov cocktail against the Treant, and since they were doing such an incredible job at improvising their way out of this hopeless situation, I could narrate that Molotov knocking the armor off the Treant where it hit, letting them hit it a lot harder from there on. They were also specifically focusing on knocking off branches and roots, so I could reduce the Treant's damage die as they did that. It was IMMENSELY fun to whip up boons for the players based on their individual creativity, attention to their gear, and willingness to ask more about the scenario and setting.

The moral of the story for me in this was that when I, as a GM, don't have a massive ruleset looming behind me, I can actually do a lot better of a job making combat fun. When there's nothing to contradict, I can make rules as intuitive as I want.

So the two things I'd say in favor of following Bob World Builder's advice to start your D&D adventure by playing Cairn are these:

When there are almost no rules, you get to make all the rules. The GM gets to do quite literally whatever they want to help the players have a good time. If a player says "Hey, can I [action that has absolutely zero mention in the rule set], the GM can say "yes, make a [stat] save and fucking go for it" without ANY concern for gameplay balance. Shit, if you're concerned about your ability to be fair in metering their success, pick a die and a value and roll for it. In D&D, you can easily back yourself into corners by allowing something that eventually conflicts with an important balance rule later on. I know because I've done it. Cairn eliminates this stress and lets a GM learn how to PLAY the game, rather than just RUNNING it.

My players were more immersed in the narrative and roleplaying aspect of the game fully throughout the combat. Because they weren't limited to the 13(ish?) actions of D&D 5e, they were able to completely improvise their actions and run character interactions in a way that made them more satisfied with the cinematic-ness and narrative coherence of the fight.

Also, we had a fucking epic life-saving roll toward the end--one player had gone down twice, but still got back up and went back in to fight. She got hit again, which brought her down to 2 STR, and when you take a hit to STR in Cairn, you have to make a STR save to stay standing. Cairn is roll-under-for-success, so she needed to roll a 1 or 2 to stay up. And she rolled a fucking 2. We pretty much took an intermission for that one.

[hypermascbishounen]

There's a deep irony in Berserk being so admired by people who really really hate what Berserk is about on an emotional level, but especially when writers want to take influence from it. Because Berserk is very strong thematically, and someone who can't acknowledge subtext is going to whiff on emulating anything good.

[puppyeared]

who up seeing their disorder in a fictional character but feel like its not their place to put a name on it

[terrorbirb]

My dream is to make a calculator website with all the calculators I've come up with. I have calculators for manufacturing, sewing, uhm the combination of the two, and new calculators for my new job. I don't want to Google for calculators anymore, I just want a site that I can view on my phone and it's just ones for ME and people I teach about them.

I guess I want some modules too like stop watches.

[ruvviks]

made the realization my vampire story would work best as a video game and now i can't stop thinking about it

[nympippi]

Necromancer Finney AU: You said that Bruce has the worst memory issues out of the ghost boys. With that in mind, what was his reaction to his parents and sister greeting him for the first time?

When Bruce was first brought home he immediately knew who his mother was, he didn’t know her exact name but he knew it was her based on the vague memories he had of her. But when it came to the man beside her it was muddier, he knew the man was significant but didn’t know if he was his dad, or an uncle, but with his mother seeing his confusion she told him that the man was his father.

With his mother and father, Bruce had memories of them granted they were muddy and were hard to place but ultimately they were still familiar people to him.

His sister Amy however, he had little to no recollection of his youngest sister. He had to relearn things about her and has to slowly remember what it was like being an older brother. Granted he has a lot of trouble remembering her name, he does try and understand word association like A is for Amy.

[irbcallmefynn]

Bit of a simple one here. Nauno simply spying a new target. Didn't spend all too long on it.

Yesterday I looked up if Avali could eat chocolate (did not find my answer btw) and noticed that planets in the habitable zone for humans would be unbearably hot for Avali. So it's time for me to bullshit an explanation for why Nauno isn't miserable or outright dead that will probably contradict things I've said or drawn before!

The temperature where Fynn Nauno and Euphi live is quite variable. In the winter it can get bitterly cold, and Nauno is all over that. Sometimes they might bring an icepack with them if it's a bit warmer out, like seen above. More often than not though, Nauno is completely fine in the winter.

In the summer? Forget it. This guy is not going anywhere in the summer. The AC in his room is very very strong (thanks to a little demon magic from Fynn), so it's basically a refrigerator in there (Fynn can't even walk in there without feeling sick). Fynn (with some help from Euphi) "borrowed" some chemistry equipment from a nearby school and use it to make their own dry ice. They then make "Dry Ice Packs" for Nauno, which help a lot! It's at least enough for him to go out and get lunch with Fynn during the summer.

For Fynn it's basically the opposite. Loves the summer, can't go outside during the winter. One time when visiting his mom (which he does every couple of years) he picked up a few loose stones from Hell and keeps them in his pockets during the winter. So at least his hands are nice and warm, so he won't collapse from the cold. He'll just be super uncomfortable.

Euphi doesn't really care much about the temperature. It's precipitation that bothers heart. Euphi can't walk outside at all without an umbrella if it's raining or snowing. It's not going to kill heart, but it is extremely unpleasant and painful (basically imagine sweating into an open wound. Not very pleasant is it?)

[astranauticus]

a handful of chinese songs that give me big robit energy

translating cpop songs is like my second favourite hobby so it's frankly surprising I haven't made this post sooner

Him - Floruitshow (马 - 福禄寿)

I've talked about this song on here before but this is the 3.7 song for me

the second chorus is definitely MR-SN but i like to think of the first chorus (Let me take a good look at your visage as we count down the time till the curtains’ close. Forgive me for holding back my voice so soon, do you know, in your graceful escape, all I see around me is disaster?) as VR-LA during the flashback sequence

specifically 'all I see around me is disaster' because yeah not wrong

'This time I’m not here to bring you home' just kills me like the please please take care of yourself because I can't be there with you anymore of it all

'Oh spring, oh warm sun, please come sooner, grant him a smooth and safe journey' same point, just the desperate plea for the universe to protect VR-LA because he can't do it himself anymore

How can I make you stay - Floruitshow (我用什么把你留住 - 福禄寿)

(conveniently I have actually done a full translation of this song!)

definitely one of the Maxim songs of all time

"You’ve believed that you can let your life pass in numbness, but [...] why do your tears fall in the moment of letting go?' YEAH because we've seen so many times how Maxim keeps trying to convince himself that he can stop just caring but it never works

'You say don’t fall in love, yet you’re unwilling to let go' same point, this man is in such denial about how he just can't stop caring

specifically the second verse feels a lot like Maxim waiting for VR-LA to return from Tu'narath

'You stay silent, holding onto starlight as you wait through your darkest hour. Your mind is struck, when familiar murmurs pierce your ears once more' aaaAAAAHH

the bridge (?) as a conversation between VR-LA and Maxim, VR-LA inviting Maxim to see the beauty and wonders of the world ('Do you want to see the sea of flowers blooming?', very 4.5 wedding invite honestly) but Maxim's trauma just would not allow him to take that risk ('If none of them come back, then who should I live for?')

fun fact the second version of the bridge in my translation ('You must stay to see the flowers bloom' onwards) is exclusive to that live performance of the song so it's not in the spotify version i linked here. as for which version you think fits Maxim more.. well.

Borrow - Mao Buyi (借 - 毛不易)

finally banging out a translation for this song was kinda the inspiration for me to make this post actually

the tldr of this song is that it's an unnamed/unidentified speaker asking to borrow various small things for the sake of somebody else (like 'an inch of frozen sunlight' to provide warmth in a cold world) so you can probably see where i'm going with this

'A simple ‘we have plenty of time’ etched into the soul to prepare for the chance of forced separation' ouch ow okay

'Those blown apart by these winds will say that they never loved deeply' / 'There is a sincerity that cannot be blown apart by this wind' DX-TR betraying the old crew vs VR-LA fighting through so much just to get them back

'There are tears that cannot be washed away by this rain' this line just haunts me. like in general

'An acre of land for him to call home, an ordinary life for him to live' as MR-SN watching over the old crew like I can't be there for you but I hope you will find peace and a home...

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

What would the prime tails think about modern tails?

Interesting...

Well, anon, I'll be real with you. From what I've gathered thus far, Modern Tails' characterization is inconsistent at best, so I think it would depend upon which game Prime!Tails gets to know Modern Tails from.

For example, I think if we look at Sonic Adventure Tails, given the fact that Prime does incorporate games canon into its timeline (despite the confirmation that it DOES take place within the games timeline, with the inconsistencies that also poses with timeline stuff and characterization I think it's more helpful to analyze what games canon it clearly pulls from to form its own canon) Prime!Tails would see himself in this version of Modern Tails. Sonic Adventure Era version of Modern Tails strikes me as a plausible younger version of Prime!Tails if you only look at Prime itself and don't consider that Prime is meant to fit within games canon.

Likewise, if Prime Tails looked from SA era Tails, to Sonic Boom Tails, to Sonic Lost World Tails, to Sonic Forces Tails, and then to Sonic Frontiers Tails, I think the inconsistencies in characterization would also probably confuse him a bit (basically, "if these are all 'modern Tails' why are they so different in how they act or how independent they are?"). I think Prime!Tails can absolutely understand any given version of Modern!Tails' wish to be able to be as strong as Sonic and stand on his own. I get the vibe from Prime!Tails (especially compared to Nine) that he is a valued part of the team and can pull his own weight fighting, but that he isn't as effective as Sonic on his own (unlike Nine, who had to both learn to be effective in combat AND in strategic planning). So, to me, Prime!Tails is in sort of this in between phase. He can keep up with Sonic, he can fight on the front lines with others, he can sit back and play strategist or give advice, and he builds tools and fixes the Tornado, but (either perhaps from settling into his current role for so long or from coming this far only to stagnate) he isn't quite to the level of hero who can work alone and at Sonic's side effectively. In this way, I think he can understand how SA1/SA2 era and Sonic Frontiers Era Tails feel.

So...I guess my verdict is this. Prime!Tails would be simultaneously confused by the inconsistencies in characterization, but I think he'd actively try to sympathize with the versions of Modern Tails (either by relating to them with his past or his present as well as he can). With that being said, though, we unfortunately didn't get to see much of Prime!Tails in Sonic Prime Canon, so I think I could have a more solid answer if we perhaps knew more about him.

[icewindandboringhorror]

oh my god.. a job for me.. historical pierrot beach performer lol

[dubiousdoctors]

augh and bleagh and I should not have let my friends who are also my coworkers know my tumblr

[hesitantvampirealien]

i think i'm calm now from this weird anger thing i have so often for whatever reason(???), but it's still a bit saddening and upsetting. Living with a disability is annoying man, it's sad that it'll be the last thing people will ever consider as if disability was something absurd and they'll see a vent you make when you go through difficulties and think it's some type of attack or offense. But i know what i went through, i know myself and i know my daily efforts and my history, i know how goddamn hard i fought to be where i am now and to earn everything i have earned, how much i worked to buy my own computer so i can work more professionally and grow as a person and as an artist. I get to vent about my difficulties because i spent 20 years without having any space in my own life to vent about obstacles i face every day to this day and i will continue to vent while growing stronger. No one also thinks about the possibility that small annoying things being repeated over and over become a bigger stress problem.

anyway. Enough gaslighting gatekeeping girlbossing I'm gonna finish the hot chimp drawing that i was making while talking here until i calmed down

[scretladyspider]

demisexuality can be so hard to explain because it’s misconstrued as you just wanting to trust the other person before you have sex with them. and I get why the misconception happens. But demisexuality differs in that there isn’t sexual attraction at all before that bond forms.

I think what people have difficulty with is the idea that there are people out there who aren’t experiencing sexual attraction at all until a certain point, if ever, because we’re taught that sex, libido, and sexual attraction are all the same, both in and out of queer spaces.

And when you’re learning about asexuality and demisexuality, you may learn that people have romantic and aesthetic attraction separately from sexual attraction, and that sexual and romantic attraction aren’t necessarily intertwined, and that may challenge your worldview on sex.

But “I trust you enough to have sex with you” isn’t the same as “I’m not sexually attracted to anyone but you, and the reason I’m sexually attracted to you now after we’ve established this close bond is literally because of the bond of trust we’ve been able to form”.

It’s easy to see how those can get conflated. On the surface, if you’re unfamiliar with asexuality, they may sound the same. But it’s important to acknowledge the difference between “no sex until I trust you” and “no sexual attraction unless I trust you and maybe not even then”.

Demisexuality is housed under the asexuality spectrum. It’s part of the gray area between being allosexual and asexual. It’s part of why the definition for asexuality includes “little to no sexual attraction”. It’s a mostly asexual experience with an asterisk.

While being demisexual may have impacts on a persons sexual activity, even demisexuals have a varied relationship to the act of participating in sex. Libido and sexual attraction are not always intertwined either, which can make telling the difference tricky.

I think of sexual attraction as libido that has a compass. Since I rarely ever experience sexual attraction, but do have libido, it’s noticeable for me when that libido actually has a direction to go, rather than being a floating, nebulous, independent thing.

Remember, not everyone is demisexual. There’s a difference between waiting to have sex and not having sexual attraction at all until a certain point. This also inherently ties demisexuality to romantic attraction and relationships, and not all demisexuals are alloromantic.

But if you read what demisexuality is and think “everyone is like that” or “that’s just being a woman”, you either 1) are demisexual 2) don’t understand what it is or 3) both. And it’s okay to not know. Just as long as you’re willing to try to learn.

[misskamelie]

If I manage to learn the language here decently, I will seriously contemplate properly learning Ukrainian once I'm back

[khanger]

Hello, it's me again writing to you on behalf of @amalashuor situation and how heartbroken she is about her baby to start learning how to walk and talk in the ongoing genocide. Her baby's name is Maryam, and she is one year and 9 months old.

Amal is worried about the dire situation in which her little daughter is growing up, and unfortunately, with the rise in food prices and the difficulty of accessing water, the impact on Maryam's health is very clear. Maryam's favorite food was fruit purée, and since the beginning of the war, her parents have not been able to obtain it on a daily basis, given that the price of a kilo of fruit is $15 and the price of milk and diapers is $500 per month, so you can imagine that the priority is alwaysgoingtobethat With the approach of winter, Amal hopes that we will extend a helping hand to her and help her get a place to rent to shelter them from upcoming gaza winter please donate and reblog 🙏 ❤️

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[theheelerhouse]

Autistic Littles!

Hello there! This post is for caregivers who care for littles who are autistic. Here's some ways to help with meltdowns or times when autism is being meaner than usual! (All from my personal experience as someone with autism! Not everyone is the same!)

First, let's start with some of the possible warning signs of a meltdown! 1. Sensory Issues worse than usual -> Textures may be described as "wrong" or "bad" -> Things may be perceived as louder than they actually are -> Things may be perceived as brighter than they actually are -> Room feels like it's closing in around you 2. May become more irritable -> May be more prone to snapping or having an attitude -> Could possibly be described as more "stubborn" 3. Trouble communicating -> Being non-verbal for a prolonged amount of time -> Trouble expressing feelings or emotions -> Could also speak faster than usual or slower than usual -> Saying things like "I don't know what's wrong" or "I can't figure out what's happening" 4. Difficulty taking care of self -> Forgetting to eat/not wanting to -> Not sleeping as they normally would -> Not having the motivation or energy to do basic tasks 5. Isolation -> This is a big warning sign! -> Not wanting to go out/leave the house/leave their room -> Struggling when they do leave their space 6. Increase in stimming (whether super noticeable stims, or more passive ones) -> Hand flapping, rocking, mouth popping, hair fidgeting, fidgeting with hands, etc These are some of the possible warning signs, but everyone is different. Now, here's some ways you can help a little experiencing this.

~Be patient and understanding. Autism can be scary outside of littlespace, but it can be scarier when little. Try not to get angry or frustrated. ~Avoid yelling or any other loud noises ~Don't force them to talk or communicate. Sometimes it's better to just have someone there ~Listen if they do try and communicate their needs. ~Going along with the one above, but don't feel hurt or like you did something wrong if they ask to be left alone or tell you they need space. Sometimes having someone around is too much and they might just need to process their emotions on their own. ~Communicate on ways to help once the meltdown seems to subside ~Remember that everyone is different. What you've seen work for someone might not work for someone else. It varies (which is why communication is good) ~Try to give suggestions if sensory issues is something that's a main struggle ("Try changing into comfy clothes" "Try a different blanket" "Turn off the TV?" "Turn off the lights?") Just trying to figure out what helps and what doesn't ~Offer a distraction if that's what they need (Ask about hyperfixations, even if you already know the answers to the questions. One of the good ones for me that always seems to come up is dinosaurs <3)

Remember: It's okay if something you do doesn't help. That's how you learn and you know not to do that thing next time. It's okay <3 You're doing great