#OH also one of the second years invited me to a new dnd group this sunday so that's exciting too

[army-of-bee-assassins]

today was orientation for my grad program, and then there was a party at a professor's house this evening for all the slp students (1st and 2nd years) and it all went pretty well tbh!! i was worried it would be overwhelming and i'd stand in a corner on my phone talking to no one like i usually do in social gatherings but i actually managed to talk to people and they were mostly pretty cool!

[mayakern]

I saw on your Twitter you play dnd! What kind of character do you play and what system? Also, do you do your own commissions of your characters or do you get it from other artists?

oh hell yeah i love dnd!!! i mostly just play 5E but my regular group did our second session in city of mists last night and it was SUPER fun (we play that instead of our ongoing game whenever our aussie players can’t make it)

i don’t usually reuse dnd characters because even tho i love my characters, they usually all end up with their own history and relationship to their games so adapting them feels weird, but here’s a run down of some of my favorite characters i’ve played! (and ye all this art is by me)

1. anenome (or nem for short)

she’s a water genasi arcane trickster rogue/divination wizard. she’s from a game where we started out playing kids (nem was 11) and then after a Big Event had an 11 year time skip where everyone in the party had to separate before a big reunion. she used to be a really shy and sweet and optimistic kid, but after everything fell apart and she became an accidental criminal, she stopped believing in any sort of fairness in the world and grew up super jaded and nihilistic, tho she still strives to protect that spark of optimism in others (not that she’d admit that). she is SUPER SUPER gay and is married to flare (fire genasi sorcerer). they have a bunch of history and i love them a lot!

2. nora

this is my city of mists character!! she’s a twitch streamer/cam girl/only fans model/l33t h4x0r. she’s clever and compassionate and very silly and a bit gross. part of her backstory is that when she was a relatively new twitch streamer, someone tried to cyberbully her by calling her a “garfield looking ass motherfucker” and so she immediately dyed her hair orange and made that her entire persona just to fuck with them (thus the custom garf headset).

3. hemlock

hemlock is an onomancy wizard! she was made for a storybook game — essentially all the characters lived on a bookshelf in someone’s home and can travel between books.

when characters travel into a new book, especially if it’s an “active” book (i.e. currently being read), they get assigned a role that is both available and closest to their archetype (so, as a wizard, if hemlock entered a book of king arthur’s tales she would likely be assigned as morrigan or merlin if available, or another magic user if not).

hemlock herself was from a story where her family (two sisters and her mother) were turned from good witches/princesses (it was unclear) into evil hags/witches and hemlock bartered her name (and right eye) to keep her mind/heart/goodness.

the onomancy wizard subclass is SUPER interesting and fun and is all about the naming of things and works super well with fairytale stuff (which i love). tbh i REALLY want to play hemlokc more. that game was insanely fun and ended prematurely due to scheduling difficulties. i just don’t think there is another game setting that would ever work for her bc she is so specific.

4. althea

my most recent character is althea! she’s an aasimar grave cleric. she woke up in a morgue about two weeks ago (in game time) and instantly fell in love with the mortician who discovered she was still(?) alive. she has no memories of her past (and tbh no real desire to go looking for them). she is smart but also a dumb ass, has 6 charisma and no sense of self preservation and is completely and utterly in love with rosemary (the mortician, now barkeep) and will literally do anything she wants, no questions asked (and will even do things she THINKS rosemary wants unasked... such as maybe yoinking a very obviously cursed goblet from a ritual circle of living corpses in literally the first game session just bc she thought rosemary would think it was cool).

5. penny

penny was my first long-term dnd character! she was my third dnd character ever but in a lot of ways i consider her my first because the other two were run primarily in 4E and didn’t meet often enough (or just enough period) for me to get a grasp on them or the game mechanics.

penny is a light domain cleric. she was made for a buddy cop game i joined randomly on roll20 because i couldn’t find a consistent group to meet with IRL. i was super nervous to join a random game with strangers but really wanted to play dnd so i gave it a shot and i am SO glad i did because i still play with that group! or.. what became of that group. it started out as a group of me and a bunch of strangers, but i quickly made friends with the DM and one of the other players, then devin joined a couple months in, and slowly original players left for various reasons and we invited other ppl in (a couple of my friends, the other longterm player’s gf, etc) and now that is the main group i still play with! (nem and nora and a bunch of my other characters are from games w that group)

when the game was open for player/character apps, we were asked to pitch what role our character would play in a buddy cop movie and i picked the straight man archetype (haha i know). penny is very sweet and shy and wholesome.

i have a bunch of other characters, most of which can be found on toyhouse, but this post is already way too long as is! whoops!

[to-hell-and-beyond]

“Every.Last.One” Pt.2

Eli “Hawk” Moskowitz x Reader

Requested: Yes : No

Request: Every last one pt 2 ?? -Anon

Here it is! Took a while but I’m glad of the ending. Maybe pt.3 were it talks about the two of them getting closer?

Summary: After your promise to yourself you try your hardest to fulfill it. Even hating on the Eagle Fang Students. But what happens when everything changes at a Christmas Party?

Words: 1725

Pt.1

Hate. That was the one thing coursing through your veins every time you saw him. The boy who you’d had grown up with, grown up loving, now filled with hate and vengeance. At first he wanted vengeance for everyone who had made fun of him. Every lip joke, whisper and tear. You were ok with that, you were glad to see those bullies pay the price of Karma. But what Hawk didn’t see was the line between vengeance and just pure hate. You were also trying to see the line but everyday it's getting harder and harder becoming more of a distant memory..

“I really think you should come Y/n! We’ve had a hard past few weeks and I think this will be good for everyone!” Samantha LaRusso’s voice rang from your phone as she tried to convince you to come to her Christmas party. The two of you had gotten closer ever since what happened with Demetri. She had been there while you were recovering from the emotional storm that was “Hawk”.

“I don’t know Sam. I’m still not really close to the other Miyagi-do students and the last thing I want is to make things awkward. Besides this is my first winter holiday without Eli…”

“Exactly! That's why you should come!” You thought about it for a few minutes. Would it really be that bad if you came? I mean Demitri was already going to be there, and you promised yourself you would be there to help him during his recovery.

“Alright I’ll go.” A sound of excitement came from your phone as Sam started telling you about all sorts of stuff she wanted to do to prepare for the party. What she wasn’t telling you was that she invited the Eagle Fang Students. You still didn't have a good relationship with them, seeing them as still Cobras and you promised yourself, Every.Last.One

You weren’t exactly sure what to bring to this party.  It wasn't like you were invited to a lot of parties in your high school career. The only parties you’ve been to are birthdays and DnD game nights. Even with your little experience you still when’t. You knocked on the door and there was Samantha LaRusso. She looked a lot better then when she was in the hospital. You were glad about that fact.

“Hey Y/n!” Sam said enthusiastically. As she pushed the door wide open and gestures for you to come in. She re-introduced you to some of the Miyagi Do students as you politely waved to them.You sat beside Demitri as Sam began to pace around. You were confused for a second, wondering why on earth she looked so scared. You didn’t say anything though, not wanting to make her feel bad in any way. It was the winter holidays, it was time to be nice.

“Well, this Christmas party turned out to be  ho-ho-horrible.” Demitri said and you kinda agreed. Shure you’ve never been to an actual party but this wasn't what you saw on those T.V dramas.

“Yah, Sam. I thought you said your parents are going to be out for the night. So why aren't we throwing a rager?” There was distant “yeah” in agreement in the background as Sam looked more and more worried. You knew that she was hiding something but you weren’t sure what.

“There’s a keg on the way. It’s just going to be a few more minutes.” She looked to seem like she was trying to pump us up for a huge game or something like that but she was doing the exact opposite. Safe to say this entire party was a fail.

“Can we atleast put on a Christmas special?” Demitri asked and you nodded in agreement. That's what the three of you would do every Christmas. It was your thing, until the tides changed.

“Id even watch that creepy one with the little elf dentist.” You snorted in laughter remembering the time you did watch that. Demitri was complaining the whole way through you and Eli laughed. Ah, the good old days.

“Yeah, I’m that bored.” Demitri said when he saw the look of disgust on Sam’s face.The doorbell rang and Sam said an excited, “ It’s here!”.

Oh it was definitely here. Sadly it was not a keg, but a bunch of ex Cobras turned into Eagles. Oh how you wanted to punch their faces right now. There was a sign of protest from each member of Miyagi-do as they ran up to the door ready to kick the “Keg” out. While they all ran you stayed put on the couch.

“Look, I know we haven’t always gotten along, but Cobra Kai is the bigger threat now. To all of us.” Sam said that last line as she looked into your eyes. Never in a million years did you think she would pull something like this.

“We think that we’d stand a better chance against them if we joined forces.” Miguel said as your eyes glowed with hate and you curled your fist to the point that your knuckles were white.

“We?” You spat as the group turned around to look at you.

“This isn’t going to work.” Miguel mumbled as he saw your hands. Yes, you may not be a Karate champion but your loyal, and loyal people fight to the death for people they love.

“It has to. We have one last chance to make things right. Alone, we’re nothing. But if we work together, we have a shot. If we can’t get over the past, the fighting will never end. We have to confront our enemies. This rivalry has to stop. One way or another... Y/n?” She asked worried about your answer. You took a deep breath before you decided to confront your demons.

“I was never part of this “Rivalry” to begin with. I was just looking out for my friends before all of this had started, so technically my opinion doesn't matter. But I suppose that if we can put all of this behind us we may be able to achieve something.” Sam smiled as you felt a weight lift off your shoulders. Maybe this night won’t be as terrible.  You were all sitting on Sam’s kitchen table and Demitri went over some of the new rules. 

“I’m going to go get a glass of water.” You told them as you stood up and walked out of the door. After you left the sounds of a cat were heard.

“I didn’t know you had a cat.” Miguel told Sam. Sam looked confused for a second before turning back.

“We don’t.” Just as Sam finished saying those last words the window broke and you were hurt by some of the glass. Everyone turned around to see the Cobra Kia’s walk in. You were horrified to see Kylar with them. You had heard the rumors that he had joined Cobra Kai, but never in a million years did you think that they were true.

People started jumping out of every corner and soon it was a full blown on fight. You hurried to hide in the corner near the stairs as the fighting got worse. Now, you could go in there and beat those people but in all honesty you didn’t want to get charged with assult.You watched as the filler red mohawk as he fought and fought and fought. Your breathing hitched as you saw Demitri in pain.

“Hey. Yo, Hawk. Free shot!” One of the Cobras yelled to Hawk across the room. You watched as his face fell. You were worried for a second time he would hurt your friend and you were ready to stop that from happening but something unexpected happened. Hawk ran, and then he flipped one of the Cobras over and they fell on the glass table. He started fighting more and more of them and then turned around to Demitri.

“Look, man. I’m sorry.” Hawk said as he faced Demitri. “For all of it. Do you wanna help me win this thing?” 

“Yeah.” Demitri answered as they both smiled and began to kick the shit out of the rest of the Cobras.

The fight was now all over. Sam had fought her way through the pain to beat Tory, Miguel had actually gotten the power back to kick and better yet to kick Kylar’s stupid face. And Hawk and Demtri were buddies again. But you still couldn't get over the pain, unlike everyone else.

“Y/n?” You tried around to see Hawk. He looked almost scared as he approached you, worrying that you would kick him to the curve. 

“Yes?” You asked with venom in your voice. You still didn’t forgive him for what he did at the hospital. It was a mistake? What kind of mistake is the two of you loving each other? Why was he even here?

“Look, I know that after everything that has happened you're mad and you have every right to be I was dick. I didn’t just hurt Demitir bad, I hurt you too. You were my best friend Y/n, but you were something more than that. And I know it's going to take a long time or we might not even get back to that point but I want to prove to you that I’ve changed.” You thought about his words for a while. Were they all true? Was this another one of his sick games?

“Ok. If you apologize to everyone here and give Demitri a better apology then that half ass one you did I’ll think about it. Your right, It's going to take a lot of time and effort to get back to where we were. That’s why I want you to think a lot about this. If you're sure you're ready to do that you can meet me at the mall on Tuesday as just friends, nothing more.” You told him and you saw his smile. The sweet smile that you missed so dearly. It was so nice to see that smile on his face again.

“Ok.” He told you as he smiled. You would still beat every single Cobra, but right now it was the two of you's time to fix your relationship. Beating the shit out of them would have to wait for later.

[jancys-blue-bayou]

If you are still taking requests could write about Jancy when they were younger? I see a lot of posts about the idea of Jonathan liking Nancy since when Mike & Will became friends and Nancy possibly having some feelings too. I think it would be cute if they first met at one of their sibling's bday party where the sibs are like 6 (grade 1) and they are 10 (grade 5) and just exploring the feelings and interactions throughout the years building and leading up to the event of them getting together.

Great prompt! Not exactly what you asked for here with the birthday party but, here you get Jancy reminiscing about growing up and noticing each other. From their first day of kindergarten to Mike and Will’s first day to more…

Also on Ao3 and FFnet!

”Do you remember when we first met?”

They’re just laid cuddling in his bed one night when Nancy asks him the question. It’s been a wonderful day in all its simplicity. Being with Nancy will never be simplistic of course, but it’s nice that they’ve now been together long enough to have developed routines. Comfortable and nice, just spending all their time together doing nothing special. Nothing special is really nice after everything they’ve gone through. After school they went to his house, studied together for awhile. Had dinner with his family. Fooled around in his room for awhile. Then Nancy said good night to him, his mom and his brother. And then snuck back in through his bedroom window as always. He suspects his mom has seen right through their routine but as long as she doesn’t bring it up, he’s sure as hell not going to so they keep going at this charade pretending like he and Nancy doesn’t also spend all their nights together.

”Of course. First day of kindergarten. You had a pink dress and pink backpack and you had your hair in two braids. With pink scrunchies,” he smiles at the still vivid memory of five year old Nancy Wheeler.

”I like pink,” she tells him and gives him a light smack on the arm. ”But I don’t really remember you from the first day, I think it was the third day I noticed you.”

”Makes sense, I tried to make myself invisible. School was scary with all the new people.”

”Aw.”

”But yes it was the third day. You were the first person who talked to me. I mean, besides Mrs. Morton.”

”Aw, really? You didn’t speak to anyone the first two days?”

”No, I was scared to. Everything was new, the first day I just tried to get used to everything. I thought I would try and talk to someone the second day but when I was walking in uh, Steve and Tommy pointed out my old shoes and jacket and laughed because they were old and scuffed and too big for me. Since I was supposed to grow into them. And everyone turned around and looked and laughed so then I figured it best to try and not to be noticed so I didn’t say anything.”

”That’s awful, I don’t remember that.”

”I don’t think you were there right then.”

”Steve used to be such a little jerk. Tommy still is.”

”Yeah. Well, water under the bridge now. Anyway, so yeah you were the first person who talked to me, the next day. When you asked me if I wanted to play hopscotch with you and Barb.”

”You were just stood in the corner of the schoolyard near us.”

”I was trying to stay clear of the boys.”

”You said yes though, when I asked you. Why did you do that if you wanted to be invisible?”

”I don’t know… you seemed nice. And even if I’ve never exactly been the most sociable…”

”No, stop…” Nancy josses him.

”… three days of no talking was a bit much even for me. So I said yes because you seemed nice and I had seen you and Barb play hopscotch before and I thought that looked more fun than that game the boys played where they threw the ball at each other and then just tackled each other to the ground.”

”Hah, yeah. Barb didn’t want me too invite you to play with us at first I remember. We were pretty suspicious of all boys but you seemed different. You were quiet, I didn’t know boys could be quiet.”

”Really?” He chuckles.

”Well yeah all the other boys in the class was just… loud. And Mike was almost two years old and very loud. You were the first boy I met who wasn’t loud, I liked that.”

He giggles at that.

”I wish I had played more with you. I don’t get why we didn’t, you were fun to play with it even though you were so shy. But I was so tied to Barb, we did pretty much everything together just the two of us back then.”

”Yeah… I wish we had too but, eh. It is what it is. Maybe if I’d been less shy.”

”You wouldn’t have been you then. Hey, remember when Mike and Will started kindergarten?”

”Yeah. Will was so nervous just like I’d been but I promised him I’d show him around and all, that I’d have his back and that he’d meet lots of new friends. He was glued to my side for as long as he could, he didn’t want to go into class when the bell rung and we’d have to go our separate ways.”

”Aw.”

”And I remember I was worried since they had recess earlier than us, if he’d be okay. But when I got out he was on the swings with Mike and talking to him like they’d known each other forever. And then you were there next to me.”

”Yeah. It was the same for me, I promised mom I’d look after Mike. He was such a scaredy cat back then and shy. He told me after that Will asked him to play on the swings with him and that was that. So I could kind of back off. But you know, when I first saw Mike on the swings with Will I had to look twice because Will looked so much like you did in kindergarten. Right down to the clothes even.”

”Yeah I remember, you turned to me and said he must be my brother.”

”And you said yes and asked me if Mike was my brother.”

”And you said yes and asked me to play again.”

They lay in a comfortable silence for awhile, the trip down memory lane evoking more images of the past to think of. Nancy breaks the silence first.

”Do you remember when they talked us into being part of their campaign?”

”I remember you in elf ears,” Jonathan giggles.

”Shut up! I was being a good sister,” Nancy smacks him on the arm again but can’t help but giggle herself.

”You always were.”

”Eh, not always. Not like you. Best brother in the world. You know Mike told me years ago he was jealous that Will had a cool older brother. You were always the coolest.”

”To nerdy twelve year old boys,” Jonathan self-deprecatingly notes with a smirk.

”Hey, I think you’re pretty cool too,” Nancy grins and gives him a peck on the cheek.

”Thanks, you too. I always thought you were cool.”

”Oh please, not just another suburban girl?” She smirks.

”Nope, that was me being dumb,” he smiles.

The silence returns for a few moments while he’s thinking, remembering. He presses a kiss to her hair and speaks up again.

”Do you know when I first realized I really um, liked you?”

Nancy pokes her head up, intrigued.

”No?”

”It was sixth grade I think, Halloween. When we took the boys trick or treating. The boys were all doing Star Wars as a group costume and Will talked me into being Obi-Wan. I was going to look after them anyway so. But I didn’t know you were coming too.”

”Mike begged me to be Princess Leia. Apparently it wouldn’t be a complete group costume without a Leia. I agreed because I liked to dress up. I think that’s how he managed to convince me to be an elf for DnD that time too.”

”I remember thinking you looked pretty even with the ridiculous Leia hair.”

”When I commit, I commit.”

”I know. And I love that. And the moment I realized I really really liked you was-”

”Ooh you really really liked me?” She interrupts with a grin.

”Shut up,” he chuckles and rolls his eyes.

”Like, like-liked me?” She continues, waggling her eyebrows at him.

”… yes, at that age I really really like, like-liked you,” he concedes. She snickers and gives him another kiss on the cheek. ”And the moment I realized it was when we were all leaving your house to go trick or treating and you took out a whole city map and folded it out on the ground and you had marked out in detail every block and street we needed to hit for the best candy, and in what order.”

”That was the moment?”

”Yeah. Because you looked really cute in your outfit and you were really smart, like, I don’t think anyone else ever would’ve thought like you. I still don’t. Whether it’s to score the best haul at trick or treating or to defeat a monster I… always loved your plans. And the haul was good.”

Nancy kisses him on the lips. He closes his eyes, relishing the feeling of her lips on his. When he opens his eyes she’s beaming, looking down at him.

”You are sweet. But did you know I kind of liked-liked you before that?”

”What? You did?”

This revelation surprises him. He knows his own feelings of course, knows what he had kind of liked Nancy for years before things started to really happen between them. But he has never considered that she would’ve felt anything for him really before that autumn they were thrown together in a life and death search for their loved ones.

”Fifth grade. When we actually took them to see Star Wars. Remember?”

”Yeah. I remember them having light saber battles the whole way home.”

”Me too,” Nancy giggles at the memory.

”And sitting with you next to the aisle because the boys wanted to sit closer to the center. I was nervous about that, sitting next to you.”

”I was excited to sit next to you instead of Mike,” Nancy grins. ”But don’t you remember what happened? With the popcorn?”

”The popcorn?”

”I dropped mine when someone bumped into me when we were finding our seats. And I was upset about it because mom had given me money to buy popcorn for me and Mike and a soda each and now I had wasted mine. But you immediately insisted I’d have yours instead. I had to convince you that you didn’t have to give me all but that we could maybe share, which we did.”

”Oh yeah, I remember. I felt bad. Losing popcorn would’ve upset me too so I wanted to make it right.”

”And you did. And I thought that was real nice of you, you didn’t have to do that but you wanted to do it. You were nice and kind because that’s who you were. Are, who you are. And then I accidentally grabbed your hand when I was reaching for popcorn and it was the first time I ever held hands with a boy. And I liked it. Even though we let go of each other in an instant like we’d been shocked,” Nancy dissolves into giggles at that last part. He laughs with her.

”It was the first time for me too. Holding hands, with a girl I mean. Do you know the second time?”

”No?”

”Also with you. In your bedroom, the morning after I pulled you from the tree. When your mom didn’t knock.”

The way she’s smiling down at him makes his heart do somersaults. She leans down and kisses him again, in the process taking both his hands in hers, holding them while letting them rest on his chest. Her thumb strokes his scar.

”I remember.”

[byleranna]

a byler fan fiction :)

colors?

mike exhaled out of his nose sharply as he watched the digital clock that was mounted on his bedside table. the ficking was the only thing breaking the silence in the teen's room. the time read "11:56". four minutes until his 16th birthday.

eleven, his girlfriend of a year and a half, was watching him, the look of curiosity prevalent on her face. she wondered what he was so nervous for. sure, seeing colors for the first time would've been overwhelming, but nothing to have a cow over. 

mike flinched as he felt a hand on his thigh. he turned his head to the side to see his girlfriend give him a sympathetic smile. he gave her a halfhearted smile as he tried relax.

eleven knew on his 16th birthday mike would see color for the first time. eleven knew he'd see color as soon as soon as he saw his soul mate. eleven knew that she was his soul mate. she just knew.

"close your eyes, it's one-one-five-nine." she murmured as she grabbed his hands to put up to his eyes to create a barrier. she still hadn't been able to say the time correctly yet.

"you mean 11:59." he laughed as he went a long with his girlfriend's silly antics.

the clock turned 12 and eleven removed his hands from his face to reveal her beaming face. colorless beaming face.

mike's face dropped into a frown, soon his face being imitated by his girlfriend. he fluttered his eyes open and closed before rubbing them to see if the color would appear. it didn't.

"is everything okay, mikey?" eleven questioned as she looked at the frazzled boy. mike expected to see the green eyes that nancy described for him, but he only saw grey in his girlfriends eyes.

for a second, she thought he was just admiring her, but then she realized he was staring for a few seconds too long.

"mike." eleven said sternly as she snapped her fingers in front of his face, getting tired of him fooling around. mike shook his head as he snapped back into reality.

"huh?" he questioned, making his girlfriend scoff and roll her eyes at him. he wasn't sure what to say. how was he supposed to tell his girlfriend she wasn't his soulmate? how was he supposed to tell his girlfriend who was positive she was his soulmate.

“you-" he choked out, "aren't my soulmate." what mike didn't expect was for eleven to throw her head back and laugh. and laugh. and laugh. mike looked at her with a confused expression.

"el, i- i'm not kidding." he stuttered, his voice cracking softly under the pressure. he lost his voice trying to find better words to explain what was going on.

her cackling decreased to an unsure chuckle. "what?" she finally calmed down enough to ask for reassurance.

mike stayed silent. he was lost in his own train of thought. for some reason, he somewhat knew that his soulmate would never be eleven.

he always saw her in the same light he saw either dustin or lucas, but will was a different story. he assumed that he just dated her because he didn't want to feel lonely, or he didn't want to hurt her in response.

eleven took his silence as a cue to leave. she huffed before mumbling under her breath, "so you didn't really love me after all." mike watched her storm out of his room and slam the door shut.

"shit." he murmured as he rubbed his face tiredly. he laid himself back down on his bed and he stared up at the ceiling. what was wrong with him? why wasn't he in love with his girlfriend. well,

i guess now ex-girlfriend.

he understood that dating before 16 could be setting yourself up for disaster. you never know if you'll be dating the right person, but mike and eleven took that risk.

he tossed and turned underneath his covers as he gave up for the night. he sighed, completely defeated.

mike woke up to the sun beaming through his window. he groaned as he sat up in his bed and rubbed the sleep out of his tired eyes. he rose from his bed and stretched his lanky arms over his head.

he remembered that he had plans with the party for his birthday at the arcade in an hour or so in celebration of his birthday. he assumed that eleven wouldn't be going after the events of the night before. he didn't blame her, though.

he walked to his closet to fish out a button up and a pair of jean shorts. he ran his fingers over the fabric of the shirt.

'will liked this shirt.' mike thought about the praise his best friend gave him. it was nothing special, really, but it has stuck to mike until this day.

he walked to his bathroom with his clothes, and threw on the shirt and buttoned it meticulously. then, he slipped out of his sleep pants, and put on his shorts. mike's gaze went up to the mirror in front of him. he combed his hair to the side with his fingers, but he knew it would he messed up in five minutes time.

he turned on a heel and walked out of his bathroom with a pep in his step. he skipped down the stairs after grabbing some quarters from his piggy bank.

"bye, mom." he called out to his mother as he walked out the front door to the grass, where his red bike was laying. he never bothered to make it stand up usually.

he mounted the bike and started his way towards the designated meeting area for the party. as he pedaled, he felt the wind whip his face and through his hair, he almost lost his breath.

the bike ride from the wheeler household to the arcade wasn't terrible. it was a five minute ride, at most.

a sigh escaped his lips as he found himself in front of the monochrome sign of the arcade. he walked his bike to the bike rack and locked it up. you never know who might snatch it up.

he walked in and the slight smell of b.o. hit his nostrils, making them flare up. his focus was directed from the stench when he felt a slap on his shoulder.

"wheeler!" mike heard lucas sinclair say from behind until lucas pulled him into a hardy side hug. "happy birthday, man."

mike gave a big smile to one of his best friends before returning the side hug. "thank you." mike nodded his head at him as he let go to turn around to his other best friend's, dustin henderson, smile that could light up a whole room.

"how does it feel being 16?" dustin asked as he also pulled his friend into a side hug, welcoming him.

“same old, same old." mike laughed softly as he ruffled his friends hair. he looked around, searching for someone.

"where's will?" mike asked both lucas and dustin who shrugged their shoulders.

"we don't know. it's unusual for him to be late, but sometimes it happens, i guess." lucas answered for the both of them. a small look of disappointment flashed on his face, but he made sure that it went away.

"well, we can wait for him." mike said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

the trio indulged them self into playful banter until the youngest of the group arrived.

"oh gosh, guys!" mike heard from behind him. "i'm so sorry for being late." mike turned around to see will's green eyes.

wait. green? he saw will's greens eyes. he saw his brown hair, his pale skin, his pink lips. mike stared at the kid in front of him in awe.

will was his soulmate?

mike wasn't sure what to say beside looking around the arcade. he saw the black floor with colorful spots on it. his breathing started to speed up as he admired the scene around him.

"mike?" mike was snapped back to reality by will's soft voice. will looked concerned, worried that he did something wrong to offend his best friend.

"yes? sorry, i was zoning out." mike laughed it off, a pink dusting his cheeks out of embarrassment.

"uh, okay." will chuckled awkwardly, definitely not buying what mike was telling him. he shook his head and then greeted the other boys.

now he finally understood what nancy was talking about when she was saying things about how amazing color is.

since they were soulmates, mike had to wait until will hit 16, which would be in about five months. mike downright refused to tell will now, because of his irrational fear of rejection. will would never reject mike, especially now that they were made for each other. or will wouldn't believe it. there have been very little same sex soulmates, so he was wondering how that would be taken in their small town.

he had to keep quiet until the five months were up about him being able to see the full rainbow.

the sound of laughing and the smell of pizza wafted from will byers' room. tonight was the night of his awaited 16th birthday. he celebrated by inviting the boys over for a sleepover. it was always a tradition he did on his birthday.

mike, dustin, lucas, and will all sat in a circle talking about anything that truly interested them. it could've been from dnd to girls! the spectrum was very wide.

"have you guys found your soulmates yet?" will asked his older friends as he toyed with his hands in his lap. he wasn't sure how he felt about the soulmate situation. he hadn't felt too much of a connection with anyone, but his best friend, mike. but he knew that could never happen. there hasn't been a single same-sex soulmate couple in hawkins.

lucas nodded up and down yes. "max mayfield. she's new to the school. i met her a month after my 16th birthday." he said fondly as he recalled his soulmate. it was like his eyes were practically turning into little hearts as he talked about her.

will nodded as he listened to lucas. then he looked at dustin, expecting an answer.

"yeah!" dustin exclaimed. "suzie! she was the girl i met camp know-it-all." dustin gave a big smile as he spoke about his sweet girlfriend. "i met her later than a few months, honestly, but it was worth the wait!" he finished. his smile was contagious to the whole room. will thought it was absolutely sweet that dustin and lucas were able to gush about someone so easily. that was one of the things that will was looking forward to.

will turned his attention towards mike who was shifting uncomfortably in his spot. "mike?" he prompted.

"uh, no, i haven't met my soulmate yet." he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. will could tell that mike was hiding something, but he wasn't too keen on what, though. the room went silent.

"is that why you and el broke up?" dustin blurted out. he always wanted to ask that question, but now he finally had a fitting time to ask it. he didn't realize how rude that sounded until after mike gave him an awkward glance.

"mhm." mike sighed as he gave the boys a small half-smile. "she wasn't happy with that. i don't blame her though, i'd be upset too." mike chuckled dryly until he perked back up. "well, enough about me," he said awfully too cheerily, "are you excited for your soulmate?" mike asked with a smile that was a little too big.

will took a few seconds to ponder on the question. "sorta?" he saw mike give a disappointed look, but only for a split second until he was back to that giant grin. "i'm excited to have someone who loves me unconditionally." will said honestly, earning nods and sounds of agreements from the boys. "but i'm just scared because of... yeah." he trailed off. he wasn't ready to tell the group his sexual orientation just yet.

"got it." mike murmured softly, his grin decreasing to a smaller size. his smile was contagious for will, so he couldn't help but return the smile.

will looked towards the clock. "ooh, it's 11:58!" will said excitedly as he wiggled in his seat. for will it seemed like the time went by like molasses in winter time.

they continued to talk until it turned midnight. none of the boys noticed until there was a shocked look on will's pale face. color flooded his vision, but he wasn't sure which one of the boys triggered it.

"will?" lucas questioned when he realized he wasn't participating in conversation as well as he was before. "is everything good, buddy?"

will's eyes darted between the boys suspiciously. what the other boys didn't know was that will could see in full color. he took his time taking in the details of all the boys. he noticed how dustin had dirty blond hair, how lucas was wearing a green camo headband, and how mike was wearing a red shirt. will decided that red was his favorite color.

"one of you.. are my soulmate." he choked out, utterly overwhelmed by the explosion of color. lucas and dustin looked through each of the boys, wondering who it could be.

it took them a few seconds to use process of elimination to realize it could've only been mike, who was intently focused on his hands in his lap.

"mike?" will questioned, prompting mike to lift his gaze up to will's eyes. will recognized his favorite color paint the face of his soulmate. "you knew, didn't you?" he questioned tilting his head to the side. both lucas and dustin sat, watching the two of them uncomfortably. they felt as if they were intruding a private conversation that they weren't included in on.

mike nodded his head slowly. "i didn't want to tell you and freak you out and- and- and-" he stuttered. he was slightly ashamed that he wasn't sure what to say or do.

"mike," will interrupted him sternly, "i am not and will not be freaked out by you. i've been in love with you ever since elementary.." will mumbled softly, making mike feel some what better. he succeeded in that, making a smile reappear on his face.

their little moment was ruined by dustin clearing his throat to get their attention, making them blush a soft pink.

it was time for sleep whenever will scooted his blankets on the floor towards mike's. whenever will had friends over for company, he refused to sleep on his bed while his friends slept on the floor, so he joined them on the ground.

mike smiled whenever will snuggled into his side as he yawned softly. it wasn't too long until mike found will sleeping.

"i love you, soulmate." mike stroked will's soft hair to comfort him.

"i love you too, soulmate." mike swore he heard will whisper in his sleep softly.

[pigfartsitsonmars]

The End of an Era

I will start off by saying this is going to be a very long blog post #sorrynotsorry. Today is the final day of #Sourcefed, #Sourcefednerd and various other shows on the channels. I am so sad to see it go. I subscribed within the first week and have been watching ever since. You go through fazes over the years and sourcefed was a pretty strong force in my life for many years. They made me laugh, they made me cry, and most important they gave me people to look up to and admire when i was younger. Being almost 25 now i’ve grown with a lot of the hosts over the years and i don’t regret a single moment of it.

Now to write about how each host changed my life and some of my favorite memories. To this day and continuing on i will watch and re-watch all of my favorite episodes forever. (That’s the great thing about the internet)

Joe Bereta: When you started (and kinda throughout) you were labeled the jock of the group because of how athletic you are (which is mind blowing) but you were always so much more then that to me at least. I originally saw you on Barets and Beretta and since then i was smitten. You are incredibly funny and charming, and oh so handsome *wink*. You have this amazing gift to make people laugh and a work ethic i hope to one day achieve. When you left originally i was very sad. I still to this day miss seeing your face on my computer screen filling my days with joy. Some of my favorite memories are your many stories on the horrific ways you should have died (The canada story is my favorite) and the amazing relationship you had with all the hosts (especially the holy trinity of you Elliott and Lee) I love the work you are doing now and I know so much greatness will come to you. 

Elliott Morgan: You have an amazing gift that no one else can match, your comitic timing is amazing, you are incredibly smart and witty and you are so damn perfect it makes my head hurt. I cried so hard during your last episode of comcom because i was so genuinely sad to see you go. However i still love your personal channel and I love the podcast with Lee (Oh and cant forget the excitement i had seeing you both on lipsync battles) I just wanted you to know how incredible you truly are. You may think that when you started everyone hated you but i loved you. (p.s. i’m single...your single. hit me up lol kidding) I am so excited to continue to watch your journey through life cause i know you are going to do such amazing and creative things. One of my all time favorite moments on sourcefed of you was the BooBee’s joke (don’t know why but it still makes me laugh) or your story with the detergent. both amazing and weird moments but perfect none the less.

Lee Newton: You are one of my biggest inspirations in life, you prove to the world that you are here to take change. There was not a lot of girls that looked like me when i was younger and then you came around and blew me away. Your beautiful you are so incredibly funny (and you influenced my jokes and proved that women can be just as funny or funnier then the men) When you left a small part of my heart went with you. But i know that it was the best move for you and now you can concour the world and take names while you do it. I just want to thank you so much for everything you have brought to my life and helping mold me into the person that i am today. I love you Lee. And good luck with the wedding (I loved the invitations). My favorite sourcefed moment with you would honestly be any truth or dare and i love your mad hatter and wrestler characters.

Steve Zaragoza: You are so wacky and crazy and just such a joy on the world. The knowledge and enthusiasm for all things nerd (especially the movies) is amazing. You bring just a joy and light to this world and i am really going to miss all of your dick and fart jokes. I know i will see you on other things but not seeing you in that building is going to be so hard. but i know that you are just going to take the world by storm weather the world wants it or not. My classic steve memory will always have to be “what is that a coffee machine” I know its not original but it is classic. Or of course Ben Franklin Time Traveler.

Trisha Hershburger: You are gorgeous and amazing and had a baby like 2 seconds ago and look like when you first started on sourcefed (which is incredible to me) You proved it was okay to be a nerd and a geek as a woman and i thank you for that. You brought a structure in the beginning which i think is super important especially at the beginning where you were all just trying to figure things out. I have loved seeing you thrive outside of sourcefed (as hard as it was to see you go) and see you meeting your dreams you always wanted to concur. Your little boy is amazingly cute (but who wouldn't have guessed that that was going to happen) and i’m just excited to see where life takes you. My favorite Trish moments were when you were on table talk and my favorite saying has to be the “no no” I use that on the daily and have for years now because of you.

Meg Turney: You are such a firecracker that brought so much love and knowledge to sourcefed. You introduced me to tons of anime i may not have ever seen before and gave light to the amazing-ness of cosplay and knowing that its okay to be your weird self. After seeing you i dyed my hair red and wanted nothing more then to be like you. When you left it was a different feeling for me then the others leaving simply because i knew you were going to Rooster Teeth and i would get to see you again and somehow being even more awesome as if that was possiable. My favorite memory involves you and Joe at the very end of a table talk when you and Gav were still in the early days Joe informed you on how #turnfree was not your ship name but that is #Gaeg or #Gag however he wished to spell it im not sure, however it made me laugh so hard and now i cant refer to y’alls relationship as #turnfree. And even though you left Rooster Teeth as well (which i a whole other blog post) I still will continue to follow and love you and perv out on your modeling pictures.

Ross Everett: You got shit on so much when you worked for sourcefed but i think that was so unfair of people to do to you cause you are very funny and creative. You brought a very different energy to the group that i think was needed and you are amazing. My favorite memory is the joke of you dating trisha’s baby and it made me smile so hard in the last table talk to see you finally see her baby. I also loved your periscopes.

Sam Bashor: You are the cutest little dork in the entire world. I feel like i grew up with you being similar ages and i loved watching you grow from a young little boy in a bow tie being the sweetest little guy in the entire world to this man that is so incredible and funny. You made it okay to be so into nerdy things and for that i thank you. I cant wait to see where this world will take you cause i know you will only do amazing things with your gifts. My favorite memory has to be any time you are with Maude (duh) and of course Sam chats and Sam has a point on the podcast. (And the Smaude kiss.....DAYUM)

Will Haynes: Like Sam i watched you grow up from this awkward little boy to afraid to be himself and grow up into  someone who simply doesn’t give a fuck and has been truly incredible comedian. You finally found yourself which is amazing and i’m so happy to see this side of you. I have loved seeing your fazes and seeing the other more senior comedians helping morph you into the person you are today. I cant wait to see what you do next.

Matt Leiberman: You brought something very different to the group, you were not afraid to be yourself and unashamed of who you were. You were an amazing host and incredible cook (which i always made the mistake of watching when i was hungry) and you are just such a sweet man who wants the best for people. You and your girlfriend are the cutest and i’m excited to see what comes next in your life.

Maude Garrett: You brought a new light to the new gen of Sourcefed Nerd. You are unbelievably stunning and amazing and so apologetically nerdy. I was never really into DnD until i saw you as the mauderator and you showed me a great and fun way to enjoy DnD, I’ve missed seeing you regularly on the channel but i know that one day you will take over this world and we will see nothing but you. Because you are simply that powerful and amazing. (Sidenote: The Smaude kiss at 1,000,000 was to

Steven Suptic: You are probably one of the weirdest people on this planet in the best way possible. We have very similar senses of humor and dont mind being the butt of the joke sometimes. You are one of the only people i think that would openly piss there own pants in a serious moment just for the giggle (i’m going to pretend it was on purpose in the last table talk) I loved you on Super Panic Frenzy with Reina and the podcast was the best. I know you will do great things with your channel and now you can do more stuff with the Mindcrackers on the plus side.

Whitney Moore: You are just the most beautiful little pixie i think i have ever seen. You are so goofy and funny and quickly became one of my new favorite hosts. You have a corky edge to you and yet somehow so very cool at the same time. I love your sense of humor and i just think you are incredible. I know that this will only be a stepping stone in your life and i’m interested to see what is next for you.

Bree Essrig: You I have been watching for the longest back in the old days of youtube seeing you with Shane Dawson and Steve Greene, you have always been able to put a smile on my face with the different characters you play. You are not afraid to be “one of the boys” for lack of a better phrase and you were someone i looked up too when i was a young teenager just trying to figure myself out. Then you moved to pop trigger which you were amazing on you had me in stitches anytime you were on, and then when you got hired to Sourcefed I was so giddy because I had followed you for so long and just watching you change and grow over these years has just been a blast. I can’t wait to see what weird shit you and Steve decide to make cause you are really the best comedic couple and i’m sure whatever you do it will be amazing.

Mike Falzone: You like Bree i have been watching for years I believe since around 2007 i believe which is crazy to think. Your stand up is amazing you have such a cool air to you (even when you are geeking so hard about Wrestling) and you are unbelievably talented. And on top of that being an incredible musician it is unfair how talented you are and you are just going to keep growing and growing and doing bigger and badder things all the time. My favorite memories is just seeing you riff off of Steve and Elliott the three of you is just comedy gold.

Ava Gordy: I may not have known you for as long as some of the other hosts however your impact was still just as grand. You seems like such a sweet and compassionate person who really cared for those around you and still did everything in just such a funny way. I will admit i haven't seen every video you have been in but now i have time to go back and look at all of them and i’m pumped because you are incredible and just deserve the best in life. And I loved you in the people be like episode about Netflix and Chill

Candace Carrizales: You also I have may not have known as long as the others but you can keep up with them just as well. Its hard being the youngest sometimes but you didn’t let it stop you.My favorite video has to be your two truths and a lie with Steve and i bought one of those ginger drinks after just cause i was curious and you were completely right. You are a delight and brought some more fun energy to the gang. I like your don’t give a fuck attitude and you are just gonna continue to grow and be amazing

And lastly

Dani Rosenberg: I couldn’t not mention to you in all of this you have been the rock in all of this and keeping people from destroying everything. Not only do you keep Phils shit together but then you deal with all the people at Sourcefed and Sourcefednerd which i am sure is almost an impossible task. You have been a strong force behind all of this and i don’t think you get the credit you deserve you are amazing and beautiful and one of the most bad ass people on this whole planet. thank you for being you. And may i just say whenever i saw you in a thumbnail for table talk i have never clicked harder and faster then in those moments. 

Final thoughts... One i’m sure the last 3ish hours i spent free handing this at work was well spent. I am going to miss these channels and people so very much and i cant tank each and every one of them enough. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and i hope to see you do the incredible things i know you are capable of. Good luck in future indevers and i will still go back every day and re watch the old videos cause they are still hilarious and can make me smile at the drop of a hat. thank you. also if my grammar sucked i apologize 2 hours of sleep and just writing as i went along.

[letgoofmygreggo]

heyyo, ive got a smornby (?) prompt if you wanna do it because im trash lol: We're playing gay chicken with our friends and this is awkward because I like you and oh now we're kissing and I don't want to pull away, but I know you won't because you're amazing at this game and oh god now we're using tongues

I finally did it anon! Sorry for the wait! Holidays and family stuff have made me have less time to write (plus me being horrible and spending all my free time the last couple of days on dnd and not this) but here it is! Uh got a lil bit more Tom/Lewis than I meant to (they have to be in all my fics now man) but the smornby is there!

Nervous

The infamous party master of senior year, Tom Clark, was hosting a surprisingly small party for what must of been the first time ever. There was no special reason, it wasn’t anyone’s birthday or an anniversary of some kind, no one new had arrived and no one was leaving town anytime soon. But instead of the house being filled with nearly everyone in senior year, plus half of the year below, there was only sixteen teenagers sitting in Tom’s living room drinking. Most of the group were sitting on the floor in a circle around a huge glass in the middle surrounded by cards. Zoey and Fiona were out of the drinking game, choosing to watch the chaos of the drinking gaming unfold while snuggling on the couch. Rythian was also not playing, sitting on a chair behind his boyfriend Zylus who was unconsciously leaning back on Rythian’s legs.

That left thirteen people playing the drinking game. Sjin and Sips who were sitting beside each other, nudging the other’s shoulder before laughing at something. Beside Sjin sat Duncan, Kim, then Hannah, all three talking as they waited for the game to begin. Next to Hannah was Simon, Lewis and the host himself Tom. The three were talking with Ben, who was writing the rules for the game down on a piece of paper. Zylus was next to Ben, happily waiting as he leaned on his boyfriends legs. Lastly came Trott, Ross and Smith. The well known trio completing the circle and giggling at some stupid inside joke.All of a sudden, everyone’s conversations are cut off by Tom as he raises a hand holding a piece of paper and yelling.

“THE RULES ARE DONE. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!”A few cheers came from around the circle and Tom pulled the first card from the pile.

Twenty minutes later and the group was obviously slightly drunk. More than half the cards had been removed from the circle and the glass in the middle now had a strange murky coloured liquid in it. People around the circle looked different too. Simon had a box on his head with eye holes cut out so he could see, Trott was happily sitting in Sip’s lap and Sjin was now missing his shirt. Duncan was lying on his stomach, hands by his side as he only made seal sounds and Ben had two bottles duct taped to his hands.

“Right Ross it is your turn.”Tom announced and the man in question reached forward and pulled out a card.“7”Tom looked at the paper in front of him.

“7 dare. Okay I totally have this. I dare you to play nervous, with Smith.”A bunch of people in the room went ‘ooooooo’ and Smith winked at Ross.

“Uh, what’s nervous?”

“Basically you just touch Smith and ask him if he’s nervous, if he says no you move to a more awkward place so like up his leg closer to his dick. You keep doing this until Smith says he is nervous. If you back out you have to skull you nice and freshly opened vessel.”

Tom smirked at Ross and the man knew he was doomed. He regretted letting Tom know about his crush on his best friend Smith, he should of know he would do something about it. Actually Tom probably made this a small party so they could actually play drinking games and make this happen. He honestly wouldn’t put it past him, Tom was known for doing crazy over the top things and getting into trouble, usually with Sjin by his side. Ross took a deep breath in and used all the courage he had gained from the alcohol and moved closer to Smith and place a hand on his thigh.

“Nervous?”Ross’ voice came out way more confident than he really was and Smith looked at him shocked for a second before he grinned.

“Nope.”Ross moved his hand up so it was closer to Smith’s hip.

“Nervous?”Smith continued to grin.

“Not at all.”Ross moved his hand more slowly this time, bushing over Smith crotch, earning a ‘shit’ from Tom and resting the hand on Smith’s lower stomach.

“Nervous?”Smith’s grin didn’t falter for a second.

“Nope.”Not wanting to straight out touch Smith’s dick, Ross decided on another plan and shuffled forward and sat in Smith’s lap. Hand’s touch either side of Smith’s face.

“Nervous now?”Yet again Smith simply grinned at Ross.

“Nope.”A gasp was heard by someone, Ross wasn’t really paying attention to who. His full attention on the man whose lap he was in. Slowly he moved his face so his mouth was only an inch from Smith’s. Quietly he whispered.

“Nervous.”Smith’s grin turned into more of a soft smile as he whispered back.

“Nope.”Ross gave into his urges and connected their lips. He felt Smith’s arms run up and down his back, at one point somehow making their way under his shirt. The kiss kept growing deeper and deeper until Ross felt Smith’s tongue enter the equation. His tongue soon followed and they continued this way until they pulled apart for air. They sat their for a moment, Ross in Smith’s lap, just staring at each other’s swollen lips, want for more clearly on their faces until they were both pulled back to the present by Trott.

“Holy shit guys. That is the most intense nervous I have ever seen.”Ross quickly jumped off of Smith’s lap, his face burning red with embarrassment. Smith tried to grab his arm, but Ross shrugged him off. He wasn’t technically out to anyone, apart from Tom when he drunkenly confessed to him one night and he was worried what everyone would think. Sensing his panic, his own undoing came to his rescue.

“Holy shit Ross that looks like a fun way to kiss someone.”Everyone’s attention was drawn from Ross to Tom who upon knowing everyone was watching him, jumped over into Lewis’ lap and started kissing him much in the same way Ross and Smith kissed. Lewis, surprisingly to everyone, returned Tom’s kiss and the pair made out for even longer than Smith and Ross did. When Lewis and Tom pulled apart, Tom rested his forehead on Lewis’ and pecked him on the lips before moving back and turning to face the majority of the people in the room.

“I know you have all been curious as to why for the first time ever I have thrown a small party and only invited you lot. Well Lewis and I consider you all our closest friends and we wanted to let you all know that we are together. Well we have had a bit of a thing for a few months now, but we made the step to serious boyfriends about a month ago. And before you ask yes I am gay, but Lewis here is bi because apparently girls are nice or something, no offence ladies.”The women in the room simply rolled their eyes, but smiled none the less. Knowing full well Tom actually meant no offence.

Soon the circled crumbled as people moved closer to Tom and Lewis to ask them questions. Smith and Ross being the only two to not move a mussel.

“Hey, uh Ross?”Ross kept his head down as he replied to Smith.

“Yeah Smith?”Smith started fiddling with his fingers, a nervous sign Ross was not use to seeing the usually confident man do. He raised his head and met Smith’s eyes.

“Can we kiss again? But this time because we want to and not because of a game?”

Ross couldn’t believe what he was hearing, it was like all of his dreams were coming true. He grinned at Smith.

“Whose saying that I kissed you before because of the game and not because I wanted to?”Smith returned his grin.

“Well then, let’s kiss again anyway just to make sure.”Ross took back his stop on Smith’s lap and the two began kissing, only being noticed by Tom who leaned down to his own boyfriend and whispered.“Mission accomplished.”

[nerdarchy-blog]

I went on a fantastical adventure in Manhattan in New York City. The Cauldron is a magical gastropub experience located on 47 Stone St., New York City. It’s a pub  catering to the nerdier elements of the city. One of the first sights to greet me as I entered the establishment was two young ladies playing Operation. That’s right, the game with a red-nosed guy who lights up and buzzes annoyingly when you fail to remove a piece from him without touching the sides.  The Cauldron’s aesthetic is that of a magical tavern as I made my way deeper in to see a 15 foot tree in the center of the bar. This is no ordinary tree — it has beer taps coming out of it. Magical wands activate the taps so patrons of this magical place can dispense their own ale. A true beauty to behold.

As cool as the surroundings are, I wasn’t on a sightseeing trip or even visiting to participate in the potion classes they hold. Oh, no, I came for the Dungeons & Dragons. Along with sharing my experience below including a photo gallery, you can watch the first episode of Cantrips & Casters I attended live in Manhattan.

  Dungeons & Dragons — from game to show

Cantrips & Casters is the brain child of Anna Hogan from The Cauldron team and Anne Richmond of the Active Player Network. Both convinced their perspective companies of the benefit to this adventure together. Casters & Cantrips is a live Dungeons & Dragons show with a six episode pilot. I was fortunate enough to catch the first episode live and in person.

Even if you can’t make it in person they stream live to Twitch. A cast of gamers with theater and performing experience was assembled to entertain with a game of 5E D&D.

  I was super impressed with the game and show. The Casters & Cantrips group seems like they’ve played together for years. Before I get into more of the game there is one thing worth noting. It’s an interactive experience.

With your purchase of a $40 event ticket you get a drink and favor tokens. The favor tokens allow you to affect the game. You give them to one of the players. At a certain number of favors a player is granted a flask. Any given player can have up to 3 flasks. At what would be a fourth, their flask overflows.

1 Flask = Auto success when the player chooses to drink the flask

2 Flasks = Maximum damage or healing effect on a spell

3 Flasks = Trigger super power

4 Flask A.K.A Overflow = Same as 3 flask plus a chaos effect — the person who triggers it receives a potion on the house, plus rolls a d10 to determine chaos effect

This way the audience can interact with the game, and let me tell you we did. A lot. And in ways the players and Dungeon Master didn’t expect. You can acquire more favors by purchasing drinks known as potions off the menu as well as by ordering food. At other times the DM calls for votes from the audience by a show of wands.

Professional Dungeon Master Miles Duffield kicks off the game set in modern-day New York City. As for the rest of our adventuring party:

Donovaine (Fire Genasi Bard): Chris Bailey

Leiya (Half-Orc Paladin): Amy Chrzanowski

Portia (Drow Artificer): Anne Richmond

Jyn (Dragonborn Ranger): Dexter Warren

Other crucial members making the show run smoothly:

Director of Photography: Deanna Amoia

Event Coordinator for The Cauldron: Anna Hogan

Short interviews with the team are up over on the Active Players Network website. The first episode is already up on YouTube.

Casters and Cantrips Session 1: An Interactive Dungeons and Dragons Show!

The very first episode was a fun three-hour adventure in a homebrew world inspired by The Cauldron of DM Miles creation. There were magical trees, taverns, dragons, goblins, and more. Anna wanted to turn the second floor of The Cauldron into a tavern you might find in a world of Dungeons & Dragons. If you ask me, she succeeded. The first event sold outof  it’s limited ticket run that took place on Oct. 7, 2019. The second one is slated for October 14. You can purchase tickets here. I was also delighted to learn their cast is a paid one. Happy to hear people are getting paid to do something they love to do.

I’d be remiss in my reporting if I didn’t mention the food and drinks are delicious. Alchoholic tea and potions that bubble over — need I say more?

  Meet in a tavern! #TheCauldronNYC is a magical gastropub where @ActivePlayerNet invites you to become part of the adventure #activeplayer #dnd #dnd5e #livednd I went on a fantastical adventure in Manhattan in New York City. The Cauldron is a magical gastropub experience located on 47 Stone St., New York City.

[pandafunkey809]

My thoughts on Dungeons & Dragons

Well, I honestly thought this one wasn’t going to be that great or anything from the start. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I do like a lot of things from the 80s but after seeing the Dungeons & Dragons movie I was pretty certain it was just going to be absolute..... well, bland. I don’t look at a cartoon and judge the quality of the animation or voice acting or any of that stuff as much as I judge the story and after seeing some animes with a similar kind of animation that turned out bad I was skeptical. I’m glad I was wrong though. You put on the first episode and it does the intro. All of these kids, the main characters specifically, get on a Dungeons & Dragons themed rollercoaster ride with great enthusiasm (which I find odd as I barely know anyone who plays the actual game sadly but regardless I don’t care). They go in and it is like some kind of fantasy themed house of horrors ride and then they suddenly enter a glowing portal and are transported to the realm of Dungeons & Dragons and there it shows you all of the main characters as well as the roles they play in the party: 

Venger, the main villain (voiced by Peter Cullen)

Tiamat, a the most powerful dragon (who barely actually appears in the show and is voiced by Frank Welker)

Hank, the ranger (voiced by Willie Aames)

Bobby, the barbarian and Shiela’s brother (voiced by Ted Field III)

Presto, the magician (voiced by Adam Rich)

Shiela, the thief (voiced by Katie Leigh)

Eric, the cavalier (voiced by Don Most)

Diana, the acrobat (voiced by Tonia Gayle Smith

Uni the unicorn, yeah it’s a very..... odd name (also voiced by Frank Welker)

and finally Dungeon Master, the wise and powerful jerk who is helping them find their way home (voiced by Sidney Miller

I just realized how many of those voice actor’s names I recognize. Kinda nice when you’re hearing people play new parts.

I very much like the intro because it throws you right into it off the bat.... oh yeah and I forgot one character. Now I’m going to split this into parts because as of the moment I’m writing this review I haven’t finished the third season so today I’ll be going over the characters. Venger is like if Skeletor had a cousin who nobody ever told he was missing a horn on his helmet. He has the kooky villainy part down but unlike Skeletor he has the evil thing down. He isn’t all, “nyeh heh heh!” he’s more of a, “Now you will die. *proceeds to kill you*” kind of character. He isn’t as good a villain the Joker or pretty much any of these comic book villains, but he is still enjoyable. He is always looking to push his own agenda and when he has no choice other than to work with our heroes he will do it VERY begrudgingly (except for one episode in the first season but that was because it was going to potentially push his own agenda)

Lets move on to Dungeon Master. When I was watching the first season all I could say about him is that he is a total dick. He isn’t mean, actually quite the opposite, he is very kind and very helpful and wise toward our heroes. HOWEVER, the plot of almost every episode is that dungeon master knows a way they can get home, on the way he tells them they will have to choose whether or not to give it up in some very sage good of all kind of way and they do have to give it up, they find it and venger or some other kind of evil comes and either stops them or they have to give up their way back home to keep their home or the land of DnD safe. And for the longest time I was all, “This guys is a massive dick who keeps teasing them with ways home so they will help everyone else except themselves when he most definitely knows a way they can get home without all the hassle. However, in the second season they have an episode centered, somewhat, around Eric that relates to this. I’ll get into that in a minute but first I need to go over Eric. Eric is the kind of guy who’ll ditch you when you invite them to a party you’re having and then not care because he wanted or had to do something else. When put in a terrifying situation he will either freeze up or yelp and cower. He thinks he is the better human being in the same way a rooster who has never seen another one will strut around the yard puffing his chest bigger and bigger every day. That said, he won’t leave his friends behind when it comes right down to it unless he believes they’ll get out of whatever is happening just fine (as shown in the finale for season 1). He desperately wants to go home, and is completely oblivious to his own faults until someone gets in his face. Sounds pretty bad no? Well even with all his faults he still has a good heart in him and a conscience that does shine through now and then, even if for the most part he is just self-absorbed comic relief.

However, in an episode of season 2 Eric is complaining as usual about dungeon master and then (speak of the devil and he will come) dungeon master appears and accepts the Eric’s offer to be dungeon master. During this time Eric has all of DM’s powers and wisdom as well as, it seems, his knowledge. The episode pretty much centers around Eric getting used to these new powers as well as using them to find a way home, which they do, but they are wandering without any knowledge of what to do. Part of the time Eric is as wise and all knowing as dungeon master, but at other times it seems he hasn’t the faintest idea what is the best course of action. I believe this could be the same as dungeon master. Where dungeon master has much wisdom from thousands of years of existence, he would appear to not be at all as all-knowing as Eric and the others would seem to believe. It is also supported in part by the fact that dungeon master constantly leaves them only to reappear when they need his guidance. I think he believes that, while he could do it himself, they must find their own way home. Plus he explains to the ranger that everything is connected and he must be very careful of what he does.

I’ve been writing this review pretty much whenever and so I’m going to sum up the characters as I’ve noticed this part is far too long.

Venger is just evil, but when shown kindness or given help he clearly doesn’t understand why it happens, probably because he actively shows he has no interest in doing anything for the good of everyone.

Diana is a strong, confident, and athletic.... I think she’s a teen but she acts like..... oh wait never mind, she still acts like a teen. I like her friendly and generally jovial attitude.... and I will admit her outfit looks both badass and fairly eye-catching.

Shiela is basically daphne from Scooby Doo but younger and smarter as well as looking to help the team and prevent infighting, though just as whiny (at least for the movie daphne)

Eric is (oh wow I just noticed) like a somewhat meaner and much less laid back version of Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Really the only difference I can think of is that Eric is boastful, impudent, and willing to take at least the first few steps in the other direction instead of helping his friends (at least until end of the 2nd and the entirety of the 3rd season)

Dungeon master is one of the most powerful players in the realm but is a cryptic jerk pretty much using the children for his own personal interests (regardless of them being for the betterment of the realm)

Hank is the leader who takes charge and the group is lost without. I didn’t like how for the episode with the weird cloud bears he completely betrays who he is for a very poorly thought out part of the episode’s plot.

Bobby is a squeaky kid who really cares about the others regardless of however much any of them may pick on him. He is very emotional, and in my opinion i’m glad they didn’t make him a stuck up unfeeling brat because dammit! more men need to be able to cry in public if they’re feeling miserable without everyone viewing them as a weakling!

Presto (the wizard, ha ha ha ha ha -_-) Is an older squeaky voiced kid who constantly fumbles when he tries to help but really is doing his best to help everyone and be a good guy in general.

Guh..... I supposed I have to do this one.

Uni the unicorn.... It’s a unicorn that makes noises (and then later short words) in agreement, or confusion, or whatever and honestly it is a little weird to say this but.... I kinda like Uni. I’m not some furry faggot who’s going to be jerking off to porn of horses (if you do actually do that then you need help) but I thought Uni was, as a character, kinda cute and the design was also, non-sexually, kinda cute but in a way that made me kinda feel.... odd... for liking how they made her..... him.... I think it’s a her... look. Uni may not have much to do with the plot of literally any of the episodes in the entire series but it’s a nice irrelevant character so I don’t really mind it.... yeah it’s a she, it has to be. Although I do find it a little odd that Bobby likes her so much (I mean, a boy? from the 80s? liking unicorns? I doubt it but I’m not going to say it wouldn’t happen).

Next I will go over the story after a review of my first thoughts on the secret show, both in reflection and as a kinda first time viewer of it.