#and i also might be joining a dnd campaign? and u do not want to know how many hours a day i've been spending on research for a few

[intertexts]

ok you asked about my sad fish boy i hope u know how much of a mistake that is. holy shit. dude jrwi is so fucking good. if u need a new dnd podcast may i please recommend jrwi..theyre pirates. ohhh my god theyre pirates .

so. uhm. fish boy. his name is gillion tidestrider (champion of the undersea, hero of the deep, etc etc about a billion more titles that he just keeps aquiring as the campaign goes on) and hes a paladin with ohhhhh so much of a hero complex. oh my god. dude. hes so . everything to me . (played by charlie slimecicle btw. that guy is so fucking good at balancing silly goofy moments with heartwrenching voice acting. in one of the most recent episodes he is literally. hanging from a hook through his hands missing chunks of skin on 1hp literally only alive because he happened to cast death ward on himself. and hes wearing those goddamn trout fish sandals that u see on facebook ads or whatever.)

uhm. so. holy shit. where do i even start. he is the chosen one of a prophecy that says its his duty to one day choose who will survive between the undersea (triton, underwater creatures, where he grew up) and the oversea (basically. land.) and the other will be destroyed. so when he was very young (i want to say maybe like..5 or 6? i dont remember im actually searching for that info rn for the thing im writing) he was taken away from his family to begin training with the Elders (basically the. rulers of the undersea) . my boy he was raised to be a weapon. he was raised to be a tool (<< real canon words out of his own mouth). my favorite little child soldier. he wore armor that was too big for him and carried swords that were taller than he was. he was raised to put protecting others over his own safety so he rushes out into danger without even thinking about how it might affect him. he is so passively suicidal and ready to sacrifice himself at any minor inconvenience that when this information is eventually put in front of him his response is "what? no, thats what im Supposed to do." a very important phrase for him in early episodes was "whats one more burden?"

also he has a pet frogtopus (frog + octopus) her name is pretzel and she rides around in a little orb on his belt and also on his shoulders sometimes. i love her

(<- official art. shes so perfect in every way)

I THINK I MIGHT BE RUNNING OUT OF SPACE SOON BUT HE ALSO HAS AN OLDER SISTER AND SHES EVERYTHING TO ME OHMYGOD . her name is Edyn and shes so. uaghghhh if i think about her for too long i start crying. im writing a fic from her pov as we speak. she was the only one who would visit him during his training as a kid she was his best friend she wanted to protect him but she was also just a kid so she couldnt do anything but try her best to comfort him. shes the one who gave him pretzel. ohhh my god. i lvoe you edyn tidestrider youre everything to me. giving you a freshly written unedited at all snippet from the fic im writing because it describes how i feel about their dynamic so much better than i could possibly type out in a tumblr ask::::

uhnmmm what else. im so insane about the tidestrider siblings forever. do not get me wrong the other PCs in this campaign are also excellent and i love them (Jay is the daughter of a navy captain who defected to join a pirate crew to figure out what caused the death of her older sister. Chip is. oh boy. orphan who was taken in by a pirate crew when he was 7. pirate crew in question was swallowed by some sort of magic force that corrupted literally a fourth of the globe. but he somehow survived and is now trying to find out if his old family is still alive. jay and chip are like adopted siblings to me. chip and gillion had to roll a performance check for a kiss one time and they both got nat 20s and its all gone downhill from there for them. i love jay and chip dearly but something abojt gillion just scratches a very specific itch in my brain i love him so much and its only partially because hes a fish and im the fish guy.) ALSO I FORGOT TO MENTION GILLION IS CANONICALLY ASEXUAL and this is a fact that actually has come up within canon and is not just a word of god twitter mention fact. no. my boy is actively asexual and it makes me soooooo happy forever.

uh. sorry for the wall of text. infodump over. im forever crying abojt pirates and fish people . thank u i love u

OUSUGHFGHFJHH................... I LIKE UR FISH BOY MAC. IM A BIG FAN OF UR FISH BOY. i heard paladin with a hero complex & it was immediately a direct hit thats so... ouuhgh. child soldier character type of guy makes me go bonkers!!!! this whole paragraph is like five critical hits in a row... im so curious now.... also ive seen SO much art for these guys jay also looks so cool? her art is always so compelling 2 me... anyway OUHG. i'm currently working my way through friends at the table twilight mirage (meticulously crafted post-utopian cyberpunk/science fiction about mechs and gods and mech gods and more specifically Dead mech gods & living in their husks & humanity & nonhumanity & empire, etc) + tryna catch up on critrole but... hgghhbh. we'll see. we'll see what happens...

[adminlunata]

I think imma make a post abt myself bc why not! This is my blog *Villan laugh*

Anyway, Im Admin Luna! I also go by Terry or Terrylu.

Im 21! 🎉

That said, my blog/tumblr acc is gonna be 18+ MINORS DNI!!

Im a bi+bigender person, pronouns: they/she/he

Im Hispanic/Native 🇲🇽

Im into LOTS OF THINGS, and I've always wanted to share those things so my blog might be a mess of a lot of things! :3 Also, I might do a lot of self inserts, so if u dont like that. Then SKIDADLE!!

Intrests:

Art, (like all of em) I started drawing again recently after abt a 3yr break, both digital and traditional! Currently trying to learn nsfw art its reaaally hard 😭😭 but yall get to see my failed attempts lol. Also trying to start up a small jewelry business. I like beads and shiny jewelry. I also want to retry watercolor and acrylic painting, maybe try playing with pastels :p Pottery is cool, and so is glass work!! Im sure there are other art media im missing, but eh.

Books/reading, I LOVE READING. I've been in love with it since i learned that i could read cool stories, lol. Uh, I might try bookbinding in the foreseeable future. Might try to write again too.

Plants, I used to work as a florist! So, I've gotten into flower arranging. Might post old arrangements ive done, maybe learn to draw new ones instead since flowers are expensive 😅 Im also super interested in foraging and gardening, thanks Warriors and later SDV I just need to learn more abt identifying local edible plants and mushies before I try eating anything. I grew my first tomato plants and Marigold flowers this year!

Cosplay/sewing, I've always wanted to try cosplay, but I've found it a bit expensive to perform, so it might be a bit till then. But i have plenty of time to learn to sew, I'm also trying to learn to embroidery since it's part of my culture, and it's pretty.

Games, Im mostly a cozy gamer as much as id like to be good at fps i have 0 aim, that said it hasnt stopped me from playing OW. But typically play Minecraft, SDV, forager, terreria, ow, genshin, pokemon and zelda. I also rlly rlly RLLY want to try DnD but idk how anything works lol and my friends are too busy to start a campaign, im also too shy to join an online one so 🤷

Food, i LOVE cooking its such a pleasant chore i dont consider it a chore anymore lol. Im still trying to learn to bake tho? Its rlly difficult but I've managed to master my choco cookies 🍪

I think thats all! Thanks for reading this far, i will continue to add to it if i remember something else im into lol. And learn how to make things pretty in tumblr enjoy your stay!

[northern-passage]

hello i hope you are having a good day/night was wanting to ask if you did write any other games before this one or did you publish stories or something,,, i am trying to work on an IF but this is my first time and i do write but i have never published anything i also usually get bored fast and just yeah your story is so so good and you put a lot of effort and work into it just wondering if you have any tips or advice like the thought of publishing something is terrifying and i don’t know if i can do it i just don’t have faith in myself

i have not published anything before this!!!

i worked as an editor in college for our creative writing club/group and do technically have credit for that as we did publish an anthology together but i never submitted anything myself to be published, i just helped behind the scenes.

ive always done a bit of writing here and there for myself, and have had story ideas brewing in my mind but nothing i’ve ever gone out and finished or anything. kinda just writing for myself before this. technically i’ve always been much more of a reader than a writer.....

and like. i worked on the tnp prologue for...hmm.....maybe a month before i published it on the forums? part of that was simply mental illness x LOL i got fixated and it wasn’t healthy and i also already had a lot of the story beforehand because it was going to be a dnd campaign... but that’s not the point. i wrote the prologue and was kinda just sitting with it before biting the bullet and posting it. and i didnt really read a lot of interactive fiction before this last summer. i just happened to follow an artist that was into it and that was how i got introduced to everything and realized it was something i could just do!!! and that it would be a cool way to share a story and get feedback

i published my demo in august and like...whew if u read the first version of the prologue u get a veteran’s discount. it wasn’t BAD but it needed a lot of work. it sucks getting criticisms and that’s definitely...a big thing to get over in the beginning. the mortifying ordeal of sharing ur writing. but it’s helped me A Lot and tnp is only as good as it is because i decided to share it and subject myself to the mortifying ordeal lmao

also getting bored is something that happens! it just does. all creatives get bored with their work sometimes or just move on but it doesnt make u any less of a writer or artist or anything. there’s that one tiktok by ghosthoney....taking a break even if it’s for years doesnt take away from the fact that you’re a creator.

my biggest tips are just. first things first you just gotta go for it. just start writing, even if you don’t publish it. don’t feel like you NEED to publish stuff, especially if you’re not ready, and never feel like you need to ‘rush’ or anything. you have all the time in the world to write at ur own pace. and while i can’t promise u that one day you’ll wake up and just be like “i’m ready” a la spongebob...there will definitely come a day where u just make that jump. that’s what i did

second is try not to compare urself to others too much, especially when it comes to like...numbers? so like word counts, followers, updates, etc. like everyone writes at their own pace and some ppl are fast as hell whereas others take a lot longer and it’s just something that is personal. don’t compare the attention someone else might get to what you get - some ppl just have more vocal audiences than others and it doesnt mean ur any less appreciated. also being on the internet be sure to set ur own boundaries, what ur comfortable with, etc. 

and again...publishing stuff does take courage and you gotta be ready for feedback. some of it will be genuinely helpful...some of it will not. and especially with IF, people might try and pressure you to make things a certain way. that was one thing i wasn’t really expecting? and sometimes as i said suggestions are actually helpful, because you really can’t think of everything on your own and another set of eyes helps round out choices, but there are also some that want things to go in a completely different direction and you got to make sure it’s actually something YOU want, something that fits the story, and not just something you’re doing to please readers.

the tone and setting of tnp and the fact that i have a bit of a more defined mc makes some of the suggestions i get just....not good LOL and you just got be ready to filter that kind of feedback

and with writing to publish, keep in mind that people’s tastes are unpredictable. you can almost never guess how people will react or what they will like, and something not being immediately popular doesn't mean it's bad or you should change the way you're writing, though you will want to keep ur audience in mind. and as for your audience, you may not attract the people you expect, and there’s really no way to control that - but again setting your own boundaries is most important, first and foremost.

posting stuff publicly is really just a wild card. there’s no one universal experience - it’s unpredictable, it’s scary, it’s hard, but it can also be really really rewarding

i also will say i got lucky that about a month and half? maybe? after i published my demo i joined an authors server that has been a HUGE help. i could totally hit u with that if you’re interested!! having a group of authors to talk to that “get it” is very nice. definitely try to interact with and follow other authors you like - in my experience they almost are always down to answer questions and offer help :-)

[ninbinary]

DnD Character Backstory Datapoints - Example 1: Human Orphan Lives Dangerously

Hey, thank you to @kursed-curtain (who tumblr will not let me "@", good application u got here) for reblogging my DnD Character Backstory Datapoints suggestion :) (It goes without saying you could ideas like this for non-RPG character or story generation too, and could add more dice representing different things!)

In thanks, I decided to type up an example of me using it to create a (reallly overly-in-depth -- this is gonna be a long post!) character backstory idea from thin air.

(Let me know if you guys out there like this, and I'll do it again sometime! Also let me know if you use this datapoints-system to create a chararacter (or feel free to use this character backstory), and let me know how it goes!)

A) Human character, Younger (d2 + 1 periods)

(I'll refer to the character as "Character", and I'm not doing anything to bake Character Class in to the story (though I'll talk about that at the end), to try to make this as "generic" as possible!)

A0) number of time periods:

d6 roll of 4 = d2 roll of 2; +1 = 3 time periods.

A1) First Time Period:

d12 = 10 [10/12 Danger]

d10 = 6 [6/10 City]

d8 = 1 [1/10 Species Diversity]

That's an Extremely dangerous time, in a Relatively Urbanized area, with only 1 kind of species. Given that its the First time period for a started-adventuring-younger character, I think my overall summary would be:

"Abandoned Orphan in a Medium-Sized Exclusively-Human City"; they spend their early years with a few slightly-older orphans living in alleys and stealing food.

(Alternatively, other interesting ways you could interpret this: if your gameworld has "bad guy countries / city-states" near your "generally friendly demihuman species", you could do these dice as "orphan human in a [bad guy species] city")

A2) Second Time Period:

d12 = 11 [11/12 Danger]

d10 = 3 [3/10 City]

d8 = 3 [3/10 Species Diversity]

Wow, it's somehow gotten MORE dangerous for poor Human Character; but its also only half as Urban, and they're finally around a few more species of Demihuman. How would moving OUT of the city be MORE dangerous? Well, 'city invaded' is always an option, but because of the other two dice, here's how I'd turn these dice into a story point:

"Character's youth life of petty crime / cutpurse-ing for basic necessities finally ends in trouble so serious that they flee the city / their orphan-gang / the only home and family they've known, and join up with a travelling caravan." Depending on how "dark" you want the character to be, you could take it any number of ways; but let's say you want a Shit-Life-but-Charitable character and go with: one of their pickpocketting sorties goes bad, and as the pack scatters, Character and a close friend get caught in a blind alley by a city guardsman. Character is at the top of a ladder while Friend is scrambling up, but the guardsman is closing in, sword drawn, so Character throws a brick and kills the guardsman. Friend gets away, but before Character escapes, the next wave of guard sees their dead comrade and gets a good look at Character.

Character makes arrangements ASAP to sign on as a caravan guard, calling in favors to get semi-respectable looking leathers (and maybe the dead guards' sword) and a forged letter-of-reference from their gang's fence. Within a nervewracking 24 hours of lying low, Character's friends have managed to sign them on to a caravan, and one last sprint through the city's allies and undermaintained warehouses later, Character is all set. The next morning they're marching out the city gate with a 4-wagon, 15-individual caravan, run by a halfling merchant, taking fancier fabricks and fashionable metalworked jewelry to the more rural human/halfling backcountry outside of the city.

(So, here all the Danger is about the transition TO this period of Less-City, More-Species-Diversity time period). Let's see how it wraps up with Third Time Period:

A3) Third Time Period:

d12 = 10 [10/12 Danger]

d10 = 9 [9/10 City]

d8 = 2 [2/8 Species Diversity]

Oh dear; danger DOES seem to follow poor Character around! We're back to a Lot of danger, in an EVEN BIGGER CITY, around only a Few different species. How should this conclude Character's pre-Adventure story?

Well, since its so dramatic (STILL Danger, BIGGER City!), its going to end with such a bang, you'd probably want to think about where Campaign's going to begin.

(One way to read the Danger is by saying, "the caravan was raided and the survivors were taken prisoner", but how does that result in such a high City number (while the Species Diversity stays pretty low)? For example, if City stayed low, you could have Character be prisoner of a small bandit camp operating out of a wooded area.)

Well (and if this fits with the campaign setting), we could read it this way:

"the Caravan was raided by marauders from Underground-living [Species X], which hasn't been active in this area for decades..." The survivors were taken back through Species X's New Outpost in this region, and then a select few (including Character) were sent to the capital for one of the following unsavory ends (Ritual Sacrifice, or Gladitorial Combat, or Being Eaten at a Feast Celebrating the New Outpost, etc).

Fortunately for Character, one of the Species X jailors becomes sympathetic because.. they take pity on Characters' youth; or because of the Character's brazen tenacity defending a fellow prisoner from the head jailor's abuse [hey, tying back to their killed-a-guardsman moment], or something; and arranges for Character to be smuggled out of Species X City into the surrounding countryside.

(Another Alternative Idea, had One Dice Gone a Different Way: maybe if Species Diversity was higher, the Species X City could have enough different kinds of folks walking around that you could think about letting Sympathetic Jailor take on Character as a servant, apprentice or even adopted child -- albeit temporarily, or else they'd never be a player-character meeting up with the party. But it would definitely be interesting to see what a Human Orphan from the Mean Streets of [Medium-Sized Human City] would be like after spending their formative years as Adoptive Mindflayer Dad's protege).

Anyway, Wrapup:

Now a long way away from their 'home' city and probably home country (remember, they were captured by Species X nearby, but then moved days (or weeks) travel underground to Species X Huge City), Character finds their way to [wherever the Party starts], and will hopefully have a much less dangerous life just killing monsters and collecting treasure.

Character would definitely have a lot of street-smarts, might have a "I will survive no matter what" mentality, a healthy disrespect for law-and-order, probably standoffish about friendships but a deep loyalty to those they get close to (many of these being Great traits for an adventuring party!).

There's a lot of ways to tweak this outline to make them more "dark and moody" or give them different responses to their travails (if you wanted to make them more of a "mad dog", or utterly ruthless), and there's also room for plot hooks (who were their parents? What happened to their Orphan Gang back home? Does [their original city] have enough intra-city communication that their guardsman-killing will haunt them (for example, make the guardsman they killed someone with connections or seniority, so there's someone with a big axe to grind about eventually getting the guardsman's killer)? Did they grow close to some of their fellow Caravan people and did any of them survive the attack?)

Also if you have a specific character class in mind you can tweak bits of this -- Rogue or Warrior types fit perfectly, but a more Wizard-y character class could certainly fit too: you could play up their burgeoning powers, and have power flare-ups central to Character's 2 dramatic acts -- when they killed the Guardsman in Second Time Period, and have it be the reason that Sympathetic Jailor helped them in Third Time Period.

Thanks for reading all this, anyone who made it all the way through, and let me know what you think! (And no thanks to Tumblr, whose Text Popup stopped letting me type certain letters -- I wrote the actual Character Creation thing in a textfile cuz it was so long, but I then had to compose the incidental comments / intro in a textfile too then copy-paste-format it into this tumblr window >:P)

[tired-toby]

it's been nearly a year since my first suicide attempt, since the worst summer of my fucking life that i STILL CANT REMEMBER.

and i feel like i've gone nowhere

i'm still the same piece of shit who couldn't even acknowledge the people she hurt, who still tries to victimize herself when she's anything but the victim, who is wasting the time of everyone around her

i know all this. i know these flaws. i'm self-aware and that makes it worse because despite everything i do i feel like i haven't gotten any better, like i haven't improved at all and if anything i've just sunk deeper into this pit

and it's not like i haven't had people reach out!

my math teacher has kept up with me the WHOLE YEAR yet time and time again i let myself fall short.

i want to be better. i need to be better, for the people that are here now and for those that i've hurt in the past.

for my guinea pigs. for my rats. for my dogs. for everyone.

yet here i am just fucking wallowing, crying on an empty blog that no one will read or give a shit about because it's just me.

i graduate soon. well. i /might/ graduate soon

god

i've fallen so far.

my friends are going to harvard, to mit. i feel like i'm just going to a shallow grave.

i wish things were easy, that i could take a few pills and just be /better./ i want to stop feeling this way, i just want to feel better. i've changed my ways! i only drink water, i eat healthier, i walk my dogs for two hours every day, i've taken up new and old hobbies. but i still fall into slumps, i feel like i am a slump.

i've barely told anyone but i haven't felt like myself in weeks and i'm so fucking scared. i feel like i don't know who i am anymore and the coping mechanisms that i've used to try and feel like myself aren't working like they used to. i feel like im fragmented and being pulled apart at the seams. maybe i'm giving myself too much credit

a overfilled trash bag thats splitting and spilling nothing but garbage

that's better.

i'm just overdramatic

i'm just tired

i even have a healthy sleep schedule, did i mention that? in bed by 10, up by 7. i walk my sister to the bus stop almost everyday.

i thought i did everything right. why doesn't it work why aren't i better why am i still the same asshole why am i no one why am i nothing why can't i just be better why am i not fucking dead

55 days until i'm 18

54 until the night i became the world's greatest failure

what kind of idiot fails to kill themself? twice, at that?

i feel like i'm faking this. i read these words i type and i cry and if eel like im faking it. that i'm doing it for attention. i'm manipulative, i lie to emotionally abuse people

i know this and i'm probably doing it now

seems like something i'd do

my mom says my laptop will be back soon, finally repaired. i don't think i mentioned it here but the harddrive broke and i lost everything

stories. hundreds of thousands of words and i WISH that was an exaggeration

my fucking POKEMON. ALL MY GODDAMN POKEMON!!! I BEAT SOUL SILVER WITH JUST AN AMPHAROS AND ITS FUCKING GONE. MARILYN IM SORRY. NOT TO MENTION ALL MY OTHER SAVES

all my art. all those sketches. i've barely drawn since, nothing feels right anymore. not like i know where my art tablet is anyway :/ that's just

gone

everything's gone

once i have a laptop again, i think i'll be happier. i hope i'm happier. my life is there, my happiness is there. it's not healthy to stare at a screen for who knows how many hours of a day but it makes me happy

i want to have fun with graey again. the weeks we'd spend just playing minecraft and stardew and we haven't been able to do anything because i'm just on my phone and a shitty school laptop that can't even run google and word at the same time

i don't know what i'm going to do. this whole thing is a mess, just so much bullshit. and it's barely the tip of the iceberg

i didn't even mention how my dad found another rope in my brother's room. part of me hopes it's not what i think it is and some part of how i once opened his girlfriend's snapchat and found him listed as daddy

fucking discord moderator lookin' ass. it's the trauma innit

i'm doing dnd again. it's not full campaigns, just one-shots with the sewer rats every other weekend or so where i dm and they can have fun.

i like making them happy

i love all of them. they're my family. caesar, crypt, xeno, cat, moe, roo, blink, cig, fox, graey, even fed and ag. if it weren't for you guys, i'd be nothing. i'd be gone.

caesar, you've been with me through everything. i wouldn't be here if you weren't there for me. i'm glad we're getting close again, i've missed your company

i'm glad i'm the one you tag when you see if anyone wants to watch u stream :)

crypt, for all the shit i give you i love you. when are we going to finish mamma mia together u rat ass bitch

xeno u are one of the funniest motherfuckers i've met, even if u are a literal fetus. whenever i see u join vc im always so fucking hyped

cat why r u so fucking racist. when r we gonna play phasmo

moe stop touching kids.

roo i am not gonna lie sometimes u feel like my mom i s2g granted u are geriatric so maybe that makes u my grandma. point still stands, also when r we gonna plot wren and dhova i want my twink-turned-twunk

blink i still need to dm u back give me a sec.

cig u are also a fetus but u are one of my FAVORITE people to brainstorm and plot with. UR BRAIN IS SO WRINKLY AND UR ALWAYS SO RESPONSIVE IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!

fox. ANOTHER FETUS. but also an amazing dm and just?? ur so creative. U ARE SO CREATIVE. UR CHARACTER DESIGN. UR ART SKILLS. ur so underappreciated?

graey when r we having the dildo battle. i will come to alaska and live in a shack in the woods with ur nasty unshowering ass if it means i get to punch u in the face irl and laugh abt the usual bullshit with you.

fed stop being british it's literally so gross idk how u do it. if u stop being british i'll stop bullying u abt ur terrible typing skills

ag u are just. cool. like if i had to pin someone as like the 'cool/chill' person of the sewers it would 100% be u i am ngl. play roblox cats with me u fucking coward

enough of being sappy. they need to stop accusing me of being a lesbian I AM NOT A LESBIAN

ok

im happy again

thinking about them makes me happy

in other news celestial bodies by ghost data is a nice song

[jaegereska]

THE DND EPISODE WAS SO IMPORTANT FOR SHIRO/ KURON THAN WE THINK AND HERE’S WHY

IT SHOWED KURON WAS FUCKING HUMAN BEING, THAT IT WASN’T AN ACT, AND THAT HE IS STILL SHIRO, HIMSELF, DESPITE IT ALL. HE WANTED TO SPEND HIS TIME OFF WITH THE TEAM, HE WAS ALREADY PLAYING WITH CORAN PIDGE AND HUNK BEFORE ALLURA AND LANCE DECIDED TO JOIN THEM. (Fun side note: Haggar probably watched the whole DnD session through Kuron) 

(WARNING LONG POST, MORE SERIOUS META BELOW THE CUT IN REGARDS TO KURON AND SHIRO ARE SEPARATE CHARACTERS)

Let’s begin, excuse the caps, I am very passionate. It’s start with how the DnD game shows off how Kuron is a well rounded human being and an extension of Shiro’s personality, rather than an act

yes you did Shiro, you died in real life too sorry buddy

KURON HAD A BLAST MAKING HIS OWN CHARACTER FOR THIS GAME, HIS CHARACTER WAS LITERALLY A SELF INSERT WITH HIS REAL NAME TAKASHI SHIROGANE AND HE CHOSE TO BE A PALADIN

HE PLAYS AS SOMENE WITH VALUES HE TRULY BELIEVES, HE LOVES BEING HIMSELF AND A PALADIN AND DIDN’T WANT TO CHANGE IT FOR A MOMENT, HE CHOSE IT EVERY TIME, HE HAS NO PROBLEM WITH WHO AND WHAT HE IS 

THERE’S NOTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD HE’D RATHER BE JUST HIMSELF

KURON/SHIRO TRULY SEES HIMSELF AS A SHIELD AND WANTS TO PROTECT OTHERS, WHILE ALSO GETTING A CHANCE TO RELAX AND SHOW JUST HOW DORKY HE IS

LOVES HIS TEAM AND SPENDING TIME LIKE THIS WITH THEM, THIS IS PROBABLY THE LONGEST TIME HE’S SPENT WITH THEM JUST DOING SOMETHING FUN, DND TAKES H O U R S 

HE WANTS TO KEEP DOING STUFF LIKE THIS WITH THE PALADINS HE HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME, PROBABLY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A VERY LONG TIME

AND THE TEAM LOVE HIM SO MUCH, SO MUCH THEY PLAY GAMES WITH HIM AND HAVE SO MUCH FUN, CORAN EVEN SUGGESTS HOW TO CONTINUE THE CAMPAIGN AFTER SEEING HOW EVERYONE, ESPECIALLY SHIRO LOVED IT SO MUCH  

I THINK MORE OF THE SHIRO WITHIN KURON CAME OUT WHILE HE WAS UNDER HAGGAR’S CONTROL, HE MAY BE A CLONE BUT HE IS STILL SHIRO AND A HUMAN BEING

THE REGRET IN HIS EYES THE MOMENT KEITH FINALLY BROKE THROUGH, FOLLOWED QUICKLY BY ANGER AND FRUSTRATION BECAUSE HE’S STILL FIGHTING UNDER HAGGER’S CONTROL

SHIRO/KURON’S VOICE WAVERED AND BROKE WHEN HE TOLD KEITH TO STOP FIGHTING THAT IT DIDN’T MATTER ANYMORE BECAUSE THE OTHERS WERE DEAD BECAUSE OF HIM, HE HONESTLY SOUNDED SO BROKEN BENEATH THE ANGER, YOU CAN’T TELL ME HE WASN’T FILLED WITH SO MUCH GUILT AND REGRET FOR WHAT HE’D DONE

IT WAS AS IF HE WAS TRYING TO SAY TO KEITH “WHAT WAS THE POINT FOR US TO KEEP GOING ON IF EVERYONE ELSE, OUR FAMILY, WAS DEAD BECAUSE I FAILED TO PROTECT THEM AND COULDN’T FIGHT BACK HAGGAR’S CONTROL”  

AND THEN WHEN HE FINALLY BROKE THROUGH AND REALITY CAME CRASHING BACK TO WHAT HE’S DONE HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE’D DONE, HE LOOKS AT KEITH WITH SO MUCH REGRET

Taking a step back for a moment, I have to wonder how Haggar was able to make a spitting replica of Shiro, INCLUDING HIS MEMORIES, Kuron IS Shiro by all accounts, I believe the DnD episode was supposed to prove he had humanity and essentially the soul of Shiro. What I’m thinking is Haggar’s control exploited parts of Shiro’s own personality, negative parts he keeps DEEP AND HIDDEN AWAY FOR NO ONE TO SEE, because he needs to be a shield and protector for the paladins, his family

The Paladins were the ones on Kuron’s mind while he was dying because he loves them with all his heart, they are his found family and gave him a reason to smile again when he was so close to death, he traveled across the universe to find them again

Shiro has always been a fighter, he’s fought against the odds and just wants to be free and protect those he loves, but don’t you think after so much pain and suffering, Shiro never had doubts? What if he couldn’t do it? What if he was really going to die no matter what he did? What if the pain never stopped?

This may have been Shiro’s exeriences, but Kuron had them as well. I believe this is what Haggar exploited, those doubts, which made it so difficult for Kuron to break free, until Keith told him he loved him

Keith did not treat Kuron like a monster

It was still painful for him to see a version of Shiro like this and being forced to fight him. He still saw Shiro in him, even though he knew while he was fighting him he was a clone, they were surrounded by other clones, it’s not hard to miss 

Keith kept holding on even as they fell

Keith still wanted to save him, because he knew Kuron is Shiro and was worth saving, that he is still a human being with emotions and feelings and memories after everything they had gone through  

He wasn’t going to give up on him on the one person who never gave up on him

If Kuron was not Shiro and just a pawn, he would not have hesitated when Keith told him he loves him 

Another important thing to remember: the Black Lion and Shiro (since his soul is currently with her) rejected Kuron because they knew he was a fake

That is until the lives of the Paladins and the rebels/refugees were in danger, the moment Kuron begged the Black Lion to trust him again

Black and Shiro KNEW Kuron was still Shiro and not just a pawn and took that chance to trust him, the Black Lion did not reject him again because they knew they might still be able to have a chance with him

Kuron is Shiro, he has always been Shiro, Kuron loves the team and they love him because to them he was no different than Shiro, even Shiro and the Black Lion took that chance to trust him 

And even though the real Shiro is back, it still felt like we lost a part of Shiro, Kuron could not survive without Haggar, it would seem, but I would like to think when Shiro woke up, he is in a way a combination of Kuron and Shiro since he’d likely have those memories Kuron experienced

The Shiro who woke up could be both Shiro and Kuron because of their combined memories

Shiro would remember both of their lives since the moment his physical body died, to the moment Kuron first awoke and “escaped” the galra up to the present. Even though Shiro actively did not experience Kuron’s memories, Shiro would still treat them as his own memories because Kuron behaved just as he would have because they are the same person when it comes down to it. Shiro will have a connection to these memories, almost like it was all a dream while at the same time it was like he still experienced it himself. I also believe Shiro, more than anyone, would understand Kuron was a victim just as much as him, along with all the other Shiro clones that were created and are now destroyed.  

I think Shiro would mourn that in a way Kuron is “gone” 

Kuron, the one who played DnD with the team and truly felt like there was no need to be anyone else but himself even if they were playing pretend, Kuron, who had done the whole Shiro the Hero persona during the Voltron Show, Kuron, who was so happy to see Matt was alive and hugged him when Matt had tried to go for a handshake, Kuron, who joked with Sam about wanting to punch Iverson for him for strapping him to a table when he returned to Earth, and more painfully, Kuron’s escape and journey across space alone. Shiro would not be aware of Kuron’s memories of the escape until his mind and spirit were transferred into Kuron’s body. It wasn’t until then that Shiro would feel the fear and pain Kuron felt in his final thoughts, thinking he’d die never finding the paladins, their found family, until Keith and the Black Lion finally found him. 

It also brings up the matter, why did the Black Lion/Shiro decide to find Kuron while he was on the brink of death? That’s because it wasn’t until Kuron was so close to death and the only thing he could think of were the Paladins that his quintessence truly matched Shiro’s. There was also likely the matter that the Black Lion knew Shiro needed a body if he was ever going to return, they just needed to wait for the right time which was when Allura would gain the ability to be able to transfer Shiro’s life to Kuron. It wasn’t until Kuron had proven himself that Shiro and the Black Lion realized Kuron was a human being and not just Haggar’s puppet and spy. 

In conclusion, Shiro and Kuron are opposite sides of the same coin

Shiro and Kuron’s arc was amazing and breathtaking since episodes like the DnD one made you actually CARE about Kuron because we truly got to see into his and Shiro’s personalty, that yes, they’re both firm leaders who have to make difficult decision, but they also know when to take a break and have some fun, like Kuron with DnD or Shiro when he was having a goo fight in space with the paladins before they found Olkaron. 

Though, I wished that for a moment before Shiro woke up that Shiro and Kuron shared a moment together on the astral plane and had a “You’re me and I’m you” moment before merging together to wake up as someone who is both Shiro and Kuron and anyone who is happy Kuron is gone and hating him for 3 fucking seasons should be ashamed, Kuron was still a person and he had tried to resist Haggar several times

Kuron was a living human BEING. HE IS SHIRO.    

[telltalebatman]

questions for oc’s beloved: beegnatius edition

(for those of u who don’t know - beegnatius is my latest canoe, consisting of my dnd character charlemagne honeybee and her husband, ignatius. they started out as a tongue-in-the-cheek part of a pinnguin fic, but suddenly became their own entities after my friend alan let me play as charlemagne in his campaign.)

1. How did you and your beloved meet? i have a... friend. his name is martin, and he’s a clerk at the azorius senate. he’s a good boy, and an even better friend. and one day... igni kidnapped him. and i... had to rescue martin. except i didn’t expect his captor to be tall and handsome and strong and- see, i can’t tell you the whole story, because that’d... that’d be bad. so let’s just say - i was up to no good and she was there to stop me. and we just clicked.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your beloved? very literally everything. i know. a shockingly simple answer from a renowned bard. above all - the golden glow of her horns. back when i was a boy i used to always keep some fireflies in a jar in my room. that glow was the last thing i’d see before falling asleep. it meant safety. it meant home. and in sunlight (and torchlight, and candlelight, and every other light) bee’s horns also glow. and this glow means home. it means home. it means everything to me.

3. What’s your least favorite thing about your beloved? you might think it’s how he keeps asking me to join the cult of rakdos, but... that’s not it. i actually quite like it. i guess i kind of don’t like how reckless he is. i can’t say i really mind, because it is undeniably delightful to see him bruised and covered in blood from time to time, but... one day he’s probably going to pick a fight he really can’t win. i also can’t say this, so let’s just say - how stubborn she is when it comes to that one thing.

4. What’s a typical day like for you? we wake up, we do stuff, we go home, we... have some perfectly normal, adult fun... fall asleep, wake up, part ways. assuming we get to spend it together, like normal people do? it’s cozy. we wake up in bed in her tiny home. whoever wakes up first makes breakfast. after breakfast we leave, and... just do things. ravnica is vast, and full of things to do. there are parks, and museums, and shops, and taverns - countless places for us to go to, countless things for us to do. we go home. i make dinner. we go to bed. then the morning comes... and we have to part ways. it’s a good thing we have those communication mirrors though.

5. What’s your greatest fear? losing him. he’s reckless. and i can barely fathom the possibility of him just... just being gone one day. isn’t it obvious? bee is stubborn, and reckless, and a goody-two-shoes. i fear one day she’ll see an injustice that needs fixing that’s bigger than her - and instead of turning around she’ll dive in headfirst. and not make it out alive.

6. What’s your fondest memory involving you and your beloved? when he proposed to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god, i still get emotional because of it. the very first normal morning we spent together after the wedding. it... it almost felt to good to be true. a tiny home. her, telling me “good morning” and asking if i slept well, and resting her cheek against my shoulder. it didn’t feel real. i never wanted it to end.

7. How good in bed is your beloved? igni is the best in ravnica. and no, i will not let you see for yourself. his talents are mine and mine only. the things he does with his fingers sometimes literally make me SWOON. eldritch blasts are pure energy, and after successful ones some of this energy remains on his fingers, so when he- her charm and eagerness make up for all the shortcomings.

8. What’s your favorite place to be kissed? neck and lips and that spot between my shoulder blades!!!!!!!!!! forehead. and she knows it. and uses it against me... well, often.

9. What’s your idea of a perfect date? a candlelit dinner at a restaurant, and... perhaps some opera? or a normal theater spectacle. and dozens of other people around us, watching us... seeing us. i am, despite everything, a bloody sap. so... a midnight stroll and a picnic. with no one else to disturb us. oh, and making love under the stars.

10. What’s something you would like to tell your beloved that you’ve never told them—and why haven’t you told them? i don’t keep secrets from igni. i know i keep insisting i used fireball rather than eldritch blast on that oil barrel last year when you said you were cold... but that’s a lie. that was an eldritch blast. and i never admitted to it, because... well... i’m a tall, mean looking, strong half orc warlock of ravnica’s biggest sleeping horned god. admitting to being wrong is going to ruin my image.

[solarianradiance]

Jellyatinous Rose

Calliope: Welcome lovelies, to oUr little get together for an adventure throUgh the Use of a Role-Playing Game system called DUngeons & Dragons! Tonight we have a new player joining in oUr dUngeon delving, oUr lovely friend, Roxy.

Roxy: hey erebody, its ur gurl roxy!

Dave: hey rox

Rose: Welcome to the game Roxy, nice to see you came tonight~

Kanaya: Pleasure To Have You Dear Roxy!

Jade: nice to see you again!

John: glad you could make it tonight!

Roxy: tnx 4 the warm welcum gaiz, makes me feel good bout this venture here

Roxy: so, when do we start playin?

Calliope: Shortlym bUtt first, we shall introdUce oUr varioUs party members for the road ahead, so that we may give oUr newest addition a chance to Understand her new chUms? Jade, why dont we start with yoU?

Jade: ok!

Jade: im a level 5 chaotic good gnoll ranger called groche’a, and i was ousted from my tribe for not wanting to plunder tombs for bones because i was scared of waking the dead and having them get revenge on us... which they did! im the only survivor!

Roxy: wats a goll? Roxy: *gnoll

Jade: a gnoll is a dog person

Jade: like this!

Roxy: oh so ur a hyna furry basically then?

Jade: well no, im more like a malamute husky, i actually based my character off of bec and what jake told me about my scratched other self

Roxy: yeah, ur gilf self was pretty smokin for an old lady, so i can c y u chose her

Jade: ...what?

Calliope: Lets keep this train of introdUctions going, Dave YoU’re Up love!

Dave: im dave, and im a barbarian. im a level 4 chaotic good guy i guess, gettin my rage on with my magic shit talking sword and doin all kinds of awesome shit!

Roxy: u men like connan the barbarian?

Dave: no, not liek conan Dave: *like Dave: fuck

Roxy: wats ur backstory?

Dave: im a kickass barbarian, i showed up one day and started kicking ass, what more backstory do you need?

Roxy: that sunds lame

Dave: youre lame

Calliope: Moving on, John, how aboUt we introdUce yoUr character?

John: im Salamon of the Hearthlands, a level 4 neutral good halfling jester!

Roxy: wats a halflin?

John: they’re pretty much just hobbits but a bit more... “earthly” i think would be a good word to describe them? they’re sort more vice than virtue and do things like eat a lot of food, take whats not theirs and breed like rabbits.

Roxy: le gasp, ur a bunny boy! that sounds adorable!

John: heh, no, im not a bunny, but i guess i am bunny-like in that sense

Jade: you know, that would actually be a good fursona for you

John: eh, nah, its not really my thing, besides im more like a tiger

Jade: hahahaha! no you’re not!

John: in fact i think would be more like tigra from thundercats

Jade: i said no. you’re fucking. not.

John: uuuuh!!!

Roxy: calli!

Calliope: Yes Roxy, what is it?

Roxy: can u make jon into a bunny boy?

Calliope: I... can, bUt I need a good reason like a magical invocation or something like that, I cannot simply do as I wish with the players whenever I wish.

Calliope: Besides, the game has not started. Rose, why dont yoU go next?

Rose: 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝒶 𝒩𝑒𝓊𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓁 𝐸𝓋𝒾𝓁 𝒟𝓇𝑜𝓌 𝒩𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓇, 𝒞𝓎𝒶𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒢𝓊𝓁’𝒢𝒶𝓃. 𝑀𝓎 𝑀𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝒫𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝐿𝑜𝓁𝓉𝒽, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈, 𝐼 𝓈𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝓎 𝒩𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃𝒸𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓉, 𝒷���𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓈, 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒶 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝒸𝒶𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓂𝓎 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓀𝑒𝑒𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓇𝑜𝓉𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜𝑜 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝓎, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓍𝒾𝓁𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝐸𝓁𝒻 𝒞𝒾𝓉𝓎, 𝑀𝑒𝓃𝓏𝑜𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓃𝓏𝒶𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓅𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓉𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓊𝓇𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒸𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓂𝑒 𝓇𝓊𝓁𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝓂𝓎 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝒷𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝒻 𝒟𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒹𝑜𝓂~ 

Roxy: ur kinda given me the willies theres rosie

Rose: Hah! Thank you! I try to accentuate the nature of the Dark Elves as much as possible~ I am a Level 5 Necromancer by the way, just so we are clear.

Calliope: That was a nice sUrprise, always good to see dear ole Rose to give Us a performance and bring a little life throUgh characterization. Now, for oUr last member, Kanaya!

Kanaya: Salutations, I Am Mildred Of Baldurs Gate! A Neutral Good Human Cleric Of Lathander. I Am Level Three And I Am Looking Forward To Keeping You Out Of Trouble, As I Am The Primary Healer Of The Group. Though I Can Take A Swing With My Shredder Axe If I Wish, I Can Be More Than Helpful In Most Situations! 

Roxy: i dunno boit that but i think ill be hpy 2 have u round when the magical shit hits the fan! Roxy: *about

Calliope: Well, now that we have oUr standing party’s introdUctions oUt of the way, how aboUt we have Roxy introdUce Us to oUr newest member?!

Roxy: what bout u calli, whats ur character?

Calliope: I am the DUngeon Master, I recant the tale to the party based on the actions and decisions they make. Technically, I am all of the characters that are not part of the party! BUt I do have a rather sUltry lass that i have been meaning to play for a while. When my tenUre as DUngeon Master is Up, I shall pass the responsibility of rUnning the game onto others and break her oUt!

Roxy: rly? what is she? tell me!

Calliope: She isn’t finalized, but shes a YUan-Ti Magician, specifically an assistant. Haven’t qUite figUred oUt if shes a fUll-blood or a half-blood.

Roxy: a yankee?

Calliope: A YUan-Ti is more or less a snake person, mUch like myself I sUppose. I’ll admit shes a bit of a self-insert, bUt I made her for immersion for flarping. John helped me in crafting her!

Roxy: oh... he did now, did he?

John: yeah! it was actually pretty fun! learning about the lore of the snake people was kinda neat!

Calliope: Indeed! And in retUrn, helped John create another character to pair alongside with her! He is also a Magician, and she acts as his assistant!

Roxy: assistant huh? does that mean you can make his magic wand

Roxy: disappear?!~♥

John: whoa! roxy!

Calliope: Making a Magicians Magic Wand disappear is childs play.

John: uh calli, thats not what she mea-

Calliope: BUt making his wand spit magical glowing seed, now thats the magic~

Calliope: Mwah!~♥

Dave: whoa-ho, damn!

Rose: Ooo, how racey~

Kanaya: I Must Admit, That Got Quite Raunchy Awfully Quickly!

Jade: you can do that?!

John: ok! moving on! time for your introduction rox, before this turns into a smut campaign.

Roxy: how do u know that it wont turn into 1 when i do get my intro on? ;)

John: rox!

Roxy: relax! im jus teasin y Roxy: *u

Roxy: ok, my character is xerox gundalf the pink! shes a level 1 chotic good gun wizard!

John: gun wizard?! that actually sounds cool!

Jade: that actually sound cool, maybe ill roll one next campaign!

Dave: gotta admit, that does sound pretty bitchin rp as

Rose: Um, Roxy, as creative as that is, “Gun Wizard” isnt a valid class within the ruleset of DnD.

Roxy: wat? naaah, its fine! got xeroxs character shit filled out and everything! even drew her!

Roxy: c? kickass sex witch! put a spell on u make u her enchanted slav! put a magic bullet in ur butt and set her enemies on fire! abraka-sexbang!!

Rose: But we already have a Wizardess! Why don’t you be another class, a legal one such as a Rogue or a Thief?

Roxy: those dont sound legal 2 me sister, sides im a rogue in real life! i dont wanna play a rogue i wanna b a badass gun wizard! calli help me out here

Calliope: Mmmmm, well, while technically “GUn Wizards” are not what they are called, “GUn Mages” are in fact an actUal class! So I sUppose thats no significant issUe

Roxy: gasp YAYS!

Rose: Wait, “Gun Mage” is an actual class?

Calliope: Why yes, it is! QUite the interesting one too, might even roll a character to play as one myself at some point!

Rose: Well, anyways, as I said, we already have a Wizardess, which is myself. So how about you roll Up a Rogue? John can moonlight as one, but he isnt able to specialize as one. Here, lemme just get you started and roll you a character right now!

Roxy: uh, no, imma play a wizard!

Rose: We’ll make her Neutral Good, for maximum opportunity while still being approachable. Some good Dexterity for all of that lockpicking you’ll be doing.

Roxy: rose, water u doin?

Rose: Dump all the skill points into stealth, traps, and lockpicking!

Roxy: ross! Roxy:*rose

John: you know i could just spec into those skills myself, i was planning on doing it anyways!

Rose: We can make her pink, with some blue trimmings~

Roxy: stahp!

*Roxy latches onto Rose’s pen hand, preventing her from drawing further. The two devolve into a bit of a struggle*

Rose: Stop... getting... in the... way, Roxy!

Jade: you do know you can multi-class in this game, right? as in you both can have both.

Roxy: well i don.. wann play... fuckin rogue, i wan be... a wizard of bullets!

Rose: We need a Rogue to-*is bitten*-FUCK! ROXY!

Kanaya: What Is Happening?

*Roxy and Rose devolve to a mother/daughter/sister squabble between petty bitches who both want the same thing, but are unwilling to share, complete with hair pulling, bites, scratches, clothes ripping and an assortment of name calling.*

*Its a good ole fashioned cat fight yy’all!*

Jade: shouldnt someone stop this? like kanaya, isnt this your thing?

Kanaya: ...I... Want To, But I Think I Am Enjoying The Sight Of This Conflict? Should I Do So Anyways?

Dave: with them? nah man itll sort itself out eventually. just let em get tuckered out.

John: ... roll for initiative?

Calliope: Haa! Hahahaha!

[bisorens]

monsters & mana shiro headcanons

because i hardcore side-eyed that whole ‘shiro only wants to be a paladin!’ bullshit just say u hate shiro and go!! really though y’all are so uncreative u were just like “well guess shiro is gonna be a paladin how boring lol” like u do realize he is a Fictional Character u could have had him be anything right??? right?????? u can pry creative shiro from my cold dead hands snake

this is @ you l*uren montg*mery

OKAY SO M&M BUT WITH REAL SHIRO literally the only experience i have with dnd is from listening to taz OKAY

after the war is done and shiros back and keiths back all of them start playing monsters and mana on the regular (the main vld squad and matt and rolo and nyma and romelle join too bc i say so)

shiro chooses to play as a bard because he likes the idea that music can have tangible effects

he still names the bard ‘giro’ just because that is absolutely hilarious to me

he plays a pretty low-key bard, mostly using it to help support his team (uk healing spells, more of a defensive player bc he does enough attacking irl)

instead of playing an instrument he whistles and sings/hums, he uses taps and other sound effects, its super creative

shiro starts off really shy but coran encourages him to play into the role and shiro gets a lot more confident and you can tell that he’s really falling into the character

they play a few different arcs and start to realize that shiro has actually come up with different tunes for the spells he’s casting

they catch him humming the tune for ‘dispel magic’ or ‘mass cure wounds’ as he’s walking around the castle or hanging out with the black lion

no one calls him on it though bc he’s finally not looking so sad and stressed

as he levels up he gets way good at being a bard and comes up with new unique ways to cast spells using sound and music

he also CONSISTENTLY rolls high like shiro might keep getting shafted by the writers but the boy gets some lucky-ass rolls

he’s super honest, like to a fault and almost dies a few times but gets nat20s on almost all his death saves

everyone else is shocked

coran and shiro start building campaigns together and shiro becomes really invested in becoming whatever the voltron equiv of a DM is

so coran gives him a shot and is a pc while shiro dm’s an arc

for his first go of it its SURPRISINGLY complex like think ‘eleventh hour’ from TAZ levels of complicated. a fuckton of puzzles. a long quest with different answers

coran is. so proud. of his boy.

its genuinely adorable shiro creates all these npcs and 99% of them are just fuckin nice except for the big bad who is basically the biggest demon ever and who is nearly impossible to kill

the big bad comes out of nowhere and everyone loses their collective shit

its basically THIS VIDEO

matt is just panicking going “SHIRO??? SHIRO???!!???”

hunk is the guy going “i dont!! i dont think our plan is gonna work guys!!”

allura is the one who carried the thing in for shiro and is just laughing uncontrollably and a little hysterically

coran is wiping a tear from his eye he’s SO PROUD

lance and pidge are just yelling incoherently and filming the entire thing

everyone else is just staring with their mouth open

anyway its a really well done campaign and everyone has a great time but shiro prefers to play instead of DM so he gives control back to coran 

and he’s still a fuckin bard bc he loves being able to use music to cast spells that shit is LIT

anyway you can pry bard!shiro from my cold dead hands!

[wildwildwasteland]

Hey so you're a writer yeah? I was wondering if i could get your opinion on something. Im about to DM a campaign of DND for my friends and i have a story basically planned out. Essentially 2 countries are at war and it eventually escalates to each side having/using a superweapon unless the pcs stop them. My problem is, how do I get the players really invested in the story if they just do some mercenary work for one side or the other? If u had any opinions thatd be awesome but u also dont have to

god I’m a zombie rn writing this between insomnia and passing out but I’ll try and offer you what suggestions I can:since all the characters will have individual motives for joining the group/becoming adventurers (presumably, idk your group but most people I know come up with reasons for what brings them to the start point of the campaign), you should try to familiarize yourself with those first and give some thought to what you as the DM/writer might be able to include that pertains to those motives and storiesusually the easiest way of getting characters invested in something is to give them some stake in one outcome or the other. if you want the characters to care about the main story and the war, think about how the ongoing conflict affects the jobs they do. would peace benefit the characters? would having one side win benefit them more? humans are selfishly motivated so its good to think what may selfishly motivate the characters into action (or selflessly motivate them, if you have any lawful good types)

and you can lead people into thinking about what their preferred outcome is/ what the stakes are by leaving small hints in lesser quests and events. like a little cheese trail of: quest > main plot hint > better quest > main plot interference > distract quest > eventual finishing of the original quest. and so on. this is a kind of bad description of it, but basically you make sure the Plot has some impact or plays some background noise during the Non-Plot activities, and people will pick up on it. Remember that all plots are character driven, so let the characters drive it, trust them to pick up on your cheese trail and get invested in the story. As long as you aren’t railroading them, players usually find reasons for their characters to care about what’s happening 

[jcarlhenders]

A Short D&D Scenario

The Setup

A gamemaster, u/The-Babyface, posted a question to r/DnD on Reddit about dealing with a financially over-powered player. He asked:

So I have a player that's the 'rules lawyer' of my 5e group. As I have taken up DM'ing quite recently and not as up to speed as the others, I feel like sometimes I'm taken advantage of by blindsiding me with long winded explanations and I don't know how to deal with it.

The biggest example I have so far is that by taking his earnings from the first dungeon in the campaign, he's invested it in a loan with a bank in Neverwinter then bought a broken warehouse in the port and used it to hire dwarves and gnomes and produce enormous amounts of steel armour and weaponry. So now he's got all the money he wants pouring in and I don't know how to stop it. It's partly my fault for just saying 'yes' to get him to stop explaining because it brought a game to a halt as he worked out exactly how much he earned a day.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I break it and try and take it away from him for being OP or do I leave it?

Do you have any tips to deal with the OP min/maxers creatively

Below is my somewhat elaborate answer...

The Hook

The next time the rules lawyer player (who I will name "Dictum Mouthpiece"—"Dick" for short) comes back into town, he sees workmen busily finishing new construction of what had been a perfectly serviceable wing of the warehouse. When he inquires with his foreman as to whats going on, the foreman (let's call him Max Goldenbeard, that's a good dwarven name) says,

"There was a fire m'lord, just after you and your companions left. It destroyed the grinding and polishing wing. I had to use the income from the factory to rebuild it. And in order to make our promised deliveries, I had to ship the grinding and polishing work across town to Goggon's Toolworks. Between the repairs to the warehouse, new grinding tooling, and what we had to pay to Goggon's, we lost _____ gp since you've been gone. But we are back in production now, and turning a profit again. I'm sure everything will be all right."

If he reprimands his foreman Max for spending extra money to keep production going and make repairs, then the next time something happens to interrupt production (and it will...), Max will do nothing until Dick gets back from adventuring. Which will mean unhappy customers, canceled orders, and demands from customers who did not cancel their orders for discounts, lest they cancel their order.

If he fires Max, well... see below.

Eisenwalzwerk, Adolph Menzel, 1875

Things Get Worse

The next day Dick Mouthpiece will be approached by a well-dressed gentleman on the street. He will beg for a moment of Dick's time to discuss a business proposition, and offer to buy him a drink at a nearby tavern while Dick hears his offer out. If Dick is not interested in talking, the man will hint that he has information about the fire and that it may not have been accidental.

After they sit down, the man will introduce himself as Hawken of the Tunnel Street Business Association, which he describes as a "civic-minded group of entrepreneurs" who have banded together for mutual protection against a the Gnashers, a local criminal gang on the rise. The Gnashers gang, Hawken explains, were behind the fire at Dick's factory, and will likely be approaching him for protection money soon. He states that the Tunnel Street Business Association is in the business of providing a defense against such criminal gangs. All it will cost is ____ gp a month for his contribution (____ gp being about 40% of the profits of his factory).

If Dick, accepts his offer, and pays up, of course, they will part friends, and everything will go swimmingly—for about two days. If Dick rejects Hawken's offer, then Hawken will explain that the Tunnel Street Business Association has limited resources, and can't afford to supply security to non-members. If Dick tries to bargain on the price, Hawken will explain that the membership fees are set by the entire board, and he is not allowed to reduce them.

Hawken, a Legitimate Businessman, Tony Foti / Wizards of the Coast, Lords of Waterdeep

The Tunnel Road Business Association is, of course, is a protection racket. If Dick figures it out, he can challenge Hawken on it, and Hawken will insist they are honest business people and leave in a huff. If Dick goes to the local authorities, the Guard will promise a vigorous and thorough investigation, before going to the TRBA to pick up their monthly kickback. If Dick hires private security, it will be cheaper in the short run. But at least 20% of his Security hires will be working for the TRBA (or the Gnashers—we will get to them in a moment), leaving them well placed to do damage, and cover for each other, as well.

Whatever Dick does, in two days he will be approached by a stunning half-elven woman who introduces herself as Shira. She has a business proposition for him, you see…

Shira represents the Gnash Avenue Council, and unlike those rogues and criminals in the TRBA, they are a group of legitimate and hardworking merchants and factory owners, who have banded together to, etc.

Shira’s offer is pretty much identical to Hawken’s—join up and pay 40% of your profits and we will protect you against the other guys. Shira, however, is very beautiful and flirtatious and will use her (non-magical) charms to her best advantage. Shira’s group, the Gnash Avenue Council (GAC) also has the local guard paid off, and she’s sleeping with the Captain of the Guard for the entire quarter, to boot.

Shira and the Captain of the Guard Have an Arrangement, Unknown / Wizards of the Coast, Scoundrels of Skullport

The TRBA, meanwhile, will have hired Max Goldenbeard (if Dick was dumb enough to fire him for showing initiative and keeping his business afloat) as a “consultant”. If Dick has not fired Max and takes it in his head that Max is working for one of the gangs, and accuses him of such, Max will quit, as his honor has been impugned. The next guy Dick hires as foreman will be working for either the TRBA or the GAC (whether he wants to or not).

Dick is in a real bind here. If he pays the GAC, the TRBA will do their best to cause as much disruption as possible to his business. If he pays the TRBA, the GAC will be after him. If he tells them both to go to hell, they will both be causing trouble. If he pays both gangs, he will be making only 20% of what he used to. And will feel like a real wimp.

Dick’s only recourse is to convince his fellow party members to take on the local criminal gangs (who have NPCs of a level to provide a threat to the group), and—perhaps unknown to the party—the corrupt local Guard.

Not only that, while the group is uncovering what is going on, and who’s in charge, and at least one gang will be causing his factory to hemorrhage money. He might even have to borrow from his fellow party members to keep afloat and keep his private security paid. If they are smart, they will demand part of the business as collateral.

The Wilkinson Sword Factory, Unknown, c.1900

Other Complications

Major figures in both “Groups of Legitimate Business People” will be warded against scrying and mind-reading.

Both gangs will be willing to threaten and intimidate employees and security people to let them damage the factory.

If Dick has to go to a third party to borrow money, he will have to put up his factory as collateral. If he does this, either GAC or TRBA likely find out and attempt to buy his loan. There might even be a bidding war! Someone in the party (who has appropriate friends and/or connections) will get wind of this in advance so they can try to stop it. By paying off the loan.

At some point, if things escalate, one party member should wake up with the severed head of his or her pet or familiar in bed next to him.

Based on your description it is likely Dick has pissed off his competitors by undercutting them. They are not likely to provide much help. There is a reason that run-down warehouse was such a steal. It was in a bad location with bad elements nearby.

If Dick tries to pay off one gang to concentrate on the other (a potentially good tactic), the gang he’s paying off will want a higher cut than before.

Gang Tactics

The gangs will attempt to damage his business by a combination of several of the following methods:

Whisper campaigns of inferior quality goods.

Intimidating key factory employees into quitting.

Hijacking shipments to customers.

Paying off and/or intimidating factory security & employees to allow finished goods to be stolen.

Threatening or bribing suppliers into providing inferior quality components.

Three words: Rust Monster Rampage.

Trying to destroy Dick’s public image. If he’s done any Murder Hobo-ing, one of the gangs will manage to turn up a sympathetic relative to tell his or her story. If he’s never done any such thing, they will just make one up.

Sell stolen factory goods to a nearby hostile foreign power.

Another unfortunate fire. He needs to keep all that metal dust from grinding and polishing wetted down. It can be explosive, if not handled properly.

Cause Disease spells on the factory workforce.

Each (not paid off) gang should be doing different things, with some overlap.

Rust Monster Rampage, Jason Engle / Wizards of the Coast, Monster Vault

Conclusion

Dealing with the gangs and corrupt local Guard and Officials should be something the players can accomplish if they work together and are smart.

And at the end of it, no one in town will be messing with Dick’s Factory—and the group will feel like they have earned that money (GM—make sure Dick has to share with his fellow party members).