#play summary

[socialshakespeare]

(source)

[socialshakespeare]

(source)

As far as the history plays go, this one ain't that complicated.

[homodachistuck]

and that's it for tonight :) here's the summary:

made the beta kids

all of them are friends, except for june and dave who "didn't click" for some reason. ok.

jade has a dog who is not bec. rose has a cat who is not jaspers. they both need names. feel free to send in suggestions for either!

dave has a skateboard. jury's still out on whether he can use it.

up next:

making probably 3-6 of the beta trolls. will probably be the lowbloods, but i'm willing to take requests if anyone is dying to see someone in particular :)

unlocking a bunch of shit

next blog update will probably be saturday

so, to anyone reading this: is there anything in particular you want to see more of? do you want to know what i'm buying, what i'm unlocking, etc or would you prefer just updates on the miis? do you care about their more mundane problems (e.g. eating stuff) or minigames? let me know!

i'll definitely try to catch them all in the act of more silliness going forward. good night chat

[theghostinspector]

From The Valentine’s Plays

A Wortsted Four Wear

The story of a jazz-centered string quartet that occupies the same suit. they go through daily life with escapades such as navigating a railroad by foot and figuring out how situate the second one in so that he can play his cello. They laugh together. They cry together. They’re usually on pitch. They become disheartened when they discover that the woman they have been corresponding with turns out to be a series of though the mail ads. Depressed, they decide to jump off a bridge. One is a bit apprehensive, but what is he going to do? they end up changing their minds because argyle is a pretty good thing, and they don’t feel as though they’ve given it a fair try.

[trpg-dingusmaster]

Let's run around the sewer!

The online group got together for a game before I had to go to work. There's two days before the bandits are supposed to return to the caves the kobolds live in so the players needed to find something else to do. They decided to investigate the disappearance of the thieves guild. For a city this big and located at the main import and export location of the island you'd think there'd be some sort of organized crime, but there's not anymore for some time. They find out the guild was last heard of being in the sewer of a particular district so they go to the hall of records to find a map only to discover that somebody has stolen the sewer maps. 

The last people to visit that section were people with official documentation from out of town and that was a week ago or so. So they look for other places that might have maps. The first place they check is the adventures guild. There they see the same front desk guy talking to guards again. They over hear that the issue of documents and things are missing from other offices as well and the guild was not officially a suspect but there was questions of their involvement. 

these things seem to fit in with the apparent arrival of the bandits.

When the guards leave they ask the guy for a map if the guild has any. Then they meet the guild record keeper and get a copy of the map. Though maybe not the most current. The rogue figures out the most likely location to look in. They head to the entrance of the sewer and on the way find a blacksmith place specializing in magic weapons and armor. They also notice just how rich this rich district is compared to the others. 

 They find out the sewers are now left open during the day supposedly for ease of maintenance workers and the adventures guild though the public is discouraged from bothering with it and totally locked up at night. They explore a bit and find some magic traps and secret doors and discover where the old thieves guild was. They find it dusty and empty of everything except a few stray gold coins and signs of a struggle, perhaps as if someone or some group broke in and took the guild by surprise. Further searching yields a silver necklace with an odd pendant, bloodied leather bracers with the thieves guild insignia and a blood stained dagger with an insignia like what a number of the official buildings have, probably the symbol of the city or something they don't really know yet.

 They explore the sewer more after hearing voices echoing through the passageways. its a familiar bandit and some upset kobolds. 

for some reason the group tries to negotiate and intimidate their way through the situation rather than initiate combat. I let them try of course and they succeed in convincing the kobolds to leave and not help the bandit. They capture the bandit however after a tense chase only for him to escape because turns out he’s a magic user. Combat starts and he does some pretty serious damage, though the group wasnt in too much danger really- they are on such good terms with the kobolds they would have stepped in, but they capture him YET AGAIN and take him to the city jail. 

they find the streets are lit with magical lamp posts and are very suspicious for some reason. Like SUPER suspicious. But really honestly it was just street lamps. I can kinda see why they were suspicious they that sewer was pretty brutal to them I guess.

the group gets weird vibes from the staff at the prison, but every thing seems to be by the book and normal as far as they can tell so they just ignore it for now but are keeping it in mind.

they go head to an inn to end the night. 

[trpg-dingusmaster]

the guy with an INT score of 7 tries to tinker and start a child labor revolution

So, Huntsman Josiah Hugo and friends? Were at the cabin he and… Jamie? Live in when everyone realizes this is probably the best safe house for the group- so far only the cabbie knows its location, but it’s too small. So construction must be done. Supplies are gathered over the course of a few days and we begin building a workshop. Extra bedrooms or a kitchen upgrade is what everyone else wanted but i knew that everyone wants to also do a lot of potentially dangerous or at least delicate crafting. And Hugo just really wanted one and as one of the only ones able to build stuff like this no one argued much. The one handed girl who has requested that Hugo make her a new hand, if possible one with a hidden compartment or weapon. Without a workshop I doubt even as a professional woodworker he with his Int of 7 could do that. Even with the shop it was difficult and some pieces were broken now and then in the work but it did get done… it’s not great but it more or less does what it’s supposed to. Vaguely able to grip and there is a hidden blade in it though the spring mechanism is probably wood and not exactly reliable for long term use.

I kept asking the dm during the planing and various checks- this is a great idea but are you sure I can do this? Like? Hugo isn’t exactly… smart. He knows wood I guess but? im guessing that’s all? So I guess based on what I observed this means the difficulty of the check is adjusted based on whether or not you can argue the check falls within your skills in general rather than modifying your roll with with skill and proficiency points, I’m not sure if stat mods are calculated into the roll but don’t think they are either. So, about 6 days went by and the hand and workshop were completed. There were some trips back into town to scavenge for extra supplies, buy some things, sell some things. Pretty uneventful. Jamie went out and hunted for a lot if that time. 

 Day 6 one of the characters, who is learning to be a healer officially and on the side is working to destroy the child labour/slavery racket is approached by a friend and buisness associate. They have the blue prints to a mill, one that the one handed girl in the party used to work in before she escaped, and the security rotation schedule for the rest of the week. They also have a ‘delicate package’ (bomb). These things are left with the would be healer and the one handed girl to do with as they please. Another party member is approached in with the transport route of a carriage full of supplies headed derp into a powerful gangs territory- the same gang we had a poor encounter with on day 1. The informant didn’t want anything but to inconvenience the gang and a cut of the supplies so they said. The group gets back together at the cabin and on the way the cabbie sells the party a box of misc parts, scrap, and old tools that was cluttering up his house. everyone discussed the options and it was decided that. We’d rescue the children at the mill. The likelihood of the enemy following the stolen carriage and the group back to the cabin was too much. There was a third option but I font remember what it was. Hugo and Jamie take positions at high ground in a nearby building stealth killing a couple guards who were there first. The one handed girl has the bomb. The healer hired the cabbie to pretend to be her personal chauffeur/body guard as she pretends to be a potential buyer for the mills product and services. It goes reasonably well. Once the bomb goes off dropping a chunk of the ceiling onto some of the machinery in the work room the jig is up and combat begins. Even this goes reasonably well, until suddenly the dwarf falls for no reason anyone on the ground can see. Was it another gtoup of guards over seeing the mill from another building? 

No. It was an unfamiliar hooded figure, so not the same as the previous suspicious characher, that only Hugo saw. Jamie went down to join melee and Hugo stayed to keep up ranged combat and watch for the arrival of any reinforcements. However when the cabbie Bruce suddenly got up and started wildly swinging his axes at anything within reach Hugo thought it best to head down. During the chaos of the berserk dwarf the healer and the one handed girl pilfered some bodies and checked around for the keys needed to set free some of the children and gave them the keys to free the rest. These two did take some damage from Bruce. Jamie and Hugo were not much help in that situation but the healers friend showed up in time to help knock him out and free the rest of the children who made short work of their captors. The friend dropped came by with a card and some back up and said we had only so much time before the property was getting leveled. Just enough time for both our group and the healers friends to loot though the friend got first run. The children ran off armed and angry. We assume this will end badly but arguable only for whoever sent those children to the mill, we hope. We plan to deal with that later maybe. 

 As Hugo loads Bruce and the spoils of victory into Bruces carriage we assume the police are on their way but what arrives instead are the real owners of the mill, the same gang from day 1. While there are three or four total it seems this one is the most wide spread. The healers friend says time is running out and they leave as flames bread out all over the mill and an explosion is head from tge other side of tge building. we stay to kill off the arriving gang members because… why not go the extra mile? When we kill them we find a blood stained deed to the land covering the mill and the building next to it. It’s pretty substantial lot for the party but hopefully not so much to its former owners. The witnesses who know we were there are the healers friends, Bruce if he remembers any of it, the now wild children, and the hooded figure. The healer examines what Bruce was attacked with and recognized what it was and possibly where it came from but was unable to fully identify it and what was needed to cure it. While the rest of the group took everything back to the Bruces shop because they aren’t great at driving a carriage, the healer went off to do research and came back with the cure later that night. When Bruce recovered we explained what happened. 

Evidence suggests the attack was about Bruce and not the mill. Huntsman Josiah Hugo has 45/90 lbs fine coal remaining. If I remember correctly. I don’t have his sheet on me today. Typed this up on mobile I'll edit more of the spelling and grammar later. The noble, his body guard, and the ruffian were not at this session.

[literatureguide-blog]

Find author biography, summary of novels, play, and poem, character sketch, themes of books and many more.

Comple study guide for English literature

[geekedforgreeks]

Ajax

By Sophocles. 

Estimated to have been written between 450-430 BC.  Regarded as the earliest of Sophocles' surviving works. 

8 characters (6M 2W), plus a chorus and a few mute persons. 

The play takes place in the midst of the Trojan War, after the death of Achilles... Sort of a deleted scene from The Iliad.  

The Backstory: The Greeks basically had to decide, between Odysseus and Ajax, who was going to get Achilles' hand-me-downs.  Agamemnon & co. chose Odysseus, and Ajax, feeling slighted, decided he would express his displeasure by killing everyone.  As one does.  The Goddess Athena intervened and gave Ajax hallucinations so that when he thought he was killing the Greek leaders, he was actually killing a bunch of livestock.  

The action of the play begins just as Ajax is near the end of his frenzy. Odysseus is sniffing around Ajax's tent when Athena speaks to him, showing off her powers and revealing her part in Ajax's madness (basically being scary as hell).  Odysseus is spreading the story around the army, as we learn from the Chorus of Salaminians, who refuse to believe what they think is slander against Ajax.  However, Tecmessa, Ajax's concubine, set the record straight and confirmed the story to Ajax's loyal  leigemen.  

After a retelling of the events from her point of view, Tecmessa reveals Ajax in his tent, surrounded by his slaughtered farmyard foe, overcome with shame and grief.  Upon seeing his men, a wailing Ajax reveals that he expects one of them to put him out of his misery, before deciding that he would actually rather kill Odysseus, Agamemnon, and Menelaus, and then die himself.  Tecmessa pleads with him to not forsake her, his son, and his family, but Ajax is resolved, and demands that upon his death his arms must be given to his son.  Like, his armor and weapons and stuff.  Not his actual arms.  That would be a weird inheritance. 

Anyway, after a brief choral interlude, Ajax emerges from his tent with a change of heart.  He is now resolved to make peace with the gods and obey the Greek leaders, and he wanders off to get cleaned up.  While the chorus is celebrating, a messenger arrives to rain on everyone's parade.  He tells us that Teucer (Ajax's half brother) has arrived and is pissed. Everyone is calling him kin to a maniac who must be put to death [*insert angry mob here*].  The Messenger asks to speak to Ajax, but he has already left.  We then find out that Teucer has forbidden Ajax from leaving his hut until he has spoken with him, and that there is a prophecy floating around that says Teucer must keep Ajax in his tents and stay with him, or else.  The messenger also gives more details as to how Ajax managed to piss off Athena so royally (too proud, go figure).  Upon hearing the prophecy, the members of Ajax's camp come to believe that his change of heart was a feint, and head off to find him before he kills himself. 

At this point, the scene changes (somewhat of a rarity in Greek drama, normally concerned with Unity of Place).  We now find Ajax by the seashore, praying to Zeus and Hermes for a speedy death by his own hand, and calling on the Furies to witness how the Greeks have destroyed him and avenge him.  He has one final "goodbye, cruel world" moment, then falls on his sword (onstage - another rarity).  Tecmessa discovers him, and she and the chorus lament their fallen leader and their own imperiled fates. Teucer arrives at the scene and also bemoans his fate, fearing what will await him when he returns home without Ajax, and sends Tecmessa to retrieve Ajax's son. 

Soon, Menelaus arrives, and demands that Teucer leave his brothers body unburied, in punishment for Ajax's crimes, or else dig a second grave for himself.  Teucer refuses to disrespect the dead, and tells Menelaus where he can shove it in a pretty impressive "you're-not-the-boss-of-me" speech.  Menelaus and Teucer argue, Menelaus leaves, Tecmessa and Eurysaces (her son with Ajax) return, and Teucer goes to dig the grave.  He soon returns, however, followed by Agamemnon, and then Odysseus.  Teucer speaks to his brothers brave and noble deeds in battle, and defends the honor of his house (which Agamemnon has insulted) against house Atreus, and threatens to give battle the Agamemnon and Menelaus should they continue to deny Ajax a proper burial.  

The Chorus Leader looks to Odysseus to reconcile the men, who comes through and reasons with Agamemnon to allow the burial (even though Agamemnon argues with impressive petulance).  Odysseus here is painted wise, just, and noble, and offers friendship to Teucer.  The men part on good terms, and Teucer sets about preparing the funeral rites. 

Major Themes:  

Pride.  Throughout the play, Ajax speaks proudly.  The leader of the chorus chides him; "Speak no proud words.  Seest thou not to what woe thou art sunk?" and the introduction claims it is Ajax's excessive pride, in addition to his intention to commit violent acts, that prompts Athena to afflict him with his frenzy in the first place, which is confirmed in the Messenger's speech.  Later in the play, we also see displays of pride by Teucer, Menelaus, and Agamenon as well.  Odysseus stands as the voice of reason at the play's conclusion.  

Fate.  Once Athena reveals the extent of her power, Odysseus is quick to recognize that men are powerless against the will of the gods.  Teucer also comes to such a conclusion, illustrating how he believes the gods orchestrated the mutual doom of Hector and Ajax.

Moments of Interest

The Scene Change.  The action of the play moves from Ajax's tent to the seaside.  From my understanding, the Greeks generally set their plays in one location, upholding the unity of place.  

Ajax's Death.  Occurs onstage! Usually in Greek dramas, acts of violence and character deaths occur offstage - the bodies to be revealed later, wheeled out on a special cart called the eccyclema.  According to the script, Ajax's corpse is partially obscured by the scenery (brush, shrubs, etc), but the occurrence of an onstage death is still notable.  

Notable Productions/Adaptations

Ajax: 100% Fun - a 2006 Culture Project production, which incorporated contemporary texts into the drama to expand upon the themes of social roles, especially the concept of Allies vs. Enemies.  The added texts included press releases from Saudi prisons, clips from Jarhead, Kurt Cobain's suicide note, and scenes adapted from transcripts of real interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. (x)

Our Ajax: a 2013 adaptation by Timberlake Wertenbaker, which gives the play a contemporary military setting with references to modern warfare and conflicts. (x)