Release the Snacken

Dawn, Capital Q Queer, 30-'bouts, She/They I can legally call myself a game dev now. Generally just trying to put a finger on the "Positive" side of the scales icon by @flamingopuuuunch (show them some love, they rock)

[captain-price-returns]

BRUH????

[dubiousculturalartifact]

The new Odyssey adaptation has inevitably gotten people talking about a Muppet version of it, and they’re frequently suggesting Kermit as Odysseus, Miss Piggy as Penelope.

I’m sorry but that’s thinking way too small, hear me out:

We need to have Miss Piggy as Odysseus, and Kermit as Penelope.

Think about it… who’s the more fickle, prideful, warlike one in that relationship? Who is absolutely ready to go ham, at a moment’s notice?

It ain’t Kermit

[anyroads]

Miss Piggy tied to the mast while Statler and Waldorf heckle her from the sea

[mindovermuses]

But who is the single human cast member in this tale? Who gets to put in an Oscar-worthy performance alongside the Muppets and what role are they to play?

[muffinflarp69]

There’s no single human, everyone is a Muppet except for one scene. Circe, played by Janice, turns Odysseus’s crew into humans who still behave animalistic and are all played by Academy Award winning actors.

[catgirltoofies]

they should legalize polyamory. everywhere. and im not kidding at all. if someone wants to marry multiple people they should be allowed to. for any reason.

[transfutch]

before anybody tries to say some bullshit about this, extending the definition of marriage to include multiple people would give members of religions forced into abusive polygamy the same rights any divorcing spouse would have without putting them at risk for being charged with bigamy. this would make it easier for people to leave abusive plural marriages.

[endreal]

[demilypyro]

There's a trope in trashy gender bender stories like this that I find fascinating. Womanhood is treated as this naturalizing force... The longer you live as a woman, the more you are a woman at heart, something like that. Someone who's forced to live as a woman actively has to resist getting used to it, or they'll become a woman at heart... We know it doesn't really work like that, because cis people are who they are, and trans men exist. But there is one group that feels more and more comfortable the longer they stay a woman, of course... Trans women. So any time a story pulls this trope out, and a character has to "resist" becoming a woman.... You're already a woman to me, buddy. And if the writer thinks this is how it works, they're probably a woman too.

[demilypyro]

Gotta get it out somehow, I guess. Repression is a bitch.

[circlusion]

The world has irrevocably changed 😃

[whatthefuckjeeves]

The person who told the cops about her abortion was her boyfriend btw. For your safety, do not sleep with or date men who would not defend your rights. There is no "we don't talk politics" or "we just agree to disagree" when his disagreement is your loss of freedom. Stop dating men who would turn you in for a nickel if you hurt their feelings.

[specialagentartemis]

Knightposting does nothing for me but, musing on it, the service/duty-based archetype that really gets me is The Captain.

The Captain is a leader of a smallish group in a bounded environment; spaceship captain is the canonical version to me, here. The Captain has authority, she is undeniably the authority figure in this space and she expects her commands to be obeyed, but that authority is a contract. It comes with the knowledge that she uses that authority for the good of her crew.

The Captain is dutiful: her duty is to her mission second, and her crew first. Everything else, including her own personal feelings and desires, comes third. The Captain takes her duty as commander seriously and has a strong sense of responsibility. She is responsible for what happens to each one of her crew, responsible for their lives and safety, responsible for their failures and deaths. And she takes the weight of that responsibility seriously too.

The Captain is fair: her expectations may be high but she isn’t capricious. She does not ask her crew to do anything she wouldn’t do herself, and in the case of a crisis The Captain is ready to go down with her ship, making sure that everyone else gets out first.

The Captain isn’t so much a fantasy to be, more the fantasy of serving under. The Captain is the fantasy of having a boss who would die for you, rather than your real life boss who would probably sell you to Satan for one corn chip.

[dare-to-dm]

Scheduling Your Game

I'm seeing some notes on my DM Superpowers poll saying essentially "All of these abilities are available through mundane means, but actually being able to play without scheduling issues requires magic!"

Honestly, I put that option in as a joke because I know how often people complain about it. But it's literally not magic it's just coordination to make it happen.

Anyway, here is my advice for getting to regularly play D&D (or the TTRPG of your choice):

Find people who want to play regularly.

Pick a reoccurring day. For my main group, it's every Friday. For my secondary group, it's every other Wednesday. This will obviously be a group discussion, but the host has the final word.

Being able to regularly attend games on that day is now a requirement of joining the gaming group. If you cannot regularly attend a game on that day, then you either need to find another group, or accept your status as "special guest star" rather than "regular cast member".

Anyone who needs to miss a game day gives enough notice to be planned around. If advanced notice is not given, attendance is assumed.

Like, it's not easy, but it's not impossible either. I think picking a regularly reoccurring day is essential. If you have to literally agree on a specific date for your next session every single time, than the administrative headache is going to kill your game.

[ladytabletop]

All of this 100% - also, if I might add:

As part of planning a game, set the terms of what constitutes cancellation. Are you still playing if one person is gone? Two? How are you handling the character of a player who is missing?

Set a time, too, and (optionally) loose agenda; I tend to tell people "the session is a tight 90 minutes starting at xyz time. That's the goal. You can show up starting at [insert time] (usually I personally make this time 30 min pre game start, depending on my schedule). Everyone needs to be leaving by [insert time]". I am flexible on time when I can be, but as a person with kids, it's important to me that people know when I expect us to be playing by! I have a limited time in my week for this!

ALTERNATIVE OPTION: I have found that in small groups (4 or less including GM) popcorn scheduling can work really well if you aren't comfortable setting a consistent day for playing. This means you schedule the first 2-4 sessions over a period of time agreed upon (2 weeks? a month?) on dates that work for everyone. When you reach the last scheduled date, repeat.

Main thing for me is to keep in mind that we're adults, stuff happens and ultimately this is a game so if someone needs to skip, okay. Repeated skipping is what kills me. Be respectful of your friends' time!!

[assiraphales]

I kind of miss the impulsivity that certain spaces used to allow. oh you want a hair cut today? hairdresser in the corner can fit you in before her 2 o’clock. tattoo of a cobra… sure leg or arm? even concerts, back when you could go to the box office thirty mins before any show. not saying these things don’t exist at all, but everything feels booked five months in advance and 10x more expensive

[makingtrouble]

It's my cat's birthday (anniversary of me getting him) so I told him the story of his life while petting him real good

Highlights include:

For your first two years (when you were small) you lived in a foster home with people who raised you into a very polite young man. Two is like you plus me, that's what two is.

Some people adopted you before me and they called you Timmy (which is a stupid name) and they returned your ass almost immediately because you were so annoying at that age.

Like think about how annoying you are right now at seven years old, but way worse.

I'm better than them though, I don't call you Timmy and I wore earplugs to bed for three years because you love to scream at bedtime. Earplugs are like when I roll over and go back to sleep even when you are yelling so so so loud.

I got you at a time in my life when I was really sick (being sick is like when I'm up late because I'm throwing up and you are a very handsome good boy who sits with me) and they had to put me asleep for a procedure. A procedure is like what happened to you when they put you asleep and took your balls away.

Now you've lived with me for five years. Five is like the number of toe beans on one of your feet. When I clip your nails five is when we're halfway done. But we're hopefully not even halfway done with how long we get to be together. I'm gonna have to figure out new ways to help you count.

[makingtrouble]

Actually I've decided this is a poem

[b0nkcreat]

do you think it'll all be okay?

yeah. even if it won’t i’ve got people to love in the meantime

[hotvampireadjacent]

[shamesonlydaughter]

it doesn’t have to be good it just has to be done

[fiyero3305]

The phrase "They don't want it perfect, they want it Friday" does wonders for my productivity.

[blueindeed]

I tell this story all the time but I'll tell it again! When I taught kindergarten full time, we had a working bee one weekend where we did a bunch of gardening/landscaping in the outdoor area. One of the dads put up a bit of fencing, then stood back and had a look, kind of frowning like he wasn't sure. His wife then came along, and the following conversation ensued:

Wife: GETMO? Husband: (after a moment, with a sigh) Yeah, GETMO. Me: GETMO? Wife and husband, in perfect unison: Good Enough To Move On

Absolutely LIFE CHANGING acronym, friends and enemies.

[ahollowgrave]

Typos in tag rambles don't count btw

[regalbunnicorn]

“Listen kid, red players and blue players have been mortal enemies since the beginning of time”

*camera cuts to a red player and a blue player leashed to each other, making out, touching boobs, etc*

[regalbunnicorn]

*stepping out of FNM covered in hickeys*

“I think Izzet might be too good in Standard right now.”

[regalbunnicorn]

[voidsentprinces]

Bless this man.

[voidsentprinces]

[voidsentprinces]

[nongunktional]

ffxiv is awesome because within the game's community it's widely known that there's an entire datacenter occupied by people with max level characters who don't know how to play the game and also taylor. and there's another entire datacenter occupied by people with max level characters who don't know what the game is about and also kessel

[minovskyy]

ive been doing roulettes on crystal since my criterion static is there. cross datacenter matchmaking is going to destroy these people. im playing paladin, a class i havent bothered to learn the exact rotation of because im not max lvl yet, and getting second on the damage chart in trials as tank. first in dungeons. im seeing mechanics i never knew about. im watching the same people get blasted out the ring four times in a row. mixing crystal and aether players is dumping baby seals into an orca tank. this is an arcane ritual. this is human sacrifice. rivers of roleplayer blood will stream from the altar to get dynamis queue times under 20 years

[thesnacken]

Nah, I think its going to be more of an Ants In A Microwave situation. You cannot shame these people. You can't browbeat them into it. They will not notice. The most obnoxious Ice Cube Efficiency Experts are going to eat their own hands about it all, and there will be naught but elevator music to herald them.