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monster-bait · 3 years

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Soooo 👀 you got anymore HCs up your sleeve on Rukh? He has been living rent free in my brain for a while now (like a lot of your OCs!)😅🤩😍

Here are some HCs for Rukh, our favorite gruff bartender in the GW universe. (I've already started writing a small one-shot of Rukh's job interview with Tate, because once I started writing these, I couldn't get the idea out of my head! That will be posting to Patreon shortly!)

If you're interested in learning more about any of my existing characters, all ko-fi contributions earn a headcanon! (Higher amounts will be more detailed!)

Previous Rukh headcanons, including the extremely memorable moment of IvyMemnoch finding a Celtic flute version of Despacito (my fav Tumblr moment of the year, by far! 😂) can be found here

RUKH

Had never heard of the tiny resort town where the Pixie is located before responding to the job listing, despite the fact that he lives in neighboring Starling Heights. He’d been working in one of those quick-service garages before then—an embarrassing waste of his skills, but he figured with his prison record, he was lucky to find a job at all. He’d not been planning on leaving his position, was only looking for a part-time gig, but the job post for the Pixie was too intriguing to scroll past—it was written in Orcish, practically unheard in a mixed-species society, catching his eye immediately. Unlike the other half-a-dozen bartender help wanted ads he’d looked at, the Pixie’s post said nothing about requiring an “upbeat personality” or his “smile being part of the dress code,” all descriptors that made him cringe. Punctuality, accountability, and an authoritative presence were the expectations, experience a plus but not required...it was straightforward and direct., it was clearly directed at orcs...he fit the bill, he thought. He considered himself to have a finely-tuned bullshit meter, and the Pixie’s ad didn’t set it off at all

He has since admitted to himself that he has fallen for Tate’s particular brand of bullshit repeatedly over the years

Rukh is a very tightly closed book. He’s definitely the strong silent type and is not at all comfortable talking about himself. (Despite that, he spilled his guts and told Tate his whole life story during his job interview—falling for the bullshit instance #1)

He discovered a love of reading during his incarceration, one he didn’t possess in his younger days. When he moved to Starling Heights, he was low-key delighted to find his apartment was on the same block as the library. He prefers mysteries and crime novels to anything overly literary, doesn’t have the patience for the endless world-building of high fantasy, and enjoys a wide spectrum of non-fiction. It’s become a game of sorts, engaging Ainsley in conversation and being able to not only keep up, but add his own insights and facts.

Another mental game he likes to play is trying to pinpoint Tate’s actual age. He’d never come right out and ask but sometimes Tate will chime into conversations knowing things he just...shouldn’t, or else will make references to things that Rukh can barely remember from his *own* childhood, things he remembers his parents reminiscing over. He’s added some Celtic history books to his rotation and surreptitiously jots down notes on the random head-scratchers Tate will casually drop and follows rabbit holes looking into said notes...as a result, he’s even more spooked by Tate than he was before he started snooping 😂

When Rukh first started at the Pixie, he thought they would fail. He was positive about it. Too small, in the middle of nowhere, an owner who very quickly made enemies with most of the people in town...he was shocked when the old girl's business plan actually fell into place. Shocked and thrilled, of course. He loves having a routine, loves having a reason to get up and feel energized every day, likes the clientele and takes his job of overseeing the “sightseers” during tourist season seriously. Since the bar turns a respectable profit, they're constantly receiving promotional odds and ends, which is how Rukh wound up with a Bourbon of the Month club subscription for a free year. (Tate hissed like a cat and shooed the offending pamphlet away as though it might bite.) He continued the subscription once the free year ended, and looks forward to his monthly ritual—he waits until his night off, puts on some moody jazz, cracks open the month’s bottle, and enjoys it with a cigar. Thessa referred to it as a self-care routine once, after asking him about his plans for the night, and he nearly turned inside out in mortification.

He doesn’t talk about his time in prison, nor the crime he committed to wind up there. Tate is the only one who knows, and Rukh is happy to keep it that way. It’s not that he regrets the act itself all that much—he has no remorse for his brother, but rather the way it fractured their family, upended his life, and had branded him as someone to be wary of since his release.

That being said...things he did pick up during his incarceration—the ability to keep his head down and just get by, the knowledge that sometimes you simply need to kick someone’s ass, and the value of tidiness—are assets at the Pixie.

Loves nothing more than his solitary days at the Pixie during the off-season. The night-time regulars, while they consistently fill the cash till, are still a handful. He loves the quiet of the daytime, the handful of day drinkers, the time to hear himself think without needing to watch over every aspect of the business. Speaking of which—he knows how to do everything in the Pixie. The ordering, the inventory, the budgets, the schedules, the upkeep...he's not entirely sure why, as Tate very much micro-manages every bit of the day-to-day management, but it was something the boy insisted on and Rukh wasn't about to argue. "Someone needs to be able to take care of her if I'm not here anymore," was the only answer he got, and he decided it was easier not to ask questions. Since Silva has been on the scene, Rukh has been left to his own devices more often and it is *bliss.*

He thought he'd left his days of vice behind him. He drank, he smoked, he dabbled in recreational drugs, he worked on souped-up hot rods and bet on drag racing...prison changed all that and his life afterward left little room for any of it...but Tate and Ainsley are terrible terrible influences. Gamblers and hustlers, he has someone to talk cars with again, to trade intel on illegal street racing with, the chance to get his hands just a littttle bit dirty again, and he loves it

Smokey blues, soulful R&B, moody rock

Sloooow dancing

He is *incredibly* protective of Elshona. He’s the first person who meets her once she arrives in her new home, and he recognizes the fear in her eyes. He’s the only one who understands what it means to be cast out of one’s community, he knows what it means to have to start over again. He doesn’t understand the relationship she has with Tate, doesn’t know all of the details of her expulsion and shunning from her clan, but he’s made a quiet promise to himself that she’ll never be left to flounder completely alone again.

Has a FWB relationship with a half-troll woman in his building. Single mom, splits custody with her ex, so has several nights a week free, and she’ll spend one of them in his bed. It’s casual and neither of them is interested in pursuing more, but it’s occasional companionship and scratches an itch.

He's not immune to the plethora of easy sex the commune attracts. There would be hell to pay if the staff acted on anything beyond mild flirtation at the Pixie, but he'd be a liar if he said he hadn't drifted down to the parties and pool-side bar before to check things out. He's been on the receiving end of more than one edge of the party blowjob to know how addictive that sort of access to easy sex could be; he sees the commune residents and the reckless way they behave and knows how easy it would be to slip into that lust-crazed mindset, and makes a point of only indulging in visiting that side of the resort occasionally

He much prefers to find his partners the old fashioned way: closer to home, in one of the dimly lit little pubs around his neighborhood. He loves the adrenaline rush of a flirtation turning into close talking and lingering hands, that first heat-filled kiss. He doesn't mind the evening ending back at his or her place, he's not picky, and prefers to savor the night (as opposed to the fast, anonymous sex at the commune parties.) Ladies on top or old-fashioned missionary, any position that lets him see their faces: heads dropped back, faces screwed up in ecstasy, that moment when they come...he'll take that over a blow job in the dark any day of the week

A skill that Tate possesses that Rukh greatly admires and strives to emulate: easy banter which leads to confidences shared. They were talking about cars one minute, and in the next Rukh was revealing the details of the day he killed his brother, the shunning of his clan which followed, and his incarceration. He left that initial interview feeling shaken, positive that he'd been the victim of fae magic...but he's come to realize that there is truth in the old adage of hairstylists and barkeeps being the keepers of the whole town's secrets. Tate knows everything about everyone, is able to tease out information as casually as pouring the next drink, and Rukh has begun to employ the same tactics. He was shocked to find that it actually works. As the years have gone on, he's improved his game and knows much about all of the Pixie's regulars, hears the commune gossip and news from town, and is gleeful with the power of being able to pass on information that the Pixie can use to leverage her business.

There is very little that scares him in this world. Possessions are just things and things can be replaced, he's been in fights with bigger, meaner dudes than the Pixie's roughest patrons, and he's not afraid to meet his maker. He's let go of the past and the people in it and tries to live life one day at a time, and that's not a mindset that lends itself to fear much. Tate is a wholly different story. Rukh knew his type in prison: those who viewed other people as pawns, who traded and secrets gossip to advance their own positions; had a minotaur cellmate who was that sort and he got his ass kicked on the regular for it. He knew a lizardman who was as slippery, who contorted himself in and out of trouble, ingratiating himself with the guards and the inmates of the upper echelons to hold himself out of real hot water...but he's never met anyone with the same capacity for mischief and spite as his current employer, has never met anyone so terrifyingly adept at causing trouble while staying out of it. The boy isn't overly concerned about making enemies or worrying about his own hide and wreaks havoc for havoc's sake, and Rukh might be impressed if he didn't actually care about him. Silva is, in Rukh's opinion, Tate's perfect match. A sweet little angel, an absolute beauty, wide-eyed and innocent looking and, Rukh (rightly) suspects, just as shrewd and self-preserving as Tate. He has a feeling the entire town will be set ablaze if/when their relationship consumes itself, and only hopes it happens on his day off.

I hope you enjoyed this little peek into a character who doesn't get as much page time as some of his peers! If you'd like a headcanon of your own, visit my ko-fi! Thanks so much, IvyMemnoch!

#monsterbait answers #ko-fi #girls weekend #the plundered pixie #rukh #ivymemnoch

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theonyxpath · 5 years

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My Mummy told me we’ve passed 200% funding and have over 1000 backers for the Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition KS, so I’m coming unwrapped over the news!

Or something like that! Sometimes the metaphors flow like cold molasses. Speaking of which, last week was a very sloooow week for pledges, and we had a couple of the bigger ticket reward tiers get dropped in favor of lower ones, so getting to these milestones feels pretty great. Still, we’re looking to keep going for the last week of pledging and hit a bunch more KS stretch goals.

To be fair, one of the bright spots and effective ways we’re getting the word out has been with Actual Plays and interviews – some on our Twitch channel and on other sites as well – and we’ve seen upticks in pledging every time one of those goes live. In fact, you can find links to them below in the Onyx Path Media section of the Blurbs!, as well as on the Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition KS page itself.

That’s what we’re doing to spread word about this new 2nd edition of Mummy: The Curse, yet we still need the help of our mummy cult horde. Please let your friends know, retweet our Mummy tweets, like our Mummy Facebook posts – you never know when one of your actions will be the torch that illuminates Mummy for a whole new section of possible fans!

I thank you, my father thanks you, and my Mummy thanks you, too.

VtR2 Spilled Blood art by Aaron Riley

Here are some other topics we discussed today in our Monday Meeting:

Sometimes we get asked where they can buy a project that shows up on social media. Just in general, if you run across this: every project we make will show up as a PDF and PoD on DTRPG. The only ones that wouldn’t have a PoD are those that can’t, like our Game Screens. PLUS, we are putting more and more projects into retail stores, so if you see a project that was Kickstarted in the last couple of years, you can be pretty sure it will be be in stores, and/or available on the Indie Press Revolution and Studio2 websites.

Speaking of Studio2, we want to point out that they will also be attending PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia in just a little more than two weeks. Since they will be bringing and selling our books and stuff, and will be right next to our Onyx Path booth, we won’t be selling anything there, but we will be gaming in the booth and out in the demo area. We’ll definitely be talking though, with new brochures, and shirts, and we’ll be announcing a couple of projects at the con. Plus, we may have an advance copy of V5 Chicago By Night to show off at our booth!

They Came From Beneath the Sea! art by Larry Blamire

Which leads to this little topic: I’ve mentioned that we have multiple secret projects we’re working on, and let me tell you, the guesses as to what they might be have been absolutely amazing! Almost none are correct, but it has been a delight to read everyone’s ideas. In general, I’m only referring to TTRPG projects that we have control over; anything else usually has too many other folks involved for me to include that kind of project on the list. And really, we have so many cool TTRPG projects coming that we don’t really need to count anything else!

December looks like it’s going to be Trinity Continuum month for our Wednesday on sale offerings! With December being the month that the Trinity Continuum and TC: Aeon core books start going on sale in stores, and the PDFs and PoDs going live on DTRPG, we’ll actually have a couple of items becoming available every week in order to leave the last week open for our monthly Exalted PDF releases.

TC: Aeon RMCs art by Aaron Riley

We’ve had a fantastic response to the Wolfenoot sale and Mighty Matt McElroy will be parsing in more detail how that went next week after the sale ends in a couple of days, I’m sure! Meanwhile, it was super to see how folks responded so far, especially considering that we’ll be helping out some deserving doggos! A bunch of posts in our forums and elsewhere shared what other people in our community did for the holiday, and those were often very inspiring.

And then, right after that sale, DTRPG jumps right into their traditional orgy of sales: their Black Friday and then their Cyber Monday sales! More info on that in the Blurbs! below, but suffice to say that a huge number of our PDFs will have ridiculous sales savings all through those days. I always see these sales as a super opportunity for folks to expand their interests in our game lines. Either by picking up supplements for a line they’re into, or by jumping in on a low-cost way to try a line they might not have been able to try before. A great way to experience our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

Kickstarter!

The Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition Kickstarter is now passed 200% funding and has over 1000 backers with over a week to go. Backers have already unlocked the Mummy 2e Screen as a Stretch Goal, additional Utterances, and a whole new project: the Mummy 2e Companion!

Please check out this blog from the last two weeks for a description of all the amazing features of this new edition!

Be there to witness the majesty and terror of this new version of Mummy: The Curse! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/339646881/mummy-the-curse-2nd-edition

Next Kickstarter: V5 Cults of the Blood Gods!

Onyx Path Media!

This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features the Terrific Trio hitting a new milestone of an entirely off-topic episode, as they throw away their planned topic and instead brainstorm game ideas !

Remember to follow and subscribe to our Twitch channel on https://twitch.tv/theonyxpath to watch actual plays of Vampire: The Masquerade, Pugmire, Hunter: The Vigil, Aberrant, Mage: The Awakening, Scion, and Scarred Lands!

Also coming up this week on Twitch, we have a Behind the Screen special for Scion, a game of Scion being run by devilish developer Neall Raemonn Price, and an interview with the always amazing Eddy Webb on all things Pugmire and Dystopia Rising: Evolution

It really helps us to have subscribers on our Twitch channel, and you can do so for free and catch premieres as they go up if you have an Amazon Prime account. Just type Twitch Amazon Prime into Google and you’ll be shown how to subscribe for free.

We’re not restricted to Twitch, however, as on our YouTube channel we’ve been uploading all the actual plays you might have missed! Seek us out on https://youtube.com/user/theonyxpath

Also, on the Gentleman Gamer YouTube channel, Matthew Dawkins has just commenced his Gentleman’s Guide to Scion, which aims to dive into the setting and system of Scion, as Matthew takes on the in-character persona of one of the eponymous godlings! Here’s his channel: https://youtube.com/user/clackclickbang

Matthew’s been incredibly busy with interviews recently, including a three hour interview with Gehenna Gaming on the subject of many of our games (including Vampire, Mummy, They Came from Beneath the Sea!, and Werewolf) as well as games from other companies not limited to KULT: Divinity Lost and Pathfinder! For a real deep dive into Matthew’s past as a roleplayer and as a producer in this industry, check out the interview here https://twitch.tv/videos/512869972

Plus, Matthew was interviewed for Mage: The Podcast regarding using metanarrative in games such as They Came from Beneath the Sea! and Mage: The Ascension, and their interview can be found right here: https://magethepodcast.com/

Red Moon Roleplaying continue their actual plays of Vampire: The Masquerade with Klara Herbol and Matthew Dawkins, and Mummy: The Curse with Matthew, Bianca Savazzi, and John Burke, and their excellently edited shows can be found on their website right here https://redmoonroleplaying.com

And as if you haven’t had enough of Matthew, he was interviewed by the fine folks over at the Roll the Role Podcast on the subject of Mummy, Vampire, and a whole raft of other games! https://www.twitch.tv/ROLLTHEROLE

Finally, you get a break from Matthew over on the Story Told Podcast as they continue their actual play of Exalted: Dragon-Blooded right here: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/fall-of-jiara-19-dragons-divided

And for a refreshing change of Mummy pace, here’s writer Jason Inczauskis with his excellent 307 RPG Podcast interview: https://307rpg.com/?p=67

Drop Matthew a message via the contact button on matthewdawkins.com if you have actual plays, reviews, or game overviews you want us to profile on the blog!

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And NOW Scion Origin and Scion Hero are available to order!

As always, you can find most of Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

To celebrate the latest Internet holiday, Wolfenoot, DriveThruRPG will have a Pugmire sale from Nov 21th-28th. As part of the celebration, we’ve also given the Canis Minor community their own gift: Now Canis Minor creators can write and sell Pugmire and Mau fiction! Check out the Canis Minor program for details: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/cc/17/canis-minor

AND starting immediately after the Wolfenoot Sale concludes we are then part of DTRPG‘s massive sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday!

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/ https://www.storytellersvault.com/ https://www.drivethrucards.com/ With hundreds of PDFs and a few PoDs discounted through the extended weekend. There will also be some big discounts on select titles for 24 hours on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, we continue our monthly EX3 releases with Siluris, the Hidden Sting and Gleaming Gneiss, Ambitious Sorcerer on DTRPG!

Conventions!

PAX Unplugged: December 6th – 8th, in Philadelphia, PA. We’re going to have lots and lots of gaming for folks to sign up for, a lot of them featuring our game creators! 2020: Midwinter: January 9th – 12th, in Milwaukee, WI.

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Creating in the Realms of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Duke Rollo fiction (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Redlines

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Second Draft

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

Development

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Post-Approval Development

Scion LARP Rules (Scion)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Editing

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Let the Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Geist 2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Mythical Denizens (Creatures of the World Bestiary) (Scion 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad (Scarred Lands)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Post-Editing Development

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

TC: Aeon Ready-Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Vigil Watch (Scarred Lands)

Indexing

ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!

In Art Direction

Contagion Chronicle – Going over sketches.

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Ex3 Lunars – Just need two artists’ pieces in.

TCfBtS!: Heroic Land Dwellers

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Cults of the Blood God (KS) – Final art rolling in.

Chicago Folio – Got cover in this morning.

Mummy 2 (KS) – Going.

City of the Towered Tombs

Let the Streets Run Red – Going over artnotes and dividing stuff up.

CtL Oak Ash and Thorn – Awaiting artnotes.

Scion Mythical Denizens – Going over sketches.

Deviant

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad – Sending out art notes and contracts.

Vigil Watch – Awaiting artnotes.

In Layout

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Wrapping it up this week(?).

Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds

VtR Spilled Blood – Josh is working on it.

Pirates of Pugmire

Proofing

Memento Mori – Awaiting Dev comments.

Dark Eras 2 – Aileen working up the cover.

Trinity Continuum Aeon Jumpstart

M20 Book of the Fallen – Backer PDF errata is with Josh.

At Press

Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs coming.

V5: Chicago – Shipping to the KS fulfillment shippers. Prepping PoD files.

Aeon Aexpansion – PoD proofs coming.

Geist 2e (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition) – At press, waiting for proofs.

Geist 2e Screen – At press, waiting for proofs.

DR:E – At press, waiting for proofs.

DRE Screen – At press, waiting for proofs.

DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties – PoD proof on the way.

Trinity RMCs

Tales of Good Dogs – Backer PDF errata being gathered.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Not today, but this week, is Thanksgiving Day (on Thursday) in the US. For me, this isn’t a historical holiday with all the weight of that, nor a football holiday, it’s not even a food-gorging holiday even though we do have a big dinner with our celebration. For me, and how we celebrate it in my family, this is literally a day of thanks. Of being thankful and grateful for the previous year and all of the people in our lives who made a difference in a good way.

For all of us here at the Onyx Path, that means all of you folks! Thank YOU, for allowing us to do what we love because of your support!

#Onyx Path Publishing

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a-splash-of-stucky · 7 years

Text

Fic Writers’ Week | Day 7 (pt. 3)

Fic-recs!

This is 1 of 3 fic-recs I’ll be doing in honour of today’s theme (bc I can’t narrow down my favourite fics, haha). These recs are some of my fave non-Stucky fics. Includes reader-insert + others.

Note: If you want more recs like this from me, I also have a fic-rec link somewhere on my desktop theme.

FROM TUMBLR

~ BUCKY BARNES ~

Incubus by @after-avenging-hours

If you haven’t read this fic, you’re honestly missing out on some quality Bucky x reader smut. Bonus: the plot in this is fucking phenomenal.

Russian Lovers by @after-avenging-hours

True fact: chapters 8 and 9 of one of my fics (I Know This Game) was loosely based on the ending of this one. That’s how much I loved it y’all -- it inspired me to write.

seven signs by @sanjariti

tbh, i wanted to put down every single one of caro’s fics, bc they’re all amazing, but i managed to restrain myself to just the one (though i highly recommend you read her entire masterlist). This one, for whatever reason, just sticks in my head. Bucky x Reader, featuring some Quality™ prose.

~ BUCKY BARNES / STEVE ROGERS ~

Decades Dance by @marvelous-fvcks

If you like Stucky x reader threesomes -- this fic has you covered. Also features quite a bit of angst, but once you push past that, you’re in Stucky x reader heaven.

CHRIS EVANS / SEBASTIAN STAN

Drinking Games by @emilyevanston

RPF. This is one of my so-called ‘comfort reads’. Sure, the first half is really angsty and I kinda want to bitch slap both Seb and Chris (especially Chris), but then the threesome sex makes everything better. What a plot, this one has.

~ CHRIS EVANS ~

The Boy Next Door by @emilyevanston

Ooooh this one. This is a good one. Chris Evans x reader, in which you get pregnant with his kid. Chris only discovers this 10 years later. Such an enthralling read.

Outnumbered (1) (2) by @avaalons

Dad!Chris Evans x Reader, in which Chris kind-of forgets to do his daddy duties. How does he make it up to you? Well...that’s for you to discover ;) Hint hint: part 2 is really NSFW.

~ SEBASTIAN STAN ~

Co-star by @plumfondler

Featuring Seb x OC -- this one is just...indescribably amazing. Slow, sloooow build, featuring much sexual tension and a mind-blowingly good plot, but when the smut kicks in? You’re gonna need some holy water.

shameless and often by @bookybuns

Cute but also fucking hot Stripper!Seb. Need I say anything else?

FROM AO3

We Are Giants (WIP)

Oh. Oh my heart. A Steve/Bucky/Reader fic from the WW2 era. It’s endearingly sweet....until the angst kicks in.

Evolution

Stucky x Reader, featuring: bomb-ass smut, Steve the bumbling idiot, a hell of a lot of angst, and a pregnancy.

I’m Burning Up

Ok, this one is actually hilarious. Omega!Reader, Alpha!Bucky and an insane heat/rut experience. Like, I actually had to take breaks whilst reading because I was cackling too much.

Pieces Of Us

tw: rape. A Seb x OC fic. My best piece of advice with this one? Persevere. Get through the angst and heartbreak (and unfortunately, there’s quite a lot of angst) because it’ll all be worth it in the end. The ending you want is the ending you’ll get.

#ficwritersweek #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #marvel RPF

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nemossubmarine · 7 years

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GM’s reflections on KoNS

So, my first solo-GM’d campaign, and my first DnD campaign is over. It took 9 months and ranked up to 21 sessions, which is quite a lot. It was definitely definitely far from perfect, but there were things that I liked, and things that I learned. I started putting this piece together around the time the third arc kicked off. It’s mostly comments on what I think I did wrong/did not work and what may have caused these issues, and what I can do differently. There’s a lot of comparisons to the DA game I play in / run, because that is my high standard, that is what I aspire to get to, which is of course not possible, since the system is different and players are different.

Anyway, I know my players follow me here, so a quick note to you, in case you’re planning on reading this (which I do not expect (recommend?) you to do). I just want to say that this is not me saying that any player played wrong, or was a cause of something that I didn’t like. At the end of the day I am the GM and the mistakes that led me being displeased with aspects of the game are my responsibility. These are my reflections on what I expect and want my games to be. It, of course, has to do with players, because there’s no game without players. Mostly players are mentioned in me thinking how I could encourage this and that sort of behavior etc. Anything said here is not meant to be a comment against you as a player or as an individual. I recommend not reading this, if you think you might take it personally. (not that I think there would be anything too upsetting in there, just covering all my bases)

Also if anyone who happens to read this (which I don’t expect anyone to do!), wants to discuss, I’d like to hear whether you agree/disagree/have had similar experiences. GM’ing is a lonely job, and I got more than my fair share of that with this adventure, so I might be too wrapped up in my own stuff to really know if something’s just a common GM-mishap.

The rest is under the cut, because, as usual for me it is long and rambly. As in almost 4k words. It’s more than a small essay, I could return this as a homework assignment, haha.

Maybe I should do some kind of sub-titles, to make this a bit more organized. Alright. Alright.

Session building In general, I am more used to writing story-lines in bulk, because I usually have several months in-between the adventures I run on the DA game. Compared, this was very fast-paced for the most part. I do think running KoNS made me better at improvising on the spot, because there was several sessions I had to run with the barest of outlines.

What I think would have been good to have was a bit more time to set up the world. I built it on the fly, and while I enjoyed the process immensely, I think it left the PCs detached from the world, because they didn’t know if stuff fell in line with the DnD norm or was I planning on something different entirely. I’ll talk a bit more about the fast and loose gamestyle’s effect on the plot in a future segment.

Anyway, one other thing that suffered was map making. I relied some on ready-made maps, but again, I get a mental image of a place, and no map really completely captures that. And it’s not like I made every single place I imagine into a map, because making maps on the computer by yourself is sloooow. I think that’s something I want to rectify for future games, having maps of most locations, so the players have something to look at. That will probably mean having to rely on maps other people made more, which, good, they’re better at it than I am, I should totally do that.

The very first adventure I ran had a thing that I’ve never used again, but I really think should pick back up. Those were short descriptive pieces of new locations I’d written beforehand. I have no trouble describing things off the top of my head, but if I want to go for a certain mood pre-written descriptions really help. So yeah, I definitely think some more attention could have been given to describing things.

I thought I would learn the books while I ran, because that’s how I learned to play/run DA game, but I kinda underestimated the fact that there’s a ton of books, and even when I tried to limit the books I allowed on the table, I still didn’t pick things up as fast as I hoped, which kinda lost me authority as a GM. It was difficult for me to find a comfort zone with the rules of the game in terms of what to throw out and what to keep. Running DA I’m usually very experimental, basically changing stuff every adventure. I never got there with DnD, perhaps because I didn’t have time to stop and think about the rules as the pace of the story was so quick.

There’s one more thing that fits under this section. We had some canceling trouble. Of course games have to be canceled for a lot of reasons, that happens, but by the end, every other (or even more) of the sessions planned were cancelled. It bummed me out, not gonna lie. It kinda pissed me off a lot too. I don’t ever want to be the kind of GM who people are afraid to tell that they can’t come and stuff like that, so I didn’t air it out on the players too much, but yeah. It blows. Trying to arrange six people’s schedules to match with you as the main organizer fucking sucks always, but there was other effects too. It made me feel that no one wanted to play my game, that people were losing interest. It broke the momentum of the plot. It cut off my thinking process; I don’t write everything down, because I like to toy around with ideas in my head that I’m not so sure about, but if there’s a 3 week gap between sessions? I can’t do that.

It was especially bad with the final session, where I had prepared for the final battle very extensively (going as far as to have another person test it with me) only to have the session cancelled last minute and moved 3 weeks. And in that time, school had started, I was knee-deep in exam books and my other game had started, which I was also GM’ing for, I had no time nor desire to spend a lot of time going over the things I had decided three weeks prior, so a lot slipped my mind. So yeah, the finale definitely suffered for that, and that bummed me out more than anything. I’m not blaming any of the people who had to cancel, it was just, super-unfortunate in general.

I think there’s a quick fix to it though: breaking down the story in chunks (similar to our DA adventures) with breaks in between might help, so no one has to be free 21 weeks in a row. Another one is to agree that if only one player is missing (which I think in all cases except handful happened here) and especially if it’s a last-minute cancel to play something. Not main plot (unless all players are fine with it), but a side mission. I’ve understood they’re really common among RP groups, and while I didn’t get why people did that before running KoNS, I definitely get it now; it keeps the people who can attend in their characters, helps to keep the story and feel of the game in mind and most importantly doesn’t make your GM sad.

Combat Haha, battles, oh god damn.

DnD’s battle system always felt too complicated for me, too many variables. I developed an early dislike for it, which I really didn’t actively try to work around, until it came time time to actually design Yadira. There were maybe like 8 battles in the whole of KoNS, bounties non-withstanding, so I wasn’t very prepared to make a boss battle. It doesn’t help that I’m like, do everything on your own, don’t take stuff from books ever, so it was not like I could reskin something relatively similar as her. In the end, I think Yadira worked just fine, mostly thanks to the fact that I got to test run her before actual game.

Next time, well, next time I’m probably not running DnD, but I’ll actually learn the damn craft, I did it for DA, I can do it again. I’ll also want to have a discussion with the players about how much battling the players want to do. But, yeah, I’d want to actually work on that from the beginning, and not let myself get too scared to learn. I’m more of a story GM, but there’s a lot of cool stuff to be done with battles, and I want to keep that craft up.

Plot Considering the fact that when I started the necklaces had like, map-pieces to an ancient weapon or something like that, I’m surprised how well the plot actually came together. There was some stuff that got dropped that could have used more time and probably more than a few inconsistencies, but in the end, I did ok.

Although, I have a real villain problem. I am not very interested in cults or dragons or pure evil tyrants, which leaves me with unfathomable forces that don’t care about your existence. Which, fair enough. They did need some building up. For the most part our heroes were concerned with Sweepers, the pan-dimensional clean-up crew, which I made way too gnarly-looking for their super-neutral outlook, because they didn’t know that the real “villain” was Ishran the sun god and Yadira, the former Raven Queen. I think Ishran-in-Adam and Ishran-outside-Adam needed a lot more building up than the few sesisons they got, although, considering how short the story was, I guess I did ok. But yeah. Next time, I need to work on build-up of villains a bit more.

This might be more relevant to the NPC section, but as I’m mostly going to focus there on NPC-PC relations, I’m going to put it here. I was quite sad about the fact that by the time end game rolled around none of the female characters I had established had really big roles anymore. It had to do with the fact that I had introduced them really early (such as Mairin and Joan) and as they were working with the PCs, they couldn’t have information that could help solve the puzzle, as there was no reason why they wouldn’t have given it out. Now that I know that I hopefully have a bit easier time putting out a balanced end game crew. And maybe in general building NPCs who are relevant in the story throughout.

In general, I think the story might have been a bit too fast-paced and contained way way too many NPCs (or didn’t have a clear focus on only a few, leaving the rest as backdrop). As I said, I’m more used to writing pieces of stories that last about 4 to 7 sessions. In KoNS most plot points lasted only one. Some of my players commented that they liked the fast-pacedness, which is fair enough. I wonder if perhaps I would find it easier if there wasn’t as much changing scenery, or more returning to old scenery?

There were a moment where I think I started coddling the players a bit regarding the plot information. When they didn’t ask for information from an NPC, I just gave it to them, but that just re-enforces them not asking questions, and also, they’ll be much more interested in the answers, when they are the people who actually asked. And I was very hesitant for punishing PCs for lackluster information gathering, and I shouldn’t, because it shouldn’t be me hitting them with a stick, because they didn’t play the way I wanted to, it should be a plot point and a learning moment and natural consequences. Speaking of consequences, wow, those are way harder to set up when you’re writing on the run, and don’t have to wait a year between adventures.

There was one point where I kinda slipped with the plot. I wasn’t aware enough whether it could hold a new player added in the middle. And I don’t think it did. I felt bad for the new PC a lot of the time, because the story simply didn’t bend to give him a chance to get the same stuff the others did, and I struggled to include him naturally and let him have moments as a character. For example, the necklaces; from a quick glance it would make sense to add a fifth player, because there were five necklaces, but there was no good way for me to hand the necklace over, because I needed to get to the third act and I needed to give the necklace to Alexis for that to happen. Compare this to when for example Alf was added to our DA RP. I wrote that adventure, and it was rather easy to slip him in, give him a plot relevant (for that adventure) place and make PCs work with him, and later adopt him into the party. But the difference was that, though there are some themes that carry over from adventure to adventure and some honest to god plotline in our DA RP, a main plot only lasts for the adventure, and there’s not an end goal in mind.

And yeah, maybe that tells that I’m not good enough as a storyteller and as a GM, that I have way too much pride in the story that I don’t allow the characters really to change it (more on this later), but it wasn’t a free-roam campaign, it was a story-campaign, and that’s where the trouble ended and began. I think for future, I will not allow new players to enter once the story is on the move, unless I feel that an addition is necessary for a story reason (we can talk endlessly about how (un)balanced our party was, but that’s not my concern, tbh). And that’s a call I want to reserve an only right to make as the GM. I don’t think it’s unreasonable, I would just need to be upfront about it to players before starting.

(slightly tangential: trying to make/making strict rules as a GM really makes me feel like an asshole. I’ve never had to make that kind of calls in DA RP, except for people using cell phones. I think it’s just a matter of, I know my DA RP group’s playstyle, because we evolved it together, so it is my playstyle as well. Setting rules shouldn’t make me feel like an asshole, because it’s simply clearing up expectations that might be different from player to player? Anyway, I’ll still feel like an ass :P)

Gameplay: PCs, NPCs, Playing and Roleplaying This is a huge topic but a lot of it sorta ties together, so I’m gonna work with this title. I’ll bring up few small points first, and then move on to bigger topics.

I felt I had a lot of problem giving people things to do, moments to shine in based on their class. For example, we had a paladin in our group. I have real trouble wrapping my mind around stuff like evil alignments (see above my discussion about the way I do villains), so spells like “Detect Good and Evil” found little use. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that in DnD class defines you much more than I ever think it did in my DA group. I don’t think Cahair as rogue of the group, and not only because he is one of three, he is defined as the Dalish elf of the group, and his storylines follow accordingly. I never did that to the players based on their class. I think that’s where I really misunderstood DnD.

Speaking of underutilized parts of PC: Animals. I admit, having animals has never really worked seamlessly in any game I’ve played in (Alf has animals in DA RP and Randy has a dog, and we kinda forget them half of the time :D). Ofc it’s player’s responsibility to remember to bring their animal, but I still think I could have given some places to use them. Namely our Paladin’s horse. A lot of stuff happened indoors, most traveling was skipped and when they did travel, it was places where horses really didn’t work. Woops. I did make the ranger’s animal a plot point, maybe 1/3rd of a plot point really. I explained his origins, but it never became really too relevant. More of a time question than anything, I think.

I suck at rewarding my peeps, no ifs no buts. I gave them money, but not really anything to use money on. I threw some magic items at them, bc idk I thought that was what you are supposed to do. I don’t know how much of this has to do with how I play Cahair. I actively work on him having as little money as I possibly can (sharing the extra amount of pay he gets from being an officer with the people he works with, for example), and we are not big on throwing magic items around. Everyone got something after the Nightmare campaign, and even then I didn’t get anything that actually helped, just something that explained in game stuff he could already mechanically do (I did get climbing gloves after the pirate campaign, but that’s about it). That said, I don’t know how much it actually bothered my players, I just know that you’re supposed to fling treasure at your players in DnD, or whatever. I did like the music box Adam gave to Jeff, but like, that was bc there was an actual connection there, so it was kinda meaningful.

Maybe it’s time to talk about connections. There were several NPCs given to me by the players relating to their character. Playing them was always super-stressful, and I think I sometimes read them wrong, started taking them to unexpected direction. Of course throwing players out of the loop about people their characters are supposed to know can be a lot of fun, but if it stops matching the picture players have in their head, well. It’s a thin line to walk on (most notably, Elpidios’ plotline was very stressful, bc I wasn’t sure if it could be resolved).

In my DA game, the PCs are incredibly close. We have a lot of discussion just among those characters, and I, when I GM, try to encourage that to the best of my ability. I never really felt that the PCs here made such a strong connection. There’s several reasons: the fast-paced story that didn’t allow them to stop and get to know each other that closely, the fact that they were sort of thrust together by the plot and they didn’t choose to go on an adventure together and the fact that they were all pretty good guys with similar opinions on things, so no conflict arose.

The lack of conflict among the PCs is a curious thing. It most definitely has to do with the unfocused world-building. In our DA group, we’ve had conflicts over Humbert wanting to put Elspet and Boshara back to the Circle for their own safety. Alf and Cahair bonded over people, both PCs and NPCs, being gross about elves. No such thing existed in my universe. I consciously avoided writing in racism/sexism/homophobia as huge issues in the world, but that left the world devoid of issues. There were the drow and the elven civil war, but it touched really only one of our heroes.

There also, of course, can be personality conflict, and that is an extremely thin line to walk on. I don’t want no asshole chaotic neutrals stealing from the group, or someone bullying the lawful good guy for being, well, good. But some conflicts might have brought people together. That’s definitely a much more touchy subject though, even in our DA group, where I feel frequently displeased that I cannot bring up Cahair’s boyfriend without having a PC who hates him comment on it, or me being worried that since we all tease Humbert, our templar, that the player might feel unwanted.

I definitely definitely do not want to insert conflict where there is none. It should be natural conflict or no conflict. That would have probably come more naturally if our heroes had time to get to know each other and chatter.

Another fact that made me think that I might not have been as encouraging with roleplaying as I want to be, is the PC’s relationships with NPCs. One note on NPCs in general, again, there was way way more of them than necessary, but yeah, relationships. There were some I really enjoyed, namely Adam’s and Jeff’s and Dophina’s and Prince Floyd’s, but again there was not much time to evolve PC-NPC relationships a lot. I did offer chances, which Jeff’s player took a lot in the third act, because the player knows me and my GM’ing style.

There was that first session of the 3rd arc, where I asked PCs to pick someone to talk to. I had done a similar session with the DA crew in Antiva, and it had worked marvelously. In KoNS it didn’t work out as well. I think the biggest problem was that the conversations were different. In the Antiva campaign, each scene we played had an end goal (Humbert wanted to ask Alf for more deciding power in the ship / Boshara wanted to know why Cahair was so upset with her), while a lot of the scenes in the KoNS version were chatting with no particular goal. This leaves a huge pressure of preparation on the player, and I should have been in those cases more attentive in asking the players what they wanted out of the conversations. I’m not saying it was all horrible, but a lot of the conversations kinda sizzled out. There were two conversations that worked out really well. One was between Lir and Lutharin, but that had been a conversation I had wanted to have, to set up Lutharin’s understanding of the differences between surface elves and the drow, I was prepared for the conversation. The other one was between Jeff and Adam, but that was where Jeff’s player had prepared well with what he wanted to discuss (again, he knows me, he was present in Antiva session as well).

I also think it might be unusual and for some a bit awkward, to have a one-on-one conversation between PC and NPC (or two PCs) in front of everyone else. I’ve certainly done those things in secret, because the things I’ve shared with the PC have been plot-relevant. But I think there’s a lot of merit to having non-plot-relevant conversations in front of others. For one, it’s interesting. Second thing, those kind of conversations are gold mines for character development, and if that development happens off-screen for the others, it might be difficult to bring to the table. But maybe that’s just me.

(And I’m not saying I wasn’t awkward playing NPCs at all, mind you. NPCs relating to PCs were always a bit awkward, as were most of the gods, and basically anyone else I hadn’t a clear picture on, which just goes to show I need to limit the number of NPCs)

Anyway, maybe I just didn’t give a clear enough permission to do this sort of thing? I remember feeling very awkward about playing Cahair in the first campaign of our DA game, bc it was a highly emotional story for him, and not for the others, so I felt a little over-the-top at times. And not even a little. But, I told the GM that it might be fun to bring back Harralan, the villain of the first adventure, and Cahair’s first love. Well, she did, on the third adventure, giving my character a chance to have a conversation with him he never got to have in the first adventure. I felt it was a sort of permission for me to roleplay to my heart’s content, and it definitely helped with the awkwardness. I guess we never had a moment like that?

It of course wouldn’t have worked for everyone, and not everyone has to enjoy this kind of stuff. But I enjoy it, and would have liked more. I think Adam’s and Jeff’s third act relationship-growth was really good. I just wished relationships like that were present for everyone throughout the story. Of course, the NPCs kept changing session to session, so that would have been difficult.

Closing thoughts There are a lot of complaining in this piece, because that’s what this piece is about. At the end of the day I still really loved running the game, loved my players and I am proud of the story we build together. I think this is a good place to start working towards better games and better stories. I will take a break from DnD, but when I eventually return to it, I’ll be smarter for having run KoNS.

And that’s it for the most part. I’m gonna go snooze now forever, since I’ve been doing more than enough GM’ing for a while. Except I’m still running an adventure in DA RP, ah well. But yeah, I’m planning on partaking in NaNo, so I don’t have plans on running another long game any time soon.

#nemo roleplays #knights of the night sky #now back to school work #i have v high standards for my game and i will never be happy #do not worry about that

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sentrava · 6 years

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November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows

Heeeeey, November, you’re looking pretty. No actually, you were pretty miserable weather-wise, bringing in a ton of rain, gray and gloom. That’s OK, though, because it meant SVV and I were holed up inside for much of the month, checking off task lists left and right and knocking out both house work and work work.

November saw us home a lot more than usual, and it was nice catching up on some big editing and video projects that have looming deadlines. In fact, we were only at a hotel three nights this month, at a friends’ house in a state park for two nights, then at my mom’s house for two nights over Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve loved the added time at home! Feeling far more zen than I was this time last month.

As we finalize our 2019 work game plan—a lot of career shifts and big changes on the horizon!—here’s how the last month went down in our little corner of the Interwebs:

Highs

I “modeled” in a video ad campaign for Visit Franklin. And when I say “modeled,” I obviously mean that three friends and I drank a lot of cocktails, took a bunch of selfies, did SUP yoga in gale-force winds and sub-40 temps, and had a merry old time while being filmed every step of the way. I’ll post the final version when it’s out, but suffice it to say, we had a blast being trailed by a crew of seven good-looking men with cameras—and a lone hair and makeup artist who put up with our demands. Every girl should be so lucky!

SVV and I went back to Savannah. Four days during the shoulder season when temps are pleasant and crowds are few? Yes, please! Sign up for all the fall trips to Savannah in the future.

I was interviewed by SELF magazine about loving kids but not wanting my own. And Charlotte even got her first magazine shoutout! One thing being around a baby has done is grow my love for babies—I’ve always loved kids but used to not care for them until they were 18 months old, the beginning of the fun age I like to think—but now anytime I see a two- or three-month-old newborn, I’m all “GIMME DAT BABY.” But no, I still don’t want my own, thanks for asking. I will happily hold yours, though.

Speaking of which, my niece is crawling! And actually took her first steps earlier this week—at just 8.5 months old. She’s advanced, that one! But really—where did the time go?

My friend Terry interviewed me for a piece with AFAR magazine and Athleta. Want to know my must-have winter travel accessory? You can read all about it here!

I’ve been working on upping my video game. As we land more and more projects that incorporate video, I want to elevate both my technique and my editing, so I’ve hired my friend Eric Irvin, owner of the Charlotte-based One Eyed Pop, to give me Premiere lessons by Skype, and so far, so good, but it’s a sloooow process (Adobe, why you gotta be so quirky?). Here’s a quick little wakeboarding reel I put together from SVV’s and my last lake day of the year.

My November/December pages for AAA Living are on newsstands. I’ve officially been writing this bimonthly column for a year now, and I truly love getting to research more about every nook and cranny in Tennessee—and work with the awesome magazine team in North Carolina. One day, I’ll go back and retroactively update the past two years of my writing portfolio page (oops … it’s just a very involved process).

We went on a friend getaway to Jamestown. I’ll have a blog post about this magical hidden gem in Tennessee going live next week, but let’s just say that those 48 hours with some of the best people are just what the anxiety doctor ordered to make all my stress melt away!

My cousins came to visit from Memphis. I’m so lucky to have grown up with a girl cousin so close in age—Rebecca and I are just a year apart—and one who is family-centric enough to want to visit us at any chance. She, John and the kids came down the day after Thanksgiving for two nights, and I can’t get enough of their sweet trio. (I used to just say “the girls,” but now that Mason is here—and 2.5 years old, at that—I guess I have to come up with a new way to refer to them!)

I published my annual gift guide! Looking for present ideas for your kid, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend? Check out my ultimate holiday gift list here.

I wrote more about Nashville for Hertz. If you’re coming for a meeting and have some time for a little “bleisure” (God, I hate that term), here’s how I suggest spending a perfect day in Nashville, from business lunches to cocktail time.

I also wrote about Franklin for Mic. Did you see the Best Places to Travel in 2019, including my piece on Franklin? Well, if not, you might be out of luck as the company announced its immediate closing the same day this went live (who knows if the site will stay up or not!). Sigh.

Lows

It’s a tough time to work in the media. On top of Mic shutting down without warning, both Glamour and Seventeen announced they were halting print production, and American Girl magazine folded entirely. It also appears many of the Conde Nast magazines are eventually going to follow suit. I’m just glad that SVV and I started our own agency nearly seven years ago, and that we don’t rely on magazine work to pay our bills anymore!

Our heater went out on the first day of winter. We had no fall; it went from a blistering 85 degrees to a bone-chilling 30 seemingly overnight—and that’s when we found out we had no heat. That was $5,000 I was not prepared to spend! On the flip side, we got a tax refund check for the first time ever—we overpaid significantly in 2017, which is a side effect of being self-employed and paying quarterly estimates—so a chunk of it went straight to home maintenance, instead of my SEP and SVV’s 401K (womp, womp).

That’s about it! December sees us going to Oklahoma City for our last work trip of the year, then heading to Georgia with my parents for four nights in the mountains over Christmas. I’m looking forward to doing nothing but catching up on my reading list and tasting some good local beer!

How did your November shake out?

All of my past monthly highlights can be found here.

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

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lalka-laski · 4 years

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The last time you were in the fridge, what were you looking for? Butter for my cinnamon toast midnight snack :)

Do you like clowns? Uh, that’s a hard nope.

Have you answered all of these questions honestly so far? There have only been two? But yes. I’m always honest here. If I ever encounter a question I don’t feel comfortable answering, I just delete it & move on.

Are you listening to anything at the moment? Nope, just some white noise from my fan

Do you twitch when your falling asleep? SO much. It drives Glenn crazy but it drives me even CRAZIER because it makes it impossible for me to fall asleep again.

Are your dishes in the dishwasher clean or dirty? Clean at the moment. I think?

Are you at home or with friends more often? I’m out with friends a few times a week but that’s plenty for me. Most of my time is spent at work or home though.

When is the last time you were on a bicycle? It’s been too long!

What have you eaten today? Just a cup of Earl Grey & now a cup of decaf coffee

Would you date someone 15 years older than you? Glenn is 12 years older than me & I already think that’s slightly pushing it. Not that our age gap poses too many issues but, ya know.

Do you own a strapless bra? Mhm. Well actually I stole it from my sister but I “own” it now :P

Does the person you like know it? Considering we are obnoxiously obsessed with each other & say “I love you” 12 times an hour, I’d say he knows.

Did anything brighten up your day today? Every client I’ve interacted with has been chipper & cheerful, which is rare for this facility. So I’m having a good day so far!

How are you feeling at this exact moment? See above

Are you someone who worries too often? It’s my middle name

If you could date somebody who would it be? I’m quite happy with the man I’ve got :)

Do you ever wonder how other people see you? I worry too much about that. It’s something I’m doing extensive personal work on, actually...

What is one good thing you’re known for? My kindness/friendliness

How about one bad thing? My spaciness & flakiness

Are you taller than most? Most women, yeah

When was the last time you sang an ENTIRE song? Hm, I’m actually not sure

Are you the type of person who likes to be out or home? I’m kind of a social homebody so both? Depending on the day. But if I really had to choose between the two I’d probably opt to stay at home.

What time do you normally go to bed? Usually no later than 11 on work nights.

What is one thing that is currently bothering you? I’d rather not be at work right now but meh, it is what it is.

What did you do today? It’s only 9:30 am and I’m just at work. This afternoon I’m going to Barnes & Noble with Glenn and then this evening I’m going to my sister’s place & then the bars with our friends.

What was the last thing that you drank? I’m sipping a decaf coffee right now

Is anything annoying you now? Honestly, not really. How rare!

Has anyone ever said i love you to you and not meant it? If they have, I don’t need to know.

Do you realize it when you curse? Not always

When was the last time you showered? I took a bath yesterday so my last actual shower was a couple days ago.

Who did you last talk to in person? Kristen

Do you ever have days where you just don’t do anything? Yeah I have a lazy streak to me. Some days I really just gotta do NOTHING.

Have you ever been extremely tired but refused to go to sleep? Yes, because evening time is my only true “down time” and I want to extend it as long as possible. I always regret it the next morning though.

What is your favorite episode of True Life, if you have one at all? I watched that show from time to time but I can’t say I have a favorite.

Have you ever experienced something paranormal? Oh yes

What’s the longest amount of time you’ve been stuck in traffic? Like standstill traffic? Maybe 30 min?

Best field trip experience? Going to the one room schoolhouse was really fun for me. I loved dressing up in a dress & bonnet (both handmade by my grandma). And my mom was adorably extra and packed me a time-period appropriate lunch in a woven basket. It was so cute!

Have you ever been to New York City? Just once

If so, is it all its cracked up to be? No, although I was young and maybe I’d have a deeper appreciation for it as an adult. But overall, that crammed, busy city life isn’t for me.

What is the most amount of money you’ve spent on a meal before? We spent $80 (including tip) on fucking Chinese takeout the other day. I have much regret lol.

What museums have you visited, if any? Lots. Checking out museums are one of my favorite activiites!

Have you ever had a group project and one of your partners bailed on you? I often insisted on taking over group projects because I refused to let my grade rest in the hands of slackers or idiots.

What’s your worst traveling experience? There was this family trip to Florida that will forever live in infamy...

Sims 1, 2, or 3? Why? I never played any of them. I think I tried to get into it at one point but computer games just aren’t my scene.

Have you ever dealt with noisy neighbors or roommates? How did that go? My current upstairs neighbors apparently have a fucking bowling alley in their apartment. They are THE. WORST. I struggle every day deciding if I should try talking to them or apartment management about the noise level.

Who was (or is) the teacher that gave you the hardest time in school? Teachers never really gave me a hard time. Oh wait, there was this social studies teacher in 8th grade who was a complete prick. I once corrected him when he said that Africa is a country and he chewed me out in front of the whole class. I’m still angry about it!

Best muffin you’ve ever had? Wegmans chocolate chip muffins are ridiculous, man! Ridiculous! Have you ever taken a woodshop class? Nope. That doesn’t interest me in the slightest.

If so, was it required?

How much time do you spend on Facebook, if you have one? Probably too much. I’m trying to distance myself from it a bit.

What area of math are you best at? Worst? All of it. Even very basic addition and subtraction can trip me up. I’ve often wondered if I have the numbers form of dyslexia or something similar.

How do you feel when you meet someone with the same music taste as you? It HYPES me up like nothing else.

What is the strangest thing you’ve ever seen outside of your house? Our current apartment complex gets frequent visits from the local police & fire departments. At least every couple weeks there’s an incident. Usually just a small fire (burnt food, I assume) or something like that.

Do you believe in luck? Why or why not? Kind of. You can’t tell me there aren’t people who seem to have everything fall in their lap.

How often do you “half-ass” things (put little effort in)? Frequently. If there’s a shortcut, I’m taking it.

Do you ever feel self-conscious when you eat around other people? Yeah for sure.

How reliable is your internet connection? My cell service at work is pretty terrible. My wifi at home gives me little issue, though.

Have you ever missed a meeting/event that was required/necessary? Yes

What’s something that makes you incredibly nervous? Life as a whole.

What’s the latest you’ve ever stayed up to finish homework/a project? I was actually good about time management during school. I might be one of the only one of my peers who never pulled an all-nighter. I prioritize my sleep!

If you don’t have glasses, how would you feel if you had to get them?

If you do have glasses, how would you feel if you didn’t need them anymore? I’m looking into contacts actually because I’m sick of my glasses

How many vegetarians do you know? A few, including myself.

Have you ever considered going to art school? Nope

Is there anyone in your life who consistently angers you? Yes but I won’t name names

How quickly can you write an essay? I excel at essays but my process is a sloooow one.

Have you ever had problems falling asleep in class? I’ve never actually slept in class but I have had issues staying alert and engaged. I’m easily fatigued.

Have you ever been on the barrier or front row at a concert? Yeah but not any big names

If you have a job, who is your least favorite coworker/manager? Again, I don’t want to name names

Favorite episode of Spongebob? Pretty patties!!

Do you have any silly/odd emotional connections to anything/anyone? Almost everyone and everything in my life, yeah.

Are your parents supportive of you? Yes

How often do you take the train to go places? Only when I’m in Canada. I wish trains were a more common mode of transportation here.

Do you play with your phone in awkward situations? Constantly

0 notes

sentrava · 6 years

Text

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows

As we finalize our 2019 work game plan—a lot of career shifts and big changes on the horizon!—here’s how the last month went down in our little corner of the Interwebs:

Highs

SVV and I went back to Savannah. Four days during the shoulder season when temps are pleasant and crowds are few? Yes, please! Sign up for all the fall trips to Savannah in the future.

Speaking of which, my niece is crawling! And actually took her first steps earlier this week—at just 8.5 months old. She’s advanced, that one! But really—where did the time go?

My friend Terry interviewed me for a piece with AFAR magazine and Athleta. Want to know my must-have winter travel accessory? You can read all about it here!

My November/December pages for AAA Living are on newsstands. I��ve officially been writing this bimonthly column for a year now, and I truly love getting to research more about every nook and cranny in Tennessee—and work with the awesome magazine team in North Carolina. One day, I’ll go back and retroactively update the past two years of my writing portfolio page (oops … it’s just a very involved process).

I published my annual gift guide! Looking for present ideas for your kid, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend? Check out my ultimate holiday gift list here.

Lows

How did your November shake out?

All of my past monthly highlights can be found here.

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

0 notes

sentrava · 6 years

Text

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows

As we finalize our 2019 work game plan—a lot of career shifts and big changes on the horizon!—here’s how the last month went down in our little corner of the Interwebs:

Highs

SVV and I went back to Savannah. Four days during the shoulder season when temps are pleasant and crowds are few? Yes, please! Sign up for all the fall trips to Savannah in the future.

Speaking of which, my niece is crawling! And actually took her first steps earlier this week—at just 8.5 months old. She’s advanced, that one! But really—where did the time go?

My friend Terry interviewed me for a piece with AFAR magazine and Athleta. Want to know my must-have winter travel accessory? You can read all about it here!

I published my annual gift guide! Looking for present ideas for your kid, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend? Check out my ultimate holiday gift list here.

Lows

How did your November shake out?

All of my past monthly highlights can be found here.

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

0 notes

sentrava · 6 years

Text

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows

November saw us home a lot more than usual, and it was nice catching up on some big editing and video projects that have looming deadlines. In fact, we were only at a hotel three nights this month, at a friends’ house in a state park for two nights, then at my mom��s house for two nights over Thanksgiving weekend. I’ve loved the added time at home! Feeling far more zen than I was this time last month.

As we finalize our 2019 work game plan—a lot of career shifts and big changes on the horizon!—here’s how the last month went down in our little corner of the Interwebs:

Highs

SVV and I went back to Savannah. Four days during the shoulder season when temps are pleasant and crowds are few? Yes, please! Sign up for all the fall trips to Savannah in the future.

Speaking of which, my niece is crawling! And actually took her first steps earlier this week—at just 8.5 months old. She’s advanced, that one! But really—where did the time go?

My friend Terry interviewed me for a piece with AFAR magazine and Athleta. Want to know my must-have winter travel accessory? You can read all about it here!

I published my annual gift guide! Looking for present ideas for your kid, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend? Check out my ultimate holiday gift list here.

Lows

How did your November shake out?

All of my past monthly highlights can be found here.

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

0 notes

sentrava · 6 years

Text

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows

As we finalize our 2019 work game plan—a lot of career shifts and big changes on the horizon!—here’s how the last month went down in our little corner of the Interwebs:

Highs

SVV and I went back to Savannah. Four days during the shoulder season when temps are pleasant and crowds are few? Yes, please! Sign up for all the fall trips to Savannah in the future.

Speaking of which, my niece is crawling! And actually took her first steps earlier this week—at just 8.5 months old. She’s advanced, that one! But really—where did the time go?

My friend Terry interviewed me for a piece with AFAR magazine and Athleta. Want to know my must-have winter travel accessory? You can read all about it here!

I published my annual gift guide! Looking for present ideas for your kid, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend? Check out my ultimate holiday gift list here.

Lows

How did your November shake out?

All of my past monthly highlights can be found here.

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

0 notes

sentrava · 6 years

Text

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows

As we finalize our 2019 work game plan—a lot of career shifts and big changes on the horizon!—here’s how the last month went down in our little corner of the Interwebs:

Highs

SVV and I went back to Savannah. Four days during the shoulder season when temps are pleasant and crowds are few? Yes, please! Sign up for all the fall trips to Savannah in the future.

Speaking of which, my niece is crawling! And actually took her first steps earlier this week—at just 8.5 months old. She’s advanced, that one! But really—where did the time go?

My friend Terry interviewed me for a piece with AFAR magazine and Athleta. Want to know my must-have winter travel accessory? You can read all about it here!

I published my annual gift guide! Looking for present ideas for your kid, husband, wife, sister, brother, friend? Check out my ultimate holiday gift list here.

Lows

How did your November shake out?

All of my past monthly highlights can be found here.

November 2018 Highlights: The High + Lows published first on https://medium.com/@OCEANDREAMCHARTERS

0 notes