#birdypersonal

[birdylion]

I HATE that I get tumblr live now. I don't want it. It annoys me so much. It annoys me that it is there at all, that it's so upfront, it annoys me that I can't turn it off permanently, that I can't block the people I see here without clicking on their stream (if I can even block them, I haven't tried because no way I'm clicking on any of this), it annoys me that I can't click "this stream is not for me" or anything that would make this go away. What about this lauded customisation of tumblr. Tumblr is doing my customisation for me and I hate it.

Edit: here's an explanation about making the thumbnails disappear with ublock origin. Turns out removing the intrusive visuals was all I needed to be chill with tumblr live. I don't use it, but it doesn't bother me because I've made it invisible.

#vent #tumblr #tumblr live #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

Today I'm DMing for the first time in, oh, about 10 years. We're playing a oneshot of Rivers of London ttrpg with a bunch of friends (as well as eating raclette and celebrating the new year). In a burst of over-ambitious creativity, I decided to write my own adventure instead of using the intro one from the book. Let's see how that goes. I'm a bit excited, a bit nervous, and mostly looking forward to spending a good time with my friends. Also I do think that the case is quite interesting.

#birdypersonal #rivers of london #rol ttrpg #ttrpg

[birdylion]

One of the reasons I like the present day James/Miranda relationship in Black Sails so much is that it's a straight-looking, but at its core queer relationship. It didn't start out as one, initially, but became queer as soon as Thomas was involved, and stayed that way ever since.

#black sails #miranda barlow #I can't articulate it better than that right now #But it gives me feelings #birdypersonal #james mcgraw

[birdylion]

#the glorious 25th of may #lilac #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

Black Sails is so well written, it never stops to amaze me. There's this scene early in the first season when Flint takes Billy Bones to Richard Guthrie, the visit in which Flint tells him the story about a Spaniard named Vasquez, and the Urca de Lima ... this visit.

And when things get tense, the British Navy comes in and starts questioning Guthrie about the rumors that he deals with pirates. You know, while two pirates are sitting there.

You can see how close to losing it Flint is, and on a first watch you'd think it's just because of the threatening situation.

But on a rewatch, knowing Flint's background, 'know no shame', 'this ends when I grant them MY forgiveness', ... on a rewatch, you hear the officer talk about how we need shame to hold civilisations together, and you know how those words must hit Flint. And damn that leaves an impression.

#black sails #birdypersonal #james mcgraw

[birdylion]

In the very first scene of Sense8, with Angelica, Jonas and Whispers, in which Angelica birthes the cluster and kills herself, why didn't she shoot him instead?

I'm guessing it's because he is guarded by heavily armed people, and the risk of missing the shot and being captured is too high, especially with the kind of gun she has vs they have, and then the cluster she just birthed would be in immediate danger. Perhaps, she was too tired of all of it.

But still, seeing him stride in in front, during which he was quite exposed, made me wonder.

Which brings me to an AU idea: what if Angelica had killed Whispers there and then?

the armed guards would have shot (killed or injured) Angelica

there are other BPO collaborators, but none of them as successful as Whispers, so maybe there would be more internal power struggles?

Jonas could still inform the new cluster about the BPO danger

They'd have fewer immediate reasons to come together like they did, so it would be a much slower story

On the other hand, they might get more opportunities to meet other sensates, not being as much in BPO's focus?

Others would probably still distrust them, being children of Angelica, but again perhaps not as much as they do otherwise

What else?

#sense8 #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

every year in mid to late april I'm suddenly, violently reminded of the glorious 25th of may, when the lilacs start to bloom from one day to the other

And each year I see them and remember, and I feel the need to wear one, that sudden yearning and pain, until I remember that the glorious 25th of may isn't for another month yet

It does mean though that I can imagine quite well how Vimes feels on the day when he notices the lilacs and remembers that it's time to wear it

#discworld #the glorious 25th of may #I bought an enamel lilac pin a few years ago so that I'm able to wear it for the day #And each year I almost forget where I put it #So I get to have the experience 'oh it's time' twice #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

I was listening to Cemetery Boys and I've got to say, I really like the thesis that being true to yourself no matter what others think is important, but that being accepted by your community is cathartic and gives you strength.

#cemetery boys #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

Peter Grant talking about Kimberley Reynolds: my contact in the FBI

Kimberley Reynolds talking about Peter Grant: my friend Peter from England

Is that

a cultural thing of US American vs English (I'm part of neither culture and can't tell)

due to different imaginary audiences (to whom are they telling their stories)

a disconnect in how close they view their relationship

something else?

I honestly can't tell and would appreciate some discussion.

#rivers of london #winter's gifts #kimberley reynolds #peter grant #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

I love Frodo's poem about Gandalf! It's beautiful.

Also, I quite like the contrast between Frodo's and Sam's take on the poem, in technical terms. Frodo follows an ABAB rhyming pattern, Sam AABB. Of course, Frodo has had more time to refine the poem and Sam does it on the spot, so it's not necessarily an expression of their education. I'd say Sam does great, spontaneous poetry is never easy. But the difference was a nice touch.

#lotr #lotr newsletter #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

Half the posts that turn up when you search tumblr for "quadball" are from people who say that they have never played the sport and take great delight in mocking it for its recent change from "quidditch" to "quadball", most of them saying something along the lines of "it doesn't matter if they change the name, the sport was still originally invented by JKR and she's bad and therefor nobody should play it".

It's such an obvious example of what happens 1. when people who don't know anything about a topic still have strong opinions on it, and 2. when people care more about being "on the right side" of things than actually looking into the thing.

Quadball is (with Ultimate Frisbee I think) one of the very few team sports that allows trans players to play as their stated gender, no questions asked. It allows nonbinary players to play as nonbinary. It is a mixed gender, explicitly gender inclusive sport that tries to write its rules in such a way that this works in practice, not just in theory.

So. If you care about trans people more than about being on the right side, then quadball, as it exists in our world, is a good sport, no matter its origins. If you just want something to hate, then by all means, throw one of the two or maybe three sports that are radically inclusive under the bus. But don't think you're doing anyone any favours except your own feeling of self-righteousness.

Quadball was the only sport available to me where I could play as male before I went through the (long and arduous) official procedures. All the teams I know try their best to be welcoming to and safe for trans (including nonbinary) players. In times when just existing in public was a fight, my team had my back and was one of the few spaces where I could just exist as myself, no questions asked, no need to prove my gender to anyone. This is what the people involved in it are doing with it. Either listen to us or shut up.

#birdypersonal #quadball #also it's an interesting sport from a technical and tactical point of view #super chaotic from the outside because there's so much happening at any given moment #I love it #it gives my brain something to do while I exert my body #but that's a different conversation :) #trans #fuck jkr

[birdylion]

tried a dating app for getting laid, was annoyed by it within days, saw the 3rd (distant) colleague from work in like 2 weeks, this time one I really don't like and who reminded me that there are some very judgy people on there and I can't control who sees me, and deleted the app again, 1. because I didn't want to subjugate myself to my mean colleague's judgement, but also 2. I realised that actually I want to meet people the good old-fashioned way, i.e. being brought together by circumstance, being bound together for a world-saving trek through hostile consitions, working together to prevent the end of the world, and slowly realising along the way that yes, this is someone you can rely on, someone who's one of the best people you know, someone who brings out the best in you and vice versa, someone you want to stay with even when your journey of saving the world ends

and you can't get that from a profile pic and 5 listed interests that are always the same 5 things anyway, at least around here

#birdypersonal

[birdylion]

Mit den Statuswerten aus dem Quiz ließe sich zum Beispiel wizard (Magier*in) spielen. Bei denen hängt die Stärke ihrer Zauber (und damit der Großteil dessen, was sie tun) vom Intelligenzwert ab und 17 (plus Boni, die es durch die gespielte Spezies gibt) ist ein richtig guter Start. Ein bisschen schwierig könnte der Konstitutionswert von unter 10 werden, denn das bedeutet einen Malus auf Konstitutions(rettungs)würfe (z. B. Würfe, um Konzentration bei einigen bestimmten Zaubern aufrechtzuerhalten, oder um Vergiftungen etc. zu widerstehen) und auch verringerte Lebenspunkte, die bei Magier*innen eh schon gering sind.

Alternativ hängt bei Kleriker*innen das meiste von Weisheit ab und die haben mehr Lebenspunkte und können zumindest etwas Rüstung tragen, sodass du mit diesen Werten dann vielleicht nicht ganz so schnell außer Gefecht gesetzt würdest. Druid*innen definieren sich auch am meisten über Weisheit (d.h. wie erfolgreich sie spielmechanisch sind, hat viel, aber natürlich LÄNGST NICHT alles mit einem hohen Wert da zu tun) und da ließen sich wenige Lebenspunkte z. B. durch Tiergestalt kompensieren.

Waldläufer*innen und Mönche profitieren von sowohl einem hohen Weisheits- als auch einem hohen Geschicklichkeitswert. Der Geschicklichkeitswert bestimmt auch (mit) die Rüstungsklasse, d. h. wie einfach der Charakter zu treffen ist.

Kommt ein bisschen darauf an, ob du lieber nur zaubern (Magier*in), zaubern und mit Waffen kämpfen (Kleriker*in, Druid*in), nur mit Waffen oder unbewaffnet (Mönch) kämpfen möchtest, ein Tier werden willst (Druid*in)und eine tierische Begleitung mitnehmen möchtest (Waldläufer*in) (mal vereinfacht).

Wenn du noch mehr Fragen hast, antworte ich auch gern spezifischer :D

Nachtrag: Ich hatte mal wieder vergessen, dass die Klasse artificer existiert (erfindet und bastelt mit Magie). Die definiert sich auch erstmal über den Intelligenzwert. Im Gegensatz zum wizard kann die Klasse aber Rüstung und Schilde tragen, was hilfreich ist! und ist außerdem "geübt" in Konstitutionsrettungswürfen, was hilft, einen niedrigen Konstitutionswert auszugleichen. Das könnte also auch ganz gut zu den Werten aus dem Quiz passen!

Omg wie cool ist das, danke! Ich glaube davon klingt Druide am meisten nach etwas, mit dem ich mich persönlich identifizieren würde (Zaubern und mit Waffen und Tiergestalt! und halt sicher auch naturverbunden, so vom Fluff her). Entsprechend klingt auch Waldläufer gut, Aragorn als Streicher war schließlich einer meiner Kindheitshelden, aber in Systemen mit Magie mag ich eigentlich fast immer Magie ganz gerne. Trotzdem, tierischer Begleiter klingt auch gut (habe ich ja irl auch xD) und in einer Fantasywelt hätte ich bestimmt auch eine höhere Dex, ich bin nicht so fit wie ich sein könnte wenn ich keinen Bürojob hätte, aber habe ne ganz gute Koordination. Artificer finde ich in Spielsystemen immer interessant, aber passt wahrscheinlich nicht sooo gut zu mir.

Gehen wir mal von Druide aus, was für eine Spezies würdest du mir empfehlen? :D Und bei einem Waldläufer?

#ask #thelightinthesky #dnd #ttrpg #Ich könnte mich echt mal etwas mehr mit dem System beschäftigen so sehr wie es Teil des allgemeinen RPG-Bewusstseins ist #birdypersonal

[birdylion]

We had a most wonderful day of snow and sunlight so of course I went outside.

It was so beautiful that it literally took my breath and I had to stop several times and just stand there and take in the beauty in front of me.

Much to the dismay of my dog, who didn't understand why we couldn't go on, so he just stood there staring at me, waiting for me to go on. He loved the snow though - apparently, everything smells better with snow, so he was very excited to sniff everything (I checked constantly that he was still in contact with me, especially when I let him off leash, so that he wouldn't go follow any trails). The close-up picture of him is right after he rubbed his snout through the snow.

#birdypersonal #landscape #winter

[birdylion]

So how is the ME:Andromeda continuation going, now that the post is out of queue? xD

uh, er ... I haven't started yet, but I have written a bunch about it.

Here's the fanfic that I wrote for Worldbuilding Exchange, in which I lay some groundwork for the worldbuilding in my actual fic idea: To Serve The Sacred

Here's a post about the initial idea

Here's a post about the pairing that's probably going to be the B plot

Here's a post about the team configuration for Sara (not Pathfinder) Ryder

#mass effect andromeda #mea continuation #birdypersonal #ask #fanfiction

[birdylion]

I have finished uploading and sorting my fanfiction on my neocities page. It's still not tidy, but it's functional!

What I like about this way of making a backup archive of my fic is that I can take a look at my stories and think about common threads that hold them together, and that's how I get my categories.

#fanfiction #neocities #birdypersonal