(Just some post-Vecna D&D shenanigans because Hellfire looked so, so serious, and D&D (IMO) is rarely like that.)
Eddie's a brutal DM. He loves putting his players through the ringer, because their victories against him are then so much sweeter. He knows they get frustrated, but they also get a sick satisfaction from the campaigns, so it works out.
Even after Vecna, when Will comes back to Indiana and joins their excommunicated Hellfire sessions, Eddie doesn't change too much. Vexing them is one of his favourite things to do, he's spent hours creating this storyline after all, and he loves watching the party flounder and pull together to succeed.
It all goes to pot when Steve first tries to play. At first, he can't remember any of the races or NPC names (OR the party's names, actually), so instead he gives them all his own nicknames, which Eddie fucking hates, but puts up with because Steve just gives him the 🥺 eyes. 'I'm new at this, Eds, I'm sorry.' And to the surprise of everyone else, it actually works.
(Eddie does not tell them why it works, and why he's immune to everyone else trying that same tactic. He and Steve have been together for a couple of months and are very much enjoying exploring that by themselves for now. Steve's not above taking advantage of Eddie during D&D though, if anything, dating the DM makes him more bold.)
The thing that winds Eddie up the most though? When Steve starts to get it together, figures out what he's doing, and starts joining in with character role play. He's competitive, gets frustrated when he rolls low during combat, but absolutely lords about when he does roll high, echoing his kingly jock past when he gets a rare kill.
It becomes a running joke, Steve only rolls high on dumb shit, never when it's important, so although he can vague his way through some encounters, he has to rely on the rest of the party (Will in particular) to heal him up again. Unlike the others, Steve doesn't have any particular attachment to his character, so he's happy to 'fuck around and find out', and risk getting killed. (He knows Eddie's already got him a new one drawn up...just in case.)
The dumb shit he gets away with cracks the kids up. Steve gets away with so much through poor ignorance and sheer ballsy plays. Everyone finds it hysterical when Steve gets a nat 20 on completely irrelevant rolls, (the worst was when he gained an NPC to adventure alongside them, causing Eddie a complete fucking headache when said NPC was fighting alone against a dozen enemies and Eddie was stuck.narrating and rolling dice against himself for fifteen minutes), but alongside all of this...there's a more horrifying realisation.
Eddie loves it too.
Sure, this particular campaign is easier than any they've done before (purposefully designed so Eddie can catalogue how his newbies play), but it's so much fun. The kids, Steve, Gareth and Jeff all find it entertaining when Eddie bangs his head against the desk in annoyance, pauses the game for a much needed smoke, when he's forced to bring yet another NPC alongside with them, or when Steve crit rolls for dumb shit like how many beers he can down at the local tavern during a short rest.
Eddie's not sure if the kids know that he's grinning like a maniac behind his DM board, or that he's hiding his face because he's laughing and not despairing, but he's sure they'll find out eventually. He keeps up the facade as long as he can though. His boyfriend, kids and his boys are having fun, so he does too.
Eddie starts only putting his foot down for really ridiculous things, enjoying the weird fucking tangents the party starts to take, and rewriting the story on the fly, not even trying to get them back on track. It's a new challenge for him, and it becomes less a game of tactics and more of a combined storytelling. And Eddie loves weaving a good story.
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'So...only one person can go through the portal?' Steve asks.
'Yeah, if you want someone else to try, you're gonna have to come back out first.' Eddie replies, braced for whatever fucking shenanigans he's about to try. Steve's got that face on, which means he's gonna push his luck.
'What about that bag thing, can I put someone in that and go through the portal?' He asks. 'It can hold a person, yeah? I put David Toadie the fifth in there last week.'
That immediately starts the table gossiping, and Eddie sighs, leaning back and waiting for them to all talk themselves out. The fucking bullywugs, he thinks. Steve had called them all David Toadie, because 'bullywug' was apparently too difficult.
'You could put everyone in the bag of holding.' Eddie agrees, once they've calmed down. 'But only one person can go through the portal, regardless of whether they're in the bag or not. Plus there's a time limit before they suffocate to death.'
'What if I turn the rest of us into gas?' Will chips in excitedly. Steve snaps his fingers and points at him, grinning with agreement.
'We're not people if we're gas! And we don't need to breathe!' Dustin yells, 'We can all go through!'
'They all start chanting 'IN THE BAG, IN THE BAG, IN THE BAG', while hitting the table, as they turn to Eddie, wide eyed with glee.
He groans theatrically and rubs his hands over his eyes, pressing the heels of his palms into his sockets. Jesus H Christ, these fucking kids. They weren't this disobedient before Harrington, that's for sure.
'Eighteen.' He says, begrudgingly, 'Natural eighteen or above on your D20 and you can shove all your kids in the fucking bag, Harrington. And roll where I can see it.'
Steve makes a big show of getting all the party to touch the die for luck, and rolls.
It's another fucking nineteen. His fifth of the session.
They all look from the die, up at Eddie, sitting at the head of the table. He sighs.
'I'll allow it.' He says, glumly.
The room EXPLODES with cheers. Dustin and Mike are squealing, grabbing onto Steve, and the others are hammering on the table with huge smiles on their faces. Gareth and Lucas are on their feet, twirling around like lunatics, and Eddie just sits there, utterly defeated and trying not to laugh. Steve catches his eye and winks, and Eddie just knows he's getting lucky tonight.
There's nothing but an empty room with a note, on the other side of the portal. It just needed one person to read it and memorize the runes before they came back through. It was supposed to take a minute, if that, but it's been nearly an hour because they're all terrified of what trap Eddie 'might' have set up there.
It's not defeating a dragon, or Vecna, or any other mythical, legendary monster, but already this session is easily in his top 3.
This. This is why he plays.
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Between commissions I finally managed to finish this OC set of parent characters! If the looks aren't enough to show you who their kid is, the background colors match them ^_^ but of course more details below!
Name: Thuban
Name origin: The former pole star, before the north star (Polaris), it's name means "Large snake" and is referred to as the “Dragon's tail”
Pronouns: He/him
Age: N/A
Relation: Raised Polaris, though they're not related by blood and have a somewhat distant relationship, until he suddenly went MIA
Weapon: Spear (Same as Polaris's)
Ethos (Power): N/A
Flaw power is based on: N/A
Notes: Make no phallic jokes about the large snake thing and you'll be rewarded
Name: Ananke
Name origin: A moon of Jupiter, named for the mythological spirit of necessity, inevitably, and compulsion
Pronouns: She/her
Age: -
Relation: Bella's mother, she raised her to be a warrior
Weapon: Bardiche
Ethos (Power): Indomination (The ability to freeze the movement of objects and people, and lock them in place)
Flaw power is based on: Her strict enforcement of obedience through authoritarianism, and a lack of concern for the wishes of others
Notes: She believes in tough love. It's better in the long run to give your kid strength rather than affection.
Name: Rhea
Name origin: A moon of Saturn named after the Titan known as the mother of the gods
Pronouns: She/her
Age: 38
Relation: Saiph's mother, though she gave him up to the guild when he was very young
Weapon: None
Ethos (Power): None
Flaw power is based on: N/A
Notes: Was unable to take care of a baby at the time, and gave Saiph to the guild. She wishes she'd visited beyond that but it's probably too late now...
Name: Arche
Name origin: One of Jupiter's moons, it's name comes from the muse of new beginnings and is associated with springtime
Pronouns: He/him
Age: 7
Relation: Saiph's half-brother. Neither currently knows the other exists
Weapon: None
Ethos (Power): None
Flaw power is based on: N/A
Notes: He's just a little guy. He likes flowers and playing with toys. He wants to be a cool hero like his dad
Name: Poerava
Name origin: A star in Tucana, the Maori word for a black pearl of mystical beauty and perfection
Pronouns: She/her
Age: -
Relation: Al's mom. She mostly raised him on her own while her husband was with the knights.
Weapon: None
Ethos (Power): None
Flaw power is based on: N/A
Notes: Probably the best parent of the bunch if we're being real.
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In addition to the previous as of what dad ingo would do about Volo after he betrays Akari. What did he do when she was banished?
he had no idea she was banished at all, what with how he doesn't really interact with jubilife village all that much, until he comes across her somewhere in the wild, curled up in a ball and VERY much in Distress
after calming her down a little bit she tells him what happened and. he is FURIOUS. absolutely furious. the only thing that stops him from marching over to Jubilife right then and there is that Akari's comfort and safety is a higher priority
but you better believe that the moment she's bundled up in sneasler's den, safe and calmed and asleep, he has... some Words, with Kamado.
(which is where this drawing comes in. ALSO THIS THING SOMEONE WROTE)
anyway. yeah. ingo doesn't care about the fact kamado has ordered people to not help akari (banished..). he's technically not even a part of any of the clans they just sorta. took him in, in the pearl clan's case, but nothing official ever occurred. (also adaman insisting out of spite to irida that actually ingo should be with the diamond clan etc lol)
and even if it DID occur. he's a DRAGON he doesn't care what you tell him. no one orders him around. (and if he DOES follow orders it's simply because he chose to.) are you seriously gonna look that dragon man in the face and tell him he can't interact with his kid. and expect him to listen to you at all? yeah. not happening lmao he does what he wants and it's your problem if you've got an issue with that.
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More Bad Batch and Delta Squad shenanigans
Crosshair: Standing next to sunflowers always makes me feel weak like ‘look at this fucking flower. This flower is taller than I am. This flower is winning and I’m losing.’
Boss: Wow, you are not ready to hear about trees.
Sev: Would you take a bullet for me?
Fixer: ...yes?
*Crosshair angrily bursts into the room*
Sev: *running away* Great, thanks!
Tech: *Pulls a glass a water from out of nowhere*
Boss: Where did you get that?
Tech: My pocket.
Boss: How do you keep a glass of water in your pocket?
Tech: Skills.
Sev: Comparing Tech and Scorch is like comparing apples and oranges.
Tech: We’re both unique in our own ways?
Sev: Apples are superior in every way and all oranges should be eliminated.
Scorch: Which one of us is the orange?
*The squads are asked what they would do with 5 children with only 3 chairs.*
Scorch: Get two more chairs!
Fixer: They can get their own chairs.
Boss: Make them fight for it.
Sev: You only need one chair to beat them all with.
Tech: I would never be near children.
Crosshair: Kill two.
Crosshair: I don’t think we can mansplain, manipulate, or malewife our way out of it this time.
Sev: *cracks knuckles* Manslaughter it is!
Crosshair: Why is it that I always lose things as soon as I need them?
Tech: Actually, it's not that you lose things when you need them. You lose them a while before. It's just that you LOOK for things when you need them.
Boss: Okay yeah thanks Tech, that's great but WHERE'S THE FUCKING FIRST AID KIT?
Hunter: Scorch, you’ve tried 37 times and you’ve failed every time. Give it a break.
Scorch: DO I HEAR “FIRST TRY PART 38?”
Tech: You're violent.
Scorch: Yeah but I'm also short and that's adorable.
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