aquinasprime

hm didn't intend it to be this long since the last post, but! so it goes sometimes.

I think that this gets to more interesting and exciting things as it goes on, but I'm biased. xD (tl;dr: the last bit of this post is about sign-ups opening for hafnia's new D&D campaign and I'm hype and want more people to join if they're interested in D&D!)

1.
Heat domes suck and I spent most of the heat dome period with migraines and thus quite out of it.

2.
My birthday was earlier this month! My twin happened to be nearby because he was visiting a friend of his, and once he was reminded that this visit was a week before our birthday he extended his stay so that we could meet up on our birthday. (He's still on his visit, actually, because he's enjoying hanging out with that group of people so much and doesn't have any need to return to the west coast where he usually is.)

It's been a year since we were last in the same place, and it was good to see him again. Went to a natural history museum, got food, saw mutual friends. A nice day trip for me.

3.
taggle happened! I created 16 things for it, which I'll link after creator reveals. Overall a good creative time, if not the best timing for me personally. Looking forward to next year.

4.
Readercon also happened! I was only out there on Saturday, but it's always a good time and nice to see friends.

( chatter about panels under the cut! )

I also picked up some anti-AI pins from the Clarkesworld booth, since they were handing them out for free, and gave one to my friend who was also there and managed to look at all the vendor tables except that one. xD It was very important to me that they have one because I sometimes feel like half of their job is trying to tell people why using AI in academic contexts is foolish.

Also fun: As I was leaving, being spotted by someone who recognised where my shirt was from (Friends at the Table, c/W mecha shirt) and chatted with me about FatT a bit in delight at seeing another fan.

5.
I had my hysterectomy yesterday! Yay! It's done! It's gone! The doctors were all very impressed that I could remember and say "I'm getting a complete hysterectomy with bilateral salpingectomy, preserving the ovaries" without any prompting every time they asked me (which five or six different people did) what procedure I was there for. One asked me if I was in a medical field and I was like "no I just got told this and remembered it", a feat that I do not find impressive but apparently is.

Honestly in a lot of ways the hardest part was just. Not eating beforehand. I got to the hospital at 11:15am and hadn't eaten since dinner at like 7:30pm the night before. Which, as things go, is not a huge problem at all.

Everyone was very nice! I felt very well-taken-care-of in the hospital! And by my friend who brought me home while I was like "look the worst symptoms of waking up after this feel more like migraine than like anything else" and considering that they were banished by "lie down in a dark room for a couple hours", that vibe seemed quite accurate. I've yet to need pain meds beyond ibuprofen/tylenol, though they did give me some oxycodone just in case.

My cat is very happy that I'm at home for her to snuggle on, too. <3

6.
hafnia and I have scheduled BESTIE HANGOUTS VISIT, finally, and so in just over a month I'll be flying out to visit her. <3 Beach! Attempting to befriend cats! Actually playing ttrpgs we've been meaning to play for at least a year! Other good and important things!

7.
hafnia is also starting up a new D&D campaign! It is open for new people to sign up for and join!

I'm delighted by this, because I've vastly enjoyed the last one she ran (it's more or less how we became besties, so, y'know) and it's super exciting that this one is gonna be getting off the ground—I've been hyped for it for like two years, since she first started talking about what would come next.

If you've ever been interested in giving D&D a shot, I highly recommend hafnia as a GM. She's deeply invested in helping new players learn the game and answering any questions you might have, and in making sure you're set up to have a good time while playing.

If you're uncertain about playing or feel like you might not be around enough to commit to a campaign, please don't worry about it! This is a campaign set up as a series of interlinked one-shots and people are expected to play in one game every few months, and not always with the same group of other players (though people whose free time often lines up will generally see more of each other). (There's also text chat and text RP for those who find that fun, but it's not required!)

This campaign uses the Eberron campaign setting as a starting point, so it's fantasy magitech in a city that I always find reminds me of San Fransisco (look, if you're like "we have a limited bit of land next to water and are building up, though with magic support for going higher than otherwise" I'm gonna think of SF...), wherein society at large is figuring out how to rebuild and what they want to be now that a hundred-year-war has ended. The setting contains robots, airships, magical trains, and Houses blessed with magic tattoos that help them try to gain a monopoly on specific kinds of business.

The campaign will start at 1st level and if you're consistent with playing has the chance to take characters to level 20. All characters are part of a detective agency working as private investigators, and the themes of the game include a lot of mystery and noir vibes.

hafnia runs games entirely over discord voice chat using theater of the mind. e.g., we aren't using battle mats, you don't need to show anyone your face, and if you aren't sure about if you can do something you can ask and get an answer.

The vibes are heavier on story than on combat, and the narrative will be shaped by player actions. What we do has an effect on the story. What we're interested will show up more. Any NPC we decide we like will be brought to the forefront whether or not the GM understands our choices, because the point is for all of us to have fun and enjoy this story that we're telling together.

If you're new to D&D (and/or Eberron), hafnia and the other experienced players will happily help you understand all the mechanics and what bits of lore actually matter. If you have questions, please ask!

If you want to sign up, here's the google form!