So Cute!

Kudos to the DM for playing along with this!

Our party—a bard, a fighter, and a ranger—were on a one-off side quest to deliver a letter to somebody. He wasn’t at his house (learned after breaking in, to the DM’s dismay), so we found out the general area he was in and went there, confusion in our wake and a spring in our steps. I, the bard, had decided that I would funnel every ounce of skill I possessed into charisma, and at level 5 had a +6 modifier. I had been using that power at every opportunity that arose. We wander through the foothills full of caves, looking for this guy, when our fighter rolls a nat 20 perception trying to look for any signs of life.

DM: You—okay, so. Yeah. With that, you actually notice about fifty feet away that a particular cluster of bushes is rustling just slightly, but not with the breeze.

Fighter: Oh. Cool. “Hey guys, I think there are some folks in those bushes over there.”

Me: “Cool beans! HELLOOOOOOO, MY DUDES!”

DM: There’s a few seconds of silence before four guys come slowly forward from the bushes. They look pretty rough and tough, and uh—

Ranger: Can I roll perception? Uh… that’s a 15.

DM: You deduce that they’re probably bandits or something. They’re walking forward and one of the guys says, “Who are you little pests, and what’re ya doing in these here foothills of ours?”

Me: “We’re just hanging out, traveling, and actually it seems like a good time to break for breakfast if you lovely gents would like to join us! I can brew us up some chamomile, I have like a thousand mushrooms I got earlier—”

Fighter: “I got that chicken, too, and jerky.”

Me: “Oh hell yeah, we’re gonna chow down if y'all want in on that action.”

DM: That’s, uh… that’s persuasion, advantage because you’re offering them food and seem too dumb to be dangerous.

Me: Thanks man. Uh… 14 total.

DM: *head in his hands* I just—okay, they join you for breakfast I guess. And yet again you avoid a fight I planned for you. One of the dudes breaks out some eggs from somewhere.

Ranger: What’re their names?

DM: Uh, uh, they—it’s got. There’s Bablo, Sanchez, Kent, and uh. Eskabar.

Me: Cool. I roll to flirt with them.

DM: ………<i>all of them???</i> I mean… sure?? I guess??

Me: Hells yeah. Rolling.

Proceeds to roll: 16, 19, and <i>two natural 20s</i>.

DM: *head on the table* Like. You—you make your fellow party members super uncomfortable. You are piled under boys, it’s kinda gross but super chill for you. Kent wasn’t super into the whole group thing before, but now he would straight up die for you. He’s learning a lot about himself today.

Me: I’m gonna write those names down for later. Can I put “a boys harem” in my items list?

Exactly!!  Take it from someone who is Queer and Old -- rainbow capitalism is definitely an improvement.  Could corporations do better?  Yes!  Should we keep pushing them to do better?  Absolutely!

However, it’s important to remember that rainbow capitalism means the corporations want (and think they can get) more money from the LGBTQIA+ community than from homophobes.  That’s definitely a step in the right direction.

i’d rather have rainbow capitalism then living in constant fear of discovery. the woman in the pride flag disney t-shirt might be missing the nuance, but at least i know i can be myself. a street full of rainbow flags makes me more comfortable holding a mans hand. look. corporations aren’t your friend. they will sell to whoever will buy. but kids seeing gay everything every year is only ever a good thing, and a massive improvement in history

Hugs to all my friends who are struggling.

YOUR 👏 SYMPTOMS 👏 ARE NOT 👏 YOUR FAULT

Thank you!

Thanks to the person who sent me The Patriarchy Isn't Going to Smash Itself from TeePublic!  (Hooray for geeky, nerdy goodness with strong females!!)  Unfortunately, the package arrived without any indication of the sender. :(  If you let me know who you are, I will happily shower you with direct appreciation as well as indirect.

Another librarian who would love to see more people doing this! We have displays of shiny new books and movies, as well as some on various topics to tempt you. However, you can also go into the stacks and search for forgotten treasures! You could find books about salt or pockets or seahorses or doorways to other worlds or forbidden romance.

You can also try that book or movie or music CD that everyone is recommending but you don't think you'll enjoy! If you don't like it, bring it back and check out something else guilt-free -- it didn't cost anything, and it won't keep taking up space on your shelves.

unsung benefit i think a lot of ppl are sleeping on with using the public library is that i think its a great replacement for the dopamine hit some ppl get from online shopping. it kind of fills that niche of reserving something that you then get to anticipate the arrival of and enjoy when it arrives, but without like, the waste and the money.

I think most of the people following me know me well enough to know that I’d be fine with questions, but I’ll reblog just in case.

I feel like a lot of people don’t want to ask questions they have about gender/sexuality to LGBT people because they don’t want to offend them because we talk about cishet people asking stupid or intrusive questions a lot

But actually when you’re questioning it’s really helpful to be able to ask some ‘stupid’ questions although you’re too afraid to

So can y'all LGBTQIA+ people reblog this if you’re totally fine with people asking questions about your gender/sexuality, as long as they do so respectfully

If you like romance and human rights, check out this auction and fundraiser to support RAICES Texas and The Young Center!  Your donation to a good cause could help you win books, proofreading, nifty crafts, tea with an author, or any of the other nearly 200 great items and services.  They have a wide variety of romances, including LGBTQ+.  Learn more and access the full list of items at http://www.loveinpanels.com/romanceforraices!

the #RomanceForRAICES auction is live and we will start the bidding at HELL YES. i’m giving away fresh-baked cookies of your choice 🍪 and there is a LOT of amazing stuff to bid on for this crucial cause! info’s in the graphic—go help someone! #RAICES #reunitefamilies #romancehelps #roanparrish https://ift.tt/2PVTPAl

I tried this twice, and I got “Addams family astronaut” and “nonsexual gay.”  It seems to be working just fine to me!

I tried to make a sexual identity generator but it’s glitchy and I’m not sure how to fix it.

Make sure you have an active library card!  If you don’t have a card or haven’t used yours in a few years and your library is still open, get a card or have it renewed. (Check what ID you’ll need before you go.)  While you’re in the library, check out that book you’ve been meaning to read, the audiobook or music CD you’ve been meaning to listen to, the movie you want to watch, and whatever else catches your fancy!

You can ask about the library’s online resources while you’re there or look on the website when you get home.  Libraries can give you access to a lot of different resources, in addition to what’s listed above.  They may have downloadable or streaming e-books, e-audiobooks, music, movies, and TV shows.  Your library could give you access to classes on just about any subject, homework help for your kids, car repair guides, programs to help you learn a new language, and lots more.  If you go through the library’s website, they probably have information about what you will need to access all of these resources.

If you didn’t get your library card before they had to close to protect people, here are a few free resources you might enjoy.

Jim C. Hines started a Twitter thread where authors can link to free, lighthearted stories (both print and audio): https://twitter.com/jimchines/status/1238486764525948928

The Metropolitan Opera is offering a free streaming opera every night while they are closed: https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/

Some great artists are making coloring pages available for anyone to download and print: https://seananmcguire.tumblr.com/post/612756347442937856/catbatart-so-i-saw-a-great-post-by

Scholastic is offering day-by-day projects for kids in Pre-K through grade 6+: https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

The Library of Congress is crowd-sourcing transcription of historical documents: https://crowd.loc.gov/

If you find that you’re having trouble thinking of things to do in the moment, make a list of stuff you want to try or keep meaning to do when you have time.  That craft you bought the supplies for but never started, the time-consuming recipe you want to try, a nagging minor home repair you haven’t gotten around to doing -- put them all on the list!  Make sure to get a good mix of fun things and chores.  You can either check the list when you get stuck or put ideas on slips of paper to pull from a bowl.

Look for ways to volunteer online or by phone!  I linked to the Library of Congress above, but there are tons of other crowd-sourcing initiatives you can do.  If you want something closer to home and like talking with people, an organization you belong to may need someone who can call members to make sure they’re ok or just chat with people who are lonely.

If the news is making you stressed, take breaks from it or limit how much time you spend reading/watching it.  If people are freaking out on social media, it’s ok to stop following them or not check those accounts as often.  Look for people who are posting fun things or links to free stuff you can try.  (Check your library’s website for those, too!)

Stuck at home? Here’s an isolation survival post:

(Everything here is free to use! Feel free to add on. Links were purposefully broken to avoid Tumblr’s spam prevention.)

Social:

discordapp.com/ - Like Skype but better, more accessible, smoother, and with more features. Call, play games, and chat with friends.

twitch.tv/ - Watch and chat with people doing everything from gaming to cooking to teaching.

Reading:

whichbook.net/ - helps you find what book to read

overdrive.com/ - Free audiobooks through your public library

standardebooks.org/ebooks/ - Free ebooks

rbdigital.com/ - Free audiobooks and ebooks through your public library

Movies:

www.kanopy.com/ - Free movies through your public library

www.ted.com/ - Watch lots of educational and inspiring talks

Hobbies:

join.skillshare.com/ - Learn how to do virtually anything with 2 free months of premium

scratch.mit.edu/ - Make a game or movie, super easy to use, good introductory programming “language”

gimp.org/downloads/ - Free photoshop-like program.

twinery.org/ - Make a text-based game

pixologic.com/sculptris/ - make 3D models

unity.com/ - Make a 3D game

yoyogames.com/gamemaker - make a 2D game

spotify.com/us/ - Listen to music

travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours - Museums with virtual tours

Dungeons and Dragons: (play over Discord!) (DM me if you want PDFs of the Handbooks)

probablybadrpgideas.tumblr.com/post/612459866001391616/basic-rules-for-dungeons-dragons-dungeons - The Basics

entertainment.howstuffworks.com/leisure/brain-games/beginners-guide-dungeons-and-dragons.htm - Learn to play

roll20.net/ - Make maps/play online

Video Games:

itch.io/ - play hundreds of games

freegameplanet.com/ - Even more free games!

dolphin-emu.org/ - Play Gamecube and Wii games

Phone Apps:

sourceforge.net/projects/gameboid/ - Play gameboy games

smartphones.gadgethacks.com/how-to/10-must-play-free-puzzle-games-for-iphone-android-0178848/ - list of puzzle games

Cooking:

fridgetotable.com/ - Input ingredients you have and get recipes you can make.

youtube.com/user/DepressionCooking - Learn how to cook with limited ingredients from a lovely old woman who lived during the Great Depression

butterwithasideofbread.com/homemade-bread/ - Make bread with yeast

letsdishrecipes.com/traditional-irish-soda-bread/ - Make bread without yeast

Other tips:

Take care of yourself (eat well, shower often, wear clean clothes, exercise, clean your space)

Talk with people

Do what makes you happy

Take time away from screens

Play – with your pets, your kids, your friends. Keep yourself active and busy and happy.