Sacred Forest Meadow

Out of the Abyss, Session 6 (belatedly)

2018-08-11T00:21:29Z

Apparently I forgot to post these! Oops. Ironically, our most recent session was session 7, which I haven't had spoons to edit yet.

As always, the playlist has everything up to date at the moment, and as I mentioned in the video, yes! I have created a joke TV Tropes page in google drive, which you can find here! It's not finished by any stretch, I've still got a lot of tropes to find, but it's a fun way of going through the highlights. Be forewarned though, this sometimes gets updated before the next session goes up on youtube, so sometimes there may be spoilers and unlike TV Tropes itself, google drive doesn't really have a good way of hiding spoilers that I know of. So read at your own risk!

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A statement about our schedule in the Chessiecon videogaming room this year

2018-06-23T20:25:20Z

I've decided to switch Crypt of the Necrodancer out for another game this year at Chessiecon.

I've enjoyed being able to introduce the game to more people in the past three years I've featured it in video gaming. I've even heard people say they bought the game because they played it at Chessiecon, which warms my heart immensely. However, last year was a revelation of a problem with trying to make the game an annual event; Crypt of the Necrodancer is extremely difficult. Many people who played lasted less than a minute, and nearly everybody opted to only play the first level because the difficulty was too high further in. And this is absolutely not a jab at anyone's gaming skill; I've owned the game for four years and I still can't beat it. But what this means to me is that the game isn't very accessible to people who aren't familiar with the gameplay, and my hope of being able to showcase custom music through it didn't quite work out because of it, and I expect if I were to continue showcasing the game at Chessiecon it would become extremely repetitive because of these factors.

But fear not! We will still have the game available for play in our supplied computer station, so you can still give it a whirl any time! We can even set you up with some of our custom music if you so desire. And to fill this rhythm game void, we're now switching to Audiosurf and/or Audiosurf 2, a game that creates a roller coaster esc map of any music you pick, that you then ride through collecting colored blocks to make matches. Easy to teach, a little tricky to master, but a lot of fun and far easier to get through a song in one sitting. Plus without the crux of Crypt of the Necrodancer's beat detector, we now have the option of EVERY SINGLE SONG in my >60 GB music library as a possible choice to play, or you can bring your own MP3s! We can't guarantee they'll all come out amazing, but this freedom is extremely exciting to me and I hope everyone enjoys this game that's already gotten me addicted in the three days it was gifted to me on Steam.

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Out of the Abyss, Session 5

2018-06-20T16:43:55Z

I'm sorry about the sound quality on this episode, for some reason my mic was SUPER quiet, even quieter than the incoming audio, so I had to spend editing manually adjusting my audio so I was on the same level as everyone else. It was a pain. Hopefully this week I can fix it.

If you'd like an archive of the whole series thus far, there's a playlist here

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D&D Airship Adventures, Episode 0

2018-06-02T08:08:08Z

I originally wanted to post this particular game I'm in on youtube from my recordings, since that's what I've been doing with other games I've played. However, our setup and the way I've been recording don't really make for easy-to-follow videos, so I decided instead I'll regail the stories of this particular game of Dungeons and Dragons in a blog format. Maybe telling stories about things that happened in a funny and epic way might spark some creative juices again for my own work, too. We'll see.

( Read more... )

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Out of the Abyss, session 4

2018-05-28T03:59:25Z

Unfortunately Wolfie has dropped out of the campaign, but we're all still friends and I'll be talking about our other game with him soon, if I ever get around to finishing my first post about it lol

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D&D from the past month or so

2018-05-09T22:02:20Z

I'm still in the process of writing a summary of the other game I'm in, but this is the game that I can actually post in video form and I realized I should be sharing them. The players are myself and my friends Wolfie, Zicak (Scott), Foxie, and Zumi, and Zumi's friend Cybra is the DM. ~~It's apparently a Forgotten Realms preset, but I forgot which one, so I've just been calling it D&D With Friends.~~ The campaign is the Forgotten Realms preset Out of the Abyss. It's supposed to be Wednesday nights after I get off work, it's just been more sporadic of late because Cybra's life suddenly ate her, so we're a little less frequent than I'd like, but I don't blame her for it. As such though, there've only been three sessions so far, and here they are. (The third session is in two parts because we went longer than usual) Enjoy!

The program we're playing on, btw, is called Fantasy Grounds. The demo is free on steam, and the paid account is the one that has all the fancy DM toys. Here is the kitsune race that I believe they're using for Soleil, and here is Cybra's homebrew race, Wakahnka, that Zumi is playing.

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A hypothetical scenario

2018-01-27T02:47:10Z

There's a parent walking through a store with a child. They have a specific task they're doing in this store, but as children often do, the child notices something on the shelves, and suddenly they absolutely must have it! They grab it and hold it up to their parent.

The parent says no.

The parent may have several reasons for saying no. Maybe it's unhealthy for the child. Maybe they don't want to deal with the noise it might make. Maybe they know Grandma is getting them one for Christmas. Maybe they can't afford it. They may or may not fully explain why the answer is no. Saying why might lead to the child attempting to work around the answer given, but the answer would still be no in the end. No matter the reasons, the answer is no.

The child refuses to accept this. They start pestering their parent all throughout the store. "Please please please please pretty please with sugar on top pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaase????" "but I WANT it!" Maybe they'll even attempt bandwagon tactics ("Suzy's parents always gets her what she wants!" "Daddy/Grandma/Uncle Bill/Jim next door always gets me what I want!"), appealing to the parent's desire for the best for their child ("But everybody at school has one and they'll laugh at me if I don't!"), or bargaining with promises they don't intend to keep ("I'll never ask you for anything else if you get me this!") In some scenarios, the child may resort to emotional response; whining, crying, sulking, possibly escalating to rolling on the floor, kicking and/or screaming, threatening self-harm ("I'll hold my breath until I'm blue in the face!"). Some scenarios might even escalate to verbal abuse ("I hate you!" "You never get me anything!" "You don't really love me!" "You're the worst mom ever!"), destroying property, or even physical abuse such as punching or biting. If the spectacle is big enough, there might even be onlookers who roll their eyes and say "Just give it to 'em, lady!" or "If that was my kid I would beat them so hard" or other such unsolicited advice on how to handle the situation.

Somewhere in this hypothetical scenario, whether it's the broken record of 'please' or the violent tantrum, the parent gives in. They sigh, huff "fine!", snatch up the box and put it on the register. The child has successfully gotten what they want.

Is the parent really agreeing to buying it? Are they happy about it just because they said yes in the end?

No. They did it because they wanted their child to stop. Maybe they were just too tired to argue. Maybe they were embarrassed by the people watching. Maybe this was just the fastest way to get this shopping trip over with. No matter the reason, they did it against their will. And the consequences still exist; they're still paying for something they might not be able to afford. Their child may be just as obnoxious or rough with their handling of it as they anticipated. And the child might even take away that the way to get what they want is to behave badly, and may act even worse next time. And in the most extreme situations, they might even continue using their childhood abuse tactics as a teen or even adult. (You scoff, but there are children in the world who mentally and physically abuse their parents) Just because the parent said yes doesn't mean that it's really okay.

They just thought the screaming child was the worse scenario.

And if you can understand that, you can understand why coercing your partner into sex is not okay.

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So what is Saria into?

2017-06-24T05:43:03Z

( Click here to find out! )

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You may get wet

2017-05-29T16:13:05Z

( Undertale fic )

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sagesaria @ 2017-05-01T16:20:00

2017-05-01T20:21:22Z

Sorry about the last post, that was from a previous LJ account that I was transferring over. It kept coming back when I deleted it, so I've finally gone over and actually deleted the other account. I'm staying here.

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feel free to ignore this

2016-10-31T05:12:49Z

True Heroes archive of current script and brainstorming.

( This isn't just about monsters anymore, is it? )

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I don't know what to say about this drabble, seriously.

2016-03-26T22:06:42Z

No Title

Series: Undertale
Rating: PG
Genre: ...
Summary: ...
Notes: massive spoilers, but you probably knew that already. Other notes are at the end because they're spoilers about the fic itself.

( Oh, and it's Undyne/Alphys )

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Of Gaming and Choice

2015-09-12T08:43:06Z

So today I found Achievement Hunter's Let's Play of a game called Until Dawn. It's a game I only recently really heard of but it's an interesting enough idea. The premise is that you play a band of teenagers in a cabin in the woods and - you guessed it - end up smack dab in the middle of a slasher film. And the pushing point of the game is its overarching theme of the butterfly effect; throughout the game you're prompted to make choices about what to do and those choices influence the story. Which in and of itself is an idea that sounds really awesome, but here's the thing. The game is basically an interactive choose-your-own adventure book.

And that's not INHERENTLY a bad thing. It's an interesting premise, there are relationship meters between all the characters that are affected by your actions and those will influence what happens, who dies, all that good stuff. I'm curious to see what choices the Achievement Hunter gang will make and how it'll turn out. But here's my gripe; the game's entire selling point, its entire core, is about choice. And at the end of the day, what are your choices, really? "What button do you press when you're prompted?"

Take for example one particular puzzle that I just watched in the Let's Play. ( spoiler warning just in case )

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sagesaria @ 2015-06-25T21:55:00

2015-06-26T02:03:41Z

Okay gang. Here's the deal. I have a bunch of stuff that's been burning a hole in my room for years. I don't have any use for it anymore, and some of it is stuff I can't donate or pawn somewhere because they're old and beat up. I have my doubts about eBay taking some of it too. But I don't have the heart to just throw it away, either, especially since some of it is really rare and might be valuable to somebody at least.

So below, I have a list and pictures of all the things that I have for sale. Prices do not include shipping, but if everything fits in a single package shipping is $6; priority mail USPS packaging. Prices are listed at the top by groups of items unless listed otherwise, and some flexibility possible if I'm overcharging. If you're interested in anything, send me a private message. I take paypal and checks. I'll keep this page updated as much as possible if things are sold.

( click here )

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Beat ALL the games! part 2

2015-01-27T16:45:43Z

I now have a backloggery account, which can be found at http://backloggery.com/sagesaria

This is way better than Dreamwidth for keeping track of my games, so updates will be over there from now on.

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sagesaria @ 2014-09-29T06:18:00

2014-09-29T10:21:16Z

I have a story that I wish to tell everyone. Something that I’ve had on my chest for several years, and despite all my attempts at purging it it’s been clinging to me for dear life. I need someone to hear it, especially those dearest to me, because I feel it explains everything about me and how I interact with people and why I’m so easily broken by such little things. Maybe it isn’t everything, but it’s one thing I can pinpoint to for certain and say “yes, this is affecting me.” I’m tearing up even now as I’m typing this, and I haven’t even gotten to the real meat of the post. I don’t know if saying something now will fix it, but maybe if people understand where I’m coming from we can all move forward when I have my bad moments of feeling like I’ve ruined everything.

( It's a long, rambling, emotional story... )

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Chessiecon donations and loans wanted

2014-08-05T21:50:23Z

Heya friends,

If you've been following me on plurk, you know one of the things I will never shut up about is Chessiecon and the video game room I'm putting together for it.

I'll be blunt. I don't have nearly enough games or consoles for it. Most of mine are really old and don't even have multiplayer. So I'm here now requesting help.

I need consoles, especially more recent releases, games, and controllers. If you have some lying around the house that you're not using anymore, I'd love to have them. PM me or email me at sagesaria9475@gmail.com. I'll be glad to work out the details of sending them to me with you and I'll find a way to compensate and/or thank you in the hopefully-not-too-distant-future.

If you live in or are in hassle-free-enough driving distance to Gaithersburg or Timmonium, MD, and would like to lend some things to me over the weekend of November 28-30th, please message me as well and we can figure out details. I will be obsessively keeping track of who gives me what and keep a close eye on them so that they can be returned to you safe and sound when the convention is over. I specify local people for loans because I don't have much money on my hands and thus can't really afford shipping on mailing things back and forth; I want to ensure that it's easy to get the equipment back to everyone who loaned it to me.

Any and all help would be appreciated in this endeavor. Thank you for your time.

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sagesaria @ 2013-02-09T18:37:00

2013-02-09T23:39:25Z

Does anybody happen to know where Plurk's HQ is? I'm legitimately wondering if their server's kaput because of the winter storm going around. That's the only guess I even HAVE because they are apparently completely dead and there is no news as to why.

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Death of a laptop

2013-01-02T20:46:58Z

Andrew MakubeX Loveless
Beloved Dell Vostro and Sanity Saver
2007-2013

He was a trooper, alright. We thought he was lost long ago but then made a miraculous recovery when Matilda started failing on me. I'm amazed he lasted this long at all, and it's a shame that he had to go because of a stupid deviantArt virus. Unless there was just something else going on on top of that that he never told me about.

Thank you for sticking with me so long, MakubeX. I'm sorry to see you go, but I saw long ago that it was getting to be your time as you fell apart at the hinges and got slower and slower. It was a good, long run. Rest in peace.

(all of you can kindly keep your laughter to yourself right now. this is how I'm coping because I'm seriously frustrated with the whole computer situation.)

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sagesaria @ 2012-12-01T11:19:00

2012-12-01T16:20:22Z

Nope.

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something I've been thinking about lately.

2012-08-29T22:44:01Z

I've been thinking about this for a while lately, and I thought I'd share it, because it's one of those few times in school where I've actually felt trapped in a box with Da Rulez. And I could see a million ways out that I couldn't use because Da Rulez said it wasn't allowed. I've been seething a bit about it for a long time, especially since I got into an argument about it with someone a while back and I still don't understand where they were coming from on it. I really wanna know if there's just something I'm not seeing or if she was just full of it.

( aggressiveness and frustration within )

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Atop the Fourth Wall episode list, created for a friend, please ignore

2012-08-11T22:08:55Z

Key:
! - Storyline episode. This episode contains scenes that move the AT4W plotline forward or at least foreshadow things to come or expand on the universe.
* - Crossover episode. Linkara reviews something with one or more other producers from TGWTG in this episode. More often than not these crossovers are movie reviews, and they do not affect the AT4W storyline unless otherwise stated
% - Anniversary special. For the past several years during the anniversary of the TGWTG website, twenty or so producers on the site would get together for crossovers and celebrations. The centerpiece of their gatherings is always a big movie starring all of them. These are part of AT4W canon according to Word of God, but do not necessarily affect current storylines.
Miller Time - An episode in which Linkara reviews a comic by notoriously heinous writer Frank Miller.
PSA Hell - An episode in which Linkara reviews a PSA comic.
Secret Origins Month - Every November, Linkara reviews the very first comic in which a big name superhero or superhero team appeared and discusses how the character and their universe has grown since and whether their introduction still holds water.

( Hello and welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall where bad comics burn... )

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in other news...another drabble challenge

2012-07-10T02:56:05Z

From skidmo_fic, it's the 69 Love Songs writing challenge, featuring the music of The Magnetic Fields. The titles, the lyrics, or just the music are used as prompts for fic. I figured I'd start doing this along with 100moods just because 100moods is more than halfway done and I often end up with bunnies that don't fit what I have leftover, and the rest I'm currently dry for.

( Because I clearly don't have enough shit to do )

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sagesaria @ 2012-03-06T10:35:00

2012-03-06T15:37:05Z

Man, it's ALWAYS when I'm on my phone and bored before class. Dammit Plurk.

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FIRST DREAMWIDTH POST EVER...in which Saria can't make a decision to save her life

2012-02-08T01:36:55Z

Ohhai Dreamwidth. I was kinda planning to eventually do an intro post on the off-chance that I might start using this thing, but right now I have a dilemma that someone said they'd help me with, so this is a teal deer about LJRP and indecision on a canon point for a character from the obscure manga Senkaiden Houshin Engi.

( IT BEGINS. I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum but there will be a few. )

Idk, I feel like I'm missing a lot of details, but given what I've put down...what would you guys think?

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