u/godzillavkk

One of the challenges of D-Day, was keeping the Nazi's fooled. It required a ton of deception, spying, espionage, and code breaking. But one month before the invasion could begin, British Intelligence began fearing security leaks because they found five code words for the invasion in a newspaper crossword puzzle. Overlord, Neptune, Utah, Omaha, and Mulberry.

British agents tracked down the crossword puzzles maker, a schoolteacher named Leonard Dawe, and start interrgating him as if he were a Nazi spy. Dawe became indignant and just asked "Am I not allowed to choose the words I want for a crossword puzzle?" Eventually, the British learned that this was all a coincidence and let him go.

What do you think of this? I for one, find it unnerving. Imagine it, you did something that's relatively common in every day life, or at least you think is common in every day life. But your government starts thinking you're up to no good and bring you in for interrogation because of it.

Wolves howling at night

Coniferous Forest

Deciduous Forest

Snowy Forest

Savannah's of Africa

Australian Outback

Australian Rainforests

Snowy Mountains

Plains of Asia

Plains of America

Anything you would like? After all, the ambience choices are so limited and can't work for EVERY Zoo anyone could imagine. I mean, I'm rebuilding my Game of Thrones themed Zoo, and the only ambience that fits is crickets for my Harrenhall Bat exhibit, and Splashing About in the Swamp for my Greywater March American Alligator habitat.

One of the first historical movies that got my attention, was 1993's Swing Kids. It's about a trio of teenage boys in Nazi Germany, who attend swing parties in defiance of Nazi Germany... only to be slowly torn about by the Third Reich's nightmarish brainwashing.

Siskel and Ebert loathed the movie because it only showed 2 scenes of people getting taken away, and the Nazi's antisemitism took a relative backseat. I personally think they are completely missing the point. That's not the story the movie wants to tell. It wants to highlight the manipulative and corrupting side of the Nazi's by showing how easily they could turn even the kindest Germans into the most vile Germans. It also shows the Nazi's censorship of the media, and how ruthless they could be with brainwashing people. In other words, the movie shows the psychological horror of the Nazi's.

What do you think? Think Siskel and Ebert's criticism was valid?

According to Below Deck, a special feature on the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which talked about real life pirates, Blackbeard was a self-promoter who tried to make people fear him, but he wasn't as brutal as people and the media back then thought he was.

This has peaked my curiosity. If Blackbeard was not quite as brutal as we often think, what was his policy? Did he have some honor and let ransomed prisoners go if he was paid? Or was the DVD extra wrong? If it was wrong, how bad was old blackie?

I've found that many are not, because they are afraid they will start sympathizing with her. I for one, am looking forward to it. Because she is in dire need of a third dimension to her personality. That's the minimum I'll accept.

Story or Quest Name: Double Sacrilege

Scenerio: Our story is set in an area that has fallen under control of a brutal colonialist power that has outlawed the people's religion. As a display of this authority, the colonial government has crudely constructed a church above a religious graveyard hidden in the forest and taken holy relics or tokens from the deceased. The resistance movement that's been trying to undermine and drive out the colonials are naturally displeased by this, but with them tied up with more important things, they can't afford to send their own to retrieve the items. Plus, the church and graveyard are VERY heavily guarded. So instead, they hire the PC's.

The resistance has taken an unusually modern and pragmatic standpoint on this, and have decided that holy relics for the dead and tokens for the dead should become a thing of the past. So they have instructed the PC's not to give the holy relics and tokens back to the dead, but to distribute them to living. The resistance also gives the PC's a stern warning that if they are captured, they will be disavowed and can expect no rescue attempt. And if the PC's escape, they must leave the occupied land immediately. The resistance cannot afford even the smallest risk of a security leak.

Layout: The graveyard's walls have several hidden entrances and broken paths due to years of neglect. They are also labyrinth like catacombs under the church, but they are heavily guarded. Both the graveyard and church are patrolled by guards armed with swords, bows and arrows, and crossbows. The holy relics and tokens are locked in a vault inside the priests office, and the captain of the guards holds the key. I've also created two possible entrance times. (though I can predict overlap)

1. At least some of the PC's go in during a service, pretending to be there to worship.

2. They sneak in while there is no service

So, I've got some security details down, but I still need some magic security and traps. I'm also still working on the map. But it's basically a a creepy graveyard with a pagan vibe to it. And a creepy church that's meant to have a catholic vibe to it. Any suggestions for magic security or traps?

I mean, she's polite, she curtsies, and I keep expecting to see her sipping a nice cup of tea. I mean, they obviously wanted to give her and the other Zerg characters in HoTS some identifiable human traits. But I wonder why they went for high society women for Zagara? Not that I think there is anything WRONG with this, in fact I like it very much. It's just when it comes to nerdom, the personality of high society lady might not be my first choice.

I noticed that the two have the same tastes in music because both are playing the same opera. Can anyone identify it?

The first character I'm putting together is an Accursed. Humanoid wolf or humanoid bird creature. I'm torn between 2 possible backgrounds, but bottom line, this is someone who isn't human or any other natural living race anymore. They live in a secluded part of the forests of the Ostoyan Empire or in a secluded part of the forests of the Charneault Kingdom, and have either never shown their faces in public, or have not done so since they got cursed. In fact, just as the mortal races fear the monsters that come kill them at any time, this character fears "normal" people. Especially humans. But when push comes to shove, this characters going to have to leave the comforts of home and face the evils of Etharis. So, how much does this tragic hero need to worry about going through what Quasimodo went through during the Feast of Fools? And knowing Grim Hollow, if that ever happened, it would be MUCH worse.

In an episode or short that's a tribute to my favorite animated movie and the movie that caused Viv to make Blitzø a horse lover, Spirit: Stallion of the Chimmeron Blitzø goes on a mission that causes him to see a herd of wild horses and is amazed by one of the stallions. Then Blitzø learns that the stallion is the target. But before anything can happen they both get caught by cruel and abusive wranglers and have to learn to trust each other to escape. Eventually they escape and the wranglers killed, and Blitzø tears up the contract and the twp depart on good terms in a scene similar to where Spirit and Creek have to say goodbye.

As soon as I got the distress call, I'd ask the computer about the ship, then ask for Starfleet records on the ship's mission and what it was doing in the neutral zone, and who authorized it being in the neutral zone, AND if this was an agreement made by both Federation and Klingon leadership. If the "Starfleet records" make no mention of any ship scheduled to be in that area under either government's approval, I'd ignore the distress call, because it's probably a trap.

If "Starfleet records" DO reveal that such a ship is scheduled to be there, AND has approval from both the Federation and Klingon Empire, then I'd try to rescue the crew, but put the ship on alert and order battle stations BEFORE entering the neutral zone. I'd also order the transporter room to lock on the the Kobayashi Maru's crew and passengers once they are in range. Once the signal is lost and the Klingon ships are approaching, I'd try hailing to call them out for disobeying their governments and violating the treaty, and once the hailing fails, I'd order open fire and and retreat. If the ship goes dead in space, I'd immediately order an abandon ship.

So, what kind of grade would you give me?

I actually wasn't involved in this one, but I saw it firsthand... and it was a MALE Karen and a FEMALE cashier.

Back in the 2010's, I worked as a part time employee at the Mall of America's now defunct GAP store as a janitor. My shift ended as soon as the store opened and normally I would go home when it was all done. But Christmas was on it's way and I decided to stick around the mall to do my Christmas shopping. In fact, to this day, I still do all my Christmas shopping at the Mall of America.

So, I was browsing a jewelry store, when a man bought a very impressive small glass bird and asked for it to be gift-wrapped. The woman at the checkout was more than happy to oblidge. But as she started getting out the wrapping, the man stopped her and told her he wanted it put into the wrapping machine. The woman told him that the bird was too small and fragile for the wrapping machine and needed more precise care for gift wrapped. But the guy wouldn't listen and started throwing sexist remarks at her before she finally yielded and put it in the wrapping machine.

And wouldn't you know? In just two seconds you could her it shatter. A glass bird came in, a pile of glass dust came out. The man completely lost it and accused the woman of incompetence or negligence. The woman reminded the man that she warned him that the bird was too small and fragile for the wrapping machine. But he just wouldn't listen and he got very hostile and sexist towards her. She then called security and that was my signal to leave the store.

Nowadays, I wish I had stood up for her. But I chickened out. I hope that no good was removed from the premise. What does he even think glass is? Moral of this story, Karen is not exclusive to women. Never forget that. What do you think of this?

No matter how dark my games get, one rule I've included for every game and setting, is that LGBT players and characters are welcome. Grim Hollow will be no exception. But while most settings are easily modifiable to fit with this, Grim Hollow appears to be a challenge. With all the religious persecution, paranoia, monsters and other horrors, I would not be surprised if LGBT folk are magnets for persecution in Grim Hollow. So I imagine an adventuring life would make a great option. And considering more DnD parties are written with chosen/found family vibes, which LGBT folk often latch to, it should be pretty easy to write a Grim Hollow party like that.

But what I'm most interested in, is what treatments could trans characters have? For High/Heroic Fantasy settings, I've created magic that does all the work hormonal medication and surgical procedures do. While these real life treatments take months or life times or repeated use or hours on the operating table, these magic treatments do all that work in seconds. But knowing Dark Fantasy, this kind of magic would not be so easily found and MIGHT come with some side effects. Any suggestions? It has to fit the dark fantasy theme, yet still allow anyone who wishes to be a trans character feel welcomed and allowed to be themself.