Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed - Clontarf Shuffle V

By: Nataliya "Sahder" Kostenko

This past weekend I shuffled on over to the Clontarf Shuffle V (featuring the stacked deck final) hoping to do some gambling. Thus, I brought with me gold, not armor. This will become important later. I was kinda late, so immediately upon opening the door, I could smell the very yummy food Lady Kyomi was serving up. Some excellent soup and the lamb were my particular favs. 

Also immediately upon opening the door, I heard some of the most anno–uh, interesting voices I ever heard. They belonged to Grandma Ethel and…I wanna say Alphie(?), her beloved grandchild, both part of a tiny race of people whose home was under threat from another, larger race of orc people. In my travels, I’ve seen those same dudes plague Blackwood before; they draw power from weird skulls totem pillar-thingys that they set up in “storied” places–or near “storied” groups of people, like these pixies. Gambling had to wait for now. But not for long, because a crack team featuring me, Killian, Veit, and a daring and aggressive group of younger adventurers got the pixies their home back in no time. Okay well, actually some time, because I really struggled without that armor. But eventually, Grandma Ethel (may she rest in peace) made a noble sacrifice, allowing King Orion (who had come to aid our group in our hour of need) to liberate her ancestral home, which was on the back of a large tortoise. 

Meanwhile, back inside, The Stacked Deck’s final match of the season raged on–Avendar took the grand prize in that game, with Nova finishing second. They also started up the first game of the next season.

Throughout the day, people won some marvelous prizes at the auction. I didn’t clock exactly who got what, except that Kwido took home a rather large haul of diverse items. There were quite a few tables packed into the hall, so everyone had plenty of options to fill up on cards, dice, roulette, and if they got lucky, gold. A great time all around! [The event also raised quite a lot of real, non-Realms dollars to support a charity to feed kids, and James/Tao matched that contribution with one of his own, as is his tradition.]

Why I Want To Go - Ashen Adventures III

By John “Gordon” Rescigno

Hi Everyone! This is going to be a short Why I Want to Go, because I really want to get going with entirely too much to pack! Ashenmark events are some of the most exciting that I remember going to as a newer player. They felt accessible even with minimal knowledge or even magic. Talk to people, ask questions!

They reward curiosity at every turn, and take 'Roll With It' to eleven. 

The people in Ashenmark and the events that they throw mean quite a bit to me as both a player and a character for the last decade.

One of my most vivid memories was Gordon walking into a Shrine of Gaia for the first time. I was Embraced at the time and being around so much life magic ended the spell, and he felt changed when his soul returned. That event set off Gordon's journey as a Gaian, and I am very excited to see what this new plot brings to all of us and our growth.

What's going on this weekend? Well there is a new plot surrounding a mysterious island, life energy, and a blight to explore! There's Golems, a Dryad, a Leshen, OH MY! With the open, interactable world we were given last year and the options that Camp Blanchard brings along, I am very excited to see what kind of setting they're able to provide us.

Something extra special that I'm personally excited about:

This is the questing event where the Northern Alliance emerges from the deep snows and trudges down south to quest together again. This event is perfect for our mixed playstyles, because there is something for everyone at these events

Come make some memories together!

John/Gordon

What's it do? What's it do?

In this continuing View feature, we show you a picture of a theoretical magic item. Then you go back to Facebook and in the comments, invent your idea for the powers that this item would have.

Here is this week's item:

Humanizing the Realms - Michael "Vuel" Durocher

 Humanizing the Realms with Michael Durocher, Shiba Vuel of Invictus

1. What do you do outside of the game? What would you like to be doing? (Work, school, projects, etc.)

I work for the Commonwealth of Mass's Department of Transitional Assistance as a supervisor and appeal liaison. My free time outside of work is spent with either my family or at the gym. I try to get 3-4 workouts in a week because as I've gotten older my body has steadily fallen apart on me so working out makes me feel better and allows me to keep up with my growing child. Add in practice when they resume in nice weather I'm trying to do something physical 4-5 days a week. I've been really into retro gamming with my son, introducing him to all my favorite N64 and PS1-2 games and we've been playing those together so I'm passing on the gamer mentality with him and watching him learn the frustrations of the water temple brings a tear to my eye. Outside of that I spend time playing whatever game has my attention at the time

2. What hobbies do you enjoy other than LARP?

Gym is the easy answer but I don't really enjoy it I do it because I hate myself (Kidding i have a dark sense of humor...). My primary hobby is always been gamming, either competitive card gaming like Magic or L5R, Table top games or video games. I've always had a very competitive nature so any game that can present a challenge is on my list (The except to the this is farm sims games. I love me some Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley because they're so mellow). But basically if it involves gaming or some kind of deep lore I'm into it.

3. Favorite meal, dessert, and drink?

Meal: Sourdough grilled cheese with bacon Dessert: Cookies have and always will be my greatest weakness Drink: Coffee

4. If you could go on vacation anywhere, where would it be? Would you bring anyone?

Easiest thing to answer so far. Japan. And not the big cities like Tokyo ect,. My dream is to go into the country side, visit places like the shrine of the 47, Musashi's grave and walk the various trails and visit the old temples.

5. Are you working on any life goals that you’re willing to share?

Mostly just trying to stay in shape because I have a very active child and I want to be able to keep up with him. 

I'm also in the process of getting a full Japanese body suit tattoo completed. The entire thing is being done in traditional hand poke (Tebori), Hopefully I will be able to start working on the chest and back either end of this year or start of next year. 

6. Favorite outfit other than garb?

Jeans and hoodie

7. Do you have any professional or personal skills you’d be willing to talk about?

I have a B.A in Childhood Psychology and another one in Early Childhood Education and my Masters is in Applied Developmental Psychology. I spent the early part of my career before i started working for the state working with disadvantaged youths and residential programs and in various school systems creating programs that would allow kids to stay in district for behavioral needs. As for personal skills I've been told that I'm a very create DM and plot master and able to take little things and grow them into much larger and more impactful things.

 

8. What drew you to the realms, and what keeps you there?

Honestly, combat. As I've stated I am very competitive, and I love skill based challenges. Realms was the one LARPI played that didn't rely on points or special powers to do damage. it was all skill. The more work you put in, the better you got and that's what really kept me in the early stages of my career. After that, it was the people. I met my best friends, and people who I consider closer then my actually family in this game and they're the ones who keep me here. Honestly I could not really image my life without my Invictus family and all the shenanigans and debates we get into. More importantly recently watching the growth of my squire Madison has brought me an immense amount of joy and pride. Seeing them grow f and come out of their shell, being recognized for everything they do has made a lot of the years I spent playing this game and being the background support all worth it.

9. Favorite movies/shows/books?

Movie: Greatest movie of all time is the OG Ghostbusters and if anyone says otherwise they are wrong. Show: Shogun, OG or new one Book: Jurassic Park

10. If you happened upon 3 wishes, what would they be? (Wishing for more wishes doesn’t seem to work...)

Oh dear lord....Okay lets avoid the nonsense like world peace. I would like for the world to not actively be on fire for like a year so we can all catch our breaths. On the selfish wish I would want a ton of land and the money to build a traditional Japanese castle via the Edo period on to live in for myself and my friends because of course I do. And third wish would just be the health, prosperity and safety of everyone I care about.

11. Who would you like to see interviewed next?

Cal Marsden [Editors note: Cal's article can be found here], Tom Gallagher, Madison Neil

12. Anything else you’d like to add? 

Don't be afraid to be weird. Surround yourself with the people who share your weirdness and you've found the secret to being happy. Step outside the box and try new things. You may end up playing a game for 25 years and having a lifetime of memories from it.

If you'd like to do one of these interviews, send Dani Lacasse (lilpotatogem on Discord) a message to let her know! 

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

Conspiracy Monthly

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry