Don't Dodge This Draft

Don't Dodge This Draft — Blue Ink Alchemy

Magic: the Gathering is, like many nerdy diversions, something of an expensive hobby. It's also similar to things like MMORPGs in that the players are on the prowl for rare items to improve their performance, and that certain arrangements and combinations are 'best'. In the formats for constructed decks, there tends to be a mentality following this general line of thinking: "If your deck doesn't use X combination or feature card Y, you cannot and will not win." And more often than not, those combos and that card are prohibitively expensive. We're talking hundreds of dollars here, folks. That's why limited formats are appealing to those of us operating within the confines of a budget. Everybody starts on a relatively even field, using the same basic resources and their wits to assemble the best deck they can with what they have. In addition to being wallet-friendly, it rewards good analytical and on-the-spot thinking. Rather than walking into the event with a particular combination in mind guaranteed to win games, the player has to think on their feet and make smart decisions. The ultimate expression of this format, to me, is the draft. Not only is it the least expensive and therefore the easiest to justify, it puts critical thinking skills front and center. It's rather different from sealed deck events, and in my opinion you get more bang for your buck. Instead of getting a set number of packs all to yourself, you sit at a table with other players and open each pack one at a time. When you open your pack, you pick one card from among the 15 viable possibilities, then pass the rest to the player on your left. You pick another card, pass, etc. Once that pack is done, you open the next, pick a card and pass to the right. So on and so forth. By the time you've finished you have more than enough cards to build the 40-card minimum deck. But if you just pick the shiniest cards or make choices based solely on rarity, you might not do very well. As you make your choices and see the cards coming by, you need to decide what cards are going to yeild a viable deck despite the randomization based on color, casting cost and the mechanics of the expansions from which you're choosing. Let's say you really like a particular color, or combination of colors. It can be tempting to expect to draft that color and play to your strengths. I can tell you from experience that doesn't always work. You need to deal with what the military would call "the facts on the ground." If the person to your right got a really sweet rare card in your preferred color, it's highly likely he or she will be picking up that color's more common (and useful) cards to build the foundation of their deck. It's a preconception that needs to be overcome. Likewise, if you do aspire to play or compete with those who have constructed decks, you may see a card that would be useful in one of your projects either in a pack you open or passing you by during the draft. As tempting as it can be to grab that card for later use, the competition at hand may have different demands that you need to fulfill, based on your earlier choices. It was these challenges I needed to overcome in last night's draft and, for the most part, I succeeded. Apart from some misfortune in the first round, a sleek little black deck carried me to victory in the end. It was a vastly different experience than my first draft, which didn't net me a single win. I learned from my mistakes, changed my point of view, and found the experience much more rewardiing since my brain was engaged from minute one. I'd probably still feel this way even if I hadn't done as well, mostly because I think an activity that rewards critical thinking as well as game-playing savvy is a healthy one, especially if it gets one out of the house. It's a nerd thing, I guess.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! HALO Legends

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! HALO Legends — Blue Ink Alchemy

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/halo.mp3] So a few years ago this new sci-fi franchise got started. It had some interesting ideas based on established literature and the first entry did a lot better than anybody could have expected. It spawned a couple of sequels that really didn't measure up to the original but people really ate it up anyway and there were a couple of spin-off projects, too. Then, somebody got the bright idea to get Japan involved, and some of the best material ever associated with the franchise, as well as some mediocre disappointments, became collected into a series of shorts called... the Animatrix. No, wait, sorry, I meant HALO Legends. Okay, that might be a little unfair, there are actually big differences between HALO and the Matrix. One's a movie franchise, the other's an X-box franchise. One's based on shoddy poorly-written post-modern philosophy while the other cribs notes from Larry Niven and Robert Heinlein. One's got a rabid fanbase of diehard fans who won't brook any dissention against their beloved universe, and the other's got a rabid fanbase of diehard fans who won't brook any dissention against their beloved universe AND will teabag you if you don't play the game as much as they do while calling you queer and saying how good your mom was last night. And when the collection of anime shorts was announced, one fanbase considered it a worthy addition to and refreshing change from the established material, while the other fanbase... well, let's just say the words "RUINED FOREVER" were screamed more than once across the Interwebs. But how is the end product of HALO Legends? I'm going to go blow by blow and it might take a while, so grab a drink or other refreshment if you'd like. Origins begins the project with a two-part history of the HALO universe narrated by Cortana, ranging from the Forerunners' attempts to sterilize the Flood to mankind's expansion into the stars. In another interesting parallel with the Animatrix, this is a rich, comprehensive narrative that is unapologetic in its characterization of mankind and his many follies. However, it belies the lack of this sort of substance within the game itself. It forms the spine of the games' stories, but most people just want the meatier parts. I've seen at least one review of this bit saying it "needs more explosions." Anyway, the challenge for the rest of the shorts is to take these concepts, these characters, and move in new & interesting directions.
This art really needs to be seen to be believed. The Duel is not only interesting, it's visually stunning; I've never seen anything quite like it. I'm not entirely sure how the visual effect of this short were achieved. I think the animation was CG but I can't be sure, as the different patterns and shifting colors seem to have a life of their own. It's like a muse blowing onto an oil painting, and the brushstrokes moving of their own accord in response. Underneath this artistic achivement is a story both lush and lurid told from the other side of the great war than engulfs the HALO universe. The Covenant always seemed more interesting than the games might have allowed them to be, but this casts them in not only a deep, nuanced light, but a very human one. It's not easy to establish empathy for a character in so short a timespan, but The Duel does it very well, and the fact that the protagonist is a hostile alien makes the work all the more impressive. When Homecoming began, I couldn't help but smile not only when the SPARTAN not only doffed her helmet, but also at the sight of the tiny stuffed bear hanging from her armor. When you're sauntering down one of HALO's many metal corridors gunning down aliens, you never stop to think of the cost necessary to put a soldier like a SPARTAN there. Like The Duel, it humanizes an element that lacked that nature in the games; but in this case and by way of extension, it's the player's character that gets depth and emotion. While leaving the main character of a shooter an empty vessel for the player to pour themselves into makes sense, I can't shake the feeling that just a glimmer of this sort of storytelling would elevate the games to a much higher level than the one they currently occupy. The story of HALO, Origins' expounding notwithstanding, is a touch on the forgettable side; Homecoming is anything but.
Putting the "1337" in elite. While those entries add some serious depth to the stories, Odd One Out takes the HALO universe in an entirely different direction. It's just here to have some FUN with things. In this case, SPARTAN 1337, who may well be the Deadpool of this franchise, gets a powerful monster thrown at him by the Prophet of Truth, seen here as King Zarkon's cantankerous little brother more than a diabolical yet eloquent if cryptic space-pope. (Crap, I think it's rubbing off...) Even 1337's astounding and manly heroism can't beat this threat into submission alone, but thankfully he crash-landed on a planet that might be populated with characters from Dragonball. HALO's done a lot of things, but this might be the first time the universe has made me laugh out loud in genuine humorous glee. I think it was 1337's impressive introduction to the little kids that had me rolling; that, or the sight of his legs sticking out of the maw of a tamed T-Rex. Prototype has some techno-geek fun with the idea of the UNSC developing a Macross or Gundam-style combat suit and unleashing it against the Covenant. The man inside the suit could have been a bit more interesting, but it's still delivering more story and characterization than the games usually do. While it's no Homecoming, it's also not bad in the slightest, though it did signal a steadily declining trend in story quality as HALO Legends wore on.
As ambivelant as I felt about The Babysitter, this is still a poignant image. The Babysitter is more typical HALO fare. It's trying to tap that Starship Troopers/Band of Brothers vein and stabbing the wrong part of the arm a couple times before getting it right. While it's nice to see an ODST story, if it were a touch more original it might make the Helljumpers seem like more than just a sci-fi send-up of Easy Company. Like Prototype, it isn't necessarily bad, just nothing terribly outstanding especially when compared the earlier entries. And if you don't see the big plot twist towards the end coming a mile away, you should read & watch more stories. Don't think HALO fanboys go completely unloved in Legends. Appleseed director Shinji Aramaki puts SPARTAN 117 through his paces in The Package. Once again, this bit can't objectively be called bad, as there are no technical issues to speak of and it looks somewhat impressive in its execution. I was reminded of the CGI used by Skywalker Studios, particularly in the opening of Episode III of Star Wars. However, let's leave that comparison behind before I start drawing more parallels between franchise characters and get angry emails from HALO fans saying that their beloved Master Chief would never slaughter children. Well, not human children anyway. He can kill as many Covenant kids as he wants, after all they're different from us, right?
Think about it. Master Chief could be Darth Vader without the asthma. All in all I feel relatively the same way towards HALO Legends as I do towards the Animatrix. It's done some of the best storytelling in the franchise and lets some of Japan's premiere visionaries take a Western narrative concept in new directions. Unlike the Animatrix, this is front-loaded with quality entries and the original stories and fun factor slowly peter out towards the end. Which is not to say that the latter bits are unwatchable by any stretch, they just don't do as much with this universe or its characters. By all means, if you're interested in this franchise, some recent successful science fiction or the work of the attached anime studios, queue this up on Netflix. I have to say the two hours watching this was probably more fun for me than playing HALO for two hours. As unoriginal as some of the entries feel, at least none of them ever tried to teabag me. Josh Loomis can't always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it's unclear if this week's film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain... IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! HALO Legends

IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! HALO Legends — Blue Ink Alchemy

[audio:http://www.blueinkalchemy.com/uploads/halo.mp3] So a few years ago this new sci-fi franchise got started. It had some interesting ideas based on established literature and the first entry did a lot better than anybody could have expected. It spawned a couple of sequels that really didn't measure up to the original but people really ate it up anyway and there were a couple of spin-off projects, too. Then, somebody got the bright idea to get Japan involved, and some of the best material ever associated with the franchise, as well as some mediocre disappointments, became collected into a series of shorts called... the Animatrix. No, wait, sorry, I meant HALO Legends. Okay, that might be a little unfair, there are actually big differences between HALO and the Matrix. One's a movie franchise, the other's an X-box franchise. One's based on shoddy poorly-written post-modern philosophy while the other cribs notes from Larry Niven and Robert Heinlein. One's got a rabid fanbase of diehard fans who won't brook any dissention against their beloved universe, and the other's got a rabid fanbase of diehard fans who won't brook any dissention against their beloved universe AND will teabag you if you don't play the game as much as they do while calling you queer and saying how good your mom was last night. And when the collection of anime shorts was announced, one fanbase considered it a worthy addition to and refreshing change from the established material, while the other fanbase... well, let's just say the words "RUINED FOREVER" were screamed more than once across the Interwebs. But how is the end product of HALO Legends? I'm going to go blow by blow and it might take a while, so grab a drink or other refreshment if you'd like. Origins begins the project with a two-part history of the HALO universe narrated by Cortana, ranging from the Forerunners' attempts to sterilize the Flood to mankind's expansion into the stars. In another interesting parallel with the Animatrix, this is a rich, comprehensive narrative that is unapologetic in its characterization of mankind and his many follies. However, it belies the lack of this sort of substance within the game itself. It forms the spine of the games' stories, but most people just want the meatier parts. I've seen at least one review of this bit saying it "needs more explosions." Anyway, the challenge for the rest of the shorts is to take these concepts, these characters, and move in new & interesting directions.
This art really needs to be seen to be believed. The Duel is not only interesting, it's visually stunning; I've never seen anything quite like it. I'm not entirely sure how the visual effect of this short were achieved. I think the animation was CG but I can't be sure, as the different patterns and shifting colors seem to have a life of their own. It's like a muse blowing onto an oil painting, and the brushstrokes moving of their own accord in response. Underneath this artistic achivement is a story both lush and lurid told from the other side of the great war than engulfs the HALO universe. The Covenant always seemed more interesting than the games might have allowed them to be, but this casts them in not only a deep, nuanced light, but a very human one. It's not easy to establish empathy for a character in so short a timespan, but The Duel does it very well, and the fact that the protagonist is a hostile alien makes the work all the more impressive. When Homecoming began, I couldn't help but smile not only when the SPARTAN not only doffed her helmet, but also at the sight of the tiny stuffed bear hanging from her armor. When you're sauntering down one of HALO's many metal corridors gunning down aliens, you never stop to think of the cost necessary to put a soldier like a SPARTAN there. Like The Duel, it humanizes an element that lacked that nature in the games; but in this case and by way of extension, it's the player's character that gets depth and emotion. While leaving the main character of a shooter an empty vessel for the player to pour themselves into makes sense, I can't shake the feeling that just a glimmer of this sort of storytelling would elevate the games to a much higher level than the one they currently occupy. The story of HALO, Origins' expounding notwithstanding, is a touch on the forgettable side; Homecoming is anything but.
Putting the "1337" in elite. While those entries add some serious depth to the stories, Odd One Out takes the HALO universe in an entirely different direction. It's just here to have some FUN with things. In this case, SPARTAN 1337, who may well be the Deadpool of this franchise, gets a powerful monster thrown at him by the Prophet of Truth, seen here as King Zarkon's cantankerous little brother more than a diabolical yet eloquent if cryptic space-pope. (Crap, I think it's rubbing off...) Even 1337's astounding and manly heroism can't beat this threat into submission alone, but thankfully he crash-landed on a planet that might be populated with characters from Dragonball. HALO's done a lot of things, but this might be the first time the universe has made me laugh out loud in genuine humorous glee. I think it was 1337's impressive introduction to the little kids that had me rolling; that, or the sight of his legs sticking out of the maw of a tamed T-Rex. Prototype has some techno-geek fun with the idea of the UNSC developing a Macross or Gundam-style combat suit and unleashing it against the Covenant. The man inside the suit could have been a bit more interesting, but it's still delivering more story and characterization than the games usually do. While it's no Homecoming, it's also not bad in the slightest, though it did signal a steadily declining trend in story quality as HALO Legends wore on.
As ambivelant as I felt about The Babysitter, this is still a poignant image. The Babysitter is more typical HALO fare. It's trying to tap that Starship Troopers/Band of Brothers vein and stabbing the wrong part of the arm a couple times before getting it right. While it's nice to see an ODST story, if it were a touch more original it might make the Helljumpers seem like more than just a sci-fi send-up of Easy Company. Like Prototype, it isn't necessarily bad, just nothing terribly outstanding especially when compared the earlier entries. And if you don't see the big plot twist towards the end coming a mile away, you should read & watch more stories. Don't think HALO fanboys go completely unloved in Legends. Appleseed director Shinji Aramaki puts SPARTAN 117 through his paces in The Package. Once again, this bit can't objectively be called bad, as there are no technical issues to speak of and it looks somewhat impressive in its execution. I was reminded of the CGI used by Skywalker Studios, particularly in the opening of Episode III of Star Wars. However, let's leave that comparison behind before I start drawing more parallels between franchise characters and get angry emails from HALO fans saying that their beloved Master Chief would never slaughter children. Well, not human children anyway. He can kill as many Covenant kids as he wants, after all they're different from us, right?
Think about it. Master Chief could be Darth Vader without the asthma. All in all I feel relatively the same way towards HALO Legends as I do towards the Animatrix. It's done some of the best storytelling in the franchise and lets some of Japan's premiere visionaries take a Western narrative concept in new directions. Unlike the Animatrix, this is front-loaded with quality entries and the original stories and fun factor slowly peter out towards the end. Which is not to say that the latter bits are unwatchable by any stretch, they just don't do as much with this universe or its characters. By all means, if you're interested in this franchise, some recent successful science fiction or the work of the attached anime studios, queue this up on Netflix. I have to say the two hours watching this was probably more fun for me than playing HALO for two hours. As unoriginal as some of the entries feel, at least none of them ever tried to teabag me. Josh Loomis can't always make it to the local megaplex, and thus must turn to alternative forms of cinematic entertainment. There might not be overpriced soda pop & over-buttered popcorn, and it's unclear if this week's film came in the mail or was delivered via the dark & mysterious tubes of the Internet. Only one thing is certain... IT CAME FROM NETFLIX.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Black & White & Read Less Frequently

Black & White & Read Less Frequently — Blue Ink Alchemy

If printed media is really slipping into the past, the newspaper is the first to go. There've been some goings-on in Egypt that have captured worldwide attention. With an Internet connection, it's entirely possible to get minute-by-minute news, mostly with a lack of bias. Facts are stated and links given. Twitter's especially good for bite-sized samples of data leading to full-course discussions on the unfolding events. "Mubarak supports hurling rocks into crowd." "Tank sortied by military to Tahir Square." "Anderson Cooper punched in the face." Walk into any hub of mass transit or eatery and you'll see the end-users getting their data. Laptops, cell phones, mobile devices that defy convenient description, all hooked into the formless data streaming through the airwaves into their hands. Sure, some are checking on NFL scores and others are looking for celebrity gossip, but the current news is right there, fresh and fragrant as rolls plucked from brick ovens. The newspaper, on the other hand, has been sitting there since the day before. This isn't to say that the writings in the newspaper aren't pertinent, factless or biased. Well, some of them are, but that's beside the point. My point is not that there's anything particularly wrong with the newspaper in term of content or presentation. It's the timing. It takes time to publish hundreds of thousands of copies of the morning edition, and by the time those editions are slipped into mailboxes and tossed onto front steps, the news on the front page is at least a few hours old. Sure, people who don't work near or subsist on the Internet might not have heard about what's happening yet, but with the proliferation of ways and means to access the data that's out there, the number of people who find the news in newspapers pertinent is shrinking. I do consider that a shame. Newspapers often struck me as places of integrity, where the facts and the truth came before making money. Now, that isn't true in all cases, as rags like the Daily Enquirer and Metro seem to pander as much as they report, if not moreso. But many of the big-name papers seemed to want to put the facts up front first and foremost, free of opinion and bias (that stuff's on page 5). It's an ideal romaticized in films like State of Play and All the President's Men. Heroes like Clark Kent and Peter Parker worked at and for newspapers because they, like the papers, are interested in the pursuit of truth. Again, none of this is the fault of the papers. Some of them are rolling with the punches, expanding the functionality and appeal of their websites and putting their news out into social media outlets. Others are struggling to survive, counting on readers set in their ways and the shrinking minority of people without some means of faster news updates dropping a few coins into a corner machine to stay current and informed. While I think there will always be people looking for physical copies of the news, the feel of paper crinkling in their hands and the smell of fresh ink, the papers that survive will be those that roll with the punches and continue to evolve. I'd like to see them make it in this new age of information at the speed of light and conveyed in 140 characters or less. That's probably just the romantic in me. I'd also like to see print books survive. Even if I am thinking seriously about self-publication.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

The Paths to Self-Publication

The Paths to Self-Publication — Blue Ink Alchemy

So. Self-publication. I've been giving it a lot of thought lately. If you're anything like me, though (and if you are you should really think about seeing a professional), you have a habit of catching just a whiff of a new endeavor and throwing yourself at it to the expense of all else. If that's the case, let me caution you to STOP. Read this, this and this. True, Chuck is no self-publishing expert (and he even tells you so) but he likely knows more about it than the average self-publishing wannabe. Which is a category I definitely fall into. My queries are still out in the wild, howling their agent mating calls, waiting for some sort of response even if it's just a shoe getting tossed at them so they'll get off the agent's fence. It's not the novel I'm thinking of self-publishing. As I continue working on my Free Fiction entries, spinning new ideas and laying out words, I see a pattern forming between some of the stories, things that readers can latch onto. As much as the anthology is a hated article of fiction, and combining that with self-publication means I'd be infecting my work with the literary equivalent of the Black Plague, an anthology of myths re-cast into different settings may still have an audience. I don't think you'll be seeing it available any time soon, because I have a few things I need to do. First, I need to write more. No-brainer here. Right now I've got two solid stories and one that may be more a continuation of the first than a stand-alone narrative. I've got a new one in the works and ideas for at least three more. And I don't want to just dash them off and slap them into a PDF for sale. There will need to be edits, revisions, cuts and fusions, all that good stuff that makes decent ideas into great stories. You'll still get Free Fiction on a (semi) regular basis, but mostly I'll be posting the raw stuff. Next, I'll need a cover artist. Somehow I'll have to find room in my budget to pay somebody for this. Considering I want this to be a product I'm proud of, willing to show to others as evidence of my style, inspiration and ability to produce, I don't want it to look like something a fifth-grade drew in MS Paint or a photoshopped image with kitschy filters and lens flares all over the place. This should look professional, even if I'm a complete and total amateur. Finally, it'll come time to market the thing. I'm not a marketing guy. I tend not to be inclined to schmooze. It makes me an inadequate salesman, even when I'm trying to sell myself. In social situations I always fear talking about myself too much, artificially redirecting conversations to make them about me, basically wishing to avoid behavior that'd get me branded as a self-centered douchecopter. Yet that's a good chunk of what will get a self-published work in a position to earn its keep. Once it's up on the Intertubes, it'll sit there unless acted upon by an outside force. Newton's First Law of Internet or something. And since I created the thing, I'll have to be that outside force. I honestly have no idea what the best or most efficient way of doing so is going to be, but I'm willing to give it a try. It's something that could go any number of ways. Hopefully I don't pursue one of the ways that pitches me head-first into an unforeseen pit filled with red-hot magma. In other news, it's entirely possible I've been playing Minecraft a bit much lately.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Time is Money, Friend

Time is Money, Friend — Blue Ink Alchemy

I'm afraid today's Free Fiction is getting postponed. The shuffling of matters at the dayjob have thrown certain things for a loop and I'm struggling to catch up. I'm also still getting settled into the new OS install at home, and contemplating a scrub of the laptop (it's a long story). I do have some ideas for upcoming Free Fiction entry, which may eventually yeild an anthology, since I'm going to be sticking with the re-telling of myths. This next one's turning out pretty well and I want to take my time with it. So, right around Valentine's Day, you'll be getting a double helping of Free Fiction with a longer-than-usual tale, tentatively entitled "Miss Weaver's Lo Mein." It'll make sense in context. I also want to get some work for Amaranthine done, hopefully before the Machine Age crew head out to California. This new project of theirs has all of the originality and edginess of Maschine Zeit with some really interesting backstory thrown in, and I'm eager to be a part of it. Queries are rolling around in peoples Inboxes and some should be rolling back to me soon. Probably in the form of a rejection. But that's the way of things. More queries will be going out as soon as I can compile a fresh list of agent names. And the outline for a new novel is taking shape. Slowly. A braindump will be coming soon. Still not sure what sort of video editing software I'll be able to use, but folks seem to continue enjoying IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! in its current form for now, so I'm not exactly in a rush to put that on my plate. On top of all of this is the impending trip to Canada in a few weeks. By the way, I'm still interested in guest posters chiming in during that week. If you have something you want to talk about/discuss/rant on related to writing or gaming, and want a different outlet for it, hit me up. Finally, with the wintery mix coming down on our heads, tonight's D&D was postponed, so no Into the Nentir Vale this week. Luckily I set up the final confrontation of the Battle of Albridge before we parted ways last week, so we can start rolling the moment we get settled and I have my beer. Yes. I drink while I DM. Don't you judge me.

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Blue Ink Alchemy

Time is Money, Friend

Time is Money, Friend — Blue Ink Alchemy

I'm afraid today's Free Fiction is getting postponed. The shuffling of matters at the dayjob have thrown certain things for a loop and I'm struggling to catch up. I'm also still getting settled into the new OS install at home, and contemplating a scrub of the laptop (it's a long story). I do have some ideas for upcoming Free Fiction entry, which may eventually yeild an anthology, since I'm going to be sticking with the re-telling of myths. This next one's turning out pretty well and I want to take my time with it. So, right around Valentine's Day, you'll be getting a double helping of Free Fiction with a longer-than-usual tale, tentatively entitled "Miss Weaver's Lo Mein." It'll make sense in context. I also want to get some work for Amaranthine done, hopefully before the Machine Age crew head out to California. This new project of theirs has all of the originality and edginess of Maschine Zeit with some really interesting backstory thrown in, and I'm eager to be a part of it. Queries are rolling around in peoples Inboxes and some should be rolling back to me soon. Probably in the form of a rejection. But that's the way of things. More queries will be going out as soon as I can compile a fresh list of agent names. And the outline for a new novel is taking shape. Slowly. A braindump will be coming soon. Still not sure what sort of video editing software I'll be able to use, but folks seem to continue enjoying IT CAME FROM NETFLIX! in its current form for now, so I'm not exactly in a rush to put that on my plate. On top of all of this is the impending trip to Canada in a few weeks. By the way, I'm still interested in guest posters chiming in during that week. If you have something you want to talk about/discuss/rant on related to writing or gaming, and want a different outlet for it, hit me up. Finally, with the wintery mix coming down on our heads, tonight's D&D was postponed, so no Into the Nentir Vale this week. Luckily I set up the final confrontation of the Battle of Albridge before we parted ways last week, so we can start rolling the moment we get settled and I have my beer. Yes. I drink while I DM. Don't you judge me.

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Blue Ink Alchemy