Julian 🦊

open.substack.com/pub/lettersf...

Read, follow, and share for free with my gratitude. If you have the resources, please consider supporting this trans writer with a paid subscription as an act of resistance and solidarity.

New Letter from Julian on my Substack about why patriarchy is terrified of trans people living happy lives. 💌

#transgender #trans #lgbtqia #patriarchy #truthtopower

GM Starter Set #2: Know Yourself You're committed to running a game, but what kind of GM will you be?

📝New blog out! 🎲🐉 Continuing my GM Starter Set with thoughts about how to get started if you're new and how to keep getting better if you're not. Subscribe for free if you like nerdy topics like narrative structure in fiction and TTRPGs.

This is all… terrifying. But it’s not predetermined. Dig in. Reach out. Hold fast to all you can gather to your heart and remember our greatest asset is each other.

Just want to say, thanks for all your amazing work. You’ve been such a light in this time of darkness and confusion & I absolutely appreciate your impact in Montana and nationally.

Holocaust Memorial Day Trust | 6 May 1933: Looting of the Institute of Sexology On 6 May 1933, the Institute of Sexology, an academic foundation devoted to sexological research and the advocacy of homosexual rights, was broken into and occupied by Nazi-supporting youth. Several d...

For those unaware, in 1933, the first major Nazi book burning was of the first 30 years of research into trans and queer people, far before the concentration camps.

Now, Trump has digitally burned the government's research on the same.

hmd.org.uk/resource/6-m...

Medicaid didn't go offline because it was too "woke."

School lunch programs weren't put at risk because of immigrants.

Funding for cancer research wasn't on the chopping block because of trans people.

All of this (and more) was jeopardized because of one person: Donald Trump.

Art might sound trivial, but right now, the people have the most control over artistic expression than any other time in history. There's a reason why fascists censor art. Art is powerful, vulnerable, it forces a new perspective onto others. Make art, make it loudly. Good, bad, doesn't matter.

Good morning dear friend .
Good MORNING SKIES OF BLUE

Thank you , Harvey
Folks,I read this message from the late great GREAT JOHN LEWIS often

What we all are witnessing is unbelievable CRUELTY !! Yes,Harvey HATE.

I know there is strength in numbers
All of us
MAKE NOISE
GOOD TROUBLE

Bryan MacCormack, the executive director of a New York-based immigrant rights group, was pulled over by CBP with two undocumented passengers in the vehicle. He knew his rights, refused to acknowledge their "warrant", and despite CBP threatening him, the agents eventually were forced to let him go.

To my trans and non-binary friends, I see you and you are loved. Nothing Trump says or does will ever change that you are here and that you deserve the right to live your truth.

New post on my (very nerdy) Substack blog = intro to my new GM Starter Set series, for the GM-curious or those looking to improve:

📝https://lettersfromjulian.substack.com/p/gm-starter-set-things-to-consider

Yesterday I (the DM) called my party’s bard (who is also my wife) a honey-tongued motherf*cker.

She deserved it, too.

#dnd #dm #d&d #bards

With the most precious of these, the ones I can’t bear to leave any sooner than I must, I ration myself to a single chapter each night.

I especially appreciate having my scribe player do the recap at the start of a new session; it keeps me from accidentally telling them things they haven’t learned yet, informs me about what they’re focused on, and gets all of the players onto the same page. Then I do a short narrative intro to open.

We can all resist fascism.

actually

My players all have secondary roles during the game that encourage them to stay present and pay attention even when it’s not their turn. One is our scribe, who takes notes and gives recaps. One makes memes of the best quotes. One draws. Etc…

Stirring thickens the plot.

🥄

#dm #dungeonsanddragons #dnd #d&d #ttrpg #storytelling

Sounds totally innocuous! I’m sure there’s nothing surprising under that exterior.

My players’ (and my) favourite so far has been Heste Anyweather, the flower-loving, genderless retired imperial bard who now owns multiple businesses including an opera house and secretly runs the Undermarket as “The Manager”.
🌺
Attending the opera was one of our best sessions all around.

What’s one of your favourite NPCs from a game you either run or play in?

See thread for mine.

🎲 #d&d #dnd #dm #ttrpg #npc

I love talking about things like DMing so reach out if you ever just want someone to chat with about it.

🤔 Now I want brownies…

Queer/trans DM seeking out more nerdy content & community in my life just here to say hi.

Ugh, no! 😂 I made from scratch traditional “American” brownies - crinkly on top, moist in the center, extra chewy around the edges. I even had the extra challenge of it being the first time I used my own recipe since switching to plant-based foods, and they still turned out fantastic. I felt better.

I have particularly strong feelings about brownies apparently. 😂

The DM’s Handbook is actually a pretty good orientation for starting out as a DM. The other thing is to decide what kind of adventure you want to play out & make sure your players are on the same page - lots of combat? Gritty & violent? Cosy mystery? Court intrigue? You can run pre-made or your own.

This episode made me so upset I got up immediately afterward and had to bake my own just to reassure myself that I really did know what I’m doing and was justified in my dismay. 😂

🎲 🐉 Thursdays are for D&D - and time with friends. Here’s one of the more memorable exchanges from today’s session… I’ll leave the context to your imaginations. 😘

(Meme by one of the other players & shared with permission.)
Players like this make being a DM incredibly rewarding.
#dnd #ttrpg #dm