Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween!

Have a spooktacular night! 

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Halloween: All hallows Eve Eve.

All Hallow's Eve Eve.

A lollipop of terror used by the specter of Halloween to enforce the unspoken rules of the night.

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If you haven’t seen Trick r treat and enjoy horror movies you should make it your Halloween movie watch this year. 

See you tomorrow for a spooky Halloween treat. 

Be excellent to everyone. 

-Ceph

Wind Waker: An enchanted rose.

 An enchanted rose.

Town Flower: Zunari, Windfall Island merchant, will ask Link to take a local flower and trade it for something more interesting with the other merchants of the Great Sea. The town flower can be traded to one of a few merchants for a more interesting sea flower. With this first exchange, Link has begun the trading quest for Wind Waker. Link can also place town flowers on the Joyous Pedestals waiting for decoration around Windfall Island.

The lord of this land once denied the right of hospitality to a wandering woman who came to his door during a terrible storm. This woman was secretly a great enchantress traveling in disguise and in her rage at being denied hospitality she cursed the lord, his lands, and all who dwelt upon them with strange and terrible forms. As all curses must have a flaw, this curse can be broken if the lord, in his hideous form, could find true love before the wilting of the last petal of the last rose in all his lands.

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It’s Beauty and the Beast. I’m not trying to be coy or subtle, This is the Beast’s flower that is slowly wilting in a tall tower of his castle. You could use this straight and have a lord cursed with a monstrous form, but I chose to give it to my players as a consumable baleful polymorph item to be used at the least opportune time.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: The black spot.

 Wind Waker: The black spot.

Moblin's Letter: Moe the Moblin is so moved by Maggie’s letter that he sends a heartfelt reply that cannot be delivered due to Maggie’s father’s prejudice. Link must deliver the letter directly to Maggie who reads the letter as a heartfelt marriage proposal and thanks Link by giving him a piece of heart. There may be a reading of the letter where Moe literally wants to eat Maggie, rather than figuratively wanting to eat her, but that is lost on Maggie.

Being given the spot is being given a warning, surrender yourself to the will of the crew or see your blood spilled. Some deposed captains are held in the brig to be turned ashore at the next civilized port of call, others are left marooned on a deserted island, and the unluckiest are put adrift in the open sea with a jug of water and a pistol with one shot. Only the bravest, slyest. or the most foolish captains ever try to resist the inevitable fall signaled by the delivery of the dread black spot.

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Based on my reading Robert Louis Stevenson created the idea of the black spot, and other classic pirate tropes, entirely for his novel Treasure Island. Makes you question how you know what you think you know.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A love letter for the princess.

 A love letter for the princess.

Maggie's Letter: Maggie was another citizen of Windfall Island who was captured and held prisoner in the Forsaken Fortress. When Link travels to the fortress to free his sister he also frees Maggie who returns home with a valuable Skull necklace. The necklace was a gift from a friendly moblin named Moe and it was so valuable it elevated Maggie and her father out of poverty. Maggie wants to thank Moe for his generosity, so she asks Link ti send Moe this thank you letter. 

Her beauty is beyond compare, her wit is as sharp as a tack, and her laugh is like an angel’s song. It is risky to send your love letters through back channels, but you simply must tell the princess how you feel. Just hope that no one intercepts your message before it can reach the princess, otherwise, her father the king will ensure you never have another moment with the princess again.

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Love Letter is a great small quick game that even works well with just two players. I wholeheartedly recommend trying out the little bag packed with big fun.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A special order from the butcher’s shop.

 A special order from the butcher’s shop.

Father's Letter: This letter was penned by the chieftain of the Rito encouraging his son to be brave as he faces the grief of losing his grandmother and the fear of having to present himself to the island’s guardian dragon as a rite of passage. Link is given this letter to be hand delivered to the chieftain’s son.

This Father’s Day, lean into stereotype with a fine cut of premium meat from your local butcher shop. Each of our premier cuts comes with our master butcher’s seal of approval. If you aren’t feeling so generous, you could also spend a third of the price and just get a regular steak from the store, but do you think he’ll notice?

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I have a complicated relationship with my father which means I have a blind spot for Father’s Day. I never remember when it is or that people do things for it. I know many people also have complicated family relationships, so if this post doesn’t do it for you, that’s okay.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph

Wind Waker: A letter home.

 A letter home.

Note to Mom: If Link can do an excellent job sorting mail on Dragon Roost Island, he will show the postmaster that a permanent assistant postal sorter would be invaluable. The person who gets this job will eventually ask Link to drop this letter in the mail to their mother. The letter apparently talks about how great Link is, but we shouldn’t be reading other people’s mail.

A simple letter from a son to his mother. No big news to write home about, just small simple everyday goings on. It is for all the simple everyday letters like these that we must sacrifice so much. 

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Not all of my item cards lend themselves to epic fiction, sometimes they are common everyday things that just add depth and texture to the experience.

Be excellent to everyone.

-Ceph