thin-limbed gorgeous green eyes smiling and I'm going straight to Hell

So as promised we had our second session of the Mountain Witch, which brought us to the close of the second chapter.

My blogging efforts are simultaneously aided and hindered by the discovery that Nathan (aka hamsterprophecy), our GM, has already done a write-up of the events of the first game. You may wish to check it out, as I have decided I will be focusing almost exclusively on the events of last night's session.

Last week we had the first chapter, which introduced us to our seven samurai:

1. Eisaku (played by Richard). Eisaku is a large and excessively solid man, due to the fact that he is a descendant of Mt. Fuji. In spite of this he seems relatively well-adjusted and devoted to his ideals. His astrological sign is Boar.
2. Ieyasu (played by David.) Ieyasu is a haughty, pretentious dick with a rigid formal demeanor and a superiority complex. In other words he's the classic samurai. His astrological sign is Ram.
3. Hikaru (played by Alexis.) Hikaru is an odd duck and a bit of a mad monk, with training in traditional Noh theatre. He's laconic and what he does says often has an incomprehensible koan quality. His astrological sign is Rabbit.
4. Hiroshi (played by me.) Hiroshi is tubby and yet strangely agile and always seems to be eating, except when he's startled, in which case his mouth is hanging open with crumbs falling out. He provides much of the game's comic relief, although he also appears to be a competent samurai. His astrological sign is Dog.
5. Nanami (played by Jonathan aka foreign_devilry). Nanami is less a samurai and more a strange and sullen ninja. The group fairly rapidly discovered that she appears to have expired some time prior to joining us in the climb up Mt. Fuji. Her astrological sign is Rooster.
6. Sanjuro (played by Eric.) Sanjuro is blind and yet seems to have no difficulty getting around. He is a skilled geomancer and member of the group best schooled in the mystic arts needed to combat the magical tricks and trials sent down by the Mountain Witch. His astrological sign is Ox.
7. Taro (played by Ben.) Taro is an imperious and charismatic fellow with a manner somewhat less proud and aloof than Ieyasu, with whom he butts heads. Taro is strangely good at giving orders, although the various party members vary in how well they respond to being told what to do. His astrological sign is Dragon.

When last we left our heroes they had ascended above the tree line and passed the first threshhold, a gate guarded by ogre-ish Oni who required each samurai to sacrifice that which he held dear in order to continue. Eisaku attempted to bypass the Oni and found himself swept away into an ice-filled tunnel deep into the earth. Richard, who plays Eisaku, was absent last night, so he has not yet reappeared. Ieyasu was forced to give up his sword, only to be offered Taro's sword as a replacement. Sanjuro, to his horror, had discovered a heart cleft in twain and left in a pile of snow just beyond the threshhold. It was apparently the thing he held most dear, and he seemed profoundly shaken by it.

( A cut? Unthinkable! But this one's really long. Click here to read on... )

abandon your hunger

I've said it before and I'll likely say it again: my roommates are weird.

Directed by: war_pug
Screenplay by: onthejohn
Starring: Pete & Michelle

(I know, I know, this is the second video I've posted this week.)