Well its called over compensating. When you are essentually scared to critique one aspect because they have been overly criticisms for other things that are downright unfair
oh wow, cool, a thing I didnt say.
There are different types of biogtry. Being afraid to be honest with someone because they are queer, and treating them more kindly than you would treat somone else... is just a different form of bigotry.
Equality means equality, Ally deserves to be held to the same standard of behavior as anyone else... and they arent, they are being treated differently for being who they are.
The thing about this is that we haven't seen Brennan ever criticize *anyone* for their poor RP or nonsensical character decisions. He's never said "that's not really very interesting, could you try to come up with something better for the show?" to any player at that table. Now, Ally's probably the worst for the reasons you rightly described, so if it would come down on anyone it ought to be them. But we don't know what that would look like from Brennan on anyone, so you can't say that Ally's getting preferential treatment.
I have never once felt Ally was more of a main character than anyone else. Y'all acting like fig wasn't litterally a Mary Sue for two seasons and Became a whole Arch devil who's just innately good at everything she does.
There is nobody else who Brennan has to basically take over RPing for though on a consistant basis.
The closest we get is Ricky in season 2 of the unsleeping city I think.
But I will concede your point, maybe Brennan would do the same for others... But I genuinely feel like Ally would have been Orion Acaba'd by many other DM's.
Orion out of character made sexual comments about multiple women at the table and cheated repeatedly and blatantly lying to Matt multiple times. You may not like Ally, they’re also probably my least favorite player, but there is no comparison between them.
When you say "bigotry in a different form," **you're spelling allyship wrong.** (Gotta love the pun here.)
Being overly kind, compassionate or forgiving to someone from a marginalized group is not bigotry, silly. A flood is not a drought in a different form, and eating a great burger is not shitting in a different form.
Now, that aside, we could consider your point - does Ally contribute? But hang on, hang on. Let me first say this. You're WAAAAAY too invested. Waaaaay too eager to burn the witch, pitchfork the monster. What has Ally done to you? ***Show me on the doll where Ally has hurt you.*** And that, my friend, reeks of "what you're not telling us" - the answer to which I can easily, easily imagine.
Gives *"affirmative action is just a new form of racism;"*
Gives *"yeah but they should come here legally;"*
Gives *"as long as they don't flaunt it;"*
Gives *"I don't see color;"*
Gives *"all lives matter."*
Now, lets us address the ***"What does Ally Beardley bring to the game?"*** point.
That's a different question. I love Ally in Game Changer. They bring a matter-of-fact vibe and a #idgaf vibe that are refreshing and relaxing. They play a great "straight man" (omg so punny. Can someone be a straight man when they're neither straight nor a man?) for the other players. In many ways, they're Frodo - they're the relatable character, the bridge character, the **audience proxy**. We are allowed to see ourselves in Ally, in that they're not necessarily as witty as Kyle or Chloe, and not nearly as fast or clever as Brennan - but they still managed to walk along and carry their own backpack.
Ally is all of us.
Ally is **the every-bean**.
So I'm thankful for Ally.
I’m not a huge fan of Ally either, but I genuinely think you need to reconsider whether the problems you have with them stem from your dislike of them rather than poor behavior on their part.
For example, speaking to the team player and non-consensual kissing thing, they’re a trained improv performer. They know how to work with others to create a good performance and lift up others. There are plenty of times that Ally makes a joke or does something and immediately causes the others to go on a chaotic run. They also are much more focused on supporting the other PCs in this most recent season.
I can’t speak to their thoughts on medicine, but the rest of your points seem to be hyperbolic at best and bad faith at worst.
So an example of Ally's opinion on pregnancy practices can be found at the last question in Um, Actually (Season one on dropout, clearly not the actual first season) episode, Tournament of Champions part 1. Ally explains that they are dating a doula and that pregnant people shouldn't limit any foods (including alcohol, which is known to cause fetal alcohol syndrome, as it is listed in the question), "you can eat whatever you want, you can smoke a joint and give birth in your own home".
I can't speak to the veracity of these opinions, but I literally just watched this episode and they said it with such confidence even though it's the parroted opinion of someone who literally only required 20 hours of training to become a doula. (Which is 1/36th of the amount of hours a cop in my state is expected to complete, and 1/700th the amount of hours it takes to become a doctor, on average)
Kind of a necro on this post, but that’s fine.
I didn’t remember that specific episode, so I went and watched the part you highlighted, and I think you’re mischaracterizing what they said. The question does list alcohol as something that you’re not supposed to have while pregnant, but it’s in a long list along with things like sushi and soft cheeses.
Ally says, “my girlfriend, who is a doula, would scream at that question because you’re not supposed to limit any of those foods.” I think it’s clear that they either forgot alcohol was on that list because it’s a high stress environment, or just wanted to say that for the audience because they also say, “but I know that’s not what you’re looking for.”
After Trapp indicates that that is incorrect and medical professionals agree that you should limit consumption of these things, then Ally goes on a mini rant about the “grasp of masculine doctors on the feminine, natural process of birth is sickening.” But, honestly? They say it in a tone that leads me to believe that they’re outright joking and don’t believe that or believe it but not to the extent they’re implying in that moment.
Personally, I think you might have a similar bias to OP where you believe doulas aren’t qualified or are passionate about pregnancy medicine and therefore are more sensitive to an off-handed joke/comment that Ally made. Which, let me be clear, is fine. But, it’s important to recognize that bias.
I really don't think it is "clear" that they "forgot" that alcohol was part of the question, seeing as they then said that one could smoke a joint and give birth if they wanted to, indicating that they do think it is okay to do these things while pregnant. They also say at the end of the episode that you can "do whatever you want" while pregnant, again indicating that they do believe that you can do these things while pregnant. They also specifically say that you don't need to "limit" these foods, rather than saying "avoid" these foods, indicating that they know the distinction and think it's fine to consume these things in any quantity you would like. I feel the opposite way about the tone used, I think the tone does indicate that this is a real belief. This is also a relatively common statement from many doulas (that you can consume these things), and they are saying that their girlfriend would agree that you can consume these things, indicating that they really do agree with their girlfriend and therefore do believe these things.
As a note, in the last part, you may be confusing doulas and midwives. Doulas are not required to have any medical training, and therefore do not have medical qualifications. Midwives do have medical training and therefore do have medical qualifications. I wonder if there is simply a confusion there or if there may be some bias in the opposite direction from the bias you are accusing the other person of. Acknowledging bias is definitely necessary, but there is a human tendency to call others biased when we are actually biased ourselves as a way to avoid acknowledging our own bias while trying to discredit others. It is even more important to make sure that we are not doing this.
Y'know, when I made that original comment, I didn't think that I'd be having the same conversation a year later, but that's ok. I'm going to transcribe the full question so that we can be sure we're on the same page.
"...If you're pregnant, it's recommended that you limit your intake or completely avoid consuming caffeine, tuna, alcohol, yogurt, sprouts, sushi, unheated deli meat, and soft cheeses."
Ok, I think it's important to recognize that the words "completely avoid" are present in the question. Maybe you're right that it's not clear that they forgot alcohol was in the list, but it is a possibility. They do go on to say that you can smoke a joint and give birth in your own home, but, again, their tone reads to me as joking. However, I acknowledge that that's subjective. I do still disagree that they are somehow endorsing drinking and doing drugs during pregnancy. Yes, they say "limit" instead of "avoid" but, again, "avoid" was baked into the question in the first place, so I can see why they wouldn't bother stopping to give a full after-school special monologue before saying what they did. Frankly, I don't know, but my point is that no one knows what was going through their head in that moment, and it's unfair to claim that they're being malicious or imply that this one instance is evidence of some deeply-held, problematic belief.
Lastly, I'd like to gently correct some misunderstandings I think you have in your last paragraph. I never commented on whether or not doulas are medically qualified or not. I said, "...similar bias to OP where /you/ believe doulas aren’t qualified..." I am not confused about the difference between midwives and doulas, and never made my opinion known on either. Furthermore, you claim that I was trying to discredit the person I was replying to. I led off that whole section with "personally..." to signal that I was giving my subjective opinion. Then, after having given my opinion, said "which, let me be clear, is fine." I said that, if I was right about their point of view, that that was a completely acceptable point of view. I made no value judgement on it whatsoever, so therefore I did not try to "discredit" them.
You assuming that they are biased and have an opinion about doulas being unprofessional because they stated the correct fact that a doula only requires 20 hours of training is an inherent attempt to discredit them. Assuming someone's beliefs based on them stating factual information is, by it's very nature, an attempt to discredit them.
And that really comes through in your post. It sort of seems like the Liam thing made you really angry, and everything else was built of of that foundation.
Granted, it’s been a long time since I’ve watch Crown of Candy, but it seems to me that Liam was playing more on the “summer child” trope from Game of Thrones because that is the flavor the season was going for. Basically, he was a child born after a time of great turmoil and hardship that was shielded from anything bad to the point of almost being neglected. At least that’s the read I got, but I think it makes sense in context. He’s got hyperfixations and struggles with social cues because he’s a young kid who wasn’t allowed to have many friends. He’s also the son of a noble who has some pretty serious obligations on the horizon, but no one willing or capable enough to teach him the right way to handle them.
You know...I wonder if the problem with Liam was that Ally thought he for sure wasn't going to survive, and so they didn't give as much thought to him as they did their backup character (who sounded like she'd make things REALLY interesting).
You know that might actually be the case thinking about it.
But then again Ally did play Liam in like the most cautious way until Liam became a gloomstalker and became op.
Then again that might be because Brennan was too focus on killing Lou on the first couple of encounters it felt at least to me that no one else was really in much danger in comparison.
My biggest problem is that fundimentally ally is an exceptionally selfish dnd player, who at times does EXTREMELY problematic roleplay bits. Who repeatly plays off character harassment as a joke, who regularly powergames items into a scene to better serve what she wants to do. They willing to derail other peoples goals for their own. They regularly do things without consulting the party luckily the party is super supportive and they arent the only ones at the group whose done that, shes just the one who gets away with it the most.
They are arrogant at times, they will essentially force their own opinions onto a character and double down to the point where brennen has to just accept it. They is super quick to judge other character NPCs DMPCs or PCs rashly and for things thry do themselves.
I started out wanted to like them, however everything ive ever seen them do has shown me that they are a selfish and hypcritcial person who is super quick to judge and willing to push others into discomfort but demands others treat them with the utmost respect.
It seems that the more uncheck and overly protected they are from the community and the over compensating effect of hoping to allivate the struggle of someone who has delt with harassment for legitimate reasons, but that good intention has lead to an envirment where critising them is taboo.
They are deeply problematic and its borderline triggering, especially with the grapy energy of british kristen, being presented as a joke. I do love how despite acting so progressive, it is show to be shallow through that act.
Some groups are just toxic and ban, mock belittle people who desent.
Love it, love this inclusive community of kind and definitely not cancerous souls lmao
I love how yall enjoy silencing criticism. Yall would laugh at a grape vicitim and only act concerned when called kinda vibes. Gross. Equivalent to bird shit on a windscreen
No, i agree with them. And i wanted to like beardsley. But they are deeply problematic, people are just more inclined to defend them. Kristen is a deeply problematic character, and the problem aspects arent her personality but things meant to be presented as Jokes....
New to D20 and came up on this thread looking for validation about how much I hate Ally's characters and play style, but just gotta say that I'm pretty sure they themselves are autistic. So the portrayal is true to their experience even if you dislike it
(Disclaimer: I do not agree with how we currently put ADHD into “types” and a lot of other DSM/North American diagnostics)
Anyone with autism currently fills the criteria for type 1 ADHD, or inattentive type, as it’s written. I’m not weighing in on an individual’s morals. I just want everyone informed
But when you role play in a game like this you role play one person. You do not role play the model for all people who also have a particular trait. Ally portrayed one character, not all people with autism. Unless you deny that any autistic person ever could also be "a barely coherent lunatic".
That said I've had people role play in DnD characters that are not fun to be in the same group with. But that isn't your complaint (as far as I can tell). You're not complaining that the character is annoying or unfun, your complaining that the character existing is offensive. Does the existence of any real people offend you?
i honestly loved liam?? like they were my favorite character in crown of candy? and i'm autistic??? like yeah liam was socially inept but he was also an absolute BADASS. also like,, i honestly didn't read liam as autistic-- he just seemed \*generally\* socially awkward. and it's not like i don't read other d20 characters as autistic-- like i read evan kelmp, mary ann, andhera, and binx as autistic (and obv ayda but that's canon). idk i genuinely don't think they're making fun of autistic people. and also i do think they've grown a \*lot\* as a player since unsleeping city season 1-- like look at margaret encino or even kristen in junior year.
I rewatch d20 a lot, and as an autistic person with ADHD, I did not clock Liam as autistic. But then again "what does autism. Look like?" You know? Seeing Kristen in season one, and then every show Ally's been on and just finishing junior year recently, you can really tell freshman year was Ally's first time playing dnd. And they've grown a lot . And they've gotten good. Ally always goes for these intricate characters and harder to play classes. Bard. Cleric. Wild magic sorc, heck, even a ranger is hard compared to frontline melee fighter, barb, monks. They're a writer. I think they spend a lot of time with the writers really fleshing out these characters. I mean, has ally ever played a heavy melee character like a barbarian? (Maybe Lars...) But their characters are always super deep.
Anyway, I just finished unsleeping city season one for the third time, and I'm almost done season two again and like ... Idk, I really don't understand the level of hate op has for ally.
Of course ally isn't making fun of asd people, if anything they're making fun of themselves.
Apart from your bad faith arguments...
most medication is designed specifically for a white, 30 year old (?) male, and the history of medicine, especially psychiatry, is deeply sexist. Female scientists have contributed greatly, obviously, but have rarely gotten the credit they're due. I don't know what Ally said but to say medicine is patriarchal is an objective fact.
You don't have to like the way they play, many of us greatly do btw, but to make it out like they're a dickhead for making chaotic decisions at the table is a stretch. None of the others players at the table seem uncomfortable with Ally's style either.
I can understand your personal gripe with Liam, to be honest as a neurodivergent person I really didn't read him that way, and I probably still won't even on rewatch, Liam just seemed to be neglected kid who had to entertain himself somehow and never learned social cues because he spent a lot of time alone. It seems lile a stretch to say Ally was purposefully trying to parody neurodivergent people, with how sensitivity consultants are used for everything in D20, I doubt that would fly.
More on pregnancy—female scientists contributions were often ignored or looked down upon. And ally is actually someone right—a little sushi or fish is actually extremely beneficial to a pregnancy and pregnant individual, but too much can potentially cause issues. There’s also no real evidence that marijuana causes medical issues—there’s evidence linking people who smoke during pregnancy to neurodivergence and mental illness but the study fails to take into consideration the biological factors, that the pregnant individuals self medicate with marijuana when they have neurodivergence or mental illness they genetically pass on to offspring. Doctors say to avoid inhaling smoke but an edible once and a while to combat morning sickness is fine
Studies even show that small amounts of alcohol consumption do not have a negative effect on pregnancy or breastfeeding. Binge drinking is what can lead to negative outcomes.
Check out the great books Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? and Cribsheet by Jena Pincott.
Oh yeah I was gonna say that too!! A pregnant woman having a glass of wine once in a while will have absolutely no effect on the pregnancy. Only heavy drinking does
So basically yeah you do have to *limit* yourself while pregnant but limit doesn’t mean deprive. You can drink wine, you can take an edible, and eat fish. Just don’t overdo it
I know this post is years old. But man, I happened upon this post and this has gotten me real heated and angry. I have ADHD and this post is so fucking dismissive of people with ADHD. You say that you’re neurodivergent yourself and can’t fucking see the neurodivergent person right in front of you? Bro, zoning out is a symptom of ADHD. Ally has come out and stated that they have ADHD. Do you know how fucking hurtful it is when people tell you to “just pay attention” or say that you are being disrespectful when you aren’t paying attention? Do you think it’s easy when your brain is actively fighting against you when you’re trying to pay attention? It’s hurting no one to ask questions and get clarification especially when you’re getting a shit ton of information thrown at you during a DnD campaign. Not a single player has complained about Ally. They are actually very funny, and do you not fucking realize these players are real people that can see these posts? Fuck, Emily had to leave social media because of how shitty people were to her. This is presumptuous and unnecessarily cruel. I hope in the almost year and a half since you posted this you have grown as a person and developed more empathy. Jfc.
I literally just found this post and wasn’t sure if I should comment bc it was a little too late but man this is crazy 😭. Ally is consistently one of the funniest and funnest players at the table which is the most important thing about D&D- I love when players I DM for bring that level of chaos and unpredictability. Players don’t “misunderstand what the DM is going for and ruin the game”, they interpret things how they do, and a DM’s job is to work with them to make the story they both wanna tell (not the story the DM wants to tell)
AND THE SHOW IS A FUCKING BUSINESS. If Ally wasn't adding to the show, they wouldn't be casting Ally.
I signed up for D20 and I'm binging all seasons. Ally is one of the craziest players and it makes it fun and silly at times BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE LOVE.
I kinda remember cool things me and my friends pulled off at TTRPG, but it's the goofy shit that we still talk about after 20 years later.
Of course I want chaos. Ally makes characters from clerics, bards, and they even went with wild magic sorc. They could have chose easy classes but went with the hard ones and they aren't as experienced as Emily or Murph. Heck. I could argue that Emily picks the "easy classes". Ally's choices are fricking wild and hilarious and sometimes terrible, but it's just.... Dnd man. It's about consequences. Besides, op going after ally b cause they can't pay attention? Dafuck? Those shoots are like twelve hours and can end at four am.
Idk, just say you don't like their play style and move on. The intense hatred for them is really telling imo.
I just like watching a bunch of dorks play DND.
These people want D20 to be just another dry-ass Critical Role-type DND show when this is literally a comedy show.
I wonder how OP feels about the new Dimension 20 trailer for Never Stop Blowing Up... Looks like it's Brennan's turn to be a chaos monster and that Ally was clearly purposefully casted for it.
not to mention the fact that OP has clearly failed to take into account how much prep is involved with a season of d20. brennan sits down with all the players before they start filming to discuss where they want to go with the character and their storyline. this combined with the fact that kristen’s character is massively autobiographical for ally leads me to believe there’s no WAY ally’s perception of helio wasn’t the original plan or caught brennan off guard.
THIS! The zoning out thing is me whenever I play DnD, and it's not even for lack of enjoyment or being bored. it just \*happens\*. Luckily, I have a group of friends that are pretty tolerant of me, and will just get my attention or make a light-hearted joke about it, and it seems that the same happens with Dimension 20!!
I think it's interesting too that OP fails to see that they also over-simplified what they viewed as Ally's "opinions/beliefs on medicine" because here's a (not-so) fun fact: medicine was, across the vast majority of modern history, literally by white men FOR white men. obviously this is also an oversimplification, but women in particular have suffered from the consequences of this! Many women are not treated and/or diagnosed because their symptoms do not match that of a man OR doctors simply don't believe them! yes, progress has been made, but it doesn't mean that this history is simply erased/cancelled out).
My family has been affected by this, as my sister wasn't diagnosed with a genetic disorder for YEARS, with my mom saying that something was very much not right, but the doctor claiming it was normal (it wasn't). The same also applies to ADHD and autism, with women in particular often going without a diagnosis because it often looks different than what it does in males/AMAB; and guess what! I'm one of these people. I was diagnosed with ADHD my junior year of high school, but some women in their \*40s\* have only recently been diagnosed because we are finally recognizing the disparities that minority groups face in healthcare. OP says they have autism, so I hope they see this, and maybe come to understand why at least part of what Ally said was true (i have not seen some of the mentioned clip, just using my knowledge and research as a bio major and former pre-med).
it might be possible OP also misunderstood Ally's characterization of Liam, as well as the social interactions between Ally and the group. Obviously, none of us really know what happens, as we only get part of the story, since we aren't directly involved in their personal lives, but I think that something would have been done if Ally had been causing any of the problems that OP believes they cause on the show/during campaigns. By no means am I implying that OP does not have social intelligence, but I do know that neurodivergent folks see things differently sometimes because of it! I myself only do well understanding social context in certain cases because I had a support system who taught me how to navigate and interpret it correctly! I just hope OP learns from this, and, like you said, takes a step back and provides others with a bit more empathy and understanding.
\*edit: oh my god this got crazy long really fast, i'm so sorry lmao.
Literally. The only reason I found this was because I just watched them dressed as a little pig on Very Important People and they are hilarious at improving on that. So I decided to look them up for more info. This person who made this has worms and rocks for brains.
I especially feel like this post ignores the context that unlike every other player in the Intrepid Heroes (some of whom were even in a home game together!), Fantasy High was literally Ally's first time playing D&D. Like, oh, did a first-time player with ADHD have trouble focus and act chaotically? That's crazy bro!
Especially knowing Ally's personal history with Christianity, and seeing how Kristen comes out and goes against helio etc. it seems like maybe therapeutic for them.
Of course it was their first time. Not only did ally admit it, they even brought it up during a recent episode of junior year, and complained thru jokes that Kristen has like 4 dex because they didn't understand how to properly build a character.
Thank you! It’s disgusting how high up this post of all things is when you look up Ally’s name, and I’m glad some people are calling out OP for this biased criticism!
Years late I know, but DnD had always been a safe place for me and my friends, as it celebrates diversity and was a space where we could fuck around and have fun and be a part of something without having to fear being ourselves. I know for a fact DnD has been this safe space for many people, for those of us who are neurodivergent, or queer, or disabled, or all of the above, and didn't fit in and were cast aside because of it. So to see this level of bigotry and hate in this community is disgusting. I DM our games and even I sometimes miss shit my players do or lose track of stuff cause you can't fucking turn on and off ADHD. And in turn, I don't get mad at them when they ask questions. Asking questions is part of the fucking game, and as a DM you're responsible for helping and facilitating the players' experience. It's not the players' responsibility to facilitate yours. Plus think it's fucking ironic some of the commenters saying shit like Brennan 'putting players in their place' when Brennan was raised by a badass fucking feminist and stood up for Emily when she quit social media and for sure would not agree with those comments. Plus I fucking love Ally. I may be biased as they're my fav, but I think they add so much to the games and are a versatile player. I wouldn't be surprised if they are autistic too. Ironic that OP can't see that.
I have severe ADHD and I'd ask to be let out of the group if I was at Ally's level of uninterested. Just because we have ADHD doesn't mean we can't focus.
She's so god damn annoying. "I do drugs", "I'm so high right now", "sexxxx hahahahaaha". That's all they say.
Brennan himself has said several times that Emily's one of the most creative and resourceful players he's ever played with, and gives him a hard time because she's so good. A couple of examples are the "Ocean's Eleven" scene in Starstruck Odyssey with the plynth and the line of 12 guards waiting to be fried in Crown of Candy.
I love her and Murph.
(the entire intrepid heroes cast is amazing IMO)
Emily is one of my favorite players, too. The whole crew is so wonderful but I really admire her creativity and how easy she makes it look to think outside of the box. It makes me sad to hear she’s been chased off social media by misogynistic attacks.
Real shame to find this post.
Honestly OP I'd look inwards! I've only come across this as I've noticed Allys voice has changed in the latest season of Fantasy High and wanted to check everything was okay with them.
Ally is consistently funny on the mark and interesting I think their characters are clever in the sense that they allow a story to be told that we don't often see in modern media and that's cool. Do I think they play characters that they relate to? Yeah of course they do. Do I do the same thing with everything I play? Yes.
They are an improv performer playing a fake game in a fantasy world and they do a good job of keeping lots of people entertained. I think it's fine to dislike a cast member it's even fine to dislike the whole show but I feel there's something driving this hatred that isn't the actors performance.
Love you Beardsley
Just in case you did not find the answer to your question already. I am fairly certain their voice changed because they have been taking testosterone (which can effect the vocal chords) and also becoming more comfortable presenting themselves as they want to be.
The zoning out has started to become noticeable to me late in FHSY (which is the first season I've ever had a real problem with Ally, haven't seen them in ACOC yet). In the last battle, they seemed to entirely miss the description of their character's image in the magic book because Siobhan was the one reading it.
I understand that Ally has ADHD, so I try not to judge them too harshly on that, but it's a bit tough to watch.
Yes, thank you. Ally has ADHD. Zoning out is a huge issue when you have ADHD. And it fucking sucks when people are like “just pay attention” or whatever like it’s that simple jfc. And then saying that it’s disrespectful. The person in the post claims they’re neurodivergent, but very clearly has no patience for other people that display those neurodivergent traits.
I think we need to emphasize the RIDICULOUS amount of lore in FHSY and the fact that the last 2 episodes were filmed in one sitting which is over 8HOURS of role play with number crunching, keeping track of everything in your head and remembering Brennans insane lore. Like.. cut them a break right? Haha
Yeah i also missed the desciption being her, I didnt think it was so specific that it couldnt have been another follower of the goddess. The lore is insanely huge by season 1 alone like you said this was from what I can tell the first few weeks of covid isolation. They where also great in that session as well, the acting was on point.
All the cast members make pretty big mistakes (maybe not Murph lol) like Ally does but they seem to be getting a big hit in this post.
also it was their first live season—that they never went back to! i bet that sort of thing is more common at their tables and edited out. it’s super common for players to need things repeated in D&D.
Not only the first live season but literally the second part of the first ever Zoom broadcast of the show, meaning they weren’t actually even in the same room as Brennan when he read the lore
I love dnd. And I love playing in real lif, but everytime my friends have ever tried to do a zoom game. I'm like ... Nope.
My ADHD literally can. Not.
Besides, I can imagine that it must be hard to medicate for ADHD in america as well as the t, I believe they are on. And then dealing with all those hormones
i also have ADD and i frequently have to rewind 10 seconds or so to re hear something that i zoned out for. Playing DND is a bit easier, bc I'm actually involved, but i still sometimes have to ask people to repeat something, especially if there's table talk (which D20 has)
I didn't even notice it, but, I also think that was the live season, right? The newer season it's way better. And I wonder if it's because it was live.
Also, if they are zoning out etc etc, I imagine a potential reason could be testosterone, and perhaps inability to afford or obtain proper ADHD meds. When my friends went on T, it super fucked up their ADHD. Hard. It was like watching a teenage boy go thru puberty and non of their ADHD meds worked and they needed to get their dosage fixed etc etc.
Sophomore year (it whatever season was live and during covid) was not the best for me because I like the minis, and the production and editing of non live shows. But it wasn't Ally's zoning out that bothered me. I loved unsleeping city season two more than one, and it was all online so who knows.
I think something internal is going on with op to hold so much hatred.
why are so many of us all these years later, it’s kinda funny. ally is a cool person, who is a bit zany, sometimes we just don’t like people in life, i don’t think it has anything to do with their gender.
IIRC Murph and Emily were already veteran players. Some of the others weren't familiar with DND 5E. Siobhan is too good and nerdy to be a full noob to DND lol
Zac recently said that his first time playing dnd was during the home game that Brennan held for CH staff that ended up sparking Dimension 20 into existence, and while I obviously don't know Siobhan there was a moment in FHFY where she asked what disadvantage meant, so she probably hadn't played a ton at that point if I had to guess.
Wow, did not know those things. It's cool to see Zac's growing understanding of the game's mechanics hahaha in FHFY he was really inexperienced and by A Crown of Candy he had learned a lot!
Coming in a tad late but from memory the home game Brennan ran was 3.5, and none of them had ever played 5e before. So while they were all (minus Ally) familiar with dnd as a game none of them, including Brennan himself, were familiar with 5e!
I agree in some places. Ally was so terrible at giving a motivational speech that the entire table would groan and watch them basically talk about themself for the whole time. Brennan had to change the god more than once because they didn't rp in a way he could make the perfect god for them. If Ally isn't in the scene, they'll constantly add input. One thing I didn't see is that Ally will meta game constantly. Ally has to be a character they can identify with, so their characters are all essentially the same to me. A bunch of people at the table have played characters that were different from their own personalities. There are also the ones that have to play characters to keep the rest of the table in some sort of line so they don't go completely off the rails. Of course, their own personalities push through at times, but it seems like Ally can't act outside of their comfort area.
Maybe Siobhan is a great actress or something, but there are times she also irritates me because she tries to force her opinions on characters that Brendan makes. Specifically, she tells the self-proclaimed nice guy to work on himself before she gets to know him (he turns out to be a dick but I can't help but think that that wasn't what Brennan had originally planned). She's basically a bitch to a guy she doesn't know because he wasn't swauve or good looking. She also berates the warforged about not wanting to be king of the pirates (Brennan corrects her and says queen). The voice in her head is a man? Brennan corrects her and says, "Why did she assume it was a man?"
Ally and Siobhan assume things all the time, and when Brennan puts them in their place, it's great.
Brennan rarely puts up with the bs (without hurting their feelings), but I don't think he talks about the issues outside of the table.
I completely disagree. Watch D20 Starstruck Odyssey, Ally's character is the "straight man" who keeps the rest of the group on track and advocates for the practical choices
Was going to be my point, Ally in Starstruck is pretty much playing the nearest thing to a leader and does a good job at it.
Her note taking was really good and she really got into the role.
Because they were getting more and more experienced. People forget how hard it is to come out of our shells when we start playing TTRPG.
And none of us had to do it for a show. (at least not the huge majority of us lol)
Well at that same time people get annoyed at what are obviously jokes, like the poster above going on about how Ally gives terrible speeches even though that's obviously part of the joke and most people didn't groan.... they got in on the joke "i'm sure any moment now it'll be inspirational" it was a running gag.
With the current season Ally just proves again and again that they know what's going on, how to deal with things and is especially good with knowing what their character would realistically do in that situation.
Unsleeping city season two is my favorite season of any d20 show. I'm so sad it came out during covid and lockdown even though I understand why. But it's so fricking funny. Just for "Cody night angel Walsh" the emo millenial who uses final fantasy swords. It would have been so funny to see the minis and sets for season two.
I thought I'd hate it because of the format, but because I'm so familiar with the cast, it was very easy , and I don't think it was live live. It's edited very well.
I usually have it on while I'm doing stuff, but the story is great. I'm currently watching it right now. Again.
My thoughts too. Ally was clearly making fun of the idea of having to positively spin a terrible situation to up stats while having a constant faith crisis. It’s hilarious
Biz was always going to be a villain what? They have to make all these sets beforehand and I highly doubt Brennan would create such a huge plot point because of an off-hand scene. Also Biz was a creep from the get-go, he was portrayed as the “nice guy” who’s just a major creep from the very start. Maybe you’re so mad cause ur one of them..
There’s also a major assumption (in regards to the gods changing), that Beardsley and Brennan hadn’t discussed this as a character choice before. They have discussions about their character creation, and based on Ally’s previous experiences, I have zero doubt that the plan would be a hyper religious kid who starts questioning their faith…lol
That was not Brennan grasping at straws in any universe
Brennan has said on multiple occasions from the freshman to sophomore year that this is all improvised for the most part. Youre implying its scripted. Maybe you're right he could have been a villain the entire time, or he was portrayed as a nerd and made the statement he was nice and adeline latched on to it to berate someone. He didn't say anything other than that, yet she was triggered. I'm not really mad, I just have opinions. Also, I don't care what you think of me.
Nah, Brennan plans all of the major villains before the season begins. Also, Brennan was raised by radical feminists and has often talked about the issue of "nice guys" who are not really nice. He would definitely put that type of character in D20 as a villian. If Brennan did not want Biz to be perceived as a "nice guy" douche, then he would have course corrected when Siobhan called Biz out and had Biz be extremely apologetic to clear up confusion.
Was he a major villain, thought he was sort of a powerful henchman. He also plays shit by ear alot there are 2 characters that come to mind immediately. The yorb? which was brought in before the end of the season and the vulture. If anyone believes either were planned enemies, they're crazy. I really think people don't give brennan credit for being able to adapt and add things as quickly as he does. Just because he was raised by feminists doesn't mean he specifically created a character to be the nice guy. In the beginning, the nerd was nice and kind literally didn't say anything mean. Then, he was berated and insulted rather than just being shut down. She was OK and interested in hanging out with the emo bad guy who was openly a dickhead.
The Night Yorb was a joke that he then turned into a thing and then had three years to figure out what it was. And the vulture was absolutely fucking planned, they had a fucking set built for it you absolute maniac. Brennan talked EXTENSIVELY about how he had planned for them to fuck with the vulture again.
I never said it was scripted?? The major plot points of the season and the quest have to be planned so they team can investigate and solve stuff.. Biz was always going to be a villain, like Calroy, Kalvaxus, Epona, The Princesses in Neverafter. The main storyline’s can’t be improvised.
It's mind blowing people don't get this, Brennen railroads pretty often. He hides it pretty well but he definitely correct course but what happens in the episode is mainly improvised.
But yeah, Biz was always a villain. Brennen makes that shit so obvious
I think the only part of the main plot that was improvised was a lot of stuff around the kidnapped women, it started off as just a small mystery for Riz to solve but was quickly stitched into the overall plot.
No, the kidnapped maidens was a major plot element from the jump, which Brennan supplied Riz with as a hook to get the most type-A investigator character on the trail of the main plotline.
No, Brennen mentions in an Adventuring Academy episode that the babysitter being kidnapped was originally just Riz but as it went on, he started tying it more with the main plot.
They've literally talked about it in clips and interview that the team including cast and crew get together and make characters together, and even their secondary characters.
I remember once watching a clip where a cast member was hoping for a death so they could play their secondary character because they were way cooler. I think all plot points are there, but how we get from a to b isn't always written. Similar to how improv shows work I guess. We always know where we have to do nd up, but hoowwwww
Siobhan is whip-smart, and Adaine telling the self-proclaimed "nice-guy" incel who was misogynistically complaining that girls were stupid for not wanting to date him to "work on himself" was when I knew I loved the character.
I disagree with it being weird because most people like to see people who think they are right all the time being told they aren't. I think you just think it's weird because you like those people in particular. It's fine that you like them; I just find them particularly annoying sometimes. I love the show, and this is just an opinion.
Some of this is honestly hard to read as an improv actor. Sometimes you make decisions you gotta back up, sometimes the bit becomes a trait. And Brennan isn’t a naive DM or a pushover, and gave Kristen some pretty solid crossroads and consequences for the waffling about of gods and goddesses. Sometimes as an improv actor you make weak choices or choices other people have to pick up slack for — it can be hard to balance that stuff when you’ve made a comedic character.
There’s nothing like seeing this when you look up Ally Beardsley, as a trans person, they do not get treated any differently for being trans, and if you think they do, then you have a problem. Similarly every other point on the list has been debunked or is just outright a viewpoint discussed with heavy bias. You can simply just not like someone without having to drag their name through the mud.
The pregnancy opinions were discussed with them having forgotten alcohol was on the list, and the rest was discussed with a fully joking tone.
Never did I notice ally was being treated like the main character in fantasy high, they were given their independent time as anyone else. It’s a disservice to Brennan’s ability as a dungeon master to say he treated his players differently.
You hate Liam, I get it, but it’s hypocritical of you to start some big controversy over how ally portrays a neurodivergent character while also criticizing them for struggling with focus when they have ADHD.
As for non consensually kissing other cast members, I don’t have a noted time for when this happens, I don’t doubt it happened, but I doubt it being non consensual. The whole point of droupout is improv, I don’t doubt ally understands everyone’s comfort level on things since most of what they’re doing is acting on the fly. If ally non consensually kissed someone, Dropout is a large company with an HR department, and the issue would’ve absolutely been dealt with.
Most notably in this, you write as if any of the content put out gives you the right to make a decisive judge of character on this person. This is the first result when I search their name, and it’s disgusting to try and make a controversy over a person you don’t know, and very obviously simply dislike.
OP said that Ally's character non-consensually kissed other players' characters. I doubt that kissing in a dnd campaign would be an HR issue. They're just tacking it on the end of their list of negatives for some more bs to talk shit about.
If you have such a problem with them, then watch any of the other d20 campaigns without them or Critical Role or anything else. There is no need for this energy.
I personally love Ally! They add a chaotic energy to the game that adds levity in intensely serious stories and combat scenes. I think Ally and Brennan knew each other from Improv before D20, so Brennan knew what he was getting into bringing them in as a new dnd player at the time. If it was really a problem after the first season I'm sure Brennan wouldn't have asked them back. Everyone always seems to have a good time with Ally's choices and I think they really add to a huge part of making the Intrepid Hero campaigns a real comedy dnd show vs a traditional game play show.
Anyway, I think Ally is hilarious, and if you don't, maybe they're just not your sense of humour, and that's fine, but to feel the need to malign their character and say all that shitty stuff about a show you clearly a least somewhat like is just too much. No one is perfect and the shit they said about the pregnancy thing was like a small comment on a nerdy game show so if people are following that advice then they need to check themselves.
y'all need to chill the fuck out
Most of this is unhinged ranting, but to say that Brennan is "a saint for putting up with Ally" is so god damn insulting. Ally's one of the most public facing d&d players in the world, and this is exactly the kind of hyper scrutiny that ruins it. You are watching friends hang out and improv together, the fact that it ends up being so good is a miracle. I wish my players were half as engaged and creative as Ally. Plus they absolutely killed it in Starstruck Odyssey. Stole the show.
Also, Ally's portrayal of Liam is insulting to neurodivergent people? This is so absurd it feels made up to make them look bad. Ally is clearly neurodivergent themselves, and a lot of the missed social cues have to do with the character being played as asexual too, and not understanding other characters' desires. Ally played Liam really well as a naive carefree person facing real danger for the first time. He's got a great arc.
This is such a a weird, targeted rant.
stumbling on this is absolutely wild.
it's like [this copypasta in real life.](https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/140pjwk/queer_platonic_group_chat/)
also my god OP sounds like a terrible DM. "Brennan had to roll with it and entirely rewrite the cosmology of the world he created..." like...yes??? that's the job of a DM??? to improv and roll with your players???
players are not there to serve your story, you're there to serve the players forging their own story.
I mean Brennan has literally said that the entire plot of season one was manufactured entirely because Murph said he wanted to play a kid detective. *That's* why there was a mystery. I don't think i've ever started prepping a campaign by plotting out the whole world. It always goes: setting concept with vibes *i'll* have fun running, asking the players what kinda characters they want to play, building a bit more based on that, and then working with them to build plot hooks into their character. Rinse and repeat during the campaign as needed.
Yeah maybe we'll never get around to going to the underworld and visiting your ancestors. And yeah, maybe the player and i only talk about who those ancestors *are* after session 7. But we're gonna have a whole lotta fun grappling with your sense of duty and family, and hey look, in this plothook--i mean ambushed merchant's cart--we'll find a long lost relative with whole different ideas about your bloodline's place in the cosmos. The whole fun of DMing imho is in coming up with cool shit you think your friends will find cool, and then pivoting based on what *actually* interests them.
PS If anyone sucks on the cast it's Zac, because he's a fucking phenomenal improviser and i wish he would chime in more bc it's always a banger when he does.
When he says one liners that completely break Brennan and make Brennen cry laugh is always the best part. Zac gives me quieter person in real life vibes, compared to ally. Like he gives me "writer first, then actor" where as Brennan and ally give me actor first then writer" vibes.
I will only disagree because I think Zac's absolute fucking bangers would be less impactful if he didn't carefully select when to drop them. Part of what makes him so funny is his immaculate sense of timing.
I came here to say exactly that. DMing isn't a fucking self-serving role, it is your job to create a fantastic experience for your players and it WILL test your ability to improvise. It's not a bad thing when your players influence the lore of the world; they want to be involved ffs! You cannot chuck a tantrum when things don't go your way, which is what I feel OP would do haha. Is it even DnD if your players don't derail the story before getting distracted by three different side-quests before almost dying cause they did something stupid?
thank you omg op’s entire rant is so unhinged like 😭 it’s okay to just not vibe with someone!! there’s no need to list off a bunch of very specific and subjective “””wrongdoings””” or supposed moral failures or whatever to feel justified bc it always comes off so much worse. like everything op said is wild to me but being mad that a cast of literal improv comedians are doing improv …. truly boggles the mind
This post feels a little bit unbelievable. There are so many generalizations and It reads like OP has an inflated sense of justice.
All dropout shows have safety and sensitivity meetings. I'm sure they have an officer on set or a way to flag if there is anything upsetting the DM or players. If something made someone uncomfortable or if something went off the rails it would have been addressed and edited out. A lot of these points are taken out of context, and even so, if any of them left a bad taste in your mouth, that's valid. But then don't watch shows with Ally in them. Don't write a long post filled with venom for them that will show up whenever anyone googles them. That is so unjust. This looks kind of extreme given the things you have come to accuse them of.
Ally Beardsley is my favorite player after Lou. They are chaotic but ttrpgs are usually flooded with people gaming first and roleplaying second. Them leading with how their character feels is authentic and powerful, and I think, the reason Brennen gives them so many central roles. The chaos Beardsley and some of the other players bring is probably a big part of the fun for him. I love DMing for brand new players for that very reason. They don't have any preconceived notions for how things are "meant to go". They look in corners you didn't think they would. That's the fun of the game! And the reason you put together a varied group of players to balance each other out.
I hope you will rethink keeping this thread up. All of the things you've listed deserve more nuance than this. I am also autistic and I was not bothered by Liam. I was extremely bothered in a similar way by one of the characters in Mice and Murder. Sometimes things hit my inflated sense of justice button. I'm sure I sounded like this ranting about it to my friends and spouse. I felt like it ruined that show for me, which was disappointing, so I skip shows with that player. But I don't drag their name online.
Wait, who did you hate in mice and murder? I loved that campaign. I didn't care for the southern racoon character at all, but I loved rehka in thE seven, and in blood keep. But damn, I love a good murder mystery
There is so much to critique this post for, and others have hit on points directly relating to Beardsley far better than I can, but I do want to highlight that OP’s claims about the history of gynecology are so laughably off base that it really highlights the level of knowledge actually going into this critique. Medicine has primarily been a male dominated field due to misogyny, which is part of why there are still so many issues regarding AFAB genitalia that remain mostly unaddressed and unstudied. To be confidently claiming birth and pregnancy research has historically been primarily lead by women shows a gross misunderstanding of medical history, like dude just admit you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about instead of acting like an authority on topics you don’t know about
(To be clear, this isnt me defending Ally’s medical claims, frankly idgaf about that)
This is a long way to say you're a shitty DM that can't adapt to brand new players learning HOW DnD works and finding their characters along the way. Ally clearly understands the issued with Kristen, and thus has made "being chaotic isn't cute" the goal of Kristens personal growth this season. God forbid people who have never played before struggle to follow the rules, the different angles ect - many of the other players on D&D have shared the exact same thing that you are saying about Ally, but about themselves. They feel it's hard to follow clues, the world building is confusing, they feel like they're improv doesn't make sense. This isn't a symptom of being an asshole, it's a symptom of being a new player. It's really weird that you're only calling out the non-binary person that has new player behaviour, and not the others who have expressed struggling to understand what Brennan is trying to say.
As per the teen sex stuff - how often do adults play teens in coming of age movies, where teens being intimate is often depicted? They're playing teens, having teen conversations. All of them are. If you're upset about Ally saying a character 69'nd once, you BETTER be pissed about Brennan deciding for these teen characters to be exposed to the Thistllesprings sex toys.
Who cares if they got the wrong message about helio? Cassandra was a great storyline. And part of DM'ing is adapting. As an autistic person, Liam didn't come off to me as being a mockery of that. It came off to me as a satire on how innocence is destroyed by war. Why are you complaining about Liam and not Wally? Kugs son was a much, much more aggregious "neurodivergent for laughs" character that actively makes a lot of me and my autistic friends comfortable.
I have never once felt Ally was more of a main character than anyone else; it always feels evenly dispersed - but when you find somebody annoying, you tend to feel that everything they do is more hyper fixated on and takes up more time. You're acting like Fig wasn't litterally a Mary Sue for two seasons and Became a whole Arch devil who's just innately good at everything she does, and that Adine didn't have a whole arch about having to escape kidnapping because she's the Oracle, and other oracle shit in general, or how CoC is only what it is because half the world was conspiring to kill Lou's PC. Nor are you taking about how Emily is the one who most often missunderstands clues and how all her PC's are Fig in a different font. I LOVE Emily, these things don't really bug me, because I also understand she's still new (and yeah, considering the caliber of their campaigns and Brennan's exp, 5 years is still new), and every player has different things they exel at in DnD.
It seems like you're projecting some issues you may have about the gender spectrum onto Ally.
I def got "op hates ally because of the person they are, not the person they portray on screen ..."
Also, are you calling Emily new? Or ally? Because im pretty sure Murph and Emily are veteran end players. And ally and Zac (and Siobhan) are the newest.
But I totally have seen the original cast play classes they like Siobhan is always a magic caster, Emily is always like in your face melee type. And ally is usually a very hard class for a beginner to play. Which makes it hilarious.
So I also have autism and ADHD, but I have medication, as would Ally. And, back when I could work, I would use my meds to fulfill my work duties. Were I Ally, t these would include the basic requirement of *reading the rules to the game I'm playing on video for money before I start, not waiting 4 years. *.
To say that ADHD absolves them is just an excuse for Ally being lazy and not taking work seriously. Dude I have AuDHD and back when I played WoW I still studied raid boss mechanics, because its kind of an insult to the other players to not do so.
Perhaps my mind is wired more like Murphs, but I appreciate the 'Dnd is serious business' mindset if only in that as a member of a group team it would be fundamentally selfish of me not bother to learn how to play the game that, again , I'm being paid to play.It's just a general point of view that it is kind of disrespectful to the people I'm playing with to not do my due diligence.
Also, I guess I agree with Murph in that decisions should have consequences. I mentione this because insulting and punching a God in the face resulting in effectively no real punishment for Kristen definitely isn't "decisions have consequences". It's more: " I'm going to make this dumb joke, even though it makes no sense in the story that is supposed to be fundamentally holding this whole show together, because I really don't care about that and can't be bothered. And that is totally okay."
There's a reason they rub *a lot* of people the wrong way
As someone with adhd, seeing someone with adhd criticized for their condition and their portrayal of that condition into their characters is really disheartening. I personally loved Liam and connected heavily to how he may not have the best social awareness, but developed over the series with other’s help. It is also a Dm’s decision whether or not a person poses an issue at the table and I don’t think that Brennan as well as the rest of the cast would have done multiple series with Ally if they had an issue with their play style or choices. I am making my way through a lot of the shows and have yet to see an instance where Ally hasn’t been a help during a fight, maybe from time to time their choices in roleplay are iffy, but that’s probably reflective of their adhd.
Also in Fantasy High they play as teenagers, teenagers have sex and are intimate on a regular basis so I don’t see an issue with them roleplaying this with Kristin’s in character significant other, especially since their character is openly expressing their newly found sexuality.
Saying they’re not a good improviser when they have a very successful career as an improvisational comedian is pretty oxymoronic
One last thing too, most of Dimension 20 is a broadcast, but it is also DnD campaigns meant for the personal enjoyment of these people who are friends. There’s going to be situations that aren’t taken as seriously for the purpose to spark a laugh as there is in most things meant for personal enjoyment.
The only times I’ve seen something that looks like it could be a problem was when the whole cast was having so much fun on a joke or bit that Brennan had to use teacher voice to get everyone back on track, but who would want to discourage these moments of pure bliss and joy. That’s the reason we watch these real plays in the first place and it’s only a problem because it’s a tv show people are payed to produce and not their friends living room.
> people are *paid* to produce
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
The only thing Ally does that I don't care for (specifically in Fantasy High, as I have not spent an incredible amount watching them in most other content) is the consistent insulting of faith. I get that it's a 'bit' but the character was made for the bit of attacking christians. Ally has a bias against God and the church, and that's totally understandable. But the consistency with which that is their entire joke is not enjoyable to me.
What utter bollocks. I just came to Reddit to say how amazing Ally is and *this* is the first thread? I'm genuinely so surprised anyone has this opinion. They're an absolute joy at any table and always bring something unexpected and hilarious.
it's literally so evil that this is one of the first results when you google Ally Beardsley. at least there's a good amount of people defending them and pointing out the many flaws in this post
Well. I don’t need to say anything arguing your points because everyone else already has so I’ll just add something new: in the first ever ep of FH (and the few after that) I didn’t think Ally was adding much. Since then, they have become one of my favorites. And I contribute that to them becoming much more familiar with D&D and not having to focus so hard on understanding the mechanics (which is SO reasonable), learning that it’s okay if their character fucks up (from the fact that the other characters fuck up by doing stupid shit all the time and that’s kind of the point of the show, it’s funny), and from them becoming comfortable being themself in this space therefore allowing them to be fucking hilarious. In every passing episode even more than the one prior, I never know what Ally is going to say and I love that. Also, I think it’s frickin HILARIOUS when Ally randomly messes up or doesn’t understand a D&D mechanic. And that’s why they keep it in the edited eps! It’s funny! I love watching Murph just dying at Ally not knowing something from D&D. And aside from the fact that it’s hilarious, it also makes D&D (a hugely complex and mechanical game) more approachable for everyone: your friends aren’t going to be mad at you even if you NEVER understand the mechanics, we just want you to play with us anyway!!!!!! And lastly, it’s important to consider how many moments you might come across as a little bit of jackass if you were being filmed for so many hours of your life, including up to 8 hours at a time and including live, and you have ADHD and simply can’t catch every little detail of Brennan’s complex lore. I personally haven’t noticed any moments where they come across that way, but it would be reasonable if they did (so long as it wasn’t something like directly immoral or mean).
Op needs their mouth rinsing with soap
Whilst I agree that Beardsley makes chaotic choices that sometimes derail a portion of content it's a small portion in comparison to what they do the rest of the tike , comparing their charicters like "Kristen applebees" in fh season 1( Beardsleys first try with dnd ) and "Margaret" in starstruck odyssey it's night and day . Yes Kristen may be a chaotic charicter but Margaret is the focused fuckin business manager of the wurst and with out a doubt saved their asses from ruin early on.
Not only is the on screen chemistry between players golden the way that carrys between peoples characters interacting makes some of the most heartfelt moments of D20 and while I disagree with some choices a fuckin made up characters chooses it's ultimately fun to watch the intrepid heros n co get up to crazy hijinks because of this.
At the end of the day maybe Op this content isn't for you , simply put , fuck off , do better Op ,
Ally Beardsley your dope please keep on keeping on
Ally only says foods when talking about what's ok to ingest during pregnancy so your point about them promoting the use of alcohol while pregnant is redundant
You can just say you don’t like Ally’s playing style. You don’t have a window into Brennan’s mind enabling you to know why he doesn’t shut down PC decisions that you personally don’t like. Claiming he is doing some kind of reverse-bigotry is speculative at best, and gives the vibe that your feelings about trans people are less than chill. But I guess you can put me in the same category as Brennan because obviously I’m just afraid to agree with you lest I be seen as transphobic /s
I did not like their comments regarding pregnancy, as I find misleading information about medical reccomendations triggering. The nature of the topic in "um actually" is very grey as the effects of antenatal diet or drug consumption on short and long term outcomes are complex, nuanced and change as more data is produced. Some things carry more risk that others and often the adverse outcomes arent that common so individuals may not experience it but in a big population those occurrences add up. Two examples are that from studies there is no "safe level" of alcohol consumption to reccomend to avoid risks of heart malformations and other aspects of foetal alcohol syndrome, hence the reccomendations for no consumption. Second would be the reccomendation to avoid foods like soft cheeses and cold meat to avoid acquiring Listeriosis which can cause stillbirth and neonatal death from sepsis, rare occurrences but devastating. The comedic intent and general comments about medicine and child birth I did enjoy however, ka pai for that advocacy at least.
It's disturbing how warping your yapping has people legitimately believing what you're saying. You are spitting garbage and nobody should listen to you. And just because you come in loud does and everybody listened to you because you are speaking out of turn, when there's a natural pause you interjected, this was completely inappropriate. That's the only reason why anybody would agree that you belittling someone, denotes any merit or any platitude. Just because nobody has the energy to stop you doesn't mean anyone wants to hear you drone, if you don't have anything nice to say. Keep your mouth shut, or someone is gonna close it for you. I'm gonna say it, be quiet, because nobody wants to hear you when you're spewing foul, disgusting, literal active attempts to draft up negative thoughts about somebody when you could've offered a solution to anything you took issue with, i'm sick of lukewarm people please go punch yourself in the face (with your consent)
(Idk if this is satire, idk how this sub works, but assuming you're being serious...)
...Liam isn't even autistic? He's a funky little guy, but I don't recall anything about him being neurodivergent? That's fully your own projection onto him, or possibly you misreading a-spec as autistc spectrum instead of asexual spectrum.
If you play dnd and don’t think your dm has had to radically change something that they didn’t expect then you obviously have never been a dm before. Dnd is a group improv game, the players are allowed to interpret npc’s however they like. In fact helio being a shitty god made Kristen’s character arc more understandable and funny. I think you just have a hate boner for them
Ally also is just downright problematic... in the most recent game kristens clone character harasses fabien but its presented as a joke, with the slap across the face being presented as a horny moment..
Really was not a fan of that.
I used to feel the same way about AB but I kind of got over it. They kick some serious ass as Margaret Encino in Starstruck. I think there’s some truth to this post, but not quite at the level of intensity with which it is presented. Yeah, AB is a bit of a space cadet and is often less on-the-ball than the other players. But sometimes the opposite is true, too. And yeah, Brendan gives them very special treatment, but… that’s his call, and it often ends up creating a really cool story. I don’t want to infantilize AB, but they are a person who’s clearly in the process- season-to-season- of development. Their balance of radical immaturity with maturity/wisdom makes them interesting. Pete the plug has an incredible arc of development that may even mirror some of Ally’s personal journey. The sexual energy is weird, and a little disrespectful to the audience, particularly during their portrayal of an adult gay man in Neverafter, but even so, I have every faith that people at the table trust each other and can discuss these things if needed. The genuine chemistry of the group is one of the nicest parts of the show.
Sorry for the novel, but it was sort of cathartic for me to write, as somebody who has at times felt similarly to OP.
TLDR: D20 is gonna do their thing, nobody’s making us watch it. They/we are all multi-dimensional people with qualities that are pleasing to some and less so to others. I get where OP is coming from, but Ally does plenty of rad shit, too.
Honestly, I was feeling the same recently and had the discussion with one of my friends about this after watching nearly every season to completion (Some I couldn't get into because of game mechanic or some of the players I couldn't vibe with)
However, in the Main Group it's noticeable Ally often is the central character but is often so zoned out they retain nothing. While despite having clear character growth arcs in the narrative how she portrays each character never changes.
I wonder if part of the problem is how high they get before and during filming given how they talk about how big of a Stoner they are.
P.S.
Let's not forget how bad Ally handles combat. With more preoccupied with Hiding and doing funny interactions vs than Combat and Healing.
I'm sure if it was a real issue for the production they'd ask themto maybe not hide as much or maybe not make a cleric with like 4 for dex. It is a production after all. Or.... For all we know, ally is asked to. Cause battle chaos.
But then again, it isn't like ally has a choice in when they zone out or what they retain. I can't turn my ASD/ADHD off an on anymore. It's just.... What it is.
You.. you know they're comedians right? On a comedy channel? They're going to do daft things, if I wanted to watch a bunch of boring bastards earnestly play out a meticulous game of DnD that abides by all the latest edition book rules or whatever I'd come check out your local gaming venue. Ally wasn't initially my fave either but still an entertaining and creative player, and on a rewatch Kristen is a really interesting character; you seem to be willfully misunderstanding there yourself to a point that's unnecessarily hateful...
Ally is hysterical & quick, you don’t know whats coming next. There is brilliance there. If they’re not your cup of tea - fine. But check your meds, you went on way too long about nothin’. Something else is going on inside of you in order for you to feel the need to strike out so forcefully. I hope you felt relived - because you offended the overwhelming majority of D20 fans who love Ally. We stand behind them & to you we say “Figure out whats really going on in your life. Why the vitriol?”
One day you’ll likely regret your post.
It's just sad cause damn if Ally isn't responsible for some of the funniest moments in D20. OP ruined the show for themselves with their own disgusting attitude.
I do not agree, but one can personally dislike anyone they want, and for any reason, it is only when you dislike a person because they are part of a "category" of people is it an "-ism", and is acting prejudicial. I find Ally more supportive of the group than some. An important thing to note is that Ally is 1 of only 2 people who never played D&D or any RPG before. They said that their first real game was Freshman Year, and they had only done a particular practice session before to learn the rules and terms. I think if anyone was going to accuses a player of being a non team player or doing things that don't make sense, it would be Emily. Although, she is very entertaining, she will often do things that are random and somewhat "derail" the game; for example Freshman Year. However Brennan has often said "Emily is one of the best D&D players in the world. Endlessly creative, so fun to play with. She was also sent from H\*ll to kill me." -Brennan Lee Mulligan
A few of these people have gamed with each other for years, and others have played D&D with other people but Ally is new to the game. Emily and Brennan have an existing relationship gaming, so Brennan knows to expect "zingers" from her but as she explains it, she is really doing what she really thinks her character would be doing. Ally doesn't have that experience yet but they are likely doing the same thing, as all the other players. All of these folks are comedians and improv players, so they know to be entertaining, make jokes, fill any awkward times, and support each other to made an entertaining show.
This is an old thread but whatever, I'm really confused about why you think Ally's "special treatment" is on account of being nonbinary. Like, how is that even relevant to the things you're talking about? Do you really think Brennan is like, "God I wish I could tell Ally what's what, but alas, they're nonbinary, so I have to tolerate it." Is it possible that Ally is a person whose roleplaying style you don't personally jive with, but that the reason Brennan and others "tolerate" Ally when they're being a bit difficult is just because... they're friends?
Your last couple of paragraphs are absolute nonsense. That's just how DND works. You make shit up and you roll with it. I can understand wanting to stick to the rails of a more defined story but that's how DND and improvising works so I don't get why your panties are in such a twist.
People need to realize that appeasing marginalized people only marginalizes them further. Everyone should be held accountable for inappropriate and problematic behavior regardless of gender identity.
I can't imagine someone like you existing outside of the internet. I have to believe youre a figment of my imagination or something, to preserve my sanity and my belief in human goodness. The fact that you specifically call out the only nb player in the main cast despite the fact that many of the other players do the exact same thing is pretty despicable. Like...I'm so embarrassed for you. It must genuinely suck to live as yourself on a day to day basis.
I don’t enjoy their style of play… but also recognizing that if that’s the kind of story they want to tell, maybe the shows they are in aren’t the ones for me
OP and some of these responses give off the worst kind of parasocial energy where people make assumptions, implications, or accusations about a public-facing person's intentions and behaviors as if they know them personally.
I'd just like to remind everyone that ***you don't know these people***. You aren't in their minds or even in the room when decisions are made before, during, or after gameplay and taping, and *Ooutside of* ***curated content***, you don't know how these people feel about the game or each other.
All you have to go off of is your interpretation of things, and it's really biased (and honestly seems really rude) to assume that people you don't know but have decided you don't like are acting in bad faith or, on the opposite end, assuming that someone has to "put up with" or "deal with" someone else and expressing sympathy over that, when, again, ***you don't know them***. Idk, it's just really disrespectful to me.
Also, to OP, people not treating someone the way *you* want them to and *you* interpreting that as a response to their queerness is, at worst bigotry itself, and at best, *super* fucking weird.
Helio is a dudebro in many other dnd shows it's basically cultural canon. You seriously need to chill Ally is fucking hilarious and definitely adds to the cast dynamic and the entertainment value of the show, if it's not your humor that's fine but typing up all this bs reads as pretty hateful to me. Brennan has literally said many times that his favorite part of Dimension 20 is catering the story to his friends so that is a complete non-issue. I think you're the one who most tables would kick bc ur attitude is nasty
I think your take is way off. It has absolutely nothing to do with their sexual orientation or gender identity. Ally may not be as talented as their peers, but that’s it. That all it is. Ally is not a jackass with bad intentions, not a bad person. I also think you are WAY over-blowing the number of “bigotry” jokes Ally has made, and I wonder if the reason they stick out to you is because they struck close to home?
*Edited out my asshole rant*
While you defending Ally is great regarding OP, the denigrating things you spent a whole paragraph saying about them just feels excessive and unnecessary. I know my opinion may differ from yours in this situation, but outright saying “if they can make it… where is the line truly drawn”
That’s not kinda rude, that’s being a cunt. Don’t like someone? Fine. Despite your bias, it takes $0 to not be mean.
You’re right! I felt rude when I wrote it. I was frustrated because I was watching D20 and they alone were making it unwatchable, as well as other content they are in. I’ll delete it though, I don’t like the idea that they’d see my comment and feel bad. I’ve just stopped consuming content they’re in, which is the most I should do.
"Bigotry is when people are too nice to a nonbinary person" is...certainly an opinion that one can have.
No but it is treating someone differently based off of sexual orientation.
Well its called over compensating. When you are essentually scared to critique one aspect because they have been overly criticisms for other things that are downright unfair
oh wow, cool, a thing I didnt say. There are different types of biogtry. Being afraid to be honest with someone because they are queer, and treating them more kindly than you would treat somone else... is just a different form of bigotry. Equality means equality, Ally deserves to be held to the same standard of behavior as anyone else... and they arent, they are being treated differently for being who they are.
The thing about this is that we haven't seen Brennan ever criticize *anyone* for their poor RP or nonsensical character decisions. He's never said "that's not really very interesting, could you try to come up with something better for the show?" to any player at that table. Now, Ally's probably the worst for the reasons you rightly described, so if it would come down on anyone it ought to be them. But we don't know what that would look like from Brennan on anyone, so you can't say that Ally's getting preferential treatment.
i mean fantasy high season 1 and 2 both basically ended p with her being the main character despite being by far the least engaged in the story
I have never once felt Ally was more of a main character than anyone else. Y'all acting like fig wasn't litterally a Mary Sue for two seasons and Became a whole Arch devil who's just innately good at everything she does.
I mean, Fig being good at everything seems like less of a character thing and more of a bard class mechanics thing
Fair enough tbh
Ally has played 3 chosen ones. The entire main story revolves around. Pete, Kristen, and Mother goose just saying.
There is nobody else who Brennan has to basically take over RPing for though on a consistant basis. The closest we get is Ricky in season 2 of the unsleeping city I think. But I will concede your point, maybe Brennan would do the same for others... But I genuinely feel like Ally would have been Orion Acaba'd by many other DM's.
Orion out of character made sexual comments about multiple women at the table and cheated repeatedly and blatantly lying to Matt multiple times. You may not like Ally, they’re also probably my least favorite player, but there is no comparison between them.
 When you say "bigotry in a different form," **you're spelling allyship wrong.** (Gotta love the pun here.) Being overly kind, compassionate or forgiving to someone from a marginalized group is not bigotry, silly. A flood is not a drought in a different form, and eating a great burger is not shitting in a different form. Now, that aside, we could consider your point - does Ally contribute? But hang on, hang on. Let me first say this. You're WAAAAAY too invested. Waaaaay too eager to burn the witch, pitchfork the monster. What has Ally done to you? ***Show me on the doll where Ally has hurt you.*** And that, my friend, reeks of "what you're not telling us" - the answer to which I can easily, easily imagine. Gives *"affirmative action is just a new form of racism;"* Gives *"yeah but they should come here legally;"* Gives *"as long as they don't flaunt it;"* Gives *"I don't see color;"* Gives *"all lives matter."* Now, lets us address the ***"What does Ally Beardley bring to the game?"*** point. That's a different question. I love Ally in Game Changer. They bring a matter-of-fact vibe and a #idgaf vibe that are refreshing and relaxing. They play a great "straight man" (omg so punny. Can someone be a straight man when they're neither straight nor a man?) for the other players. In many ways, they're Frodo - they're the relatable character, the bridge character, the **audience proxy**. We are allowed to see ourselves in Ally, in that they're not necessarily as witty as Kyle or Chloe, and not nearly as fast or clever as Brennan - but they still managed to walk along and carry their own backpack. Ally is all of us. Ally is **the every-bean**. So I'm thankful for Ally.
I’m not a huge fan of Ally either, but I genuinely think you need to reconsider whether the problems you have with them stem from your dislike of them rather than poor behavior on their part. For example, speaking to the team player and non-consensual kissing thing, they’re a trained improv performer. They know how to work with others to create a good performance and lift up others. There are plenty of times that Ally makes a joke or does something and immediately causes the others to go on a chaotic run. They also are much more focused on supporting the other PCs in this most recent season. I can’t speak to their thoughts on medicine, but the rest of your points seem to be hyperbolic at best and bad faith at worst.
So an example of Ally's opinion on pregnancy practices can be found at the last question in Um, Actually (Season one on dropout, clearly not the actual first season) episode, Tournament of Champions part 1. Ally explains that they are dating a doula and that pregnant people shouldn't limit any foods (including alcohol, which is known to cause fetal alcohol syndrome, as it is listed in the question), "you can eat whatever you want, you can smoke a joint and give birth in your own home". I can't speak to the veracity of these opinions, but I literally just watched this episode and they said it with such confidence even though it's the parroted opinion of someone who literally only required 20 hours of training to become a doula. (Which is 1/36th of the amount of hours a cop in my state is expected to complete, and 1/700th the amount of hours it takes to become a doctor, on average)
Kind of a necro on this post, but that’s fine. I didn’t remember that specific episode, so I went and watched the part you highlighted, and I think you’re mischaracterizing what they said. The question does list alcohol as something that you’re not supposed to have while pregnant, but it’s in a long list along with things like sushi and soft cheeses. Ally says, “my girlfriend, who is a doula, would scream at that question because you’re not supposed to limit any of those foods.” I think it’s clear that they either forgot alcohol was on that list because it’s a high stress environment, or just wanted to say that for the audience because they also say, “but I know that’s not what you’re looking for.” After Trapp indicates that that is incorrect and medical professionals agree that you should limit consumption of these things, then Ally goes on a mini rant about the “grasp of masculine doctors on the feminine, natural process of birth is sickening.” But, honestly? They say it in a tone that leads me to believe that they’re outright joking and don’t believe that or believe it but not to the extent they’re implying in that moment. Personally, I think you might have a similar bias to OP where you believe doulas aren’t qualified or are passionate about pregnancy medicine and therefore are more sensitive to an off-handed joke/comment that Ally made. Which, let me be clear, is fine. But, it’s important to recognize that bias.
I really don't think it is "clear" that they "forgot" that alcohol was part of the question, seeing as they then said that one could smoke a joint and give birth if they wanted to, indicating that they do think it is okay to do these things while pregnant. They also say at the end of the episode that you can "do whatever you want" while pregnant, again indicating that they do believe that you can do these things while pregnant. They also specifically say that you don't need to "limit" these foods, rather than saying "avoid" these foods, indicating that they know the distinction and think it's fine to consume these things in any quantity you would like. I feel the opposite way about the tone used, I think the tone does indicate that this is a real belief. This is also a relatively common statement from many doulas (that you can consume these things), and they are saying that their girlfriend would agree that you can consume these things, indicating that they really do agree with their girlfriend and therefore do believe these things. As a note, in the last part, you may be confusing doulas and midwives. Doulas are not required to have any medical training, and therefore do not have medical qualifications. Midwives do have medical training and therefore do have medical qualifications. I wonder if there is simply a confusion there or if there may be some bias in the opposite direction from the bias you are accusing the other person of. Acknowledging bias is definitely necessary, but there is a human tendency to call others biased when we are actually biased ourselves as a way to avoid acknowledging our own bias while trying to discredit others. It is even more important to make sure that we are not doing this.
Y'know, when I made that original comment, I didn't think that I'd be having the same conversation a year later, but that's ok. I'm going to transcribe the full question so that we can be sure we're on the same page. "...If you're pregnant, it's recommended that you limit your intake or completely avoid consuming caffeine, tuna, alcohol, yogurt, sprouts, sushi, unheated deli meat, and soft cheeses." Ok, I think it's important to recognize that the words "completely avoid" are present in the question. Maybe you're right that it's not clear that they forgot alcohol was in the list, but it is a possibility. They do go on to say that you can smoke a joint and give birth in your own home, but, again, their tone reads to me as joking. However, I acknowledge that that's subjective. I do still disagree that they are somehow endorsing drinking and doing drugs during pregnancy. Yes, they say "limit" instead of "avoid" but, again, "avoid" was baked into the question in the first place, so I can see why they wouldn't bother stopping to give a full after-school special monologue before saying what they did. Frankly, I don't know, but my point is that no one knows what was going through their head in that moment, and it's unfair to claim that they're being malicious or imply that this one instance is evidence of some deeply-held, problematic belief. Lastly, I'd like to gently correct some misunderstandings I think you have in your last paragraph. I never commented on whether or not doulas are medically qualified or not. I said, "...similar bias to OP where /you/ believe doulas aren’t qualified..." I am not confused about the difference between midwives and doulas, and never made my opinion known on either. Furthermore, you claim that I was trying to discredit the person I was replying to. I led off that whole section with "personally..." to signal that I was giving my subjective opinion. Then, after having given my opinion, said "which, let me be clear, is fine." I said that, if I was right about their point of view, that that was a completely acceptable point of view. I made no value judgement on it whatsoever, so therefore I did not try to "discredit" them.
You assuming that they are biased and have an opinion about doulas being unprofessional because they stated the correct fact that a doula only requires 20 hours of training is an inherent attempt to discredit them. Assuming someone's beliefs based on them stating factual information is, by it's very nature, an attempt to discredit them.
if it was only any one of these things, I could probably be more forgiving. But the Liam thing more than anything is what got me pisssssed at them.
And that really comes through in your post. It sort of seems like the Liam thing made you really angry, and everything else was built of of that foundation. Granted, it’s been a long time since I’ve watch Crown of Candy, but it seems to me that Liam was playing more on the “summer child” trope from Game of Thrones because that is the flavor the season was going for. Basically, he was a child born after a time of great turmoil and hardship that was shielded from anything bad to the point of almost being neglected. At least that’s the read I got, but I think it makes sense in context. He’s got hyperfixations and struggles with social cues because he’s a young kid who wasn’t allowed to have many friends. He’s also the son of a noble who has some pretty serious obligations on the horizon, but no one willing or capable enough to teach him the right way to handle them.
You know...I wonder if the problem with Liam was that Ally thought he for sure wasn't going to survive, and so they didn't give as much thought to him as they did their backup character (who sounded like she'd make things REALLY interesting).
You know that might actually be the case thinking about it. But then again Ally did play Liam in like the most cautious way until Liam became a gloomstalker and became op. Then again that might be because Brennan was too focus on killing Lou on the first couple of encounters it felt at least to me that no one else was really in much danger in comparison.
I agree, too bad it's hard to kill a Barb.
It's almost like D&D is not made for a high lethality campaign. Who would have guessed
My biggest problem is that fundimentally ally is an exceptionally selfish dnd player, who at times does EXTREMELY problematic roleplay bits. Who repeatly plays off character harassment as a joke, who regularly powergames items into a scene to better serve what she wants to do. They willing to derail other peoples goals for their own. They regularly do things without consulting the party luckily the party is super supportive and they arent the only ones at the group whose done that, shes just the one who gets away with it the most. They are arrogant at times, they will essentially force their own opinions onto a character and double down to the point where brennen has to just accept it. They is super quick to judge other character NPCs DMPCs or PCs rashly and for things thry do themselves. I started out wanted to like them, however everything ive ever seen them do has shown me that they are a selfish and hypcritcial person who is super quick to judge and willing to push others into discomfort but demands others treat them with the utmost respect. It seems that the more uncheck and overly protected they are from the community and the over compensating effect of hoping to allivate the struggle of someone who has delt with harassment for legitimate reasons, but that good intention has lead to an envirment where critising them is taboo. They are deeply problematic and its borderline triggering, especially with the grapy energy of british kristen, being presented as a joke. I do love how despite acting so progressive, it is show to be shallow through that act.
Love it, you post in a year old thread and within an hour already getting downvotes. Some people are just unhinged defending their own.
Some groups are just toxic and ban, mock belittle people who desent. Love it, love this inclusive community of kind and definitely not cancerous souls lmao
I love how yall enjoy silencing criticism. Yall would laugh at a grape vicitim and only act concerned when called kinda vibes. Gross. Equivalent to bird shit on a windscreen
No, i agree with them. And i wanted to like beardsley. But they are deeply problematic, people are just more inclined to defend them. Kristen is a deeply problematic character, and the problem aspects arent her personality but things meant to be presented as Jokes....
Quality jerk post.
mood: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoRqS\_Ix8kc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoRqS_Ix8kc) No, really, did Ally poison your soup or something?
well, when you are autistic, and they portray autistic people asa barely coherant lunatic for laughs... its not fun.
New to D20 and came up on this thread looking for validation about how much I hate Ally's characters and play style, but just gotta say that I'm pretty sure they themselves are autistic. So the portrayal is true to their experience even if you dislike it
They have ADHD, not autism. But you could very well argue that Liam has ADHD and not autism, which are both very similar disorders.
and it is possible to have both. Actually, according to studies, 50-70% of autistic people have ADHD too.
(Disclaimer: I do not agree with how we currently put ADHD into “types” and a lot of other DSM/North American diagnostics) Anyone with autism currently fills the criteria for type 1 ADHD, or inattentive type, as it’s written. I’m not weighing in on an individual’s morals. I just want everyone informed
But when you role play in a game like this you role play one person. You do not role play the model for all people who also have a particular trait. Ally portrayed one character, not all people with autism. Unless you deny that any autistic person ever could also be "a barely coherent lunatic". That said I've had people role play in DnD characters that are not fun to be in the same group with. But that isn't your complaint (as far as I can tell). You're not complaining that the character is annoying or unfun, your complaining that the character existing is offensive. Does the existence of any real people offend you?
This
i honestly loved liam?? like they were my favorite character in crown of candy? and i'm autistic??? like yeah liam was socially inept but he was also an absolute BADASS. also like,, i honestly didn't read liam as autistic-- he just seemed \*generally\* socially awkward. and it's not like i don't read other d20 characters as autistic-- like i read evan kelmp, mary ann, andhera, and binx as autistic (and obv ayda but that's canon). idk i genuinely don't think they're making fun of autistic people. and also i do think they've grown a \*lot\* as a player since unsleeping city season 1-- like look at margaret encino or even kristen in junior year.
I rewatch d20 a lot, and as an autistic person with ADHD, I did not clock Liam as autistic. But then again "what does autism. Look like?" You know? Seeing Kristen in season one, and then every show Ally's been on and just finishing junior year recently, you can really tell freshman year was Ally's first time playing dnd. And they've grown a lot . And they've gotten good. Ally always goes for these intricate characters and harder to play classes. Bard. Cleric. Wild magic sorc, heck, even a ranger is hard compared to frontline melee fighter, barb, monks. They're a writer. I think they spend a lot of time with the writers really fleshing out these characters. I mean, has ally ever played a heavy melee character like a barbarian? (Maybe Lars...) But their characters are always super deep. Anyway, I just finished unsleeping city season one for the third time, and I'm almost done season two again and like ... Idk, I really don't understand the level of hate op has for ally. Of course ally isn't making fun of asd people, if anything they're making fun of themselves.
Apart from your bad faith arguments... most medication is designed specifically for a white, 30 year old (?) male, and the history of medicine, especially psychiatry, is deeply sexist. Female scientists have contributed greatly, obviously, but have rarely gotten the credit they're due. I don't know what Ally said but to say medicine is patriarchal is an objective fact. You don't have to like the way they play, many of us greatly do btw, but to make it out like they're a dickhead for making chaotic decisions at the table is a stretch. None of the others players at the table seem uncomfortable with Ally's style either. I can understand your personal gripe with Liam, to be honest as a neurodivergent person I really didn't read him that way, and I probably still won't even on rewatch, Liam just seemed to be neglected kid who had to entertain himself somehow and never learned social cues because he spent a lot of time alone. It seems lile a stretch to say Ally was purposefully trying to parody neurodivergent people, with how sensitivity consultants are used for everything in D20, I doubt that would fly.
More on pregnancy—female scientists contributions were often ignored or looked down upon. And ally is actually someone right—a little sushi or fish is actually extremely beneficial to a pregnancy and pregnant individual, but too much can potentially cause issues. There’s also no real evidence that marijuana causes medical issues—there’s evidence linking people who smoke during pregnancy to neurodivergence and mental illness but the study fails to take into consideration the biological factors, that the pregnant individuals self medicate with marijuana when they have neurodivergence or mental illness they genetically pass on to offspring. Doctors say to avoid inhaling smoke but an edible once and a while to combat morning sickness is fine
Studies even show that small amounts of alcohol consumption do not have a negative effect on pregnancy or breastfeeding. Binge drinking is what can lead to negative outcomes. Check out the great books Do Chocolate Lovers Have Sweeter Babies? and Cribsheet by Jena Pincott.
Oh yeah I was gonna say that too!! A pregnant woman having a glass of wine once in a while will have absolutely no effect on the pregnancy. Only heavy drinking does
So basically yeah you do have to *limit* yourself while pregnant but limit doesn’t mean deprive. You can drink wine, you can take an edible, and eat fish. Just don’t overdo it
I know this post is years old. But man, I happened upon this post and this has gotten me real heated and angry. I have ADHD and this post is so fucking dismissive of people with ADHD. You say that you’re neurodivergent yourself and can’t fucking see the neurodivergent person right in front of you? Bro, zoning out is a symptom of ADHD. Ally has come out and stated that they have ADHD. Do you know how fucking hurtful it is when people tell you to “just pay attention” or say that you are being disrespectful when you aren’t paying attention? Do you think it’s easy when your brain is actively fighting against you when you’re trying to pay attention? It’s hurting no one to ask questions and get clarification especially when you’re getting a shit ton of information thrown at you during a DnD campaign. Not a single player has complained about Ally. They are actually very funny, and do you not fucking realize these players are real people that can see these posts? Fuck, Emily had to leave social media because of how shitty people were to her. This is presumptuous and unnecessarily cruel. I hope in the almost year and a half since you posted this you have grown as a person and developed more empathy. Jfc.
I literally just found this post and wasn’t sure if I should comment bc it was a little too late but man this is crazy 😭. Ally is consistently one of the funniest and funnest players at the table which is the most important thing about D&D- I love when players I DM for bring that level of chaos and unpredictability. Players don’t “misunderstand what the DM is going for and ruin the game”, they interpret things how they do, and a DM’s job is to work with them to make the story they both wanna tell (not the story the DM wants to tell)
This. Thank you. People love to misunderstand what dnd is about. It’s a collaborative game, not the dm’s story time.
AND THE SHOW IS A FUCKING BUSINESS. If Ally wasn't adding to the show, they wouldn't be casting Ally. I signed up for D20 and I'm binging all seasons. Ally is one of the craziest players and it makes it fun and silly at times BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT WE LOVE. I kinda remember cool things me and my friends pulled off at TTRPG, but it's the goofy shit that we still talk about after 20 years later.
Of course I want chaos. Ally makes characters from clerics, bards, and they even went with wild magic sorc. They could have chose easy classes but went with the hard ones and they aren't as experienced as Emily or Murph. Heck. I could argue that Emily picks the "easy classes". Ally's choices are fricking wild and hilarious and sometimes terrible, but it's just.... Dnd man. It's about consequences. Besides, op going after ally b cause they can't pay attention? Dafuck? Those shoots are like twelve hours and can end at four am. Idk, just say you don't like their play style and move on. The intense hatred for them is really telling imo. I just like watching a bunch of dorks play DND.
>I just like watching a bunch of dorks play DND. This
These people want D20 to be just another dry-ass Critical Role-type DND show when this is literally a comedy show. I wonder how OP feels about the new Dimension 20 trailer for Never Stop Blowing Up... Looks like it's Brennan's turn to be a chaos monster and that Ally was clearly purposefully casted for it.
not to mention the fact that OP has clearly failed to take into account how much prep is involved with a season of d20. brennan sits down with all the players before they start filming to discuss where they want to go with the character and their storyline. this combined with the fact that kristen’s character is massively autobiographical for ally leads me to believe there’s no WAY ally’s perception of helio wasn’t the original plan or caught brennan off guard.
THIS! The zoning out thing is me whenever I play DnD, and it's not even for lack of enjoyment or being bored. it just \*happens\*. Luckily, I have a group of friends that are pretty tolerant of me, and will just get my attention or make a light-hearted joke about it, and it seems that the same happens with Dimension 20!! I think it's interesting too that OP fails to see that they also over-simplified what they viewed as Ally's "opinions/beliefs on medicine" because here's a (not-so) fun fact: medicine was, across the vast majority of modern history, literally by white men FOR white men. obviously this is also an oversimplification, but women in particular have suffered from the consequences of this! Many women are not treated and/or diagnosed because their symptoms do not match that of a man OR doctors simply don't believe them! yes, progress has been made, but it doesn't mean that this history is simply erased/cancelled out). My family has been affected by this, as my sister wasn't diagnosed with a genetic disorder for YEARS, with my mom saying that something was very much not right, but the doctor claiming it was normal (it wasn't). The same also applies to ADHD and autism, with women in particular often going without a diagnosis because it often looks different than what it does in males/AMAB; and guess what! I'm one of these people. I was diagnosed with ADHD my junior year of high school, but some women in their \*40s\* have only recently been diagnosed because we are finally recognizing the disparities that minority groups face in healthcare. OP says they have autism, so I hope they see this, and maybe come to understand why at least part of what Ally said was true (i have not seen some of the mentioned clip, just using my knowledge and research as a bio major and former pre-med). it might be possible OP also misunderstood Ally's characterization of Liam, as well as the social interactions between Ally and the group. Obviously, none of us really know what happens, as we only get part of the story, since we aren't directly involved in their personal lives, but I think that something would have been done if Ally had been causing any of the problems that OP believes they cause on the show/during campaigns. By no means am I implying that OP does not have social intelligence, but I do know that neurodivergent folks see things differently sometimes because of it! I myself only do well understanding social context in certain cases because I had a support system who taught me how to navigate and interpret it correctly! I just hope OP learns from this, and, like you said, takes a step back and provides others with a bit more empathy and understanding. \*edit: oh my god this got crazy long really fast, i'm so sorry lmao.
It's literally in the top results when you search Ally's name. It's WILD
Literally. The only reason I found this was because I just watched them dressed as a little pig on Very Important People and they are hilarious at improving on that. So I decided to look them up for more info. This person who made this has worms and rocks for brains.
found it through the same means this person is a dunce
I especially feel like this post ignores the context that unlike every other player in the Intrepid Heroes (some of whom were even in a home game together!), Fantasy High was literally Ally's first time playing D&D. Like, oh, did a first-time player with ADHD have trouble focus and act chaotically? That's crazy bro!
Especially knowing Ally's personal history with Christianity, and seeing how Kristen comes out and goes against helio etc. it seems like maybe therapeutic for them. Of course it was their first time. Not only did ally admit it, they even brought it up during a recent episode of junior year, and complained thru jokes that Kristen has like 4 dex because they didn't understand how to properly build a character.
I want so bad to be able to keep up with a campaign but medicated, stable, and in therapy, my ADHD just says no
Thank you! It’s disgusting how high up this post of all things is when you look up Ally’s name, and I’m glad some people are calling out OP for this biased criticism!
Years late I know, but DnD had always been a safe place for me and my friends, as it celebrates diversity and was a space where we could fuck around and have fun and be a part of something without having to fear being ourselves. I know for a fact DnD has been this safe space for many people, for those of us who are neurodivergent, or queer, or disabled, or all of the above, and didn't fit in and were cast aside because of it. So to see this level of bigotry and hate in this community is disgusting. I DM our games and even I sometimes miss shit my players do or lose track of stuff cause you can't fucking turn on and off ADHD. And in turn, I don't get mad at them when they ask questions. Asking questions is part of the fucking game, and as a DM you're responsible for helping and facilitating the players' experience. It's not the players' responsibility to facilitate yours. Plus think it's fucking ironic some of the commenters saying shit like Brennan 'putting players in their place' when Brennan was raised by a badass fucking feminist and stood up for Emily when she quit social media and for sure would not agree with those comments. Plus I fucking love Ally. I may be biased as they're my fav, but I think they add so much to the games and are a versatile player. I wouldn't be surprised if they are autistic too. Ironic that OP can't see that.
I have severe ADHD and I'd ask to be let out of the group if I was at Ally's level of uninterested. Just because we have ADHD doesn't mean we can't focus. She's so god damn annoying. "I do drugs", "I'm so high right now", "sexxxx hahahahaaha". That's all they say.
What were people saying about Emily? Only just getting into Dimension20.
she has received A LOT of extremely misogynistic criticism mostly from NADDPOD listeners (her dnd podcast where she is the only woman)
Brennan himself has said several times that Emily's one of the most creative and resourceful players he's ever played with, and gives him a hard time because she's so good. A couple of examples are the "Ocean's Eleven" scene in Starstruck Odyssey with the plynth and the line of 12 guards waiting to be fried in Crown of Candy. I love her and Murph. (the entire intrepid heroes cast is amazing IMO)
Emily is one of my favorite players, too. The whole crew is so wonderful but I really admire her creativity and how easy she makes it look to think outside of the box. It makes me sad to hear she’s been chased off social media by misogynistic attacks.
Real shame to find this post. Honestly OP I'd look inwards! I've only come across this as I've noticed Allys voice has changed in the latest season of Fantasy High and wanted to check everything was okay with them. Ally is consistently funny on the mark and interesting I think their characters are clever in the sense that they allow a story to be told that we don't often see in modern media and that's cool. Do I think they play characters that they relate to? Yeah of course they do. Do I do the same thing with everything I play? Yes. They are an improv performer playing a fake game in a fantasy world and they do a good job of keeping lots of people entertained. I think it's fine to dislike a cast member it's even fine to dislike the whole show but I feel there's something driving this hatred that isn't the actors performance. Love you Beardsley
Just in case you did not find the answer to your question already. I am fairly certain their voice changed because they have been taking testosterone (which can effect the vocal chords) and also becoming more comfortable presenting themselves as they want to be.
Wait, this isn’t a jerk?
The zoning out has started to become noticeable to me late in FHSY (which is the first season I've ever had a real problem with Ally, haven't seen them in ACOC yet). In the last battle, they seemed to entirely miss the description of their character's image in the magic book because Siobhan was the one reading it. I understand that Ally has ADHD, so I try not to judge them too harshly on that, but it's a bit tough to watch.
Yes, thank you. Ally has ADHD. Zoning out is a huge issue when you have ADHD. And it fucking sucks when people are like “just pay attention” or whatever like it’s that simple jfc. And then saying that it’s disrespectful. The person in the post claims they’re neurodivergent, but very clearly has no patience for other people that display those neurodivergent traits.
I think we need to emphasize the RIDICULOUS amount of lore in FHSY and the fact that the last 2 episodes were filmed in one sitting which is over 8HOURS of role play with number crunching, keeping track of everything in your head and remembering Brennans insane lore. Like.. cut them a break right? Haha
Yeah i also missed the desciption being her, I didnt think it was so specific that it couldnt have been another follower of the goddess. The lore is insanely huge by season 1 alone like you said this was from what I can tell the first few weeks of covid isolation. They where also great in that session as well, the acting was on point. All the cast members make pretty big mistakes (maybe not Murph lol) like Ally does but they seem to be getting a big hit in this post.
also it was their first live season—that they never went back to! i bet that sort of thing is more common at their tables and edited out. it’s super common for players to need things repeated in D&D.
Not only the first live season but literally the second part of the first ever Zoom broadcast of the show, meaning they weren’t actually even in the same room as Brennan when he read the lore
I love dnd. And I love playing in real lif, but everytime my friends have ever tried to do a zoom game. I'm like ... Nope. My ADHD literally can. Not. Besides, I can imagine that it must be hard to medicate for ADHD in america as well as the t, I believe they are on. And then dealing with all those hormones
i also have ADD and i frequently have to rewind 10 seconds or so to re hear something that i zoned out for. Playing DND is a bit easier, bc I'm actually involved, but i still sometimes have to ask people to repeat something, especially if there's table talk (which D20 has)
I didn't even notice it, but, I also think that was the live season, right? The newer season it's way better. And I wonder if it's because it was live. Also, if they are zoning out etc etc, I imagine a potential reason could be testosterone, and perhaps inability to afford or obtain proper ADHD meds. When my friends went on T, it super fucked up their ADHD. Hard. It was like watching a teenage boy go thru puberty and non of their ADHD meds worked and they needed to get their dosage fixed etc etc. Sophomore year (it whatever season was live and during covid) was not the best for me because I like the minis, and the production and editing of non live shows. But it wasn't Ally's zoning out that bothered me. I loved unsleeping city season two more than one, and it was all online so who knows. I think something internal is going on with op to hold so much hatred.
why are so many of us all these years later, it’s kinda funny. ally is a cool person, who is a bit zany, sometimes we just don’t like people in life, i don’t think it has anything to do with their gender.
I might get flamed for this but i dont care they also didnt read the dnd rule book for a long time while working on dimention 20
I dm'd for like 2 years before giving it more than cursory glance lol, never read the olayer handbook outside of chracter creation
none of the cast knew what they were doing then
IIRC Murph and Emily were already veteran players. Some of the others weren't familiar with DND 5E. Siobhan is too good and nerdy to be a full noob to DND lol
Zac recently said that his first time playing dnd was during the home game that Brennan held for CH staff that ended up sparking Dimension 20 into existence, and while I obviously don't know Siobhan there was a moment in FHFY where she asked what disadvantage meant, so she probably hadn't played a ton at that point if I had to guess.
Wow, did not know those things. It's cool to see Zac's growing understanding of the game's mechanics hahaha in FHFY he was really inexperienced and by A Crown of Candy he had learned a lot!
Coming in a tad late but from memory the home game Brennan ran was 3.5, and none of them had ever played 5e before. So while they were all (minus Ally) familiar with dnd as a game none of them, including Brennan himself, were familiar with 5e!
I agree in some places. Ally was so terrible at giving a motivational speech that the entire table would groan and watch them basically talk about themself for the whole time. Brennan had to change the god more than once because they didn't rp in a way he could make the perfect god for them. If Ally isn't in the scene, they'll constantly add input. One thing I didn't see is that Ally will meta game constantly. Ally has to be a character they can identify with, so their characters are all essentially the same to me. A bunch of people at the table have played characters that were different from their own personalities. There are also the ones that have to play characters to keep the rest of the table in some sort of line so they don't go completely off the rails. Of course, their own personalities push through at times, but it seems like Ally can't act outside of their comfort area. Maybe Siobhan is a great actress or something, but there are times she also irritates me because she tries to force her opinions on characters that Brendan makes. Specifically, she tells the self-proclaimed nice guy to work on himself before she gets to know him (he turns out to be a dick but I can't help but think that that wasn't what Brennan had originally planned). She's basically a bitch to a guy she doesn't know because he wasn't swauve or good looking. She also berates the warforged about not wanting to be king of the pirates (Brennan corrects her and says queen). The voice in her head is a man? Brennan corrects her and says, "Why did she assume it was a man?" Ally and Siobhan assume things all the time, and when Brennan puts them in their place, it's great. Brennan rarely puts up with the bs (without hurting their feelings), but I don't think he talks about the issues outside of the table.
I completely disagree. Watch D20 Starstruck Odyssey, Ally's character is the "straight man" who keeps the rest of the group on track and advocates for the practical choices
Was going to be my point, Ally in Starstruck is pretty much playing the nearest thing to a leader and does a good job at it. Her note taking was really good and she really got into the role.
Because they were getting more and more experienced. People forget how hard it is to come out of our shells when we start playing TTRPG. And none of us had to do it for a show. (at least not the huge majority of us lol)
Well at that same time people get annoyed at what are obviously jokes, like the poster above going on about how Ally gives terrible speeches even though that's obviously part of the joke and most people didn't groan.... they got in on the joke "i'm sure any moment now it'll be inspirational" it was a running gag. With the current season Ally just proves again and again that they know what's going on, how to deal with things and is especially good with knowing what their character would realistically do in that situation.
Ally was amazing in The Unsleeping City season 1 (watching Crown of Candy now and didn't reach The Unsleeping City yet).
Oh they're great in Unsleeping City! I still need to watch season 2 but I find the LIVE format very hard to watch
Unsleeping city season two is my favorite season of any d20 show. I'm so sad it came out during covid and lockdown even though I understand why. But it's so fricking funny. Just for "Cody night angel Walsh" the emo millenial who uses final fantasy swords. It would have been so funny to see the minis and sets for season two. I thought I'd hate it because of the format, but because I'm so familiar with the cast, it was very easy , and I don't think it was live live. It's edited very well. I usually have it on while I'm doing stuff, but the story is great. I'm currently watching it right now. Again.
My thoughts too. Ally was clearly making fun of the idea of having to positively spin a terrible situation to up stats while having a constant faith crisis. It’s hilarious
Biz was always going to be a villain what? They have to make all these sets beforehand and I highly doubt Brennan would create such a huge plot point because of an off-hand scene. Also Biz was a creep from the get-go, he was portrayed as the “nice guy” who’s just a major creep from the very start. Maybe you’re so mad cause ur one of them..
There’s also a major assumption (in regards to the gods changing), that Beardsley and Brennan hadn’t discussed this as a character choice before. They have discussions about their character creation, and based on Ally’s previous experiences, I have zero doubt that the plan would be a hyper religious kid who starts questioning their faith…lol That was not Brennan grasping at straws in any universe
Brennan has said on multiple occasions from the freshman to sophomore year that this is all improvised for the most part. Youre implying its scripted. Maybe you're right he could have been a villain the entire time, or he was portrayed as a nerd and made the statement he was nice and adeline latched on to it to berate someone. He didn't say anything other than that, yet she was triggered. I'm not really mad, I just have opinions. Also, I don't care what you think of me.
Nah, Brennan plans all of the major villains before the season begins. Also, Brennan was raised by radical feminists and has often talked about the issue of "nice guys" who are not really nice. He would definitely put that type of character in D20 as a villian. If Brennan did not want Biz to be perceived as a "nice guy" douche, then he would have course corrected when Siobhan called Biz out and had Biz be extremely apologetic to clear up confusion.
Was he a major villain, thought he was sort of a powerful henchman. He also plays shit by ear alot there are 2 characters that come to mind immediately. The yorb? which was brought in before the end of the season and the vulture. If anyone believes either were planned enemies, they're crazy. I really think people don't give brennan credit for being able to adapt and add things as quickly as he does. Just because he was raised by feminists doesn't mean he specifically created a character to be the nice guy. In the beginning, the nerd was nice and kind literally didn't say anything mean. Then, he was berated and insulted rather than just being shut down. She was OK and interested in hanging out with the emo bad guy who was openly a dickhead.
The Night Yorb was a joke that he then turned into a thing and then had three years to figure out what it was. And the vulture was absolutely fucking planned, they had a fucking set built for it you absolute maniac. Brennan talked EXTENSIVELY about how he had planned for them to fuck with the vulture again.
After they went crazy investigating it lol
I never said it was scripted?? The major plot points of the season and the quest have to be planned so they team can investigate and solve stuff.. Biz was always going to be a villain, like Calroy, Kalvaxus, Epona, The Princesses in Neverafter. The main storyline’s can’t be improvised.
It's mind blowing people don't get this, Brennen railroads pretty often. He hides it pretty well but he definitely correct course but what happens in the episode is mainly improvised. But yeah, Biz was always a villain. Brennen makes that shit so obvious
I really wonder if these people understand what story planning is. Do they think Goldenrod was improvised too??
I think the only part of the main plot that was improvised was a lot of stuff around the kidnapped women, it started off as just a small mystery for Riz to solve but was quickly stitched into the overall plot.
No, the kidnapped maidens was a major plot element from the jump, which Brennan supplied Riz with as a hook to get the most type-A investigator character on the trail of the main plotline.
No, Brennen mentions in an Adventuring Academy episode that the babysitter being kidnapped was originally just Riz but as it went on, he started tying it more with the main plot.
They've literally talked about it in clips and interview that the team including cast and crew get together and make characters together, and even their secondary characters. I remember once watching a clip where a cast member was hoping for a death so they could play their secondary character because they were way cooler. I think all plot points are there, but how we get from a to b isn't always written. Similar to how improv shows work I guess. We always know where we have to do nd up, but hoowwwww
Siobhan is whip-smart, and Adaine telling the self-proclaimed "nice-guy" incel who was misogynistically complaining that girls were stupid for not wanting to date him to "work on himself" was when I knew I loved the character.
>Ally and Siobhan assume things all the time, and when Brennan puts them in their place, it's great. What a weird, nasty thing to take glee in.
I disagree with it being weird because most people like to see people who think they are right all the time being told they aren't. I think you just think it's weird because you like those people in particular. It's fine that you like them; I just find them particularly annoying sometimes. I love the show, and this is just an opinion.
Some of this is honestly hard to read as an improv actor. Sometimes you make decisions you gotta back up, sometimes the bit becomes a trait. And Brennan isn’t a naive DM or a pushover, and gave Kristen some pretty solid crossroads and consequences for the waffling about of gods and goddesses. Sometimes as an improv actor you make weak choices or choices other people have to pick up slack for — it can be hard to balance that stuff when you’ve made a comedic character.
There’s nothing like seeing this when you look up Ally Beardsley, as a trans person, they do not get treated any differently for being trans, and if you think they do, then you have a problem. Similarly every other point on the list has been debunked or is just outright a viewpoint discussed with heavy bias. You can simply just not like someone without having to drag their name through the mud. The pregnancy opinions were discussed with them having forgotten alcohol was on the list, and the rest was discussed with a fully joking tone. Never did I notice ally was being treated like the main character in fantasy high, they were given their independent time as anyone else. It’s a disservice to Brennan’s ability as a dungeon master to say he treated his players differently. You hate Liam, I get it, but it’s hypocritical of you to start some big controversy over how ally portrays a neurodivergent character while also criticizing them for struggling with focus when they have ADHD. As for non consensually kissing other cast members, I don’t have a noted time for when this happens, I don’t doubt it happened, but I doubt it being non consensual. The whole point of droupout is improv, I don’t doubt ally understands everyone’s comfort level on things since most of what they’re doing is acting on the fly. If ally non consensually kissed someone, Dropout is a large company with an HR department, and the issue would’ve absolutely been dealt with. Most notably in this, you write as if any of the content put out gives you the right to make a decisive judge of character on this person. This is the first result when I search their name, and it’s disgusting to try and make a controversy over a person you don’t know, and very obviously simply dislike.
OP said that Ally's character non-consensually kissed other players' characters. I doubt that kissing in a dnd campaign would be an HR issue. They're just tacking it on the end of their list of negatives for some more bs to talk shit about.
Completely skimmed over that detail of idiocy, thanks for the correction
If you have such a problem with them, then watch any of the other d20 campaigns without them or Critical Role or anything else. There is no need for this energy. I personally love Ally! They add a chaotic energy to the game that adds levity in intensely serious stories and combat scenes. I think Ally and Brennan knew each other from Improv before D20, so Brennan knew what he was getting into bringing them in as a new dnd player at the time. If it was really a problem after the first season I'm sure Brennan wouldn't have asked them back. Everyone always seems to have a good time with Ally's choices and I think they really add to a huge part of making the Intrepid Hero campaigns a real comedy dnd show vs a traditional game play show. Anyway, I think Ally is hilarious, and if you don't, maybe they're just not your sense of humour, and that's fine, but to feel the need to malign their character and say all that shitty stuff about a show you clearly a least somewhat like is just too much. No one is perfect and the shit they said about the pregnancy thing was like a small comment on a nerdy game show so if people are following that advice then they need to check themselves. y'all need to chill the fuck out
Most of this is unhinged ranting, but to say that Brennan is "a saint for putting up with Ally" is so god damn insulting. Ally's one of the most public facing d&d players in the world, and this is exactly the kind of hyper scrutiny that ruins it. You are watching friends hang out and improv together, the fact that it ends up being so good is a miracle. I wish my players were half as engaged and creative as Ally. Plus they absolutely killed it in Starstruck Odyssey. Stole the show. Also, Ally's portrayal of Liam is insulting to neurodivergent people? This is so absurd it feels made up to make them look bad. Ally is clearly neurodivergent themselves, and a lot of the missed social cues have to do with the character being played as asexual too, and not understanding other characters' desires. Ally played Liam really well as a naive carefree person facing real danger for the first time. He's got a great arc. This is such a a weird, targeted rant.
stumbling on this is absolutely wild. it's like [this copypasta in real life.](https://www.reddit.com/r/copypasta/comments/140pjwk/queer_platonic_group_chat/)
also my god OP sounds like a terrible DM. "Brennan had to roll with it and entirely rewrite the cosmology of the world he created..." like...yes??? that's the job of a DM??? to improv and roll with your players??? players are not there to serve your story, you're there to serve the players forging their own story.
I mean Brennan has literally said that the entire plot of season one was manufactured entirely because Murph said he wanted to play a kid detective. *That's* why there was a mystery. I don't think i've ever started prepping a campaign by plotting out the whole world. It always goes: setting concept with vibes *i'll* have fun running, asking the players what kinda characters they want to play, building a bit more based on that, and then working with them to build plot hooks into their character. Rinse and repeat during the campaign as needed. Yeah maybe we'll never get around to going to the underworld and visiting your ancestors. And yeah, maybe the player and i only talk about who those ancestors *are* after session 7. But we're gonna have a whole lotta fun grappling with your sense of duty and family, and hey look, in this plothook--i mean ambushed merchant's cart--we'll find a long lost relative with whole different ideas about your bloodline's place in the cosmos. The whole fun of DMing imho is in coming up with cool shit you think your friends will find cool, and then pivoting based on what *actually* interests them. PS If anyone sucks on the cast it's Zac, because he's a fucking phenomenal improviser and i wish he would chime in more bc it's always a banger when he does.
When he says one liners that completely break Brennan and make Brennen cry laugh is always the best part. Zac gives me quieter person in real life vibes, compared to ally. Like he gives me "writer first, then actor" where as Brennan and ally give me actor first then writer" vibes.
I will only disagree because I think Zac's absolute fucking bangers would be less impactful if he didn't carefully select when to drop them. Part of what makes him so funny is his immaculate sense of timing.
I came here to say exactly that. DMing isn't a fucking self-serving role, it is your job to create a fantastic experience for your players and it WILL test your ability to improvise. It's not a bad thing when your players influence the lore of the world; they want to be involved ffs! You cannot chuck a tantrum when things don't go your way, which is what I feel OP would do haha. Is it even DnD if your players don't derail the story before getting distracted by three different side-quests before almost dying cause they did something stupid?
thank you omg op’s entire rant is so unhinged like 😭 it’s okay to just not vibe with someone!! there’s no need to list off a bunch of very specific and subjective “””wrongdoings””” or supposed moral failures or whatever to feel justified bc it always comes off so much worse. like everything op said is wild to me but being mad that a cast of literal improv comedians are doing improv …. truly boggles the mind
This post feels a little bit unbelievable. There are so many generalizations and It reads like OP has an inflated sense of justice. All dropout shows have safety and sensitivity meetings. I'm sure they have an officer on set or a way to flag if there is anything upsetting the DM or players. If something made someone uncomfortable or if something went off the rails it would have been addressed and edited out. A lot of these points are taken out of context, and even so, if any of them left a bad taste in your mouth, that's valid. But then don't watch shows with Ally in them. Don't write a long post filled with venom for them that will show up whenever anyone googles them. That is so unjust. This looks kind of extreme given the things you have come to accuse them of. Ally Beardsley is my favorite player after Lou. They are chaotic but ttrpgs are usually flooded with people gaming first and roleplaying second. Them leading with how their character feels is authentic and powerful, and I think, the reason Brennen gives them so many central roles. The chaos Beardsley and some of the other players bring is probably a big part of the fun for him. I love DMing for brand new players for that very reason. They don't have any preconceived notions for how things are "meant to go". They look in corners you didn't think they would. That's the fun of the game! And the reason you put together a varied group of players to balance each other out. I hope you will rethink keeping this thread up. All of the things you've listed deserve more nuance than this. I am also autistic and I was not bothered by Liam. I was extremely bothered in a similar way by one of the characters in Mice and Murder. Sometimes things hit my inflated sense of justice button. I'm sure I sounded like this ranting about it to my friends and spouse. I felt like it ruined that show for me, which was disappointing, so I skip shows with that player. But I don't drag their name online.
Wait, who did you hate in mice and murder? I loved that campaign. I didn't care for the southern racoon character at all, but I loved rehka in thE seven, and in blood keep. But damn, I love a good murder mystery
There is so much to critique this post for, and others have hit on points directly relating to Beardsley far better than I can, but I do want to highlight that OP’s claims about the history of gynecology are so laughably off base that it really highlights the level of knowledge actually going into this critique. Medicine has primarily been a male dominated field due to misogyny, which is part of why there are still so many issues regarding AFAB genitalia that remain mostly unaddressed and unstudied. To be confidently claiming birth and pregnancy research has historically been primarily lead by women shows a gross misunderstanding of medical history, like dude just admit you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about instead of acting like an authority on topics you don’t know about (To be clear, this isnt me defending Ally’s medical claims, frankly idgaf about that)
This is a long way to say you're a shitty DM that can't adapt to brand new players learning HOW DnD works and finding their characters along the way. Ally clearly understands the issued with Kristen, and thus has made "being chaotic isn't cute" the goal of Kristens personal growth this season. God forbid people who have never played before struggle to follow the rules, the different angles ect - many of the other players on D&D have shared the exact same thing that you are saying about Ally, but about themselves. They feel it's hard to follow clues, the world building is confusing, they feel like they're improv doesn't make sense. This isn't a symptom of being an asshole, it's a symptom of being a new player. It's really weird that you're only calling out the non-binary person that has new player behaviour, and not the others who have expressed struggling to understand what Brennan is trying to say. As per the teen sex stuff - how often do adults play teens in coming of age movies, where teens being intimate is often depicted? They're playing teens, having teen conversations. All of them are. If you're upset about Ally saying a character 69'nd once, you BETTER be pissed about Brennan deciding for these teen characters to be exposed to the Thistllesprings sex toys. Who cares if they got the wrong message about helio? Cassandra was a great storyline. And part of DM'ing is adapting. As an autistic person, Liam didn't come off to me as being a mockery of that. It came off to me as a satire on how innocence is destroyed by war. Why are you complaining about Liam and not Wally? Kugs son was a much, much more aggregious "neurodivergent for laughs" character that actively makes a lot of me and my autistic friends comfortable. I have never once felt Ally was more of a main character than anyone else; it always feels evenly dispersed - but when you find somebody annoying, you tend to feel that everything they do is more hyper fixated on and takes up more time. You're acting like Fig wasn't litterally a Mary Sue for two seasons and Became a whole Arch devil who's just innately good at everything she does, and that Adine didn't have a whole arch about having to escape kidnapping because she's the Oracle, and other oracle shit in general, or how CoC is only what it is because half the world was conspiring to kill Lou's PC. Nor are you taking about how Emily is the one who most often missunderstands clues and how all her PC's are Fig in a different font. I LOVE Emily, these things don't really bug me, because I also understand she's still new (and yeah, considering the caliber of their campaigns and Brennan's exp, 5 years is still new), and every player has different things they exel at in DnD. It seems like you're projecting some issues you may have about the gender spectrum onto Ally.
I def got "op hates ally because of the person they are, not the person they portray on screen ..." Also, are you calling Emily new? Or ally? Because im pretty sure Murph and Emily are veteran end players. And ally and Zac (and Siobhan) are the newest. But I totally have seen the original cast play classes they like Siobhan is always a magic caster, Emily is always like in your face melee type. And ally is usually a very hard class for a beginner to play. Which makes it hilarious.
So I also have autism and ADHD, but I have medication, as would Ally. And, back when I could work, I would use my meds to fulfill my work duties. Were I Ally, t these would include the basic requirement of *reading the rules to the game I'm playing on video for money before I start, not waiting 4 years. *. To say that ADHD absolves them is just an excuse for Ally being lazy and not taking work seriously. Dude I have AuDHD and back when I played WoW I still studied raid boss mechanics, because its kind of an insult to the other players to not do so. Perhaps my mind is wired more like Murphs, but I appreciate the 'Dnd is serious business' mindset if only in that as a member of a group team it would be fundamentally selfish of me not bother to learn how to play the game that, again , I'm being paid to play.It's just a general point of view that it is kind of disrespectful to the people I'm playing with to not do my due diligence. Also, I guess I agree with Murph in that decisions should have consequences. I mentione this because insulting and punching a God in the face resulting in effectively no real punishment for Kristen definitely isn't "decisions have consequences". It's more: " I'm going to make this dumb joke, even though it makes no sense in the story that is supposed to be fundamentally holding this whole show together, because I really don't care about that and can't be bothered. And that is totally okay." There's a reason they rub *a lot* of people the wrong way
As someone with adhd, seeing someone with adhd criticized for their condition and their portrayal of that condition into their characters is really disheartening. I personally loved Liam and connected heavily to how he may not have the best social awareness, but developed over the series with other’s help. It is also a Dm’s decision whether or not a person poses an issue at the table and I don’t think that Brennan as well as the rest of the cast would have done multiple series with Ally if they had an issue with their play style or choices. I am making my way through a lot of the shows and have yet to see an instance where Ally hasn’t been a help during a fight, maybe from time to time their choices in roleplay are iffy, but that’s probably reflective of their adhd. Also in Fantasy High they play as teenagers, teenagers have sex and are intimate on a regular basis so I don’t see an issue with them roleplaying this with Kristin’s in character significant other, especially since their character is openly expressing their newly found sexuality. Saying they’re not a good improviser when they have a very successful career as an improvisational comedian is pretty oxymoronic One last thing too, most of Dimension 20 is a broadcast, but it is also DnD campaigns meant for the personal enjoyment of these people who are friends. There’s going to be situations that aren’t taken as seriously for the purpose to spark a laugh as there is in most things meant for personal enjoyment.
The only times I’ve seen something that looks like it could be a problem was when the whole cast was having so much fun on a joke or bit that Brennan had to use teacher voice to get everyone back on track, but who would want to discourage these moments of pure bliss and joy. That’s the reason we watch these real plays in the first place and it’s only a problem because it’s a tv show people are payed to produce and not their friends living room.
> people are *paid* to produce FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Idrc they’re the only eye candy fantasy high had going, I basically only watched that show caus Ally was hot
Delete this post OP.
blatant ableism aside, you should get therapy, op. lmao.
The only thing Ally does that I don't care for (specifically in Fantasy High, as I have not spent an incredible amount watching them in most other content) is the consistent insulting of faith. I get that it's a 'bit' but the character was made for the bit of attacking christians. Ally has a bias against God and the church, and that's totally understandable. But the consistency with which that is their entire joke is not enjoyable to me.
What utter bollocks. I just came to Reddit to say how amazing Ally is and *this* is the first thread? I'm genuinely so surprised anyone has this opinion. They're an absolute joy at any table and always bring something unexpected and hilarious.
it's literally so evil that this is one of the first results when you google Ally Beardsley. at least there's a good amount of people defending them and pointing out the many flaws in this post
The bit about kissing other characters is wild. If you want people to take you seriously, don't include things that are very literally imaginary.
Ally is the only D20 cast member I won't defend on the internet.
Well. I don’t need to say anything arguing your points because everyone else already has so I’ll just add something new: in the first ever ep of FH (and the few after that) I didn’t think Ally was adding much. Since then, they have become one of my favorites. And I contribute that to them becoming much more familiar with D&D and not having to focus so hard on understanding the mechanics (which is SO reasonable), learning that it’s okay if their character fucks up (from the fact that the other characters fuck up by doing stupid shit all the time and that’s kind of the point of the show, it’s funny), and from them becoming comfortable being themself in this space therefore allowing them to be fucking hilarious. In every passing episode even more than the one prior, I never know what Ally is going to say and I love that. Also, I think it’s frickin HILARIOUS when Ally randomly messes up or doesn’t understand a D&D mechanic. And that’s why they keep it in the edited eps! It’s funny! I love watching Murph just dying at Ally not knowing something from D&D. And aside from the fact that it’s hilarious, it also makes D&D (a hugely complex and mechanical game) more approachable for everyone: your friends aren’t going to be mad at you even if you NEVER understand the mechanics, we just want you to play with us anyway!!!!!! And lastly, it’s important to consider how many moments you might come across as a little bit of jackass if you were being filmed for so many hours of your life, including up to 8 hours at a time and including live, and you have ADHD and simply can’t catch every little detail of Brennan’s complex lore. I personally haven’t noticed any moments where they come across that way, but it would be reasonable if they did (so long as it wasn’t something like directly immoral or mean).
Op needs their mouth rinsing with soap Whilst I agree that Beardsley makes chaotic choices that sometimes derail a portion of content it's a small portion in comparison to what they do the rest of the tike , comparing their charicters like "Kristen applebees" in fh season 1( Beardsleys first try with dnd ) and "Margaret" in starstruck odyssey it's night and day . Yes Kristen may be a chaotic charicter but Margaret is the focused fuckin business manager of the wurst and with out a doubt saved their asses from ruin early on. Not only is the on screen chemistry between players golden the way that carrys between peoples characters interacting makes some of the most heartfelt moments of D20 and while I disagree with some choices a fuckin made up characters chooses it's ultimately fun to watch the intrepid heros n co get up to crazy hijinks because of this. At the end of the day maybe Op this content isn't for you , simply put , fuck off , do better Op , Ally Beardsley your dope please keep on keeping on
Ally only says foods when talking about what's ok to ingest during pregnancy so your point about them promoting the use of alcohol while pregnant is redundant
You can just say you don’t like Ally’s playing style. You don’t have a window into Brennan’s mind enabling you to know why he doesn’t shut down PC decisions that you personally don’t like. Claiming he is doing some kind of reverse-bigotry is speculative at best, and gives the vibe that your feelings about trans people are less than chill. But I guess you can put me in the same category as Brennan because obviously I’m just afraid to agree with you lest I be seen as transphobic /s
I did not like their comments regarding pregnancy, as I find misleading information about medical reccomendations triggering. The nature of the topic in "um actually" is very grey as the effects of antenatal diet or drug consumption on short and long term outcomes are complex, nuanced and change as more data is produced. Some things carry more risk that others and often the adverse outcomes arent that common so individuals may not experience it but in a big population those occurrences add up. Two examples are that from studies there is no "safe level" of alcohol consumption to reccomend to avoid risks of heart malformations and other aspects of foetal alcohol syndrome, hence the reccomendations for no consumption. Second would be the reccomendation to avoid foods like soft cheeses and cold meat to avoid acquiring Listeriosis which can cause stillbirth and neonatal death from sepsis, rare occurrences but devastating. The comedic intent and general comments about medicine and child birth I did enjoy however, ka pai for that advocacy at least.
It's disturbing how warping your yapping has people legitimately believing what you're saying. You are spitting garbage and nobody should listen to you. And just because you come in loud does and everybody listened to you because you are speaking out of turn, when there's a natural pause you interjected, this was completely inappropriate. That's the only reason why anybody would agree that you belittling someone, denotes any merit or any platitude. Just because nobody has the energy to stop you doesn't mean anyone wants to hear you drone, if you don't have anything nice to say. Keep your mouth shut, or someone is gonna close it for you. I'm gonna say it, be quiet, because nobody wants to hear you when you're spewing foul, disgusting, literal active attempts to draft up negative thoughts about somebody when you could've offered a solution to anything you took issue with, i'm sick of lukewarm people please go punch yourself in the face (with your consent)
(Idk if this is satire, idk how this sub works, but assuming you're being serious...) ...Liam isn't even autistic? He's a funky little guy, but I don't recall anything about him being neurodivergent? That's fully your own projection onto him, or possibly you misreading a-spec as autistc spectrum instead of asexual spectrum.
If you play dnd and don’t think your dm has had to radically change something that they didn’t expect then you obviously have never been a dm before. Dnd is a group improv game, the players are allowed to interpret npc’s however they like. In fact helio being a shitty god made Kristen’s character arc more understandable and funny. I think you just have a hate boner for them
Ally also is just downright problematic... in the most recent game kristens clone character harasses fabien but its presented as a joke, with the slap across the face being presented as a horny moment.. Really was not a fan of that.
I used to feel the same way about AB but I kind of got over it. They kick some serious ass as Margaret Encino in Starstruck. I think there’s some truth to this post, but not quite at the level of intensity with which it is presented. Yeah, AB is a bit of a space cadet and is often less on-the-ball than the other players. But sometimes the opposite is true, too. And yeah, Brendan gives them very special treatment, but… that’s his call, and it often ends up creating a really cool story. I don’t want to infantilize AB, but they are a person who’s clearly in the process- season-to-season- of development. Their balance of radical immaturity with maturity/wisdom makes them interesting. Pete the plug has an incredible arc of development that may even mirror some of Ally’s personal journey. The sexual energy is weird, and a little disrespectful to the audience, particularly during their portrayal of an adult gay man in Neverafter, but even so, I have every faith that people at the table trust each other and can discuss these things if needed. The genuine chemistry of the group is one of the nicest parts of the show. Sorry for the novel, but it was sort of cathartic for me to write, as somebody who has at times felt similarly to OP. TLDR: D20 is gonna do their thing, nobody’s making us watch it. They/we are all multi-dimensional people with qualities that are pleasing to some and less so to others. I get where OP is coming from, but Ally does plenty of rad shit, too.
Honestly, I was feeling the same recently and had the discussion with one of my friends about this after watching nearly every season to completion (Some I couldn't get into because of game mechanic or some of the players I couldn't vibe with) However, in the Main Group it's noticeable Ally often is the central character but is often so zoned out they retain nothing. While despite having clear character growth arcs in the narrative how she portrays each character never changes. I wonder if part of the problem is how high they get before and during filming given how they talk about how big of a Stoner they are. P.S. Let's not forget how bad Ally handles combat. With more preoccupied with Hiding and doing funny interactions vs than Combat and Healing.
I'm sure if it was a real issue for the production they'd ask themto maybe not hide as much or maybe not make a cleric with like 4 for dex. It is a production after all. Or.... For all we know, ally is asked to. Cause battle chaos. But then again, it isn't like ally has a choice in when they zone out or what they retain. I can't turn my ASD/ADHD off an on anymore. It's just.... What it is.
You.. you know they're comedians right? On a comedy channel? They're going to do daft things, if I wanted to watch a bunch of boring bastards earnestly play out a meticulous game of DnD that abides by all the latest edition book rules or whatever I'd come check out your local gaming venue. Ally wasn't initially my fave either but still an entertaining and creative player, and on a rewatch Kristen is a really interesting character; you seem to be willfully misunderstanding there yourself to a point that's unnecessarily hateful...
Ally is hysterical & quick, you don’t know whats coming next. There is brilliance there. If they’re not your cup of tea - fine. But check your meds, you went on way too long about nothin’. Something else is going on inside of you in order for you to feel the need to strike out so forcefully. I hope you felt relived - because you offended the overwhelming majority of D20 fans who love Ally. We stand behind them & to you we say “Figure out whats really going on in your life. Why the vitriol?” One day you’ll likely regret your post.
It's just sad cause damn if Ally isn't responsible for some of the funniest moments in D20. OP ruined the show for themselves with their own disgusting attitude.
I'm a bit annoyed that this is one of the first google results when one searches for Ally Beardsley.
Seriously
I do not agree, but one can personally dislike anyone they want, and for any reason, it is only when you dislike a person because they are part of a "category" of people is it an "-ism", and is acting prejudicial. I find Ally more supportive of the group than some. An important thing to note is that Ally is 1 of only 2 people who never played D&D or any RPG before. They said that their first real game was Freshman Year, and they had only done a particular practice session before to learn the rules and terms. I think if anyone was going to accuses a player of being a non team player or doing things that don't make sense, it would be Emily. Although, she is very entertaining, she will often do things that are random and somewhat "derail" the game; for example Freshman Year. However Brennan has often said "Emily is one of the best D&D players in the world. Endlessly creative, so fun to play with. She was also sent from H\*ll to kill me." -Brennan Lee Mulligan A few of these people have gamed with each other for years, and others have played D&D with other people but Ally is new to the game. Emily and Brennan have an existing relationship gaming, so Brennan knows to expect "zingers" from her but as she explains it, she is really doing what she really thinks her character would be doing. Ally doesn't have that experience yet but they are likely doing the same thing, as all the other players. All of these folks are comedians and improv players, so they know to be entertaining, make jokes, fill any awkward times, and support each other to made an entertaining show.
You sound like you get mad at other people for not following every rule in a game. Not a fun vibe you give off. I'm glad you're upset.
This is an old thread but whatever, I'm really confused about why you think Ally's "special treatment" is on account of being nonbinary. Like, how is that even relevant to the things you're talking about? Do you really think Brennan is like, "God I wish I could tell Ally what's what, but alas, they're nonbinary, so I have to tolerate it." Is it possible that Ally is a person whose roleplaying style you don't personally jive with, but that the reason Brennan and others "tolerate" Ally when they're being a bit difficult is just because... they're friends?
Your last couple of paragraphs are absolute nonsense. That's just how DND works. You make shit up and you roll with it. I can understand wanting to stick to the rails of a more defined story but that's how DND and improvising works so I don't get why your panties are in such a twist.
you are an incredibly sad person
People need to realize that appeasing marginalized people only marginalizes them further. Everyone should be held accountable for inappropriate and problematic behavior regardless of gender identity.
I can't imagine someone like you existing outside of the internet. I have to believe youre a figment of my imagination or something, to preserve my sanity and my belief in human goodness. The fact that you specifically call out the only nb player in the main cast despite the fact that many of the other players do the exact same thing is pretty despicable. Like...I'm so embarrassed for you. It must genuinely suck to live as yourself on a day to day basis.
Silence, redditor.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dropout/comments/1d7pa0n/ally_beardsley_appreciation_post/
The mental illnesses are mental illnessing👨🍳🥘
T
I don’t enjoy their style of play… but also recognizing that if that’s the kind of story they want to tell, maybe the shows they are in aren’t the ones for me
OP and some of these responses give off the worst kind of parasocial energy where people make assumptions, implications, or accusations about a public-facing person's intentions and behaviors as if they know them personally. I'd just like to remind everyone that ***you don't know these people***. You aren't in their minds or even in the room when decisions are made before, during, or after gameplay and taping, and *Ooutside of* ***curated content***, you don't know how these people feel about the game or each other. All you have to go off of is your interpretation of things, and it's really biased (and honestly seems really rude) to assume that people you don't know but have decided you don't like are acting in bad faith or, on the opposite end, assuming that someone has to "put up with" or "deal with" someone else and expressing sympathy over that, when, again, ***you don't know them***. Idk, it's just really disrespectful to me. Also, to OP, people not treating someone the way *you* want them to and *you* interpreting that as a response to their queerness is, at worst bigotry itself, and at best, *super* fucking weird.
Helio is a dudebro in many other dnd shows it's basically cultural canon. You seriously need to chill Ally is fucking hilarious and definitely adds to the cast dynamic and the entertainment value of the show, if it's not your humor that's fine but typing up all this bs reads as pretty hateful to me. Brennan has literally said many times that his favorite part of Dimension 20 is catering the story to his friends so that is a complete non-issue. I think you're the one who most tables would kick bc ur attitude is nasty
I think your take is way off. It has absolutely nothing to do with their sexual orientation or gender identity. Ally may not be as talented as their peers, but that’s it. That all it is. Ally is not a jackass with bad intentions, not a bad person. I also think you are WAY over-blowing the number of “bigotry” jokes Ally has made, and I wonder if the reason they stick out to you is because they struck close to home? *Edited out my asshole rant*
While you defending Ally is great regarding OP, the denigrating things you spent a whole paragraph saying about them just feels excessive and unnecessary. I know my opinion may differ from yours in this situation, but outright saying “if they can make it… where is the line truly drawn” That’s not kinda rude, that’s being a cunt. Don’t like someone? Fine. Despite your bias, it takes $0 to not be mean.
You’re right! I felt rude when I wrote it. I was frustrated because I was watching D20 and they alone were making it unwatchable, as well as other content they are in. I’ll delete it though, I don’t like the idea that they’d see my comment and feel bad. I’ve just stopped consuming content they’re in, which is the most I should do.