The header pictures of my posts are ALWAYS foxes. ALWAYS. But today, for something a little different – a hedgehog. With an axe. Let me explain.

I have been playing RPGs (tabletop role-playing games) since I was in high school. I played a lot of White Wolf back in the day because that was what was popular when I got into gaming. As time went on I started to lean more into storytelling-style games like Spirit of the Century and Don’t Rest Your Head. Most people have only ever heard of D&D, but I never played it because my friends who introduced me to gaming had already moved on to other game systems by the time I got into it.

Cut to the pandemic. One of my best friends is a big D&D nut and he was yearning for some gaming as well as some human connection during all of the social distancing. So he set up a weekly gaming group who all got together online to play through Discord (kind of like Zoom.) I got a crash course in D&D.

And I have really enjoyed it. Our group has been playing since 2020, which is basically unheard of, and it’s been an amazing experience. My good friend ran until earlier this year when his campaign came to a good stopping point and he was ready to turn the DM reins over to somebody else so that he could actually play a character for a bit, instead of running the game.

Dave picked up the mantle and we started playing in a new D&D world called Humblewood where all of the characters are either forest mammals or birds. Enter Thistle Hollyleaf.

Before I get into her details, let me give you a little background on RPG characters. If you are unfamiliar – before you start playing you have to make a character you are playing as. Depending on the game you are playing these can vary widely (think: vampire versus 21st century human military commando versus WW1 Flying Ace versus fantasy Elf…… and so on.) D&D is traditionally high fantasy – think Lord of the Rings.

So that first D&D campaign I played for those four years, I was a half human/half elf assassin/thief. I had a ton of fun, but I never really connected to her as a character. I never understood, or had a clear idea of why she did the things she did, or how she should/would react in any situation based on her “character.” But it was ok. It’s not actually uncommon to play RPG characters you don’t fully connect with. In fact, the opposite is kinda unusual.

Then we started this Humblewood campaign. I decided to play a runt, Barbarian, utterly PSYCHOTIC, axe-wielding hedgehog. AND I LOVE HER. I understand her. I know why she does what she does, I always know what her next move will be, and consequences be-damned I know she’s gonna charge head first into the adventure. She’s SO FUN.

Dave and I have had many conversations about this, so he knows I’ve connected with, and enjoyed playing this character, more than I have anything in years. I LOOK FORWARD to Sundays because I can’t wait to see what insanity she will get up to next.

So, as a side note for those of you who don’t know, Dave is a big 3D printer guy. He’s made some really cool stuff over the years.

So tonight. I’m just sitting on the couch, minding my own business, when he comes up from his work area downstairs. He hands me this:

It’s Thistle. My awesome little crazy go nuts prickly little D&D character. I AM SO HAPPY. I LOVE HER. She is my spirit animal!

And why would I waste an entire blog post on this? I guess because – there’s so little we find true joy in, in our day-to-day lives. When something so small and inconsequential as a 3D printed hedgehog with a battle axe can make you giggle and chortle and bounce up and down with utter glee, that’s a good thing. We should celebrate that. He knew this would mean a lot to me, though I don’t think even he knew just HOW MUCH it would mean to me.

So I guess I’m just saying – here’s Thistle. She’s a little crazy – ok, fine, **utterly** unhinged – but she knows what she wants in the world. I hope you find the same happiness as she has found in being herself, and in what I have found in playing her.