Ten Years

Technically, I've only been with D&R for about eight years and three quarters or some other number very close to ten years but not quite. However, since Jason is usually the one to do this I thought I'd take my turn being the sentimental one. I don't do this often, because words never seem like enough to express my feelings, but I'm going to try in celebration of this milestone.

Dungeons and Randomness started as a weird little branch-off of a wrestling podcast. I didn't even know Jason, but he knew some guys who were willing to sit in a call with him and listen to him stumble through his first time as Dungeon Master, and for some reason they decided to record it and share it with the rest of us. We are so lucky they did, but I think I might be one of the luckiest. Because of that choice I have gained so many friends, a job that doesn't feel like it should exist, and a better life than I ever could have imagined.

This show means a lot to so many people. I know there are others out there in the community with some amazing stories of changes in their lives thanks to D&R. There are gaming groups that never would have played, friends that never would have met, and even proposals in the lives of people who met, fundamentally, because of D&R. That is actually insane. It's amazing to be a part of someone's life in that way, and I hope more than anything that D&R has brought you as many good memories as it's brought to me.

This show is the source of so much of my happiness.

Creating with such an amazing, talented group of people is something I sometimes still don’t feel like I’ve earned. Seeing characters come to life and stories unraveling and being able to be a part of that means the absolute world to me. I wanted to be an author growing up, I've always wanted to tell stories. Now I get to tell stories in a way I couldn't have imagined back when I was typing up (honestly not great) Inu-Yasha fanfic on a computer monitor the size of an air conditioner. I get to tell these stories with my friends. I didn't think I'd have friends as an adult when I was a child. I thought when you grew up, that was it- you had to start being mean and miserable. I was wrong.

Things in the world have changed so much since this show began. Recently, it feels like it’s been changing even faster. We try our best to be a distraction from things happening in the big wide world. We want to be that distraction for people, and sometimes that’s really hard to maintain when the situation in the outside world is so incredibly dire. I just want you to know that if you are going through a tough times right now, you’re not alone. Sometimes it helps to know that you are struggling alongside others. We are fortunate enough to be able to spend a few hours every so often imagining ourselves fighting dragons, falling in love, standing up for what we believe in (and sometimes things we don’t, depending on the character!), and prevailing in a fantasy world.

Thank you all for helping us reach this point. For listening to our stories, and sharing your own. For building this community that was able to stay strong despite two really, really shitty years. For baring with us while we fumbled through change after change trying to make the show better. We couldn't have asked for better people to share our world with. We called a lot of shots that didn’t pay off with the recent arc, and I think deep down Jason and I are both terrified we tanked the show trying to take those swings. If it weren’t for you guys out there supporting us, I don’t know what we would have done. All we want to do in return is make something you guys love.

Thank you for helping us make it this far, we hope you’ll join us for another ten years.

There are so many more stories to tell.