#Ace!Fjord

[stardusted-bookworm]

It'd been so long since he'd felt warm.

Sure, he'd felt the warmth of the sun. Of fire. Of lava. But external heat rarely thawed internal frost. And he had been cold for so, so long.

He had felt a brief warmth in the company of his two friends, only to be snuffed out by the one they'd called teacher.

After that? Eleven years of numbing frost had crawled through his insides, shutting off everything but the bare minimum.

He thought he'd never feel the warmth again. Had made himself content with the frost, for that would be all he'd know for the rest of his life.

Until it wasn't. Until the frost cracked and broke, shaking off little by little.

As he met a little goblin girl as filthy as he was. His loyal companion who did not belong to the skin she had been forced into.

As he met a blue tiefling girl with her love for pastries and unwavering devotion, a handsome half-orc with a loyalty that ran as deep as the oceans he dreamed about, and a brusque human woman who was running from her past with the same fervor as he was.

As he met a giant aasimar woman whose fearsome countenance was belied by her gentle nature.

As he met a beautiful lavender tiefling who sparkled brightly in order to bring joy to everyone around them. Their brilliance was so strong, he could not help but be drawn to them.

When they lost the lavender tiefling to powerful enemies.... Well, he had thought the frost would come back to stay. Felt the edges of a familiar coldness return and prepared for the worst.

Then, a wise firbolg taught him that death is not the end, that there are many, many ways to honor those who have passed.

He felt the last of the frost thaw completely, and he finally allowed himself to mourn. Allowed himself to trust. Allowed himself to love again.

And oh, how he loved.

He loved his friends, his family, the way a well-fed fire burns: brightly and unceasingly warm.

He loved his partner, his beautiful and intelligent and flawed partner, the way the stars shine: luminously and without end. For as long as they should live.

And as he lays here, on his deathbed, Caleb Widogast cannot help but think how lucky he is to be able to love and to be loved. How lucky to have known and seen as much as he did. How lucky he is to be filled with a warmth that so many spend their whole lives searching for.

I have lived my life well, he thinks, heartbeat slowing. I have no regrets.

And as he exhales his last breath, he smiles. I have so many stories to tell you, Mutter und Vater.

[wardensantoineandevka]

I love that Fjord is the most heavily armored member of the Nein, both in art AND in inventory, but his AC is second lowest, above only the wizard. Poor guy.

[acesandwords]

Is that all of Travis's character that have been impaled now?

[kermit-coded]

this man really does one thing and that's cowboys!!

TRAVIS WILLINGHAM VOICES ACE IN THE CRUNCHYROLL DUB????

[vaxlethtrash]

Caleb and Beauregard: *invented bisexuality*

Yasha and Fjord: *are so hot they defy the boundaries of sexuality*

Yes, your honor, your local bi ace is simping over here.

[utilitycaster]

Level-Up Post: Mighty Nein: Echoes of the Solstice addendum

This is going to be short and sweet (ish) and covering deviations or clarifications to the pre-show post.

Everyone (except Luc) (and Aggy): level 20!

Fjord: I stand by my opinion that Open Sea Paladin 7's Aura of Liberation is superior to Hexblade 14's Master of Hexes, but both are very solid and the important thing is that Aura of Protection from paladin 6. We don't know his invocation but we do know his L13 Warlock Mystic Arcanum, Crown of Stars, or, more accurately to how he flavored it,

Beau: She DID take the mobile feat, and I'm so happy. 70 ft/round base walking speed. Monks, y'all.

Caleb: has the Wish spell; is using it solely, currently, to replicate lower spells, which is iconic of him. Responsible casting at its finest. One of his at-will 1st level spells is Fortune's Favor, but I don't think we got any of the others, and I believe his feat is also unknown.

Veth: We do not know; truly hilarious of Sam to do this. Don't worry; I'll talk about Luc in a second.

Jester: Her feat is Flash Recall, which is in the TCSR and allows you to replace a prepared spell with another spell of the same level without a long rest. Very good for Jester, whose spell prep is iconic in its eclecticism (complimentary).

Caduceus: much like his careful evasion of any questions from others asking how he was doing during the campaign (also complimentary), his feats - level 19 and level 16 remain a mystery (though we know his INT increased with his level 16 feat). In short:

Yasha: Took barbarian levels and has the CON and STR to prove it; also took Great Weapon Master, which is a solid option.

Our guests:

Rab "Aggy" Agg: Level 5 monk; no subclass we die like Bertrand Bell.

Luc Brenatto: I don't know how by how much the potion increased his level; at least to level 7 rogue (Evasion) from his base Arcane Trickster Rogue 5/War Mage Wizard 3. For a quick refresh on Arcane Trickster and rogue low levels, Luc has expertise, sneak attack, and uncanny dodge as well as the special arcane trickster mage hand abilities. He has 3 cantrips and 4 spells known from his rogue subclass. Meanwhile, as a wizard he has arcane recovery (not used; a long rest but no short ones), can prepare 6 spells from his spellbook, and he is treated as a 4th level spellcaster (1/3rd his rogue level rounded down plus his wizard level), so he can cast up to 2nd level spells. War mage is, on its own, notably a kind of shitty wizard subclass, but it's actually hilarious and pretty great as a multiclass option here. Luc used Arcane Deflection, which lets him use his reaction to grant either an AC bonus or a saving throw bonus, although when used you cannot cast spells other than cantrips until your next turn. This sucks if you are a wizard, but Luc is a rogue with an Aeorian security cannon, so it's fine. He also gets a +3 (INT mod) to his initiative.

[munsons-mutiny]

I’ve had this headcanon forever and it’s just never come up anywhere, so I figured it’s time to write about it.

Caleb’s spell that he makes for Veth, Widogast’s Transmorigification, has major implications for Exandria’s trans population! This could be the magical equivalent of top or bottom surgery only it’s down to a biological level! I’m sure they’ve had their own procedures, but a body that you can personally design does seem like an upgrade from whatever technology/magic they have available!

I like to believe that Caleb doesn’t think about the spell in that context at first, why would he? It was designed for someone with a different type of body dysphoria, and he doesn’t interact with too many trans people (at least that he knows, I have no clue if he knows about Yussa, and they haven’t seen Bryce in ages).

But once he starts teaching, and establishes himself as a safe space for queer kids (you can’t tell me the empire is super open minded, especially their most prestigious traditional institution) the application becomes obvious. The first time his favorite student, a small purple tiefling named Aza who reminds him so much of Molly it hurts, comes to him mid-breakdown because of how bad the dysphoria is the solution just immediately pops into his head. He could fix this for her, give her the body she should’ve been born in.

He comforts her the best he can and then calls a meeting of the lgbt club he has set up (it’s run under the radar to make it safe even for students who aren’t out to their peers yet). Where he gives a presentation on the spell, and it’s capabilities, even has Veth come in to show the results and have her talk about her experience and if there had been any side effects.

A couple students in the room cry at the possibility, some remain uninterested, but many are enraptured with the idea.

In what seems like the blink of an eye Caleb has suddenly become an underground queer hero, he starts performing the spell free of cost to anyone who wants it and is above the legal age (you just have to help dig up the clay if you can). Ends up having a whole medical procedure to the spell, where he takes them to the blooming grove (which I imagine has plenty of clays heheh) where it’s peaceful and they can talk everything over with caduceus before and after. Who can guide them through their feelings much better than Caleb though he always tries his best. He always offer the option to go back as well (though they have to wait a year, which is of course stated beforehand) if it isn’t the solution they were hoping for.

(Totally off track but I fully believe Caduceus ends up super involved in Caleb’s queer club, there’s so little aro ace rep and seeing someone whose so confident in it would be so helpful for them, and I think it would be so comforting for Caddy to see others like him and to know he’s not alone in that)

They keep the whole operation quiet, but it spreads silently throughout the queer community, Astrid even stepping in a time or two to keep it off the Assembly’s radar (She may be straight, but she’s poly with a bi partner, and I believe she’ll use her powers for causes she believes in for better or worse. Thankfully this is one of them).

There’s still discrimination against the queer community, but this quiet movement starts to spread to the point that almost every member of the nein is involved. Beau uses her connections at the Soul to get new documentation for people with proper names and pronouns. Yasha starts running Rexxentrum’s first self-sustainable lgbt safehouse for kids with nowhere to go (the garden is incredible). Jester and Fjord turn Fjord’s old orphanage into a second lgbt safehouse after he gets it shut down. Veth adds lgbt education to her camps curriculum, and is an advocate for same sex healthcare in the Nicodranas school system. She has a tunic that says proud mother of a bisexual wizard that she wears a little too often much to Caleb’s chagrin. Even Kingsley (illegal pirate king that he may be, my beloved) ends up becoming as involved as possible in Caleb’s group. Loves learning more about gender identity, and becomes the first Plank King to be openly gender fluid (probably who knows, I don’t know much about Darktows history but I def didn’t get super queer vibes). Makes sure Dark-Tow is accepting of all who turn to piracy, and imposes harsh laws against discrimination.

Essek looks on all of this with pride, so proud of Caleb and even the small role that he got to play in the spells creation. It’s the first time he gets to see something he helped with create good in the world. With Caleb’s permission he ends up sneaking back into the dynasty and leaving a copy of the finished spell on the Bright Queens desk, with a big created by Caleb Widogast across it (with whatever the wizard equivalent of copyright is). In a culture that centers around rebirth in different bodies, the idea that you could choose to have your original body back is a big deal. Dysphoria after consecuted individuals get their magic back is a huge problem within the dynasty, and it does Essek a lot of good to know that he’s done something actually helpful for his country.

Basically this got super long winded and out of hand, and I know Matt has largely cut homophobia, transphobia, and non-fantasy racism from Exandria but this idea would just not leave me alone!! And either way the spells implications for a gender affirming procedure are still super relevant.

[critter-rarepair-reccs]

Happy Wednesday everyone! Today we have eight fics in modern settings for you all! Have a look at them below the cut and if you end up checking some of them out on ao3, please don’t forget to leave kudos and comments! 🩷

Having Trouble Breathing In by Torchiclove (17,445 words, Teen) Pairing: Keyleth/Pike Trickfoot (Pikeleth) Warnings: None

‘The paramedic would take her breath away, if the asthma hadn’t done it for her.’ Keyleth falls for Pike in a modern AU.

Reccer Says: Enjoyable and well written fic of Keyleth falling for Pike in a modern AU. Explores Keyleth as a character with anxiety and it's a great, gentle depiction of falling in love with great characterisation despite the rare pair.

Live your whole life on a might-have-been by Chrome (2,681 words, Teen) Pairing: Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast (Widobrave) Warnings: None

Just a very short and atmospheric peice set in a modern au where Caleb and Veth met at university, and he’s driving her part of the way home for the holidays.

Reccer Says: I can’t describe the feelings this fic gives me. It’s understated and bittersweet and so full of longing that you’ll want to die. It feels like a Hemingway story almost with the way it manages to pack so much meaning in between the words the characters actually say.

And I became hypnotized by freckles and bright eyes by SunshineAndaLittleFlour (1,007 words, Teen) Pairing: Mollymauk Tealeaf/Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Shadowidomauk) Warnings: Drunk kissing

Molly didn’t realize he probably shouldn’t be kissing someone else’s partner until after he’d already started doing it.

Reccer Says: This fic, this whole series in fact, is absolutely wonderful! Its fun, flirty and emotional as well as smutty and one of the best stories/series for the purple boys and their ginger partner. Always a delight to read and this fic starts an awesome series off wonderfully!

softly, softly by maricolous (837 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf (Fjolly) Warnings: None

Fjord comes home from his shitty retail job to Molly, his roommate-turned-partner. They make out about it.

Reccer Says: It’s very cute and sweet, with a side of what feels Fjolly-typical horniness. It’s a fun little fic!

if we were a movie by burningdarkfire (8,800 words, Teen) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett (Beaujes) Warnings: None

Jester decides to try and set Caleb and Essek up and ropes Beau into it. Cue many “friend” double-dates, a classic disaster lesbian Beau crush, attempts at coping with it, delightful romcom nonsense, a fun side of Shadowgast, and a very sweet ending.

Reccer Says: It’s silly, it’s fun, it’s heartfelt. Everyone’s voices are so on-point and every moment Feels like them. Beau is a mess and I love her, I want to squish Jester in my hands, and the wizards are menaces of a side pairing. Also the conversation between Beau and Essek at the maid cafe is so good.

candy hearts (so sweet on you) by thaumasilva (5,149 words, General) Pairing: Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett (Beaujes) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Implied Stalking (not between Beaujes)

Beau keeps visiting the gift wrapping station at the mall to get her Winter’s Crest presents wrapped, and the cute tiefling working there keeps giving her candy hearts with flirty messages, or: Three times Beau wanted to ask Jester out, and the one time she didn’t have to.

Reccer Says: It's just a sweet as the name implies, aaaa it's so cute

Intervention by VioletTeaTime (1,965 words, Teen) Pairing: Fjord/Caleb Widogast (Widofjord) Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Fjord intimidates the guy bothering bartender!Beau’s favorite customer into taking a hint and leaving. Then he gets flirted with and Beau complains about having to watch.

Reccer Says: ace fjord my beloved <3 also the boys' background friendships with Beau are very sweet

all actions and reactions by grayintogreen (2,879 words, General) Pairing: Astrid Beck/Jester Lavorre (Jestrid) Warnings: Depression, Burn-out

One of her friends suffered a breakdown, the other found religion, and now Astrid Beck, suffering from burnout and stress and a myriad of other things a pre-law student can suffer, has found the cherry on her misery sundae. Someone keeps buying all of the cinnamon scones she loves, and now she must end them.

Reccer Says: An amazing translation of the characters into a Modern AU, and surprisingly sweet

Thank you for joining us for our second recc list! All the love to everyone who submitted a fic 🩷 All enclosed recommendations were submitted by the community via our submissions form, which you can find here. All fic information is as it was provided by the reccer, so it may not be accurate to the author’s intent or the precise contents of the fic itself. Please assume good intent from all parties 🩷

Submissions for next week’s list are already open! We’ll be featuring Whump. If you have any you’d like to highlight, you can send them in here. The week after that, the theme is Pre-Relationship, and you can also submit fics for that now!

If you want more rarepair fic, check out @cr-summer-wildflowers and their event collections on ao3! If you want some friendship after all this romance, take a look at @critter-genfic-events and their recc lists! And if you’re interested in everyone’s favorite wizards, you can’t go wrong with the lists at @aeor-is-for-reccing !

Thanks all and have a lovely day/night/timezone! 🩷

[fandom-friday]

Thank you so much to everyone that submitted recommendations this week! A comprehensive list of this week’s submissions can be found under the cut! Recommendations are organized by show/media, and any main pairings will be listed after the title.

👾 = 18+ content

Fics:

The Clone Wars: 👾 Second Chances (Commander Wolffe x f!Reader) by @cyarbika Where Your Road Leads (Fives x f!Reader) by @coffeeandbatboys How to Rest (Ahsoka Tano x Barriss Offee) by @machinerismsx Till Stars Break by @saggitary

The Bad Batch: You're Calling Me Home Like a Ship That Got Wrecked by @the-bi-space-ace How Long Will it Take for You to Learn to Slow Down? by @saturn-sends-hugs High Times by @skellymom

Republic Commando: 👾 Chocolate (Mereel Skirata x f!Reader) by @the-rain-on-kamino

Batman: A Hundred Days to Become a Wayne by @maccreadysbaby

Fire Emblem: Three Houses: Those Who Can't Teach by mixedvalence (AO3)

Art:

The Clone Wars: Cody and Rex Selfie by @journen

The Bad Batch: Inner Peace by @pinkplantz

Rebels: Agent Kallus Art by @cameoliob

Andor: Maarva Andor Art by @kabuki-draws

Horizon Forbidden West: Kotallo Art by @han-ban-bam

The Locked Tomb Series: Gideon the Ninth Art by @themaybug

Critical Role: Fjord and Jester Art by @zhellers

Call of Duty: La Cucaracha by @purgetrooperfox

[rockingthegraveyard]

tagged by @authenticaussie to make a favourite character poll; which of my faves is your fave?

In no particular order other than Link is my heart and soul but the rest get shuffled depending on which fandom I'm vibing with at the time.

Taggin'

@bonerot19 @soapysudz @glitteratti @wrdn-tabris @faedrarie @tarantula-hawk-wasp @avatar-state-kate @vanillacappuccinos

[corvid-kid9]

some of @ace-robot-with-oolong’s comments when showing her mighty nein stuff

about Caduceus: “why does he sound like a youth pastor?”

about Fjord’s Uk’otoa dreams: “‘consume’ he’s like capitalism”

[wardensantoineandevka]

sometimes I remember that, in a combat where his AC was 10, he lost 48 hit points (43% of his total) before his first turn and lost 69 points (nice, 62% of his total) by the end of round two, and the rest of the Nein don't enter initiative until the third round and most don't get to the main deck until the fifth round, it took until most of the way through round FIVE to kill Fjord

[myths-tournaments]

Found Family Tournament [Round 2 - Poll 19/32]

(list of characters under the cut)

ACE ATTORNEY

Phoenix Wright Maya Fey Pearl Fey Apollo Justice Athena Cykes Dick Gumshoe Trucy Wright

CRITICAL ROLE

Beauregard Caduceus Caleb Fjord Jester Mollymauk Veth Yasha Essek Kingsley

[hello-eeveev]

For the ask game:

All the boys in the mighty nein... are doing what? 👀👀

They are being ace-spec! Caduceus and Essek are canonically on the asexual spectrum, and I have loooong since headcanoned Fjord as demisexual and Caleb as grey ace! (Like, since the pirate arc for Fjord, Caleb since… idk forever I guess. He just gave me vibes periodically throughout the whole campaign.)

“All the boys in the mighty nein are aspec” is a little song I sing to myself sometimes (to the tune of “camptown races”) so that’s where the “title” comes from!

This what written around the same time as On the Nature of Attraction and tbh there hasn’t been much thought put into this idea outside of there being a discussion about asexuality and this little exchange:

“So we know that Caduceus isn’t interested at all and Fjord needs to feel comfortable with someone first, and now you two…” Jester looked between Caleb and Essek.

“Ah, no thank you,” Essek said.

Caleb shrugged. “Largely neutral.”

She gasped. “So that means all the boys in the—wait!” She turned to Kingsley, who was relaxing near the hot spring some fifty feet away. “Kingsley! How boy are you feeling today?”

Kingsley looked to Jester, then off to the side as they considered it. “Eh?” they called back, hand wobbling back and forth in a so-so gesture.

Jester slammed her hands on the ground and leaned close into Caleb and Essek’s personal space. “All the boys in the Mighty Nein are aspec*! That’s so cool!”

“Is it?” Essek asked.

“Of course! Especially because in all my books, all of the guys are so horny. Like, all the time. It’s cool to know that that’s not always true!”

*figuring out the language to use here is difficult because the word ‘aspec’ feels so out of place with the language typically used in critical role? What do???

So yeah. Just boys being ace-spec :) just guys being pals on the ace spectrum :)

[axilarycobra]

[Wings of Fire] Ace-spec Headcanons

I saw that it was asexuality day today and since I posted my aro-spec headcanons, I want to post my ace-spec headcanons today. Just like how I did with my aro-spec headcanons, if a character is asexual and aromantic, I'll just put them down as aroace.

Clay - demisexual

Tsunami - asexual

Glory - aroace

Starflight - asexual

Sunny - aroace

Moonwatcher - asexual

Winter - asexual

Peril - asexual

Qibli - aroace

Cricket - asexual

Snowfall - asexual

Luna - asexual

Burn - asexual

Blister - asexual

Blaze - demisexual

Scarlet - aceflux

Kinkajou - asexual

Fatespeaker - graysexual

Ochre - aroace

Glacier - aceflux

Tamarin - asexual

Orca - asexual

Bullfrog - demisexual

Carnelian - asexual

Clearsight - demisexual

Fathom - asexual

Io - aceflux

Jerboa III - aroace

Listener - asexual

Onyx - aroace

Peacemaker - asexual

Sky - aroace

Willow - demisexual

Umber - asexual

Albatross - demisexual

Cobra - aroace

Grandeur - demisexual

Liana - asexual

Moorhen - aroace

Ruby - demisexual

Wasp - aroace

Cattail - aroace

Coconut - demisexual

Fierceteeth - demisexual

Sora - aroace

Chameleon - aroace

Shapeshifter - demisexual

Freedom - aroace

Riptide - aroace

Gill - asexual

Allknowing - demisexual

Lagoon (TLH) - aroace

Quickstrike - asexual

Mango - asexual

Bigtail - asexual

Mightyclaws - demisexual

Ostrich (TBN) - demisexual

Alba - asexual

Current - asexual

Octopus - demisexual

Pike - demisexual

Ripple - aroace

Sapphire - aroace

Snapper - aroace

Anaconda - aroace

Bromeliad - asexual

Gibbon - asexual

Orangutan - aroace

Orchid - asexual

Battlewinner - demisexual

Darkstalker - demisexual

Discretion - aroace

Eclipse (DoD) - aroace

Hope - demisexual

Mastermind - demisexual

Mindreader - aroace

Morrowseer - demisexual

Obsidian - aroace

Slaughter - aroace

Smokeseer - asexual

Wisdom - aroace

Agave - aroace

Char - demisexual

Horizon - aroace

Needle - aroace

Quicksand - demisexual

Fjord - aroace

Permafrost - asexual

Osprey - aroace

Festoon - asexual

Heliconian - aroace

Aphid - asexual

Chafer - asexual

Glowworm - aroace

Lubber - aroace

Weevil - demisexual

Hawthorn - asexual

Hemlock - aceflux

Moccasin - aroace

Anhinga - aroace

Bayou - demisexual

Beryl - asexual

Bonecruncher - demisexual

Canyon - asexual

Caribou (bard) - demisexual

Caribou (bard's grandmother) - aroace

Caribou (bard's mother) - demisexual

Diadem - aroace

Jacaranda - demisexual

Linden - demisexual

Monarch (AGttDW 1) - demisexual

Monarch (AGttDW 2) - asexual

Olive - demisexual

Rowan (AGttDW) - demisexual

Sawgrass - demisexual

Silverwash - asexual

[utilitycaster]

speaking of jasmine bhullar, she and brennan had a great convo about min-maxers and i was wondering what your own thoughts on min-maxing were? i'm new-ish to actually playing dnd and i still worry about making myself a problem to the dm as opposed to an asset.

First off as someone who enjoys Adventuring Academy but never has the time to watch the full episodes, thank you for bringing this up - I watched just the debate, and it was incredible and hilarious.

This is a good question. I am 100% in agreement with Jasmine here and she said it better than I could: min-maxing simply means that you read the rules to D&D and decided to use them to your advantage. Reading the rules to D&D is great and everyone should do it (in fact, this a reliable way to be an asset to the DM: know how your character's abilities work). There are a few cases where it sucks but most of those aren't actually due to min-maxing so much as shitty player behaviors that can occur in min-maxers.

I think one reason people dislike min-maxers is that the stereotypical min-maxer builds a character who truly can't do anything except for massive damage, and that does kind of suck, but I also think that that is really hard to build in 5e. You're going to have some other abilities. I think it was much easier to truly min-max in 3.5e, and perhaps in older editions you could really break things (in fact, having listened to some pathfinder 1e actual plays, I know you could).

There is also, as Jasmine points out, a false assumption that min-maxers aren't interested in RP or won't do it. This is very clearly untrue and a few examples off the top of my head from Actual Play that are debatably min-maxed are: Deadeye Cybin (played by Brennan, natch) in NADDPod (damage dealer); Laerryn Coramar-Seelie of EXU Calamity (optimized for survival, especially against non-magical foes); Caduceus Clay and Deanna Leimert of Critical Role (both optimized to be healers, incidentally); Orym and Vex, also of Critical Role (optimized to have a stupidly high perception score), Theo Gumbar of A Crown of Candy (optimized to tank and have a stupidly high AC). These are all fantastic characters with profound RP scenes who happen to also be really, really good at a narrow band of things, but they're also not just good at that. Many of them also can serve as the brains or the face of their party; many have utility spells far beyond their area of specialization.

Another reason people dislike min-maxers is they have a reputation for being ungenerous - for swooping in and stealing the spotlight. The above characters, played by some of the most generous people in actual play, show that's clearly not the case. Also, to be honest, a spotlight hog doesn't have to be min-maxed. It's just a shitty "hey, hey look at me" player. I think attention hogs might be a bit more inclined to try to build a character who is really really good at something (again, usually damage more than say, healing) but that doesn't mean that everyone who builds a gunslinger is here to steal all the glory.

Specialization also isn't bad! The reason D&D is a game where people are in a party is because not everyone can do everything! There are a small handful of characters who are a utility knife who can basically do a little bit of almost everything (Keyleth, Fjord, Moonshine) but they are the exception rather than the rule. Barbarians, for example, are a class that usually is structured around tanking and doing damage. This is fine! You probably don't want a party that's all barbarians because it is useful to have healers and ranged attackers and people who can sink all their high stat rolls into the mental side of things because they don't live and die quite so much by their physical stats, but it sure is nice to have a barbarian in the mix to balance out the glass cannon wizard, isn't it?

If you show up to a table where there is a clear gap in party composition (eg: healing) or there's a clear story the GM wants to tell (eg: very social, requires a lot of diplomacy) and you decide not to fill it because you are too busy building Guy With Stealth Bonus of +20, then that's a problem, but that's ultimately a failure to collaborate. Min-maxing for something that doesn't really help the party is simply the way in which you happened to fail that compromise.

I'm sure there are edge-case, dark corners of D&D Reddit builds that do suck, but honestly most of them suck in that they are actually not good (eg: coffeelock). Your typical case of dumping one stat to max out on another? totally normal, totally cool.

Anyway to get to the part of your question regarding not being a problem: you probably aren't! You're thinking about how to not be a problem to your DM, which people who are problems tend not to do. However, the big takeaways of the above are 1. read the rules of your character and 2. build a character who fits into the world. In the session zero, build a character who has a reason to be doing the things the DM outlines in broad strokes, and who complements the other PCs. If you do that, then it doesn't matter if you min-max or not.