#holy shit how did it get this long

[stupidsexynonbinaryperson]

I said in a post earlier that duskblade is the bees knees. The question is, of course, why? "Faux-Grognard", you may be asking "how is this different to any other gish, and why is it better than pathfinder's magus, which is literally the same class?". You might also be asking what a gish is. For the uninitiated into the cult of feeling special, a gish is just any character or class that hits stuff and casts spells. Generally arcane spells, so that we can exclude clerics so they can remain healbots forever and paladins because they suck. For the 5e audience, eldritch knight and bladesinger are both attempts to make a gish, one of which succeeds far better than the other. Oh and I guess swords bard, but that isn't particularly relevant to this discussion.

Characters that fight and wield magic are sort of a staple of dnd. Back in B/X, we had elves. Not as good as casting as a cleric, although they did get up to 5th level spells, and got their spellcasting before them, but were limited in other ways (level maximums, ability score requirements, xp required to level up).

The complete elf handbook for AD&D 2e is where, I believe, we get the idea of the bladesinger from, an elf capable of fighting and casting with a musical theme.

3e/3.5 comes along, and there is an explosion of caster options. Half-casters, full casters, gishes, arcane casters, divine casters, not-a-casters. Magic was the thing to do. Bladesinger becomes a prestige class, and there is also the spellsword prestige class.

All of these suck compared to duskblade.

I know nothing of 4e, so I'm skipping it. As any person interested in previous editions should. You want to make things boring in the name of balance? Go play pf2e, it's probably better and goblins don't have 29 hp.

On release, 5e lacks a gish class which isn't a subclass. That's find, so did every edition except B/X. It also lacked an arcane half caster. Sure there was warlock, but that's not a half caster really, and they changed it from being an intelligence class to a charisma class because a bunch of people got their knickers a twist and didn't read the new flavour, and complained about it. And now everyone, wrongly, believes that all you need to be a lawyer is to be persuasive.

So, rather than talk about what makes duskblade so cool and epic, let's first talk about people's regrettable introduction to the concept of gishes. In all fairness, eldritch fighter is pretty good. Actually it is the most gish of the gish options in 5e. Way to go! Bladesinger, however, is a stain. Now, you may argue that like how eldritch knight is a bit more fighting but not as magic, bladesinger is more magic than it is fighty. But that is kind of an issue. See, when it comes down to it, gishes aren't good casters. Primary casting isn't their role, gishes do damage. Bladesinger, played optimally, has no reason to go to the frontline. And that sucks. All of its features are defence orientated, to make up for the lack of defence options on a wizard. But a lack of defence is part of the balance of the class, always has been and always should be. If you want better defence, you should be forced to give something up. But bladesinger allows you to bypass that. This just incentivises playing a wizard with an AC higher than a martials, rather than playing a character in the front line.

Now, back to duskblade. Duskblade is the gish to end all other gish options. Full base attack bonus, same as fighter and other martial classes, as expected. The rare intelligence based spontaneous casting, which is kind of expected on a class not meant to be a primary caster. It retains the flavour of being made by elves- many gish based options are usually tied to them. A d8 hit die which isn't great but not terrible. Light and medium armour proficiency. You can't actually wear medium armour until later levels due to arcane failure chance, but regardless.

Duskblade, however, does everything right. It's key ability, the class gimmick, is being able to channel melee spells through a weapon of your choice, and having a shit ton of spell slots to do it with.

I do mean a shit ton of spell slots, by the way.

You do also get the ability to ignore arcane spell failure chance, which is pretty standard for gish classes and prestige classes in 3.5. The rest of the abilities aren't so great, but duskblade is an amazing chassis to make a gish build. It does lack splatbook support, so its spell list is fairly limited, but it has some great options. Did you know that dimension hop is a melee spell, and doesn't require consent from the person effected to work?

Most of duskblade's spell list are offensive, damage dealing spells. A lot of them are melee spells. But it also gives a good amount of non-offensive combat options, to help you get into position, position others, or hit more reliably (true strike gives a +20 insight bonus to your next attack).

Duskblade also has full caster level, which means your spells remain viable throughout the campaign. So while they may be of a lower level, they are as effective as a wizard casting a spell of the same level. A lot of gish options don't do this.

PF1e gave magus, the system's legally distinct duskblade, access to 6th level spell slots, but with less spell slots overall. That is, I suppose, fine. Just not to my tastes.

Anyway, the only reason why they made artificer is because eberron is popular. Duskblade would have made a much better arcane half caster for 5e, and there are a bunch of options for subclasses to choose from. A few, from the top of my head, is a general spellsword subclass, for the basic "standard" subclass choice. Jade Phoenix Mage for focusing on more damage. And yoink bladesinger from wizard and put it pretty much as is, with some minor adjustments, on duskblade. More defensive orientated, but not egregious as you have given up access to 9th level spells and such.

You should probably reduce the amount of spell slots given, though.

[hailsatanacab]

Family Dinners - dpxdc

"Holy shit, you're Bruce Wayne!" Danny gaped, jabbing a finger at the man sitting at the head of the table.

The bustling dining room goes silent as everyone turns to look at him.

"Danny, who did you think was going to be here?" Tim asks, disbelief plain in his voice and Danny feels his face flush red.

"Sorry, I, uh, I guess I just never put it together. Tim Drake-Wayne. Wayne Manor. It, uh, makes sense now." He laughs sheepishly and scrubs at his neck before slumping back down into his chair.

"Well," Tim says with an indulgent sigh, "at least I know you're not just friends with me for my connections."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry, I just never thought about it, I guess."

Danny sinks lower as everyone around him laughs. Come to dinner, he said, the food is the best, he said, ignore the family, he said. Danny really wishes he'd listened to Tim and just ignored them—almost as much as he's regretting accepting the offer in the first place—but... he's having dinner with Batman.

Ancients, that's so weird!

The last time he saw Batman was in the future and, suffice it to say, it was not going well. There hadn't really been time for family dinners there.

Wait. Family dinners?

He peers around the table, openly gawking at everyone as it all clicks into place.

"Everything alright, Danny? Now realising who everyone else is?" Tim asks with a roll of his eyes.

"Uh... something like that..." Danny mumbles as everyone laughs again.

From further down the table, the smallest Wayne scoffs and clicks his tongue.

"I thought you said he was smart, Drake?"

"So, you all do it, too, then?" he asks, ignoring the jibe. Danny's only a little bit jealous as he thinks of how much easier they must have it, how much easier it'd be if his family had been on his side, too. "You all work together?"

"Nah," Dick says from across the table with a brilliant grin. "Tim's the only one that works with Bruce, we all have different jobs. I'm a police officer in Bludhaven."

"Disgusting." Danny blurts out without thinking—because seriously, what kind of self-respecting vigilante would also be a police officer?—before clapping a hand over his mouth. "Sorry."

The whole table laughs again, the loudest being the blonde girl a few spaces down from Dick. Look, Danny wasn't really paying attention to names when they were all paraded in front of him. Dick only gets remembered because his name is a joke.

Come on, Danny, recover!

"That's, uh, not what I meant, though."

"Oh?" Dick asks, cocking his head slightly to the side. Is it Danny's imagination or does his smile tense slightly?

"Yeah, I mean like, you know, in costume. It must make it so much easier to have everyone together like this."

"Costume? What do you mean?"

Yeah, Danny's not imagining it, everyone tenses up at that. It's really only now that he's realising that this probably isn't how he should bring up that he knows about their... night time activities. In fact, he probably shouldn't be bringing it up at all.

"Uuhhh..." Danny looks wildly around the table as he continues making his stupid noise. Think, think, think! There must be a way out of this!

"Danny?" Tim asks, looking concerned.

"Oh, Ancients, this isn't how I wanted it to go at all," he mutters, slipping even further into his chair. He's almost on the floor now and he so, so wishes it could just swallow him up.

His real first meeting with Batman was meant to be cool! He had planned to be Phantom, maybe save them from a tight spot, prove his worth as a mysterious and powerful ally as thanks for the help Batman gave him in the future.

"Danny, what are you talking about?" Tim starts tugging on his sleeve in an attempt to pull him back up from his pit of despair.

Eventually, Danny relents and sits up straighter, hiding his face in his hands and whining all the while.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't expect him to be here and it threw me off so now I look stupid and it's so embarrassing!" he wails, flailing his arms wide. "Why wouldn't you warn me that Batman was your adopted dad, Tim? Couldn't you have let me know?"

"I'm sorry, what? Danny are you alright? There's no way Bruce can be Batman, look at him!"

"Yeah," the blonde girl laughs from the bottom of the table, "look at him! That's a wet noodle of a man! Batman can actually do things, B is incapable of pretty much everything."

"Thank you, Stephanie," Bruce sighs, massaging his forehead.

It's... Those are the first words Danny's heard Batman say since everything went down and it's enough to knock him out of his embarrassment.

It's really good to hear his voice again. Especially now, when it's strong and healthy and full of personality—even if that personality is little more than a tired father right now—far better than how it had been, at the end.

Danny sits up, back straight, and grins. He's got this. He remembers it perfectly. Some people count sheep to fall asleep, Danny repeats his mantra to be certain that he'll never forget it.

"Gamma alpha upsilon tau iota mu epsilon, 42, 63, 28, 1 colon 65 dash 9."

Once again, the whole table falls into silence.

"Holy shit..." breathes the other D name (Duke? Danny's pretty sure he's Signal) from opposite Stephanie. "Isn't that...?"

"The time travelling code." The littlest Wayne says stiffly. "We have met in the future?"

"That's not just the time travelling code, Dami." Dick says, looking between Danny and Bruce. "That's the family time travelling code."

Danny's grin freezes in place.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"1 colon 65 dash 9." Dick explains, still flicking between him and Bruce. "It means you've been adopted into the family and we should all treat you as such, no questions asked."

"Tell you what, I'm about to ask a question." Danny says, dumbstruck. "You just told me it was a code to identify time travellers, not anything about being adopted! What the hell, B?"

Bruce looks about as shellshocked as Danny feels.

"We must have been close," he says finally, after opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water a few times.

"No! Not that close!" Danny reels back, taking a deep breath ready to refute it all, but... "Well, I mean, you found me when I first got stuck, and you helped me get better despite being... And then we fought together against the, uh, bad guy, before he, um, he... before you couldn't."

An uncomfortable beat passes while they all pick up on what Danny tried so hard not to say.

"So, you're not from the future, then, you travelled there and came back?" Tim asks, breaking the tension and leaning forward with a glint in his eye.

"Yeah, it was a whole end of the world thing, but don't worry about it," Danny says with a hand wave, "It's all kosher now, won't ever happen."

"What did happen?"

"Seriously, don't worry about it, we cool."

"How long in the future was it?"

"About ten years? You were pretty spry for an old man, B," Danny laughs, wishing they'd get off the topic of what happened and get back to the adoption bit.

Everyone shares degrees of a cautious smile as they relax out of the shock, and Dick—whose grin is the biggest—says, "No wonder you got the family code, you're already riffing on him like one of us. How long were you there for?"

"A week, before I managed to get back to my present and stop him then."

"A week? Jeez, B, that has to set some kind of record, seriously."

"Oh!" Danny says, sitting bolt upright and blinking in surprise before pointing at Dick and bouncing in his seat. "You're Nightwing!"

"What?"

"That's exactly what Nightwing said when Batman told me the code! Makes so much more sense now."

Dick laughs and claps his hands, delighted.

"You were not formally adopted?" The grumpy small one—Dami?—asks, his face pinched.

"I didn't even know I was informally adopted."

"And your parents? Are they alive or dead?"

"Damian, stop—"

"They were dead in the future, but they're alive now." Danny says, looking down. He fiddles with the tablecloth, twisting the fabric around his fingers as he fights down the pang of sadness that he always feels when he thinks of them now. He forces a bright smile on his face and hopes it doesn’t look too strained. "I just, uh, can't talk to them much, anymore."

"Damian," Dick warns, "1 colon 65 dash 9. Treat them as family, no questions asked."

"This is Damian treating him as family, the little turd has no manners." Tim scoffs, rolling his eyes, but he gently bumps shoulders with Danny to knock him out of his funk. Danny can't help but send him a watery smile.

"I have the most exemplary manners, Drake, unlike some people." Damian spits, crossing his arms with a pout. "I was merely ascertaining his status to see how he could possibly fit into the family."

"I know this is all a bit sudden, Danny," Bruce smiles, ignoring Damian and reaching out to lay a warm hand on his arm, "for all of us. But if I felt strongly enough to give you that code after spending a week with you in the future, then you are more than welcome in this family, if you so choose it. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we'd like to get to know you a bit more."

"I know a threat when I hear it, Bruce." Danny snorts. "But, yeah, I get it. I'm sorry this is all so weird, it really wasn't how I wanted to find you again, but... I'm glad I did."

"So are we, Danny." Dick says, with a warm smile. "And formally or not, 1 colon 65 dash 9 means you're family. Welcome to the fun house! No take backs or refunds, sorry. You're stuck with us."

[nebuladreamz]

A little different than last year's, but here we are again. To say that this past year hasn't been absolutely wild would be a lie, cause HOLY SHIT MAN

This year's birthday is. A little different for me, but you already have the silly comic to show that so I won't make like a broken record oops

But, despite the changes and hills that life's decided I should climb or throw at, it hasn't changed the fact that I'm so genuinely fucking thankful to the people that I've known since joining this fandom. I'm not even kidding when I say that being here has actually changed my life for the better. I know I said something similar last year, but this time, hoo boy it sure turned up the AMP and test how far I could go.

So, to everyone, both new and old; thank you for being here :D

@garbagechocolate @darkxsoulzyx @smoljeanius @bunmuffin @skizabaa

@tuzesdays @sleepykas @fernzwing @kandidandi @starsketchez

@just-a-drawing-bean @notdysfunk @ilsole @amberluvsbugs @cloudyvoid

@nomsthecat @alfinefalf @nosleepygay @theblog-with-thestuff

@cacaocheri

(Edit: ty kibbits for informing me of the. Fuck ass tagging system)

AND TAGGING OTHERS BECAUSE. POINTS. BONKS WITH HEAD. GETTING TO EITHER INTERACT OR TALK OR WHATEVER IS ALWAYS A DELIGHT

@ohno-the-sun @kibbits @ink-yy @saltyfryz @kaprisvn

@hierba-picante @sunny-sophies-garden @cookiiemancer @sneeblbop @justaduckarts

@pepethehumanz @crystalmagpie447 @woolysstuff @mocha-illustrates @duhsty1

@sanchensky @pillowspace @victarin @witherfide

[I DEFINITELY GOT SONAS WRONG AND THESE AREN'T ALL THE SILLY PEOPLE I KNOW BUT IM SITTING HERE AT 2:30 IN THE MORNING JUST KNOW YOU'RE THERE IN SPIRIT HANDING YOU ALL POPTARTS WAUGH]

[deoidesign]

Quick re-do of a 4 year old piece

[hazy-egg]

Day 29: Peter and Caroline

themmmm!!! <3

[timothyslucy]

i know we never got to see it for either angela or nyla when they had their babies, but i've always had this headcanon that whenever someone at mid-wilshire welcomes a new member into their family grey starts roll call with a picture of their little one, along with the standard criteria next to it, ya know, height/weight/length/etc. and then everyone does a drumroll at their tables as he does a dramatic name reveal, and i just hope that one day in the future we'll actually get to see him do so for tim and lucy. it would be so cute. 🥹🫶

[arolesbianism]

Been finally getting around to resuming my second isat playthrough and just noticed smth. During act two. After you get past the door that needs the key from floor two. If you call loop in the two following what next dialogues Siffrin doesn't say anything and it just occurred to me it's probably because he's feeling the dread™ of the rapidly approaching end. Head in hands.

[best-enemies]

remember when the doctor and missy literally had this exchange?

doctor: two hearts.

missy: and both of them yours.

like... it really happened. i keep re-reading it. i made it my blog name. i think about it all the time. and i still can't believe it happened. we really got this. this is insane

[bizlybebo]

theres something in me that wants to write the exact same au shifted slightly to the left 48269484 billion times

[braisedhoney]

did someone ask for a leander voice claim? no?

how about a lore animatic? below the cut are some of my favorite frames <3 because some of them were way prettier than my finished works orz

[blushy-tigerrr]

vent in tags sorry

cw: mention of loss

[gotta-bail-my-quails]

man i thought i moved out to escape my family but it turns out i've jumped from the pan into the fire because holy shit my guys what the fuck??

[starry-toya]

got bored and tripped and fell and accidentally kind of cosplayed tomura how did I get here

[seventh-district]

so uh. that 2.2 Special Program, huh

[jessiethelion]

People who run music meme pages deserve less. Maybe nothing

[iceeericeee]

I wonder how many tags i can add on to this