#i mean this works for any caster in any ship

[nephriteknight]

someone should write a caster!tav x lae'zel fic about lae'zel training tav to hold concentration despite... distractions ;) and title it "War Caster" and if none of yall do it that someone might have to be me.

[chiililisatoo]

My take on gilgamesh's obsession with Artoria's ideals and conviction

this is a GilgameshxArtoria theory / headcanon post , if you are not into this pairing this content may not suite you so i recommend you skip it but you are free to read through and share any criticisms /thoughts you may have on it :

So gilgamesh finds artoria's wish to redo the past be it her rule or to not become a king at all naieve which it is and her full dedication to such an ideal is amusing as rewriting her own rule as a king is both naieve and a very anti-god dream , he too in his life after enkidus death searched for immortality and found it and lost it and just as Artorias mountain of losses and regrets he was on one too metaphorically but since he was alive and could live on he moved on ammended himself his outlook on life and adapted and thus died with no regrets while artoria was mortally wounded and thus desperate on her mountain of regrets and losses and had to make the deal with the world in her desperation as else she would just die without being able to do anything

Meaning Artoria is Gilgamesh after snake ate his herb of immortality and chose to go back and get the herb and this time consume it immediately or some other direct , not through legacy or achievements but literal way of achieving immortality , gilgamesh in that moment became wise and focused on his rule which flourished and approved his decision but had gilgamesh still stuck on immortality would be have been able to attain it how would his life and his legend progressed then this what if was always on his mind and artoria is the living what if

So gilgamesh has wisdom no heroics , while artoria is mostly heroics with little wisdom but gilgamesh as he states to artoria does not put one over the other though he considers artoria's choice much harder than his own so when artoria's defeats casters abomination with excalibur that beauty and power is an approval of artorias choice and her her conviction and her ability to achieve her naieve but real ideal , this spurs on gilgamesh to reconsider him being a HS in silly war to take it more seriously as now he sees a reward to it - artoria and the continuation of his own dream of heroism which are same in nature to artorias dream of redo/reset , he wants them both to achieve their dream together and feels some inferiority/rivalry to artoria and wants to test his conviction against her own but he does want to continue his/her dream together with her as he pines for her and proposes to her before he is aware of the true nature of the grail and grail mud or current modern age and has no incarnated human body but he still proposes to her "marriage" - i do not know how a marriage between 2 HS would work out but since they are magical being there has to be some ritual that is considered marriage ,

so gilgamesh wants to continue his pursuit of greatness/immortality/heroism with artoria the HS but what is his dream which he wants to continue as we are well aware of artoria's but not gil's dream I think eventually in the nasuverse in seraph / extraverse / extella we will see gilgamesh as a HS produces his own noble phantasm which is a true grail a true wish granting device to enforce a living human beings will on a very great being like an outer god cause he lacks his own title NP weapon this could be his but to produce something that powerful he would be deleted from throne of heroes and this would manifest his NP,

since I lowkey ship artoria and gil due to above take o it as i find them somewhat similar having reached different conclusions due to different choices due to circumantances being different

so this is my head canon gil wants artoria as his queen/vassal but she would never be that so his best bet to team up with her is to be her Merlin and provide her with weapons with which she can charge their enemy , so gilgamesh creates this uber powerful will enfocring NP and loses his HS form and disappears and then since this NP requires alot of power artoria would create an opening using avalon to their enemy and then pour her energy into it to charge it and ready it for use and this usable NP on the now open to take strike enemy would be taken downby their living human master who enforces their will on this powerful enemy outer god or something and both artoria and gilgamesh are deleted from the throne of heroes thus concluding their dreams would that not be very romantic ?

this is my interpretation / theory / headcanon on it , thoughts ?

[wazzappp]

FINALLY. FUCKING FINALLY FINISHED JESUS CHRIST.

Ok so. Heres the general breakdown for attack types:

Basic attacks: These attacks just use the weapons that manifest during their magical girl transformation. Theres no limit to using these. They don't utilize all that much magic but are still effective because the weapons are technically MADE of magic.

Ult attacks: Utilize more magic and have a recharge time of about 5 to 10 minutes (which is a pretty long time in a fight). They can only be used after quite a bit of practice, as they require the ability to channel a lot of magic in a short amount of time. A familiar and their person must be able to work together in order for it to be effective. The familiar has to be capable of funneling the magic to the caster, and the caster has to have experience CASTING it.

Specialized spells: Each one of these attacks is different from person to person. These don't necessarily have to be attacks, they can also be defenses or evasions. These are usually the most difficult for a caster to master and take even more magic than the Ult attacks. A magical girl typically uses it the first time on accident, during the heat of the moment where they are desperately drawing on more magic to defend themselves. After that it is a concentrated effort to cast these spells. It's usually a signifier that the magic is starting to settle in them and that they're ready to cast more. The recharge time for these spells is 10 to 15 minuites.

The recharge time for casting spells will decrease the more a caster is composed of magic... which is a post for later lmao. As much as I would love to get into the fun ship of Theseus glitter body horror in this post it would just take to long lmao but its COMIN EVENTUALLY I PROMISE.

Johnny is an excellent fighter because of his POWER and his RANGE. He's best suited to fighting merged ghosts because it's one big target to aim a lot of power at. His Ult spirals out from around him and can help prevent him from getting caught if a bunch of separate ghosts try to swarm him. The downside is that its harder to direct, and he's in danger of hitting teammates if they're in his range (which I said earlier is pretty large). His specialized spell conjures essentially a cannon of fire, which he can aim wherever he pleases. His magical recharge time is slightly shorter than he norm, and he strikes me as the type of person who would use them IMMIDIETLY after he recharges.

Johnny has trouble if he doesen't have enough room to move his Scythe around. He works best in big open spaces. Hallways and elevators and the like are a BIG nope.

Robbie is unique among the other ghost fighters because 1. He's the least experienced and 2. He probably has the MOST trouble getting along with his familiar (I cant see him and Eli getting along in any fuckin universe tbh). Because of this he's not as adept at channeling large amounts of magic. When he does try at an Ult attack it usually has a much smaller effect than the others (see top right with him swinging his hammer). This means he focuses mostly on non magical attacks; having two modes to use his hammers (regular and on the end of chains to give him range). He's not as powerful so he has to be more CREATIVE. His magical recharge time is about what I described at the top.

He fights best at close range and can use his chained hammers to drag enemies that are usually too far away closer to him (GET OVER HEREEEE fuck yeah mortal kombat). His big weakness is that his smaller weapons dont allow him to block as easily, so he needs to focus on dodging or using his specialized spell, teleporting, to get out for the way (mostly dodging though. he's not great at teleporting). He HAS to stay aware of his surroundings or he could get surprised very easily.

Im gonna need. A whole nother post to try and figure out how the charger fits into all this lmao.

Dannyyyy!!! His funky moon staff was so fun for me to think about. One idea that I thought of after getting everything drawn is him sticking it around a ghosts neck and using it to guide them around and use that ghost as a shield. He has similar weakness to Johnny in that he needs space to move and cast spells. His arm guards make him just the littlest bit more able to block attacks but he still primarily uses his staff to stop attacks from going through (most of the others do. Yayyyyyy spinny capabilities).

@moosemonstrous made the WONDERFUL suggestion of his specialized spell being THROWS ACID ON YOU THROWS SO MUCH FUCKING ACID ON YOU REDUCED YOU TO YOUR BASE ELEMENTS GET FUCKED NERD GET ACIDED cause of his green era lmfao. He really REALLY does not enjoy this and uses it as little as possible. His magic recharge time is also just a little shorter.

@rokhal YOUUUUU. You mentioned Frank having time manipulation like Homura from Madoka Magica and it spawned this whole class of spell I blame you for this.

Frank has the most experience with magical girling by FAR and its very apparent in his fighting style. He sometimes uses the magic manifested by preparing his Ult without actually COMPLETING the spell which is like. Fighting with RPG backblast in magical girl world.

Franks staff is more infused with magic than the other fighters weapons, which allows him to manipulate its length (Robbie does something to a similar effect with his chains at the cost of his magical attacks not being as strong. Frank has no such limits lol).

His specialized spell stops time for about 5 minutes. If he extends himself he can sometimes push this time longer but it is VERY tiring. He also has to be REALLY careful of his team mates movements. Positioning some metal shards for a ghost to fall onto is all well and good, unless Robbie manages to teleport directly onto it. His recharge time is much MUCH shorter than the others, it usually only takes him 2 minutes to recharge an Ult and 7 minutes to recharge his specialized spell (though that time does increase the more he uses it, so there are still consequences for expending that much magic)

ALSO CREDIT TO MOOSE AGAIN for starting the idea to have all of them be. Sort of afraid? of their specialized spells. Johnny is terrified that he will somehow manage to literally burn the, surprisingly sort of happy, life he's built to the ground. Robbie is scared one day he'll just pop out of existence entirely. That he'll just go to teleport and get stuck in the weird inbetween space of being composed of magic and thought without real form forever. Danny is almost too afraid to go near people while his spell is active because Please Jesus Christ don't get dissolved please please. Fuck this acid ability fuck it fuck this. Frank's is a nightmare and a dream in one. What if he finds a time so nice, so happy, that he just freezes it and gives everything he has to stay there forever? It's been so long since he's had a family. What if he cant bear to let this one go?

[mehoymalloy]

I’ve been thinking about sending you an anon for awhile! I wanted to say that when I first say your Otohan/Imogen fics i was really confused on why- but then one night I was bored so I began reading them and absolutely fell in love with your writing. The way you write Otohan to begin with and the relationship you’ve conjured up is kind of insane in a really good way. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I’m very happy I gave a ship I was very against a shot because you are very incredible.

I’m looking forward to more information on the judicator au! I know you’re working on it with someone else (I’m pretty sure I remember seeing that) so I wish you both the best with it. And cant wait for any updates you have on… like… anything. (No but seriously I really am stoked for the judicator au anything you say about it I will eat up like someone starved in the desert please feel free to share more- :) if you want to ofc)

Wow, talk about making my morning (day, week, month, year)! I honestly cannot thank you enough for not only giving my writing and this ship a chance, but also taking the time to send me such a kind and wonderful message to let me know. Messages like this seriously mean the world to me, so genuinely, thank you so much.

The one thing about planning a fic in full like this before publishing it is that every snippet I could share feels like a spoiler. So instead, please accept these random scraps of worldbuilding details and tidbits!

First and foremost, I truly would not be writing this AU without @inomakani. She encouraged me to go wild in our DMs talking about it, helped me solidify a lot of the plot details, and offered her own ideas whenever I got stuck deep-diving into the nitty gritty details (as I so often do). For example, she helped conceptualize Imogen's pseudo-permanent dorm room with a very cool and cozy layout. Here's just a tiny piece of the amazing floorplan she made that she'll likely post in full when the fic is published.

To further emphasize how awesome this whole project of hers was (because she really did plan ALL of Imogen's room; I simply gave the final 'ok'), here's my far simpler layout of the Aydinlan Seminary's campus:

Furthermore, Ino has contributed immensely to the wider worldbuilding (something she truly excels at). As a sort of silly but no less brilliant example, here's one of the cantrips she came up with for the in-universe encyclopedia of kink, Mistress' Magical Manual of Kink (mentioned in this snippet of how Imogen finds the book to begin with):

Conceptus Interruptus Level:: Cantrip Casting Time:: 1 Action Range/Area:: Touch Components:: S Duration:: 7 days School:: Abjuration Attack/Save:: CON Save Source:: Apocryphal Reproduced In:: Maya's Magic, Maladies, and Medicine Reproduced In:: Mistress' Magical Manual of Kink Reproduced In:: Wizard Sex-Ed at the Aydinlan Seminary A spell seemingly as old as time itself, this cantrip has no confirmed source. Rumors abound that it originated in the days before the calamity in the once-great city of Aeor, but nearly as many claim it came from the earliest days of the plane-hopping elven city of Syngorn. Considered to be a crucial part of any sex-education course, it is taught to magic practitioners as a matter of practice. Similarly, magical items with the spell cast on them can be found in most self-respecting magic shops. The spell subtly changes the recipient's physiology to destroy gametes in the body for the duration of the spell. This makes it an effective form of period protection as well, though this was not discovered until the sexual health work done by Maya Ayad in Maya's Magic, Maladies, and Medicine. The spell may be dismissed by the caster at any time, but gametes must subsequently be regenerated by the body, which may take up to a month.

I would also absolutely be remiss if I didn't give Imogen glasses in the "Imogen is a Huge Nerd AU" (they're round, bronze-colored, and wire-framed, attached to a matching chain she wears around her neck because the bridge is just a little too wide and frequently slips down her nose; Professor Kai gave her his old pair when her and Liliana first arrived at the Seminary, and at this point it's a sentimental quirk Imogen can't bring herself to fix). The frames and temples are etched with teeny glyphs that provide Darkvision as well as the ability to magnify (and yes, please imagine that Imogen's eyeballs appear comically large when that spell is activated lol).

And finally, while I can't share much about Otohan themself and all the theorizing we've done on judicators in general, I can share this little detail about one of the more passive abilities they have, since it's mentioned in the opening of the fic.

Again, thanks so much for sending me such a kind message! I hope this absolute overload of random headcanons can feed you while we work on the main course!

[morrigan-sims]

🦉Positivity owl reporting for duty! This was sent by a friend who wants you to smile as much as your posts make them smile. Please list five things that make you unique, four things you are super passionate about and why, OR three of your favorite memories. Feel free to send the owl to those who you feel deserve to smile🦉

Augh, thank you anon! This is super sweet to log onto after a night of no sleep and in the middle of working on one of two huge assignments due this week.

I'm going to do 4 things I'm passionate about, I think.

[Putting this under the cut because it got really really long.]

D&D I love the collaborative storytelling of it all. That my little guy and your little guy and a few other people's little guys are all working together to write a story, and it's just happening. I am eternally grateful that I started playing d&d my freshman year of college, and even though it's only been in my life for just over 2 years, I literally cannot imagine where I would be now without it. This game is not just my special interest but also my lifeline, and it means the world to me. I could yammer on about any of my campaigns for hours on end, and I have a near-encyclopedic knowledge of rules and spells. (The latter of which is very funny given that I've never played a full caster.) I also love homebrewing things, and I've undergone some pretty intense homebrew projects for the DM of my Sunday game (including stat blocks and maps for three sailing ships, plus rules for ship combat). I also have vague ideas for campaigns of my own that I would love to DM someday.

My OCs Be they for d&d or for any of my other writing projects (RTQ/ATQH I miss you...), I could talk for hours about my original characters. I have so much to say about all of them, and I know more than I would ever need to know, and more than anyone would ever care to ask. Character creation is one of my favorite things to do, and it comes to me more easily than writing a complete story, so I have countless characters who exist in a vacuum with no world or story to support them. But I still love them anyways. I will gladly ramble about my characters anytime, so feel free to send me an ask if you're ever curious about anyone I post.

Reading Reading has been my number one source of comfort and escapism for as long as I can remember. I taught myself to read when I was 3, without my parents even being aware of it until I started reading roadsigns at random. I have over 270 books in my bedroom, and that number is ever-growing, since books are one of my most frequent impulse purchases. (In fact I have another 6-10 books waiting for me when I get back to my dad's house this weekend...) I'm always looking for more recommendations or people to yell about books with, so if you're an avid reader, don't be afraid to send me a message!!

My Friends I spent a lot of time lonely as a kid, and I didn't really start making friends until I came to tumblr and discord. All of my closest friends I've met through one or both of those platforms. I absolutely adore all of them, and I'm so lucky to have found these amazing people. I will do my best to always shower them with the love they deserve. I'm generally a very chatty and outgoing person (sometimes to an extreme degree that ends up scaring off potential friends), and when I say that I'm okay with people messaging me out of the blue, I 100% mean it.

Animals I mean, I'm a zoology student, so I don't think this one is surprising in the slightest. I have essentially zero empathy for humans, but I've always felt more for animals. Not only are all 4 of my cats (2 at my dad's, 2 at my mom's) the loves of my life who I would kill and die for, I also want to work with animals for the rest of my life. Particularly my interest is in animal behavior, and I want to do enrichment work in a zoo setting. I am a nearly endless repository of animal facts, and my biology of mammals class that I'm taking this semester is only adding to that.

(BONUS) Video Games I've been a big fan of video games since middle school, but it wasn't until about my freshman year of college that I started really cementing my taste in games. I had been playing a lot of life sims, but none of them managed to hold my interest for very long. The first turn-based/RPG game I really played with Wildermyth. Eventually I starting playing Divinity: Original Sin 2, after having owned it for almost a year, and I was in love. From there I moved on to Slay the Spire, Baldur's Gate 3, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, to name a few. (Other games I've enjoyed in the recent past include Roots of Yggdrasil, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, and Rogue Waters.) I have a very deep love of turn-based combat, story-based RPGs, and rogue-likes or rogue-lites, so anything that has some or all of those elements is going to be an immediate love from me. (Turn-based combat is almost a must for me, though. Despite greatly enjoying the story of Dragon Age: Origins, the god-awful combat has prevented me from making any progress beyond Morrigan's recruitment.)

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Mostly the ones related to our latest posts and that office worker Lilia comic.

Anonymous asked:

Oh is there more prison warden au infos?

Yes! Here is the post with the main info about everyone, but there is a lot of stuff on the prison warden au tag. It’s been a while, I gotta reread it hehe….

irregardlessly-tish asked:

Slowly but sure you have turned me into an OruVil shipper ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Tish! It means a lot to hear that from you hehehe <3

These two are wonderful, I’m happy that more people consider these two as a ship and enjoy their dynamic in general.

blackbutlerfandomnerddomain asked:

TWST OFFICE AU TWST OFFICE AU

YES!! It’s a one-off thing for now though, because we just really liked the idea of Lilia messing with everybody at the office, but maybe we’ll end up with mode stuff for this AU at some point…

Anonymous asked:

Lilia, keep it up. Someone will put your office supplies into jello molds and serve it at the next company picnic.

If there is anyone who is fun/bold enough to do it, it’ll make Lilia very happy lol Finally, at least some of these youngsters know how to have fun.

Anonymous asked:

Lol Lilia holds the record for highest number of HR complaints filed against him. He just never gets in trouble because he also plays in a band with the CEO. "Ahahah! Lilia is just playing pranks! I think it's important to have some fun in the office! It... uh... how was it...? Oh, right! It boosts morale in the workplace! Did I say that right?"

Oh gooood OF COURSE, OF COURSE HE IS THE CEO, THIS IS WHY LILIA GETS AWAY WITH EVERYTHING, HE JUST BEFRIENDS THE RIGHT PEOPLE 😭  And this is 100% truth, Lilia boosts morale tremendously, because now all everyone in the office is united by this feeling of being both slightly annoyed and kind of freaked out by Lilia and some of his pranks.

Sexy secretary Jamil when? I’m asking myself

Anonymous asked:

Office worker au makes me think of them being police officers or news casters. Both can work like some kind of twisted sitcom.

Honestly, Anon, the cast of twst is so good that any type of activity would be fun with them. Police officers, news casters, anything – they have such fun personalities that it’s always perfect for either a sitcom or a thriller, depends on how you look at it lol

They would make such fun news casters though…

Anonymous asked:

When I think of Lilia as a general, this is what comes to mind: https://pin.it/g6i4SPn5C. I’m sorry but this had to happen at least once…

Oh nooo poor Lilia lol His hair just keeps getting attacked… with Malleus setting his bangs on fire once too…

Anonymous asked:

Sorry about the curse asks! I’m told I have a cursed mind 😀

Don’t worry, Anon! I don’t even know which asks are yours so it’s all good lol

Anonymous asked:

I thought his middle name was Leslie 🤨 (Points to anyone who gets this extremely dumb joke.)

Ah yes. Yes, culture… Lilia Debauchery Leslie Vanrouge.

[whysamwhy123]

For the word prompt: grin 😁

Hoo boy, buckle up, because this appears in a looooot of my WIPs! You're about to get a whistle-stop tour into my mind - and it ain't pretty...you have been warned...

First up, from the VERY weird portion of my life where I wrote half of a MaxSquared fic 😬 It gets even worse after this point, so be glad that this snippet ended...

‘’Fuck off,’’ Maxwell spat at him before taking off in the direction he’d been going. Max followed right after, like any good boyfriend would.

MJF made it into the elevator before glancing back at him. He frantically hit the button but fortunately, Max was able to slip inside before the door could close.

‘’Going up?’’ Max asked, with a grin.

‘’We’re on the ground floor, the only way to go is up!’’ MJF barked. His beloved looked so mad, it was insanely cute!

Caster wagged a finger at him. ‘’You’re right! You’re always right, about everything! You know, I think that’s the secret to how our relationship works so well.’’

Secondly, from the inexplicable Daniel Garcia/Julia Hart fic that I started writing. And, uh... *nervous laughter* My shaaaaaame...

‘’Wait…you mean you’ve…done it before?’’

Ricky grinned over at him. ‘’Of course I have.’’

Daniel couldn’t believe his ears. Not even just because of what Ricky was saying, but how casually he was willing to admit it. Like it was no big deal whatsoever.

‘’You’re serious? I swear, if you’re messing with me…’’

‘’Now why would I mess with you like that?’’ Ricky said, placing a hand on his chest in mock-offence. ‘’And why on Earth would I deny a woman the honor, the privilege, the luxury, of claiming Absolute Ricky Starks’ sweet, perfect - ‘’

Next, from... *heavy sigh* A sequel to the first Daniel/Julia fic because I am the kind of person who writes sequels to fics I haven't even finished yet AND they're about pairings that literally no one else on Earth ships...shame.

The man grinned down at Julia, face full of malice. ‘’Yeah, that’s what I thought. Dumb bitch.’’

Oh, that was it! Daniel was about to charge forward and punch that grin right off this asshole’s face. But he never got the chance.

Black mist emerged from Julia’s mouth and coated the man’s face. He screamed and clutched at his face, stumbling back and falling to the ground.

Daniel watched, mouth agape as the stranger convulsed on the ground, a mess of incoherent screams and groans of pain. A crowd had formed around them, people watching on, petrified.

Next up, from my first attempt at ever writing Hookhausen, one that I never got around to finishing. I'm a sucker for trapped-in-a-room fics so *shrugs*

The pit in Hook’s stomach had been replaced by a pleasant warmth. The feeling of a second chance.

‘’Thanks.’’

Danhausen grinned and Hook’s heart felt heavy in his chest.

He cocked his head to the locker room door and the two of them set off. Hook grabbed the handle and pushed but the door barely budged. He raised an eyebrow and tried again, feeling the same resistance. He leaned all his weight into the third attempt, really trying, but still the door wouldn’t open.

‘’What the…’’ he muttered.

‘’The door is stuck?’’ Danhausen asked.

And now we arrive at the last two - my most recent WIPs. First, from a very silly, goofball of a fic where Hook and Danhausen go to the beach -

It was just now that Hook suddenly realised the bag on the ground next to Danhausen was unusually big. Long, too. There had to be more than towels in there.

Hook raised an eyebrow and nodded his head in its direction. ‘’What’s in the bag?’’

Danhausen grinned, his eyes alive with mischievous excitement. ‘’Beach things!’’

Hook wasn’t buying it. Usually he wouldn’t mind Danhausen’s antics but today, he really just wanted to have a nice, chill day at the beach.

Danhausen must have been able to read the uncertainty on Hook’s face. ‘’Hook should not worry - Danhausen is only bringing conventional beach supplies for our beach trip. Perfectly acceptable beach things, he assures you.’’

Uh oh.

And FINALLY, a complete 180 from wacky beach day antics... *even more nervous laughter* This is from the very dark, very messed up Dead Dove fic I've been working on. You may know a little something about it yourself... *wink*

‘’You really can’t do anything, can you? I could do whatever I want and you’d have to just…sit there and take it.’’

Hook’s entire body went still, fear overtaking him, icy coldness shooting through his veins. No. This can’t be happening. He can’t be serious. There’s no way Jack would…

‘’Jack…’’ Hook said. It was supposed to be a warning but his voice was so unsteady, it felt more like a desperate plea.

Jack grinned at him. ‘’What? Don’t act like you don’t want it. Isn’t that why you let him tie you up in the first place?’’

[evokersapprentice]

The Art of concentration

In a recent post I daydreamed about the advantages of an Artificer/Wizard build, as a pure-bred wizard who spends every combat sweating anxiously about my concentration.

At this stage in the game, having just gained access to fifth level spells, all of my most expensive and impactful moves are reliant on me keeping focus. Whether you choose Animate Objects or Bigby's Hand or Hold Monster or Wall of Force, you can't afford to get distracted from it. The cost is too great - having only one slot a day - and the benefit too pivotal to lose.

People who start off with a level of Artificer are instantly more comfortable. I'd have a +6 to CON saves, which would see me saving concentration on a 32 damage hit on average. I'd effectively have the same buff as a Bladesinger, via INT rather than proficiency, but alas, I was born a simple Evoker, and have +2 CON alone to fall back on.

Dipping my toes

I still think that dipping a level of Artificer now makes a lot of sense. It's not as optimal as starting there, but there are other benefits other than the CON proficiency. Medium armour and shields take my resting AC to 19 from 13 (or 15 with a spell slot). With Shield, I'm suddenly as secure as our tank - and from watching him work, that seems to mean effective immunity from enemy minions, their tiny attack bonuses bouncing off your armour.

I'll also gain two cantrips from a different list, plus Magical Tinkering, and four additional spells prepared, also from of a new list which I can peruse and choose from every day. They're limited to first level, but even just re-taking Absorb Elements and Feather Fall frees a couple of spots to prepare higher level wizard spells, and the new ones are just a bonus. I would actually 'learn' a dozen new spells this way. With no loss of higher level spell slots, delaying learning a couple of wizard spells feels like a very reasonable price.

Double jeopardy

But after that... I'm left with a terrible temptation.

I'm still vulnerable to attack. A hearty AC doesn't help much with that, given that I'll be hanging out of melee and slinging spells from range anyway. It'll be the magical-style attacks with DEX and CON saves that get me. Against a high level foe like a dragon, beholder or enemy mage, when I need my big concentration spells the most, I'll lose them if I'm hit. That's a leak I need to patch.

The standard solution to this weakness, looking to make the best out of a non-optimal hand, would seemingly be to take the Resilient feat at level 13 (Wizard 12), giving me proficiency on all CON saves as well as +1 to my ability score. That would leave me with an odd CON score, but I could eventually round it out at level 17 (Wizard 16) for a boost to HP and another +1 to CON saves. Of course, there's no guarantee the campaign will last that long, and at those levels Wizards don't need to worry so much about being fragile.

Some prefer War Caster, but that gives advantage only on concentration saves and without any ability score increase. I suppose you could double up on the feats - wizards having limited decent options compared to martial characters - but that ship has probably sailed for me, having reached level 9 without either of them.

One alternative, as someone already planning to take one level in Artificer, would be to take a second. This is the temptation, but it's by no means an easy decision. I'm convinced by the one-level dip for all of the reasons above, but doubling down comes with more than double the cost: not only a second level delay in learning higher level spells, but no spell slot progression either. Permanent damage to your wizarding ability.

What you get for that is a mixed bag. The first level traded two wizard spells known for a whole list of artificer spells known, plus four spells and two cantrips prepared, plus AC, and Magical Tinkering. The second level trades two wizard spells known and one or two high level spell slots for... two infused items per day. As a conversion, each of those items has to be worth your marginal spell slot and spell. In effect, they need to offer the benefit of a fifth level spell that you would want to use every day.

I think that one of them meets that high bar. Mind Sharpener sounds incredible: turning a concentration fail to a save four times a day. No reliance on the luck of the dice, like a sort of spellcasting Legendary Resistance. You're not going to fail four concentration checks a day, or at least you'll die first, so you just don't need to worry about it. Concentration stops being a factor. The effects of your higher level spells are here to stay.

If I had this as a spell (i.e. 24 hours, no concentration), I can definitely see myself using my marginal spell slot on it. If a) all of my highest level spell slots are going to be used on concentration spells anyway, b) they're only going to be needed in one big encounter per day, and c) I can only use one of them at any one time, I can get by with one fifth level slot as well as I would with two. The only reason I need the second is to hold in reserve, in case the first attempt doesn't stick, but I now guarantee that it will. I'm guarding the first slot from being wasted. That seems like a fair trade.

Perhaps I'm overly anxious about losing my concentration, but for me the peace of mind would be worth it alone. It's stronger than getting both of the feats above. If you already had one or both of them, or start with Artificer, this might feel like overkill, because you'll have a good chance to pass the save anyway. But I have nothing but my +2 CON, and I'm vulnerable. This is the soonest that I can protect myself, and the best protection I can possibly get.

Or maybe it's not about me. Another wonderful benefit is that the Mind Sharpening object is transferable: this is something the Artificer's infusions have over most self-focused class features. Usually this would make no sense, but in my case I have a Ring of Spell Storing which I'm trying to keep charged for my martial colleagues to use. Ideally, because they don't otherwise use their concentration, this is a way to beat the action economy and have two big concentration spells going at the same time.

The current biggest problem with this plan, using the Ring, is that they often get hit, and so that concentration won't last for very long. A Mind Sharpening helmet will sort that out. Suddenly we can have two of my big spells in operation at once, and I can be Bigby's Hand pushing enemy into a Wall of Fire and cackling. Rather than framing this as losing one of my high level slots, it could be more like I've shared them out, so that two can be used at the same time. Or, if I want to spare my own slots, I can be polymorphed into a Giant Ape and join them in melee.

I will be weaker without a sixth level slot, yes. But question is whether the party benefits more from having (in effect) two fifth level spells in action, rather than access to one sixth, and I just think that it might.

It's only sad that the same infusion can't be used twice at once, so I can't keep the concentration protection for myself too. I have to pick something else for my second infusion, and unfortunately the other options aren't quite at the same level. Most involve creating a +1 wand or weapon or shield, which in our case (thank you DM!) we are able to access fairly regularly. My martial colleagues already have magical items. There will probably be somebody who can still benefit from a +1 somewhere, but I'm not sure that it's worth the cost.

The Homunculus Servant (13 AC, 7 HP) isn't really strong enough at this stage. Wizards have access to various summoning spells, including Find Familiar at first level (11 AC, 1 HP), Tiny Servant at third level (15 AC, 10 HP), right up to Draconic Spirit and others at fifth level (19 AC, 50 HP). It can't communicate with you telepathically, and won't attack without using your bonus action each turn, which stops you using an Animate Objects or Bigby's Hand.

This is a problem with multiclassing: these features might be good for a level 2 Artificer, but they're not up to the standards of a level 11 Wizard. Other than Mind Sharpener, I'm probably not going to be able to infuse a magical item that raises my ceiling. But the good thing about the Artificer infusions is that you can give them to other people. For me, low level magical abilities are useless. But to my martial friends, they count for so much more.

As a spellcasting supremacist, I'm of the view that adding more casters to the party is always good. My friendly Fighter and Rogue are not using their concentration. They may not even be using their bonus actions! Giving them even a first level concentration spell raises their ceiling in a way, and gives us another dimension as a party. Letting the fighter cast Bless and gain +2.5 to each of his three weapon attack rolls, for example, would be pretty worthwhile.

Replicate Magic Items seems to allow this. It may not be in the spirit of the rules-as-written, but one of the common magic items that can be created is a 'spellwrought tattoo' needle, which allows anyone in the party one use of any first level spell or cantrip. It's a weaker version of the Ring of Spell Storing above, but allows access to spells that even I don't know, of which Bless would be a good example.

That versatility is pretty handy: effectively granting me access to all first level spell lists, like one of the Magic Adept feats. The actual spell might not be worth sacrificing my marginal spell slot, as above, although it would certainly take one of the lower ones. But the real benefit is that this can be transferred. It's like the whole party gets a Magic Adept feat to share. I can give any first level spell and a spell slot to anybody. At the very least, the Rogue can abuse Silvery Barbs with me. Together with the Ring, we can all be doing it.

Triple threat

If I do find those infusions tempting - and they are - the danger would then be of staying to level three, which is when Artificers actually get their snazzy subclass features. At first glance, this was the level where things get exciting. A free companion, most notably: from the outside, one of the most attractive features of the class is the advantage of getting a summoned ally (Steel Defender for the Battlesmith and the Eldritch Cannon for the Artillerist) without having to concentrate or use up a spell slot.

I love my remote control toys as a player, so that feature was very attractive to me. Unfortunately, I think that these pets have the same downsides as the Homunculus Servant above - I'm sure they're great for pure Artificers (and scale to Artificer level), but they're too weak to join me at this stage in the game (the Defender only has 15 AC and 21 HP, the Cannon 18 AC and 15 AC), and eat a bonus action which I might want to use for more powerful summons.

On the other side of the common consensus, the option of Alchemist feels unfairly maligned. It may be something of the opposite of the other subclasses: weak for pure Artificers, because it doesn't upscale with Artificer level, but decent for curious Wizards, because it doesn't rely on Artificer level at all. People don't seem to have any time for it at all, but I think it may genuinely be my best option if I did decide to go to Artificer 3.

Healing Word is a decent spell to pick up (without taking up a prepared spell), but for Alchemists it's all about the Experimental Elixirs: the ability to brew one free random potion a day, and then use spell slots to choose to make others, some of which are actually excellent. For a first level slot, I can produce an Elixir of Flight (concentration-free flight for 10 minutes!) or an Elixir of Boldness (effectively a single-target concentration-free Bless!), either one of which would be a really great buff for a teammate - and I get a chance each day of getting one of them for free!

The criticism seems mainly to be that the Alchemists don't get a pet, and therefore lose use of their bonus action, but that isn't a concern at all for me. I can find my own pets - what I can't do is generate healing potions for fun, which this would allow. Interestingly the potions last until my next long rest, meaning that by having a short rest soon after I wake up (as an elf, I don't need to sleep as much as others anyway) Arcane Recovery would allow me to produce four each day and then regenerate the spell slots. So it's basically a free buff for everyone.

As above, this would make me weaker, but it's about the party as a whole. I'm not sure the +2.5 buff for the Fighter is worth it, especially if I can give him a Bless tattoo already until he loses concentration, but giving everybody flight would certainly be fun. It taking an action to drink means it's limited to situation where you can see combat coming, but those situations do exist, and in a melee only combat you could possible afford to waste a turn flying to safety... and ensuring your opponents waste their turns as well.

I'm not convinced. The cost is too great. But... I do see the appeal.

[tangent101]

I'm betting on a combination of #2 and #3. I think that Aeor accepted hostages refugees, including worshipers of various Gods who were trying to escape from the conflict. And I think they started using refugees as test subjects... and the first episode we're going to have the PCs learn about missing people and the horrible thing that is being done to them.

(Aeor may even specifically be using worshipers of the Gods for these experiments as an extra "fuck you" against the Gods and to develop new weapons to use against the Gods that hurt the Gods on multiple levels - having to kill their own worshipers who were turned into monsters to attack those Gods.) (Which would mean that Dorian's little Geas against one of the Spider Queen's most powerful Children perhaps hits a little close to the mark.)

Consider for a moment the refugees from Avalir and Cathmoíra - there were flying ships full of Sorcerer apprentices and various arcane casters who fled alongside the civilians from the twin cities. Aeor would have benefited tremendously from the arcane might from the two cities (though I suspect Cathmoíra had fewer wizards and more druids... folks that Aeor would sneer at. No doubt they'd still accept any sorcerers from Cathmoíra and their families to help create potential hostages to motivate them to work hard for Aeor lest they are abandoned to the surface of a war-torn Exandria).

We know from FRIDA's memories that there was internal conflict in Aeor right before the end of the city. What if that conflict was caused by divine-themed characters who were refugees in Aeor but who learn that the refugees are being "processed" to become magically-enhanced shock troopers with no will of their own.

Ludinus wouldn't care about that sort of thing. He looks at Aeor as this bastion of civilization that greedy and selfish Gods struck down. Those refugees were a drain on the resources of Aeor... so they were being given a "chance" to become useful in "restoring order" (and the dominance of Aeor itself).

No doubt I'm not completely right. Ludinus needs something to try and get people to see the Gods as wicked and horrible beyond his own blind hatred. The destruction of Dominox and allowing Ludinus free reign with this information is a failure of the Hells. Why else would Ludinus believe that this information will shatter the faith of those loyal to the Gods?

aeor taking in refugees is so cool because it seems so out of character for aeor. heres a couple of my ideas about why they might extend resources:

aeor genuinely became a stronghold for mortals at some point during the calamity. very possible! if the calamity started making other flying cities drop like flies, they mightve realized that the rivalries they had going with other cities were less important than getting as many mortals as they can to team up against the gods

aeor wanted bodies for experimentation. also very possible. could explain why aeor was so successful in testing dangerous tech, they had a lot of desperate people they could exploit

aeor did become a real safe haven for refugees, but because they were using the refugees as a meat shield. maybe they thought the gods (or at least the prime gods) wouldn't strike down a city full of so many innocents. they were wrong, obviously, but the logic is sound in theory

[pepsi-maxwell]

hi!!! i was wondering if you would maybe discuss what wips you're working on (am v curious but no pressure!)

adjflshsjk yeah absolutely aaaaa!

they're pretty much all cmjf save one cody/mjf fic because i will resurrect that ship if it kills me, and one max² fic because max caster deserves more reading material this is a joke if he ever references any of my work i'm moving to greenland

going to put brief summaries of the most plotted out ones in, under a cut to save the dash because it got looooong 😅

so there's the max² semi meta fic i've posted snippets of previously, max caster starts writing the fic he wants to read, but mjf is reading and critiquing them, until caster gets it just right, mjf gives some begrudging praise, somehow identities are revealed and it turns out they've both been reading fanfic about each other to cope with some fucking weird feelings they're having about each other awww bless them!

and then the cody/mjf borderline sugardaddy fic where max really needs to learn to say what he wants instead of bratting and getting annoyed when cody can't read his mind which i have also posted a snippet of and i'm still working on it dammit!! but my brain is having trouble with the angst required augh

and on the cmjf side...whoo boy *wipes brow*

the bodyguard au where cody hires punk to look after his "business partner" for his protection, but it turns out max is really acting out because he wants cody to stop hiding their relationship, until he catches feels for the idiot with the tattoos who sees through his cutesy doting lover act and actually kinda likes the storm rolling beneath the calm exterior

and then the transmasc mjf fic because the fucking firefighter outfit photo makes him look like he had top surgery and i got ideas that Certain People encouraged lmao sadly he does not have a burberry binder in it but just think about that for a moment!

finally the most complete one is the third part of what we are behind closed doors which kills me because i wrote pretty much all of it last night, barring the main sex scene; includes fairly heavy D/s, cockwarming, facefucking, references to dacryphilia, shame kink, daddy kink, aftercare, max being an obnoxious lil shit post-orgasm, all the good stuff!

it's set in some nebulous future period after max returns and wins the championship off punk, they're still fucking, and they've also actually had the discussion about limits and safewords which is something i'm also going to write up at some point because. why not?! maxwell jacob "i don't need a damn safeword" friedman and cm "you are a fucking idiot, pick a word, why do i still want to fuck you" punk <3

snippet below because I'm too excited to post this one

"You really can't help yourself, can you?" He says, stroking his hair this way and that. Messing it up, but Max doesn't care at this point. "Are you that desperate for it?"

He doesn't know if Punk wants an answer for that, but he nods his head anyway, one of the few gestures Punk has allowed him.

"Use your words. Say, 'I'm a desperate slut for daddy's cock.'" Punk's smirking like he's almost expecting him not to, which only serves to engage that dormant part of his brain that doesn't like to back down from a challenge.

So he chases that icy cold feeling of shame in the pit of his stomach, and says exactly what Punk has told him to say. Forces himself to keep looking at Punk while he does, which means he catches that little indulgent smile that makes it a little bit worth it.

[maydaymadier]

So I’m gonna ramble about cr3 party (we’re literally only 3 episodes in, I don’t expect to be right abt any predictions made here, though I would be pleasantly surprised)

- I don’t think this is gonna happen but I do really like my little pet theory that FCG (and his other robo-siblings) were all humanoids at some point that Dancer saved from mortal injuries/generally dying when she figured out how to magically download consciousnesses into automaton bodies.  And maybe for good measure these humanoids were all citizens of Aeor.

- Ashton, oh Ashton, you totally got disowned or kicked out from something, I can feel it in my bones.  You were too much of a problem for someone so they shipped you far away so they didn’t have to deal with you anymore.

- Magic biology so anything goes, so consider, the roots of their ‘hair’ are crystals but maybe if it grew out long enough it would transition into hair hair so he’s got crystal roots and his whole situation is essentially cutting curly hair short so you don’t have to deal with the curls.

- Laudna’s a dhampir this, Laudna’s one of the Sun Tree corpses that, I think her general Creepiness™ means the casual mention of the voice in her head slips through the cracks, is that voice her patron?  I need to know.  

- Imogen can have some muscle, as a treat, she worked on a farm/ranch of some description, she did farm chores, sheered sheep and stuff.

- I have a feeling Orym might end up multiclassing into a caster, call it a hunch, he really seems to like magic but isn’t all that confident in his magical ability.  I get the feeling he might encounter something that’ll inspire him to pursue it seriously.  Maybe a multiclass into paladin?  Who knows.

- I am going to shake Dorian Storm out like a cluttered purse being dumped onto a kitchen counter and rummage through all his secrets

[shofics]

For the rqg ask game part 3: Number 3 with Wilde and Ed

Okay, first of all, YOUR MIND.

LOLOMG are going to go into the broken gate spell. Ed is there too. They’re counting up, because Eldarion says she can only bring back nine people, including herself. It’s enough for each member and the hostages, but not enough for Einstein and Ed.

“Perhaps if this will, erm, have some… temporal effects,” Hamid says, looking nervous, “Professor, you could take Ed back with you and he could find Wilde, and let him know? You know Oscar Wilde?”

They agree it might be a good idea, and Ed has a Quest, so he’s raring to go.

Einstein teleports him back into Curie’s office, drops him in a chair, gives her a cheery salute, and pops away again. Curie rolls well on her Knowledge Nobility. Curie is suddenly babysitting an Ed With A Quest, and is having a great time.

“You mean the Meritocratic agent, Mr. Keystone? Why on earth would I know where he is? No, don’t run off, you- no- sit there, Ed, please-”

Meanwhile, Wilde has just successfully (he hopes, oh, gods, does he hope) escaped the Meritocracy. Hoping to get more information, he tracks down the Damascan Harlequin cell that arranged Grizzop’s transportation to Rome and I’m sorry, the high-level caster you got to transport him was Eldarion, that Eldarion? Yes I know who she is, every person who’s studied magic at any point within the past thirty years knows who Eldarion and Marie Curie are-

He’s going to have to go to the top if he wants to find out why his team didn’t come back.

He knows Zolf went back to Earhart’s ship after leaving the group in Prague- what kind of a spy would he be if he hadn’t done a little spying? He’s working with the Harlequins now, and if the man doesn’t drown him the moment he shows up, maybe Wilde will be able to convince him to take him to the Harlequins too.

Curie and Ed are not in Prague. Curie and Ed are in Budapest. Ed fills Curie in on where her wife has gone, what Eldarion is doing; she’d gone to Damascus first. Curie contacts the Harlequin cell there, and yes, Wilde was here, he was asking about you. He said he was trying to defect. If the man is smart then he’ll go to Prague first and track her trail from there, and he is, so Curie sends Ed to Prague to meet him.

Wilde and Zolf arrive in Prague. Wilde and Zolf meet Ed. Wilde rolls well on his Knowledge Nobility, and he’d be caught off guard that Edward Keystone is here to greet him, but honestly, much weirder stuff has been happening to him recently. It’s a drop in the bucket, by this point.

Ed takes them back to Budapest, back to Curie, where they make an exchange of information that turns the tide of a war that hasn't even begun yet. Wilde and Zolf learn about the broken gate spell, about the temporal effects, about everything that’s happened to the LOLOMG since Wilde first clipped the anti-magic shackle to his ankle.

It’s more information than either Zolf or Wilde could have hoped for. They know where the others are, they know what’s happened to them, they know what they have to do. Unfortunately, what they have to do is wait, and neither can bear to do that for long.

So they will continue to chase leads on the Simulacrum, and Zolf will continue to track the weather patterns, and Ed-

Will also come along, why not? Wilde doesn’t have his magic, and they can always use another caster. So Ed joins the team.

Zolf and he butt heads at first, due to Ed’s blind optimism and boundless, unwavering faith- but he learns to like the kid. There’s something about him that speaks to Zolf’s own Not-Too-Happy Childhood senses. He couldn’t not watch out for him if he tried.

Wilde finds Ed fascinating, as a character study. Every single pun he levies goes directly over his head. It’s not even annoying, it’s just intriguing. Zolf has to tell him to back off, stop treating the poor kid like a linguistics experiment.

Ed doesn’t deal with quarantine well. He says he can still feel Apollo with him, but it’s fainter when he can’t reach back.

It reminds him of being locked in his room at home, when he was younger, when he’d be punished and asked to shut up and be good when no one would explain to him what it was he’d done wrong.

“He reminds you of her, doesn’t he?” Wilde asks one night, when Ed isn’t in the room. Zolf glares at him and stomps out, which he knows by now means yes.

Ed calls down Smite Evil as Zolf hauls a stunned and bleeding Wilde to safety. Neither cleric nor paladin can heal him magically, not with the cuffs on. Ed is desperately upset about this, and becomes more upset as Wilde completely stonewalls him for the first time. Has he done something wrong? Why won’t anyone tell him when he’s done something wrong?

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Zolf tells him. “Just… let him deal. ‘S not worth it.”

Okinoshima is grey and wet. Apollo is still with him, even if the sun isn’t.

[s0lar-ch3ri]

so i did never actually ramble about ocs lemme talk about armon and seb rq

okay so basically armon, lets start with him, his full name is armon lexiquiant-deminarc, hes a dressmaker out on the sea! he runs a shop called "fabrics and fans", and despite the title hes earned, he can make more tjhan a dress, dresses are just a specialty of his! he uses a cane because of birth things with help from an accident later on in his life, causing a lot of protectiveness from his parents. regardless, he got to work his dream job, and while it does have setbacks (attacks, weather risks, sleep lacks), he wouldnt have it any other way.

as a person, armon is a man who likes to charm and tease, yet he does his best to help out and is overall a caring man. he gives all his customers the nickname doll, and while a business man, can put it aside if needed. he has a couple aqquiantances that i havent really made, but he does have a partner. back home on the island of tyfoonie, holding the town of onabus (might workshop its name), he had met in his childhood when they were both 15, a man named sebastopol sharam who we shall get into soon

he possesses one special magic, one i havent figured out how or why hed have, but its the ability im deciding rn to call "Internal Gaze", where he can see the basics of information on a person: name, age, sizes, and basic intensions! how it works is that he looks into somebodys eyes for around 5 seconds and it works! if i were to do a dnd mechanic for it, probably wanting to gain more comes with a roll and a risk; the more you look the more you get, however you have to roll some kind of stat (not sure exactly what yet, id say either a perswasion or general charisma, but i may also play around with wisdom) to keep their gaze at yours, while the other has to roll a contested wisdom/charisma save, regardless of failures or successes the caster is vulnerable the entire time the spell is cast failure just means you stay vulnerable till your next turn and you dont gain anything more (there is another idea im playing with; your roll is an intimidation roll, the other person is a wisdom save, your roll is their dc and you want them to pass, the other person failing makes them look away and be intimidated but nothing to warrent any bonuses to the caster). gonna pl;ay around with it but yeag

he is a humanoid, he speaks solely common cause he has no sheet however if i were to assign him a class hed probably be a bard! his favorite color is sky blue but midnight blues a second fav, he enjoys classical and jazz kinds of music, and is an only child!

in a shortened description i put of him on a fic: "armon lexiquiant-deminarc, a boyflux dressmaker who runs the clothing making ship store "fabric and fans", hes a charmer who loves to tease but is caring and helpful as best he can, he can analyze people with basic intensions by looking in their eyes (magic thing), he is also engaged to sebastopol (he/they, will change throughout fics but will always use he)"

as for sebastopol sharam, or otherwise known as seb, hes a medic with teleportation abilities! that name may sound familiar, this man is indeed armons fiance! seb previously had 5 siblings, but due to illness befalling and being unable to be cured when he was around 19, his youngest sister, talia, ended up passing, leaving him with 4. even after all this time, everyone (minus the oldest of them, but we'll get to him another day) of the siblings still struggle with the grief of their dead sister, and seb is no different, he even became a medic in hopes of doing her some good. hes a bit of a smug guy who says what he means and a little less, but will drop it in a heartbeat for those he cares about. hes not the best at social situations and definetely needs better ways of handling grief, but hes trying his best!

he too is a humanoid, i also dont have a sheet for him but if i were to assign him a class, id go with a cleric or paladin! his favorite color is a midnight blue but sunflower yellows a second fav, he likes folk and jazz kinds of music, and is the 2nd oldest of his siblings!

in a shortened description i put of him in a fic: "sebastopol sharam, or seb, a demiboy medic and 2nd oldest in a family of 6 siblings, hes a smug guy who likes to say what he means and is totally good at social situations and also the grief (hes not), he has the ability to teleport magically, and as said above hes engaged to armon (he/they/aer)"

@mastofthecast id assume youd wanna hear about them but uh sorry if you dont like tagging!

WAIT DAMN I FORGOR UNTIL YOU ASKED FOR MINE :fingerpointingatyou: WHERE'S YOUR DOPE OCS HUH /nf

FUN TO BE HIT WITH THIS FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

oughhhhhh i cant give any examples of what they do rn as ive just woken up but raghhhh armonnn and sebbbbb i need to finish my writings about them

[basilisklist]

severitus

“An Unlikely Family” by slythermallow

(100k words)

severitus

“When Professor McGonagall falls sick Professor Snape reluctantly goes to check on Harry but nothing could prepare him for what he finds and soon he finds himself looking after the teen for the summer. But things only grow more complicated when a traumatised Slytherin and the Weasley's get involved and the past begins to catch up on them all.”

Fanfic: An Unlikely Family Ch 1, Harry Potter | FanFiction

“Arms of A Dark Angel” by Snapegirlkmf

(232,468 words) complete

severitus

“Neglected by his caregivers, little Harry would not have survived were it not for the mysterious dark angel who helped him. Harry never knew his name, until he went to Hogwarts and discovered a certain professor bore a remarkable resemblance to his savior.”

Fanfic: Arms of A Dark Angel Ch 1, Harry Potter

“In Care of “ by Fang’s Fawn

(47k words)

severitus

“During the summer before sixth year, Harry finds an injured bat in the garden and decides to try to heal it...and an unwilling Snape learns just what kind of a person Harry Potter really is.”

Fanfic: In Care Of Ch 1, Harry Potter | FanFiction

“The Runner” by Nayeri

(46,423 words) complete

severitus

“Harry is a runner of drugs, but becomes addicted to alcohol along the way. Severus finds out, and tries to help him.”

Fanfic: The Runner Ch 1, Harry Potter

“Closing In” by Morning Elegance

(64,942 words)

severitus

“What if Lupin had been unable to teach Harry the Patronus charm, and the job had instead fallen to Snape? How would their relationship have grown as Snape came to care for Harry and discovered the secrets of his home life?”

Fanfic: Closing In Ch 1, Harry Potter

“I Never Knew” by sincerityessential

(140,800 words)

severitus

“Everyone knew that Harry didn't grow up in the most loving home, but no one knew the extent of the abuse he suffered. If he is ever going to escape the abuse and learn to heal he needs someone to help him, but who can he trust?”

Fanfic: I Never Knew Ch 1, Harry Potter

“Acceptance” by enb2004

(92,531 words) complete

severitus

“Snape rescues Harry from the Dursleys, only meaning to save the boy. But when they become emotionally attached, they find themselves in a constantly changing world, where acceptance and love are the only means to survival.”

Fanfic: Acceptance Ch 1, Harry Potter

“Nobody Cared” by etherian

(360,041 words) complete

severitus

“Harry is 11 years old and looking forward to attending Hogwarts. Why, then, does he miss the Welcoming Feast?”

Nobody Cared - Chapter 1 - etherian - Harry Potter - JK Rowling

“Saving Harry” Casyn

(59,210 words)

severitus

“Does Harry need saving? Or does he have to save himself...from himself?”

Fanfic: Saving Harry Ch 1, Harry Potter

“Where Do I Go From Here?” by The Ivory Raven

(90,553 words)

severitus

“After a difficult summer, Harry returns to Hogwarts and keeps his homelife a secret. But the new DADA professor leaves him with an even bigger secret to hide. How will he cope, and what does Snape have to do with it all?”

Fanfic: Where Do I Go From Here? Ch 1, Harry Potter

“On the Flip Side” series by MusicMelis

- On the Flip Side (113,166 words) complete

- On the Flip Side II- Uprising (84,159 words) complete

- On the Flip Side: Glimpses (27,674 words) complete

harry/daphne

severitus

“After Harry runs away from his relative's during the summer and gets in a fight the first day of school, Snape argues that he needs to be watched more and have more guidance. His argument backfires when Dumbledore suggests Harry be in Slytherin for a term. Will Harry see another side to the Slytherins? And will Snape finally see the real Harry?”

Author: MusicMelis

“The Taming Of Harry Potter” by Mel J 1701

(65,758 words)

severitus

“For young Harry Potter, a cupboard under the stairs was luxury compared to the conditions he has been kept in since he was seven years old…”

Fanfic: The Taming Of Harry Potter Ch 1, Harry Potter

“Sudis, Clavus, Corpus” by SaukaraSnape

(51k words)

severitus

“Harry Potter ran away at ten years and has been living on the streets. What happens to Harry Potter at Hogwarts? A Slytherin Harry Potter?”

Fanfic: Sudis, Clavus, Corpus Ch 1, Harry Potter

“Blood Protection” by Sheankelor

(61,520 words)

severitus

“Always Protector does just that, it protects from anything and everything that the caster thinks of as a danger at any time, no matter what. Severus cast it on the Potter family, but it could only protect one.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13830762/chapters/31809225

“One of Those Days” by Anthezar

(143,255 words)

severitus

“One strange spell. That's all it took to alter the course of Harry's life - and everyone else's life around him. Bound to stay within ten feet of each other, Harry Potter and Severus Snape have to learn to get along or die trying. But in the hardest of times, one can learn things never imagined possible. After all, the past doesn't define the future.”

Fanfic: One of Those Days Ch 1, Harry Potter

“A Change of Fate” by Arathin

(98,064 words)

<<no ships>>

severitus

“Sirius wasn't sent to Azkaban. Harry receives a pet snake that is more than it seems, and adopts Severus as his Father. Torture and Torment ensue for the Gryffindors. There is a new Dark Lord in town, and his name is Harry.”

Fanfic: A Change of Fate Ch 1, Harry Potter

“A New Place To Stay” by DebsTheSlytherinSnapefan

(344,130 words) complete

severitus

“Harry Potter is called up to Dumbledore's office and told he was being moved elsewhere to keep him safe. He no longer has to stay at the Dursley's, but Dumbledore tells him he has to stay with Severus Snape. For a few days it seemed like a bad idea. Until Severus Snape uncovers the truth of who Harry Potter really is and what he's been through. Watch as Severus does as nobody else has done before him. He takes care of Harry. Watch him flourish into who he was meant to be, a boy with the heart of a Gryffindor and smarts of a Slytherin. The Dursley's, Umbridge and Dumbledore had better watch out Severus is out for revenge. Spy or no spy, Severus is not allowing anyone to get away with hurting Harry.”

A New Place To Stay - Chapter 1 - DebsTheSlytherinSnapeFan - Harry Potter - Fandom

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #192

Today on Fate and Phantasms we're building the enchanting Caster of Okeanos, which despite her name doesn't actually show up in Okeanos, but rather the fourth pseudosingularity, Salem. She's also one of the last servants in the game (so far) to have her true name hidden, so pretty soon I can stop pointing out how her character build below the cut has true name spoilers. Specifically, this build also includes spoilers for the Salem pseudosingularity, so read at your own peril.

If you'd rather just check out her character sheet, you can find that over here.

Next up: The equal to the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, so just, equal to heaven, I guess.

Circe is a Transmutation Wizard, because she is a witch, and Transmutation is where they stuck polymorph.

Race and Background

Like her protege, Circe is an Elf, but if we want kindasorta falcon wings, that might be tricky. Just kidding, for some reason WotC thought winged elves were a priority, so we got Avariel Elves from an unearthed arcana. This means you only get +2 to a single stat, but we can make that Intelligence thanks to Tasha's for a brain blast. Your subrace gives you 30' of flying speed as long as you don't wear medium or heavy armor (not an issue), as well as the standard elf kit: Darkvision, Fey Ancestry to protect against charms, Trances instead of sleep, and proficiency in Perception thanks to your Keen Senses.

Circe lives on her island alone (if you don't count pigs) so that makes her a Hermit, privy to the secrets of the universe as well as Medicine and replacing the other proficiency (which we'll get back as a class proficiency) with Deception. Tricking men into turning into pigs is kind of a hobby for you.

Ability Scores

Your strongest score should go into Intelligence, that's how you cast spells, and also you're clearly more intelligent than the men who show up on your island. Speaking of, Charisma is next- you're a witch in the middle of a witch hunt that somehow never got caught, and there's also that whole Pig Island thing. Your Dexterity is also pretty good, it's hard enough to cast spells while walking, let alone flying. Also those heels, oh my fucking god how have you not broken an ankle yet. Your Constitution is above average mostly because I'd feel bad putting it any lower. That means your Wisdom is pretty low. You publicly introduce yourself as a witch in the middle of the Salem Witch Trials, and you're pretty flighty in general. Finally, dump Strength. You're a wizard, and you're clearly not that buff.

Class Levels

Circe is a wizard, meaning she starts off with proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves, as well as Arcana and Religion. When you worship the goddess of magic, there isn't much of a difference, tbh. Speaking of magic, you can cast and prepare Spells using your Intelligence. Your spell slots normally only recharge on long rests, but once per long rest you can get a couple slots back on a short rest thanks to your Arcane Recovery, giving you back slots of a total level equal to half your wizard level rounded up. So when you hit level three, you can get back one 2nd level slot, or two 1st level slots. The thing about wizard is, they get a lot of spells. Six now, and two each level, plus whatever they can scavenge from other wizards. Since Circe's whole power set is "good at magic", there really isn't a set of spells that fit- any spell you could cast would be applicable. So rather than try to boil it down myself, we're just giving a rough guide here. There's a whole ass list on the character sheet, and we'll bring up the super important ones here, but really there's three qualifications: if a spell fits into one of these categories, Circe would probably have it. 1. Is it useful? The most open-ended, but just fill in spaces left by the other 2 with spells you want. I'm not a goddamn baby sitter, pick spells you like. 2. Can it turn one thing into another? Men to pigs, You into Medea, whatever kykeon is made out of into kykeon, this one's pretty easy to spot. 3. Can it help someone sail a ship? A bit specific, but helping the sailors she doesn't turn into pigs is also Circe's thing. Skill empowerment, weather control, that kind of thing. With all that out of the way, the big spells you'll probably want at first level are Mage Armor for not dying, Magic Missile for caster balls, and Sleep to knock out the sailors while you go around turning them to pigs. True Polymorph takes an hour per sailor and you need to recharge with a long rest, so this’ll take a while.

At second level, you become a Transmutation Savant, giving you all sorts of bonuses, like how copying transmutation spells into your book is cheaper and faster now. You can also make Minor Alchemy, turning 1 cubic foot of wood, stone, iron, copper, or silver, into another material on that list over the course of 10 minutes. You're not strong enough to shatter wooden chains either, but hopefully someone on your team is. This transformation lasts up to an hour or until you lose concentration, then it turns back to its regular form.

Third level wizards get Cantrip Formulas, letting you swap out one cantrip you know with a cantrip you don't know at the end of a long rest. You also get second level spells, like Alter Self to turn into Medea (among other benefits), and Gust of Wind to help out with sailing.

Use your first Ability Score Improvement to get a Keen Mind- always knowing which way you're facing and the angle the sun should be at are both really useful on the open sea. It also rounds up your Intelligence for stronger spells, and you can make your DM's life hell by remembering things up to a month after they happened.

Fifth level wizards get third level spells. Feign Death will help fake Mata Hari’s hanging later on, and Bestow Curse is super useful, since it can give a creature disadvantage on one kind of save. Like, say, wisdom saves. I wonder if there's a spell you like that requires a wisdom save coming up?

Sixth level transmutation wizards can create a Transmuter's Stone, a tiny object that gives its holder one of several benefits. When you make the stone, and if you're holding it while casting a transmutation spell, you can choose its beneft from the following: Darkvision, increased speed, proficiency in constitution saves, or resistance to one of acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. You can only make one at a time after 8 hours of work, so don't try to stack them.

Seventh level wizards get fourth level spells, and you could get polymorph now if you really want, but you can also get that spell later for free, so if you're patient, you can get another spell now. If you do go for polymorph, it forces a wisdom save on a creature, and if they fail the save or they're willing, you can turn one creature into a beast with a CR equal to or less than the target's CR or level. All of the creature's stats are replaced by the new creature's, outside of alignment and personality. If it drops to 0 HP in this form, and hour passes, or you drop concentration, they turn back to normal. You can also cast other fourth level spells, like Control Water for sailing, Fabricate to turn... barley, just looked it up, into kykeon. Or any raw materials into a finished product that is Large or smaller.

At eighth level, you get another ASI that'll let you max out your Intelligence for super strong spells. That, plus your curses, will make your polymorph super hard to resist. When you get it.

Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells, like Control Winds and Skill Empowerment, as well as Scrying.

A tenth level transmuter is a Shapechanger, giving you the polymorph spell for free. You can also cast it on yourself once per short rest for free, but only if you turn into something CR 1 or lower. Sadly Medea isn't a beast or CR 1, but it doesn't hurt to practice. Also, yeah! You can now turn pretty much anyone into a Pig (CR 0, so there’s no excuse) or if you want to weaponize it, a Giant Boar (CR 2). Just promise to turn them back if they do your bidding. Still only lasts an hour, but they don’t have to know that.

Eleventh level wizards get sixth level spells. There really isn’t anything specifically Circe-like I want at this level, so just grab whatever your heart wants. There will be time for specifics later.

At twelfth level you get another ASI, and since your intelligence is maxed out we can diversify. Grab the War Caster feat for advantage on concentration saves (very good for pigmaking), the ability to cast spells with your hands full (not applicable), and best of all, you can cast spells as opportunity attacks if that spell as an action casting time and targets a creature. Oh hey, guess what spell fits that description?

Thirteenth level casters get seventh level spells! Again, not necessarily anything you need from here, but Plane Shift is always cool. Maybe you can stumble onto the pig dimension or something.

Your last goody from the transmutation specialty is to become a Master Transmuter, burning your transmuter stone in one go for a burst of magical power. Afterwards, you can’t make a new one until you take a long rest. You can use this for a Major Transformation, permanently changing a medium or smaller nonmagical object into another of similar size & mass (you also can’t cheese value out of this) over the course of 10 minutes. Alternatively, you make a Panacea, removing all curses, diseases, and poisons from a single creature, while also healing it back to full health. That’s some good eating. Going even further, you can Restore Life to cast Raise Dead without a spell slot. Death is a pretty hard line in the Nasuverse, but if anyone could do it it’d probably be Circe. Finally, you can Restore Youth to reduce a creature’s age by 3d10 years without extending their lifespan. You’ve clearly used that on yourself a couple times, but I can’t blame you.

Fifteenth level wizards get eighth level spells, and for once there is something I want to get. You might not use Scylla in-game, but hey, giant sea monsters are cool, so use either Summon Greater Demon, Dominate Monster, or Illusory Dragon to get one, depending on your preferred method.

You get yet another ASI, so bump up your Constitution for better concentration and more health- remember, health gets added retroactively, so that’s 16 extra this level, not one.

At seventeenth level you finally get ninth level spells, giving you access to Mass Polymorph for a proper pig banquet. This one is limited to only half the targets’ levels, but a pig is still CR 0, so it shouldn’t be a big issue. However, if you’re feeling really cruel, you can use True Polymorph for a more... permanent solution. If you keep concentration up for a full hour, the change lasts until it is dispelled. You can also turn objects into creatures, or creatures into objects, but none of those are particularly in character.

Eighteenth level wizards get Spell Mastery, giving you a 1st & 2nd level spell that you can cast for absolutely free, no restrictions. You can always change it later, but I highly suggest Magic Missile so you always have some damage on standby, and Alter Self for the versatility of it.

Your penultimate level grants you your ultimate ASI, so bump up your Charisma for an easier time tricking sailors. It doesn’t do much for the build, but at this point it doesn’t need to.

Your final level of the build gives you two Signature Spells, 3rd level spells that you can cast once per short rest without spending a spell slot. Sadly polymorph is a fourth level spell so it isn’t in the running, but Bestow Curse and Tidal Wave are good runners up. I never said you had to be nice to sailors, just help them out occasionally.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Polymorph is one of the easiest ways to utterly shut down an enemy if it hits, at the very least buying you an hour to run away and regroup. It’s also very funny.

The Transmuter’s Stone is a very powerful support tool, protecting you and giving you healing options wizards don’t normally get. You also come loaded with tools like Skill Empowerment, which is just flexible enough to be useful even when you’re not on a ship.

You get concentration free flight, which is incredibly useful for a spellcaster. Being able to completely avoid an enemy’s front line and turn their back line into pigs is very useful.

Cons

The reason your flight being concentration free is such a big deal is because a lot of your spells use concentration. Honestly, your saves aren’t that bad (esp. with war caster) but it still limits your options, especially when your signature move requires concentration.

While your stone is powerful, it has a huge recharge time to contend with, requiring a long rest followed by an extra 8 hours of work, and the entire time between now and then you might as well not have a subclass. It’s a pretty harsh penalty for actually using your class feature.

It takes a while for this build to go from level one to casting polymorph, so if you want a build you can jump right into and feel like the character, this build definitely isn’t what you’re looking for.

[saphirered]

Late Night  Caleb Widogast x reader

*You got in the splash zone of a fireball and have a good post battle talk with the caster assuring him it’s not his fault you got hurt*

The fight was turning and not in your favour. Two away from the main fight. One down. You use your staff to swing at your opponent and deflect a blow from another with the other end. Behind you you saw Fjord looking between you and the unconscious wizard on the docks. 

“Go! I’ll be fine!” You shouted swiping the legs out from under one of the crew members. Within a second Fjord teleported away and started making his way toward Caleb. You started going the same way too but on the gangplank you were met with the Captain herself. She came at you with her rapier and you just managed to avoid the first hit but the second one cut into your arm pretty deeply. You’ve had much worse though but with the ship behind you and Avantika in front you couldn’t really go anywhere. She kept attacking you but you managed to hold your ground landing some good hits yourself but the fight seemed far from over until a red light shot out from the far docks hitting the ship. The heat of a fireball burned at your side and you were flung off the gangplank barely making it onto the docks. Avantika seemed to be fine and just out of range but now you were far enough away from her. Grunting you got up, your entire left side of your body tingling, scorched red and bleeding. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been had you been at the centre like some of the unlucky crew members but it still hurt a good bit. You ignored the pain and as the Captain looked behind her to see you get up with a smirk and a wave taking a sprint as far as you could until you were stopped by guards. You held up your hands in surrender and just followed along with the others. 

From your position you could see Caleb standing frozen in place eyes glazed over arm stretched out as the guards grabbed him. Though from what you could see, the wizards wouldn’t be in the right mind to cast spells any time soon. Everyone went along and you were begging the gods the plan worked out and Beau and Jester got the book to the Plank King.

——————————————————————————

Everything had worked out fine in the end… at least as well as to be expected and the Nein now had ownership of the Squalleater and were back on sea with their crew, all banished from Darktow. The sun set a few hours ago and you took watch as you felt like sleep would not come to you easily anyway. Jester and Caduceus had been able to heal your injuries but you still felt like you had taken a dive off a cliffside onto the rocks. You stand on the deck watching the sky, the sails blowing in the wind and into the vast darkness of the never ending sea, Darktow now far behind. Stuck in your own world you don’t hear Caleb getting onto the deck and pick a spot far away from you staring into nothingness. Deciding it’s time to try and get some sleep you get up but seeing the wizard sitting at bow of the ship looking at the partially scorched masts and deck fiddling with something between his fingers you decide against it after all. You walk over and sit down next to him. He doesn’t respond beyond the brief pause of his motions let you know he knows you are there.

“If you want me to leave you alone I can go.” You look at him expecting some sort of a response, words or not but you got none. Waiting a little bit longer you eventually get up. Half up a hand wrapped around your arm so you sit back down in a comfortable silence. You know, to an extend what he had been through and what happened in Darktow triggered some bad memories. Caleb would talk if he felt like talking so you’d wait patiently and you stay with him night and day if it means he’d utter even a single word. He’s suffering and sometimes someone just being there can make even the tiniest difference. At least, for you it had in the past. Hours pass and you gather from the sky you are but hours away from dawn though only Caleb can confirm your estimate more precisely. Your mind starts wandering again looking at the sky, the endless seas ahead but you are pull out of your thoughts by the wizard speaking. 

“How?” Caleb breaks the silence. The word came out raspy and ridden with guilt and pain, eyes still trained on the scorched ship. “How can you still look me in the eye let alone sit next to me knowing what I did to you?” A pitied frown creeps onto your face as you tried to formulate an answer. You feel bad for him but that doesn’t change the way he’s feeling. 

“Because it was never your intend. Because sometimes accidents happen. Caleb, you might be one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met but you can’t know everything. You can’t control everything no matter how hard you try. You didn’t know I was there and to be honest, if you hadn’t cast that spell I’m sure I’d be dead right now with my head on a spike or weighed down by some rocks at the bottom of the sea.” You turned to face him. “I’m alive aren’t I? I’m still here and I’m still kicking. That’s what counts.” You softly put you hand on the side of his face and turned it away from looking at the fading burn marks now no more than a bad sunburn thanks to the clerics. 

“I don’t want to lose anyone else. I don’t know why even the thought of losing you hurts so much. I can’t afford to lose someone else.” He’s conflicted. Caleb never truly cared about who lived or died. Sure he’s grown attached to the Mighty Nein but wouldn’t hesitate to run should it come to it. At least, that’s how it had been. He’s changing, experiencing things he hadn’t felt in a long while. A sense of belonging, friends maybe even family. He’s not alone anymore and while that comes with many perks, it also came with risks and downsides to the way of life he has grown so accustomed to.

“It hurts because you are a good man, Caleb. It shows you have a heart and care for those other than yourself.” You reach for his bandaged hand but don’t touch until he places his hand in yours. You give his hand a squeeze and guiding him slightly to the side so you can see his expression.

“I’m anything but a good man. The things I’ve done, I’ll never be a good man.” He looks down at your hands and you bit your lip. Despite his hunger for learning and broadening his mind he is stubborn and changing his mind is as difficult as getting Nott to give up alcohol.

“I’m only going to tell you this once so listen carefully.” You encompass the hand you’re holding and move to unwrap the bandage. To your surprise he doesn’t stop you and turns his arm to make it easier for you to do so. “You feel that pain? That guilt and regret and heartbreak tearing at your soul? Don’t wallow in it for it will not serve you well. You carry your mistakes and regrets with you and they will weigh you down like bricks. You use your bricks to build but your actions will determine whenever you are building a palace or a prison. Only you can make that decision but know you have the potential to create a better tomorrow for everyone.” You remove the bandages from his left arm and moved on to the right. Caleb keeps his focus on your hands as you work. While your hands may be weathered and show the years of labor and harsh circumstances  your touch is soft, careful and deliberate like a porcelain painter, delicate and precise with fragile material. 

“These scars? They are part of you but they are not all you are. You are so much more than your past, Caleb.” You trace the scars on his arms. His eyes focus on your every movement.

“You want revenge on those who wronged you and hurt you like they did and continue to do so many others and I swear, if that is what you desire, what you need I will help you do so but do not let it be your undoing. You use your guilt and anger and mistakes and you use them to drive you but do not forget your compassion, kindness and desire to right your wrongs and remember why you are on this path. You are not alone anymore. Empires rise and fall by the actions of one. Imagine what a bunch of assholes trying leave a place better than they found it can do to the world.” He finally looks you in the eye and you can see the turmoil trying to calculate and process what’s going through his mind. The Caleb always quick witted and charismatic seems to have problems finding words.

“Thank you… For everything.” He trails off. You start picking up the bandages to wrap his arms again. “No leave them… For now at least.” He traces over one of the more prominent scars. 

“Only told you what you undoubtedly already knew but are just to stubborn to accept, you idiot.” He musters a smile at your comment and breathes in deeply.

“A bunch of assholes changing the world? I like the sound of that.”