#uh.......... fight me on the dnd classes

[arkaniske]

God's a fucking nerd.

[AO3 Link]

SFW/2500 words/Jayvik/Songfic/uni!au(ish) + Complete Beta read by @kitcatkim

He looked down at his beer as if the answer would be at the bottom of it. Maybe if he gave it a little shake like an Eightball it would reveal the answer of “Viktor is here” or “Why would you think Viktor would be here when you don’t even want to be here?”—perhaps that was too long to fit in an Eightball. Based on this song.

[hairmetal666]

The note shows up in Eddie's mailbox cubby on Valentine's Day.

It's nothing fancy, loopy cursive handwriting on lined paper:

"I know this is probably silly but I can't go another day without saying it, and today seems appropriate for this kind of confession. Seeing you in the morning is the best part of my day. You're so gorgeous it leaves me breathless. I hope you don't mind if I don't leave my name. Just wanted you to know that you're beautiful."

His eyes fill with tears that he blinks back, a goofy smile stretching his mouth wide.

"You good there, Munson?" Robin Buckley asks.

"Oh, yup, yeah, all good." He laughs. "Just got one of those 'you're my favorite teacher Mr. Munson!' notes."

He squeezes the letter to his chest before slipping it in his pocket.

---

The worst thing about Eddie's new job is that someway, somehow, Steve-fucking-Harrington works here too. PE teacher, JV basketball coach, of-fucking-course. Once a douchebag jock, always a douchebag jock. What makes it all worse is that he's still the prettiest guy Eddie's ever seen.

---

The first week of March, there's a commotion in the hallway that has him rushing out of his room, ready to breakup a fight. He finds Harrington already there, holding Dustin Henderson and Will Byers by their shoulders. Troy Walsh and James Dante stand across from them, wearing matching snarls.

Of course Harrington is picking on little nerd kids; he knew it. But before he steps forwards to break it up, Steve speaks, voice low and angry. "You want to tell me what happened here, Troy?"

"Byers tripped. He really should watch where he's going," Troy says. James laughs.

Steve's glare goes even more icy, more disdainful (it's so fucking hot, Eddie hates it). "You want to take that again? And try being honest this time, or you're suspend from the team."

Troy splutters for long enough that Eddie finally notices Will's stricken face, the sketchpad and snapped colored pencils littering the linoleum.

"I saw you take those things from Will, and unfortunately, I'll have to call your parents and you will be responsible for purchasing a new sketchbook and pencils. You're also benched for the next four games."

The boys shout, but when Steve raises a hand they quiet immediately. "You want to complain more, or do you want it to be five games?"

"No, sir," they answer before scampering off.

Harrington faces Dustin and Will. "You boys okay?" he asks them.

"We're good, Mr. H," Dustin answers.

"Glad to hear it." Steve begins collecting Will's ruined belongings, stops to study one of the drawings.

"This is really good, Will."

Will flushes. "Thanks. It's my character for dnd,"

"Dnd? That's that game that El and Max are always talking about? With the character sheets and the dice?"

"Yeah!" says Dustin. "You know it?"

Steve's smile is a little bashful, and it tugs at Eddie's heart in a way he has to ignore. "Not much. Just from what the girls have said. You want to tell me about it?"

"Really?" Their eyes light up.

"Really. You can stop by the gym during lunch. Only if you want to, though."

"Cool," says Dustin.

He pats them both on the shoulder, and they hurry away, leaving Steve and Eddie suddenly alone.

Eddie should head back to his class, hasn't been needed in this situation at all, really, but before he can disappear, Steve spots him and his eyes widen.

"You need something, Munson?" Steve's cheeks go a faint pink.

He shakes his head, feels wrong-footed. "Uh, that was really cool what you did just there."

"They're really good kids," Steve says. "I know them a little. Used to babysit El Hopper." He slides his hands into the pockets of his khakis and, seriously, fuck Harrington for looking like that in a pair of Dockers.

"Babysitter, Harrington? Never thought I'd see the day. Or that you'd be the one defending a bunch of nerds," Eddie says. He means it teasing, but Steve's face warps into a frown.

"Y--yeah, I guess. I mean. I'm trying not to be that guy anymore, and Robin's really helped--"

"Shit, man, I'm sorry. That's not what I meant, at all--"

"--I feel terrible about all that shit I pulled back in school. That King Steve stuff? I was awful and you didn't deserve--"

"Steve!" Eddie cuts him off. "I forgive you. For everything." He looks down at his shoes. "For all I didn't want to believe it, you really have changed."

They're both pink faced now, avoiding each other's eyes. "Thanks," Steve says. "I should get going, but--for the future-- I really wouldn't mind--um--trying to be friends."

The grin that passes across Eddie's face is huge. "Yeah, Harrington, I'd like that."

Eddie has to run to make it to his classroom on time. He passes Dustin and Will and the rest of their gaggle of friends, rushing them along, but forgets all about it as he steps in front of his third period juniors.

---

He and Steve are...friendly now. They chat, they joke, they share smiles that have Eddie's heart beating too fast even though it's not like that. Turns out Steve is kind and funny (a little bit of a bitch too, but in a way that ties Eddie's stomach in knots), and a hell of a teacher.

---

His freshman are in small groups, peer-reviewing an essays, when Max Mayfield catches his eye. She's one of his favorite students and absolute trouble.

"What's up, Mayfield." He asks.

"Are you friends with Mr. Harrington?" She asks.

He chuckles. "Sure, Max, we're friendly enough. Why?"

She narrows her eyes, like she knows he's not being totally honest. "Oh, nothing. He just talks about you all the time."

He's blushing horribly and Max, and all of her friends, smirk up at him. "He does?" He chokes out.

"Mmhmm," Lucas Sinclair says. "Says he thinks you're really cool."

"Definitely one of the best teachers here," Mike Wheeler adds.

Eddie rolls his eyes. "Okay, very funny, guys. How're your essays going?"

They answer, but before Eddie goes to help another group, Will says, "he really does like you, Mr. Munson. A lot."

El nods earnestly up at him. "It is true," she says. "I know him."

"Thanks, kids. I'll keep that in mind." He gives them a smile, tries not to let their words get to him. When he reaches the next group, though, he notices his hands are shaking.

---

Gifts start turning up in Eddie's cubby. It starts with a bag of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from his favorite bakery. There's a small note that says "from your secret admirer," on the packaging. Every two weeks or so, something new shows up in his little mailbox; a woven friendship bracelet, a yellow rose, Hershey kisses, a delicately painted dnd figure that gives Eddie a small crisis because it's his own bard character, an Iron Maiden cassette, a bag of dice that almost brings him to genuine tears.

Eventually, he gets another note. This one is typed and reads: "I would love to have coffee with you 11am this Saturday at the Cafe on Main Street."

---

He walks into the cafe at 10:50am, wearing his favorite pair of ripped black jeans and a burgundy button-down, his hair pulled into a loose bun. He doesn't recognize anyone there.

Eddie gets in line, studies the menu, and the little bell above the door rings. He whips towards the sound to find none other than Steve Harrington in little wire rim glasses, a butter colored sweater, and jeans the man must have painted on, Jesus Christ. Honestly, the whole thing is enough to give Eddie a coronary (and to, embarrassingly, chub up in his own tight jeans).

"Steve?" He asks. He's overwhelmed with the (stupid, stupid) hope that it's been Harrington all along. "What are you doing here?"

"Henderson asked me to meet him. He around?"

"Uh, no?" Eddie feels heat creeping up his throat.

Steve shakes his head, as though he expected as much. "You alone? We could grab drink."

"I can't believe this." Eddie hides his face in his hands, knows it's gone horrifyingly crimson.

"What's wrong?"

"My secret admirer told me to be here now, so we could meet," Eddie's misery slices through his words. "I'm such an idiot."

"I--your--what?" Steve stammers.

He gathers himself enough to look Steve in his hazel eyes and ask, "I'm assuming it wasn't you leaving notes and gifts for me at work?"

And he expects Steve to say no. To laugh and ask why he'd ever do something like that, but instead, instead he flushes a deep red. "O-only one note."

"What?"

"I, uh," Steve clears his throat. "I left you a note. On Valentine's Day. I--we weren't friends yet, and I wanted you to know how much I liked you. It's --uh--it's pretty silly, huh? Robin's--"

"Steve," Eddie interrupts. He's going to tell Steve that he reads the note often enough that he has parts memorized; that it's the kindest thing anyone has done for him, but what he says instead is, "Dustin Henderson told you to meet him here at 11?"

"Yeah. Said he had something to show me."

Eddie remembers running into Will and Dustin and their friends that day in the hall, the weird conversation in class, the dice and the miniature. Something must click for Steve at the same time because his mouth drops, blush getting somehow deeper.

"Oh my god. Henderson! I'm gonna kill him. They figured out I had a crush on you."

"They WHAT?" Eddie says, loud enough that several looks are aimed their way.

"I'm so, so sorry, Eddie. Holy shit, this is so humiliating. You have to believe me, I had no idea they were doing this. God, I'm really starting to think it is possible to die from embarrassment."

"You have a crush on me," Eddie says instead of any of the dozens of helpful things he could say.

"Um. Yes?"

Eddie takes a deep breath, straightens his spine, and asks, "You wanna have coffee with me?"

"I'd really like that." Steve's return smile is so beautiful, it makes Eddie weak.

---

Eddie Munson is making out with Steve Harrington in the backseat of Steve's BMW. He and Steve spent the day together. They've kissed for so long that the sun has set, both of their lips are swollen, their skin red from stubble, and Eddie is nowhere near ready for the night to end.

Steve breaks away, gently pulling their mouths apart, but arms still tight around Eddie. "Hey, what kind of gifts were they giving you anyway? The kids?"

"Oh," Eddie blushes. "Uh, cookies, a dnd mini, lots of candy, a set of dice."

"Oh my god," Steve says, he pulls a little more away. "Oh my god, I'm going to kill her, Jesus Christ."

"Who are are you killing, sweetheart?"

Steve groans. "Robin. She was helping them. We found a set of dice at this little bookstore and she told me to get them for you, and--" he breaks off with a helpless, frustrated noise.

Eddie doesn't mean to, but he starts to giggle.

"It's not funny!" Steve says.

That only makes Eddie laugh harder. "Your best friend," he squeaks. "And a group of literal children set us up. That's hilarious, Harrington."

Steve's mouth drops and for a second Eddie thinks he'll be upset, but then he's giggling too, his whole face crumpling into it.

Steve pulls Eddie close once the laughter subsides, his eyes trained on Eddie's lips.

"We could pretend we didn't get together," Eddie manages to say.

"What, like, make them think they failed?"

"Yeah. We could tell them I got stood up, but you and I hung out. Had a bro day."

Steve giggles again, and it's the best sound Eddie's ever heard. "I'm absolutely on board with this plan, but you should definitely kiss me some more."

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks, his voice low. "And what'll I get out of it?"

"Why don't you get over here and see."

As if Eddie could turn down an invite that enticing. He slides a hand behind Steve's head, drawing him in, and they're kissing like they never stopped. It only been a few hours, but Eddie knows--without a doubt--he's already head over heels.

[uncannyalien]

Hey! I'm going around during round one and giving out good luck charms to all the competitors! I found them at the mall, and they're dnd themed, but that's close enough, right? Anyways, everyone from your party can take one charm. I've got loads of these babies, in case you were worried I'd run out

Michelangelo from my fan-iteration, Teenage Mutant kunoichi turtles, brings gifts! (She's 3'4", I'm assuming she's looking up at the answeres, lol)

"Woah, charms? Those are so cool, thanks lil lady! Or, uh, big lady!" Raph smiles and awkwardly chuckles, recalling how his Mikey doesn't like being called little.

The alligator snapping turtle hunches over to look through the selection, his tail swishing against the ground as he ponders. What to get for each member of his family? He's only heard the term 'D&D' before in passing, usually from April, but once he heard there was math and numbers involved he checked out.

His blue eyes landed on a set of charms designed after the various classes of the roleplaying game, and a smile came to his beak. Colors and symbols he can work with!

The first to catch his attention was an orange teardrop shape with a flame symbol at the center. The cord was nice and small and could easily fit around his youngest brother's wrist!

Others would be more difficult. A purple pendant would be perfect for Donnie, except the symbol was of a weird-looking eye and spikes, like something you'd see in the Hidden City. Definitely not his brother's vibe. But there was a necklace with a gear. Perfect!

This was getting tricky. The two blue-themed charms were of a hand casing magic or a solid fist. The magic one might work for Leo given its royal blue tone, but there was a third piece of a dagger with the familiar shape of Leo's mask. Bingo.

Although April wasn't with them, the choker with a large hammer or club-looking thing would do the trick. The snapper snickered at how it reminded him of his sister's bat.

Jade would be more difficult. The Hamatos hadn't figured out what kind of weapons Jade preferred, if any. But a green sickle with leaves couldn't hurt, right? Green's not their color but she is a plant-based alien. But given her streak with gifts, they'd appreciate it all the same.

That just left himself.

The red battleaxe was the perfect tone to match his mask, tail bow, and markings, but the blue fist from earlier was closer to how he liked to fight... ah to hell with it, red axe it is!

Raph picks up the six pieces of jewelry and thanks this alternate Michelangelo(whom he'd be reminded goes by Micah). He reaches a finger below his belt and pulls out a green piece of paper and places the currency into the kunoichi's hand. Then after a quick glance around, he leans down to the turtle half his size.

"If you ever need to get a vantage point, feel free to find Raph, okay? It looks like I'm taller than most here. Or you can ask Jade, they've really come to enjoy giving piggyback rides and they're even taller than me! Thanks again for the charms! I hope you win your fight!"

Raph waved as he walked away to his family, weaving through the crowd and leaving the turtle to continue selling her wares.

-----

Thanks so much for the ask, I hope you like written responses! The charms were a massive hit with these kiddos. Mikey and Raph wear theirs as bracelets, Leo and Donnie go for longer necklaces, April keeps hers a choker, and Jade excitedly ties the jewelry around her right horn!

You can find more about the Teenage Mutant Kunoichi Turtles here!

Interested in Remember Forever? Here's the masterpost! You can vote for Remember Forever here!

@tmntaucompetition

[shadesofblades]

I am sorry to hear you are suffering so, and I wish you peace soon 💖

As for questions:

What's your favorite villain in the game and why?

Top 3 classes you enjoy playing?

What you'd want to change the most about a class and why?

Favorite non-FF14 video game?

FF14 hot take? (The more scalding the better)

Favorite piece of FF14 content? (Dungeon/trial/raid/etc)

Favorite FF14 song?

Sorry it took me a while to get to this one! There were a lot of questions so I took my time answering them each. Thank you so very much for your kindness ;-; <3

I'll be discussing content up to Shadowbringers.

What's your favorite villain in the game and why?

This was hard to think about bc I’m forgetful and there’s a lot of content in the game lol. But I’ve liked quite a few of the villains in the game! One of the ones that sticks out in my brain rn since I am currently bringing ShB to a close is Ran'jit. I think not a lot of people like this character, but I really loved his design and I think I just liked how duty bound and heartless he was? There are many other very good villains in ShB and throughout the game though. I just want to voice my love for the bastard lol

Top 3 classes you enjoy playing?

Paladin is my #1, I started with it! In MMOs, I greatly enjoy playing tank type classes that can take a hit. Paladins in general are an aesthetic I love a lot, be it in DnD or games or just like real life knights.

Samurai is #2, it’s just so easy now that I’ve played it so much. Also, I really love the aesthetic! I have always been interested in single sword style swordplay, like traditional samurai. It’s very elegant in the game!

#3 is a toss up that changes once in a while, but I think I currently enjoy Pictomancer! I’m not huge on casting classes because I’m impatient and don’t want to take the time to cast much, but the aesthetic for Pictomancer is adorable. The FX and sound design for the class make it that much more satisfying.

What you'd want to change the most about a class and why?

I’m not very good with designing the mechanics in games to be fully balanced, if I’ve learned anything from my actual game dev experience LOL. But I could complain about my experiences in frontlines and how certain classes and maps could be balanced better to be fairly and less painful to play. PvE and PvP are very different beasts and I feel like it’s more obvious to break down the mechanics of classes in PvP. 

That being said, DRK combos with other AOEs make me stop playing lmfao

Favorite non-FF14 video game?

I’m huge on video games but also don’t have a lot of time to play them. I’m a happy victim of gatcha games like Genshin and Star Rail, starting off is addiction with ye ol Fate/GO. But I grew up with Nintendo games mostly, so Zelda, Kirby, Metroid, etc. I like my fair share of different genres and gameplay styles: FPS, RPG, TCG, etc. 

I’m just rambling about this huh. Uh… I don’t know if I can label just one favorite, but I guess the most time I spend nowadays in a game other than FFXVI would be Star Rail? I am trying to get MH:World finished before Wilds comes out, but again, not much time!

FF14 hot take? (The more scalding the better)

OH uh… Odd that this might be a hot take, but I think Stormblood is a good expansion and my favorite trio in the game so far was introduced during it! (Hien, Gosetsu, Yugiri) And I love every piece of new culture and location in this expansion! Learning about the different cultures of Au Ra especially, both Raen and Xaela. The only thing I hate about it is the aether currents...

Favorite piece of FF14 content? (Dungeon/trial/raid/etc)

Can I say GPOSE? LOL. I really enjoy trials, I think. Something about the gameplay of fighting a single boss can be a lot of fun and figuring out the mechanics- especially with friends in your ears- is really fun!

Favorite FF14 song?

Papaya. Maybe… Gates of the Moon? There’s a LOT of good music in the whole game!

Thank you SO much @shamelessdisplay ! These were a lot of good questions that I feel like I didn't give good answers for lol

[ooffmlsorry]

The One Piece OC

*Banging pots and pans* Time for the One Piece self insert OC post simply because I'm 90% sure I'm happy with her picrew after like 10 different looks.

Note: I'm gonna interject with Law and Straw Hat crew interactions because it's just more fun that way I guess

Her name is Kilala. It's fine to call her Kiki as a nickname, but usually it's Kilala. Luffy calls her "Lala" because if any syllable should be repeated it's the one that's already in her name lol "Like what??" He's so confused.

She's 22 See she's definitely not a self-insert because she's younger than me lol 🙃

I haven't quite figured out her full backstory but I know for sure the World Govt. screwed over her entire island for centuries. It's been broken a part over time. Basically mined and destroyed for its resources so that it's uninhabitable. It sunk a little over a 100 years ago. Some mistake it for Atlantis, but it's not.

She ate a devil fruit when she was so small she doesn't even remember it happening, actually. Like she was 3 or 4 years old. She knew nothing of DFs and just ate it, much like Luffy.

Kilala didn't spend any time on her native island. Her grandmother was the last generation to live on it. A lot of evacuees died at sea.

She was shipped away with her cat Moremi to attend a prestigious school. She was probably about 7.

The erasure of her island has been something that's plagued her her whole life so now it's her dream to catalog as many cultures as possible. She's essentially a folklorist.

To make sure nothing gets in her way she's really good with survival, basic medicine, and she's a pretty solid diplomat given she knows a lot about different cultures. Somewhat giving the Ranger dnd class if you're familiar

For self defense I imagine she uses a bow and arrow but in the grand scheme of things that feels pretty flimsy unless she uses Haki but I haven't decided that yet. But generally she's good with any projectile. She's also not too shabby when it comes to hand to hand fighting either.

She goes off on her journey to catalog cultures when she's 19, traveling with any normal ship up until the red line, and then sneaking on to pirate ships with larger crews to get her where she needed to go.

She ends up on Punk Hazard when the ship she was hitching on wrecks and basically survives there in hiding until she meets Law where she joins his crew because if anyone's gonna be in the center of what's going on in the world it's a member of the worst generation

Also because of her DF she'd be pretty useful in reconnaissance and Law can't deny a massive advantage

The way she has to bite her tongue to keep from asking Law a million questions about the Summit War.

And don't even get her started on the Straw Hats, she's like a more polite Bartolomeo. Although she does actually scream when she meets Robin because Robin is a little bit of her hero

So uh...that's all I'm gonna put for now because that's a lot. There's more especially interaction wise but eh...this is enough. If the mood strikes me I'll post again. Thanks!

[tf2heritageposts]

Cursed thought about TF2 as a dnd characters (warning: dnd rules used loosely pls don't correct me it's been years and also rule of cool bitches)

Demoman is a warlock who unknowingly made a contract with a minor demon for his powers (he was drunk and could barely TALK straight. Poor bloke /affectionate). Minor demon who gave him his power now haunts his eyeball socket. I know he's tall but i think he'd be a halfling. Or at least raised by them.

Medic would be a paladin cleric multi class (i know boring but hold on). He started off as a "cleric" worshiping a god that DEFINITELY should not have been worshipped (and he gives him sacrifice via Archimedes dove delivery) because it was one of the more deranged local medical academic gods. I say medical academic because he is more a god of experiments than actually healing... Which is why he likes medic so much cause he's like "let's just put a baboon uterus inside you... Fuck it let's do three". Anyway Medic is soooo devoted to this gods cause that the sheer time, planning, and effort to removed that first human skeleton while the person was alive became his oath that gave him his paladin powers. Not even the god (who later possesses Archimedes after the dove nearly dies) saw that coming.

Spy is a rogue (obviously fucking look at him) but he's also a changeling decendent of an arcane trickster, hence his shape shifting abilities and his taste for... The shiner and nicer things in life.

Scout is his fighter tiefling son who is CONVINCED his dad is this famous demon singer who wrote a song called "sex bomb" (scout does not know what a sex or a bomb is until engine sits down to explain to him). His mother and all his brothers and stuff are human nobody knows why he's the only tiefling in the fam uh *looks at spy*. He still fights with a baseball bat. Not a club. A baseball bat. And he's still from Boston. Somehow.

Also for lolz instead of pyro being a wizard who constantly casts fireball he's actually an artificer! He keeps thinking he's building cute fun weapons and weapon mods when really theyre weapons of mass destruction because when he was young he was "blessed" by the fair folk to only see good things. We both know how that's going.

On the other hand engineer THINKS he's an artificer but actually he's a wizard and his dad and grandpa's notes on complex inventions hes trying to build + improve is actually his family grimoire.

-Not DND anon but actually the allergic to alcohol and can only kiss demoman once anon

P.S. i think if i take a bunch of Benadryl first and wash my mouth out after i'll live. Me and my friends have been discussing this in detail.

holy hell this is some good hyperfixation goodness, let me respond to each one

1. that is an excellent idea for a demoman warlock concept. honestly he’d probably be a patron for something like the old one or whatnot

2. i am in such love with this concept i am about to make a fucking sheet for this for kicks lh my god

3. good idea

4. also in love with this concept. also fantasy boston

5. also in love with this concept

6. that’s an interesting take, but to be honest i really can’t see engineer as anything but an artificer. artificer wizard multiclass sounds fun though

7. you be careful with that man, talk to your doctor

[strawberrytypewriter]

[Perfect Crime .1]

Pairing: established gn!reader x Seonghwa, reader x Minho, reader x ???

Warnings: angst, hurt/comfort, implied cheating, uhhh Seonghwa's a lil dumb, cursing, perhaps mature things later

ㅡ

Your life is not perfect.

Nobody's is, and you know that – but all in all, you think it might come close to perfect at this moment in time. At least, that's what you tell everyone.

After all, you have a decent job to help you through school, loving friends, a loving, perfect boyfriend – the only issue being that he attends an entirely different college than you.

But that's okay, you've made it work so far. Weekends, if he isn't busy, are spent with him, on dates or in his apartment. That's becoming increasingly rare as of late with his friends becoming frequent occupants, but he tells you it's because he tries his best to keep it clean but doesn't want you to see whatever chaos they manage to leave behind.

Friends that he loves, you can hear it in his voice when he talks about them – friends that you have yet to meet. 

("They're a lot," he tells you, "just be prepared when you meet them.")

But for the most part, your time with him is restricted to phone calls and facetime. You'll take it – anything for him.

Like now – the phone rings once, twice, three times as you wander aimlessly from the kitchen of your own apartment to the living room. It rings a fourth, clicks with a familiar "hello", and the bright bloom of happiness dims as it continues, "this is Park Seonghwa, please leave a message at the beep".

You don't leave a message, instead hanging up and checking the time with a frown. Perhaps you'd been early? 6:02, the clock reads, mocking you.

Maybe he has his phone on dnd – you're often guilty of that when you're busy studying or in class. So you pull up his contact, typing a message.

[Hey babe, are we still doing our usual call? Let me know! Love you!]

Clicking your phone, you drop onto the couch with a sigh and reach for the remote. You'd make plans with friends if Seonghwa would let you know he's busy or not feeling up to it – but without a definitive answer, you feel guilty for entertaining ideas of anything else.

So you sink into watching tv, halfway through a fourth episode of The Glory before you realize your phone is ringing, caller ID making your heart leap.

Seonghwa.

"Hey," you greet breathlessly, "sorry, I didn't see my phone ringing."

"It's okay," he answers, tone warm and soft, "I just got your text."

You pull your phone away to read the time. 10:34, it reads, and you fight the urge to frown as you bring it back to your ear. "It's okay," you say, hopeful, "we can still talk."

There's a pause. "Actually," Seonghwa says, and your heart sinks. "I don't think I can do it tonight."

"Oh," you say, and it's impossible to keep the disappointment and touch of annoyance from your tone. "But Seonghwa, we haven't talked all week–" 

"I know," he cuts in. "And I'm sorry, I've just been busy. Really busy."

"Yeah!" Comes the sudden crow of another voice, bright and stifling laughter, "busy–" 

Whoever it is goes silent, presumably muffled. There's another beat of silence. "Sorry, I'm studying with Wooyoung and San." 

"Oh." It feels kind of funny, that your vocabulary with him seems to be reduced to that a lot as of late. Oh. It's a knot that forms in your stomach, alive with doubts and worries and fears, a writhing viper's nest that makes breathing hard. "Uh – a-actually, I'm – I'm busy too. I'm going to go, okay?"

"[Name]," Seonghwa intones, a warning and a plea in one. 

"Really." You swallow. "I'm going to go, okay? I love you. Talk to you later?"

"Talk to you later," is his answer, and then the phone clicks. You listen to the dial tone, curled on the couch, tv show forgotten under the hot blur of tears that cloud your vision as you try not to dwell on the true gut punch of the last few minutes.

Seonghwa didn't say love you back.

He loves you. 

He swears that he does, that you're all he could ever want in a partner – he just wishes you weren't so clingy.

Uni is hard enough to juggle along with a job and apartment – and then there's you. You live in the next city over, attending a different school – and he thought it'd be okay. You could make this work.

But you want to spend time with him on the weekends, insist on calls at the end of each week to tell each other about everything that's happened – and truth be told, it's a little stifling. 

Seonghwa feels bad about lying, at least long enough for guilt to linger in his stomach after he's hung up. You'd sounded like you were going to cry, and he hates that.

But he needs space. 

"Dude," San intones when he expresses as much, frowning as his brow furrows, "you have space. [Name] doesn't live with you, or go to school with us." 

Wooyoung, who'd earlier been all too happy to interrupt his phone call, lets his smile fade. "Wait. Did you just lie to–"

"I didn't lie," Seonghwa protests, but the roiling in his stomach says otherwise. He had lied to you, told you that he didn't have time for you. "I'll see them this weekend, it's not a big deal."

They share a look. 

"I dunno," Wooyoung says. "If I were dating you and you started pulling this kind of shit on me, I'd dump you." 

San shrugs when Seonghwa looks at him. "I'm with Wooyoung. You didn't even say 'i love you' back."

"Do I have to?" Seonghwa begins collecting his books off the table. "[Name] knows I love them."

San gives him an unreadable look. "Do they?"

The question haunts Seonghwa, long after San and Wooyoung leave his apartment, after he's retired to his bed. 

Of course you know he loves you. He's never given you reason to doubt it, has he? He rolls onto his side, facing the extra pillow – your pillow when you've stayed over. That'd been a lot right before school started, so much so the sweet, soft smell of your shampoo seemed to seep into the very fiber of the pillow. 

He reaches, bringing the fabric to his nose. All he smells is laundry detergent. 

His eyes drift. His bedroom is neat, long shadows cast by the soft light of his lego display, to his closet – where months ago, he'd had several of your things hung. 

He can't remember the last time you left anything here. His stomach churns, chest tight as he rolls over, away from the other pillow.

 It's love, he tells himself, not guilt that drives him to pick up his phone, to text you. You're asleep – at least he thinks you should be. 

[You know I love you, right?]

The question weighs heavy for you both, neither sure of the answer. 

[hazelcephalopod]

My review of DnD: Honor Among Thieves:

Tl;dr: overall I liked it -I was side eying a lot of the dragon arc. Also, surprisingly- needed more magic. Druids are full casters, Bards are full casters, Paladins are half casters! Did Holga even rage?

Also I fully thought Simon was secretly an artificer actually, for 1/3 of the movie.

For a movie it was good fun. I enjoyed that it didn’t take itself too seriously, and the characters felt like dnd characters yet in a good way? Which is really hard to do without it becoming too campy and while I like camp not everyone does. The story was simple but fitting, because it felt like a dnd campaign. In terms of character and story it was pretty spot on. Except one thing, more bisexuality needed.

Now for the cons (aka DnD nerd nitpicks DnD movie the for #1,000,057th time)-

As a lifeline fan on DnD, both the game and the settings most especially Faerûn -I was introduced to to Faerûn when I was like 8 folkx. My dad played 3.5 and maybe even earlier additions. I have many 3.5 books and have played a little of that edition, 4th, and quite a bit of 5th. I watch so much rpg and dnd specifically actual plays and I criticize them and love them. And criticize the critics. So. Where were the classes? Where was the lore? What is best boy Xenk a Paladin of?? It doesn’t have to be a god, but tbh, imo not having gods is a fucking waste! It’s Faerûn! Faerûn is drowning in gods, sometimes literally! Throw a rock and you’ll unearth some gods bs. Was Mystra, goddess of magic and more importantly bffs/gf/child/it’s very complicated of Elminster “what if I became a woman? And enjoyed it! Again!” Aumar even mentioned? (Yea mfers I read DnD books. And wikis!) (also reminder he is Simons great-great-great(?) grandfather, so the opportunity was there)

Also, I know that Tieflings can be typical skin tones or whatever. However two things 1) why did she have elf ears? Two… damn those parents where whimps she coulda passed for human, or part elven very, very easily. Also I’m sry but total waste to make her look like tiefling Keyleth CR. Give her some weird color, even if it’s just like blue freckles or something. Next-ly , when the soldiers are chasing her I guess I could accept she rolled a nat one. Multiple times. But how did they know she was a she? And why call her a “wild shape” and not a “Druid”. Bc calling her a wild shape, like shouting “Wild shape!” While chasing her? it… it Was. A bit. Weird. Moving oon…

More egregious was the strange lack of magic, when there’s was also so much magic. Half of Simons spells are from strange little objects, which is why I thought he might be a secret artificier or maybe multiclassed. For a minute I thought he was an eldritch trickster! However that’s relatively minor -actually I was a little disappointed he wasn’t an artificer, because they are cool and I love strange little magic devices and trinkets. Which, in comparison to no one else using magic except to become trademark animals and many non trademarked ones. Why would they not want people to know that druids, and bards, AND paladins, HAVE MAGIC?!? Don’t tell me they are too low level. I saw Xenk fight! Paladin Yendar is at least level 7. At least! (Maybe 6… but 7 is already a stretch tbh.) The rest? Bards have magic at level one, as do druids. And Druid Doric the Wild Shape was at least level 5 herself thank you. So no! Rejected, they where mid ranged level at least! Where’s the magic! Hmm!?

Imho they could have solved this several ways. (You can choose whichever combination you prefer). 1. Instead of uh, Bard (looks up his name) Edgin (lol) Darvis make him a mastermind Rogue or something. 2. If not, have him do spells but when Simon points it out everyone is like “no but that’s different because it’s music magic. Duh”. 3. Same thing for Doric, “no she can’t do it because she only has nature magic. It’s different”. 4. Hilariously, make Doric also terrible at casting spells. 5. I wanted Holga to rage more. I’m sry. Fighters can do everything she did and idc. Make it look magic or something. 6. Same with Xenk. Where was the brandishing his holy symbol and doing some magic? Bc I was like “wait is he just a high level fighter? Or rogue/fighter” (Which would have been funny to me) (ok I checked. He casts a spell on his sword once. Which I missed completely. Makes no difference to my point. Eldritch knight or trickster could do similar)

So that’s my review. If you made it this far good job. Tbh, I think I just know too much about Dnd, because otherwise I quite enjoyed this movie. I kinda hope they make more of them, so the studios better fucking learn to respect their workers and negotiate.

PS: Maybe we could do without the fat jokes next time. Or ever again.

PPS: srsly they better learn to negotiate. Because we have we have other options and I can watch countless actual plays for thousands of hours. And waiting the strike out so long people are starting to lose housing and probably worse? Well, there’s plenty of creator owned projects to provide more support to instead. (TBC- I mean if you can do that anyway but, like stop giving the assholes the support and distribute those funds to the creators)

[straycalamities]

if you ever decide to start doing anything with it again... i am forever a spook supporter. if spook has a million fans i am one of them. if it has one fan that is me. but!! silly questions, like i said, just because i crave knowledge of my favorite little guy (gnc). are its interests still the same as they were when you had the blog up and running? what would it be doing nowadays now that its probably all growed up? what was it like as a dnd character? (race, class, etc) im running out of space

wow omg 🥺 that’s rly touching omg

let me think bc honestly i’ve dumped almost all the blog version of spook knowledge out of my head at this point

its interests are: poetry/lyrics, weird art, glitter, pastel and cutesy things, but also rly dark and meaningful things, fighting for what’s right in society and dismantling the wrongs in the system, umm what else…i think honestly almost everything you’d have found on its reblog blog from back then is still relevant tbh

it still likes to write and do its own weird art. still likes to do crafty things. its still v dedicated to micah and micah’s interests. still plays guitar. still cares deeply abt there being love in the world and really vibes with anything that’s like…rly emotional love from the heart. still likes memes. still obsessed with sweets.

yeah id say interests is an area i didn’t actually tweak it too much. maybe just changed the reasoning and/or framing of the interests but that’s hard to explain

and well, spook kinda exists as a personality that i can plug-n-play into Situations now. i don’t really have a set storyline in my head for it or anything it’s just like…talking scenarios w ppl or joining rp groups and then coming up w stuff then

generally i keep it around its low or mid 20s tho and it uh..idk it rly depends on the scenario or universe its in for what it does as an adult :l sometimes it still works the music shop and still tries to run w a band, other times it’ll be like idk whatever weird thing(in weehawken for example it was the groundskeeper for the forbidden island campers aren’t allowed to go on. it just upkept the place and everyone who happened to see it thought it was a serial killer or smth but meanwhile it’s just some dude tending to the overgrowth and hanging out in a lil cabin spending time w its little interests and never bothering nobody)

overall tho i’d say that the main thing is that spook chills out. a lot. as an adult. i mean even when i’m thinking abt it as a teen these days it’s probably nowhere near as dramatic or…uh well. all the other off-the-wall stuff it did on the blog (screams and grasps my head like scp-096), but it was still a very traumatized and mentally ill and confused teenager raging at the world but mellows out a ton as an adult (except for universes where it’s straight up an angel uwu those are dif uwu)

in dnd i’ve played a couple of games (or planned a couple of games i think i’ve actively only played it in one one time) and it’s been a revenant and a werewolf, but now i typically keep it as (scourge) aasimar bc it’s perfect uwu. it’s almost Always an assassin rogue tho that just fits its fighting style the best

i remember the one game i played its storyline was abt revenge (related to why it was a revenant) but in my game i was dming where it was an npc (which is what that most recent dnd design is for) it’s kinda like a general wrong-righter. a like…divine vigilante i guess

thank u for the questions!!

[memento-morri-writes]

Hi, Morri! How are you doing? Have you been working on any specific project lately? Have you read/watched/played anything interesting lately? Had any cool DnD sessions? Has something inspired your writing?

ROSE, HI!!!!!!! HOW ARE YOU? I HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL!!!! Have you watched or read anything interesting lately? Had anything inspire your writing? I hope school is going decently well!

Okay, sorry. Enough with the caps. I just have too much energy, lmao.

I'm doing good!! I survived another week of classes, so that's great. Now I don't have to worry about school until Monday. I do have a physics test next week, unfortunately. But at least after that we have Fall Break, and I get a 5-day weekend. (Friday-Tuesday.)

the rest of this is going under the cut, because I wrote an essay.

I haven't been working on much writing lately, so I've mostly been working on developing dnd characters. My one group is switching campaigns, so I needed to come up with a new character. She's a Fire Genasi Barbarian (path of the storm herald), and they're super badass. They fight with a quarterstaff instead of a regular barbarian weapon for uh... Secret Lore Reasons, and I love her dearly.

Last weekend I finally got my shit together and watched all three of the Lord of the Rings movies. My only regret is that I didn't watch the extended editions. :'( But that's a project for another time!!! Other than that, I've been slowly working my way through Baldur's Gate 3 and having a great time. I haven't done any reading recently, as I don't have any books with me and uni, but I have 3 or 4 books waiting for me when I go home for Fall Break, and two of them are written by people on writeblr!!!

DnD... where to begin... First off, all of my sessions are amazing and awesome, so it's hard to know where to start. But Rook has been starting to deal with his trauma regarding Captain Wolf, and the party has been pretty supportive! (There's a lot of trust issues going on right now, though, hahaha.) He got told about someone who beat Wolf in a duel, and he's determined to find him now. But that won't be for a WHILE yet. Our other campaign is getting ended and replaced, but Asola was having an interesting time. The party started interrogating her about her past. They meant well, and they wanted to help her get to the bottom of the whole "randomly started burning with holy light and then passed out" thing, but they ended up giving her a bit of an identity crisis by implying that she's not human and/or that her parents aren't actually her parents. (She isn't human, but her parents are actually her parents.) The 16 year-old ended up reading her mind, and seeing some of her most personal memories. Which led to the party having a very, very extended conversation with him about boundaries. (Sola told him that "No one deserves anything [just because they exist or say so]." talking about the fact that love and respect is something that people have to earn and deserve, not just be given by virtue of existing. I'd say for a girl with -1 wisdom, she's pretty wise.) We also found a magic flower that can reincarnate someone, and we put it in a rusty bucket, which we put inside our magic cat. (No, that's not a typo. I do mean cat.)

As for inspiring my writing, well, yeah. I'm always getting inspiration all the time. Karlach from bg3 was an unintentional inspiration for my new dnd character, Cyra. After watching LOTR, I'm eager to write some high-fantasy shenanigans. Playing DnD makes me more and more eager to someday write High Fantasy WIP, assuming that I can get it right.

[isaacathom]

for my own amusement, and bc i just said florian shouldve been a paladin, im gonna take my major ttrpg ocs and say which 5e subclass theyd be for each class, for fun. for vibes. some of them have canon for this already but lets vibe.

Naielle Odelia (DND 5E - Celestial Warlock)

Artificer - Probably Alchemist, due to the healing benefits suiting her. The alternative would be Artillerist, leaning into the Sylvian army's use of firearms.

Barbarian - lord. uh. christ. Ancestral Guardian or Storm Herald, depending on vibes. Storm Herald would particularly be doing Sea environment. AG has more of the support vibe im used to for her.

Bard - Lore. Lore. It's Lore. she's a fucking historian, of course its Lore.

Cleric - Light Cleric. I'd say Knowledge but her campaign has a knowledge cleric and its not quite the vibe.

Druid - Stars. Without question or contest.

Fighter - Arcane Archer. Can't really justify that i just think it suits her alright. she doesn't fit str-based builds like rune knight

Monk - Astral Self, OR Sun Soul. But probably Astral Self. i know thats not astral as in stars but its got the vibe for me.

Paladin - Devotion or Watchers. Paladins get so little in the way of subclass stuff tha its not that big a thing, but i think those are in her vibe space.

Ranger - Horizon Walker. yea.

Rogue - Inquisitive, or maybe Phantom.

Sorcerer - Divine Soul.

Warlock - Celstial (thats just canon)

Wizard - ,,, euuhhhh. Abjuration or Evocation. Maybe Conjuration.

Florian de Kasimir (TWTRPG - Man-at-Arms)

Artificer - Armorer. yeah. sure.

Barbarian - Berserker

Bard - Swords, or possibly Valor. Mostly Swords, though. he did strictly learn fencing at one point, which feels on brand

Cleric - War. yeaahh

Druid - oh god. uhhhhhh. this ones tough. Moon or Wildfire. Leaning Wildfire.

Fighter - Samurai. This is not the intuitive pick for him (that would be Champion, or BattleMaster), but i think it works for him. he's a very honorable sort. (this is his 5e conversion)

Monk - hmmmmm. Kensei, probably. Drunken Master, maybe.

Paladin - A couple of options here. Crown, Redemption, or Vengeance. I lean lightly to the latter two, and maybe specifically Redemption for certain thematic reasons

Ranger - Hunter. dunno what to tell ya

Rogue - ah, the stealthiest man alive. Swashbuckler. Maybe Scout, but probably Swashbuckler. just hit them.

Sorcerer - oh boy. Pure magic classes are complicated to assign to this guy (noted as the sole non-magic guy in his campaign by the end). Storm or Wild.

Warlock - NOT Hexblade, funnily enough. Undying. I've explored this before.

Wizard - see sorc. uhhhhhh Bladesinging, Evocation, or War. this is an awful class choice for him though

Zimri Maier (PF 1E - Magus)

Artificer - Battle Smith

Barbarian - Storm Herald

Bard - Notwithstanding the fact Charisma is Zimri's dump stat, Swords or Lore

Cleric - Knowledge. or Arcana or Tempest

Druid - not their vibe at all, which is weird for someone who turns into a bird. Land, either Forest or Mountain.

Fighter - Eldritch Knight OR Psi Warrior

Monk - ???? uhhh Four Elements or Kensei

Paladin - Glory, i think. Hard to say.

Ranger - ????? Beast Master? Hunter? Monster Slayer? truly unknowable.

Rogue - Arcane Trickster, or Inquisitive. maaaaaybe Soulknife

Sorcerer - Storm or Wild. Have i mentioned zimri does lightning magic

Warlock - Great Old One or Hexblade

Wizard - Bladesinging (Their 5e conversion uses this)

Devin Ellir (DND 5E - Inquisitive Rogue/Whispers Bard*)

Artificer - You've no idea how mad I am that Alchemist doesnt do poisons. truly, what the fuck. why isnt there a poison based artificer subclass. anyway, Artillerist.

Barbarian - lord. uh. Ancestral Guardian or Totem Warrior (Eagle)

Bard* - Whispers :) Despite the order listed above, this is actually her higher-level class, she's just a rogue first for reasons. (*She never actually hit a high enough level to use Whispers features)

Cleric - Trickery or Death.

Druid - oh boy. Spores or Moon, i think. Spores has a Vibe to it.

Fighter - uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . Psi Warrior, Eldritch Knight, or Echo Knight, in that order.

Monk - Long Death or Shadow.

Paladin - Conquest or Glory.

Ranger - Gloom Stalker or Fey Wanderer. I like the fey for her more theatrical vibes, and gloom for her machination shit

Rogue* - Inquisitive! That's canonc (*She never hit a high enough level to use any of the inquis features, lmao)

Sorcerer - Aberrant Mind or Shadow Magic! I like Aberrant, that seems fun. is her vibe coming across yet

Warlock - ooooh. great question. so many suit her here. Archfey or Great Old One, ill say. Maybe Geenie (Efreeti).

Wizard - I hate assigning Wizard subclasses. Enchantment or Illusion.

There are others (Calvyre Dusthar, a 5E Echo Knight/Trickery Cleric, or Viorica Dalca, a PF2E Spirit Instinct Barbarian) but at this point they got played only 3 or so times and its harder to define. waaa.

anyway out of that, most popular subclasses from my group at Artillerist Artificer, Ancestral Guardians + Storm Herald Barbarian, Lord + Swords Bard, no Cleric (no subclass more than once!!), Moon Druid, Eldritch Knight or Psi Warrior Fighter, Kensei Druid, Glory Paladin, Hunter Ranger, Inquisitive Rogue (with 3! wow), Storm + Wild Magic Sorcerer, Great Old One Warlock, and Evocation + Bladesinging Wizard. fun! :)

[waitingona-mirabel]

Rage | Self Para

Date: Autumn 2023 Featuring: The DnD crew (Dipper, Eilonwy, Ian, Tony, and an NPC) Warnings: Vague reference to fictional axe violence, extreme artistic liberties with the game Dungeons and Dragons, the author of this still doesn't really understand bonus actions but just go with it

Mirabel had been saving her rage for the entire session. She only had two slots for it at this point, as Ryna was still a first-level barbarian, and Mirabel was careful about not wasting those limited advantages that characters had at the beginning. She was also holding onto the bardic inspiration Apollo had given her— even though Dipper had encouraged her multiple times to use it. Mirabel just wanted it to be the right time.

Now, it seemed, was the right time. After a long battle with a group of mysterious tentacles, two members of the party were still grappled by one of the tentacles, while Val had to spend her turn trying to heal someone who was grievously injured. It was only Ryna, hacking away at the tentacle to little avail as Mirabel rolled nat one after nat one and holding onto just a few health points. Things were looking bleak.

And then the tentacle came for Ryna.

“I’m just saying, now would be a really good time to use a bonus action!” Dipper prompted, and Mirabel took a deep breath. She didn’t want to mess this up. What if she was the reason someone died!

(Okay, Dipper had said he probably wouldn’t let level one beginners die in such an early session, but still).

“I go into a rage!” Mirabel said, heart pounding as she could feel the pressure mounting. Dipper looked thrilled. Everyone else looked relieved. Finally, their faces seemed to say. But Mirabel did not feel relieved— she had two chances to get this right before she was out of rage slots. “Can you, uh, remind me what that does?”

“You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage, you get advantage on strength checks, and you roll with advantage on saving throws. Like right now, since the tentacle is coming after you!”

“Okay! Okay,” Mirabel said, furrowing her eyebrows and rolling to dodge the tentacle. Once- no luck. But on the second try, she succeeded! Mirabel cheered and pumped her fist.

“Describe it!” encouraged another party member.

“What do you mean?”

“Describe the rage! What is Ryna doing?”

Mirabel looked down at the book that the group had been passing around. It was turned, not-so-subtly, to the Barbarian class page. Probably because Mirabel hadn’t used her bonus action all session.

This was the reason Mirabel had felt drawn to the barbarian class from the beginning. To Ryna. 

For every barbarian, rage is a power that fuels not just a battle frenzy but also uncanny reflexes, resilience, and feats of strength.

“She’s thinking about her home. It’s… it’s on an island, so she’s seen these tentacles before, she’s had to fight them before. That’s how she knows how to get away from them.” Mirabel had only written up a rudimentary biography for Ryna and it didn’t include tentacles or an island, but she had to make this make sense, right?

Plus, she liked the idea of Ryna as someone who had grown up on an island. For some reason.

“But sometimes she wishes she hadn’t gotten away. That she’d stayed and fought them, instead of just running off with the first caravan she could find. And now’s her chance to do it. She never got that chance before. She’s angry with herself for running the first time, but she’s even angrier at the tentacles, because somehow after all these years they’re still here and hurting the people she cares about and now things might be changing but she just doesn’t know, she can’t be sure, and she can’t even—” 

For some reason, Mirabel’s voice cracked.

And then she looked around the circle and saw that everyone looked a bit concerned. That was… probably not what they meant when they said to describe the rage, was it?

Her face turned red. 

“Um, I mean, Ryna’s gonna go in with the axe and try and cut the other two free,” she said, realizing that was probably, actually what the question was. She rolled twice. Thirteen. Then twenty.

Dipper still looked a bit dumbfounded. “That’ll crit… uh, do we want to take a break?”

There was no typical celebration of an enemy vanquished, just some sober looks exchanged. Mirabel stared at her character sheet, mortified. 

“I’m gonna, uh, get some water,” Mirabel said, just to spare everyone. Maybe they’d have questions. Probably. They were good friends, and good party members, and they looked out for one another. But Mirabel got the vibe that the tension in the room might dissipate a little if she stepped out. Also, because she was afraid she was going to cry. For some reason. 

She found herself, inexplicably, typing out a message to Elena, and then she felt very silly and deleted it. The princess of Avalor did not need to know about Mirabel's weird DnD outburst, especially not when she was about to go fight some tentacles— er, evil sorcerers— herself.

Mirabel splashed some water on her face and took a deep, shaky breath. Rage only lasted one minute. Which felt like an eternity in DnD time. You could do a lot in a minute, and then it went away as quickly as it had appeared. "You're fine," Mirabel muttered to herself in the mirror. That was what she had to tell herself. And everyone else, if they asked.

Or maybe Mamá was right. As usual.

Nah. The rage was over. Well, for now.

[superconductivebean]

I might have something to add:

I've been thinking for a while now, what if HL had a stat system in lieu of levelling.

Levelling is a working but rather crude solution for balance imo, if adds it at all. Essentially what it does is just racking up the numbers for HP, EXP and DMG; it's a simple and fast way of adding progression system to the game.

In HL, however, we have the built-in imbalance: once you start using talents, you get an unfair advantage, because neither enemy type receives a buff to counter your new cool moves and abilities.

I would understand it in The Witcher, for example. Geralt fights with already strong creatures for a living, he needs that kind of OP force; seeing him shredding bandits or angry peasants isn't a sight you'd see very often. Any DND-like would fall to a different category, too, because level determines the number of actions you can perform per turn. Skyrim, my beloved, took the levelling up to a curious turn as only the skills you actually use get upgrades; in overhauls that keeps the system intact, you'd potentially get your entire character spec so wrong a level 1 mage will annihilate your level 69 warrior with a simple frost spell.

So I begam to think, HL should've taken classes for stats.

Let's assume MC's words:

[[I can't wait, Professor.]] I've been dreaming of this day for a long time. Can't believe I'm here.

Imply they were studying up to speed to get the missed years covered for quite some time before the start of their 1st/5th year.

Besides, the Hat himself claims a very important thing about MC:

It's only natural to gain preferences studying something as complex as magic; in DND alone you'd get how many schools of magic, 8? and I'm not even mentioning the spell-creation thing from Morrowind or TES' approach to schools of magic, nor I dare shriek MAGICKA.

IMO, HL would benefit from a system that makes you spec points between different classes in the very beginning, as an alternative for stats. By-design, they're limited in a way that will allow, let's say, be an O-student in 1 subject without severely affecting other subjects (at least making it possible to catch up) and being an O-student in 2 subjects would mean some classes are definitively neglected and will cause problems, such as decree of points by teachers and more homework -- leading up to missed quests and stroll opportunities.

Which implies, there should be a time management system. By far, my biggest headscratch; I know the PS2 game for PoA tried it and, uh, to be honest, yes I wouldn't mind the companion complaining about the weather, exhaustion, or the need to sleep. Like they're living in a castle where laundry is done for them, food is easily available, and so on and so forth it'd be only expected to hear them regretting choices or commenting on the lack of accommodation.

Study time also should be taken into the account: if you study lots, you get very theory-savvy but you combat skills will suck, and the other way around. Falling behind the peers might have consequences such as getting detained or watched over, which would cancel some quests -- or create situations where you'd need to sneak out of the castle to meet with your sweetheart or get up to mischief. Some characters you might never meet/get to know better due to your academics, I think it'd be fair and would add to replay-ability.

I'd also AAAAAAAA if HL would have had a system similar to Chaos from Dishonored. I like me game offering a Pacifist Route like that.

Nevemind, I need to get this out. So I've been thinking about the game and its mechanics and it led me down the rabbit hole of what I would have liked to see and how pre-existing features could have been integrated to make them work.

A lot of these ideas revolve around the development of a proper skill tree and of a relationship mechanic. In no particular order:

Crossed-Wands Duelling Club

This could have been a replayable feature integrated in a skill building system. In the Harry Potter universe, spells take practice not only to learn, but to master. Having the duelling club be a feature to increase mastery of spells based on the pre-existing categories (force, control, damage) would have made learning spells a process instead of only learning them once and then you're good to go. The existence of these categories could have served as the foundation to develop different duelling styles that the player could have chosen to invest in through practicing in Crossed Wands. Improving your skills could have unlocked perks, boosts and be integrated in the combat challenge system that already exists or/and with the talent system. So instead of just purchasing talents once you reach a certain level, it'd need to be unlocked once you've practiced the spell enough.

Summoner's Court

Like the duelling club, I feel like this should have been replayable and available in between the questline as a mini-game to play with a NPC of the player's choice. I'm not sure including it in a mechanic would have made much sense, but having it as an extra to do for relationship-building would have been grand already.

Study Group and library overhaul

This idea came from the fact that I find the library to be underused. Aside from the Restricted Section, nothing really happens there outside of personal roleplaying choices. Because the game focuses on the 5th year aka OWL test year, it would have made sense to take full advantage of this choice to study, instead of just attending classes.

This idea relies on the introduction of a relationship system where the player could have chosen who to study with within the group of available NPCs. Doing so could contribute to building relationship with the chosen character, and that character can be switched, so you could study with Natty one day and Sebastian the next, for example.

Now, in term of game mechanics, this could have been a good opportunity to be complimentary with the duelling club where spell categories that duelling doesn't help with could be improved there. It could have contributed to a system where the skill level you build also contributes to how well you do with your OWLs. The stakes are supposed to be high with this test, and apparently students started studying for it in 4th year already, and the game doesn't reflect that.

Similarly, we have NPCs that we know excel in specific topics, but in the game's current form, Sebastian is the only one who teaches MC new spells (the Unforgivable). The study group could have included a mentorship mechanic where the NPC you choose to study with gives you a boost in the topic they prefer (eg. studying with Poppy would make you gain skill in Beast care faster; Amit would do the same with Astronomy etc.), since MC is supposed to be a fresh 5th year and should need all the help they can get.

And then there's the library itself. I wish we could have seen something similar to the Elder Scrolls approach where books are readable. Not all of them, but I feel like the player should be able to stroll through the library and find books of interest. This could have been integrated both in the study group mechanic *and* the field guide pages mechanic where stumbling upon specific books and snippets of information would allow you to discover field guide pages.

This is getting long so I'll keep it short but there's just so much that was already there that could have been used for more. Like, the music room? Extracurricular activities you can choose from that lead to new characters and unique small quests? This game could have been so much more than it was.

[cwunchi]

do you ever have something click in your mind

[manicformunson]

just- eddie with a badass, metal reader? and he’s too nervous to talk to her, hes almost intimidated, but then she goes up to him and confronts him abt his stares??? i’m done for.

do you wanna touch me

pairing eddie munson x fem!reader

summary reader is the girl of eddie's dreams and he can't help but stare at her any and every chance he got. he never expected her to call him out in front of his friends

note i am a firm believer in eddie being a total perv lol also abrupt ending sorry i like to tease :p

Eddie was a creep, he knew it. He literally could not help but drool over the girl in his math class, Y/N was like his hottest wet dream. She was always sporting shirts from his favorite bands, her hair always dyed unnatural colors and sometimes if he was lucky she wore a skirt, showing off a huge dnd dragon tattoo on her thigh. When that happened Eddie always had to pick his jaw up off the floor and excuse himself to the bathroom.

Eddie found himself more often than not rubbing one out at the thought of her plush thighs around his neck and his face buried in her pussy, or her tits squished up against his cock with her tonuge gingerly licking the tip -- the latter being his favorite.

One time he had to run to the bathroom to jerk off after math class when she wore one of those devilish skirts and moved her legs, causing Eddie to catch a glimpse of her panties. It was not his proudest moment.

Even Gareth had mentioned that Eddie was obsessed and that if he had the balls he should just go up and talk to her, but as funny as it was to everyone else, Eddie was intimidated. He had never met a girl who liked heavy metal and had tattoos of DND dragons, plus she was drop dead gorgeous.

Thank god for the weekend though. It was the only time he got a break from Y/N and her unknowing curse on him.

He had no intention of swimming, just soaking up the sun with a cigarette and maybe checking out the mom's in bikinis until he saw Y/N across the pool. He felt as if the breath had been knocked out of him. "Jesus Christ." He muttered when he was able to breathe again.

Eddie had picked up Gareth, Jeff and Dustin for a day at the pool -- solely Dustin's idea but Eddie would later kiss his feet for it. When they got there they had picked out spots near the gate and Eddie laid out on the chair and pulled out a cigarette, promising to look after they're stuff.

He had thought about asking her to join Hellfire since she'd probably enjoy it but the fear of rejection was too much for him. That and it'd be pretty hard to concentrate on a campaign when Y/N's pretty eyes were on him.

She was wearing a simple black bikini but goddamn, Eddie could see that she had a couple more tattoos -- one on her right breast of a bat with no head, some phrase on her hip bone, and when she turned her back towards him Eddie could see she had little wings right above the waist line of her bottoms.

Jeff and Gareth noticed him drooling over her and decided to follow Dustin to the pool, leaving Eddie a mumbling mess. All he could think about is her tramp stamp and how it contrasted against her wet skin, god Eddie had to fight popping a semi right then and there.

"There a reason your staring at me Munson?" Y/N said through a taunting smile, swaying her hips until she was standing over him. Eddie only held his hands up in defense, "I just, I uh. I mean-" Y/N crossed her arms, making Eddie very aware of how her boobs squished against her arms.

"I just wanted, wanted to-" Eddie couldn't think -- she was so much hotter than Eddie had thought. "Wanted to?" Y/N cocked her eyebrow at him, her fingers tapping against her elbows. "Your tattoos! You got, you got nice tattoos."

She laughed at him and Eddie couldn't help but smile at it, even if she was laughing at him. Y/N decided to sit down in the chair beside him and lean in a little, unknowingly giving him access to see the forbidden valleys of her breasts.

"You're practically drooling, and you're trying to tell me it's because of my tattoos?"

Eddie didn't respond, his brain only focused on the tattoo on her tits which made her grab his chin, forcing him to look at her and continue to mumble out nonsense.

Y/N knew that he had a crush on her, it was a bit pathetic but damn did she think it was cute. She couldn't help but tease.

She leaned closer to him, enough that her perfume clogged his senses, and pressed her lips to his ear, "You know, I got a few more tats underneath my swimsuit if you ever wanna see them."

She licked the shell of his ear causing him to visibly shutter and moan. Eddie grabbed her arm, "I, I got a van." Y/N giggled down at his desperate state. "Hm. I was thinking maybe back at my place later. So I could show you all of my pretty tattoos, and you could take the time to appreciate them."

Her hand was now rubbing up and down his arm giving him goosebumps and his head was so foggy with her presents that Eddie couldn't register what she was insinuating, he just nodded.

When her soft lips pressed against his cheek is when he felt his dick jump at the sudden feeling, "See you then pretty boy." And she was gone, leaving Eddie dazed and with a semi.

Little did he know he wasn't being very secretive about his staring, catching her attention and jumping when she starting storming over to him. Oh shit, he thought before trying to come up with an excuse.

[iamaslutforcoffee]

Home Sweet Home chapter four

Eloise's point of view

"Eddie.. listen. Please just listen to me and think rationally" I looked at him, my hands cupping his face. He shooed my hands down, his face never meeting mine. Instead he stared blankly out the window to the side of us and I could tell he was hurt.

"Eddie.. please..." I spoke once more.

I knew he was hurt. I knew it. But he would have found out about Harrison anyways, his name is hyphenated into Harrisons. I named him after his uncle, who made him realize that he needed to grab ahold of me and never let go.

He's listed on the birth certificate..

"Eddie.. say something please.." I softly, tears threatened to spill.

"You never told me I have a son, Eloise." He eventually spoke. The class bell dinged, letting us know we were late. Class can wait, I was dealing with a crisis.

"Eddie i wrote everyday. You never responded. " I spoke, confused. I did write him every single day. I sent copies of Harrison's ultrasounds. I sent him a copy of the birth certificate.

"I never got it! Eloise what the fuck!?" He whispered loud enough for the both of us to hear. Finally he faced me and a tear was coming out of his left eye. I had to look away.

"Everyday I wrote, Eddie. I sent you a letter saying we were expecting. I sent ultrasounds, the gender reveal.. I sent it all Eddie." I spoke, growing frustrated with the situation.

Why wouldn't he believe me?

Until it pretty much dawned on me. Back in 8th grade, before I left, he was getting into a lot of fights with some kid who's dad was one of the mail carriers. I'm just fairly confident that because of those fights and Eddie being dubbed "The Freak", they intercepted the mail and took any and all letters.

"Eddie.. don't you fucking dare try to get pissed at me when You have NO right. NONE. You think my main goal in life was to keep our son a secret? For fucks sake Eddie I threw a DND themed baby shower and sent you invitations to it. I got to be pregnant, alone, scared.. without you by my side to help me navigate what the fuck was going on all while my mother was sick in the hospital dying from cancer, Eddie. Be honest, you had every chance to get in contact with me. Every opportunity. But you were probably more worried about selling fucking bunk weed and Chrissy fuckin' Cunningham!" I yelled at him, pushing him as hard as I could.

There was no stopping me this time, the tears were flowing.  He didn't even flinch. Or bother to stop me, he knew I couldn't hit hard enough to make it stick.

I just kept pushing him, and started hitting his chest. The nerve he had!

Exiting out the building and sitting on the trunk of my small and shitty car I started crying and wondering if coming back home to Hawkins was the right decision. I was scared, and alone. All over again.

I had my knees pulled up to my chest and my head in-between my legs trying to breath out this panic attack, knowing that the more i got upset the worse it was going to be. After 10 minutes, I heard walking besides me and the weight of my car shifted and I didn't have to look up to know who it was.

"What's his favorite food?" I heard Eddie ask, trying to lighten the mood.

"He uh, he loves macaroni, and honey comb cereal. " I sniffled, looking up but not at him.

"Does he act like me?" He asked, walking infront of me and grabbing my hands.

"He's the spitting image of you, Eddie. Poor kid sleeps just like you too with his mouth slightly open and drooling enough to where he could fill a pool" i spoke, wiping the reminits of tears away and looking at Eddie.

Oh, those eyes.. how I could get lost in them.

Eddie was staring at me and I could tell he just didn't know how to proceed on with the conversation.  I understood it was just a major shock to him, I owe him the grace of that.

"Eloise, I'm sorry. I just.. I didn't know how to react. First your back and my world stops. Then come to find out im getting my heart ripped out because we have a kid I didn't even know about and I could have been helping you with him...." Eddie spoke softly, cupping my face.

Looking at him I took in all of his features. The rings on his hands were cold against my skin. His eyes still the same, but he was tired. His hair was still curly and this time grown out, suiting him fairly well. He was my Eddie, and he always will be.

"Well next time, Munson, use that thick brain of yours and don't have word vomit " I said softly. 

He simply knodded, knowing now was probably the best time to just be quiet and let it go.