#bonus points if its affordable lol

[holygroundscafe]

omg new laptop! technically it’s on loan from a bestie, and he may ask for it back, at some point. but really, he won’t lol. It’s a good one, too. He’s smart about tech stuff, so its a nice piece of equipment. and it’ll make typing up replies SO MUCH easier, as well, so tumblr rp bonus!

also, getting a surface tablet that I am super excited for. Got it off ebay for a STEAL. which is good, cuz I can’t afford nice stuff lol. 

anyway. I’m excited. so much. it’s a great birthday present kinda feeling :D

[thedeliverygod]

My skincare routine

making a post about this mainly because I've had a huge improvement in acne over the past few months and I'm really happy about it and just want to share the products that helped me because I've struggled for YEARS to get it under control. I'm still not sure if my all this progress would be reversed if I were to go off of birth control because a lot of it is hormonal but bc alone has only done *so* much, you know?

All links are provided are just for your reference, I don't get any money from anything (I wish I would as I could use it but lol). Target is going to be the main source for most things as that's my preferred store but there are like 2 things that will be at Amazon. Products could be available at other retailers like Walmart, Walgreens, etc but generally Target has the best coupons and Amazon in general has best prices for things that you can only find at Ulta/Sephora otherwise.

Step 1: Cleanser

Garnier's micellar water was basically the vehicle that enabled me to get started with a skincare routine. Past cleansers I only ever used in the shower or sparsely because I hated having to wash my face in the sink, getting water/chemicals in my eyes and also everywhere else. Not to mention a lot of cleansers are really drying. Not micellar water! You just put some on a cotton pad and wipe your face and done. I've been using the mattifying one for oily/sensitive skin for a long time but I recently switched to the vitamin C version as I have some stubborn acne scars that don't want to go away. There's a variety of versions so you can find the kind that matches your needs!

Step 2: Toner

I recently got this rice based toner and I love it. It's thick, smells great & is moisturizing. Tbh I didn't realize I got a scented version but there's also a scent free version!

Step 3 for AM: Acne based treatment

Cerave Acne Control Gel is my daily acne treatment. I feel like it's more gentle than the general spot treatments you buy because you're supposed to put it all over your face but because you're using it daily it's helping to prevent new acne from forming which is a big deal. So it may feel like it's "not working/taking forever" but its working behind the scenes. Also tbh if I have really bad spots I'll use spot treatments on top of this lol.

Step 3 for PM: Acne Scar Treatment

So I got this Stubborn Marks treatment like a month ago and tbh the verdict is still out for me as to whether its really helping or not? I have old acne marks above my lip that are taking forever to go away so idk. But it feels nice and I feel like the retinol at the very least is helping with any sort of wrinkles or whatever else I have going on so lmao.

Step 4: Serum (I only use this in the AM because I feel like there's not much of a point in using it at night and because I'm trying to save product due to money even though this is only like $6)

This serum by the Ordinary helps you produce less oil so if that's a thing for you, it's a great choice. Again, The Ordinary has hella options for serums and they're all really affordable so you can find whatever fits you the best.

Step 5 for AM: Moisturizer

So I use the neutrogena hydroboost if I plan to go outside because it has sunscreen built into it. It feels like regular moisturizer but this way you don't have to worry about sunscreen too. My sister borrowed it one day and complained about the smell of the sunscreen I guess but I don't really notice it personally. If I'm being a homebody (aka most days) I use Rael barrier cream. Even though it's kind of a small jar a little goes a long way! Also to note, even though this is on Target's website it's only available for shipping for whatever reason so I also buy it on amazon a lot.

Step 5 for PM: Moisturizer

The Cosrx Snail Mucin Cream I posted about the other day; it kind legit feels like mucus but it is really refreshing lmao. But because it is kind of sticky-ish in terms of texture I only use it at night.

Bonus acne/blackhead steps:

Hydrocolloid patches are the holy grail for acne; I'm so glad they've become a thing in recent years. Honestly the brand doesn't really matter, just find the type that's best for your situation. The general patches are best for white heads but there's also some for acne that's still under the skin, etc. In my opinion, stay away from expensive brands for these; spending extra money literally makes no difference in the quality unlike other skincare products. Earlier this year I got zitsticka killa deep zit microdart patches for like $16 for 4 patches for a deep deep zit that hurt very badly and would not go away and it didn't do anything more than cheaper brands. Really the only difference was it came with like a 'prep pad' to cleanse the area.

After you've used a hydrocolloid patch and your acne has leaked out all of its gross goo, use some Hero rescue balm! Lately I've just been buying the travel size since I don't have many zits anymore but if you have more acne going on, the medium & jumbo sizes are worth the money because they last for a long time. There's also the red correct version but I only recommend it if you want a balm that's more of a like medicine and makeup in one? It starts off green but then morphs into your skin color as it sits. When you wipe it off at the end of the day it'll pretty much look like you applied makeup as well.

Tonymoly's Tako blackhead scrub stick; it's viral for a reason. I use this lil guy on my nose/the sides of it after I get out of the shower. I've also had this for forever now and it doesn't seem to be low either so lol.

Last bonus tips from me: As someone who suffers with acne, I've found the "acne focused" products are kind of the worst? Like I tried Hero's acne focused moisturizer as well as ELF's acne focused moisturizer. Hero's was like anti-bacterial which sounded great and ELF's just had more acne medicine built into the moisturizer and neither helped me. I also tried out Rael's miracle clear toner since I really liked the barrier cream but that also didn't work as well for me as tonymoly's mochi toner (which I also recommend; it's pricey but it's a giant ass bottle so it lasts forever).

Lastly & most importantly: give each new product you've never tried before at least a month. Especially when you're just starting out. Your skin has to do a "purge" which generally means things get worse before they get better which I thankfully read about before I started my process. A lot of things also just take time. Of course if you have a reaction, stop ASAP.

#skincare #skincare routine #acne #acne struggles

[steamishot]

july pay confirm

yesterday marked the end of all HR/payroll deadlines for the month and busiest season of the year. now i’ll have time during the workday to study again. there were so many last minute things/reports/calculations/corrections that i had to process for housestaff and faculty this past week. felecia had sent a step progression report to review basically 15 minutes before the deadline. she sent a report over, i sent over another with the corrections, and then she had to transfer the information to a different sheet but made mistakes along the way that i didn’t catch, and now there’s more clean up to do. i’ll have about 4 trainees who be slightly underpaid and a couple more that will be overpaid. 

i finally was able to access my UC retirement information today, after getting locked out of my account for forgetting the password and no one answering my phone calls in the past months when i called in. i’m currently at 4.99 service credit, so i’m almost almost vested.

i downloaded an app called maxrewards recently, which consolidates all my credit card information into one space. i can easily track my expenditures across all cards, and it’s supposed to be helpful in determining which credit card to use for which purpose. matt recently downloaded thepointsguy app which consolidates the information for all his airline miles. 

we used to consciously split our purchases (rent, food, household items) from when we moved in to about january of this year, but now we’ve been much more relaxed and basically have combined incomes and shared expenses. we maximize all our credit card bonuses, so, whoever has a higher cash back or if we’re trying to reach a spending amount to receive a bonus, will pay. so far this has been working fine. however, we do need to get more organized and keep better records of: where exactly our money is going to/budgeting and total balance of money/credit card points/airline miles, and investments. will be looking into YNAB and other budgeting apps and continue learning about personal finance.

this will be important to do to prepare for the income increase from matt’s job in the fall. to add to the list of purchases we’ve made, i was convinced by my brother recently to purchase a fancy coffee grinder, which was about $650. i realized that i’m constantly feeling guilty whenever i make big purchases, or any purchase that is outside of what’s “necessary” due to the fact that we haven’t been budgeting or keeping track of our expenditures. i have no clue whether we can actually “afford” it because we don’t have our financial goals explicitly laid out yet. that’ll be a personal project. 

on a separate note, it’s been about a week since we started eating healthier. my previous definition of “healthy” used to be: low in fat, low in sodium, quality ingredients, and not processed. but i realize it wasn’t healthy in that i tended to be very picky about what i ate and not eat a lot of nutritious things in general. now, i’m trying to “eat the rainbow” and am incorporating much more veggies in our diets than ever before. i’m now looking at food more practically (what will my body benefit from eating this) vs. hedonically (how happy will my taste buds be) LOL. we still eat tastefully, but i’ve been adding a salad to supplement our dinners and have been making green/veggie smoothies every day. i’m still playing around with recipes; sometimes its not as tasty because i add a lot of greens but i force myself to drink it anyway and remind myself it’s good for me haha. however, i *feel* better/more energetic these days, and i notice matt’s skin looks better already. 30′s = aggressively fighting aging. 

to also document my hair health: i started using a hair serum i picked up from TJ. i also got unrefined coconut oil to do masks and got some hair caps. my hair reacted well to the serum, and after one mask, my hair already felt much stronger. this was another “why so stupid” moment as i used to do hair masks when i was in my early 20s. i have been obsessed with touching my hair and seeing how much healthier its already looking. 

[unproduciblesmackdown]

talking about like adjusting one’s on Perspective when the standard on what’s standard is what might seem wild to other ppl when it was never standard for them, like, doesn’t change anything to go “i identify this as inherently disrespectful out of line treatment that isn’t worth the energy to try to Work With” when the person behind it is just Gonna Be Around anytime all the time &/or there’s no real personal relationship anyways besides proximity....what i mean is  going “that was a really frustrating & rude interaction i had with the person in the next room the other morning when i was closing the door to the bedroom & even offering an explanation why (trying to) & she interrupted to talk dismissively over that & also shoved the door back open while i’m standing right there (though bad enough to just do that at all)” to like oh yeah beyond frustrating & rude that’s just definitely a totally unacceptable way to treat someone wherein sure nothing changes b/c i don’t accept it except idk, maybe i remember to also just not bother explaining things lmfao, things will unfold the same ways anyhow b/c it’s like I May As Well Not Have & it just saves a little effort....but with this person it’s also rare like, usually really aggressively angry at any time either towards Concepts or people who are Not Present, and when people Are present, it’s generally like, incredible passive aggressive stuff that also really can’t be worked with. and since i’m around, i get the [Yelling At Concepts Or People Who Aren’t Present] live concert experience anytime of day or night which is very stressful in like, trauma response ways lol i don’t even always Notice like oh right, adrenaline, unless there’s some Bonus element like i notice my legs are shaky from the ramped up tension. b/c it’s again like well, that’s standard. but i’m also like welp this isn’t anything Directly Directed at me, so what do you even call it except “damb...this shit sucks :/” where you know it’s not surprisingly like, trauma responses are a Present thing vs like yeah shitty stuff happened back then & it’s all a Past Experience bummer memory now, like nah it’s in the here & now still....but even sitting here like “well That occasion the other day was one of the times things were done directly to me & it was clearly shit >:/” but it just now occurs to me like well you know: this whole time the person in question Knows i’m present & proximate for all these occasions she’s going off on one with aggressively angry outbursts about anything and this Knowledge doesn’t affect anything at all (except again that the one time she like tangentially was aware i was crying out of stress b/c i was going around [mitigating the situation], sympathized / cared in the moment, then within a few days had exacerbated the very matter that stressed me out that much Because of that awareness)......the point is it occurs to me atm like oh you know that’s also a way i’m being treated directly actually, that the awareness i, another person, am experiencing this / possibly affected by these actions, Does Not Matter......like i’m affording this insulation lol like well she’s not doing it To Me specifically so how do i even categorize this grievance, and just kind of skipping over the premise of [this person isn’t considering me at all in this / my presence & theoretical experience is not A Factor to her in this] is like, also shitty on its own and Present Bad Treatment rather than something mitigating and like a reason it Doesn’t have to do with me at all

#it's of course also the matter like i could always stand to encourage myself to be More communicative w/ppl when that's like; safe #and nothing ever works by flipping switches so in the moment it's difficult to remember like ''don't try Explaining anything to this person' #plus that it's not Necessary when it comes to things like hey i can close this door. but def reminding myself like stick to concrete Info #if she's going off on one over some present Practical Situation i might go over (despite yknow. the Stress) and be like as matter of fact as #possible ask what's going on; say what i might do to assist with that situation. as a side effect usually having to Talk in a brief exchange #otherwise it's like. withhold anything Personal from exchanges. & avoid exchanges; which i do #tfw like this person's presence even when being quiet creates this inherent Tension / increased stress / Hypervigilance...normal & fine #kicking in a humorous montage of you know; classical music plays over semitransparent armchair / rudin's the thinker panning around #woops *rodin. this philosophy symposium is in shambles already lol but anyways like musing on things even if it doesn't really Do anything #it does something for oneself i suppose like can't draw any boundaries here or change the experience #it's someone just operating Unilaterally who as stated like just doesn't care & will p much only double down on justifying everything #just some matter of factness from yours truly as i again smoke the bubble pipe like Ah....the inherent disrespect towards me as a person.... #it was here the whole time & not really subverted by ''well they're just not thinking of me at all while they do shit that hurts me'' #obviously bad for them too but...... #funny to have it forever like Sorry For Party Rocking Oversharing but that's relative lol like i don't really think that #like this is literally Everyday type experiences and i know hardly unique / That uncommon and like. again it's matter of fact & relevant #like yeah i guess said everyday; generally relevant shit would be considered of a Topic that some ppl would never wanna discuss #no shit like ''ough Trauma is a big deal it's Too Much to be part of a Normal Conversation; keep that under wraps'' like #well yep that's like. Been the cultural attitude lol nothing new. private embarrassing weird problems to be sensitive secrets #and like yes idk cue having friendships / friendly acquaintanceships where it's like oh cagey armslengthness that doesn't really help #b/c being autistic / that communication / social style difference aside it's like well uhh there's a lot of info abt me & my life that i am #aware is like oh that's Awkward that's Too Much that's a big deal so you know. isolation feedback loop lol can't share that b/c we're not #that close yet / i already get the sense it's like Private/Embarrassing / we don't Become close b/c there's plenty abt myself under wraps #and like again this is just a matter of fact Post not abt a hypothetical convo. we're not befriending each other. just sharing lore #and i'm comfortable enough with that vs idk if other ppl would think it would be too private to casually / impersonally mention #or to read about i guess like whom tf is reading my posts lmao if you're here god knows what i'm ever talking about. Stuff & Things #j/k scroll past this shit as per the nature of posting...ugh f for trying to j/k scroll when intradash Ads load & throw it off #anyways adventures in adjusting perspective like turns out it's never really a ''It's Not That Bad :/'' matter lol

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Happy i Just recognized its May this is my season bc Im addicted to Sea Monster FL.

Imagine you're a marine Biologist or at least someone studying Marine biology. One of your buddies tries to mess with you by making you walk into the depth exhibit in an aquarium alone. It turns out theres a giant anglerfish-like beast who seems more curious, the depths exibit doesn't get many visitors as some claim its too scary even for most adults..yet you weren't scared

So you met a new friend! He responds to lots of names but he's overjoyed to see you.

Bonus: abyss octopus Kaeya and a monster Falcon called Diluc are also in this aquarium/sanctuary. You volunteer often and they only wanna see you now lol

YOU AND ME BOTH MY DEAR SEA MONSTER FOUL LEGACY IS AMAZING

ohohohoho i can only think about how lonely Foul Legacy is..... he's not trying to be scary, he's really not!!! but people always think he is and word spreads pretty fast, so no one ever visits his part of the aquarium </3

until one day he sees the door open, and you walk in!! you don't look scared at all, simply curious and determined as you explore the depths exhibit, and Childe wonders if you'd also be afraid of him. it's been so long since he met new people, and the way you examine every part of the exhibit intrigues him. he overhears you mumbling something in amazement about his particular species and has to keep himself from rumbling with pride!!

he's been watching and following you for a while when you suddenly turn to the glass. Childe is mostly hidden beneath your point of view, but you can still see the top of his head and his horns so you blink in surprise! you heard that the Abyssal mercreature wasn't particularly social. Childe's glowing patterns flare brighter when he realizes he's been seen, but instead of walking or even running out of the room, you step closer to the glass. he peeks over at you, letting out a low, curious trill as he watches you extend your hand to touch the glass. he reveals himself completely to meet you halfway, his much-larger claws on the opposite side of the window; he sees a smile grow on your wonderful, fearless face, and with that smile his heart grows with it.

you learn from a staff member that the Abyss-mer's name is Childe, and when you call him that the next day he chirps in delight, tail splashing in the water!!! but his favorite names are ones you give him, ones that are only between you and him, ones that he can sense are full of affection. it's his own little heaven, to have his head laying in your lap and dozing on and off as you pet his hair, calling him sweet nicknames and quips.

oh i LIKE this idea of a sanctuary/aquarium.... maybe when the staff saw how well you worked with Childe, they asked you to come look at some other lonely creatures!!! who all end up getting pretty attached and protective of you (especially Diluc towards Childe) to the point where if they can afford it, they refuse to be cared for by anyone but you <333

#genshin impact #genshin childe #genshin tartaglia #foul legacy #foul legacy childe #childe #tartaglia #genshin tartagalia #abyss diluc #abyss kaeya #genshin diluc #genshin kaeya #chit chat #UM SO THIS ENDED UP GETTING LONG..... #listen i have a lot of thoughts about this i like this very much #childe may look scary and monstrous but he's a sweetheart!!!! wants to be friends so bad <333 #that's partially why he's so clingy he really fears losing you because he was so lonely before #OH IMAGINE SWIMMING WITH HIM IN HIS ENCLOSURE #eheuhguehueheuee so many thoughts #also how dare you forget albedo /j /lh #short scenario #other's stuff #sea monster au

[exilethegame]

I'm currently sick (Its just a cold but I'm a cry baby) so I need my little brain to be happy with fictional characters!

How would ROs react to a sick Commander? nothing dramatic or contagious please lol

Commander with your normal, average, run-of-the-mill cold coming right up! Hope you feel better soon! :)

Vethna: Did someone say doting and panicked mother? Vethna will be checking up on MC 24/7 along with figuring out what herbal blends are best for whatever ails them. Forces MC to drink tea and uses their magic to try and regulate their body temperature as best as they can. However, there’s a strict no kiss or hug policy no matter how much MC begs or insists. They’re a busy person, and they can’t afford to get sick no matter how convincing The Commander’s puppy dog eyes are.

Nikke: Doesn’t know the first step to taking care of someone who’s sick. MC could literally be vomiting into a trashcan and he’ll just be sitting there asking if they feel alright (No, Nikke, no they do not). He’ll try his best though...and his best is phoning a friend to come over and help out while he awkwardly pats MC’s back and takes care of all of MC’s chores and responsibilities while they’re sick. 

Amilia: Luckily for you, she knows all the remedies for just about everything and is great at making sure MC is taken care of and comfortable. She’ll make them soups and teas and sing/read to them when they’re feeling achey or upset. MC will be back onto their feet in no time with Amilia watching over them, and she isn’t afraid to cuddle, either (Fae can’t really get sick after all).

Sabir: He knows how to take care of someone when they’re sick but he’s no master of illness like Amilia is. He’ll just make sure MC gets rest and, similar to Nikke, will take care of all of their responsibilities while they’re out of it. He’ll basically just be doting over MC the entire time (not that he doesn’t already do that) and do his best to keep them entertained and amused when they’re confined to bed.

Syfyn: When it comes to herself, Syfyn has always been a big fan of the “get over it” mentality. However, when it comes to MC, it’s the exact opposite. She’ll make sure MC stays in bed to the point it’s almost problematic. She also has no actual clue how to take care of MC so it’ll probably end up with Syfyn kidnapping Amilia to learn how to actually...do that.

???: Doesn’t have the faintest clue how to take care of MC but they will try their gosh darn hardest which...is still not that great. Part of that maybe stems from the fact they’ve never cooked a day in their life and still don’t really understand why mortals get sick in the first place, so it’ll probably just end up with MC taking care of themself as ??? follows them around and takes mental notes. However, they will absolutely bathe MC is physical affection the entire time so...that’s a bonus. 

#answered #vethna #nikke #amilia #sabir #syfyn #mystery ro

[memes-saved-me]

Thank you for tagging me in this brilliant idea!!! @lovebillyhargrove 💖💖💖💖💖

Answers below😁

1. Do they get together BEFORE MF possessing Billy or AFTER shit goes down? (Or maybe DURING😲)

I'm a sucker for their tension boiling over some time around Christmas and that's when they either kiss, have sex, get together or all three lol. That or post Starcourt Steve is left to take care of Billy because no one else is around who can and he slowly falls for him while Billy falls for Steve all over again.

2. Who kisses who first?

Steve. Steve going on for the kiss is my favourite. Billy of course returns it and is the one to take it further but Steve is the one to lean in or push Billy against a wall and go for it. Billy hesitates because he likes to tease and because he isn't fully sure Steve is on the same page.

3. Where do they have their first sex? (Location) (HJs and BJs count)

Blowjobs and handjobs at school. Hidden away or a party where they're drunk and it's messy but amazing. Sex wise Steve's room. Either its romantic and its been building to this or they rush to his, up the stairs and one is pushed down on the bed and so on. Its either intense and tension breaking or slow and caring. Or both honesty but its at Steve's house.

4. Who says 💖 I LOVE YOU 💖 first?

Billy. Steve thinks, knows he does way before but is scared to say it first so he waits and then once Billy says it, probably before, during or after sex he says it every chance he gets. Billy is a little less generous with it but when he says it Steve finds it means more than saying it all the time.

5. Bottom!Steve or Bottom!Billy?

I personally believe they'd switch. Hormone filled teenage boys happy to get what they can and deal it just as much. However, I'm a sucker for bottom Billy to begin with, Steve just getting into being bisexual so at first experienced Billy takes that position until Steve is comfortable enough to go for it. After that its whoever wants to or both of them. They just love being either side of things.

6. Do they give gifts to each other?

Steve will buy Billy things he wants or needs at any opportunity but Billy will buy little things here and there that have significant sentimental origin. Or he makes things like daisy chains and puts them on Steve while they sit in the grass. Little things like that.

7. Where do they end up living?

I love the idea of them leaving Hawkins, going to California and it just not being as good as Billy remembered. He bigged it up in his memories and they can't really afford the kind of place they would like there so they leave and go somewhere else to build a life together instead of relying on their past to bring them comfort. I'm not sure where they would end up really, maybe even another country eventually.

8. What are their future jobs?

Steve in sales, office work sort of thing. Billy a mechanic or dog trainer.

9. Who's a better cook?

Steve likes to think he's a better cook but Billy for sure is.

10. Steve Hargrove or Billy Harrington?

In terms of 😏 Steve but on terms of "Oh shit he's my favourite" Billy

11. What's Max's reaction when she hears they're together?

She's honestly disgusted by Steve's lack of taste and standards but is glad to know why Billy had been acting happier recently. Her first theory was drugs so being gay with Steve was more than better.

12. Describe in ONE SENTENCE Hopper's reaction when he hears the names Hargrove and Harrington mentioned together?

His ears perked up at the mention their names while sitting at the table with El, her run down of the day stating they were a couple which definitely caught his attention because never did he think the resident bad boy Billy would end up with preppy boy Steve but hey, teenagers are teenagers.

13. Does Robin like Billy OR does Robin hate Billy?

Robin loves anyone who helps her tease Steve but she also gives him the shovel talk which isn't as affective considering he was practically dead at one point. They have similar music taste and Billy is always brushing girls off and sending them in her direction which is an added bonus so yes Robin loves Billy as a friend but hates him as Steve's boyfriend because that's the best friend rule, you don't like their bf especially when they complain about them one minute then gush over him the next.

14. What about Dustin?

Dustin is just confused, for a long time. He doesn't really get why Steve would do this. Waste his time on Billy and he constantly asks him why but then he sees them together and sees Steve smile like he does when he's genuinely happy and he lets it go. Whatever makes Steve happy is okay with him. But he also gives Billy a talking to regarding hurting Steve or dumping him.

15. Fav Harringrove AU?

That's a real tough one. I'd have to say maybe the catching fire one I did because it lives in my head rent free and I mean in luxury with no bills rent free. It fits too well not to lmao.

Maybe the one where Steve accidentally kills Neil and they run off, idk there's just something about that.

16. Billy+Camaro=

Others have said it but I see the Camaro as a reflection of Billy and his current state. Like in S2 its all loud and fast and dangerous but then at the end once Max has threatened Billy she takes control of it just like she did Billy. In s3 its in a state of disrepair while he is flayed and catches fire as his fate is sealed and he dies just like the car. Also these shots right here are just 😭

I'd ramble for hours but I don't have time🥲 but thank you!! I just love talking about these boys!!!! Also everyone seems to have been tagged but I'm not sure so I'll leave this open for anyone!!💖💖💖

#thank you!!!! #harringrove

[rintarous]

as if! — twenty nine ( what are you doing here? )

[ prev / next ]

↬ what you want is what you get. thats how its always been for you growing up. but the one time you let time and destiny do it’s thing, surprise, surprise! it’s not how you want it to be. maybe you‘re just clueless on how things should play out without having it your way.

a/n: get u a mans who’d travel just to see you HSFHDAKJDA + bonus shit under the cut lols p.s idk how trains work (ranpo who) so pls bear w me haha

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you poke your head out the window to see suna near the school gates in his casual clothes with flowers on hand. he was on his phone probably trying to text you or to tweet his whereabouts.

“kei why is suna here?!” you whip your head towards your brother who had no interest in the situation whatsoever. “he asked, i delivered” he shrugs, plugging in his headphones. you groaned and rushed downstairs to confront him.

“where is y/n going?” “is she going to meet that good looking dude down there? holy shit is that her boyfriend?” whispers circulated as they watch you from the windows approaching the mystery guy just outside of school.

“what are you doing here?!” you hushed, lowering your head to avoid the curious and envious stares you’ve been getting. “to see you” suna says, putting his phone in his pocket. “when.. how.. what?” you spluttered, trying to process everything all at once. he came here to see you? all the way from hyogo?

“i got you these..” he mutters, shyly handing you the bouquet of flowers he bought prior going to karasuno. “i still don’t get it, why are you here?” you say as you accept the flowers. suna coughs before scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. “because i hurt you and you weren’t replying to me” he admits, puffing the air he’s been holding in.

you felt yourself blush furiously at his confession. you held the bouquet close to your chest as you smiled up at him. “looks like you’ve finally caved in to me huh?” suna rolls his eyes and looks away but his red face says it all. “shut up” he murmurs. you giggled as you witnessed suna flustered right now.

“don’t you have school today?” you asked after a moment of silence has passed. suna nods, grabbing his phone. probably to check if the twins or anyone in inarizaki were checking up on him. “yep. i left hyogo around 5 in the morning? took the bullet train and now i’m here” he explains. “i’ll probably head back to the station around 4 pm so i won’t miss the last ride home” suna adds.

“ayo y/n~ what are doing- oh” hinata stops his sentence mid way after he sees the middle blocker he faced earlier this year. suna gives him a small salute as you smiled ear to ear. “tsukishima y/n you’ve done it again!” hinata exclaims as he drags kageyama away from the two of you to give you some privacy; despite the whole school was watching you right now.

“hinata can you please tell kei to bring my things with him when he goes home? i’m skipping” you called over to hinata who sent you thumbs up. suna looks down at you in surprise. “you’re skipping?” you rolled your eyes and slapped his arm. “well we aren’t going to let you waste your expensive ass ticket to see me right?” you suddenly grab his hand, “c’mon, i’ll show you around”

suna smiles faintly, intertwining his fingers with yours. “i like the sound of that” 

“order anything you want, it’s on me” you say to suna as you two sat down at a table in your favorite cafe. suna looks at you with a look of bewilderment. “no i should pay for it, i’m the man here” suna declines your offer but you held your hand up in front of his face. 

“no buts. you took the bullet train here and that shit’s costly. at least let me treat you for coming all the way to see me” you argued. suna clamps his mouth shut and nods, grabbing the menu. “damn” he thinks to himself, secretly eyeing you as you were busy pointing to different things in the menu to the waitress

—

after your small date at your favorite cafe, you two were just now aimlessly walking around the streets of sendai hand in hand. going shopping or just looking around stores that caught your interests. 

“i kind of want to buy matching necklaces or bracelets for us” you say out loud, staring at the display window at pandora’s. “can we even afford them” you hear suna comment under his breath. “i have a credit card with me” you smirked as suna’s eyes widened when you start dragging him inside the store. 

in the end you got yourself and suna matching necklaces. the typical lock and key. 

now you two were sitting at a park bench, admiring the pretty view in front of you. “you didn’t have to buy me something” suna blushes, scratching the back of his head. “i should be the one buying you shit like that” 

“i don’t really mind” you shrug like it was nothing. suna continues to observe you from behind before mustering up all the courage he had in him. “hey” he calls, suddenly holding your hand. “yeah?” you gave him a look of confusion. 

“will you be my girlfriend?” he asked so nonchalantly you thought he was joking around. “what?” you blurt out, totally caught off guard. suna cringes at himself for being too blunt but tries again nevertheless. 

“will you, tsukishima y/n, be my girlfriend?” he asks one more time, fiddling with your tiny fingers and completely avoiding eye contact with you. “yes” you hummed. suna’s eyes almost pops out of their sockets at your answer almost as if he never expected it. “you didn’t have to react that way you fucking dick!” you cried out loud, smacking his chest making him laugh

—

your day with suna finally comes to an end as you two were now at the train station, ready to send him home. you accompanied suna to purchase his ticket and now you two were just waiting for the time to pass by for him to board the train. 

“so this is it hmm?” suna chuckles, looking down at you who was hugging his left arm. “look i’m already crying” you looked up at him with teary eyes. suna rolls his eyes and pokes your cheek. “you’re so dramatic” 

“you tell me then, when will be the next time i’ll see you?” you sassed, already getting upset at the thought of the distance between the two of you. “like i said, i’ll try to make a way remember? plus facetime exists” he reasons rationally like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"hmmph” you puff your cheeks, a habit you have when you don’t get it your way. suna looks at his phone and realizes it was almost time for him to go. he gently pats your thigh and you looked up at him with a sad face. 

you two stood up from the chairs and walked towards the gates. “i hope you had fun today” suna smiles softly as he tried to read your unreadable expression. “i’ll come visit you again okay? i’m so happy i finally got to ask you to be mine” he giggles, grabbing a hold of your hand, trying to shake the sad feeling from being away from his lover for a while.

without saying another word, you latched yourself onto him. suna was stunned and freezes. not being used to these kind of things. “hug me too dipshit” you murmured against his chest making it vibrate. suna finally comes back to his senses and returns the hug awkwardly due to his height. 

suna pulls away from the hug and suddenly kisses your forehead. shocking both himself and you. you let out a small gasp as suna realizes what the fuck he just did. “oh shit— i took things too far i’m sorry-” his little panic moment got cut off by you pulling his coat to bring his face close to yours and gave him a kiss on his lips. 

for suna, it felt like time stopped for real. as much as he would like to continue this lil activity you two are having in public, you pulled away to catch your breath. your face was full on red by now. “i’ll miss you” you admit, looking at your feet instead of meeting suna’s eyes. 

suna tucks your stray hairs away from your cheek. “i’ll miss you too. i’ll see you again soon” he cups both of your cheeks and gave you one final kiss. “stay safe on the way home” the way he looks at you was just filled with adoration causing you to blush harder than before.

how did you get so lucky to get him?

suna finally inputs his train ticket onto the machine and before you know it, he already boarded in. suna sat by the window seat and right before the train announces that they were about to leave, you sent him a flying kiss. suna waves shyly as he grabs his phone to send you a message.

🤍 :  i love you 

#as if! #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu fake texts #haikyuu social media au #haikyuu x reader #suna imagines #suna scenarios #suna fake texts #suna social media au #suna x reader #suna rintarou imagines #suna rintarou scenarios #suna rintarou social media au #suna rintarou fake texts #suna rintarou x reader

[sindrafalcone]

Adventures in Babysitting pt. 4

Fandom: BIGBANG/ Choi Seung Hyun x reader

Synopsis: A babysitting job turns into something unexpected…

Warnings: Still fluff, with a bit of steam  at the end.

Author’s Note: Surprise! I wrote this part right after finishing the last one. I was on a roll. lol But, fair warning, part 5 will probably take me a little while. Still I hope you all enjoy this one. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. This story contains fictional representations of real people. None of the events are true. This is from an American standpoint, so some of the situations may not happen the same way they might in Korea. I make no money from the writing of this fictional work.

Masterlist

Part 1   Part 2  Part 3

“There is no way I'm prepared to have this conversation without alcohol.” Seunghyun said as the two of you hung up your coats and slid out of your shoes.

You simply murmured your agreement as he headed off to the kitchen, presumably for more wine.

The taxi ride back to the hotel had been awkward, to say the least. You'd kind of run out of things to talk about & neither of you wanted to discuss the proverbial 'elephant in the room' until you got back to the hotel.  So most of the ride was spent in awkward silence in between bits of random small talk.

In just a few moments you were both seated on the sofa facing each other, just as you had earlier that same evening, glasses of liquid courage in hand.

“I guess the best way is to just tell you...” he said, taking a deep gulp of his wine.

You nodded in encouragement. “Like a band-aid, all at once.”

“I'm a rapper.” Seunghyun blurted. The look of disbelief on your face only made him talk even faster.

“Well, I'm a rapper, an actor and a sometimes model. I'm part of an incredibly popular group, Bigbang. They call us the “Kings” of Kpop. So, that's why Mrs. Tran recognized me.”

“And that explains why you wanted to eat in the private room.” you smiled at him. “I thought maybe you had a phobia of crowds.”

He laughed a little at that. “Well, I don't really like crowds. But only because if I get recognized, it can cause a mob scene.” “You're really that popular?”

“It's worse in Asia.” he admitted. “But it can happen anywhere. We have to be really careful.”

You took a sip of your own wine, gears turning in your head; and it was then that sudden comprehension dawned on you. It took all that you had to not spit it out in surprise & Seunghyun watched in concern as you choked a little.

“Wait a minute...” you managed to gasp. “Is your name Choi Seunghyun?” you tried to keep your voice level.

He nodded sheepishly.

“I'm such an idiot...” you lightly smacked your hand up against your forehead before taking another drink. “I've been spending the entire evening with THE Choi Seunghyun and I didn't even realize it.”

“So, you've heard of the group then?” Seunghuyn asked, his voice a little bitter, thinking that perhaps you'd been leading him on all night.

You shook your head.  “No, that's not it... Um, maybe it will help if I spill my secret now. Do you happen to still have that pamphlet from the museum?”

“Yeah. It's in my coat pocket.”

“Would you mind going to get it, please? It'll make this a lot easier.” you murmured.

Seunghyun gave you a curious glance before setting his glass down on the table. Unfolding himself from the couch, he strode over to the entryway of the room & dug around in the inside pockets of his coat for a bit before he found the piece of folded paper. He handed it to you before sitting back down & to your surprise, he plunked the fortune cookies from the restaurant on the table as well. You felt yourself swallow thickly as you set your own glass down.

“Okay, so the Surrealist exhibit... you liked it, right?” you asked, bending the paper and folding it so that the back was prominently displayed.

He bobbed his head eagerly. “I loved it. It was both innovative and immersive. Not to mention that it featured work by some of my favorite artists.”  

“I'll take that as a compliment.” you told him, feeling the heat rise to your face at his genuine words.

Seunghyun looked confused, so you handed him the pamphlet, shyly pointing at the bottom of the paper.

His eyes scanned over a list of names that he didn't know; donors, directors, and managers of the museum... until he came to a line that stopped him cold. Surrealist Exhibit Curator: __________ ______________.

He pointed where your finger had just left. “That's.... that's your name. You're the curator of the exhibit I've been dying to see for  months?”

You tried your best not to be offended by the disbelief you thought you heard in his voice. “Yeah, that's me. Surprise... I guess? Small world.”

Seunghyun sat there in stunned silence for a moment as he thought things out, giving you the perfect opportunity to finish off the wine in your glass. He drank the rest of his as well, then poured fresh for you both.

“I thought...” he began, his voice soft. “I thought you worked there as a tour guide.” “Technically, I do.” you sighed. “I have a masters degree in art history, as well as a minor in public relations. It helps with the marketing and fundraising aspects.” you explained before sighing heavily. “But the job market to be a curator is stupidly competitive, not to mention, heavily dominated by men. So... I took what I could.” you had another sip of wine, slower this time because you could feel it starting to go to your head. “I figured I could start at the bottom and work my way up.”

“And you finally convinced them to let you curate an exhibit.” he said, taking his own drink. “How?”

You shrugged. “The Museum chief envisioned Surrealism and no one else wanted to do it. So, I more-or-less pulled double time for a few months while I put it together.”

“Did they pay you more?” Seunghyun asked, anger evident in his voice.

You just shook your head. “Not in the budget.”

He snorted. “Bullshit. I'll bet the chief gave himself a nice, fat bonus with the money that should have gone to you for all that extra work. And all you got was your name on the back of the tour pamphlet... in tiny print... at the very bottom.” Seunghyun grimaced and took a drink.

“No need to rub it in.” you grumbled, looking down at your feet, face flaming in embarrassment.

“No! That's not what I meant...Ugh, I'm making a mess of this.” he gently took the wine glass from your hand & set both his and yours down, then he turned back to you. Seunghyun slowly reached out his hand and settled the tips of his long fingers under your chin, gently moving your head up until you were looking into his eyes. “I'm not trying to make fun of you. If anything, I am enraged on your behalf. What they did to you was wrong and you shouldn't have to tolerate it.”

“I can't afford to quit.”you sniffed. “Besides, I get to lead people through the exhibit every day and see their reactions to it... good or bad. Most don't really appreciate it, at least... not the way you did. But it gets people thinking.”

“Wait...” Seunghyun said, reaching out and taking your hands in his. “Just a minute ago, you were shocked that you had spent the evening with “THE” Choi Seunghyun & hadn't realized it. What did you mean by that? If you don't know me by my music or acting, then...” he let the sentence hang there, unsaid.

You took a deep breath and blew it out awkwardly. “Mark has been trying to get me to agree to meet with you for months. I've kept putting him off, mostly because I can't afford to fly out there right now. But... I've heard your name come up in the art circles occasionally & I'll admit, I felt intimidated....”

“Mark?” he interrupted. “Mark Grotjhan?”

“The one and only.” you laughed. “We met a while back when our museum was doing a showcase of his work. And he helped me get in touch with some artists and donors when I was curating for the Surrealist exhibit.”

“Wow...” Seunghyun breathed. “It really is a small world.”

“I know, right? What are the odds that I ended up being your babysitter for tonight? I mean, you got to see the exhibit, which otherwise would have been closed. And I got to meet you... even if I didn't realize it was you at the time.”

“Why did he want you to meet with me?”

“Connections, I think. You know how the art world works as much as I do. It's all about who you know and what influence you have.”

Seunghyun nodded. “That makes sense.” Then he surprised you by pulling out his phone and patting his thigh.

You just shot him a questioning look. “What?”

“We may as well let him know we found each other.” he laughed. “Come here, _________.”

The way that smile lit up his face, especially his eyes, had you crawling across the couch and  into his lap before he could change his mind. The two of you put your heads close to each other and smiled for one picture. Then Seunghyun made a funny face, so you did too & he snapped another. He took a few more with various poses before he seemed satisfied.

You sat there while he typed out a quick message and sent it, not knowing what else to do. But you did notice that he still had the smile plastered on his handsome face. Once he was finished he looked over to you, seeming to realize for the first time that you were still in his lap.

It could have been your imagination or the wine, but it seemed like his expression completely changed. One second, he had a boyish grin and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. The next, it had shifted to a look of pure hunger, with maybe just a touch of lust.

You cleared your throat. “Um... we, uh... still haven't eaten our fortune cookies.” you tried lamely, pointing to where he had left them on the table.

“Is that so?” his voice practically purred.

You felt one of his arms snake its way around your waist as he leaned forward to grab one off the table. Seunghyun settled back into the sofa, arms still around you as he unwrapped the cookie and broke it. He offered up half to you, which you took, surprising him by just grabbing it from his fingers with your mouth. He popped the other half  into his before unfolding and reading the piece of paper it had contained:

You are very talented in many ways.

As you read the fortune, you started laughing. It began as a small chuckle and just progressed further and further, until it was an outright, full on belly laugh. You could feel the tears just beginning to prick the sides of your eyes when he finally spoke.

“I don't see what's so funny.” Seunghyun deadpanned around a mouthful of cookie. “I am very talented in many ways.”

His statement only made you laugh harder. It took you a few minutes, but when you realized that he wasn't laughing, you began to recover enough so that you could finally explain. “Don't tell me you don't know how to play the game!” you finally managed to wheeze.

“Game?” he asked, genuinely intrigued. “What game?”

“The fortune cookie game!” you sat up straighter. “One of my friends in college taught it to me because we would get Chinese takeout at least once a week.”

“So what exactly is this game and why is it so funny to you?”

You suddenly felt a little embarrassed. “Well you, um... you take your fortune and add 'in bed' to the end of  it.” you felt your voice trail off at the end.

“You are very talented in many ways...” he paused. “... in bed?”

You nodded and giggled again slightly. “Sometimes it works out and it's really funny like that one. Other times it doesn't really make sense, but it's still fun to try.”

“I don't see how this one is funny...” his voice rumbled darkly.

You were about to get up, afraid that you had  possibly offended him, when Seunghyun took gentle hold of your shoulders firmly keeping you in place. And that's when you felt it.... his lips pressing softly onto the side of your neck.

“I am very talented in many ways...”  he asserted again, his breath ghosting across your heated skin.

#Choi Seunghyun #T.O.P #kpop fanfic #choi seunghyun fanfic #T.O.P fanfic #t.o.p bigbang #BIGBANG TOP #bigbang fanfic

[tigerkirby215]

Building Hank before Consternation (Madness Combat build errata)

(Artwork by OctoCryptik on Newgrounds.)

My initial build for Hank, while effective at capturing all of Hank’s abilities (and a good build in its own right imo) is... quite messy, admittedly. There’s a very big shift in Hank’s abilities after his death in Madness 7 and revival in Madness 9 and while I tried to capture the pre-revival Hank as much as possible in my build there’s no way to take the Armorer subclass without immediately buying into the flavor.

Truthfully if I were to play Hank in a campaign with as much accuracy and representation as possible I’d consider Madness 7 Hank and Madness 9 Hank as two different characters (same name different build) with the revival machine essentially being a way to bring back an old character after their death and swap their build. (Hell you could even play Deimos until reviving Hank.)

I think that if you want to play a post-Madness 9 Hank then the original build I made is quite good but to play a pre-Madness 7 Hank I’d give him wildly different abilities. So here’s another build that won’t be made as detailed as my usual ones but will still give a level by level analysis of how to build Hank... again!

GOALS

I still basically want a build that can use all weapons and is really good at using them. I also still want some stealth abilities.

RACE

Still a Variant Human, with +1 in DEX and CON. Take whatever language you want and the Medicine skill to patch yourself up.

For your feat talk to your DM about getting a Repeating Hand Crossbow or otherwise being able to ignore the loading property on a Hand Crossbow. If they’re willing to give you a handgun (or let you ignore the Loading property via the Gunner feat) grab the Gunner feat for obvious reasons. However if they’re not willing to let you use a Hand Crossbow without having to reload it I’d suggest the Sharpshooter feat instead.

Why aren’t we taking Crossbow Expert? Well you won’t be able to use the Bonus Action much for reasons that will be illustrated in the build. Other than that you don’t need the ability to shoot in melee range (you’ll have weapons and your fists) which means the only ability of value you’d get from Crossbow Expert is the ability to ignore the Loading property, which isn’t worth losing a potential ASI. Better to grab Sharpshooter early and use something other than a Hand Crossbow.

ABILITY SCORES

Hello Standard Array my old friend! Since this build isn’t nearly as MAD (ironic) you can afford to go for Standard Array! But of course feel free to roll for stats if you so desire or use point buy.

15; DEXTERITY - You’re still going to be focusing on guns, and you’ll be able to use your DEX for a lot more weapons in this build.

14; WISDOM - Still used for Perception and Survival, and is far more useful for this build than the other one.

13; CONSTITUTION - It’s good to not die and you don’t need the other stats as much.

12; STRENGTH - In case you grab a Strength weapon you aren’t proficient in.

10; INTELLIGENCE - Strength felt more important than Intelligence.

8; CHARISMA - You’re still a psychopathic mass-murderer.

BACKGROUND

Same background as last time: Criminal with Intimidation, Slight of Hand, and Land Vehicle proficiency.

Apparently if you don’t have Thieves’ Tools proficiency (from Artificer lol) you get it from the Criminal background? That works really well for us too.

(Artwork by DonCroco on Newgrounds.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - MONK 1

Starting off as a Monk so you can actually throw a punch and dodge attacks while actually unarmored. Take proficiency with Acrobatics and Stealth (why the hell do Monks get Stealth proficiency?) and Smith’s Tools, under the context that they’re gunsmith tools.

The fun thing about Monk is that simple weapons honestly cover most of Hank's weapons (club, quarterstaff, hand axe, etc) so you can use most of them with DEX thanks to Martial Arts.

LEVEL 2 - MONK 2

Second level Monks get second level Monks stuff. Told you this build would be a lot more basic than usual. Dedicated Weapon from Tasha’s will let you add more weapons to your repertoire, along with your subclass.

LEVEL 3 - MONK 3

Go Kensei because that’s the weapon Monk. Take either tool that you want (doesn’t really matter), a Battleaxe (reflavored as the stop sign Hank used to kill Tricky in Madness Combat 3), and either a Hand Crossbow (reflavored Pistol) or an actual pistol if your DM allows it.

LEVEL 4 - MONK 4

4th level Monks get an ASI: increase your DEX by 2 as that's your main stat.

LEVEL 5 - MONK 5

5th level Monks get an Extra Attack. Also Stunning Strike and stuff, but we’re here for Extra Attack. Remember that you can’t attack twice with a Hand Crossbow without Crossbow Expert, because it’s a crossbow.

LEVEL 6 - MONK 6

6th level Monks get Ki-Empowered Strikes and One with the Blade to bypass Magic Resistance mainly. Deft Strikes also lets you aim for the head.

You can also get another Kensei weapon: grab the Longbow (finally) which will be reflavored as all your rifles... unless you can actually grab a gun.

LEVEL 7 - RANGER 1

Hope you didn’t think this would be straight Monk. Grab Perception proficiency from multiclassing and Acrobatics Expertise from Deft Explorer, along with two languages. Also grab Favored Foe to aim for the head, because Favored Enemy is meh (can’t choose more than two types of humanoids which is basically all you fight) and you can actually afford to concentrate on Favored Foe... Even if the damage is bad.

LEVEL 8 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get their Fighting Style: yeah go for Archery because that fits the best. Dueling also works if you opt to play with gun and sword (or more realistically gun and knife.)

You also get Spellcasting: yeah take Hunter’s Mark lol Favored Foe is bad. Other than that? I dunno take Cure Wounds to bandage yourself up in a pinch?

LEVEL 9 - RANGER 3

Third level Rangers get to choose their archetype and it’s me ya boii Gloom Stalker. Same stuff as last time: be better at hiding, get darkvision, get ambushing powers, get Disguise Self as an innate spell.

Also go for Primal Awareness because Primeval Awareness is still bad and Speak with Animals is genuinely more useful. You also get another spell: take like Jump idk all I really want is Hunter’s Mark.

LEVEL 10 - RANGER 4

4th level Rangers get another Ability Score Improvement: time to cap that Dexterity!

LEVEL 11 - MONK 7

So like, every level after this is Monk lol. 7th level Monks can dodge rockets with Evasion.

LEVEL 12 - MONK 8

More ASIs: go for Wisdom now because your Dexterity is maxed out, and Wisdom boosts your skills as well as your AC.

LEVEL 13 - MONK 9

Use the improbability drive to walk on walls and water!

LEVEL 14 - MONK 10

Become immune to disease! Probably a bit late for that but still cool!

LEVEL 15 - MONK 11

You can use Sharpen the Blade to turn your weapon into a +1, +2 or +3 weapon by spending Ki now which is pretty nuts. You can also pick another Kensei Weapon like a Longsword (as seen in Madness Combat 5.)

LEVEL 16 - MONK 12

Wisdom.

LEVEL 17 - MONK 13

Lol like you’re going to be the one talking with your 8 in Charisma.

LEVEL 18 - MONK 14

Here’s the big one: enjoy proficiency in all Saving Throws!

LEVEL 19 - MONK 15

You can’t age, much like Newgrounds. Everything there is fresh to this day, just waiting to be revived.

LEVEL 20 - MONK 16

Just cap your Wisdom as your capstone.

You’re probably wondering why I didn’t take Tavern Brawler: the only improvised weapons Hank really uses are a metal pipe (Madness 4, 6, and 7) and a dude’s head once in Madness Combat 6. Truthfully I’d consider a pipe a glorified Quarterstaff and you’re not going to be ripping people’s heads off in D&D combat. Yes one could argue that the stop sign is technically an Improvised Weapon but both you and Tricky have used it so much it’s essentially become a proper martial weapon for both of you.

Ultimately improvised weapons come up so rarely in 5e combat it’s not worth taking a feat for it. We took it in the original build mainly to get Unarmed strike damage, and being able to beat a man with another man’s head was an added bonus.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

This build is far more focused than the original one, with far fewer dud levels. It lets you become a slaughterhouse fast and is honestly far more proficient with weapons than the original build. You also get 20 AC and +10 to initiative thanks to Gloomstalker, which is cool.

CONS

You don’t get god tier stats like with Artificer, but Artificer kinda cheats tbf. You also don’t have as much spellcasting, and while Hunter’s Mark will carry you far you won’t be able to use it all the time. By far the biggest problem is the limited resources of this build however: limited Ki, limited ammo for your ranged weapons (assuming you don’t get a Repeating Weapon), and notably you can only attack once with a Hand Crossbow if you choose to use one. This build would be really good with an Artificer ally to give you a Repeating Hand Crossbow, or a cool DM who lets you ignore the Loading property for the sake of aesthetic. But I mean you can also use a boomerang or darts or something tbh.

So thank you for joining me for this simultaneously detailed and simplified errata. I hope you can navigate the Monk class without me detailing everything to you!

(Artwork by Neentandoo on Newgrounds.)

#dnd #dnd 5e #dnd build #dnd guide #errata #Madness Combat #Madness Combat Hank #madness hank #Hank J. Wimbleton #dnd monk #dnd ranger #Newgrounds #tiky

[diavolosthots]

Nsfw and sfw headcanons for a witch mc & brothers + Diavolo please

Yo im sorry this took so long. I made 2 sections labeled SFW and NSFW

THE BROTHERS + DIAVOLO headcanons with a witch MC

SFW

Lucifer:

Cautious because he doesn't trust witches but also know that hes more powerful than you

Asserts his dominance by being threatening lol

But also like asks about how far you are along into studying magic

Mammon:

Nope! He cant afford to be stuck with another witch

Honestly scared because he doesnt want to become another witch's slave

But also like intrigued and probably still does something dumb to earn your wrath

Leviathan:

Oh cool its like that one anime where the witch visits hell and becomes best friend with the demon kings son but falls in love with the brothers

Ya know. His life.

Anyway magic is cool i guess

Satan:

Interesting; how did you get into it? Were you born with it?

Also knows magic so maybe you guys can team up for pranks or whatever

Bonus points if you prank lucifer with him.

Asmodeus:

Magic is so useful right? Like you can just be ready in the snip of a finger!

Has magic, doesnt use it a lot

Overall pretty chill and befriends you either way

Beelzebub:

Can you make some food appear for him?

Actually nevermind the last time he asked a witch that the food just tasted like atoms

Still pretty cool though!

Belphegor:

Turn him into sleeping beauty and that man is yours

Honestly magic comes in handy and being a witch is cool

Bonus points if you have a cool cape like Solomon

Diavolo:

We can always use strong beings on the side of the Devildom!

Probably persuades you to pledge his loyalty to him

But also lets have a magic contest

NSFW

Lucifer:

Magic play for days because its so much more convenient than tying you up

Also keeps you from using magic against him because he will ALWAYS top

Also teases you during the day with feather light touches against your core. But really, you have no prove it was him

Mammon:

Please use some magic to get him all hot and bothered during the day

Use your powers to make him beg

But also? What else can you do?

Leviathan:

Force him into submission and make him your bitch

Degradation !!!!

Please use his tail for something; control it against his will

Satan:

Magic power play!!! Is it gonna be you or him?

Lots of magic teasing between you two; who breaks first?

Always getting both of you worked up

Asmodeus:

He can either use magic on you or have you do it on him

Either way one of you is getting bound to the bed

Touch his cock without actually touching it

Beelzebub:

Bonus points if you can make yourself have a tail and stuff his mouth full of it

Keep pressure on his horns, you wont regret it

But still please use your actual body

Belphegor:

Lets you do whatever; bind him, magic fuck him, whatever

Just wants pleasure tbh

Dominate him but also lets flip the tables

Diavolo:

Tried to let you take control once, didnt work and he broke the spell

Lots of angry fucking and magic teasing, especially if youre a dude.

Always binds you to him in some way so he can just place you on his lap for some cock warming.

#obey me #obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #obey me lord diavolo #asmodeus obey me #belphegor obey me #leviathan obey me #obey me lucifer #mammon obey me #satan obey me #obey me beelzebub

[breanime]

It’s California anon (should I even bother announcing it at this point? LOL)

Pick a Disney lyric for each of bre’s boys

(If Hamilton counts as Disney, my shot gives me such billy Russo vibes idk lol)

Oh Cali Anon, how I love you. But you done fucked up with this one. You've appealed to my Hamilton love, so this is on YOU.

The Boys as Disney Lyrics

Billy Russo: "So prepare for the coup of the century Be prepared for the murkiest scam Meticulous planning Tenacity spanning Decades of denial Is simply why I'll Be king undisputed Respected, saluted And seen for the wonder I am Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared Be prepared!"

-Be Prepared; The Lion King

Logan Delos: "I'm king of the highway Prince of the boulevard Duke of the avant-garde The world is my backyard So if you're goin' my way That's the road you wanna seek"

-Thomas O'Malley Cat; The Aristocats

Jax Teller: "I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware Well I've never seen a king of beasts with quite so little hair I'm gonna be the main event like no king was before I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my roar"

-I Just Can't Wait to be King; The Lion King (ft. Clay Morrow as Zazu)

Angel Reyes: "Though there's no one there to guide you No one to take your hand But with faith and understanding You will journey from boy to man"

-Son of Man; Tarzan

Coco Cruz: "They have stolen the heart from inside you But this does not define you This is not who you are You know who you are"

-Know Who You Are; Moana

Miguel Galindo: "I remember Daddy told me "Fairytales can come true You gotta make 'em happen It all depends on you"

So I work real hard each and every day Now things for sure are going my way

Just doing what I do"

-Almost There; Princess and the Frog

Nick Amaro: "God help the outcasts Hungry from birth Show them the mercy They don't find on Earth God help my people We look to you still God help the outcasts Or nobody will"

-God Help the Outcasts; The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Johnny Tuturro: "Who put the glad in gladiator? Hercules! Whose daring deeds are great theater? Hercules Isn't he bold? No one braver Is he sweet Our fav'rite flavor"

-Zero to Hero; Hercules

Rio: "Gotta keep One jump ahead of the breadline One swing ahead of the sword I steal only what I can't afford"

-One Jump Ahead; Aladdin

The Boys as Hamilton SONGS

Billy Russo: My Shot (you were absolutely right with this one; I have no notes)

Logan Delos: The Story of Tonight or What'd I Miss

Jax Teller: also My Shot and Say No To This

Angel Reyes: The Room Where It Happens

Coco Cruz: Hurricane

Miguel Galindo: One Last Time

Nick Amaro: Take a Break

Johnny Tuturro: Blow Us All Away

Rio: Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

Bonus Tommy Shelby: History Has Its Eyes On You and Washington On Your Side (this is so Arthur, John, and Campbell hating on my boy)

#Bre's Boys

[realityandrebirth]

Hey guys I’m gonna promote the writing site I use real quick. this is not a sponsored post and I wasn’t paid for this I just like it a lot, and if you sign up with my referral link we both get bonus stuff in-game lol

ok so.

4TheWords (https://4thewords.com) is a gamified writing site where you fight different creatures by writing X words in Y minutes. you progress in the game by completing quests that lead you to new areas & new cool items to dress up your avatar or for in-game bonuses. my referral code is ZBLYA34869 and I JUST noticed there’s a 69 in there so, nice.

just to be clear, while there’s a 30 day free trial, the site does cost money: approximately $4 per month, though because of how the payment system works, you can earn discounts & bonuses in-game to lower this a little bit. there’s also a “community pool” that you can opt into after the free trial, where other users donate subscription time for ppl who might not be able to afford it. also (I say this later in the post) I have a ton of subscription credit & can totally spot you for a month or two if you can’t afford it yourself, forreal, my subscription’s good until 2022 so just send me a message if you want to.

my personal experience with it is under the cut! spoilers: it helped me a ton

I’ve been using it since August 2017 and, for real, it changed my life. you guys remember my big morro fanfic, right? forgetting the coin? that would not have happened without 4TW encouraging me to open it up every day and hit my daily writing goal every day. I have been writing almost every single day for over three years now. you might not be motivated to use it if you don’t want to write every day, and that’s fine, but if that’s something that does motivate you, I strongly recommend it. they have bonus events every few months, with time-limited items & creatures, and those are great fun, too.

on top of just being a great tool for motivating me, the staff really listens to its users, taking input given on the forums and incorporating it into the site. this is especially apparent to me with the pride festivals, because hell yes they celebrate pride! here’s a story for you:

back in 2019 (2018? I don’t actually remember lol), they added more flag variants to their rainbow pride shirt, like the trans flag, bi flag, ace flag, etc. however, they initially did not have the lesbian flag, with was disappointing & sucked for a lot of users. long story short, they have the lesbian flag now, along with other additional flags they did not have, because someone pointed it out on the forums and they added the lesbian flag before the event was over. it still makes me smile every time i see one of their main OCs rocking her lesbian flag outfit during the pride event. her name is nabia and her girlfriend is etta, an anthro big cat, so furry rights.

to recap: 4TheWords is a great site that has helped me write more, as well as more consistently (I used to write 2500 words in 2 hours and then burn out for like 2 weeks; on 4TW, I write slower, but my overall output over those same two weeks is MUCH higher). for real, it helped me even when I had unmedicated ADHD, and I’ve written two novels and over a million words on the site, so. yeah!

my referral code again is ZBLYA34869 and if you use it, we both get a free month of subscription. Also I have a ton of credit so like, if you can’t afford the $4 a month and can’t use the community pool for whatever reason, just message me on here or on the site (my username is brickowski) and I’ll cover you. seriously I have over a year of subscription credit, I can spot you for a month or two.

also THEIR PRIDE EVENT JUST STARTED and check out the got damn PRIDE ITEMS, a TON of which are available in 18 different flag variants:

THIS ISN’T JUST A DRESS UP GAME but you would NOT know that from how I use it sometimes lol. You also get a room in a house. they have pride flags for the houses. I’m going bazonkers. ok post over

#4thewords

[morethanaprincess-a]

@silverflcme​ said:  🔥 marriage

Spilling the tea so you can send flame emojis as well as tea emojis

Oh boy...

Let’s get out the obvious: Marriage is not the be-all, end-all to personal happiness. Neither are romantic relationships. Marriage, in plenty of ways, can make your life far more difficult than remaining single would be and those are challenges you have to be willing to face, work through, listen, and most importantly, compromise with someone else. If you cannot do that, do not get married.

Additionally: if you are not on the same page with your future spouse regarding career trajectories (or at least what you’d be willing to change about your life in order to support them or take on a new opportunity yourself), financial planning, financial spending, home maintenance, understanding each other’s love languages, and children, DO. NOT. GET. MARRIED. Sincerely, someone in her thirties who’s seeing her friends going on their first round of divorces for several years at this point.

Now, with that out of the way...

...weddings are a complete waste of money, for the most part, for the couple getting married.

They mean everything to the families as a way to show off “LOOK WHAT MILESTONE MY OFFSPRING HAS ACHIEVED” but for the actual couple? Planning and participating in it involve descending into a special level of hell that, if you emerge unscathed, you’re probably going to succeed in marriage. It is a hell of a lot of money to sink into a single day’s celebrations overall (and that doesn’t include the showers. Or the fact that everything with ‘wedding’ attached to it has a giant price markup) when most couples could really use such funds for their future lives together.

Or, if you’re like my fiancé and I, would rather spend such funds on our future lives together and material goods and experiences that bring us joy. If I want to wear a ballgown, I’ll damn well do it for a costume. Bonus? I can wear it to multiple events! Wedding gowns are a one and done deal most of the time.

Basically: Do not sink a ton of money into a wedding unless your family is really pushing for it (and will pay for it). But understand that the whole event is really for them, not for you. Getting married in front of 500 people and having a grand reception is not a guarantee for happiness any more than getting married at city hall and having an intimate dinner with your closest family and friends is.

And for my final marriage hot take in this post: It is perfectly fine to not have diamonds in your engagement or wedding band. It’s perfectly fine to have lab grown stones. The diamond industry is absolute crap and has been pushing out absolute crap in its advertisements for decades.

However.

Do not shame your friends if they do want ethically-sourced stones in their jewelry. I cannot tell you the amount of shit I’ve received on Facebook and offline from ‘friends’ who either judge me or are jealous of me for using inherited/vintage/secondhand stones in my engagement ring, and will be using such stones in my wedding ring as well. I do want real diamonds in my wedding jewelry, but I refuse to purchase any brand new stones. Inheriting and sourcing secondhand pieces and having something custom made is my (and my fiancé’s) way of going about this that makes us feel good about how we’re spending our money and supporting the jewelry industry (and we’re going with a small, independent shop in our city that specializes in custom designs, too!).

tl;dr: Stop ring-shaming my jewelry just because you’d rather have a giant sparkly lab-grown stone and you can’t afford the real thing/don’t want to support the real thing.

It’s kind of amazing I’m even getting married, really. My method of flirting as a mun is roasting the crap out of fiancé and the idea of a wedding makes me repulsed. We’re spending money on an elaborate honeymoon instead and buying material shit we enjoy far more than people we barely know asking us when we’re having children (answer: lol never).

#more-than-a-princess answered #more-than-a-princess musings #(spicy hot takes meme) #silverflcme #(tbh I thought I'd never actually get married until I started dating fiance)

[dazais-guardian-angel]

☕️+ what things do you wish they did with descole (because I am weak and he’s my fave)

Apologies for the late reply to this; tbh I almost didn’t want to answer it, cause I feel like nothing I’ll say will be something others haven’t already discussed (especially since I just saw you asked someone else this same question), and also I’ve only ever played the prequels once back when they first came out and I haven’t reached them again in my replay yet, so I’m not fresh on everything done with his character and all the Azran/Targent stuff. But nonetheless:

In general, obviously, I wish Desmole’s character “arc” if you can even call it that as it is now + plot twists/identity had been much more fleshed out from the get-go and consistent with who they ultimately made him be, that is, Hershel’s brother and someone who never should have legitimately wanted to hurt him or people close to him. While I think the worst of this really only comes out in Eternal Diva, where he literally tries to swordfight Hershel to death and kill Luke on one occasion cause he goes insane once Hershel out-puzzles him, there really just should have been more nuance to him in the first two entries especially (and in Miracle Mask too of course, but he’s barely in that game so) where he shows some level of frustration and hesitance to go up against Hershel and his crew, even if he still does so because he absolutely has to carry out his revenge plan. Just SIGNS that there’s more to this guy than just a walking one-dimensional mysterious deadly flamboyant badass, beyond just Hershel going “hm he feels familiar”, like no of course that’s not near enough. Even if Desmole’s true identity still wasn’t going to be revealed until Azran Legacy, there still needed to be hints, breaks in his facade/character, hesitation, signs of remorse, even if some of these hints are not outright foreshadowing to a familial relationship/desire for revenge. He could still lose it in Eternal Diva, but just make it seem more desperate and broken, and less kill-crazy. Give him moments of humanization, show that Descole can be kind, such as around Melina or Nina; what I honestly wanted to see was him having interactions around girls other than Aurora where his fatherly nature might show (not that him and Aurora aren’t great, I just wanted more); he had to have spent a lot of time around Melina while making the Detragan, and the potential for their relationship while she was dying is so much. Hershel should have had more moments of familiarity, and thinking about him when he’s not around, trying to figure him out, demanding to know who he is because he feels like he needs to know for some reason he can’t describe, and Descole’s answers/non-answers are extremely telling/bitter/curious/thought-provoking. And Descole should imo have had a scene to himself at the end of every entry pre-Azran Legacy where it’s increasingly obvious this guy has Angst(tm) and some beef with Hershel that seems personal and not just to do with getting in the way of his plots, along with all the earlier hints obviously (iirc he had a final scene at the end of Last Spector but it was nothing more than showing “hey we’re not done with this guy!!”, so that definitely should have had more to it; at the end of Eternal Diva I REALLY wanted to see how he survived his fall, probably with Raymond saving him, cue more ~mysterious reactions to Hershel~ as he thinks on how Hershel cried out his name as he was falling despite the fact that they were enemies, etc; and then the one at the end of Miracle Mask is okay I guess, but I still wanted more to it, more, idk signs of regret or remorse or sadness from him before he goes after Bronev, and not just “grrrrrr finally my revenge is close I’mma take you down all I have is angerrRRRRR” also for him to not look so damn stupid when all Bronev has to do is knee him to take him down, like this is DESCOLE, THE KING OF BADASS, THAT ENDING IS SO PITIFUL; WE DIDN’T NEED THAT FOR A FAKEOUT UNMASKING SCENE THAT LEADS NOWHERE).

tl;dr, Desmole’s story being planned from the very beginning would have made it possible for the writers to foreshadow and develop him properly before you finally see him as Desmond, and make you attached to and interested in him much more than just as a cool badass you kinda wonder the identity of but mostly just enjoy watching be badass and evil. The PL series had never had an overarching villain in the main trilogy aside from Don Paolo, who was more of a comic relief villain who they could afford to not make up his beef with/connection to Hershel until the final game because it was a very insignificant reason in the grand scheme of things, and Don Paolo just..... wasn’t that integral to the plots of that trilogy, he was more of a bonus background villain not meant to be taken seriously or have any true emotional impact. But then you have Descole introduced as the key threat over the majority of the prequel series (you think it’s the Masked Gentleman this time, but no lol, it’s still Descole!!), and needless to say, “actually the protagonist’s long-lost brother trying to get revenge on their corrupt father, both of which are involved in an ancient civilization that ruined all their lives in multiple ways” is a biiiiiiit more important than... “jealous dead girlfriend rival” lol. And so there’s a jarring disconnect between pre-Miracle Mask Descole and post-Miracle Mask Descole, because the Azran aren’t even a thing until Miracle Mask at ALL, and so in Last Spector and Eternal Diva Descole just seems like this mad scientist with a dramatic flair and nothing more, who mayyyyyyyy be searching for eternal life? Since that seems to be the running theme with the golden garden and ambrosia? But even then literally nothing is revealed about him in that game and movie so who knows (and unrelated but it seems like those two places have literally no connection to the Azran aside from an offhanded mention of them in Miracle Mask? idk man); the point I’m taking way too long to make here is that it’s very clear the writers had no endgame plan for him until Miracle Mask at the earliest, and even then I wonder how much of it was completely hashed out (considering the... sort of mess that Azran Legacy is, I almost wonder if most of it was literally not decided on until then). My guess is that Descole was super popular after Last Spector so they decided to bring him back (his final scene in that game could have just been to show that he survived and was still “out there somewhere”, whether or not he came back next entry), but then realized they didn’t have a backstory or identity for him so they had to think up something way too late; I can’t confirm this though of course.

Then you get to Azran Legacy, and honestly, despite how bizarre and weirdly unimportant and filler-ish 90% of this game’s plot feels, I love the inherent idea of Descole finally coming to Hershel as himself. Hershel always shows up and gets in his way? Fine, he’ll come to him. He always sees through his disguises? Fine, he’ll come to him in the best disguise he has: himself. Ask him for his help in a mission his curiosity won’t let him refuse. Because then, of course, even though Desmond is doing this to further and finish his plot, and use them as tools, essentially, there’s the wonderfully painful obvious second reason for why he chooses to do things this way, and that is he wants to spend time with his brother, whether or not he consciously realizes this. This way, Desmond can be himself, he doesn’t have to hide his appearance or (most) intentions and can freely express a lot of his regular personality while still working towards his ultimate goal, but at the exact same time there’s so much he can’t show, that he can’t reveal or let himself do, and this has to be a hundred times harder than when he’s posing as Descole because now he’s friends with Hershel and the others, and a part of him must want so desperately to just stay with them forever as he spends more and more time with them and grows more attached to them, (again, no matter how much he may realize this). But this is where his “arc” continues to fall flat in that aside from one or two hints towards his daughter and having a brother, there is literally no depth in Desmond’s behavior in Azran Legacy pre-Descole/brother reveal, just like in all the entries before it. He should have shown small signs here and there of something being “off” with him, of sadness, of hesitation, of trauma and mental instability; strange things said to Hershel alone that makes him and the player start wondering things, just like with Descole. Everyone immediately goes, upon seeing Desmond for more than five minutes, “oh that’s Descole obviously” (plus Raymond is just... there lol), but it’s not for the right reasons; there’s nothing wrong with a predictable plot twist, but there needs to be some kind of hints towards it to make you emotionally invested in what you realize is coming, because you’re waiting for it and you know it will hurt but you just don’t know when and how it will happen; not that you guess it for no other reason than “well there’s this new character who isn’t an existing friend of Layton’s and everything is suspiciously calm and we’re 90% of the way through this and Descole has yet to show himself; it’s probably him”. For the record, I actually think Miracle Mask does its predictable plot twist a lot better, even if that game still has issues; I see a lot of people complain about how predictable Randall being the masked gentleman is, and it is, but honestly? The flashback plot mechanic in that game is EXTREMELY effective in 1) making it VERY clear who the masked gentleman is very early on, like they’re not trying to hide it in any way, but also 2) punching you in the gut to maximum effect when you get to the end of the flashbacks and pair it with the present-day plot. Like, they could have just told the player in dialogue/infodumps throughout the game who Randall was and what his connection to Hershel, Angela and Henry was, like Desmond does to Hershel near the end of Azran Legacy, but that would have been tedious and boring and the player wouldn’t care near as much, and the game wouldn’t have been long enough. Instead, you see it firsthand, you experience it with Hershel, and although I’m frustrated at how little is done with masked gentleman!Randall and showing connections/hints to who he used to be (look, my exact problems with Descole) and making Hershel more involved with him at the end, which would have been the icing on the angst cake, the entire flashback half of that game honestly left a huge impact on me and I think that’s why I spend so much time talking about/getting emotional about Miracle Mask despite always saying that Diabolical Box is my favorite, because getting to know Randall and see that friendship and see how it ended just makes it all hit so much harder, as flashbacks should do. The writers knew it would be obvious who the masked gentleman is and they leaned into that, it was a very deliberate choice, what the entire game revolved around, because the point wasn’t that it was unpredictable, but that you would feel for that character and it would hurt so much more. And while I don’t necessarily think Azran Legacy needed full-on flashback gameplay segments for Desmond like Miracle Mask had, I think having vague flashbacks every once in a while throughout that game, vague enough to not directly tell you it’s him or naming/showing Hershel/Theodore much but clear enough that you can reasonably guess it is Desmond, would have done a world of difference, along with all the little behavioral/dialogue hints I mentioned. Similar to the diary entries in Diabolical Box, or if anyone’s ever played Super Paper Mario, the flashbacks in that game after every chapter about an unknown person that it becomes increasingly obvious as you play through the game is the main villain. I just.... really, really wish, out of all the prequel entries, Azran Legacy gave Desmond so much more emotional depth and resonance once we finally see him as Desmond instead of Descole, so many more scenes with Hershel, and to a lesser extent the others, so much more development of his character, so much more of an emphasis put on his prior family and how much he’s hurting and caring and yet at the same time refuses to give up his revenge; all of this, no matter how obvious it made his identity as both Descole and as Hershel’s brother. The brother plot twist, too, feels slightly lame and overdone and out of nowhere, but honest to god I wouldn’t fucking care at all if they just foreshadowed it properly and made it so painfully obvious how much Descole/Desmond wants to be with Hershel and this family and how much it kills him to turn on them all again at the end of Azran Legacy even if he still goes through with it, and how much he regrets everything as he lays dying in Hershel’s arms, but we get none of that goddammitLevel5whydoyoudeprivemeofsomuch-

*ahem* apparently I still had a lot to say. i just wanted so much more for him; he’s SUCH a tragic character... the stupid wannabe phantom of the opera bread man still makes me cry, despite everything, because i am trash. Oh yeah and he should have held Aurora in his arms as she died. And Azran Legacy should have ended post-credits with Hershel opening his door with his hat off (to show that this is after Unwound Future), his eyes widening, then it shows the bottom half of the person’s face, just enough to see the bread hair tips, and the slight sad smile, and then cut to black. level-5 just hire the PL fandom to make the Desmond spinoff game pls

#replies #professor layton #professor layton spoilers #jean descole #desmond sycamore #meta #'i dont have much to say' *writes a fucking novel* #EVERY FUCKING TIME #NOTHING IS EVER SHORT WITH ME #why did this partly turn into a miracle mask defense/gush fest i am so sorry #but seriously i thought of that point only as i was typing this... that mm's flashback gameplay is why it works so well #and that something much smaller scale would have been PERFECT for Desmond in AL #not before that #but definitely in AL #....but since we can't have that just give me the Descole spinoff entirely please :''') #themadgirlinthefandombox

[pebblysand]

[writing rant - on the monetisation of fanfiction]

a couple of months ago, when i updated my long fic, one of the people on the comments wrote to me the nicest possible review (one of the ones that you keep in your feel-good 'saved' emails - you know the ones), which, amongst other things also said: 'If I could pay you for this...believe me, I would.'

in the moment, i kind of smiled and laughed, and thanked the person for their kind words before moving on with my life. yet, since then, i have to admit that this sentence has kind of been living rent-free in my head. i think it is also because since diving back into fandom a few months ago, i've noticed something that kind of shocked me at first: more and more fanfiction writers seem to be monetising (or attempting to monetise) their craft.

now, back when i started writing fanfic, we wrote fanfic on ffnet and livejournal. it was accepted that thou shalt never (ever) charge money for your writing or else the author and their mean, angry lawyers will come after you for damages and you will die a slow and painful death. we wrote disclaimers at the start of all of our posts and thanked the gods every day when we did not get sued.

i have seen this change gradually over the years. first, in the mid 2010s, the disclaimers went. then, i noticed that people were getting 'tipped' for fanart, sometimes even charging commission. from what i understand (though, don't quote me on this, i'm not an ip lawyer and this post is not intended as legal advice), this is because the way the concept of fair use is framed under us law makes it easier to monetise fanart than it does fanfiction. maybe this is why visual artists came first on this trend. later still (and more recently) i've noticed fanfic writers, doing the same thing.

to be fully honest, the first thought i had when i saw this trend, considering the fear of god (and his lawyers) that was instilled in me in the past, was: how on earth is this even possible? (i'll come back to that in a bit). the second, though, was: fuck, i wish i had the guts to do that, lol.

because, yeah, i will admit, the idea of getting paid for writing what i love to write does appeal, to a certain extent. i won't lie. dear fanfiction writers who've tried to do that recently: i one hundred per cent get it.

looking back at the last fifteen years, i would say that for me, writing fanfiction has been (in terms of time commitment and energy consumed) the equivalent of having an on-and-off part time job. a job that i have held for one or two years at a time, then quit for a while, before coming back to it when i needed (wanted) it again. i obviously can't realistically give you a number re:the actual total of hours i have spent at this since i started out, but i can give you an idea. recently, i started clocking my hours out of interest and calculated that a chapter of my current long fic takes roughly between one hundred to two hundred hours to produce (and they're around 10,000 words). at that rate, i'm probably working 20 hours a week-ish? sometimes more, sometimes less? something as small as a three-sentence fic (like this for instance), takes roughly two/three hours. i'll be honest, i have cancelled plans to write fic. when i'm working on a long project, i do tend to organise my life to give myself the time to write, so i opt for socialising after work during the week rather than on weekends, as i've found this is when i write best. i won't lie: it is - for me (i know some people write quicker, bless them) - a huge time suck.

so, yeah, i understand, in the capitalist society we live in, wanting to make that time count. our world has unfortunately, repeatedly taught us that time is money and getting more does seem like a nice bonus (as long as you have an audience for your art that's willing to pay, obviously). after all, year after year, i've seen a lot of my friends try and monetise their passions as side hustles, with varying success. at first, glance, i look at the time i spend on writing fanfiction and think: man, i wish i could get a bit back from that too. i couldn't even draw a stick figure to save my life but i assume that the time commitment and energy put into that kind of work is roughly similar for visual fanartists as well. i thus very much understand the sentiment, both with fanart and fanfiction.

additionally, though i appreciate this is a bit tangential, the fact that fanfiction is free, i would argue, hinders its potential to be as representative as it could be. it's a bit sad because on the one hand, the fact that it is free makes it completely accessible to the masses but on the other, it makes fanfiction quite exclusive to rich, privileged people who can afford to spend the time and energy putting content out for free. if i spend this much time writing fanfiction, just because i like it and it makes me happy, it's because my full time job pays me enough to cover my bills. if it didn't, i probably would have to forgo writing and get a proper side gig. if you look at my periods of inactivity on ao3, those also kind of coincide with the times in my life when i had to have more things going on to put food on the table.

so, now, assuming that monetisation is a thing that, as a fic writer, one might want to look at, the next question is: how do you go about monetising it? obviously, the law hasn't changed since the days where we were all terrified of getting sued (although enforcement has been quite lax over the years) so it's more about finding workarounds around the law as it is, rather than actively seeking payment for fanart.

from what i've seen: two main solutions seem to exist.

first, there's the tipping/buy-me-coffee technique. as i understand it, this involves either setting up a page on one of the dedicated websites or just putting up your paypal account link on your tumblr posts. with these links, people can then send you however much money they want (however much money they can afford/think you deserve?) on a one-off basis. they're not actually paying for fanfic because there is no actual exchange of services, it's basically like them giving money to charity, except that charity is a fanfic writer/ fan artist whose work they enjoy.

there are two main issues i see with this: one, legally, i'm not sure how much ground this actually holds. assuming you're quite prolific/successful, if every time you're producing new content, you receive dozens of tips, although you're not actively charging for your fanart, making the argument that your content isn't what these people are actively paying for seems hard. imo, the fact that this method sort of holds is that realistically, you're going to make very little out of this. even if you're really good, you might make what? a couple hundred dollars. now, sure, that's a lot of money for a lot of people but in the grand scheme of things, no one sues anyone for such a low amount. as long as you're not making 'proper' money from it, it is highly unlikely that anyone would come after you.

this being said, the second issue, from my perspective, is that this is not in any way, shape or form, a reliable income. it also does not represent, at all, the cost of the time and investment actually put into said fanfiction (or fanart, i assume). for example: if you're going to tip someone who's worked on something for, say, fifty hours, ten dollars, that's very good of you, but that isn't going to be 'worth' their time. it is only worth their time if tipping is done at as scale, which imo is quite unlikely considering you're putting your content out for free anyway. there are kind souls who will tip you, but not that many, meaning that ultimately, you're not working for free anymore, but you're still working at a huge loss.

additionally, because this income is not even reliable on a monthly/weekly basis, it isn't something that anyone can actually rely on, even if only to fund their coffee habit. it's nice to have, don't get me wrong, but from my perspective, is the legal risk outlined above worth the trouble for the $20/30 tips i'd get every once in a while - not really. such low amounts also don't help diminish the class issue that i talked about earlier. again, if you're going to spend fifty hours on something, you might as well work a minimum wage job - even that will pay you more and will be dependable.

second, there's patreon (and patreon-like sites). here, the income is monthly, people pledge on a subscription basis, which does solve the last point above. it might not be much, but at least it's regular.

the main issue i see with patreon is that it is contingent on the author providing more services on top of what they already provide. in most cases, the author will keep putting their usual content out for free + provide their patreons (depending on tiers) with more content, specifically for them. this, to me, makes this scheme even less appealing than the previous one because a) if i can't provide fanfic to potential patreons (again, you can't sell fanfic), i'm not sure what on earth i could give them (original content? that's not really the same market) and b) that's even more work on my plate. honestly, considering the amount of time i already spend writing fanfic, i have neither the energy nor the willpower to provide extra content for an amount that, regardless, will probably pay me less than a part-time job would. again, you'd have to scale this (i.e. have enough patreons) to make it all worth your while, and even in very big fandoms, even for someone waaaaay more successful than me, i doubt it would be likely.

lastly, as a side note, both of these "methods" are solely accepted if they occur on tumblr/writer's own website, rather than on the writer's ao3 page/fic. there was a post going around explaining why that is (nutshell: it endangers ao3's status as a non-profit archive) but as with all things, i seem to have lost it. [if you do have the link to that post/know what i'm talking about, hit me up and i'll rectify this]. this, regardless, supposes driving traffic from wherever you post your fics towards tumblr/your own website which, again, decreases your chances of scaling this.

so, in the end, where does that leave us?

i think, at this point, we've kind of reached a crossroad. ultimately, i see two ways to look at this:

option one: if you believe that fanfiction writers should be paid for their art, you also probably agree that the methods outlined above, while they do offer some sort of solution, are less than ideal. the ideal solution (for this option) would obviously be to allow fanfiction authors to be properly paid for the publication of their work through 'normal' publishing/self-publishing deals, without the need for a licence from the author (bar - perhaps - the payment of royalties). that would create a proper 'market' for fanfiction, treating it as any other form of writing/art form. it would mean a complete overhaul of the laws currently in place, but why not? ultimately, in a democracy, laws are meant to be changeable.

this being said, though, while my personal knee jerk reaction would be to shout 'hurray!' at this solution, i do not actually think i want this. or, maybe, only part of me does. the part of me who has been writing fanfiction for free for fifteen years is like 'hey, yay, maybe i could get paid!'. but then, there is another part of me that would like, maybe, one day, to write more original fiction (i already do a bit, but not much). that part of me is feels frankly a bit icky about giving up her ip rights.

would i be comfortable with people writing fanfiction of my original work? hell yes. that would be the dream. imagine having your own ao3 fandom, omg. however, would i be comfortable with people profiting from writing fanfiction of my work? honestly, i'm not sure. to me, the answer to that is: it depends (how much time investment was put in? how original the concept is? etc.) which, in fact, kind of brings us back to the current concept of licensing. and yes, maybe the current frame imposed by copyright law has also shaped the way i view the concept of property, and maybe i should be more of a communist, free-for-all kind of person, but unfortunately, i'm not that revolutionary.

also, and slightly tangentially, i find it interesting how profiting from fanficition/fanart is seen as more acceptable i certain fandoms rather than in others. taking the hp fandom for instance, even prior to jkr expressing her views on transgender rights, i often read things like: 'ah, she's so rich anyway, she doesn't need the money.' now, that argument has not only gained traction but is also reinforced by: 'ah, she's the devil and i don't want to fund her. it'd rather give my money to fanfic authors/buy things on etsy.'

while i completely understand the sentiment and do not, in any way, shape or form, support jkr's views, i do find that argument quite problematic. if you set the precedent that because someone is too rich, or because they've expressed views you disagree with, you don't believe that they should be entitled to their own intellectual property rights, i do wonder: where does this stop? this being justified for jkr could lead to all sorts of small artists seeing other people stealing/profiting from their original work without authorisation. 'i don't pay you 'cause i disagree with you,' would then act as a justification, with i find highly unfair. the fact of the matter is: jkr created hp. knowing that, the choice of buying hp products, regardless of her opinions is completely and entirely yours, but buying the same stuff unlicensed, from people who are infringing on her copyrights seems, to me, very problematic as this could potentially be scaled to all artists. either we overhaul the entire copyright system or we don't, but making special cases is dangerous, in my humble opinion.

option two: we choose to preserve copyright law as it is, for the reasons outlined above. this means that most people will not get paid for the content they put out and that the few that do will operate on a very tight, legal rope, and work for tips that are a 'nice bonus' but not a proper pay. this sort of perpetuates the idea that fanfiction is 'less than' other art forms, because in our capitalist society, things that don't generate money (things often made by women, may i add) are not seen as being as valuable as things that do.

for me, personally, while getting paid to write fanfiction sounds lovely (and makes my bank account purr) in theory, i think i side to preserve the current system. as an artist, i think that intellectual property protects us and our concepts from being ripped off by others, including by big companies who might find it handy to steal a design, a quote, anything, without proper remuneration. this is even more important for smaller artists who wouldn't necessarily have the means to defend their craft otherwise.

this being said, i do appreciate that it depends on why you're writing fanfiction. i think that topic probably deserves a whole different post in its own right but ultimately, most people write fanfic because it's fun. we know it's for fun, and not for profit. and if that's the case, then we're okay to receive compliments, reblogs and sometimes, for some people a little bit of an awkward tip for our work. for me, fanfic has been a space to make friends, to get feedback, to learn and to experiment without the pressure of money being involved. that's why i don't particularly mind doing it for free, and wouldn't even bother setting up a patreon or tip-me jar. i love being able to do it just for the enjoyment of myself and my five followers (lol), without worrying about scaling it, or making it profitable. not every part of our lives, not every passion has to be profitable. as we say in ireland, you do it 'for the craic' and nothing else.

this, though, as i already said, also depends on your means and level of privilege. to me, writing for free is fantastic and a bloody relief - it means being able to do exactly what i want. original fiction writing is full of rules, and editors, and publishers. in fanfic, i can write whatever i feel like, and i'm willing to forgo a salary in exchange of that freedom. again, i have a full time job that covers my bills. this does mean, though, that i don't have as much time to dedicate to writing as i would like to.

and also, the thing is: i'm a small author. i happily write in my own little niche. bar that one comment, it is highly unlikely that anyone would actually want to pay me (or even tip me) for my content. but when you look at very successful people, like the author of all the young dudes, i could see how they'd want to get paid for their art, and why they'd feel differently.

bottom line for me is: the flaws of the current systems of remuneration combined with my strong belief in copyright law as a means to protect small, original creators, means that i don't really think it would be right for me to get paid for fanfic, even if i was the kind of person who had the market for it. whilst it would be nice, this very long rant has, hopefully, explained why.

#fanfiction #writing #archive of our own #monetisation of fanfiction #fanfiction theory #this post is waaaay too long and the author regrets everything #pebblysand rants