#I also hate html so bad??

[nefarioushours]

I plan on posting my fic to Ao3 today maybe (if the day permits it)! Also, I will be busy with some friends tonight, but plan on trying to answer some headcanon requests soon! Hopefully by tomorrow!

[hana-bobo-finch]

I should probably just go to bed because I’m on the verge of posting every single thought I’ve had this past week eeggegeheheheh me when I don’t have my outlet to scream into the void

[thatsmooji]

it’ll always be you.

— connie springer x reader

❝ The Ship of Theseus: The ship of Theseus set sail from a port, and over the course of its journey, every piece of wood and every crew member was replaced. By the time it reaches its destination, is it still the same ship? ❞

oneshot: slow morning chats, slice of life, fluff, hurt/comfort (not really much hurt), self care, existentialism (just a smidge), connie reflects on his sense of self, nonspecific reader (reader is called beautiful once), semi-proofread, ooc

notes: omg my first oneshot on tumblr!! i've never been confident writing x reader fics, but right now i have a desperate need to write out situations based on myself, and this is the perfect way to do that. i hope you all enjoy ♡ (also, i desperately need to get a new laptop. i HATE writing on my phone, but i refuse to sit at my desktop just for html mode)

“i’ve got you. it’s alright.”

connie nodded, slowly cracking open one eye to watch as you began carefully clipping his fingernails. he had always taken care of himself, even though the end result was often shabby at best.

you were gentle though, lightly maneuvering his digits as you clipped each nail. in fact, you had been beyond patient with him the entire day.

connie has experienced slumps before, but never one this severe. he couldn't even bring himself to get out of bed this morning; letting himself be consumed by the weight of the world, even though his world was calling for him from the kitchen. as soon as you returned to the bedroom to see what was taking your boyfriend so long, you immediately knew something was up.

but after a long hug, much reassurance, and a few short kisses, you found yourself here. the entire morning was spent taking care of your love: soaking in the bath, washing and moisturizing his hair, lightly dousing yourselves in comforting fragrances (sweet thing wanted to wear one of your perfumes for the day), eating light meals, and now, taking care of his nails.

during all of this, connie didn't speak much. he wasn't upset. he just didn't feel the need to fill the tranquil space with his usual loud demeanor. he was here with you, and both of you were okay with that. even so, he still wondered if this was really alright.

as of lately, connie had become quieter…gentler. it started around just you. you were a talker, of course. but your speech was always smooth and inviting. you hardly ever raised your voice, and connie slowly found him speaking lower to match you. more so, his friends have started to point out his gradually changing personality. none of them said it was a bad thing, of course. onyankopon just said that he was starting to mellow out, and enjoy life at a more languid pace; nothing wrong with that. eren would jokingly commend connie on finally deciding to settle down.

still, connie wondered if something was wrong. he was changing, and that had never happened before. he'll always be himself though, right?

he remembered you mentioning something similar to this once. a “paradox,” you called it, named The Ship of Theseus. he remembered answering the question with a no, of course its a different ship. no part of it was the same. but now, he wondered if that was really correct? how many parts of him could change before he was no longer…connie?

“something on your mind, baby?”

connie looked down at you. you were so beautiful, and always attentive to his needs. everything about you was an answer to a prayer, and not once has he ever taken your love for granted.

“do you think i'm different? like, have i changed?” connie asked, trying his best not to fidget as your swiped a layer of clear polish on his ring finger. there was no ring there, and every day he wanted to change that. for you and for him.

“hmm…sure you have,” you stated, glancing up as connie sucked in a breath at your response. “but not for the worst. you're still my connie.”

“but what if i change more. what if i change so much of myself that you won't recognize me?”

you paused your actions for a moment, fully looking up at your boyfriend. his jaw was locked tightly, and his eyes were squinted in uncertainty. still, he was as handsome as ever. you never thought once to judge him for his concerns. this one even peaked your interest.

“that won't happpen,” you confirmed, taking his hand that had already dried in yours. “no matter what you do, or what you look like, you will always be connie springer.”

connie tightened his grasp on your hand, looking out towards the window of your bedroom. he was so lucky to have you. you were perfect for him, and there was no hesitance in saying that to anyone.

“i think i want to dye my hair.”

“of course, love,” you nodded, picking up your nail polish to finish painting his nails.

[thewritingfairy]

I just came back from reading your Nobody's Child. I reached ↪ 18. For justice knows many faces and I'll tell you-

I'm in LOVE with your story!!

I just can't this is too good too great character writing writing! Your reader is one of the best writing MCs I find in both fanfiction and fiction in general 😭 thank you thank you thank you!!

Thank you for publishing this story!!

It's so genius. The writing of characters in a way that feels both OC and OCC. You made them so much of a darker version of themselves and I'm living for it.

It makes me wonder imagine canon Batfam meat your version of themselves and get told that the only difference in this world is that readers exist. This will mess them up real bad.

Imagine you find a version of yourself that does what you stand against to the most vulnerable one around them and knowing that the only difference between your life's is this person's existence. It makes you think "i would do the same if I was in their place?"

And imagine the reader seeing a version of themselves where their mom is alive. They see her older, alive, warm. They see themselves happy, and in a less bad medical state (because they never met Jason) how will the reader feel? This is one of the first readers I feel so curious about, it makes me want to study their character.

I'm really interested in your other story about older reader but I still haven't read it so I will not comment.

I have two other questions:

How do you control the colors like that?

And lastly can I be -🍳?

(I'm sorry I made it so long I got too excited)

Chapter mentioned: 18. For justice knows many faces

I'm so glad you enjoy Nodody's child and ofc you can be 🍳 anon!

Before I answer your question I want to talk about canon!Bruce and Nobody's child!Bruce.

Canon!Bruce would absolutely hate himself, and I can imagine him looking at his children and thinking; 'I need to be a better parent, I refuse to become like this vermin.'

So hey, at least your suffering made the canon!Batfam healthier!

But the small thing I disagree with is that one person made the difference. But your mama is a big part of how Bruce started to descend into a darker version of himself, he was a yandere for her. But at the time he was more like his canon self and didn't act on it. he let her go.

BUT this does not put his shitty behaviour towards you on your mama. It shows how he was never the person he thought he was. He was just good at acting and pretending.

Another small thing I have to point out in your ask is that Nobody's child!Name would never attempt to imagine a life where they weren't attacked by Jason. Because due to the progress of their illness eventually they would have gotten this ill with or without him. Jason just sped things up. And if you were to study them I am curious what you would find ngl.

I'm also rather curious about your opinion of older Reader.

Now when it comes to colours it's time to do some html editing. I don't know a lot of html so I use this generator, it was made by someone here on tumblr but I can't find them right now---

You can just turn your text editor in HTML editor and boom. Now you can copy the HTML code in. I usually save it to drafts and then copy the normal text in it as I write in Libre Office.

IDK how you can make text that fade into each other with colors, because I will be honest I am still practicing and figuring things out

In the generator you can go to font color and pick one of the colours there, or you can use hexcode for custom colours. I find most of my hex custom colours thx to my artist friends, this website and pinterest.

[toskarin]

how did you get started making music, tools-wise?

I've talked about this a bit before and I don't necessarily recommend doing this, so skip the following two paragraphs and go right to the one under the break if you actually want the method I recommend

I lied to a girl I liked from my school and told her that, because I could play guitar I could also play piano, so I could teach her to play piano. both of these statements were lies.

I had to panic and learn both guitar and piano one week ahead of the lessons I was giving her as an excuse to hang out. so I self-taught in a haze of panic and "maybe she'll like me" (she did not) (but she kind of did) (but she was bicurious) (but she was wishy-washy on if she wanted to get together and her parents didn't like me) (and her parents were homophobic) (I think she might have texted me at one point years down the line to tell me she had a girlfriend but it was after I deleted our text history and I'm chronically unable to remember to put people's names into my contacts so who knows)

but that's all an aside. that's a bad method.

anyway if you want to start making music in earnest, doing what I did when I got serious about making songs instead of trying to impress girls whose parents wanted to destroy me with their minds here's a better answer

go acquire FL Studio. it's apparently really easy to do this because people have been acquiring it for years, or so I've heard. FL is good for learning because you've got 20 years worth of free tutorials available to you on youtube to dig through and plenty of stock vsts to play with out of the box

FL Studio is, realistically, the only tool you actually need to start making music. you could get away with less, but it's what I used, and as long as you don't pick up Specific Bad Habits, your experience with it will transfer to other DAWs if you decide to switch it later

that's all, really

if you go this route, the golden rule I'm going to impart on you right now is that you need to have a limiter on your songs. the default FL studio song templates have one, so you should keep it until you know enough to know why you might adjust something like that

it doesn't matter if it sounds fine in the editor without a limiter. everyone thinks it's not a big deal at the time, but as you get more experienced, there's literally nothing short of getting in legal trouble that you'll regret more than realising that your old work is almost entirely unsalvageable because you didn't put a limiter on it and now half of the audio is just lost data to clipping

I'm gonna put a few more recommendations for things I've used, just so you can consider them if you need something else to chew on. everything past this point is entirely optional and you'll do just fine with FL Studio alone. in fact, probably don't worry about everything below the line

-=-

items marked with [F] are free.

DIGITAL AUDIO WORKSTATIONS THAT AREN'T FL

for tracker-based editing and chiptunes, use Renoise. you'll either love or hate trackers, and while they have a steeper learning curve than piano roll DAWs, they might come more naturally to you. I personally think that Renoise is a lot of fun to use. it kinda has an "addictive" quality to it, as funny as that is to say

for quickly sketching songs, use [F]Jummbox. it's an html workstation (multiplatform!) that writes your sketches to a url, meaning it's pretty easy to collaborate on musical sketches. Jummbox is good for making chiptune style instrumentals, but what makes it especially accessible is the fact that it works on a piano roll system, which will be familiar to you if you're working in FL

for writing sheet music, I recommend starting with [F]Musescore. I'll warn you right now that there aren't really any good notation editors and you're making lesser-of-evils decisions when you pick any of them, but it's probably the best compromise out there right now. it's the one I use when I need to hand something to a physical musician. you can also export pieces as midi, although there's better ways to do that lol

-

VSTs

if you can acquire Pianoteq, do that. if you feel uncomfortable with acquiring it, [F]Keyzone Classic is free and can sound pretty nice with a bit of work, but you really have to learn to work with it

if your workstation can handle it performance-wise, go pick up [F]Vital - Spectral Warping Wavetable Synth. there's tons of free presets for this out there and it sounds good. cool synth. Serum: Advanced Wavetable Synthesizer is also good and has plenty of presets, but it's on the pricy side, so consider how comfortable you are with [finding a friend to buy it for you]

[F]Decent Sampler doesn't do much out of the box, because it's just a tool for playing sample banks, but if you go to [F]Pianobook, you can find tons of weird and fun sample packs of just about everything you can imagine. sounds derived from folk instruments, industrial equipment, lego sets, stylophones, choirs, whatever. incredibly useful.

Valhalla VintageVerb. this is the reverb plugin. you want this one. [F]Valhalla Super Massive is also good but it's more focused on alien-sounding reverb effects and enormous spaces, so it's kind of got a niche use case and you should be a little careful with it

if you've heard a lo-fi hip hop song on youtube, it probably used [F]iZotope Vinyl. this one can save you a lot of time if you're going for that sound because it comes with all the little vinyl flourishes outside of compression (like dust crackling) that you'd otherwise have to add yourself

[F]Genny VST is advertised as giving a genesis/megadrive sound, but what actually makes it shine is that it's an actual synth emulating the YM2612 and SN76489 sound chips. this means you can create your own sounds that work within those specs, which is a lot of fun! definitely beats just using samples, if you ask me

-

HARSH VSTS THAT I PERSONALLY LIKE BUT WHICH ALSO MIGHT !!HURT!! YOU. SO BE VERY CAREFUL USING THESE.

[F]Tritik Krush is a bitcrushing plugin. it does a good job of bitcrushing and downsampling. I use it a lot in my songs, but you've really gotta know how to keep this one under control, because it's fully capable of making painful sounds on accident and can completely devour your mix

[F]FSA Latcher is a gorgeous noisebox. it screams in horrible ways and makes dying machine noises in various colours. this is the musical equivalent of working with radioactive material, so be extremely careful using this in anything you don't want to hurt the listener's ears

girlfriend just told me I have to recommend [F]Noise Engineering Ruina to you if I'm making a category with this heading. I don't personally use it, but she likes it (she's better at music than I am) and it's free, so you should go pick it up. "it annihilates sounds very deliciously" (maybe I should use it)

-

hope that helps a bit!

[alongtidesoflight]

wanna hear a baffling work story?

we had a 40 year old (age range is important here because according to her claims she'd have the same experiences as us growing up) intern at work a while ago who was applying for a position as a software dev. coding has (allegedly) always been her hobby. she (allegedly) "grew up on the internet". she (allegedly) worked with x y and z scripting language before.

she had two tasks.

a) don't use AI to write your code

b) write a simple php sign-in formular

we gave her a week for that. we also pointed her to the usual documentation and online learning websites. she was told to approach us with questions and we went to check in on her every now and then.

she

a) couldn't tell the difference between html and php and very rudely told me she doesn't need to look at the php documentation right now, she needs to "study the html vocabulary" (as she was asking me about a sign-in page code block. that needed php). she then shut me down until i showed her the very page that explains, step by step, how to create a sign-in page with html and php and database handling. she'd only talk to other coworkers from then on out when she had tech questions and just tried to strike up a conversation about her child and husband with me after that. (?????)

b) got sidetracked with the design of the page for two days. in the end she managed to change the font size and color of a "Submit Successful!" feedback string. once. not for the second and third one though.

c) really seemed to struggle with all basics. she didn't know what a file path is. we had to show her. she was working on windows. ultimately we crossed the raspberry pi/linux project we had in mind for her from the agenda.

d) at the end of her internship i offered her a cookie. i'd bought some underestimating how many they were, i hate when things go bad and i still don't like eating, so i was handing them out to other people in the office. the problem? it was 11:30am. she went off on an infantilising rant about how "you don't eat sweets before lunch, even kindergardeners know about this!". even though i offered them to her as an after-lunch snack lol. again she's on an internship. she did that in front of the office. boss included.

side note: all of us. except for one. are 30+. and my coworkers love their inbetween snacks. boss included. she was targeting me because i know for a fact she thought i was a teen. so she was facing me and didn't see THEIR faces as she was going off. i did though, lol. it didn't land well.

e) IMMEDIATELY after that rant she had her final conversation/round of feedback. during which she casually let it drop that she'd used copilot to generate all of the final code she'd shown off. she was proud of it. and said she "understands coding way better now". she said it's "the ultimate example of machine and man cooperating". again. the one rule we had was don't use AI. you need to understand code to be able to write it. which she CLAIMED she does. during her interview. she "grew up on the internet". coding is "her hobby. always has been". the final code created by sir copilot threw up a sign-in page that looked good. the functions didn't work though. i don't think she ever noticed.

during said interview btw we told her about another intern who'd used chatgpt to write his code and that we don't support that. one of the very first things we mentioned to her to be clear. i don't know how much more emphasis we could've put on our stance on AI.

f) she then demanded to hear back from us as soon as possible because "the job center is breathing down her neck about it"

when she left on the last day during our lunch break it got so awkward man. i felt bad for her even though she basically just treated me like the silly little runt of the litter pup for a whole week. not a single goodbye from my coworkers. when she tried to make a haha would be nice to hear from you guys soon joke they wouldn't even look at her. awful, felt bad for her.

but then again how are you 40 years old and. fuck up an internship THAT much. why the lies. why the stern behavior with people who are less than 10 years younger than you. why the 0% of trying to meet people halfway when we tried to help. why was there not a single bit of effort to get to know any of us better. it was. the most baffling thing i've seen in a WHILE.

[atwas-meme-ing]

HEY ALL!!! If you haven't heard, Unity is gonna start charging devs 20 cents per download. Not per sale, but PER DOWNLOAD. This applies to not only big-name games like Hollow Knight and Ori, but also smaller projects that might be free. This includes mobile games made with Unity, Undertale fan games like Undertale Yellow and Deltatraveler, and also, get this: Murder of Sonic! It was made in Unity, and so far, it's still free, but Sega's gonna hafta start charging for it sooner or later- IF they don't decide to take it down completely.

So, on this note, I have 2 things to say:

Get your favorite games NOW. Some devs, like Team Cherry, are talking about "taking their games down" (so much for Silksong- thanks A LOT, Unity!!!). I don't know if that means you'll still be able to play these games- like on Steam, for instance- if you already have them downloaded.

Please, please, PLEASE, support those games that are made with Unity. 20 cents adds up when there's a million downloads, and if it's like a mobile game, where people don't necessarily have to pay for it, that's going to COST the devs money- a LOT of money. I know we all hate the paywalls and "pay-to-win" schemes in mobile games, but let's be real- crap like this Unity thing are the whole reason those paywalls exist! These devs aren't doing this for free, they're trying to make a living! Even if you only spend $1, only 1 time, that is STILL going to be an 80 cent profit over the new Unity costs, and maybe, just maybe, give some game devs enough incentive to keep the game around.

I know Unity has a bad rep because it's easy to use and allows devs to release games that control poorly because you don't have to be good at coding to do it (*cough* Guardian of Lore *cough*). That's why I haven't used Unity, despite having several game ideas in my head, because I don't know how to code (yet), and I didn't want to release a game like that- and now I never will use Unity. But games like all the ones I've mentioned are proof that Unity CAN be used for good games, in the right hands. So please, if you love a game made with Unity, please support it, so the game doesn't go away. Don't send the devs into bankruptcy just because Unity is a money-grubbing so-and-so.

(Oh, I should also mention, for browser-based games, apparently this "per download" thing also includes "per BROWSER REFRESH". So, yeah, please don't blame the devs, support the devs and blame Unity.)

EDIT: It's not quite as bad as I'd thought. I knew Unity had a threshold, but I thought it was an either/or thing- either a certain number of downloads, or a certain amount of money made from a game. And, it's not, it's both.

So free games (like Murder of Sonic) apparently won't be affected.

Here's their pricing schedule once the threshold is met:

It still adds up for the smaller projects, with Unity taking all or most of the revenue from smaller games.

And one thing that's still bothering me: the install threshold is "life to date" and Unity is charging per install over the threshold. So, if a game's been around for years and had a million downloads and has made 200,000 dollars in the last year, they're gonna end up paying that 200,000 all at once.

At least, that's what I'm reading.

So, ok, I was wrong. Free projects won't be affected. But this is still awful, especially when it's first starting out.

EDIT 2 (2023-09-23): They've lessened the fees:

I'm still not using them. They never had a good reputation- I mean, there's good Unity games, but there's also a lot of bad ones because people can just release games with Unity with no coding experience. I want to make games someday, but I want them to be a good quality, so I'm waiting until I can actually figure out C++ (heck, I'm still wading through HTML, I'm nowhere near real programming languages). As long as I have to learn coding to make something good, I might as well find an engine that I can trust. I hear a lot about Godot. I also think I'll want to look at Monogame, because Monogame was used to make Axiom Verge and Celeste, and it's apparently based on the defunct XNA that was used to make Stardew Valley. Or I'll find something else. But not Unity. I just don't trust them.

[the-river-nyx]

Some thoughts on Ai and why I hate it:

Ai is so bad for the environmen it heavily affects cities's water and electricity, so much so that it's amount used on Ai had been quoted as "astonishing". It has also has caused massive losses in the stock market. Ai has never and will never be the solution.

https://www.independent.co.uk/tech/ai-artificial-intelligence-environment-climate-b2643918.html

Writing and reading skills are very important !! Ai is destroying creative spaces as well as critical thinking ability in things like brainstorming, problem-solving, and understanding concepts.

I don't really have an actual problem with most of how people use ai IN FANFICTION (aside from when it's used to create stories from scratch.) It is okay to need spelling and grammar help, and if you continue to write and fixing those mistakes you are learning and that's important.

If you are using Ai so that you don't have to learn (in particularly as a child or teenager) then I think it's a problem because of your necessary cognitive development. Ai does many good things to education too and I don't want to dismiss that. I have much less of a problem when adults are using it because they have already learned how to research and they have developed media literacy (hopefully).

Another problem I see is with the way access to education has been treated in the past. When someone is powerful they want to do everything they can to keep that power and one of the first things that is often eliminated or changed is education. Being able to learn is such an important and powerful thing.

One of the main things Ai is used for is creating pictures and I hope everyone knows how harmful that is to artists, it's awful. There are also many Ai programs that are used for creating sexual content, Ai can be used to make explicit content of anyone without their consent.

I don't support Ai. Supporting one kind of Ai is supporting all forms of Ai.

[witlesswitch]

do you have a favorite 1920s dessert?

context for why I am asking: white man (A) is hoping to bond with his cajun boss (B) and they agree to eat lunch together and share food. A is a bad cook but can kind of throw together some desserts. A prefers cajun food and rarely cooks anything else but is willing to try A's food and is lowkey nervous.

Ideally the dessert will pair well with the cajun food though and I tried to pick some options that (to me, a person who hates food) thinks might pair well.

if additional converter is needed regarding the cajun food or description of the desserts they are below the cut

cajun food : It's a Louisianan development incorporating elements of Native American, West African, French, and Spanish cuisine. Cajun food is the result of this assimilation or "cultural blending". Rural Cajun cuisine is distinct from the urban Creole cuisine, having arisen by economic necessity among the Acadian immmigrants who came to Louisiana in the 18th century. These settlers lived off the land and survived on foods they could obtain by hunting, fishing, ranching, foraging, or growing crops.

fruit cocktail : Fruit cocktail is prepared with chopped fruit that’s served in a creamy or syrupy sauce. Popular in the US during the mid-to-late 1800s, the use of the word cocktail refers to how alcohol was originally included in the dish. In the 1920s, the FDA standardized a recipe for fruit cocktail containing pears, grapes, cherries, and peaches. This also was when sugar syrup replaced alcohol due to changing social attitudes about alcohol during the Prohibition era.

icebox cake : Icebox cakes were a layered dessert, similar to a charlotte or trifle. They were made by alternating layers of cake (or cookies, lady fingers, etc.) with layers of filling. The filling was frequently dairy based (e.g., whipped cream, custard, pudding, or buttercream) and was often stabilized with gelatin or egg whites. Fruit, nuts, chocolate, or other flavorings were also usually included.

trifle : This is the classic English trifle that features layers of sponge cake, Jell-O, fruit, and whipped cream. The possibilities are endless when it comes to the flavors of Jell-O and types of fruit you use, so have fun and use whatever you fancy!

fluffy strawberry pie : A perfectly pink strawberry pie featuring loads of fresh strawberries, Cool Whip, and—of course—Jell-O. "Made this after we picked strawberries with the kids. I had too many strawberries and was looking for some fast and easy no bake recipes. This was perfect. It was so refreshing and yummy," says reviewer jahudka77.

Citations

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_cuisine

https://www.abcfoodamerica.com/michigan/salads/fruit-cocktail-v2r6.html

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-news-apricot-ice-box-cake-1/152964798/ AND https://blog.newspapers.com/11-classic-icebox-cake-recipes-from-the-great-depression/

https://www.allrecipes.com/vintage-jell-o-desserts-11729716

[copperbadge]

I was at the library yesterday, which is now my go-to for distractionless work; I uploaded Dinner At The Palace with a few last edits so it's ready to go in print and epub, wrote all the sales copy, and updated my website with "coming soon" announcements. Wordpress really is just the worst; I can code what I want in about a third of the time it takes to tell Wordpress what I want and even then it fucks it up. It's like working with Word if it were designed by a toddler who hates me, personally. I'm building a new site on another platform, which is not much better but does allow me to copy, paste, or delete a block of text by selecting said text, something Wordpress's feeble grasp on structure is still grappling with. As we have daily proof. *gestures at Tumblr*

Anyway, I've been thinking about overhauling the older novels, standardizing them into the style guide I've developed. So I dug out all the upload files for Nameless, my first novel, and cracked them open just to see what kind of work it would take.

The document file for Nameless is so old that Windows wasn't sure how to open it. I mean it was just a .doc file and Windows likes to give you options when it's not a .docx, but I was still amused that I had to tell it how to get into the Ancient Tome. This was also before ebooks were as big as they are now, especially in indy publishing; these days you can just upload a word document and Lulu will convert it, but back in 2009 I had to create an HTML file of my novel to get it converted to ePub. Wild.

The bad news is that my early documents for my first few novels are a brutal mess, but the good news is that because I was less sophisticated in terms of how to typeset, they're also very simple and easy to upgrade, and even back then I was saving the covers as psd files, so it's all editable. I'd rather finish Royals/Ramblers than work over all my old manuscripts, but they're a nice break when I'm tired of other work.

Now I just have to determine if I have the emotional stability to re-read Nameless. It was a very personal novel to me, but it was also published almost 15 years ago, and I'm a little concerned about being able to read my deathless 2009 prose without wincing. I tell myself we all learn and grow, and Christopher and Lucas aren't real and won't suffer if I wrote them poorly, but I'm still bracing myself for all that.

[marvelmymarvel]

Claw Clip

Jiraiya x Reader

Synopsis: Jiraiya came back to surprise you after being away for a couple of months. If you had known he was coming home, you would have hidden the claw clip you bought that reminded you of him.

A/n: At Hottopic I found a clawclip that has frogs on it. I’m wearing it as we speak and I love it. Definitely dating Jiraiya Core. Here is the link to it if you wanna buy it lol https://www.hottopic.com/product/garden-frogs-hair-clip/16704101.html I’m also not sure how I feel about this. I'm a little rusty 

The echo of the door opening flew through the apartment, but you didn't hear it thanks to your concentration on the painting below you. Jiraiya tried not to make any other sounds as he walked through the rooms looking for you, he would have called out for you, but he wanted to catch you off guard. He always thought you were the prettiest when you were in your little world. 

His office door was open slightly and he could see light spilling out from the crack. Usually, when he was home with you, he would be the only one working in that space, but you took up shop in the room when he was gone, claiming that it brought you comfort when you missed him most. As he drew closer, the sound of humming filled his ears and made his chest tighten with the need to hold you close. He hated being away from you, especially for as long as he had been. 

The door was pushed open but you didn't hear it past the humming coming from your throat. Your tongue was stuck between your teeth and your hair had been put up in a claw clip so that it would stay out of your eyes. Jiraiya smiled down at your concentrated face before his eyes drifted to the clip in your hair. He chuckled softly, making you jump back and screech from fright. His signature grin did nothing to calm the beating of your heart and you scolded him for scaring you like that. 

Despite being upset with him for spooking you, you wasted no time getting off the floor to greet him properly. Your lips were pulled into a broad smile and your eyes sparkled from pure joy, but despite looking adorable, he couldn't help but keep staring at the clip. You turned bashful under his gaze and instinctively put your hand to your hair, “Does my hair look bad or something?” 

He snorted at the question and instead reached for the clip, opening it to let your hair out. 

“When and where did you get a frog claw clip?” 

Your cheeks burned in both realization and embarrassment and you gave him a sheepish smile at being caught with the silly little plastic hair accessory. “The store down the street was selling them. It reminded me of you so I bought it…” You trailed off as you looked everywhere but at him. 

He cooed down at you, finding it rather sweet that you had purchased such an item because it reminded you of him. “You are too sweet darling. Do you wear it when you miss me?”

“Shut up” you grumbled at his teasing tone, but you didn't deny his accusation considering it was true. It always made you feel close to him when you wore it, and with him being gone for so long, it was easier to put it in your hair than sit around moping till he returned. Jiraiya leaned down and pressed a kiss to your cheek, “You are adorable, you know that?” he whispered against the flesh of your skin, grinning at the way it burned under his lips. You grumbled again at him as he wrapped an arm around your waist and hauled you into his embrace, “You’re embarrassing me” you muttered as he began peppering kisses all over your face. “Oh please, don't act like you didn't miss it” he retorted before pressing a chaste kiss against your lips. 

He pulled back before you could deepen it, making your eyebrows furrow as you pouted at him. While you never enjoyed feeling embarrassed, you had to admit that you did miss him and his teasing nature. “Oh? Did you want another kiss?” Jiraiya cooed as he began to pull your hair back up into a makeshift half-up ponytail, “You’re being unfair” you grumbled as he latched the claw clip once more into your hair. 

He smirked down at you before bending down once more and kissing you, deeper this time, just like you wanted. He pulled away again and examined the clip in your hair once more. “What I think is unfair, my love, is that you bought the clip and didn't buy one for me.”

[heathensimmer]

NEW WORLD, NEW ME, NEW SIMS

Welcome to Harborview!

Link: https://modthesims.info/d/648757/harborview-no-cc-update-1-3-october-23rd-2022.html

You might have some Sim's names be changed, but it's still a lovely hood. Themed after Maine! The Creator of this custom Hood is on Mod the Sims, give them some love.

One of my favorite shows was Murder, She Wrote growing up and so I hope to get major Cabot Cove vibes from this town. I could even make a kind mystery writer and a bumbling Sheriff.

Anyways ... I came here because as ultimately the God of their reality, I needed a break! I've been relentlessly fiddling with trait mods and running trial and error processes to determine how tf SimPe works. And I ain't complaining because I love my Sims!

My Sims 3 University Sims will understand, I am sure.

I needed a getaway. A place to go test more trait mods away from the excitement. An isolated area. A place where the townies won't have traits, and they can't get in the way of my testing.

Even a world with just less sheer number of crazy Sims will make this easier. Less variables. You get the idea.

But now, I want to show you all how I am going to set up a non-Sims 3 world with traits! One family at a time.

Let's meet the Haverfords.

Oh, wait a minute. I forgot Voeille's water. You gotta add a pool and then delete it or hide it.

Welcome to Harborview! This is the Haverford homestead.

Plumbbob Color: Baby Blue

Location: 4,027 Sim Miles off the Shore of Sunset Valley

If you want to know how I change my Sim's plumbob color for each hood, check out Hexagonal Bipyramid's mod

And yes, you can make your Sim's plumbbob be whatever color you want!

In this household, we have Tomazizo, the father, a Mime in the Entertainment Career, Jannie, his wife, and their toddler, Chadsari.

I want to know who they are as Sims so let's check their stats and try to see what 3t2 traits fit them best!

Tomazizo Haverford. Let's look at his personality. His aspiration is Fortune which is fair enough with him being in Entertainment. I made his secondary aspiration Family because of his bio which tells me that his family may get in the way of his Entertainment Career. I'm getting douchebag actor vibes that moved his family to an isolated fishing hub to get away from "inner city violence" whatever that means to Sims ....

Well, I am at least right about the "douchebag" part.

And this guy is a Mime in the Entertainment Career.

Skills? Oh brother.

Oh... zero Logic, huh? And he's an adult.

For this reason, and because I am testing mods for the Absent-Minded trait, I am making him Absent-Minded. Actors typically aren't the ...you know what, never mind, he may hear me!

I use custom turn ons and turn offs by LilBabyDillJr. on Tumblr and this is what the game randomly gave him. Not bad. Since his turn-off is Outdoorsy Sims, as in, Sims with the Loves the Outdoors trait, I am going to make him Hate the Outdoors. Trait #2 done. He's a Fortune Sim so being turned on by "productivity" makes sense.

Lastly, I made him a Dog Person because of his Lifetime Want, which is to Have 6 Pets on Top Career Levels ! I also made him a Loser and a Diva just for fun and to soothe my resentment for several actors that I have personally known (small town stuff, not any real names)

And hey, he DOES have ZERO grouchy/Nice points, so being a Loser and a Diva totally makes sense still.

I will mostly be testing that Absent-Minded trait in the upcoming days of my sabbatical in Harborview. Wannabe Moodlets by Hexagonal Bipyramid give him Mood Effects from being outdoors because of his Hates the Outdoors trait. Dog Person has training effects. Diva has social effects (download my Divas can Brag mod here)

But Absent-Minded is the spicy one. He will burn food more, and walk into rooms and forget why he went in there (under rigorous testing)

That's all for now. How do other traits players give their Sims their 3t2 traits?

HAPPY SIMMING!!

[juanabaloo]

20 questions for fic writers!!

thanks to @coraniaid for the tag!

(1) How many works do you have on AO3?

21 works on AO3, all fics (+ 1 work about HTML code tips)

(2) What's your total AO3 word count?

195,661 word count (for those 21 works, not counting the HTML work)

(3) What fandoms do you write for?

I exclusively write for Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

(4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

All but the last one are part of my all human / no powers AU series where Faith and Buffy meet post grad school, but these fics are in their "established relationship" era.

My top 5 fics by kudos:

I don't care about the presents: E-rated long multi-chapter about Christmas in Sunnydale where Buffy brings her girlfriend Faith home to meet her Mom. There's a lot of feelings and processing and also lots of E-rated fun. (A little in ch. 5 and then a ton in ch. 8 and 10)

Game of Tag: E-rated well established Fuffy, with 4 short chapters.

Cool Granite Countertop: E-rated short one-shot.

I can see you with my T-shirt on: a WIP! E-rated Fuffy on a vacation trip. This is my current posted WIP. 2 of 4 chapters are posted, but does NOT end on a cliffhanger. I do plan to finish this.

Praise Her Blindingly Scrumptious Luminescence: (the only one of the 5 not part of the AU series) Canon divergent T-rated long slow burn one-shot. Faith awakens from her coma in Season 5 and ends up helping Buffy fight Glory. Nothing bad happens to Joyce. Featuring The Mayor (who survived S3) and several Bring It On characters.

(5) Do you respond to comments?

Yes I respond to comments although sometimes slower than I would like. I ADORE comments, they give me life.

(6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

The ending is hopeful but my angstiest fic (so far) is facing sorrow with Faith. Please do mind the tags. It is E-rated, but not really smut. (There's a little but it's VERY brief.) It's about Faith dealing with some of her past trauma, it means a lot to me.

(7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Almost everything else I write has a very happy ending, whether they are blissed out post bedroom fun (E rated), or smiley happy sugary good (G and T rated). There's some angst in I don't care about the presents but I consider it mild, and it has a happy ending.

(8) Do you get hate on fics?

Nope! Probably means I need to be writing less boring stuff, haha. Or just more unconventional stuff. But also fuck the haters.

(9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes. I mostly write E-rated F/F smut but I've dabbled in F/F/M and F/M. (Only one fic with the dabbling is posted, but I'm working on more, including a sequel / fill-in.) Also typically what I write is older-than-canon Fuffy. (gif inspo one and inspo two) I try to write PWP but often feelings get involved. For example, if a scene includes a smutty milestone, then sometimes that MEANS something, and feelings intrude.

(10) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I rarely write crossovers. Praise Her... (from 4 above) includes several Bring It On characters, but they are in Sunnydale in the Buffyverse. (So that's not tagged a crossover.) I did write a T-rated Seinfeld crossover (My summer vacation in NYC) where pre-teen Faith visits her aunt Elaine, so it's Faith in NYC in the Seinfeld universe. (Although she only interacts with Elaine, not the other characters.)

Neither of those are especially "crazy." I have a rough idea for a weird crossover fic... imagine Bring It On but with elements of Fight Club. Which means: Cliff and Missy are actually both just Missy. Torrance imagines Cliff sometimes, because she's very deeply repressing her attraction to Missy. (Except since I prefer Fuffy over Missy x Torrance I would probably soften Buffy into Torrance, or sharpen Torrance into Buffy.) So Fuffy but no powers AU and they're in the Bring It On world and Faith is both Cliff and Missy.

(I don't think we ever see anyone but Torrance acknowledge both Cliff and Missy as 2 separate people, which is what sparked this idea. Like usually when Cliff and Missy are in the same shot they are alone with each other or talking to Torrance.)

BUT I don't have any idea when this will get written. So if any readers want to take this idea and run with it, feel free! (Maintaining the manic hyper cheerleader campy vibe of Bring It On feels like the trickiest part of this, for version in my head.)

(11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

(12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope but I have a blanket permission statement in my AO3 profile that includes translations.

(13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I think it could be fun.

(14) What's your all time favorite ship?

Buffy x Faith aka Fuffy.

(15) What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I plan to finish all my WIPs. There is only one posted WIP too, so I technically only have one to finish, that y'all know of! (*evil laugh*) I might decide to cut some short, so instead of writing a multi years long version, better to just chop it into one season. Praise Her... was originally way longer in the outline, but I'm glad I shortened it.

(16) What are your writing strengths?

Writing fics in a series out of order, which I'm treating as a strength. Working in canon dialogue but in a remixed way. (I have a no powers/no vamps AU drafted fic that works in something very close to the famous "tell me staking a vamp doesn't get you a little bit juiced" line. Cracks me up every time.)

(17) What are your writing weaknesses?

Lots of things I want to get better at! Titles for sure. Getting better at discarding ideas I am in love with. Also, I dislike having to describe what people look like. I will gladly use a famous character from another fandom (any fandom) just to avoid having to describe them. In several fics I pair up Tara with Letty Ortiz from the Fast and Furious franchise. Although I think I just call her Letty and don't describe her, so it was all in my head oops.

(18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I can probably swing it in Spanish, for short exchanges. I can definitely do it for a "Fuffy in a situation where they need to speak Spanish but it's sort of broken" scenario. (In my head - Faith speaks it OK, she's not fluent but she understands it and people can understand her. Buffy really struggles with it though.)

(19) First fandom you wrote for?

Same, Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I think I wrote maybe half a story in middle school with my friends, some mean RPF, and then I put fanfic writing in a box and forgot about it. Trying to make up for lost time now I guess.

(20) Favorite fic you've written?

It really depends on my mood. (ahem) I'm proud of my fics but don't want to get into smut talk here. For non smut I'll say a tie between Praise Her... and facing sorrow with Faith. (Again mind the tags on the latter.)

Thanks again for the ask!

No pressure tagging:

@beatriceeverytuesday-old @hersterical @thenewbuzwuzz @rahirah @fictiongods

@blazinwolve @andremichaux @charmedslayer @doggirlbuffysummers @chasingfictions

@veronyxk84 @fancyflautist @explosionshark @shittinggold @whatisyourchildhoodtrauma

(apologies if you don't write fic or someone else already tagged you)

anybody else, feel free to tag yourself in too!

[kayden-valcourt]

💥 INTRODUCTION 💥

New intro cuz the old one is Hella outdated.

Notice: I will have some flashy blinkies on this post ⚠

Hello, I am Kayden! I'm a 17 year old digital artist, gamer, programmer, and an aspiring forklifter!

I love forklifts so much and am going to try to get certified as soon as possible!

HTML coding is my life, if u need some help hmu some time 💥

I am in lots of fandoms and like lots of shows and games! I also LOVE music!

Some shows and movies I like are

Breaking Bad

Better Call Saul

Beavis and Butt-Head

The Crow movies

The Matrix movies

Daria

Smiling Friends

Adventure Time

I also like old Disney movies (Aristocats, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, etc)

I also really love video games, I actually LOVE video games more than myself!!

Some games I like are

Team Fortress 2

Fallout 4

Fallout New Vegas

DOOM + DOOM 2

DOOM 64

DOOM ETERNAL

DOOM 3

DOOM 2016

Elder Scrolls Skyrim

Postal 4

Left 4 Dead 2

Garry's Mod

TF2 and DOOM are my current fave games and I can go on about them forever!

My main classes in TF2

Scout, Sniper, and Medic. They're the three classes I dont suck at and I love the most, I also love their lore and personality! I loved the tf2 comics! I also am somewhat decent at Demoman

Lastly is music!

I LOVE MUSIC!! Industrial is my favorite

(yes I am a Rivethead/Industrialist/Industrial Goth)

My favorite bands are

Nine Inch Nails

KMFDM

Pigface

OhGr

Skinny Puppy

Sister Machinegun

Rammstein

Ministry

Gravity Kills

Chemlab

Slick Idiot

MDFMK

Menticide

More Machine Than Man

The Prodigy

16 Volt

Night Club (band)

Dope

Orgy

Machines of Loving Grace

Static-X and Wayne Static

Nonpoint

Bile

And more!!

I have an industrial playlist on Spotify check it out please!!

I TRY TO ADD NEW MUSIC AS I DISCOVER SONGS! Active Playlist!

I also take suggestions! (if its the right genre and it sounds good!

I ALSO HAVE A PUBLIC DISCORD SERVER WITH MY FRIENDS PLEASE JOIN!! 💥

We can talk about music, art, drawings, games, bands, roleplay, and interests here with tons of people! Dont be shy to join we have emojis and take suggestions :) I also do streams or movie night sometimes!

Make sure to read the rules and be respectful :)

I love art! My ocs mean a lot to me I plan to make comics in the future! Not so many Fandom ocs more just my own ocs for my own stories.

Mostly digital artist but I doodle on my notes at school, use sketch books, and do lettering on paper! I also journal some!

Redrawing my old drawings (especially if the character has a new and better design) is so much fun to me! I also love designing and redesigning characters.

My favorite kind of characters to design/draw are Industrial Goths, Goths, Metalheads, characters with neon/bright colors, characters with sunglasses, and characters with super curly hair (its fun to draw!)

Here's some of my art as of January 2025 :)

I mostly use this acc to post art and drawings of mine so uhhh check them out 👊

Art trades are open to friends and random people, hmu if interested

No art requests sorry 😔

Edit 2-21-25

I will take requests, however I may ignore, postpone, or deny your request! I will draw stuff from *certain fandoms* like if its a Fandom I am in or your ocs/fandom ocs! I might not make full ass pictures for you but at least a doodle! Feel free to reblog or add the art to your ToyHouse if its an OC (my TH is Vodka_Muffin)

Request and comm rules, basically no extremely violent or sexual stuff, no vore or shit like that even if its a "comfort" hell nah gtfo I'm not comfortable with that 😁obviously I won't draw any Zoophile, Nazi, MAP, Nazifur, hateful, disgusting, or pedo flags or anything of that nature, which if you fall under those categories go ahead n block me ion wanna see your ass on here, I might make fun of you. No kink or fetish requests either, hell nah gtfo. I rarely draw humans but I may draw a certain oc/character if I like their design enough or if they're from a fandom I'm in. Basically that's it, dw about skimpy revealing outfits or swearing or anything I'm chill just no straight up porn/sexual material. If you have any questions abt requests feel free to DM or ask in your request! Thanks 🖤

Commissions and stuff coming soon

Dont be afraid to reach out I need more friends

Thanks for reading this have a nice night.

[divineerdrick]

Warhammer 40,000 Balance Update for October 16, 2024 - Munitorum Field Manual and Errata for Imperium Factions

After writing, I decided to split this document up into the super factions for ease of use. I've also changed how I format rules changes. Let me know what you think! Is this more readable, would you prefer a single post, or should I do a post for each faction?

Edit: The color coding for points changes breaks every time I edit it. To fix it, I have to go into the HTML and correct where it's marking things. I just don't have the spoons for manually correcting that much text.

Adepta Sororitas

Sisters are one of the armies to be feared right now, though not even close to having complete dominance in games. Of their detachments, Bringers of Flame is the clear choice. Though some players have had success with Hallowed Martyrs. They were justly directly called out for nerfs.

First, we get a fun little change that basically makes it that only one part of a unit in an Immolator gets to take the cherub with them. Technically a nerf, but it kinda makes sense. After all, the unit only comes with one cherub to begin with. It's hard to imagine the little one can perform double duty.

We also get a clarification that Imagifiers and Saintly Example do combo together, that Vow of Atonement only really affects the first three Battle Rounds, and that Verse of Holy Piety does persist for the Battle Round on death.

Battle Sisters Squad: -10 pts Castigator: +10 pts Dialogus: +10 pts Dominion Squad: +10 pts Immolator: +10 pts Morvenn Vahl: +10 pts Paragon Warsuits: +10 pts Seraphim Squad (5 models): +5 pts Seraphim Squad (10 models): +20 pts Triump of St. Katherine: +60 pts!!! Zephyrim: -1 pts/model Bringers of Flame - Fire and Fury: +10 pts Bringers of Flame - Iron Surplice of Saint Istalela: +5 pts Bringers of Flame - Manual of Saint Griselda: +5 pts Bringers of Flame - Righteous Rage: +5 pts

Despite their position, Sisters gets a couple of buffs to try and make their rank and file more attractive. After that, it's all bad news. Both Morven Vahl and Paragons get a tap, making the whole package 20 pts more expensive. Castigators, Dominions, and Immolators, and the Dialogus all also get hit. Serpahim are our next unit to get a split cost with 5 costing 18 pts/model, but 10 set to 19 pts. All of the Bringers of Flames enhancements have gone up in cost to try to hit them specifically. But the biggest hit by far is to the Triumph, with a massive 60 pts nerf. These changes amount to Bringers of Flame losing a whole unit or more.

However, I still think Bringers of Flame is the play. They will still be perfectly fine with these changes, if no longer S Tier. Meanwhile Hallowed Martyrs is also going to hate some of these nerfs. All and all, pretty fair changes to one of the top armies, but not very good for internal balance.

Adeptus Custodes

While in a rough spot, Custodes have always been a tricky army to balance. Their individual units are just so incredibly good. But when you've got so few on the table, it becomes difficult to actually play objectives. Their detachments also need some love, with Shield Host being the only one that's being played to real success. Let's see what GW has for them.

They've updated the Imperial Armour document! First we have a nerf to Spear Guard and Sagittarum. They can now only be lead by Custodes characters. This means they can no longer combo with Draxys. At the same time, the Telemon gets a buff for when it wields double caestus. I didn't see any mention of this anywhere, so this is kind of hidden. See what I mean about how GW doesn't quite have the handle on these updates? The three new FAQs are all standard stuff that shouldn't have needed clarification or further enforce how GW is ruling Transports.

Trajann Valoris: -10 pts All Contemptor Dreadnoughts: -10 pts Vertus Praetors: -5 pts/model

Points wise it's all good news at least. Trajan and all versions of the Contemptor will be much easier to include. I don't know if this enough to make Vertus Praetors worth playing, but the buffs are still welcome. It's not a lot, but like I said, this is a tough faction to balance.

Adeptus Mechanicus

The Martian Priesthood are currently doing pretty well, though this is likely at least a little bolstered by the dedication and experience of their player base. Both Rad-Zone and Skitarri are well over-represented at top tables. So we might see more nerfs than buffs.

They get their first FAQ question today, and it's a bland order of operations question. While I guess it's better to have common questions solved for everyone to see, it is frustrating when the rules are already there. Still, I guess if the rules are always changing . . .

All Electro-Priests: -1 pts/model Ironstrider Ballistarii: +5 pts/model Onager Dunecrawler: -5 pts All Pteraxii: +1 pts/model Serberys Sulphurhounds: -5 pts/3 models Skitarii Vanguard: +5 pts Sydonian Skatros: -10 pts All Tech-Priests: -5 pts

For buffs, all Electro-priests and Tech-Priests go down. The Sulphur hounds go down, but I'm not sure that's enough. The Onager somehow gets a little buff as well. I think at 50 pts, Stilt-boy becomes a usable Lone Op. In exchange Ballistari, Pteraxi, and Vanguard have all gone up in cost, and those are all commonly used units.

These changes aren't that bad, and only gives top lists a bit of a tap. I don't think this is enough to have anyone trying out new builds, but it's a start.

Astra Militarum

Guard are in a good spot! They're only slightly over the 50% mark, only slightly over-represented at top tables, and they're able to win events. Even better, multiple builds and regiments are working. The only danger is that if GW does succeed in bringing down the big boys, Guard might start to creep up. So maybe a love tap is in order? But gotta be really gentle though. Bit frustrating honestly that you might need to nerf a currently balanced army to keep them balanced for the new meta.

As for Imperial Armour, this looks like a Keyword fix for the Cyclops.

The first Errata feels like a clarification, but technically this is a rules change. I don't know anyone that played with Orders effecting Battle-shocked units, but I'm sure that happened somewhere. The second errata is just clarification and matching. The other two changes are fixes that are long overdue, with Tank Commanders getting Squadron and Rawne going to SUSTAINED HITS 1.

For FAQs, most of this is just common reading of the rules. But the one that needs clarification the most is "Death Befitting an Officer." The clarifications made are that the ability can only trigger if the Tank Commander is killed during an attack. The amusing thing, is this can be the Tank Commander's attack. So if the Tank Commander dies to overcharged plasma, it gets to shoot again.

Bullgryn Squad: +20 pts/3 models Field Ordnance Battery: -10 pts Heavy Weapons Squad: -10 pts Ogryn Squad: -5 pts/3 models Scout Sentinels: -5 pts/model Tank Commander: +20 pts

And the points changes are, indeed, love taps. The Tank Commander and Bullgryn are both heavy hitters in Guard armies, but I'm guessing this will just result in one fewer Bullgryn squad. In exchange, Field Ordinance, Heavy Weapons, and Scout Sentinels of all things have all gone down. Don't think Ogryn will replace Bullgryn, but that drop might help make them a bit more attractive.

Guard will be fine.

Black Templars

The previous kings of the Space Marine Chapters, Black Templars have fallen quite a ways. Many of the previous nerfs to Space Marines have actually been targeted at them, and I theorized that GW was trying to bring the divergent Chapters in line with the Codex Chapters to try and make balance easier. With the nerfs to their vehicles and to Iron Storm, their Crusaders detachment is back to being the best way to play them. Some players are also having luck with the Gladius too. Still, if GW is going to use rules to balance Space Marines, Templars need some love.

FAQ and Errata don't have anything meaningful for Dorn's angriest sons, so we can go straight to points.

Castellan: -5 pts Chaplain Grimaldus: +10 pts Crusader Squad (20 models): +20 pts High Marshal Helbrecht: +10 pts Marshal: -5 pts Primaris Crusader Squad (10 models): +10 pts Primaris Crusader Squad (20 models): +40 pts!!!

Woo boy! Someone didn't like how well Templar horde has done at some recent events! That's all their staples up, with the big brick of Crusaders going up a full 40 pts. For consolation, Castellans and Marshals have gone down 5 pts.

Yeah, Templars are going to be hurting.

Blood Angels

The Sons of Sanguinius have only just gotten their book. By tradition, this usually means they'll get minimum changes, other than having their points come more in line with the current meta. My understanding is the Codex is a bit of a mixed bag, so I'll be guessing a bit here. Before their Codex though, they were doing pretty good and mostly using Sons of Sanguinius. Since that detachment is mostly intact, they should be pretty good to go with minimal changes.

For Errata, the detachments have all been changed to be Blood Angels only. They've changed the timing on Death from the Skies to make you pick your unit in the Movement phase, just after they move. They also fixed wargear on Sanguard so that you can mix and match spears and swords and give two inferno pistols to a 6 man. FAQs clarify that Sanguinor is able to arrive within engagement range of enemy models that didn't trigger it and gets the usual reminder about how reserve rules work. The change to Death from the Skies is interesting, but I'm guessing they might try to unify Advance and Charge rules next.

Liberator Assault Group - Icon of the Angel: +10 pts The Angelic Host - Archangel's Shard: -10 pts Astorath: +20 pts Baal Predator: +10 pts Chief Librarian Mephiston: +25 pts Commander Dante: +10 pts Death Company Marines: -7 pts/model Death Company Marines with Bolt Rifles: +3 pts/model Death Company Marines with Jump Packs: -2 pts/model Sanguinary Guard: +14 pts/model

Points wise, let's start with enhancements. Archangels Shard actually went down 10 pts, while Icon of the Angel went up 10 pts. But then, they all got shuffled around between two detachments too, so their synergies have changed a bit. The new Gleaming Pinions went up from its book cost. Nearly everything else go nerfed. Astorath has gone up 20 pts, which is more than I think he's improved. Despite getting nerfed in the Codex, the Baal Predator has also gone up 10 pts. Mephiston took a sidegrade in the new book, but GW apparently thinks he needs to go up a full 25 pts. By contrast, I think 10 pts is much more in line with Dante's buffs. Basic death Company Marines have gotten a significant buff, with Jump Pack models also getting a nice boost. But Intercessors, now called Death Company Marines with Bolt Rifles, got nerfed. I'm not sure this is inline with their Codex buffs. Sanguinary Guard have are probably the biggest loser of the codex, that extra wound costing them 14 pts per model despite losing striking power. The Sanguinary Priest remains unchanged, despite a small power boost, as does the The Sanguinor.

As for new models, they have to compete with their Codex equivalents. Despite having fewer options, the Blood Angels Captain is the same price as a Codex Captain. I'm definitely not sure about the Dreadnought being 20 pts over a standard Brutalis, especially after losing Frenzied Reprisal. But 70 pts and 85 pts are probably fine for the two Death Company Captains.

That's a lot! And it's hard to grapple with. Honestly, I don't see Blood Angels staying where they are. Liberator is still a good detachment, but I'm thinking there going to struggle to get the same results they did before. I'm more and more getting the feeling that GW is trying to zero out the Space Marine chapters before they do their rules update.

Dark Angels

While not boasting as impressive numbers as Space Wolves, Dark Angels are also in a really good position. While still hovering just above 50% wins, they regularly make it to top tables and have actually brought home more trophies than their rival Chapter has. Again, popularity has a lot to do with this skewed data. Their detachments are struggling though. Most of their success comes from Codex Detachments, especially the Gladius. But that's not getting fixed today. In fact, after seeing the previous divergent chapters, I'm predicting they're in for a bad time.

The Sons of the Lion aren't getting anything new for their FAQ today, so we're moving straight to points.

Azreal +10 pts Deathwing Knights +15 pts Landspeeder Vengeance -20 pts Lion El'Johnson -15 pts Ravenwing Command Squad -10 pts Sammael -15 pts GW . . . Every time I think you've started to understand how the meta works and have got a plan of what to do about it, you pull something like this. Granted, the bump to Azreal and Knights is going to be felt. But Sammael and The Lion were already good.

Dark Angels are in a good spot.

Edit: Okay, I'm coming back having read the Core Codex changes. There's a lot there that hits Dark Angels. Things just got bumpy.

Grey Knights

The Knights of Titan are another faction that's actually in a pretty good spot. Yeah, they're obviously waiting for their full Codex, but they're still performing really steadily. Again, there's the potential they can take advantage of nerfs to the factions above them. But I think they don't have the same ability to do that as Guard does. They're not getting any errata or FAQ, so let's move onto points.

Brotherhood Terminator Squad (5 models): -10 pts Paladin Squad (5 models): -5 pts Purgation Squad: -2 pts/model

Grey Knights exemplify getting the most out of maximum squad sizes. So making their MSU more efficient is a welcome blessing. This will help them get a few more units onto the board without feeling like they're wasting their valuable points. I'm not sure this will really change lists all that much, but they're still welcome changes.

Imperial Agents

As I said in my first post, this isn't really an army. There are a few people who have taken a chance on it, mostly trying to take advantage of the fact that no one really knows what it does yet. The Imperialis Fleet does have some interesting rules in it too, but still suffers from the general lack of an army rule and internal cohesion. We don't have a lot of numbers yet, but what we have doesn't look promising.

For new errata we don't have much either. We've got an errant asterisk that needs to be viciously purged from Imperial records and the obvious clarification that Rhinos can only transport Infantry.

Assigned Agents Subductor Squad: +15 pts

That's it. Just a nerf to one of the more popular units for other Imperium armies to include. It wouldn't surprise me if most of the action we ever see here is in this section of the MFM.

Imperial Knights

As opposed to their Traitor counterparts, Loyalist Households are doing fine. They're another faction putting out solid, steady performance. I know their player base has changes they'd love to see, particularly to Bondsman abilities, but we won't be getting that here.

After a quick FAQ that Sir Hektor cannot complete an action Canus Rex began, we go straight to points.

Canus Rex: +15 pts Knight Castellan: -15 pts Knight Errant: -15 pts Knight Gallant: -20 pts Knight Valiant: -20 pts

And that's all there is here. Canus Rex gets punished for being constantly taken as an ally while some lesser played Knights get some buffs. I think we'll see some players experiment a bit more, but that's all this will amount to.

Space Marines

Oh boy, Space Marines! It sounds like they're getting rules in the next Balance Dataslate, and they need them. There's no reason to play an Iron Hands Ironstorm when Black Templars use it better. There's no reason to play Storm Lance as Whitescars when you can take Dark Angels or Space Wolves. Only Ultramarines seems to be seeing much play, due to how good Calgar and Ventris are, and they've still fallen behind Dark Angels. In short, it's not that Space Marines aren't good, it's that chapters with their own rules and units are so much better. So how do you buff Space Marines without making the other Chapters too strong? The way things currently are, you can't.

For errata, we get a small clarification on Forged in Battle that specifies the die becomes an unmodified 6. Uriel Ventris gets the same treatment Cypher and the Archon got, future proofing them and making sure he doesn't stack with Lord of Deceit. There's a small clarification on the rules for Lieutenants that everyone was playing it as anyway. And Desolation Squads can burn in hell with yet another nerf.

For FAQs, Captains still can't be targeted in transports on the battlefield with a Stratagem, but they can be targeted while on the Battle Barge, in orbit, far away from the battlefield. No I will not stop complaining about that. A Deadly Prize gets the same treatment Nurgle's Gifts got, in that it stays in effect but stop working when controlled by your opponent. And Eradicators get the same treatment Tank Commanders get and can use their rule as long as they were killed by an attack.

Apothecary Biologus +15 pts Assault Intercessors with Jump Packs (5 models) +5 pts Ballistus Dreadnought -10 pts Captain in Phobos Armour -10 pts Eradicator Squad +5 pts/3 models Heavy Intercessor Squad -1 pts/model Invador ATV -10 pts Invictor Tactical Warsuit -15 pts Reiver Squad -1 pts/model Roboute Guilliman -65 pts!!! Storm Speeder Hailstrike -15 pts Storm Speeder Hammerstrike -25 pts Storm Speeder Thunderstrike -10 pts Suppressor Squad -10 pts All Terminators -1 pts/model Vanguard Veterans with Jump Packs +1 pts/model Gladius Task Force: Fire Discipline +10 pts Stormlance Task Force: Feinting Withdrawal -10 pts Stormlance Task Force: Hunter's Instincts +15 pts

Wow! So Guilliman just got the biggest buff of the balance pass! I think we'll be seeing a lot more of him. Other than that, I don't think Space Marine players are going to be very pleased. Those nerfs are to units they've been needing to use to get success, and I don't think the buffs to the other units will help enough. Expect to see Dark Angels players experimenting with Storm Speeders though, and we'll probably start to see Ballistus Dreadnoughts as potential firing platforms.

Space Marine players will be waiting impatiently for December to come around.

Space Wolves

Arguably the top dogs of competitive 40K right now, Space Wolves have been a frustrating faction to face for a while now. The chief culprit is a build called "Wolf Jail", where the Space Wolves player loads their army with Thunderwolves and rushes them up the board at their opponent. The extremely efficient units ties up far more powerful enemies than their points should allow, leaving the opponent pinned in their deployment zone and unable to play the game. Meanwhile, the Space Wolves have the run of the board and can easily mop up any units that manage to escape the jail. By the time the opponent has dealt with the Thunderwolves, the game is basically over.

GW had tried to nerf this build in the Pariah Nexus update, but it was clear even then that they didn't go far enough. I'm wondering if we've got a Desolation Squad level nerf incoming for them.

For errata we just have some keyword fixes. The Stormfang and Stormwolf have apparently managed to escape being under the rule of Imperial law for a while now, but no longer. For FAQs these are more already understood clarifications. Again, not frustrated that GW is answering these. I'm frustrated players were trying to challenge simple rules.

Bjorn the Fell-Handed: +10 pts Hounds of Morkai: -2 pts/model Logan Grimnar +15 pts Longfangs: -6 pts/model Skyclaws (10 models): -15 pts Skyclaws (15 models): -30 pts Thunderwolf Cavalry: +20 pts/3 models Wolfguard: -2 pts/model

That is honeslty a lot of green! Only the key units took hits, with Bjorn the Fell-Handed in particular being one of the best Lord of Deceit platforms in the game right now. I'm pretty sure you still take him. Thunderwolves has gone up a further 20 pts for their basic unit. That's another 20% on top of prior nerfs. But that's still 40 points for a 4 wound model with a 3+ save, 7 anti-infantry attacks, a plasma pistol, and a ton of mobility in Stormlance. This is not even close to a Desolation Squad or Bully Boyz level nerf. I think that actually might just be a good price for them.

Space Wolves are still good, but hopefully they won't be oppressive.

[bodytoflame-ao3]

twas tagged by @coraniaid, here i am

How many works do you have on Ao3? 77

What's your total Ao3 word count? 245,927

What fandoms do you write for? Buffy/Angel, Person of Interest, Percy Jackson, dabbling in Yellowjackets….

What are your top five fics by kudos? you’re the only thing that i think i got right  yall thirsty sunnydale anonymous ate served deserved! my baby!!! if you ask how I'm feeling tonight (baby nothing could make me feel bad) literally just genderbent Percy judo flip scene and they ate it up! the world keeps turning my first wlw percabeth fic….. and they were roommates percabeth one-shots what it says on the tin. this list is soooo skewed by how big this fandom is lmao. 

Do you respond to comments? yes they bring me serotonin ☺️

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? haaaaas to be a tie between the insane post wilderness Shauna fic and the inbetween 5x09-10 POI fic! i can go anywhere i want (just not home) entr’acte

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? move with the tide marriage proposal!

Do you get hate on fics? no! I’ve gotten some weird comments of people trying to like nudge me in one direction story/character wise but I pretend I do not see it and frankly it makes me want to do the opposite of that

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i really only feel motivated for it if it makes sense within the greater story I’m trying to tell. my work is really heavily based in character dynamics so it definitely does feel like the right move at times, but I generally don’t like to stay there too long and don’t tend to write with a ton of detail. i tried to write a pwp once and it ended up 10k+ words with a plot.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written no but during our leverage rewatch the cursed idea of the person of interest team getting all the leverage team’s fake identities as numbers while they’re trying to con finch was dreamt up. and i think someone should write it.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge?

Have you ever had a fic translated? I had someone ask and I said yes so….. probably?

Have you ever co-written a fic before? WAY back in like 2013 I collaborated with someone on a House of Anubis fic in FFN dms that never saw the light of day hahahaha. i'd love to do it for real.

What's your all time favorite ship? It’s Root/Shaw and it’s not even close!

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I have about 30k written of a Buffy post-series fic/Angel s5 rewrite that I’m absolutely infatuated with but it’s sooooo biting off more than I can chew. 

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue literally just dialogue baby!

What are your writing weaknesses? can i say long covid lmao cause long covid lmao. kicking my ass. jokes aside my current weakness is being exhausted by html code, and the middle point of stories.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i am not fluent enough in anything to trust myself to do so lmao

First fandom you wrote for? Ojamajo Doremi! Waaaaaay back on the 4kidstv forums when I was 8. shoutout 4kidstv fan fiction forums.

Favorite fic you've written i can't hide from you like i hide from myself im a SUCKER for soulmates and also s7 fuffy. chefs kiss i loved writing this.

Tagging: i think this has hit everyone i know here expect @displayheartcode