#BUT!!! i do think the game has a lot of positives too

[prokopetz]

I think a lot of folks in indie RPG spaces misunderstand what's going on when people who've only ever played Dungeons & Dragons claim that indie RPGs are categorically "too complicated". Yes, it's sometimes the case that they're making the unjustified assumption that all games are as complicated as Dungeons & Dragons and shying away from the possibility of having to brave a steep learning cure a second time, but that's not the whole picture.

A big part of it is that there's a substantial chunk of the D&D fandom – not a majority by any means, but certainly a very significant minority – who are into D&D because they like its vibes or they enjoy its default setting or whatever, but they have no interest in actually playing the kind of game that D&D is... so they don't.

Oh, they'll show up at your table, and if you're very lucky they might even provide their own character sheet (though whether it adheres to the character creation guidelines is anyone's guess!), but their actual engagement with the process of play consists of dicking around until the GM tells them to roll some dice, then reporting what number they rolled and letting the GM figure out what that means.

Basically, they're putting the GM in the position of acting as their personal assistant, onto whom they can offload any parts of the process of play that they're not interested in – and for some players, that's essentially everything except the physical act of rolling the dice, made possible by the fact most of D&D's mechanics are either GM-facing or amenable to being treated as such.*

Now, let's take this player and present them with a game whose design is informed by a culture of play where mechanics are strongly player facing, often to the extent that the GM doesn't need to familiarise themselves with the players' character sheets and never rolls any dice, and... well, you can see where the wires get crossed, right?

And the worst part is that it's not these players' fault – not really. Heck, it's not even a problem with D&D as a system. The problem is D&D's marketing-decreed position as a universal entry-level game means that neither the text nor the culture of play are ever allowed to admit that it might be a bad fit for any player, so total disengagement from the processes of play has to be framed as a personal preference and not a sign of basic incompatibility between the kind of game a player wants to be playing and the kind of game they're actually playing.

(Of course, from the GM's perspective, having even one player who expects you to do all the work represents a huge increase to the GM's workload, let alone a whole group full of them – but we can't admit that, either, so we're left with a culture of play whose received wisdom holds that it's just normal for GMs to be constantly riding the ragged edge of creative burnout. Fun!)

* Which, to be clear, is not a flaw in itself; a rules-heavy game ideally needs a mechanism for introducing its processes of play gradually.

#gaming #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop rpgs #game design

[seratopia]

donatello x reader (fluff?) - random headcannons

this list has been piling up, these are more general

No matter how much y'all say it, I don't think his love language would be physical touch. Donnie seems too awkward to return hugs or kisses, but nonetheless still notices/appreciates them when you do it. Instead, I feel like he'd opt for acts of service instead. Like, fixing your glasses, showing you cool features on your laptop, creating a custom chat interface for you two.

He lets you borrow that purple hoodie

You hear "Erm akshually-" alot lmaooooo ; he often infodumps the most random shit to you, you've become accustomed to listening to him.

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's slightly into LOA stuff (Law of Attraction). It's canon that he listens to positive self-affirmations while he sleeps, so maybe that's a thing for him idk

Steals your eyebrow pencil to fill in his brows for the day. It'd be cool to see him into makeup.

Plays SO MANY games holy shit, has tried everything on Steam.

Obviously he has Discord, no questions asked. Organizes his servers into neat, purple folders. He only uses dark mode, he hisses if he ever sees light mode. Also knows how to make and works servers very well; likes making embeds and such for fun.

^^ On top of this, he probably has a lot of online friends; he doesn't need to show his face or reveal his identity. I see him staying up really late, playing random games at 2 AM on a Discord call.

Very very techy; uses Linux, built his own PC, set up the lair's wifi router too. The brothers come to him all the time for help on their tech fixes, mainly on Nintendo Switch.

My boy is CHRONICALLY ONLINE, he definitely knows all those niche internet songs. He gives me weird kid vibes, like The Living Tombstone, Rat by Penelope Scott, dare I say a little bit of Miku?

He knows the FNAF lore

Secretly shops at Hot Topic from time to time. I'm seeing graphic tees, maybe a studded bracelet? He walks in and the employees are like, "Dude, nice cosplay."

CAFFEINE! Mostly relies on coffee, doesn't like Starbucks that much, and he has tried Monster before. Monster is like a last resort for him, like he's working on a project he MUST finish for his sanity.

Also, I feel like he has fucked up teeth idk. Like, how the hell would Splinter be able to afford dental care for not one, but four teens? Braces too, not only are they expensive, but inaccessible to mutants.

He needs glasses, just often refuses to wear them

Never, ever truly gets angry or mad. But when he does, its rare and it's kinda scary ngl

© 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒂.

#rottmnt #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt x reader #x reader #reader insert #donnie #donatello #donatello x reader #donnie x reader #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt donatello x reader #random headcannons #fluff #seratopia writes ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅

[philyaoi]

sorry i dont have anyone to talk to this about lol so it's going in your inbox but i'm in my mid-20s and only now for the first time in my life have i changed my mind on rpf specifically because of phanfic. i'm a returning phannie but like.... the last time i watched them was all the way back in 2012. and was very ani-rpf then and have continued to be through the years. and i think in a lot of cases i maintain that position. but after falling back in love with dnp and the phandom and caving into the urge to read some phanfic knowing that dnp themselves encourage and respect it im kind of shocked to find it's actually a really beautiful, metatextual, interactive creative outlet. i think youve talked a bit about how phanfic isnt really rpf to you and i kind of agree, because dan and phil to me are like.... an idea, a mythology, a narrative, that theyre aware of and have built as well as being aware that we're aware of. like the idea of dan and phil has been constructed by them and their fans hand in hand for over a decade. and i find that phanfic itself is very aware of this and exists to expand upon those ideas. lol. yeah that's it sorry for this ramble. i just find it surprising that something could change my mind on that in this day and age but it's been a very cool experience.

hello welcome youve come to the right place for this yap because i COMPLETELY understand you. like genuinely i am not this attached to any other "rpf" content like this? ok i had an egobang phase but honestly arin and danny have grown to share a similar but not exact same connection as dnp BUT I DIGRESS

but yeah i think a lot of it is due to the contrastive relationships between the brand of Dan and Phil™, their separate individual brands Daniel Howell and AmazingPhil (particularly dan), the Phanon dnp, and the actual real people dan and phil. i always go back to the fanfiction segment of tatinof but its just such a perfect example of what i mean. like, the entire idea to have a fanfic scene was ofc the real people's idea, and they used tropes they would see in the phanon to convey the audience interactive story, but at the same time had to keep it at least Somewhat appropriate for the Brand™ at the time being very pre-teen and teen focused. honestly idk how much you've gone back and watched of what you missed, but i would suggest doing that not just cuz theres some incredible stuff from those eras, but also seeing the intersection of the brand, fanon, and real people and when they split apart. you see it a lot especially in gaming videos imo where theyre unscripted, and once they got more comfortable in the gaming channel roles the energy shifting away from Brand but never too far... until ofc now where what even is their brand anymore just Chaos and Queerness i guess

OH ALSO go read some old fic and compare to newer ones like its not just that writing styles changed or that dnp themselves have changed, but the like. energy and intent put into fic has changed. i would say in the past it was more exploratory, putting dnp in AU's and imagines, or exploring what Could have happened. whereas now, yes ofc there are au's and fic for the purpose of exploring a concept or world, but also its a lot more introspective. exploring the inner world a bit more. idk i just thijk dnp are funny lil guys and they accidentally created some freaky lil creatures in a lab somewhere...

#the brand #phan #myrambles #i feel like i have other tags i could give this idk

[satureja13]

It's not that late when Lou and Jack left the Pub. They are tired and hungry after the fight so they went over to Lou's house. Lou: "I'll show you your room. It's in the building on the right and the bathroom is right below." Jack: "Wow, ok. Thanks." Lou: "You're very welcome here, Jack."

Lou: "I used it as a storage room for a while, I hope it's ok." Jack: "Of course it is! It's amazing!"

Lou is so sweet. He quickly got this room ready while Jack cared for the horses earlier.

And he placed Jack's trophy and the spicy wolf figurines he bought for him. (Isn't it a bit strange that he placed them in this position too? Maybe he's just as weird as Jack? Or is he hitting on him? Was Jack hitting on Lou when he chose those wolves? ö.Ö')

They agreed to cook together and Jack went to the bathroom first. Only to find a magazine with inadequate dressed, but very handsome guys, tissues and - lube... Is this Lou's stuff he forgot to put away or did he leave it for Jack to see? ö.Ö'

They cooked together in silence.

Lou: "Is everything ok?" Jack: "Uhm, yes... just hungry." Lou: "Me too. Let's finish the meal before I devour you! Haha!" Jack laughed a little too loud: "HAHA!" ö.ö'

During the meal they managed to get back to their former comraderie and chatted as if nothing happened. (It's because nothing happened, Jack! Every Boy has this stuff at home! Saiwa still owns that 'wand' and the 'polish' Kiyoshi gave him. Though they'd never used it. But better not remind Jack of that o.o')

And just when Jack really thought it's nothing and fought his paranoia, because this is his therapy after all, Lou said: "Hey, I want to show you something."

Lou: "It's over here."

Lou: "I've never shown this room to anyone... I'm glad I finally found someone to share my, not so little *chuckles* secret. Keeping it hidden from everyone is eating me up."

No one can relate better to this than poor Jack who had to keep his whole relationship to Kiyoshi a secret until he broke down. But Jack's already wild imaginanion was bouncing around like a rubber ball on hyperspeed in a too small box. The wolf figurines and the stuff in the bathroom and that Lou wants to 'eat' him. Is he a cannibal or is this room a kind of sex chamber? Lou: "We will spend a lot of time here. Sweating and groaning." Ok sweating and groaning is only for the living. So at least he's not going to eat him, right? ö.ö (Uhm 'groaning' is also for zombies, Jack...)

Lou: "Come in!" (Jack's face is priceless! ^^')

Jack: "Exercise equipment?" Lou: "Sure, thought that was obvious. What did you think?" Haha - omg Jack! Lou: "Remember? No one knows that we are Moonchild and Wolfsbane. I've spent a lot of time here alone. I'm glad you're here. We can spur on each other and do challenges!"

Jack noticed the cabinet with the trophies: "Wow. You've won a lot of fights!" Among all the golden ones, there is also a second silver trophy. Lou: "The other wolf who defeated me was Greg. What a fight that was! No one ever gave me hell like you and Greg. But he retired for unknown reasons. So I'm glad I have an equal opponent like him again. For the thrill, you know." Jack knows. He doesn't care if he wins or loses either when the fight is good. Except when strong feelings are involved. When he lost his Cattle Market against Kiyoshi or the fights against Greg.

They retreated to their rooms. Lou will show him around tomorrow. Talking abouts fights reminded Jack of his fights with Kiyoshi after he became his Alpha. Those were the days when he tried to kill Kiyoshi after he found out he'd been at the Lab and he thought he was a threat for his friends. But the fights had been amazing. And hot. There is really something terribly wrong in his head! How can he still miss and want Kiyoshi!

It's time to log out and report back to his friends. Ji Ho has to try out the Game and find out if he really is a Princess in his Therapy Game too! And if he is going to marry Caleb! But Jack will come back here for sure! The Game is awesome, the therapy works and hopefully it will also help him to forget about Kiyoshi. Or maybe Lou is really here to hit on Jack so he can get over Kiyoshi? Anyway, Jack gives the Therapy Game a 10 out of 10!

Congratz! You've made it through a very long post (again)! But today, there is a little reward for you (if you like):

tumblr communities are here! (more information -> here)

So, I got an email last week if we'd like to playtest the new feature! This is how it looks like:

During the beta, I can invite up to 25 members and the community is set on private. So if you are shy and don't like posting in the open space, this is a safe environment for you.

I'm not able to change anything as long as the beta runs, so we have to live with the indications I've made under 'About' and 'Guidelines'. Any ideas what to add/remove (as soon as we are able to change it) are welcome!

I must admit I have no clue where this is going and what it is good for ^^' It looks like every post will be stuffed in the main category. So we'll have to work with tags. I've created a pinned post with the tags I came up with. Here I'll need your help to collect ideas for tabs. Like #sims chat #tumblr communities chat #my builds #my sims #my gameplay #sims news #polls...

After you got invited (this is still buggy as far as I've seen in the communites chat) you'll also have access to the communites feedback chat to submit your feedback about the communites feature to tumblr. But you don't have to. Any of us can collect our feedback and submit it as well.

If you are interested, let me know and I will send you an invite! I think this can be amazing since we can create our very own, safe community here and more members can be added after the beta. Haha and it's bot free! ^^

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

#The One Game #underwater love #The Game #jack callahan #the one #Jack's Therapy Game #lou howell #sims 4 story #simlit #simblr #ts4 #sims 4 #sims 4 vanilla #sims storytelling #the sims #sims #tell us your stories #henford on bagley #old new henford

[majjiktricks]

Can you explain why you think Ocelot likes Kaz? I was always under the impression that they fought like cat and dog (sorry I couldn't resist).

this took a while to answer because i wanted to go back through some of the mgsv tapes with ocelot and kaz but. mainly, what you thought is entirely untrue. whatever antagonism exists in their relationship, it feels like the fandom has blown WAYYY out of proportion.

the ONLY point of contention i can think of off the top of my head is kaz being jealous of ocelot for knowing bb longer. in the tape where kaz is talking to zero about where bb is during his coma, zero mentions an agent who has known bb 10 years longer than kaz has, and kaz SCOFFS, like he cant believe someone would know bb better than him. but also, this tape is set almost immediately after ground zeroes, so who knows how his feelings might have changed over the years.

the only time ocelot seems to get genuinely angry at kaz is when hes accusing quiet of. well. anything he accuses her of. kaz tends to do so without any evidence, and he doesnt trust her (for justified reasons), but he also blames her for a lot of things. ocelot is the only person on mother base willing to defend her. and he never yells, he just logically rebukes and kaz is the one who fights back.

any time ocelot speaks about kaz without him present, he really only praises him. he obviously is impressed at what he and bb accomplished in founding MSF.

thats just what i can remember. going for evidence now, grabbed some of the tapes that have ocelot AND kaz in them:

Bionic arm tape Ocelot: "I couldn't get [a bionic arm] for you at the time, but y'know, now…" ocelot offers to get bionics for kaz, he wants to make kaz's life easier. kaz refuses i think out of a self-punishing sentiment, not out of resentment or denial of ocelot's help. that because all of his men died, hes not allowed to have it. and he gets heated and angry about it, nearly yelling. but then he apologizes, realizing he wasnt actually angry at ocelot, just venting.

Yellow cake and the Shinkolobe Mine tapes ocelot and kaz theorizing about why the shinkolobwe mine was reopened/being mined for uranium. the conversation honestly sounds like they could be on a lunch break just chilling.

The Children Escape tapes in [2] they disagree over who should interrogate eli. ocelot doesnt think kaz can responsibly question the kids, so he steps up to do it instead. kaz dismisses him and his expertise at interrogation because he thinks ocelot will enjoy it too much. ocelot is definitely offended, and they do argue here, but i think this is because of the topic at hand and not indicative of their other conversations.

Huey's Interrogation Tapes i think their good(ish) cop bad cop routine with huey is very funny. theyre working together to get as much information out of him as possible. and it works.

overall i think they actually work really well together. after all, they spent the time bb and v were unconscious recreating MSF from scratch. also, i think kaz trusts ocelot to some extent, going as far as to put his life on the line to distract from the hospital attack. he depended upon ocelot to get bb (venom. but. you know.) out of the hospital and to afghanistan in time to rescue him.

at the very least, they are working toward the same goals (during mgsv) and have no ideological reason to hate one another. when they DO work together, it gets results.

i cant imagine you can work with someone for years doing all that and still not have any positive association with them. kaz definitely is the type to hold a grudge, but if anything, i think thats a personal one. and im not even certain on whether or not he does hold anything against ocelot once they start working together (during mgsv at least. after the game. well. anything goes.)

was sent some additional thoughts that cover the cutscenes as well as the tapes: all good stuff here

#this is kind of a mess but. have my word vomit. #jazz noises #inbox #anonymous #revolver ocelot #kazuhira miller

[shimmershy]

Buttercups and Golden Flowers

#i drew this mostly because i noticed that a lot of people mistake buttercups and golden flowers as being the same thing. #so i wanted to try drawing them like. distinctly different in the same image. #it's not a big thing but i do think the fact that they're different has some significance. or at least like. symbolic meaning. #my art #undertale #chara #chara dreemurr #safeutdr #something about the fact that they both look similar at least in color but one of them is poisonous. #the way golden flowers are clearly a positive symbol throughout the game and clearly heavily associated with Chara. #contrasted with the very negative connotations buttercups have. with asgore getting sick and chara using them in their plan. #you never see buttercups in the game. which makes it even easier to mistake the two. because we've only seen one kind of #golden/yellow flower. who's to say 'golden flowers' aren't just referring to buttercups? well. #why would there be golden flower tea if they were poisonous? why would chara want to see the golden flowers from their village if they're #the same kind of flower? they clearly have buttercups in the underground. #it feels almost intentional the way golden flowers are so easily mistaken for buttercups. or at least that the difference is so subtle. #it goes well with the way they're associated so strongly with chara who's also a very subtle yet important part of the narrative. #from a surface-level perspective the flowers that took their life and the one's they actually like/are important to them are the same thing #but when you pay closer attention to the narrative you can see the different symbolic meanings. #well. uhh I've thought about it too much don't mind me. #see i think about it from the perspective of chara being super adamant about them being two different flowers #and frustrated when anybody gets it wrong. because clearly. CLEARLY they're not the same. #'STOP confusing buttercups and golden flowers. i literally used buttercups to kill myself do you think i would still like them after that?' #'do you think i want to be associated with them? they're not the same!!' #<number one golden flower enjoyer number one buttercup hater. #i need a badge that says 'i have strong opinions about chara dreemurr because i kin them. i apologize for the wall of text' at this rate.

[jeanmoreauss]

honestly the implication with what we know of Jeremy's home life thus far that not only is his personality not an act but that he actively chooses to be good despite being in a family where he goes out of his way to avoid his brother because the two can't see each other without conflict, where his sister won't attend his games and is mad at him for sticking with exy, and he still chooses to pursue the things he loves and do good things and be the kindest person he can be despite not being perfect and living in a house full people who seem to hate it is just such a wonderful part of his character

#obviously he hasn't been as fucked up as Jean but Jeremy is in a position i feel where because it's “not that bad” it'd be so much easier to #just fall into whatever mindset the rest of his family has and instead he does the opposite #maybe this is just me yapping maybe this is nothing #but i truly don't want anything to take away from the fact that Jeremy is “too good” #i just want that to be him and i want that to be the person he's chosen to be and works to be everyday #there doesn't need to be something secretly wrong with him #we already know he's not perfect but he's trying #and i'm sure we'll get more in depth on this in tsc2 but i already think it's so excellent #i truly think we've seen the most authentic jeremy #because clearly he views his home to actually be the trojans and cat and laila's place and his friends #and i think we'll see more of him and his behavior with his family but i do think we actually know a lot about his character despite not #knowing a lot about his situation and his past #tsc #tsc spoilers #the sunshine court #all for the game #aftg #jeremy knox

[mmmthornton]

"I got you, dude"

***

The Freedom Pals finished their route by taking out some sixth graders that were hassling kids outside the movie theater. One of them landed a kick on Tupperware's torso that cracked the container under his left arm.

He was starting to walk away when Toolshed tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey! I got something for that. May I?"

Almost before Tolkien knew what was happening, Stan slapped a neat stripe of high-quality duct tape up one side over the crack. "Oh man, thanks Toolshed!"

"Yeah man, I got you! Here, lemme get the other side so it looks like a style choice."

***

Some days later, most of the guys were waiting in Tolkien's living room for their various rides. Stan was standing around talking with his friends and was about to walk outside where it was snowing...in just his Toolshed t-shirt. Toolshed felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Hey man, you need something going out there, its cold out. Take this!" and Tolkien pushed a jacket into his hands.

"Aw, I don't need it, I'm across the street anyway Its no bi-"

"Just put it on man, you can't fight crime if you get sick."

Toolshed relented, and zipped the jacket over his shirt. "Thanks man. ... Hey, it kinda goes with the look."

"If you like it it's yours. I uh, got two jackets for Christmas." Human Kite noticed out of the corner of his eye a shopping bag stashed near the door that looked like the same brand as the jacket.

"Cool, thanks dude!"

Yeah, I got you."

***

While working on an upgrade to the Tupperjet, Tupperware nearly broke a window trying to remove a stripped screw. "Damn....Hey, 'Shed, do you have a pinhammer I could use to get these out?"

"Yeah, I got you, one sec."

"Thanks dude!"

***

"Tupperware, I need some protection for the wrist drill attachments; I can block when they're not retracted but otherwise the track gets janky. Got anything I could use?"

"Sure, I got you! My mom made spaghetti last week and we've got plastic thrown out in the recycling bin."

"Sweet, thanks 'Tups!"

***

Professor Chaos' minion set off a self-destruct that just caught Tupperware in its wake. He's shoved backwards by the blast and waves his arms vainly, falling backwards-

-and one hand finds Toolsheds glove, solidifying into an iron grip. The handyman hero hooked his measuring tape to a tree and caught them both in time before they went over the edge.

"I got you, dude!"

Mosquito came running up, grabbing Tupperware's other arm and pulling them both up to stable ground. He complained later to Super Craig how Tolkien didn't even LOOK at Clyde when thanking him for the rescue. His attention was occupied on someone else.

***

The meth-addicted hobos that had ambushed the team on a mission to the old mall parking lot weren't the brightest enemies they'd faught, but their blind druggie rage packed a powerful punch and all of them were feeling the effects. Toolshed knocked away two in one blow with his drill ground attack, saving Mysterion from yet another messy death. In the process however, he didn't see the one coming up behind him from under a tarp...

"I got you, Toolshed!"

...Before Toolshed knew what was happening, he was standing near the other side of the mostly-cleared battlefield as an electric *hum* and soft blue light faded around him. He saw where he'd been standing, Tupperware was surrounded by the same glow as his advanced shields met the druggie attack and deflected it to a harmless rattle. Moments later, The Coon pounced claws-first and finished the fight. Toolshed didn't react when his chubby friend in a fursuit commented that he needed to do better at watching his ass...and then murmured that he was more concerned with someone else's. Ass, that is.

***

"...So anyway, with the 3D Printer my dad just bought, we have basically limitless options for supplies and gear! Toolshed and I found a site that translates manufacturer specs into three dimensional plans for easy customizing and building. We printed a logo that attaches to Professor Timmy's wheelchair wheels that doubles as a shock absorber. How cool is THAT?"

Around the table of the Freedom Pals, everyone clapped politely except for Toolshed. Toolshed grinned widely and clapped the loudest, proud of their shared achievement.

***

After the meeting, Kite, Mysterion, and Coon approached Professor Timmy's chair.

Kyle cleared his throat.

"Heyyy, Professor...Would it be possible for you to help us with something?"

If it is within my immense telepathic and psychokinetic powers, and doesn't get me in trouble with my mom, of course heroes. What do you need that my powerful brain can help you obtain?

The Coon leaned into Mysterion's ear. "I know Timmy's head was big to begin with but geez..."

"Uh, yes, thank you Professor!" Kite continued. "See, we are friends with, um, Toolshed and lately he's seemed...distracted. Could you maybe use your powers and tell us what exactly his - er, deal is?"

There's silence, and Timmy's gaze turns to the other side of the room. Tolkien is out of his Tupperware suit and is leaning over a drawing Stan is showing him. "So, I got to thinking after seeing the 3D printer at work, maybe I can incorporate some kind of glue gun attachment? I have the heating elements already installed like so, and maybe-" The conversation continued in depth as the two boys excitedly went over plans and ideas that their shared knowledge and ability could actually make possible.

Timmy turned back to Kyle, not even bothering with the telepathy. Instead, he rolled his eyes at the three friends. "Timmy?" He gestured with his hand at Tolkien laughing at a joke Stan made, and the way he visibly seemed to glow brighter when Tolkien's hand clapped his shoulder. ".....timmy."

Kyle sighed and crossed his arms. "Yeah...I guess we didn't really need your powers either."

Cartman put a hand to his face. "God, that rich asshole better not Yoko our crew here."

Mysterion shrugged, and smiled from deep within the cowl of his hood. "I mean, who wouldn't fall for them baby blues?"

The other boys all nodded sagely. "Timmy timmy. Tim-may."

"That was beautiful Professor."

"Yeah, well-said," Coon leaned forward to check on The Human Kite's expression. "Well? Should we interfere?"

Human Kite for a moment didn't seem to hear his companion. A few seconds passed however, and he smiled. "Nah, I think he's got this."

***

#stolkien #tuppershed #stan marsh #tolkien black #the fractured but whole #SP TFBW #i love seeing content for them lol yeeesssss stolkien nation RISE #can you tell i've played a loooottt of tfbw? #listen....its a very charming game and the fighting system / imagination put into all their characters are just ....too good lol #I still think the show should do more with the kid games i think there's a lot of possible stories and fun jokes to get from that deep well #listen....i love that Stan has healing abilities AND can hit bad guys on a diagonal OR across one whole row of combat #AND i love that Tolkien has the ability to teleport/swap positions with an ally and give himself a shield #the opportunities for helping each other? LIMITLESS baby

[atomicengineerdetective]

No one talk to me I just came back from a family vacation to find out my favorite youtuber ever is leaving the platform.

I am devastated.

(I am actually happy for him, he has given me so much happiness for like 8 years. He deserves to let the channel go an enjoy his life. It just hurts, but I'll get over it

I'm so thankful for MatPat and Steph. I Hope every future endeavour or project they take on is successful and that over all they have a happy and fulfilling life with Ollie.💚❤️💛💙)

#I leave to a place with no cellphone signal and come back to this? #may be the lord was protecting me idk #What do I call this? a personal rant? Im not really ranting more like letting my feelings out #venting if you #never done this on my blog before but I feel like I have to #I've been a Fan of game theory since I was like 13 or 14 #He was like the first youtuber I ever suscribed to #that spoke english cause my first language is spanish lol #His videos and overall community meant a lot to me. I dont know how could I possibly express that #Of course Im going to still watch the videos after he is gone with the new hosts but still it wont be the same #Hope this doesnt sound too like sad. I dont mean to be negative. I am legitemetly so proud and happy for him #I mean He had one of the classiest goodbyes of YouTube at least I can say my favorite youtuber was never cancelled thats a win haha #But seriously he has achieved so much and has over all been such a positive influencer how could I not be proud to call myself a Fan #so truly I am not sad He ended on the highest note you could ask for. I cannot ask for anything more from him. #I am not sad However I did cry like a Baby during the Video. Man I just. Im tearing up even thinking about it #but anyway #You bet I am going to watch every single one of his videos the second they upload until march 9. #And then I am going to dedicate the day to the celebration he supposedly plans for then #I will probably vent some more in a bigger post then too. like I did in this tags lol. #Right now... I just cant. I need to process a little more heh #MatPat #Matthew Patrick #The game Theorists #game theory #goodbye matpat

[pandoriasbox]

Horse Girl “Movement”

I’m just gonna toss my two cents in on this while it’s still a hot topic instead of taking over other people’s posts with my opinions. I think SSE, the company behind the game, made a horrendous mistake in how they’re managing and marketing this “movement” of theirs. I can understand where they’re coming from and I think I understand their general intentions.

Like I get it, “horse girl” especially in North America (though depends on where you’re from) tends to be used negatively and especially for bullying. It wasn’t a huge deal where I’m from since it’s way more rural here so kinda more normal but I’ve always had the impression it kinda implied you were weird or strange bare minimum and I’ve heard some awful stuff from friends about how it’s viewed elsewhere. So I think it’s fair for SSE to think “oh hey we’re a huge horse game that could influence people to look at this more positively and make people feel better about this.”

Problem is, they used probably the worst ever wording for their hashtag and whoever was responsible for replying to concerns on instagram was really ignorant at best and just downright inconsiderate of actual minority groups that face oppression and go through the process of reclaiming slurs. I agree with folks saying “redefining” is a better word to use, it’s at least not feeling like you’re ripping off far more serious and important movements and pretending yours is on the same level as them. Like absolutely bullying sucks but I don’t think any “horse girl” has been explicitly targeted in a systemic way for just liking horses. I have seen other things like people commenting it’s also something that might be related to neurodivergence and I’d agree, I think talking about that would be a really interesting and good topic to discuss. However, the way I think this is coming off from SSE’s side is more of a loosey goosey “uwu we’re gonna post some positive stuff about horsey girls and anti bullying advice that doesn’t do anything.”

And I absolutely hope I’m wrong, I want to be wrong about that but at the end of the day, there’s so little you can do about bullying or supply advice for bullying. You can attempt to ignore bullies, you can talk to someone of authority like a teacher if you’re in school but if you’re an adult or online? You’re kinda screwed, you just block and report if you gotta and try to move on, don’t interact. Honestly, I think the main thing that helps against bullies is just having a support group of some kind and unfortunately if you’re already the odd one out because of something like being a horse girl, you’re just kinda screwed. A lot of times, people won’t do anything about bullying because they either don’t want to get bullied or don’t want to get hurt themselves, or worse, they just don’t care.

So I don’t have any real hope for this “movement” they’re trying to do. I think it’s just going to be a weak attempt to try and uplift their female playerbase, score some brownie points and hand out some likely ineffective anti-bullying advice. Maybe they’ll tell people to be nicer to horse girls too. Again, I hope I’m wrong but SSE hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to making a stand on anything and this comes off as more of a marketing ploy to rope people into the game or just push harder on their female playerbase that they’re hashtag relatable, hashtag we’re with you, hashatag something something girlboss.

So yeah, I’m pretty salty about it and I usually keep rants off my blog but this has affected more than me, it’s hurt my friends, it’s hurt me, and I’m kinda pissed about how inconsiderate it is to minority groups and on top of that, another nail in the coffin showing how little SSE cares about anyone else in their community who isn’t cis female. Like this isn’t a one off thing, these kinds of lack of consideration moments have been sprinkled throughout my time playing and following SSO.

Like I’ve said multiple times, I’m all for SSE being supportive of girls, women, anyone who identifies as female. I want to see them do more positive female orientated things and I think this was an attempt but an incredibly poorly conceived one at best. What I want to see is more showcases of female creators, equestrians, ect. SSE is in a unique situation where they could very easily shine more light on the game design process for young girls and women. They could talk more about behind the scenes, they could showcase more of their female devs, artists and writers (they already do but what about showing them go through their work process if they’re okay with that?) They could even do events around getting girls into game design. But what do they do? Continue to spout about how hashtag feminist they are by marketing towards girls instead of actually producing content that feels like it’s really uplifting female players. It’s not an easy line to distinguish but I gotta say I feel like 8 times out of 10 they’re on the wrong side of it.

And at the end of all of this, it just wraps straight back around to the problem of SSE doesn’t care about players who aren’t cis female. I’m not saying everyone in the company doesn’t but the face of the company and perhaps the marketing and social media teams feel like they don’t. The external elements of this game and franchise don’t care about us, they don’t care about gender queer, trans, nonbinary, gender non-conforming players. They don’t care about actually showing gender equality in their game, about making it so young girls see that they are on equal footing as boys and no better or less. Or about making an actual difference in showcasing how it’s normal to be outside the gender norm even if you identify with your assigned birth gender. And maybe that’s okay if you’re a little company still just trying to make the next Barbie game and fade into the background. 

But it’s 2022, gonna be 2023 before we know it and gender diversity is a huge topic now. We are moving faster and faster towards widely recognizing genders other than female and male and if SSE wants to actually be inclusive, they’ll start doing that too. It’s reasonable for them to put more effort into anything female over male or other gender queer content but it’s no excuse to either leave it on the sidelines, limit it to pride month or push it to locked areas the player may never see or only see once and then abandon. And most importantly, there are games with make your own characters or player blank slates that are more gender progressive than SSE is attempting to be right now. I love the look of the new models but I am hating how limiting they are gender wise. I want a nonbinary character, I want to have the option to be a gender nonconforming butch coded woman instead of the only one in the game being A VILLAIN. And maybe I can’t have a character that looks like she’s in her late 20′s like me but I don’t understand why I can’t have a gender neutral one or why I can’t play as a male when even most indie games that don’t have premade characters let me.

 SSE needs to grow the hell up and take a long hard look at what’s going on outside their little bubble because even though we’re a minority, a lot of long time queer and male players are getting real sick of this treatment. I don’t enjoy seeing my friends drop like flies off the game that brought us together. I don’t want to drop it myself because continued lack of respect on topics like these. Maybe it feels like an overreaction to people who are part of the target audience but after a while this stuff builds up both in SSO and outside it. I’m just sick of seeing piss poor gender representation and I want to finally say something and try to do something about it.

#rant #vent #this has nothing to do with the essay if you're coming here for that #i'm going to still do the essay the best i can without letting my personal feelings get too involved #the essay will be about both positives and negatives #this is just me getting really frustrated and wanting to talk to people about it #also yeah i do think sso does do a better job than a lot of games especially older ones #you'll see what i mean in the essay #i just need to get this out of my system

[aquapede]

that tweet from crowsx3 saying tsp was in the same universe as scp has made me so very insane since i read it. literally so real though almost all of the stanley parable could be seamlessly put in the scp database. and i intend to do what others are too cowardly to and make fake articles for it

#talk tag #mimicking the database's grammar is tricky but rewarding to get right #at first i thought stanley would be considered safe but then i realized theres no way in hell he would be ok with containment #if he got out of the office to even be in scp facility presence he sure as hell would do his best to break out of there too #the narrator. im waffling very hard between keter and euclid #it feels odd to put him in keter bc he is so silly and goofy but at the same time #he is untrackable and able to manipulate his environment seemingly at will and could very easily make enemies with people #trying to trap him and stanley #idk!! maybe i'll just make him two classes . as a treat #i think both stanley and the narrator would freak the staff out a lot #since so much abt them is in limbo #they cant write down absolutes #its 'either/or's. its lists upon lists. its them scrambling to put this unknowability in a box they can understand #debating on including 432 as well. unsure atm #he would be keter for sure. hes literally the fabric of the universe. you cant contain or predict that shit. he has absolute control #i would put in the curator but i feel like her position of power is more supposed to mimic our own #she isnt an scp shes making the equivalent of a yt video abt this silly little video game. and also the foundation would never find her #ok wow tag ramble alert </3 happy pride have a slice of my insanity #tsp #if this goes in the tag im going to attack someone

[hecksupremechips]

Girl help I keep thinking about freaking persona 4

#i have banned myself from engaging with any persona 4 related content (except for memes my sister sends me) #because yeah its genuinely deeply upsetting for me and i always feel like absolute shit #but aghhh for some reason my brain has been fixated on it this week thinking about all the offensive garbage it is #and i keep thinking of all the evidence i can gather definitively proving that the writing is sooooo homophobic/transphobic #which is a very easy thing to gather up and prove since its all over the damn place lol #but like im just so fixated on how awful the game is and how the fans are even worse and i have this urge to argue forever #something im sure a lot of yall can relate to #cuz god it hurts to be screaming at people that theyre hurting you and for them to just say no to you as if its up for debate #if this sounds dramatic cuz its Juat A Game liiiike no its not Just A Game this is about #my daily life requires me to argue my existence constantly and its the same for every other damn marginalized person out there #and idk if youre still gonna either ignore or deny that persona 4 isnt batshit insanely offensive then youre stupid #i dont have the patience to argue shit like this anymore because theres no way someone with a brain can deny shit like that #and quite frankly even well intentioned queer fans who try to make headcanons that either say fuck you to the game #or hcs that do nothing at all to challenge the bigotry in p4 are kinda annoying to me #cuz it hurts too much to play along like yeah id LOVE to just slap a rainbow on kanji and a trans guy badge on naoto #and call it a day and enjoy the game outside of it all but thats kinda impossible #when these two characters entire existence revolves around the bigotry and its done in a way that hurts like hell to see #its too real for me to enjoy even if i make positive ‘fuck you atlus’ fan art #yeah ughhhh whatever its just annoying cuz I’ve been doing a good job at blocking this game away from my life #cuz it brought nothing but anger to me but its just been something thats been stuck on me lately #and im really not sure what triggered this or why its been lingering so long like please stoppp #its really embarrassing to be having bad mental illness over a shitty bibleo game 🙄

[claire-starsword]

Bloodline of the Sacred Dragons - Chapter 1-1

[Read from the start]

Chapter 1: The white Sacred Dragon of Dragonia

Besides the little birds chirping, something else made a noise. Or maybe he had just imagined it.

One way or the other, Bleu didn't care. So he didn't even turn to check what it was.

Besides the sounds in the wind, he had his voice inside his own head. There was no reason to use it out loud. Because he had no one to talk to.

He was the last survivor of the Sacred Dragons, no one else of his tribe remained. He was very well used to being alone.

All he wanted was some peace and quiet, and time had given him more than he asked for. A quiet life of indulging in books. It was a tranquility that most people had trouble to associate with a wild dragon.

For some time now, Bleu had been entertaining himself with pen and paper. As if trying to draw feelings he could not put into words. Eventually, he grew tired of it and returned the pen to its inkwell.

He had always kept the habit of writing on his diaries, though he took breaks from it at times. So long had him been writing them that the volumes filled a couple of his shelves. But lately, there had been many days like this one, where there was nothing to write about. How long had this gone on for? It shouldn't be that hard to remember.

To relax his back after sitting on the stool for so long, he stretched his long neck, turning it all the way to his back. To his surprise, he saw a girl, looking upside down due to his position.

"Bleu."

Breaking the silence as she called his name, the human girl wrapped her slender arms around his neck.

Bleu just barely avoided to fall off the stool like a klutz, and was grateful for that small blessing. With his strong neck he pulled the girl up as he fixed his posture, and then turned around on the stool.

"It's you, Karin." A name he was very used to say. "When did you come in?"

The tall girl, who reached up to Bleu's shoulders, looked up at him brightly. The hunter clothes were a good fit for her strong and graceful body. To come to Dragonia, she certainly had to cross fields and the forest. Bleu gently picked out the dead leaves entangled in her hair with the tips of his claws.

Sacred Dragons were big, but not gigantic. Unlike other inferior dragons, they walked on two legs. When it came to height, a human's head usually reached up to the base of their wings.

"Don't surprise me like that," said Bleu. "Geez. You haven't dropped this habit of hugging me either," he complained a bit, not wanting to be treated like a kid forever.

"Oh, it's your fault for not noticing even as I entered the room. I can't picture you having been once in that Shining Force," she replied with a slight pout.

Shining Force, the army of light that once saved the whole continent of Rune. Bleu had been a member of it, but it was merely a title of the past to him. Hearing the name made the tip of his nose itch. Besides, he didn't expect Karin to bring it up.

She pulled away from him while stroking his neck, and turned away. Her light brown hair, tied up in a single ponytail, made a swift arc with the motion. Inside the quiver on her back, over her leather clothes, a bunch of arrows clacked in disarray.

"Oh, right. I shot down a copper pheasant on the way here. We can make a great stew for dinner with it."

Linking her arms behind her back, she gave a glance over her shoulder, suddenly making a cute face. Then she ran away without waiting for Bleu to reply.

"A stew, does that mean you want to stay over again?"

Bleu made a dejected face just from thinking of the time and work it would take to prepare the meal. It would be night by the time they finished, wouldn't it?

"You don't want me to go back alone to Rudo at midnight, do you? Besides, there's plenty of rooms so you don't have an excuse," she answered, already out of sight.

Good grief. In his head, Bleu waved a white flag.

Karin came to visit once a month, from the village of Rudo in the west. The very picture of liveliness, this human girl was someone Bleu couldn't go against. His power was far superior, yet when it came to words he had yet to win even once.

As a kid, he had grown up among Karin and the other children of Rudo. Daughter of the village chief, Karin was, then and now, Bleu's only friend. Childhood friends, if you could apply the expression for a human girl and a dragon child.

When the demon army assaulted Dragonia, Karin again was the only one to come after the Shining Force and help him. She worried more about him than the danger she could face. That's why Bleu joined the Shining Force to protect her.

Even once he returned after the end of the war, with her fearless nature, Karin continued to be like a big sister in his life, in both age and spirit.

The changes she would bring into his life showed him that time never stands still. Any moment with her was noisy, hectic, and full of energy. Bleu liked all these sides of her.

He let out a deep breath that wasn't quite a laugh nor a sigh.

Closing the diary he had been working on, he got up from the stool quietly.

Eventually, their late dinner was ready.

They ate face to face with each other as usual, the bowl of stew on the dinner table between them.

"Krin comes back tomorrow."

Karin brought up the topic suddenly, looking up to meet Bleu's face.

"Really? Krin, that walking encyclopedia?" Bleu asked back, jerking his head up from the glass of wine he had been drinking. With the harsh movement, the wine in the glass spilled onto the table and his jaw.

"Hey, watch it. You've always had such terrible manners."

Karin got up from her chair, and wiped Bleu's mouth with a cloth.

"Stop it, we're not kids anymore, isn't this embarrassing?"

While clearly ashamed and displeased, Bleu stood perfectly still. Perhaps that was more of a reflex than a habit.

"Nobody's watching. Besides, I used to do this always back when you were a baby."

When he was just a newborn, Bleu's mother could not produce milk, so the people of Rudo fed him cow and goat milk in her place. Karin insisted that she had done it a bunch of times. Bleu didn't believe her, because she was only three years old back then. She must have been making it up. Whenever he contested it, she would start giving a bunch of details on how things were back then. Since he had no memories to compare, it was always his loss.

Not putting up with that, he tried to get back on topic. "So, about Krin coming back."

"Right, right, that."

Karin sat back on her chair.

"I heard that she went to Manarina to study magic. But she's finally coming back then."

Bleu let his mind wander to memories of Karin's younger sister. While Karin was the amazon running through hills and fields with a bow in hands, Krin was the opposite, a bookworm. The sisters were a perfect split of introvert and extrovert.

Krin was the one who looked for accurate accounts of the Manual within old books. Her knowledge had been praised even by Advisor Nova of Guardiana. Currently, she knew more about the Manual than Bleu himself. After all, he hadn't had any chance to see it, as it had been sealed within a shrine until Darksol stole it.

"Of course, you're coming with me to welcome her back."

Bleu wanted to say she was springing this on him too suddenly, but she had her hands clasped together, and her lips stretched a bit.

"Right…" he answered, a bit hesitant. He had no problem with seeing Krin. However, to do that he'd have to leave for Rudo Village.

"Krin actually asked for you to come. She said she has something important she wants to tell you directly."

"Oh, and what's that?"

"She said that in a letter brought by a carrier pigeon from Uranbatol, and nothing else. Seems to be something she wants to say face to face. Honestly, does that girl have no faith in her own sister?"

Karin sulked, and Bleu laughed as he tried to cheer her up.

"It's Krin, she might have been worried that the letter could get in other people's hands. Which means it must something really important. Guess I have no choice…"

"No choice?" Karin's reply sounded just a little bit angry.

"No, no, I'm also happy to come along," he added, laughing like a fool. His words were only half true.

Thus, Bleu left the land of Dragonia for the first time in years. It was the start of a new journey.

To next part>

Translation notes:

Bleu's mom also used to write diaries, which you can find in game.

The idea of Sacred Dragons being the superior dragons has been around before. Neither of these texts acknowledge dragonewts though, who are also bipedal. I'm unsure if they are being excluded on purpose or if the writers just forgot.

Now, the elephant in the room. Karin's appearance:

This does not look like a brown haired girl with hunter clothes, bow, quiver and hair in a ponytail to me. Not even close. There might have been some wack miscommunication between writing and illustrating the novel.

The ponytail description is slightly closer to her NPC sprite, not that it matters much since it's been ten years and this is somewhat generic sprite shared between the whole Important Little Girl Trio.

She also has a ponytail in the GBA version, though that's likely a coincidence, as this seems fully based on the original sprite, and I've already seen Krin's description in the next part, it has nothing to do with her GBA incarnation. I still have to bring all of this up to laugh back at the good old days where I boldly declared the novel had given her a proper design.

(While we're nitpicking, Bleu's eyes also seem to be red in the cover, are he did not have a striped belly in the original game.)

#shining series #shining force #shining force novel translation #bloodline of the sacred dragons #sf bleu #sf karin #sf krin #anyway i'm still skeptical of the romance but i do enjoy the writing a lot #the characters play off each other well and you do feel the intimacy #it's very cozy and lively #my skepticism is solely about will bleu's clear issues actually get addressed #or does he just have to put up with it all and Be The Hero Get The Girl Make Babies #i have some spoilers that make me believe it does get addressed but i wanna see how believable the development is #my expectations for m/f romance are not even on the floor okay they're on the depths of hell #i have nothing against karin herself though she's a girlboss dipshit and it's funny #bleu is just in too sad a position for me to enjoy her near him #i hope both get to interact with more people #also it's very interesting to see bleu as a protag i legit can't think of anyone better from the first game #because he has to have the hollower ending of all them #like yay we beat darksol! guardiana is rebuilt! but what about him who's gonna rebuild his life #the only people who remain in his life are people who simultaneously put him in a pedestal and also boss him around somehow #i am very sad. i hope this grows into something better than just 'they make some babies and now there's dragons again' #long post

[othercrossee]

NOT to be cringe or anything but. There's a direct descendant of sinner unlike envy and weather (who are long distant from the bloodline), named halo who also happened to be the previous elite four before poppy

#z rambles #honestly i really do think halo scouted geeta for the position she has now and is why halo can easily drop their role as an elite #not much is actually known about halo but it is known that halo was apart of the professors research team at one point #and that theyre an esteemed archeologist currently working in sinnoh #halo just so happened to have an assistent too whose name is flare (who might not be adarida distant descendant) #well altho theyre both pretty mysterious it was no secret those two shines wherevee they go and thwir name says enough 💀💀💀 #i think my ocs are neat and im abnormal 👍 #ill probably talk more about what happened in history after pla but honestly #the catch is idk shit about sinnoh and pkm previous past games so i might actually miss A LOT of canon lore #so this is just an au of mine which is not too far off cuz my ocs are in here anyways🧍‍♂️so uh idk why i bother mentioning canon

[steddiealltheway]

When Eddie gets excited, he gets a bit overwhelmed. At least, that’s what Steve has noticed, with the way Eddie has to take a quick running lap, bounce up and down, etc. whenever he gets too happy.

Steve secretly thinks it’s adorable and tries his best to induce these little happy zoomies.

It doesn’t take much. Sometimes it’s just a small compliment such as, “That shirt looks nice on you,” that has Eddie bouncing on his heels and fidgeting with his rings with a smile on his face. Sometimes, Steve tries to notice something new like when Eddie trims his bangs or paints his nails, that makes Eddie flush red and mumble, “Yeah, I did,” before taking a quick walk around Family Video before making his way back to him.

This time, Steve isn’t really trying to get a reaction out of Eddie who is angrily storming around the break room of Family Video after Steve had seen his face upon entering the store and ushered him to the back.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Eddie mutters out, running a hand over his face. Steve sits back quietly, letting Eddie go on a little rant. “He said, we were allowed to have the basement for our campaign. All of it. Then, Ted Wheeler in all his glory suddenly says that we’re too loud, and we can’t do the campaign at their house anymore. I mean… it’s one more session! He could’ve sat in that damn recliner and shut him mouth for one more session! Fuck.”

Eddie groans dramatically and sits on the ground, head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do. It’s summer so we don’t have access to the school. And I can’t risk breaking in and having them take away my well earned diploma. Plus, my trailer is too small, and no one else has the privacy of Mike’s basement. We’re done for!”

Steve shrugs, seeing a clear answer to the problem. “You can do it at my house. My parents are never home, and I can stay in my room for as long as you need.”

Eddie’s head snaps up. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Steve says, not really sure why he’s so shocked.

Eddie stands up quickly. “You’re positive you can deal with all the Hellfire members in your house?”

Steve nods. “I’ll even buy you guys pizza if you want.”

“Buy us pizza…” Eddie mumbles under his breath in disbelief. “Steve Harrington, are you granting me permission to use your house for Hellfire Club meaning hours of us yelling maybe even late into the night while we play our nerdy game?”

Steve nods and shrugs again. “Yeah. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” Eddie repeats, once again in disbelief. He slightly smiles. “We’re going to be able to complete the campaign.” He bounces on his heels excitedly. “We’re going to complete the campaign!” He runs up to Steve and hugs him tightly, jumping up and down, successfully jostling a laughing Steve in his arms. “We have a place to complete the campaign!!”

Eddie puts him down and pulls back with a big smiles. “Thank you! Seriously thank you. This means so much I could just-”

Before Steve can react, Eddie is leaning forward and pressing his mouth against his in an enthusiastic kiss.

Eddie pulls back quickly and puts his hands over his mouth in horror. “Oh my gosh. I’m so- fuck. I’m so fucking sorry. I just got uh…”

Steve waves him off as Eddie backs as far away from him as possible. “You just got excited. It’s okay.”

It’s okay as it can be considering that Steve really wants to kiss Eddie again although he’s not sure what that really means. But suddenly the urge to make Eddie happy makes a whole lot of sense.

Shit. Okay. He can work with this.

He glances up at Eddie who looks petrified in fear. “I just got excited…” he whispers out.

Steve slowly makes his way to him and puts his hands on his shoulders. “It’s okay, Eddie. Really. I uh, enjoyed it.”

“You enjoyed it?” Eddie echoes uncertainly.

“Yes. But if it was just an excitement thing, I understand.”

Eddie breathes out, “And what if it was more than an excitement thing?”

Steve takes a step further into Eddie’s space and tilts his head. “Then I’d ask if I could kiss you.”

Eddie swallows harshly and leans forward. “It was definitely more than an excitement thing.”

Steve smiles softly and asks, “Can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” Eddie says, slipping his hands into Steve’s hair as he moves forward again.

This time, Steve knows to respond, moving his lips against Eddie’s gently before tracing his tongue against the seam of his lips, exploring the inside of his mouth when Eddie lets him in.

When Steve reluctantly pulls away from the kiss to check on Eddie, he gets a quick nip to the lip.

Eddie flushes red. “So, I sometimes bite when I’m happy.”

Steve leans in again and whispers against his lips, “Thank god I’m into that.”

And he’s going to make sure to learn all the ways to elicit these responses from Eddie, but first, he’s going to learn all the ways Eddie likes to be kissed.

#steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #stranger things #steddie ficlet #I’m in a writing mood although I need to be productive #ignore that I’ve posted twice in the past hour

[cryptotheism]

Lilly: Good morning New Babel, you're listening to Screw Loose, your favorite early-morning exo rig and rig maintenance rig show this side of the white river, I'm Lilly.

The Bear: And I'm the Bear, and you- are on the air. What can we help you with?

Caller: Hello! Hi! So, uh, first time caller. My name is Zuri. I run a barley and flesh farm about an hour south of Isin. I'm in the market for a new rig. My last rig kicked the bucket. But I have an, uh, odd request that I was hoping you two could help give me some guidance on.

The Bear: Welcome to the show doll, we'd be happy to help. But first, I gotta ask, what were you running before and what happened to it?

Lilly: Yeah! We gotta know what we're dealing with here.

Zuri [beginning to laugh]: So we had an Arcadia Y-400-

[both hosts erupt into laughter]

Lilly: And it broke!?

The Bear: Doll what in the hell did you do to this thing!?

Zuri: [laughing] Listen! Listen! It was my grandfathers! We had been replacing parts on this thing since before I was born! It was its time!

The Bear: Lilly, is she dodging the question?

Lilly: I think she's dodging the question, Bear.

The Bear: Okay okay, so what exactly did you do to destroy this extraordinary museum piece?

Zuri: [laughing] Oh gosh I don't want to say it now.

[The hosts erupt with encouragement]

Zuri: My sons will play this game, where I'll be out working in the field. You know, rigged up, focusing on tilling. They'll sneak up behind me with their rigs on, jump up, curl up into a little ball, and try to lock themselves to my back-jack in the cargo position...

[The hosts are howling with laughter]

Zuri: They're- They're damn good at it too! My oldest, Zair, can do it in on solid motion. Its like one moment I'm minding my own business, the next moment I have a whole kid in a 100 pound work rig locked to my back!

Lilly: What a riot! Oh this is just dangerous to put on the air.

The Bear: Ahem, to all the parents at home we apologize in advance, please don't sue us.

Zuri: So- So one day- One day my youngest tries it, but he doesn't twist around fast enough, and the aux battery on the left arm clips an exposed spinal neurohelix. Zap! Neuros are fried. My legs and arms lock straight like stilts! Now I'm swearing up a storm, you know- "You little rats!" But I'm hobbling like a circus performer trying to chase em down and they're just dying. Musta been the funniest damn thing they've ever seen.

[The hosts continue to laugh uproariously at this]

The Bear: Doll we gotta get to advice part of the show or the network is gonna give YOU a show.

Lilly: What a way to go! You hit an aux to the spinal braid? That's fried. Done. Kaput. You gotta scrap that thing.

Zuri: Yeah, we've already gutted it. Old girl is rusting in the barn for parts now. Zair is a whiz, so I'm hoping he can get some good use out of it.

The Bear: So we hear you're looking for a new rig?

Lilly: What's your price point love?

Zuri: We've got a good chunka cash built up. We're looking at something in the 600 to 700 washer range.

The Bear: That's pretty good for a work rig. You've got a lot of choices.

Lilly: I have a sneaking suspicion that this price point has something to do with your special request?

Zuri: So, my oldest, Zair. I recently learned that he's been uh. Well gosh now I'm embarrassed about this too!

The Bear: Doll c'mon don't hold out on us!

Lilly: You called, we can handle it!

Zuri: I learned that Zair had been using the Arcadia to race on the weekends. He and some of the local kids would run street races at night. He's been rigging a grapple harness to the waist-jack, and stripping it before I need the rig for monday morning.

[The hosts laugh at this, though not as hard]

Lilly: Ha! So what you're saying is you want the biggest, slowest, beached-whale rig you can get? Something just impossible to race?

The Bear: I'm thinking an HR&R Pauldron, Heavy Industrial. With that type of money you can get the new 900 series. Ask for the high-stability option-

Zuri: No no! No you don't understand! The damn kid keeps placing last because he's been racing in a junker! What I'm lookin' for is something I can use as a work rig for the days, that's easy to strip and good to race on the weekends. I want it safe, you hear me? I can't stop this kid from racing, so I might as well get something that'll keep his skull together.

[The hosts explode into laughter again]

Lilly: You! You're a good mom! What I wouldn't give for a mom like you!

The Bear: Ma'am, one day, when I grow up, I wanna be like you. I wanna be that typea mom.

Zuri: So, can you help me?

[The hosts can be heard stage whispering for a moment, followed by the sound of cracking knuckles.]

The Bear: Okay. You've got a lot of good options here. My friend here wants you to get a sport rig, but that's not gonna have the torque you need for farmwork: Here's what you're gonna do-

Lilly: Would to! Have you seen what the Roadrunner 600 can do? Six point neuro uplink! Eighty pneumatic helices per leg! Tell me that's not good enough to rig a plow!

The Bear: The dirt Lil! We need solid-body articulation! Using a pneumo-helix for farmwork is like pouring sand into clockwork!

Lilly: You replace the dermis with a synthetic sheathe! I get no respect around here!

The Bear: Zuri, doll, here's what you're gonna do: You're gonna go to your local Post Office outpost. You're gonna ask if they have any old courier shipping rigs. You want middlegrade. Ask specifically if they have an Albatross W-500, or if you're lucky, an LH-640. These are long-haul light-load shipment rigs. They're ugly, but they're sturdy as hell, built for carrying things long distances through rough terrain.

Lilly: The kicker here is that they're both light-combat certified. Built-in medical and shock response treatment. You'll need to replace the medical gel canisters every few months to make sure they're fresh... And if a certain someone wanted to maybe engage in a little bit of light illegal street racing...

The Bear: Well the Albatross line is built to be constantly refitted for different weathers and terrains. So someone, not saying who, might have a real easy time stripping the plating for speed. That sound good doll?

Zuri: That sounds perfect, thank you so much girls!

The Bear: Perfect! Thank you for the call, you'll have to tell us how it goes!

Lilly: Please love we beg you! Call again! Toodle-oo!

Zuri: Thank you again!

[The caller hangs up, the show transitions into a commercial break]

#Amber Skies #Screw Loose