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libraryofgage · 10 months

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A combo of 18 and 10? At some point Steve is told by Eddie's band mates that Eddie told them he doesn't actually like Steve. It's been a while but Steve still loves Eddie and wants to pretend for a night that it isn't true.

Okay, so I know you probably meant for this to be more angsty but I'm a fucking marshmallow and had to slip in the happy ending hfdjsk

Either way, I hope there's still enough angst for you!

Also, for reference, I usually call the unnamed freak Asher, so don't be surprised by the name lol

Prompts 18 and 10 from this prompt list:

10. “Let me call you mine, just for tonight.”

18. “Is hating me your only personality trait?”

You'll want to read the tags btw, I promise lol

---

"You know, Eddie doesn't actually like you."

Steve blinks, his pen dragging across the page and striking ink through Will's carefully written campaign story that he'd asked Steve to review. According to him, Steve was neutral, and his lack of D&D knowledge meant he'd be able to tell Will if the story made sense even to a new player.

Unfortunately, any thoughts of Will's campaign are disintegrated by Gareth's seven words. "What?" he asks, trying to blink away the daze as he looks at the rest of Corroded Coffin across the garage. He doesn't usually step foot into their practice space, but he and Eddie had plans to hang out after practice and Jonathan had helpfully dropped him off. Now he was just waiting for Eddie to get back from the bathroom.

"Eddie," Jeff says, "he doesn't like you. He told us."

"He won't fucking shut up about it, actually," Asher says, a grin tugging at his lips, and Steve thinks it looks particularly cruel.

In fact, their words so far have held an undertone of anticipation, like they were waiting for Steve's reaction. As cliche as it sounds, their grins feel like knives stabbing into him. It's not just his heart, it's Steve's entire body, like every inch of his being had only existed on the premise that Eddie Munson liked him at least a little bit. Not even romantically (Steve isn't that deluded), but as a friend.

"He...," Steve swallows around the lump in his throat, trying to keep his voice from breaking. Apparently, he doesn't do well, since Jeff's grin widens and Gareth's eyes light up, and Asher opens his mouth like he's ready to hammer the final nail in Steve's coffin.

Whatever they plan to say next is interrupted by Eddie finally returning and grinning at Steve. "Ready to go, Stevie?" he asks.

Suddenly the grin is mean, the nickname cruelly teasing, and Steve wonders how he went so long deluding himself that Eddie liked him. It hurts even more with his bandmates' words still playing in his head and their grins hidden behind Eddie's back like they're proud of breaking Steve's delusion.

"Uh, yeah, ready," Steve says, forcing his voice to sound normal as he closes Will's campaign notebook and follows Eddie to his van.

By the time they end the night at the Munson trailer, Steve feels frayed at the edges and three seconds from tearing in two. The entire evening, all he could think about was how much Eddie seemed to be covering his own dislike and how it bled through anyway. Every smile was sharp, every casual touch seemed hesitant and quick to end like Eddie couldn't pull away fast enough, and every glance seemed to pierce Steve with dislike and reinforce the shattering of his delusion.

At least the weed Eddie gave him when they got to his room is helping a little. It's filling his lungs with something other than hurt, clouding his mind with something other than doubt. It even stops the questions and stops him from wondering what he could have possibly done to make Eddie play some kind of long-con instead of just saying he didn't like Steve.

"Heeelloooo," Eddie says, waving his hand in front of Steve's face. "Anything going on in there, big boy?"

Steve blinks, his chest tightening as he looks up at Eddie. They're on the bed, with Eddie sitting next to him while Steve reclines against the pillows, his usual position that lets him stare at the ceiling. That mean grin is back, and Steve once again wonders how he ever mistook it for anything else. The words, too. How did he ever mistake those words for playful teasing?

And maybe it's the weed, but Steve can't stop himself from sitting up and asking, "Is hating me your only personality trait when we're together?" It's not even relevant. Steve knows that. He knows that Eddie hasn't done anything overtly hateful, but he can't help asking.

Eddie's grin falters. "Woah, woah, what are you talking about?"

"Why do you even hang out with me if you hate me so much?" Steve asks, steamrolling over whatever Eddie wanted to say by grabbing him by the shoulders. "Why don't you just tell me to fuck off? Why do you hang out with someone you don't even like? Is it funny to you? Do you enjoy tricking me?"

His voice is cracking by the end, and Eddie's eyes are wide, undoubtedly surprised that he's been caught in the act. And this time it's definitely the weed clouding Steve's mind and making him act on impulse because he can't be bothered to think as he grabs the collar of Eddie's jacket and pulls him closer. "You can punch me later, or run me over with your van if you hate me that much. But...but right now, just let me pretend I can call you mine, just for tonight."

Before Eddie can respond, before he can tell Steve to fuck off and kick him out of the trailer, Steve kisses him. Their teeth clack together painfully, and Steve is sure his lip has started bleeding, but he doesn't care. He's more focused on keeping his eyes squeezed shut, forcing his brain to delude him into thinking this is a happier kiss, that his eyes aren't stinging and two seconds from making the kiss salty.

They stay in an admittedly uncomfortable position for a few seconds before Eddie grabs Steve's waist and pushes him down against the pillows. Steve's surprised grunt is muffled by Eddie pushing his tongue past his lips, and he only has a brief moment to be relieved that Eddie is playing along when he suddenly pinches Steve's side and breaks the kiss.

Steve winces and opens his eyes, his body tensing when he sees Eddie staring down at him. The only thing he can hear is his own panting and the sirens screaming in his brain that he's truly, irrevocably fucked everything up.

"So," Eddie says, his voice surprisingly soft for someone about to rip Steve's heart out, "where'd you get the idea that I hate you?"

Steve shuts his mouth, biting his tongue as he looks away. That doesn't help much, though, since Eddie's hair has fallen around him in a wavy curtain that obscures his view of anything else. A few moments pass before Steve shifts uncomfortably and replies, "Your friends told me."

Eddie hums softly, holding himself steady with one arm on the pillow by Steve's head while the other tugs on a lock of Steve's hair. And it's only now that Steve realizes he's fucking surrounded, pressed into Eddie's mattress by Eddie's body with Eddie's hair cutting him off from the rest of the room. "And what, exactly, did they say, Stevie?" Eddie asks, his tone sharp and dancing like this entire situation is funny to him.

It's enough to distract Steve, leading his brain to lag behind as he tries desperately to remember what Gareth, Jeff, and Asher said. "You don't actually like me. You told them yourself. You won't shut up about not liking me," Steve finally says.

Something like recognition really sparks in Eddie's eyes, and his grin falls slightly. He looks ready to speak, but then he thinks better of it. His smile comes back, nearly full force, and he says, "They're right. I don't like you."

Oh. Steve acutely feels the breath get stolen out of his lungs, the way they ache as his heart sears with the pain of being ripped from his chest. His eyes are stinging even worse, and his nose feels astringent like he just walked into a bathroom with bleach spilled across the floor.

"I love you."

Steve blinks. "What?"

"I love you."

Yeah, it still doesn't make sense. "...are you sure?"

Eddie bursts out laughing, finally letting all his weight fall onto Steve so he can bury his face in Steve's shoulder. Steve is still blindsided, trying to get his brain and heart to get on the same page.

"Yes, I'm serious," Eddie says, raising his head to look at Steve. "I can guarantee they were fucking with you. If I hadn't come back, those fuckers would've revealed my massive crush on you."

"Massive," Steve mumbles, cursing the weed for inhibiting his ability to think properly.

Eddie's grin gets even wider, his eyes lighting up in a way that tells Steve he's about to roll his eyes at a dumb joke. "Yeah, almost as massive as I am," Eddie says, playfully grinding his hips down on Steve like their jeans aren't in the way.

Steve was right. He does roll his eyes. And it helps him shake some of the daze, allows him to pull himself out of the fog of doubt and spiraling thoughts. "Fuck off," he says, placing a hand on Eddie's face and pushing him away.

"Well, if you insist," Eddie says playfully, exaggerating movements of getting up only for Steve to grab his arm and pull him back. "You're really giving me mixed signals here, sweetheart."

"You really love me?" Steve asks, ignoring Eddie's joke.

"Of course, Stevie. What's not to love?"

And there's such genuine emotion in Eddie's voice that Steve represses the urge to ask if he wants the list in chronological or alphabetical order. "Okay, then you can't be angry when I fucking murder your friends."

Eddie laughs and pushes his head into Steve's neck like a cat, playfully biting his throat. "I'll help you."

"Are we moving too fast by plotting murder for our first date?"

"We went through an Eldritch nightmare together, sweetheart."

Steve concedes to that point, reaching up and idly running his fingers through Eddie's hair. They occasionally snag on a few tangles, and Steve resists the urge to get a hairbrush. "Right," he says, a smile tugging at his lips, "then we should plan a romantic murder date."

And Steve feels Eddie's smile on his skin, tries to commit the sensation to memory, and feels immeasurable relief at the fact that it won't be the last time Eddie smiles against him like this.

#steddie #steddie fic #steddie angst #steddie fluff #steve harrington #eddie munson #corroded coffim #listen they try their best and they do not fucking succeed #it was meant to be a joke that got steddie together but eddie ruined it by coming back to soon according to them #they don't get murdered by eddie gets revenge by being even more annoying about steve #and steve holds it against them for the rest of their fucking lives like “hey remember that time you convinced me eddie hated my guts :) ”#my writing #prompt list

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matan4il · 1 year

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I love your posts about Jewish representation on TV and it reminded me of another post I saw by someone else who talked about how there’s a movie coming soon to Amazon that’s based on a book (it’s called Red and White & Royal Blue), and how the only Jewish character from the book was the only character to not be cast authentically in the movie because the actress and her family and openly and proudly Christian. I don’t think the character herself was canonically very religious, she goes home for Hanukkah, but she was written as Jewish ethnically. The blog I read it on talked about how it’s Jew erased because they didn’t cast someone Jewish and you can’t play another ethnicity (especially a minority one) and because the character doesn’t really do anything Judaism related, no one will even know she was supposed to be Jewish. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on it?

Hi Nonnie! And just lemme give you the BIGGEST hug! I thought this was fascinating. I'm so glad that you enjoy my posts about Jewish representation on TV and in film, they're obviously really important to me on a very personal level. IDK if this'll make you happy to hear, but I plan on writing at least two more posts about Jewish rep, one on OUaT and one on Friends. All in the context of my theory regarding Jewish rep. Here’s my thoughts on your ask...

What you're asking about can be referred to as the question of "Jewface." It's a term that has existed since the late 19th century, when non-Jews started portraying caricatures of Jews, often while wearing fake enlarged noses, fake long beards, ragged clothes and speaking with a thick Yiddish accent. By 1909, mainstream American Jewry had already decried this custom. But recently, this term has been brought up again, in 2021 Sarah Silverman wanted to talk about the way Jewish roles often go to non-Jewish actors.

I have to admit that as a general understanding seemed to take over that white people should not be cast in the role of POC for several reasons, Jews were left out of that discussion, so I think Sarah was absolutely right in bringing it up, as are you to ask about the casting of this Jewish character in RW&RB. The thing is, Jews ARE an ethno-religion. That means that we're not like Christians or Muslims, who are only bound together by a shared religion, Jews are also bound by shared ancestry. We're not the only ones, BTW! Another prominent ethno-religion is the Druze. Now, the Druze are far more strict than the Jews, they cannot marry any non-Druze and no one can convert to the Druze religion. Judaism isn't as strict: Jews can marry non-Jews, and people can convert to Judaism. However, for most of Jewish history, not that many people converted to Judaism. It was due to more than one reason:

Many non-Jews never got a chance to know Jews and Judaism, so there would be no reason for them consider converting.

Judaism on its part is against trying to convert non-Jews to Judaism (we believe that if someone converts, that means their soul was always Jewish, they were always meant to be a part of the Jewish people. But for that, conversion has to be an act of free will and not the result of a campaign of persuasion).

Jews were persecuted to such a degree, they suffered discrimination in every walk of life you can think of, they were lied about, demonized, repeatedly attacked, too often even massacred, so why would you want to be a Jew? Even if you did get to know Jews and Judaism and decided you liked this, the price to pay for being Jewish was just too great. This was an obstacle to conversion as well as to simply marrying Jews.

This is why for the most part, non-Jews did not convert to Judaism. At the same time, Jews sought to marry other Jews in order to pass on the Jewish identity, faith, values, traditions, culture, language, etc. As one lady explained it to me some years ago, "If you truly believe that a certain set of values is full of good, that your religion is true and enriching, and that your culture is beautiful, why wouldn't you want your kids to have all that as well? And the best way of ensuring that inheritance was by marrying and having kids with another Jew."

That means that to a great degree, the People of Israel (notice, this is what Jews call themselves in the Bible: not the Religion of Israel, the People of Israel, עם ישראל) did remain one people, one nation. Even the exceptional people who did convert to Judaism, they also married into the Jewish people, and their kids married Jews as well, and so did their grandchildren, and so the descendants of converts still shared that same common Jewish ancestry.

And all of this together was probably critical to the survival of Jewish identity. Take for example the Philistines. They were a seafaring people (most likely Greek and originating in the island of Crete based on the pottery they left behind) who invaded the Land of Israel from the west and settled along the southern part of Israel's coast. When the Babylonian empire invaded and occupied the Land of Israel roughly 2600 years ago, the Philistines were expelled to Babylon together with the Jews. But where the Jews maintained their identity long enough for the Persian empire under Cyrus the Great to defeat the Babylonians and allow the return of exiled populations to their homelands, the Philistines disappeared from the pages of history. Historians believe it's most likely that as a small minority, they inter-married with the majority, the Babylonians, to the point where they lost their culture, their language, their faith, and as a result, their distinct identity, and that's why there's no record of them after the expulsion to Babylon.

Now back to the question of casting, while Jews all over the world share common ancestry, we don't necessarily all look the same. The Middle East is actually a place where facial features and skin tones have always been very diverse, and that's what the Jews are, Middle Eastern. Add to that some degree of inter-marriage with convert Jews, and the result is that there really is no one look that all Jews share. So the question of casting, I don't think it's best tackled through that prism. I think it's more about the way the ethnic part of the ethno-religious identity of Jews should be acknowledged. About feeling like we matter, and that casting directors take Jewish identity into account, just like they do when they cast for a black character or an Indian one or a Native American. I also think having this conversation would allow us to talk about how the idea of Jewish facial features HAS BEEN demonized along the centuries (precisely that idea of the "Jewish nose" that was used in ugly antisemitic caricatures, or the idea of Jews having darker complexions than the average European).

Lastly, I know some people might point out that Jews get to be cast as non-Jews, so supposedly this shouldn't prevent non-Jews from being cast as Jews. Well, other actors who are POC are sometimes cast in roles originally intended for white people. An example is the 2018 show Troy: Fall of a City which cast a black Achilles, even though he was Greek (and specifically described as having fair features, as the ancient Greeks believed that was a sign of being favored by the gods). As much as such a casting might stir a discussion, at no point would we assume this means it would be okay to cast a white person in a movie about Martin Luther King Jr.!

Which brings me to another point, the question of which Jewish roles are played by Jews and which are not. This is something that I thought of being a gay woman. I know that a lot of gay actors, once they come out and are publicly perceived as gay, they get type cast as gay. It doesn't matter whether they look gay. It doesn't matter that prior to coming out, they could get lots of straight roles. Once they're identified as gay, there's a world of roles they're not going to get anymore, especially as a romantic lead or an action hero. It's a part of why many gay actors choose not to come out, even if they're okay doing so on every other level.

I'll just stop the analyzing of gay roles for a second to mention that this was true for Jews for a really long time as well. Yes, they were cast in non-Jewish roles, but they had to change their names and make sure no one would know they're actually Jewish. For example, beloved comedian Danny Kay was actually born David Daniel Kaminsky. Kirk Douglas, the movie legend? Born Issue Danielovitch Demsky. Winona Ryder? She was born Winona Horowitz. Natalie Hershlag? You know her as Natalie Portman.

At the same time as openly gay actors are limited to (mostly minor) gay roles, there are MAJOR gay roles in the entertainment industry, the ones that will have prestige attached to them, and those are almost always played by actors who are publicly known as straight. Think of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain, Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club or Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name. They're all men that the public knows as straight. Now, I think straight people should be able to play gay and learn some empathy for gay people through that, that gay people should get to play straight and not be punished through the loss of work opportunities for being open about being queer, and I also think that when it's all mixed up, that can also prevent the bullying of an actor for taking on a gay role to the point they're forced to come out (by accepting that it's okay to be queer, straight, questioning, gay-but-before-realization, and take on a gay role). BUT I do think we have to talk about the Big Gay Roles being cast almost exclusively by straight actors. We should put studios and execs, not actors, on the spot, and ask them for more Big Gay Roles and for more diverse casting in those roles, and we should def not badger a teenager for being cast in a gay role.

Along the same line, I was asking myself about Big Jewish Roles. TBH, over the years, there haven't been many, give or take mostly Holocaust movies. But now in recent years, we have the non-Jewish Rachel Brosnahan in the lead role as a Jewish woman in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, until that show was canned we had the non-Jewish Kathryn Hahn set to star as the Jewish Joan Rivers, the non-Jewish Daniel Craig was cast as the lead in the movie Defiance which told the real story of Tuvia Bielsky leading a group of Jewish partisans and saving the lives of roughly 1200 Jews during the Holocaust. These are just some examples off the top of my head, there are many more. So yeah, I'd like more Big Jewish Roles and more actual Jews cast in them.

In conclusion, I think Jewish actors being cast in Jewish roles should, at the very least, be talked about because it does matter and it does help explain a part of Jewish identity, and I also think we need more Jewish stories with Big Jewish Roles, and I think it does very much matter that those be cast (at least predominantly if not exclusively) with Jewish actors.

Thank you so much for being interested! And I am so sorry for the length... But I really didn't know how to do this subject justice in less words. xoxox

You can find my ask tag here and my other posts about Jewish representation here. xoxox

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uselessheretic · 2 years

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These takes about what's racist that end up being racist themselves also continue to. Overlook how blatant the show's writing is about racism. Every time they present an action or character as racist it gets called out textually and thwarted in short order and they're consistently good at keeping racism to these instances. In part bc the writing room and cast is very diverse themselves. If Izzy was meant to be a stand in for colonialism we'd KNOW the characters would KNOW and it'd be a stated reason they'd move against him... this isn't the kind of show where that'd slip through the cracks or be obfuscated it'd be right there in the text.

And also reducing a character's actions and motivations to their race and their race only is ??? Racist lmao if everything Ed does and says is bc he's a poc (and it's always this general term, possibly to cover up that they're looking at this like he's Black and specifically Black American and not Māori. Shoving every single poc into the experiences of Black Americans is shockingly also racist) and not an intersection of whatever brands of brain weird, his class, his position as a pirate, his personality, every single other thing that makes Ed Ed along with his race it's weird! It's a weird way to read a text!

the show is just...... not subtle about racism. there isn't any gray area and there aren't any characters who are racist that we're supposed to sympathize with. the closest we get to that is black pete and stede saying a microaggression to the indigenous tribe in ep 2 which is immediately called out and corrected. the way the show portrays racism is often thru poc being able to reclaim power and subverting white supremacy. the writers of color were also explicit that they dont want to portray racial trauma as a driving character trait! blackbeard was also written before taika was officially casted (altho ik jenkins said he wanted to have taika play him) but i'm pretty sure a bulk of his initial writing would've been done with the character written aracially (he is not aracial, btw)

that and we also know that taika doesn't like having his writing or characters boiled down just to their race. he's talked about this before where he wants to write stories with māori characters that aren't centered on super serious interrogations of their identity. not erasing their māori heritage, but that it was alienating for him growing up and only seeing certain depictions on screen. also... idt there's any māori writers on the team. like i just don't think there's going to be a super in depth deep dive into ed's racial trauma unless there was representation of that in the writers room. jenkins and taika are both pretty good with that (i mean reservation dogs has an all indigenous writers room! we just gotta get some black natives in there too now lol....)

anyways, i do feel like there's a tendency for people to center their reading of ed, and the other characters of color as well, through a lens of an american view. which just happens to most often be a black american view. either that or people applying an indigenous american reading to ed's character and not actually. looking anything else up. which does a disservice imho like even to the other black characters who are all likely from different regions and experiences and therefore have different interactions with race. like frenchie, who's biracial and presumably had been "in service" in parts of europe has a completely different lived reality than oluwande, whos likely of the african diaspora and seems less familiar with majority white spaces. (these are guesses ofc)

shrugs idk it's just weird i feel like people put very little effort into trying to look into other experiences than what they're familiar with. which is an issue across fandom as a whole and something i think white fans and fans of color are both guilty of. i feel like a big part of it is a very american-centric view tbh (the continual shock and confusion from the brits at "olu is an offensive nickname" lol) which i am also american and need to work on my own biases and assumptions.

i want to be careful to not seem like i'm pushing blames onto fans of color or anything like that, but i also think it's necessary for us, as poc, to continue to challenge ourselves as well. there's a tendency in fandom to relate our analysis through a personal lens exclusively when that doesn't always cut it. when it comes to topics of identities separate from our own, we should be open to feedback to ensure we're not platforming misinformation or a limited view.

but there's soooo much rich and good diversity in ofmd that covers a wide range of identities that it feels like a shame to flatten them into a one size fits all reading. a great part of representation in media is that it exposes you to narratives you may not have been familiar with before, and ofmd offers a chance to engage with them on a deeper level!

#ofmd

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reel-fear · 1 year

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may I ask you to elaborate on what exactly do u mean by your post about the implications of bee as the one poc in the cast? Like are u saying the characters themselves (ie Optimus) are biased against him or that the writers have an unintentional bias against bee for being a poc?

The thing is I think the writers really didnt have the human designs in mind when doing usual episodes, they arent considered 100% accurate to the characters and if they did really consider them to be super accurate it would make the writing of those characters in other episodes strange. I think the human designs were just kind of thrown together with little thought and the writers didn't think much of it. But specifically I think it makes the way the characters treat Bee [which is admittingly Sometimes treated as in the wrong and esp in the case of Optimus is treated like they are doing the Wrong Thing] seem like it could be racially motivated.

Optimus in particular tends to talk down to and belittle Bumblebee, him and Sentinel seem to see Bee as a rebellious arrogant bot who needs to be put into his place a narrative the show shows is just not right. This usually is chalked up to in the narrative as just being them abusing their power over people who while different than the usual soldier, Are just as compentent and maybe even moreso because of their ability to think differently than others. [Ie, in the S1 finale the story shows Bee as in the right for disobeying Optimus, Optimus is being unreasonable and cruel he wants Bee to obey without speaking out and thats not fair to him]

The story on some level wants us to root for Bee when Optimus is being unfair to him so I dont think the writers were punching down on him for being a person of color, But I do think the writers did not think over the implications of the way the characters treat Bumblebee when they made him the only black person.

Optimus isn't really meant to be written to be bigoted, at least not in the way Sentinel very obviously is. So I dont think the writers entirely thought abt how it may read when the crew obviously punches down on Bee more than anyone else and just so happens to be the only bot in the group who was made black in the human episode. We're meant to mostly sympathesize with Bee, he's still one of our protagonists, it just so happens some of the more mean spirited jokes or jabs directed at him come accross as loaded when hes the only one the writers decided to give black skin to.

It also doesnt help that Bee's need to continuously be shown to struggle to get his teams respect in episodes like home is where the spark is or Meltdown, and then he proves himself as more than what his team thinks of... Tends to be thrown away in favor of the team continuing to treat Bee poorly in jokes or generally being dismissive of him and his abilities. I think the biggest thing is Bee is just meant to be more of a comedic relief character But Once Again, taking in the idea Bee is the only black person in this group their struggle to take him seriously can be read as bigotry from the crew and it's never properly addressed =[

Mostly tho this is just generally problems with tfa bee's story, he struggles to be taken seriously his insecurities are not taken seriously, the narrative doesn't really give him any chance to shine or grow as a person, but when u also have to add to that 'btw hes the only person here who is black' it makes the poor writing he suffers from look... Bad, which is something they should've thought of before making him the only person of color, even if I dont think the writing of Bee was influenced by him being black. [Mostly bc I dont think they Really took the designs in human error seriously]

#ramblez #this is rambley and not well written but my point is #I dont think it was intentional from the writers to treat bee like that narratively or have the characters treat him like that #bc he is black #but they really didnt think of the implications of making him the only person of color there #which I do think is a valid critisism even if I dont think like the tf@ writers were racist bc of the way they wrote bee

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spidergirl-fibula · 5 months

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Oh god I'm experiencing thoughts

I haven't played either of these RPGs and I haven't even read Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast btw this is all just interpretation. Also I might be misremembering the Yazeba's BnB ability but I'm too afraid to check because now I wrote this whole thing

Ever since the ttrpg ability bracket I've been obsessed with the Rag-and-Bones ability that ends the fucking world. It's a fake mechanic, something that has no real effect in the game's world but creates and condenses an entire character dynamic.

[BXLLET>, another game in the bracket, has a playbook with a pretty similar mechanic, and I thought the difference between them was interesting enough to suddenly express something here for once. A BXLLET expansion, ShXll CasXngs has the Smile playbook (who might be my favorite but I haven't read all of them), whose final ability requires 30 bullets, and ends the fucking world. Like Rag-and-Bones Journey in Yazeba's BnB, this is extremely unlikely to occur, and even has a similar token cost. Obviously the abilities have entirely different emotional impact due to the wider context of the games their placed in, but I think the small differences between them really help the vibe of each ability fit in their world.

Rag-and-Bones token tracker, in all his Doofenshmirtzian genius, can be entirely erased by anybody at any point, and he can't do anything about it. The Smile's final ability has a tracker that can only be ticked slowly away, and only at the Smile's will. The context of how tokens are removed is also different. I personally imagine Rag-and-Bones' plot to unravel as a character leans against an off-switch and accidentally saves the world, or Yazeba just treats him as a minor nuisance to sweep away every so often. Smile loses bullets when they use them for what they're built for. Using bullets in BXLLET is already a kinda big decision, and unlike other players, Smile can only use them to kill. It makes gaining a bullet just as dramatic a moment as losing one; I can imagine them finding a bullet on what used to be a target and asking, what if they keep this one? Rag-and-Bones, meanwhile, fails at yet another scheme because Parish mistakes the potion of the apocalypse for the soup he made for breakfast, and now everyone has food poisoning and the bloodfire meant to scorch the earth is actually just a garnish of fresh bell peppers. You almost feel relieved when Smile shoots a sobbing man dead, cold blood soaking into the dust that used to be home. This was supposed to be a mechanical analysis but now I'm having fun with it let me get back on track. The Rag-and-Bones Journey being stopped by other players is such a good little spark for roleplaying, which makes sense for how the rest of the game is written. BXLLET is also a roleplay-heavy game, only defining some basic conflict resolution mechanics and leaving the rest up to the players, but playbooks are largely disconnected from each other, and it's usually a personal decision to spend a bullet. Maybe you can steal them, but Smile isn't the type you wanna piss off. Similar mechanics that probably weren't inspired by one or the other and with enough distinction in the details to make both of them shine. Why did you read this far. Did I get a good grade in media analysis. This was barely anything I thought I had more ideas to write about but that's it I guess.

#ttrpgs #yazeba's bed & breakfast #bxllet #[BXLLET>#ttrpg mutuals pls dont read this it isnt good #D&D mutuals everything i make is 1000x better than anything with a 5e branding on it #long post #long ass post wtf i didnt write anything

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scorpionyx9621 · 2 years

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Idk seems like a shallow take with lots of provable arguments against it. For example, beyond who they kill and why Joker has years of canon domestic abuse, and multiple instances of sexual assault. Their relationships and histories are completely different. You could also make the joke that only one of them actually killed a Robin. They just aren't the same, at least no more than Midnighter and Joker are the same.

So I don't know if you're being full-on serious with this or just trying to start an argument. I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt and try to explain my side.

I'm fully aware that Jason and Joker have a lot of differences. Yet at the same time they have a lot of similarities as well. There's a reason why Judd Winnick emphasized their similarities in Under the Hood by giving Jason Joker's old villain identity before he became Joker. It wasn't just to get Joker's attention as Jason said, but also to show that Jason was stooping down to the Joker's level.

Is Jason a rapist? No, he kills rapists. But I'm going to say that again. Jason kills rapists. This being a Batman comic and Jason Todd and Joker being Batman characters they are lumped together in Bruce's eyes because of his idiotic Kantian philosophy of never kill no matter what. Batman is that black and white. I can go on all day about the differences between apples and oranges, you can call Jason an apple and Joker an orange, yes they are two completely different flavor profiles and colors and textures, but under the philosophy that Batman uses, they're both still fruit.

You realize how stupid that sounds right? Any sane, logical person would have killed the Joker decades ago, but because there's to be no killing under Batman's watch ever, that's not going to happen. Bruce would bring the Joker back to life just the same way that he would for Jason. Is it fair? Absolutely not, Jason has saved people's lives for Pete's sake. The Joker just sows chaos and brings misery wherever he goes. Yet at the end of the day both Joker and Jason have crossed the red line multiple times and with 0 regret. And to Batman, whom is the central figure of these comics, that is his dividing line you shall not cross.

Jason Todd is no Joker by most means, but when you think about all the shit Jason has done over the years, including the stuff that has been ret-conned, I'd argue Jason has more in common with Joker than he does with Bruce at this point. Including but not limited to.

1. Poisoned 80 prisoners to death during Dick's run as Batman.

2. Blew up a school with people inside it when Speedy wouldn't join him in his crimes in Seeing Red. It isn't explicitly said who was or wasn't inside the building but if Jason blew up a school, he's okay with killing children.

3. Has tried to kill Tim, Dick and Damian on multiple occasions (and has failed, not for a lack of him trying)

4. Goes on a mass killing spree while dressed as Batman, not caring who he kills in Battle for the Cowl (oh, this one was written by everyone's beloved Judd Winnick too btw)

5. Goes on a mass killing spree while dressed as Nightwing, not caring who he kills (this is from the same Nightwing run we get TentaTodd by the way.)

6. In an act of blind rage he kills the father of a child he just met not an hour before in Urban Legends all because low and behold, Jason has his own philosophical bullshit he follows where if you give drugs to kids bam you're dead. (I don't have the energy to argue the morals and ethics of giving your own child illegal substances on this post it's already running way too long)

7. In Final Crusade Jason actively revels in inflicting pain and suffering on villains. He kills a man by crushing his head on a car hood and hangs a person. Oh and he does all of this as Robin.

Debating the ethics and morals of Batman on Tumblr is frustrating at best and makes me want to ram my head into a brick wall at worst. I meant that post mostly as a cheap joke and a cheap meme to get cheap likes on this cheap website. I put maybe 20 minutes of effort into that meme and while I see what you're trying to prove, I'm but a silly little fool clown who says shit on a website that cost Verizon a billion dollars. I'm not going to lose sleep over constructive criticism of a character so consistently inconsistent you'll have people throwing full-blown temper tantrums anytime they depict Jason Todd any way that they don't like. I'm as shallow as a wading pool, but at the end of the day we're the ones here wearing the clown makeup arguing in our clown cars over whether apples and oranges are the more heinous comic book villains.

At the end of the day the very nature of Jason's ethics and philosophy is that some crimes are so heinous they shouldn't be forgiven. Which is objectively correct. There's no debating that. Yet because we're stuck under this Batman umbrella as because DC Comics can't decide whether they want Jason Todd to be a hero or a villain or not, we're stuck with an anti-hero with contradictory philosophies to his mentor trying to be a good guy when 80% or people who have a strong opinion about Red Hood demanding that DC comics be burned at the stake for getting his character wrong. With a sizable amount of them on their hands and knees begging for Jason to be an absolutely feral villain again who is "strong, smart, deadly, capable, fearsome." When in reality you can get all of these traits and no daddy issues right there in The Joker. If I wanted a villain who is capable and fearsome killer who strikes fear into the heart of Gotham i'd just be a Joker kinnie. Why should I even bother with Jason? Yet this is what a very vocal majority of the fandom clamors for every time we get a new Jason comic.

Again, I know you weren't trying to get a rant or a tangent and were just trying to prove a point. I have no clue who you are and I'm sorry if any of this came across as offensive. But I'm not here to try to make a bad thing worse. I made a cheap meme for cheap likes, please try not to think too hard about it. It's more fun that way.

#ask Jack #jason todd #bat family #gosh this was exhausting #thanks for the ask but i need a nap after this.

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madara-fate · 2 years

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Misogyny isn't necessarily hatred towards women but prejudice, stereotypes and the expectation of woman having a lower status or acting a certain way. I do agree that Naruto fans often throw that term carelessly around (as in, less screentime compared to other characters doesn't mean the author is a misogynist) HOWEVER, there were definitely stereotypes and expectations being used in writing specific female characters. For example, Hinata in the way she's written and portrayed as "a perfect girl and later wife who's dedicated to her love in every way & situation" is based on expectations that a lot of people (especially in japan) have on women. It may not be misogynistic for them but from a writing perspective, giving several female characters a similar role, personalities & goals (or lack thereof) is pretty monotonous, don't you think? Characters need aspirations and females swooning over males isn't one a lot of readers would consider as interesting. Granted, I don't think that's the case with the one character people always use it against (*cough* Sakura) since we've seen her real aspirations. However, they've meant so little to the plot that for haters they might just as well not exist at all.

I think that's a pattern you could begin to see if you switch Sakura or Hinata (or even Karin, going into the extreme) into male characters because you wouldn't really think "oh that's a male character I've seen before in Naruto" (Aside from perhaps Lee, whose potential really got wasted btw but I digress).

I also think this type of writing wasn't really apparent in female characters that barely interacted with Naruto or Sasuke which I think is because female characters that interacted more with them were written with their relationship to Naruto and Sasuke in mind, barely as individual characters with their own, to the plot significant ambitions.

While it's true people falsely claim Kishimoto himself as misogynistic, the way he wrote the female characters in focus was based on expectations.

And that's where I think the problem lays at.

Writers should never consider their characters gender when writing them unless the series decipts a problem that requires them to be a specific gender.

Arcane is a series that imo perfectly emphasizes that because there you can really switch gender of any character and it wouldn't feel odd. None of them exists to fulfill a role built from gender expectations.

Misogyny isn't necessarily hatred towards women but prejudice, stereotypes and the expectation of woman having a lower status or acting a certain way.

Yes, I always mention the prejudice when I give my definitions of the term, because that doesn't make it any more applicable to the situation. Kishi hasn't written the story in a way which signifies that he has an expectation of women having a lower status or acting a certain way. The female characters in the show share the highest statuses available, and not all of them act in the same way as each other, yet they're not depicted any worse than each other because of the differences in how they behave.

I do agree that Naruto fans often throw that term carelessly around (as in, less screentime compared to other characters doesn't mean the author is a misogynist) HOWEVER, there were definitely stereotypes and expectations being used in writing specific female characters. For example, Hinata in the way she's written and portrayed as "a perfect girl and later wife who's dedicated to her love in every way & situation" is based on expectations that a lot of people (especially in japan) have on women.

Hinata isn't perfect though, nor has she ever been portrayed as being perfect. She was initially portrayed as being overly shy, very timid, lacking in all sorts of self confidence etc. Those are not the traits someone would use in an endeavour to portray them as "perfect". However, she worked to better herself and lessen those more negative aspects to her character. The same can be said for many other male and female characters. Even as a wife, there's no singular definition of "perfect" that suits everyone.

Besides, being a good spouse who is dedicated to your love in every way and situation, is not a gender specific expectation. Why wouldn't everyone expect the husbands to also be a good husband who is dedicated to his love in every way and situation? How does that not also apply to Naruto? Or Shikamaru? Or Choji? Or Minato? There have been no indications whatsoever that these husbands are not as dedicated to their wives as their wives are to them, so I don't get this point. It's not like Japanese people don't expect their husbands to be dedicated and loving to their wives in every situation.

To further hammer home this point, it's not even as if all the wives in the series were depicted as being perfect. Tsume (Kiba's mother), was explicitly stated by Kiba himself, to have scared her husband away. So she clearly wasn't depicted as this perfect wife due to some ingrained societal expectation. And yet, despite this, she wasn't portrayed negatively at all. In fact, in the little panel time we see her for, she was portrayed very well, demonstrating that while she is very tough and strict by nature, she clearly cares deeply for her family and the village. She made a great impression.

It may not be misogynistic for them but from a writing perspective, giving several female characters a similar role, personalities & goals (or lack thereof) is pretty monotonous, don't you think?

Several male characters also have similar roles, personalities and goals. Think of all the personality parallels that were made between Naruto and Jiraiya, Naruto and Obito, Sasuke and Orochimaru, Sasuke and Kakashi, Naruto and Yahiko, Lee and Gai etc.

Think of all of the male characters who had the goal of becoming the Hokage, think of all the parallels of male relationships we had in the series - Like Hashirama and Madara, Naruto and Sasuke, Kakashi and Obito, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Hiruzen and Danzo etc, they all shared so many similar elements to each other. So a feeling of monotony towards the female characters, definitely isn't gender specific, because the same applies to the male ones, if not more.

Characters need aspirations and females swooning over males isn't one a lot of readers would consider as interesting. Granted, I don't think that's the case with the one character people always use it against (*cough* Sakura) since we've seen her real aspirations. However, they've meant so little to the plot that for haters they might just as well not exist at all.

Well yeah, for haters, they might as well just not exist at all, but we can't exactly use their point of view to support our assertions now can we? They refuse to see a lot of growth and development. But as I've said many times before, not only are females swooning over males not anywhere near as prevalent as people make it out to be, but that is not exclusive to females. Naruto and Lee swooning over Sakura, Obito swooning over Rin, Jiraiya swooning over Tsunade etc. Why are these any different to Hinata towards Naruto, or Sakura towards Sasuke? Because the guys had goals? Well so did the women - Through her membership of Team 8, Hinata sought to better herself in terms of her meek personality and her combat skills. It's for the sake of her teammates that Hinata started seeking to change herself, because she wanted to be a help to her team, rather than a burden. And I'm sure you already know of Sakura's aspirations.

These are proper and respectable goals that the fandom refuses to acknowledge because they aren't as grandiose as wanting to become the Hokage, or wanting to kill your brother. Goals of self improvement are often more important than those of achieving certain feats, or earning certain ranks. But because they're not as explicit or entertaining, they get overlooked, and instead the fandom deems these characters to be goalless, with their only aspirations in life being to get with a boy, when that's clearly not the case.

Before, you talked about the goals (or lack thereof) regarding the female characters, again as if that was exclusive to them. So then during the main story, what was Choji's aspiration? What was Shino's aspiration? What was Kiba's aspiration? What was Neji's aspiration? What was Kankuro's aspiration? No one says anything about these hordes of male characters whose aspirations were also not mentioned or elaborated on, but god forbid if a female character finds herself in the same boat, despite the fact that the female characters they levy this criticism towards (like Hinata and Sakura), actually had aspirations which were explicitly highlighted.

But as stated above, I very much have thought "oh that's a male character I've seen before in Naruto", when I mentioned the many male character parallels. I mean, kid Obito and Naruto were practically the same person, with the main differences being their hair colour and Obito's goggles. They had the same hair style, the same knucklehead personality, the same academic struggles, the same unrequited crush, the same dream of becoming Hokage, the same rivalry, they even had the same style of clothes, just with inverted colours. There is no greater example of "oh I've seen that character before", then those two.

That was just part of the overemphasis that Kishi placed on Naruto and Sasuke, and it again was not exclusive to the females. Literally every character who got to know Naruto ultimately thought he was a ray of sunshine. Shikamaru's only ambition prior to getting close to Naruto was to live an unremarkable life with an unremarkable family, and then die just as unremarkably as he lived. But then, as he was written to interact with Naruto more, he eventually strove to instead become his advisor. Same with Gaara - prior to getting close to Naruto, he was much more of his own person. But then, once Naruto touched his heart (as he did with everybody), Gaara would end up referencing Naruto multiple times in some capacity, in essentially every single one of his speeches.

Besides, you say the female characters were barely portrayed as individuals with their own plot significant ambitions, but what does that even mean? One of Sakura's ambitions (which she shared with Naruto), was to save Sasuke from the darkness. So how is that not a plot significant ambition, when one of the biggest recurring plot themes of Part 2, was saving Sasuke from the darkness? That ambition, is as plot significant as it gets.

Therefore, Sakura has plot significant ambitions, and she has individual and personal ambitions to better herself as a kunoichi and establish the Children's Mental Healthcare Clinic. She has ambitions, so what more do people want? People criticise her to hell and back for not having any ambitions or individualism, and then once those people are shown that she actually does have ambitions, suddenly those ambitions aren't good enough.

While it's true people falsely claim Kishimoto himself as misogynistic, the way he wrote the female characters in focus was based on expectations.

What expectations? There was nothing about the manner in which the female characters in focus were written, that was unique to them.

Writers should never consider their characters gender when writing them unless the series decipts a problem that requires them to be a specific gender.

I agree, but that still can't be applied to Naruto.

That's fine, but I don't see how switching the gender of any Naruto character would feel odd in the slightest, because none of them exist to fulfil a role built from gender expectations either. There is literally nothing about the female characters that is exclusive to them, or haven't also been exhibited by their male counterparts.

#Naruto

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kingofthewilderwest · 5 years

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Don't worry, I take over my sleep time to read and write fanfictions. I wouldn't have time otherwise! I have an entire Word page with only links to fanfictions I still have to read! And it's all right to not read fanfictions if you don't want to. It's just an hobby among others. Anyway, you wrote fanfictions?? Now I'm curious, could I have a link, if you don't mind? Have a good night too and sorry for my grammar mistakes, english isn't my first language (btw, thank you for the likes

From this. Sorry I’m slow replying!! thanks for your wonderful messages! :)

No worries about grammar! Your English is great, and even if it weren’t, that’s no bother to me either. :) The fact that you’re communicating in a language that isn’t your first… just means you have extra skills and are even more awesome! :)

I love how dedicated you are to looking at others’ fanfictions, even creating a Word document page to make sure you remember them. That’s beautiful and cool. And I’m getting curious about what you’ve written, too!

Thanks so much for asking about my fics - this touches me! Sure, I’m happy to share! I tend to post all fics on tumblr and FFN, with FFN being my primary hub. On tumblr I use the tag #my fanfiction and tag all stories by their title. My FFN profile is kingofthewilderwest.

I’m so so so so so SO touched when anyone reads or interacts with my fics (though since I write casually, I ask no constructive criticism

THE VIGILANTE’S WAR

HTTYD. YEAR: 2014. LENGTH: 57,110 WORDS. A mysterious, antagonistic dragon rider dubbed “the Vigilante” crosses paths with Hiccup, and her increasingly violent actions appear to be leading to war against Berk.

He tightened his hands, loosened them again. Breathed in, breathed out. He could feel himself stooped in the dirt, his shoulders hunched over his head, his knees buried in the ground and tucked underneath his torso. His neck was bent low close to the earth, providing him a good view of his hands and the ground and nothing else.

Well, and the blood.

That can’t possibly be all mine.

- PROLOGUE: FROM OUT OF THE HAZE

HTTYD 2′s original drafts had Valka as the main antagonist. I found this so interesting that I decided to rewrite HTTYD 2 - with a few of my own spins - on this concept. One of my most well-known fics, “The Vigilante’s War” is where I’ve gotten the most thorough reviews and most emotional reactions.

THE VIGILANTE’S LEGACY

HTTYD. YEARS: 2014-2016. LENGTH: 20,546 WORDS. There’s been four years of war between three factions. Drago’s army. The Vigilante and her dragons. Berk and their allies. But now, Chief Hiccup believes there’s a way to end the conflict. Sequel to “The Vigilante’s War.”

Hiccup spoke up. Cleared his voice. Tapped his pointer finger apprehensively on the cell’s iron door. “You said we were making a mistake.” Might as well speak straight to the point of his visit. “Something about ‘you and every one of your warriors are making a mistake’ or – or something like that.”

For a moment Hiccup wondered if Valka actually would reply. The calculating gaze she gave him from the corner of her prison certainly did not seem a positive sign. However, then, with a steady, lilting cadence to her voice, she succinctly affirmed, “I did.” Just those two words. Nothing more.

- VIII. THE MISTAKES OF WAR

It’s unfinished; I haven’t updated because I ran out of steam and didn’t receive enough reader feedback encouraging me to continue. Though I did have a very vivid final chapter in mind… that I still love… which I never got to…?

MEMOIRS

HTTYD. YEARS: 2015-2016. LENGTH: 44,289 WORDS. My ongoing collection of drabbles for HTTYD. Angst, pain, comfort, humor, crossovers, crack, it’s all there. Favorites include “Family Portrait,” “Stubble,” “Buffcup the Brawny,” and “Remember When.”

He held her hand softly, one wrinkled hand laid gently on top of another. It was just her and him now in the house all alone – for their children had left on a voyage with the grandkids, and would not be back for a week yet, if even two. It evoked the quietness of the old days, back before they were old, back during the times when they were newlyweds and younger even than their grandchildren were today. Oh, but the smell of her hair was just as refreshing now as when it was blonde.

- REMEMBER WHEN

DINNER AT DRAGON’S EDGE

HTTYD. YEAR: 2015. LENGTH: 5,452 WORDS. The gang’s settling in at Dragon’s Edge. To make sure everything operates smoothly, Hiccup suggests a chore rotation system. That means everyone has to do their fair share of the cooking… but it doesn’t mean everyone is a fair cook.

“Oh my gods, is this dinner or what the rats threw away?” Snotlout exclaimed, terrified at the Unidentified Edible Object before him.

Tuffnut picked it up with one experimental hand and held it out before him at a safe distance. People would have held poisonous snakes or bloodied torture devices more cheerily. Squinting his eyes and peering carefully at the peculiar specimen pinched between his fingers, rubbing under his chin with his other, free hand, Tuffnut remarked, “Looks something like what Barf and Belch poop out after they get sick and…”

- 1. ASSIGNING JOBS

This humorous fic I think is where I do best capturing HTTYD character personalities and interactions.

[SUPER]HERO THE HARD WAY

HTTYD. YEARS: 2014-2017. LENGTH: 86,566 WORDS. In a modern world where Berk is full of superheroes battling the League of Outcasts, power-less Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third struggles to receive appreciation for who he is. Through his crime-fighting journey, Hiccup learns that, while he might not have powers, he can become a Hero the Hard Way.

“I wasn’t born with anything. Don’t have anything. I’m the son of Chief Stoick “Skullcrusher” and I don’t have anything. Not even a superpower to turn objects purple. Which frankly would be completely pointless but at least it would have been something.“

He realized he was babbling and promptly shut his mouth. He looked over at Fishlegs, who appeared to be wordlessly processing the information. The teenager appeared baffled moreso than anything else, which at least meant he was not outright rejecting him.

“So you’re going to train to be a superhero… and you don’t have any powers? I got that right?”

“You got that right.”

“Wow.” Fishlegs said.

Hiccup waited for more.

“That’s actually really cool.”

- CHAPTER THREE: SIDEKICKED

This started as me intending to write one crack chapter. It turned into me envisioning a ROB / DOB modern AU where all characters were superheroes. The final product became a retelling of HTTYD 1′s basic concept: Hiccup gaining his peers’ approval despite being different. Somehow, despite me 70% adlibbing by the seat of my pants (should I be admitting this?), I had great fun. And it brought in the most reviews, follows, and favorites of any of my posted stories! Thanks for the reads and support, everyone!!!

RESET OR RESUME

UT. YEAR: 2016-2017. LENGTH: 85,841 WORDS. Gaster’s research unlocks the secret of time travel. After the Royal Scientist’s untimely end, one of Gaster’s colleagues - Sans - finds himself with the power to Reset. Confronted with unpleasant timelines and dangerous choices, Sans must decide how to navigate through time… if it’s worth resetting for a better future, continuing with hope for the present, or simply giving up.

No longer timid and silent, the human happily babbled all sorts of nonsense to Sans, everything from how to bake snow pies to how weird Sans’ skull looked to how beautiful the ribbon in their hair was to their opinions of Papyrus’ ‘battle body’ to how their mom didn’t like the color black to their personal opinion of ferrets to a long narrative of their encounter with a snail-loving old lady they met on the other side of the Ruins door. Everything could be the topic of a conversation. There was no filter and even less sense of restraint for this child.

“How are you a SKELETON?” their happy little high-pitched voice squeaked. They flew gallantly over a twig that rested, flat, on the surface of the snow. Powder flew everywhere as they landed heavily into the snowbank. “That means – that means you should be DEAD, you know!”

“who says i’m not dead?” Sans trolled with a wink.

With a shrieking giggle, they exclaimed, “Don’t be silly! Only ghosts are dead!”

“i could be a skeleton ghost.”

“No you – no you can’t.” The human seemed to be quite confident about their knowledge in paranormal metaphysics. “You can be a skeleton. You can be a ghost. But nobody – NOBODY – can be a skeleton ghost.”

“is that so?”

“YES so! You CAN’T be both. That would be wrong.” Maybe the human mentally categorized skeletons and ghosts as separate Halloween creatures, ensuring they were mutually exclusive concepts. It was always challenging to comprehend a child’s train of logic. “Except…” and now the child paused, leaning down and tugging at the sleeve of their sweater. Something thoughtful – at least as much as one so young could be thoughtful – passed over their eyes. They cocked their head to the side and stared at Sans. In the same sort of innocence with which they had talked about ferrets, the human inquired, “…can ghosts also be dust?”

- 5. KNOCKS [[File 5.2 IH-20150701-3-3]]

I have particular fondness for this fic. I spent more energy and care with this than any other I’ve posted. Drenched it through with UT lore. Edited and revised thoroughly. Had two beta readers examine my ASL for accurate representation. I wrote extensive outlines that were several page long color-coded charts, had all this meticulous structuring going on…

The problem was, this was an impossibly ambitious project. Life got in the way, too. The 85,841 words here aren’t close to the end of Part 1. The final two Parts were going to explain the weirdness within Part 1 (the story doesn’t begin in chronological order - it gets pieced together like a puzzle). What I planned to write would have included a complex characterization arc for Sans, every human child that’s visited the underground, and multiple resets containing main character deaths… until the story would end with Sans confronting Frisk in the Genocide Route.

Hopefully, despite the incompleteness, this is enjoyable from its comedy to its angst! I would at least encourage people to read the first few chapters! Or “Socks” - an entire chapter devoted to Sans and Gaster pulling sock pranks on each other.

SOMEHOW THEY’RE STILL OFFICERS

FMAB. YEAR: 2018-2019. LENGTH: 6,036 WORDS. Ahhhhhh yes. Team Mustang. The hand-selected, elite group of military officers who effectively spend their time… doing nonsense.

Everyone was scrambling at once. Mustang rushed forward to greet their guest, perfect composure only broken by the fast pace at which he moved. In fact the colonel’s posture was almost a proud enough display to make his lack of shirt go unnoticed. But Falman chucked his cards away at the same time he tried to salute; Breda was ducking from Falman’s sudden card shower; Fuery was launching pants and underwear in Havoc’s face; and Lieutenant Hawkeye, obviously abashed to be in this room at all, was covering her eyes with her hand in what was either her life’s longest sigh, or a pathetic attempt to hide her face and identity.

- WE WERE JUST PLAYING CARDS

My collection of FMA drabbles, particularly stories of Team Mustang shenanigans. Prompts / requests welcome for more adventures!

I have a few other drabbles posted, too. I also have unfinished chapters of Voltron fanfictions on my computer that I could share, too? Maybe I should? I’m currently working on several Royai fanfictions, other FMA drabbles, and a longer Deponia fanfiction.

Thank you again for being so nice and connecting with me over fanfiction and fandom and FMA and more. You’re a really wonderful and cool person and you made my day.

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