#probably the right choice but also it was such a nice version

[lilgynt]

my room is becoming so much more of a red flag like that’s a power drill on my bed frame i just slept with and then my bedside desk is literally over filling with books (night bitch sharp objects two separate books by camus catcher in the rye and then like. four books on hannibal and that’s only bc the others are already read or in my bag) and i unironically have three copies of silence of the lambs

[alessandramortt]

cannot believe the thing that finally gets me to romantically ship furymax is, of all things, my issues with furyjack sjdhskdjd so on brand for me tho

[pompadorbz]

FINALLY FINISHED MY QPHIL 3.0 DESIGN HOORAY (cant wait to. redesign it again in like 3 months.) (CHECK UNDER THE CUT FOR MY SILLY DESIGN NOTES!!)

I think I said this before but i so. SO BADLY wanted him to have a sleep theme since I always loved how his presence on the island was kinda up in the air. Is it a dream? Is it not? When he goes between the island and hardcore is that change really happening? Who knows.

The idea of making his usual outfit more like a housecoat was super appealing to me, so I opted for this open housecoat look with really heavy frills which were super fun to figure out, and I knew from pretty early on that I wanted to give him a quilt pattern SOMEWHERE on his design, so I thought the inside of the coat would do nicely for a sorta "default state". It also meant I could attribute meaning to the symbols and colours I used. wink nudge.

He has a more subtle angel theme, like with the mobile on his walking stick being a halo with the wing placement further emphasizing this, as well as just his generally lighter colour scheme. When I say sleep was his theme I almost more-so imagine it as like. The feeling of waking up in the morning where you're mostly refreshed but still a LITTLE drowsy. Lots of very spring-y, morning colours.

Just some other quick notes, I always really liked the mod in the server where you could have the crows perch on your shoulder and follow cuz of the lantern, so I thought it'd be fun if I made it so brian just straight up WAS the lantern. So I made him look like one of those wall outlet nightlights!! The backpack being kinda cat shaped was COMPLETELY unintentional but a very welcome result. Missa backpack is real.

As for the alternate outfits, I have a bolas one, as well as an ender king one since I deemed those two the most important. For the ender king I weirdly don't have many notes, like it's fairly straightforward (Save for the elephant in the room but now I'm gonna keep my secrets on why that's a thing). The Quilt design is supposed to be a lighter, easier-on-the-eyes version of the no texture pattern, and I imagine that all the goop and gunk on Phil is hidden under the coat. I imagine it'd look fairly similar to canon so just like. imagine it for now. Might draw it one day. MAYBE. There's some tiny additional colour symbolism but I'll hold my tongue on that and let you guys draw your own conclusions there. I WILL say, however, that instead of his theme being sleep, his theme is "nightmare" (and also kinda sleepwalking since both fit).

The Bolas design was SUPER fun to work with. For starters I wanted the three designs to be in three different states. One with the coat, one with the coat reversed, and one without the coat entirely. Since I wanted to do the checker pattern thing with the possession design, having the sleeveless bolas design worked really well for the shape I landed on, even if it wasn't conventional. and SPEAKING of non-conventional design choices, I decided to go against the usual plague doctor + gas mask fusion design. Which might be controversial... But god. The moment I thought of his mask being a falconry hood, the idea just wouldn't leave my mind. Because of this, the full mask is kinda separated into two parts. The eye mask which kinda also mirrors his usual sleep mask, and the gas mask itself (I kept it in a beak shape since it'd feel odd if i made it any other shape for phil, lol). When designing the whole thing I kept thinking about more apocalypse setting clothing. Like mad max. Or the one gag from that one spongebob movie. Lots of leather. And of course, to match the other sleep themes, the Bolas outfit's theme is "fever dream", although its a bit more subtle. It's easily the weirdest design, The pops of green were simultaneously in reference to the friendship emerald... As well as... Well, the green chain right below the chain on the sickness themed design was probably the most tasteful way I could've chosen to get across vomit without it being too on the nose. (also sidenote, I had a few friends compare bolas phil to... a fly. Which wasn't intentional but it's kinda funny that the guy designed after fever dreams looks a little bit like a bug.) Ok thats it for design commentary I'm gonna go to bedge nyow.

[benkyoutobentou]

LGBTQ+ Japanese Media for Pride Month

Happy pride month! There's no better time to read and watch queer media than June. I tend to read and watch mostly queer content, so I thought I'd drop some things that I've enjoyed over the years for those looking for something that they maybe haven't picked up before. Since lots of Japanese media tends to have multiple versions and adaptations, I'll be organizing this by representation rather than type of media. The version(s) that I've personally seen or read will be bolded. This will also be a little bit different from my usual Japanese media recommendation posts, as I will also be including media that I've read in English or watched with English subtitles. This is also an invitation for anyone to recommend things to me, especially ones that have LGBT rep outside of just gay and lesbian characters. I'm always looking for more stuff to enjoy!

MLM

同級生/Classmates (manga/anime movie): Two seemingly opposite boys meet during the choir festival at their all boys' school and develop a relationship. How could this not be the very first thing I recommend? This is one of my all time favorite BL series and one of my favorite movies as well. Seriously, I watch this at least three times per year (once being during June!). Nakamura Asumiko is one of my favorite manga artists, and this won't be the last series of hers on this list.

ひだまりが聴こえる/I Hear the Sunspot (manga/movie): This follows a college student who agrees to become the designated note taker for a deaf classmate. I love this series and one of my favorite things about it is how much the romance takes a backseat to other things happening in the characters lives. It also has a large cast of deaf characters! If you're looking for something with representation outside of only LGBT and doesn't focus too much on romance, this is a really great choice.

30歳まで童貞だと魔法使いになれるらしい/Cherry Magic! 30 Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard (manga/drama/anime): After waking up on his thirtieth birthday, a businessman discovers that he has gained the ability to read minds. And with that, he discovers that his male coworker has a crush on him. For such a zany concept, this series is very cute and sweet. It's also always nice to see something that follows older characters (ie. not high school or college).

美しい彼/My Beautiful Man (novel/drama/manga): This follows a social outcast who ends up falling in love with a boy in the friend group of his high school bullies. This isn't a sweet and heartwarming romance at all, but it's also not pure toxicity. The drama is extremely bingeable and the author is a juggernaut in the BL light novel community for a reason.

消えた初恋/My Love Mix Up (manga/drama): Due to an eraser mishap, a boy admits to having feelings for another boy in order to save his actual crush from embarrassment. This series is The Blueprint for me in terms of romcoms. It does everything right for me and the characters especially stand out. It covers topics from discovering your identity and first love to dealing with homophobia and it does it all spectacularly. I also think that the manga does visual humor extremely well.

スリーピングデッド/Sleeping Dead (manga): After being stabbed to death on a routine patrol, a popular high school teacher wakes up on a metal table. I have no words [words]. This is definitely up there in my favorites, I love it so much. If you like queer horror, this is definitely one you need to pick up. I also found it very funny and the characters were extremely charming.

僕らの地球の歩き方/Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide (manga): A couple decides to travel the world together, promising that they'll get married upon their return to Japan. Probably my all time favorite manga ever. I love every single thing about this, especially how much this series loves the queer community. This manga is overflowing with love in all ways, and I'm overflowing with love for this manga.

きのう何食べた？/What Did You Eat Yesterday? (manga/drama): This series is basically just snippets of a gay man's daily life. He likes to cook. And you know what? It's all the better for it. This series is award winning and such a great time. The main character is so relatable and it covers some great LGBT+ topics. Honestly, it's a crime that I haven't seen the drama yet.

WLW

独り舞/Solo Dance (novel): After a violent encounter, a Taiwanese woman makes the choice to move to Japan. When reading this, I saw it mention Qiu Miaojin's Notes of a Crocodile, which I had just bought, and now that I've finally read it, I can easily see the influences that Qiu's works had on this one. This is a tough book to get through emotionally, but ultimately a worthwhile read, especially if you're looking for something more on the literary side.

ささやくように恋を唄う/Whisper Me a Love Song (manga/anime): A girl confesses to an upperclassman that she loves her music, but the upperclassman misunderstands it as a true confession of love. I adore this series and the relationships in it. It has a huge cast of female characters and also has a driving plot outside of just the romance. I'm a sucker for series about music and this one is one of my favorites.

あさがおと加瀬さん/Kase San and Morning Glories (manga/anime movie): A shy gardener and a popular track star become friends and begin dating. This series is so cute! It feels like a GL staple to me and is one I've been following for practically as long as I've been reading manga in Japanese. It also has a sequel series called 山田と加瀬さん/Yamada and Kase San which follows the two of them after high school.

メジロバナの咲く/A White Rose in Bloom (manga): After not being able to go home for Christmas, a girl is stuck in her boarding school with one other student, who seems to not like her. This is another one by Nakamura Asumiko and there's something about her writing which always sucks me in. I can't get enough of this series, it has wonderful vibes, impeccable art, and I just want more and more of the characters.

欠けた月とドーナッツ/Donuts Under a Crescent Moon (manga): This series is a slice of life following two coworkers and their growing relationship. It's very slow burn and puts a lot more emphasis on the feelings of coming into and realizing your sexuality as an adult and dealing with compulsory heterosexuality. I really loved this series and how it focused on issues surrounding but not directly related to the central romance.

気になってる人が男じゃなかった/The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All (manga): A girl develops a crush on a worker at a music store after bonding over their shared love of music. Little does she know, he's actually the girl who sits next to her in class. This manga has taken the world by storm to the point of having a collaboration with Nirvana, and let me tell you it deserves every bit of hype you've heard about it. The art and characters are both stunning and is absolutely worth the read.

ハロー、メランコリック！/Hello, Melancholic! (manga): A talented trombonist enters a high school without a wind band, but is scouted anyway by a drummer looking for a new member to join her combo band. This is another one where the romance takes a backseat to other stuff in the plot, can you tell that I love that sort of thing? I also really loved the ways they talked about music in here, and I could definitely relate to it as a musician myself. Apparently, all the chapter titles are songs as well.

さよならローズガーデン/Goodbye, My Rose Garden (manga): A young woman moves from Japan to England to find her favorite author and is hired on as a maid. Her boss agrees to help her find this author so long as she agrees to help her with a grisly task. This is another really lovely series with gorgeous art. Set in the Victorian era, this does have some time period appropriate homophobia but overall it didn't strike me as a very dark manga.

Transgender

彼らが本気で編むときは、/Close Knit (movie): A young girl goes to live with her uncle and his transgender girlfriend. This movie is so sweet and cute! I watched it a couple years back now, but I feel like a lot of specific scenes have stuck with me. This is definitely a good heartwarming Pride month movie night candidate.

不可解なぼくのすべてを/Love Me For Who I Am (manga): A nonbinary teen is offered a job at a crossdressing cafe run by a classmate's family. Although this series has a cast with multiple LGBT identities, I chose to include it here because the main theme seems to revolve around gender. I do recommend this series if you're looking for a cute and sweet story about gender issues, but I did have some hesitations about the way lesbians are portrayed in this manga.

ボーイミーツマリア/Boy Meets Maria (manga): A boy who dreams of being an actor falls in love at first sight with a girl he sees dancing in his high school entrance ceremony, only to later find that she is actually a boy in his class. I feel like I always need to preface any recommendation for this manga by saying that a lot of people took issue with the way certain things and tropes are handled in this regarding being transgender. I personally didn't find it transphobic but I'm also just one person and can't speak for every nonbinary person out there. Regardless, I really enjoyed this. Be aware of trigger warnings when going into this one, it gets extremely graphic.

ボーイズ・ラン・ザ・ライオット/Boys Run the Riot (manga): Two high school boys bond over their shared love of fashion and start a brand together. I read this one a while back and never ended up finishing it but I do remember enjoying what I read! It's also by a transgender mangaka!

放浪息子/Wandering Son (manga/anime): This is a slice of life coming of age series that follows a middle school friend group revolving around two transgender friends. It's more of a slow paced series and a little bit on the more depressing side. The anime is also award winning and the manga was nominated!

星合の空/Stars Align (anime): This is a sports anime about a middle school boys' soft tennis team. I always hesitate to recommend this one because it was greenlit for a twenty four episode anime then cut down to twelve episodes during production. Rather than condense the story, the creator chose to animate only the first half of the series, so it's perpetually unfinished. Despite that, I still think it was a really wonderful anime and I would really love to see the rest of it one day because so much good stuff was set up!

Other/Multiple

しまなみ誰そ彼/Our Dreams at Dusk (manga): A gay teen is about to commit suicide after being outed to his classmates but sees a mysterious person jump from a balcony, which then leads him to a drop in center for LGBT people. I cannot say enough good things about this manga, it is phenomenal and is always my go-to for anyone looking for queer manga. It's heartfelt and beautiful and written by another one of my favorite mangaka, Kamatani Yuhki, who also happens to be X gender!

ヒラエスは旅路の果て/Hiraeth: The End of the Journey (manga): After the death of her best friend, a young girl decides to join a forgotten god and an immortal man on their journey to find death. Another Kamatani manga! This manga deals more with grief and mortality rather than queer identities, but if you want something with casually queer characters, this one is worth picking up. Also, this is one of only two manga to ever make me cry, and boy did I ugly cry at this one.

恋せぬふたり/Two People Who Can't Fall in Love (drama): Though I haven't watched this one, it's been on my radar for quite a while and I've heard so many good things. It's also harder to find series that have explicit aroace representation. This is about a woman who feels ostracized by her lack of romantic interest in anyone around her until she finds a blog about asexuality.

わたしは壁になりたい/I Want to Be a Wall (manga): This series is a marriage of convenience plot between an asexual BL fangirl and a gay man who never got over his childhood crush. I loved the relationship between the two characters and the depiction of a nontraditional family that still has love within it, even if it's not romantic.

Bonus- Music

I'm not one to look much in to the person behind the music, so I often don't know much about band members or singers of the music I listen to. However, there are two wonderful transgender artists that I listen to regularly in Japanese and couldn't pass up the opportunity to share their works with the world! Nakamura Ataru is a pop singer who also takes inspiration from traditional Japanese music. I love her enka styled songs such as 廃墟の森! The other artist is a bit more popular, and that's the rock band QUEEN BEE, whose lead singer is the incredibly talented Avu Chan. Avu Chan also voiced Inu Oh in one of my favorite movies, Inu Oh, which isn't (explicitly) queer, but is definitely worth watching anyways, even if just to hear Avu Chan's insane vocal abilities.

And so, those are (just a few) of my recommendations for Japanese queer reads to celebrate Pride month! If you have any recommendations for me, regardless of whether it's a movie or novel or manga or other, I would love to hear them!

[mountkennedie]

Plants

Loki x reader

Summary: you visit Loki in his personal library

warnings: Loki season 2 reference (sorry BUT I HAD TO), fluff

A.N. gender fluid Loki means everything to me

The young prince of Asgard had many places he frequented. His room, of course, everyone loves their room. A certain shadowed place in the kingdom gardens that he thinks only he knows about. And lastly, in the place he was in now, the library. For his birthday, it had been gifted to him. There already was a library in the palace. This was really just a smaller version of it. However, this one supplied only his favorite genres, and when that idea was proposed, I don't think the person was aware of Loki's reading history. He has many favorite genres, and space in the smaller library was filled quickly.

You had nothing better to do to spend your time. And usually that meant you would find your best friend of many years. Contrary to popular belief, you knew to check the library first. It makes sense to go to his room, but you know better. He didn't actually have many books in his room. It was a guideline set by his mother so that he would sleep at night instead of read the hours away. All the books inside had been read cover to cover so many times he could probably recite them at any given moment.

Approaching the doors, there were two guards standing watch. "Is Loki in today?" You knew their names, and honestly, more than you probably should for the royal guards. Their jobs were protection, not chatter. But who could resist a little break from that strict code? Especially when you would ask the most random yet interesting questions you could think of.

"If you had the choice of only being able to see one color for the rest of your days, which one would you choose?"

"My lady, I have been advised to limit conversation that does not safety of the kingdom. But also a nice blue would not be bad."

"Yes, my lady, he is. Would you prefer an introduction?" He asked.

"That won't be necessary." They both nodded their heads and opened the doors for me to enter. The room was beautifully lit. The lanterns were a lovely touch, with the edition of the small candles added a very cozy feeling. Luckily, the windows in the corners of the room had been cracked. Neither of you could stand the smell of standing smoke. There were two couches in the center of the room. They were large and rather dramatic, the edition of the green velvet cushions added to the atmosphere.

Upon one to those couches was the one you had been looking for. Stretched out on the right couch, new book in hand. The title was something you couldn't make out. Their fingers covered it perfectly. "You know you can ask instead of trying to sneakily figure it out," they quipped. They finally looked up and smirked at you.

You helped yourself to sit down on the adjacent couch. "No, I am good with sneaking glances," you replied in a similar tone.

He huffed and placed his book down on the table. "Is there nothing interesting going on in the palace? That is why you violate my one place of solace?" He kept his tone light, so you knew his cruel words were nothing but words.

"Oh, I just knew you missed my presence so much. I had to cease your worries and needs." The pair of you could go on for hours if you both wanted. But instead of that, you needed him to answer something. "Loki, if you were a plant, what plant would you be?"

"That's what has been plaguing you today?" She sat up, and you mirrored her. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, "If I was a plant..."

"I have an idea of what I think you'd be, but I still am curious as to what you think." You rested your head on your hands facing him. Your smile of amusement gleamed on your face. You loved watching her in deep thought.

"Well, help me out. What would you be?" Their smile matched yours. It grew bigger when your brows knitted in concentration.

"I think I would be a fern. A nice pretty fern with a big wide leaf span. I would make all the other ferns jealous," You finished your sentiment with a theatrical voice. You had been thinking of this for a little bit. And by a little bit, it was really what you were thinking about on the way here.

"I could easily see you passing as a fern. As for me... I can see myself as some form of tree. Maybe a weeping willow or a variation of it." When he finished his thought, he looked back down at you.

"I was thinking more of a strong oak tree, growing tall and providing shade for anyone lucky enough to walk near you." He looked at you after you said that. Not with the typical look of a friend, but of something more weighted. You could really only hope that was what you were seeing. The growing feelings of adoration towards the god had only gotten more intense over time. You've heard of many seeing the world through rose colored glasses. You could wish that your vision was clear.

"Thank you," They looked like they wanted to say more. And you implored they would. But instead, you both continued the intense eye contact you both had been holding. The air was too thick for your lungs to carry. You wanted them to make the first move because you were frozen. "Y/n?"

Your name was spoken in the way a lover would address another. You said a silent prayer that your eyes were not scarlet sensitive in this moment. "Loki?" Your voice was barely stronger than a whisper. He stood and approached your couch. You stood up and moved to be in front of him.

"It is my turn to ask you something." He took a deep breath and took your hands in his. "I need to know now, have your feelings toward me ever been more than... platonic?" His eyes were full of fear. But you also could see how badly he needed to hear your response.

You managed to get one gust of air inside your long awaiting lungs. You looked into his eyes one last time as a friend, then said, "Yes."

He blinked twice as the clarity rolled over him. His hands lightly squeezed yours, "Even now?" His voice was something you had never heard before. It was frail and desperate. You nearly wanted to apologize for putting him through such torment.

You thought of your next words thoroughly. "Especially now," you squeezed his hands back in the same manner. She sighed and shut her eyes. You did the same, and you both rested your foreheads on the others. Without word, your both tilted your heads up and let your lips collide.

You were not sure who sighed into the kiss, but it was still an accurate representation of the need for action. It stayed slow, but not any less passionate as a kiss of messy fire. When you both pulled apart, your hands stayed conjoined. No one spoke. No words could describe what was flowing between you two.

Eyes closed and lips locked yet again. Again and again and again.

[kasagia]

in “a powerful man” how do you think coryo would take it if the reader told him that she’d forgive him completely only if she was allowed to have an affair with another man once too, since he had one with livia? love your fic btw ❤️

Thank you veeeeeery much, dear anonymous!!! I'm so glad you liked it!! 😊😊🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵🖤🩵

I think this is probably the first time someone has asked me a question about one of my oneshots, so let's make this a headcon. (Also, because I have neither the inspiration nor the time to write, maybe it will stimulate me somehow and I will feel more willing to write again. And maybe I got some inspiration too.) 🙈🙈

I'm talking about this 'version' of Coryo.

How do I think Coriolanus would react to you wanting to have a 'revenge affair' as a price for your forgiveness: (with smut?)

NO. A definite and categorical no. Coryo has no intention of sharing you, even for the shortest moment, with anyone else. You are his fiancée (not willingly, but still), and he will not allow the hands of some lesser man to stain what is his,

Does he want your complete forgiveness? A return to what once was between you? A carefree relationship where you trusted him and freely showed your devotion and deep feelings? He admits that it would be nice, but he doesn't want it at that price,

Coriolanus will have you anyway. It doesn't matter whether you let him or not. You are his new obsession—the future First Lady. And after being elected president, he knows that nothing can stop him. He has the most power. Over everything, including you.

Therefore no. He disagrees.

He is ready to break you, to force you into the woman of his dreams, to subject you to thousands of manipulations, than to allow any other man to get close to you. You have no right to betray him. Never. You are committed to him for the rest of your life, and he will do anything to make sure you know that.

He will even go as far as threatening your family and loved ones (especially your younger sister, for whom you have a soft spot). Therefore, you have no choice but to play wisely in Coriolanus' game, in which you have become a forced participant.

Let's imagine you make him this offer...

"Where does this sudden surge of tenderness come from, my petal? I'm not complaining, but usually when it comes from you, it also comes with a price to pay. What do you want from me this time?" He asks you after a particularly hot, passionate, and affectionate session in his bedroom, wrapping his arms around you and pressing you against his chest. You rested your head on his shoulder, lazily drawing patterns on his chest with your finger. You shrug, pressing a kiss on his jaw. He hugs you tighter, dipping his head and burying his nose in your hair. You lie there in each other's arms for a moment. You wait for his heartbeat to slow down a little and for him to relax enough for you to ask him your question. "That was nice, right?" You ask innocently, continuing to caress his chest muscles with your feathery touch. "So much so that I'm afraid of what you'll ask me after this." He jokes and presses a kiss on your temple. "Wouldn't you rather have it all the time? My voluntary affection, passion, and desire? To be adored by me not only in front of the eyes of the Capitol?" You ask, placing small kisses on his neck. You distract him for a moment. He closes his eyes and bites his buttom lip, holding back a moan as you suddenly suck on his skin. You make sure to leave a hickey there as you lightly bite his skin. You pull away, then, so you can look into his eyes. "What do you want?" He asks curiously, his hand caressing your waist and every bit of skin he can get to despite you being wrapped in the covers. "Do you remember when you cheated on me with Livia?" "It wasn't cheating; I only did it because I had to. I felt no pleasure with her. No, as I feel each time we are together like this. But continue." He interrupts you, frowning disapprovingly. He didn't want to think of it as a betrayal. More like something... business. The thing he simply had to do for his career. You shiver, feeling sick just thinking about it. "I want the same." "You want to sleep with her?" He asks amusedly with a small chuckle, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between you for a moment after your words. "Not with her. With someone else. You know. Feel the thrill of something new and exciting. Besides, it would be a perfect proof of your devotion, don't you think? I would know that you were able to rise above your pride and that I could trust you again. That we are both equal. Enough to make me fall in love with you again. Didn't you promise me that? That you will do all in your power to make me love you again?" "Oh, and I will. But I'll kill all the men in Panem before I let anyone lay a finger on what's mine. And you, petal, belong to me. You will fall in love with me again. If not of your own will, then thanks to my... nudges in the right direction. It's up to you how painful they will be." "So you don't want my forgiveness?" You ask, furious, trying to match his scowl with yours. He squeezes you tighter, making you bite your lip, holding back a hiss of pain as his fingers dig painfully into your hips and buttocks. "Not necessarily. I want you. And I got you. All to myself. What difference does it make if I have to hold your throat or your hand while I am pushing into you?" With that question, he wraps his hand around your throat and presses his mouth aggressively against yours, allowing you no resistance. You moan as your tongues intertwine, and he hovers above you again, his length pressing alive and hard against your thigh again as he grinds against you, spreading his pre-cum on your skin.

Will he admit to jealousy? Of course not. He will keep telling you that you are his. That, as his property, you must obey him; otherwise, he will ruin your scientific career and take away the research you are working on.

Another excuse is that the Capitol thinks you are the perfect couple. What happens if someone finds out you're cheating on them? Coriolanus cannot let this happen. After all, the reputations of the two of you are the most important thing to him. He won't risk it in any way. And certainly not, so you can fuck another man.

And there would also be the problem of quietly disposing of your potential lover's corpse, because there's no way Coriolanus would let someone live who had tasted his First Lady's pussy.

Let's assume this does happen and you are having an affair…

Saints, help the one who dared to sleep with you behind Coriolanus' back.

There's no way he wouldn't find out about it.

You're so followed and watched over by his men and spies that it's a wonder you managed to sleep with anyone else and even keep it a secret from him for some time.

But when he finds out... it's an understatement to say he was furious. He was crazy. But if he had learned anything, it was how to plan revenge, how to strike, and when, so that his victim would never get up and regret ever going against him and becoming an obstacle.

Of course, your lover ends up dead after many weeks of being followed (to such an extent that he went crazy, feeling constant anxiety and eyes on the back of his neck), brutal interrogation by peackeepers, charges of high treason, and a public execution preceded by dosing him with various poisons and undergoing painful experiments. (Coriolanus even personally castrated him.)

But he's not just taking revenge on your lover. You get punished too.

The peacekeepers won't let you into the lab. Your parents and sister are forcibly sent to one of the districts for 'the holidays' without being able to contact you. Dr. Gaul can't talk to you either. You are confined to your house, unable to contact anyone who is not Coriolanus.

And he waits patiently until the loneliness and inability to do anything begin to affect you.

For the first few weeks, you struggle, trying to get out. You quickly realise that you don't have this option. His most trusted people and the Avox make sure you don't leave your room. And you start going crazy. You miss conversation, touch, and another person. You even miss Coryo.

Three months of your isolation has passed when he appears in your 'prison'.

He accepts with a huge smile that you throw yourself at him, begging for forgiveness. You rip off his clothes before he can even respond to your pleas and pleasure him as best as you can, just to regain any semblance of freedom he once gave you.

You spend the whole night pleasing him, but he doesn't say a word, only moaning and grunting, even as you cry, begging him to say something, as you ride him like your life depends on it (which actually isn't far from the truth).

The next day, he is not in bed in the morning.

Instead, a crowd of make-up artists, designers, and maids come to prepare you for YOUR WEDDING.

You find out that he made people in the Capitol think that your family was spending one last vacation together before you got married. And he, being a good fiancé, let you go.

You're too busy thinking about finally being free from the confines of four walls of your room to even think about what a son of a bitch he is.

And after the wedding, when you go on your 'honeymoon' and he holds you on his lap in your compartment on the train, he mocks how little it took to break you and that you have to make up to him for 3 months without you, when he had to hold back and keep control over his desires so as not to come to you too soon.

When I kiss you and gently strip you of your wedding dress, you realise how far he can actually go to get what he wants.

You decide to play by his rules. Pretend to be an obedient and loving wife. At least for now.

You will slowly regain your old life. And maybe if you play smarter and manipulate him more delicately without showing too much act of rebellion, he may become your puppet and not the other way around. After all, you both were powerful. In your own way.

And you both win and lose in different batches of this game between you two.

[crumb]

i love how benson is, on the surface, this devil-may-care kind of character, going around shooting people, dragging randy around to fix his life and scaring the hoes in the process—but at the same time there are these little details that show how much he does care. I mean the big obvious one is his motivation for wanting to fix randy, fix randy and help him not turn out like benson and the rest of the people in the small town, we all know this and have gone over these themes. but the smaller details, unintentional or not, those are really nice. Benson being the only one at Burger Burgers Burgers who has his sleeves cuffed and his shirt tucked in. This is one of many details that shows Benson does care, he cares about how he looks and how he's perceived to some extent. because let's be honest, it does set his character apart from the stereotypical 'redneck working at a fast food joint'. Which then gives an added weight to when he walks outside for his cigarette and untucks his shirt. he's releasing himself from this more restrained version he's presented himself as up until that point. Which then ALSO makes Chris saying "Benson, why do you fucking care?" even funnier. because like... Benson basically responds by killing him which in a way is him saying "hey, you're right, why do I fucking care?" lmaoooo Benson is also the only one, other than Randy (and I guess hardy?) who is wearing BBB uniform trousers. Chris is wearing cargo joggers and Jess is wearing a mini skirt with fishnets. If benson really didn't care about that job, or how he looked at that job, would he be wearing 100% of the uniform, well fitted, cuffed, tucked, cleaned, and ironed? And then when changing outfits at his house he puts on a fuzzy yellow/green cardigan and graphic ringer tee, the choices of which feel very intentional and like they're his favorite pieces of clothing. Which I think must be true if you think about him knowing this is his swan song, he wants to go out looking good. But what he doesn't change? His trousers. You'd think after killing three people at a job you probably don't particularly like and dragging their bodies around, changing out of the uniform would be a relief, other than wanting to just get out of clothes that are recognizable to the restaurant. Which makes me think his BBB uniform trousers are the best/most well-fitting trousers he owns which in itself is interesting. I mean look at the clothes he gives randy, they're not that much different in body size so even on benson those jeans would've been oversized as hell. This somewhat cleaned up version of himself that he presents, especially pre-killing spree, juxtaposed to his home life and his car is, I think, a great representation of Benson as a person. His home life, the clutter, his Ma in the front room, the clothes he gives randy, the junk strewn around his car—versus his cleaned and cuffed and tucked uniform and his stylish cardigan and graphic tee (idc what you say i love the cardigan)—I think it shows someone who is struggling but putting on a brave front, trying to come off as put together, as someone who knows himself and doesn't care about other people's perceptions, but at the same time so desperately does care and hates that he cares, and hates that he can't seem to change things. he can only dress them up a little to look presentable to passersby. and maybe it's one of those "the walls are just blue because they're blue!!" type situations and the wardobe dept or kyle or carter or the art director and whoever else, maybe it's just simply style/design decisions by one or several of them and there's no subtextual meaning behind it all—but even if so, I love that, to me at least, it's developed this deeper meaning within the context of the film and the character.

Don't even get me started on the Kurt Cobain cardigan and Benson having a shotgun in his trunk.

[zaenaris]

Anime-only adaptations I really enjoyed

I really loved how the anime staff pour their love in the flashback and in the parts where the characters are described the most (bc, in the end, TR is a story driven by characters, not plot), so yeah, kudos for the kokonui, kakuiza and Kisaki centric parts that were not in thee manga and that were added as a ponderate choice by the anime team.

In chronological order

When Takemichi calls him with his nickname "Kaku-chan", Kakucho hesitates before killing him, while in the manga (ch.134) when Izana orders him to kill Takemichi, he just does it with no mercy. The result is the same, but in the anime we saw Kakucho's struggle

The parts about Koko and Inupi, their past and their fight (2x21 or ep.8 of the 2nd coure of S2). It is a very emotional and crude part also in the manga, but in the anime, thanks to some changes/adaptations/voice acting and music, manages to be even more emotional and impactful, while remaining faithful to the manga. That's how an adaptation should be done

First of all, the kiss

while, story-wise, it's clear the kiss is not fanservice, but an important moment to understand their past and their complicated relationship, no one can deny the anime kiss looks even more passionate than the manga version

Among the people that approached Koko in the manga for money reasons, only Izana and Taiju were mentioned (ch.159), meanwhile in the manga, besides them, were added also Madarame Shion - an anime only addition-

and the Haitani Brothers, as a nod to Wakui's birthday art for Koko

I already talked about it here and partially here but, in short, I like how the anime underlines even better that Koko considers himself unredeemable and incapable of detach his own identity to make money illegally

and honestly, peak adaptation: the transition to younger Koko to Tenjiku!Koko saying the same line, to make us understand that Koko still feels incredibly guilty about the past...

... and the fact both Inupi and Koko cry in this scene, a moment that there wasn't in the manga and that was an incredibly beautiful and touching addition

but while manga!Koko -ch.159- at this point is just resigned and "colder" in his decision to stay with Tenjiku, just like also manga!Inupi already calmed down, anime!Inupi is both fed up with the situation but willing to makes things right and very determined..

while anime!Koko is destroyed, he doesn't even stand up when Inupi punches him (I already talked about it here)

the little addition of Kakucho in the flashback when Shinichiro goes to say hi to Izana to take him out with him. Izana's favourite people "interacting" was nice (too bad the animation quality was a little meh in this episode, but I understand we can't have peak quality all the time)

Kakucho with Izana when he finds again Karen by chance and she tells his she's not his biological mother and he's not related to any of the Sano. It the manga Izana was alone, adding Kakucho was nice because the situation is still terrible, Izana sees his whole world collapsing on himself, but at least he has Kakucho

last one, Kisaki's "I wanted to be like you" that humanizes him a little. In the manga his death was quick and brutal. We can understands, reading the manga, he had this superiority/inferiority complex towards Takemichi, but the anime explains it more clearly (I talked a bit about it here )

Maybe there's something else that was an anime-only adaptation that made sense, even improved the already existent narration, but I probably don't remember it. These are the ones that imho, are the most important both for the characters and the narration.

I love how Liden Film followed faithfully the story but added "more heart" to it, that's what a good adaptation should do

[missmarveledsblog]

Flumpy (Jake seresin x reader) part 10

summary : telling the dagger squad of their engagement getting them to keep it from her dad til she got to tell him well seemed to be hardest thing to do , y/n dealing with the fact jakes gonna be gone for three months wondering what else was being thrown at the couple and why was it answering that question

warning : fluffy and sad but happy ( for once ) , back to goofy and grammatical errors ( soz )

previous part

They were crazy their was no mistake in that , they were crazy for each other and crazy in love .  Right now well they looked somewhat bat shit crazy as they announced to their friends of their engagement two days after jake declaration in the hard deck . yet more the silence persisted the dagger thought it was well crazy and yet it oddly made sense . anyone else it would of been grounds  for a vacation to a padded cell but with jake and y/n  it was something different  , a true sort of loves you would find in the pages of a book or on the big screen . 

“ guess congratulation” roo finally stood hugging the pair once the initial shock wore off that was . 

“ yes finally “ fanboy cheered earning a look from everyone. “Oh shut up we all seen it coming  well before hangman fucked it up” he shrugged eating his lunch. One by one they hugged their friends and thanked them . 

“ one thing all i ask i don’t  want you breathing a word to my dad , we haven’t told him  and plan to tonight ,so keep it shut or accidents will happen” she warned them as they all nodded  slightly in fear as she worked  with their jets and the sides of them . 

Our lips our sealed scouts honour” javy gulped holding his hand up and they all copied. 

She had to give it to them , their lips were in fact sealed  nearly the whole day , that was  til it seemed as though it was sealed with craft glue .  She sat in the communication tower , getting a better view of the dog fight tag that was currently being played . she and jake had it planned out take her dad and penny to dinner  nice even then boom drop it on them  which was slightly just an extended  version of her  plan to hug her dad tell him and run to the car get home before her words even processed but apparently that was childish.  Jake wanted to do it the right way   ,  he had pete mitchell blessing to date her but since the mess he made of things and hurt y/n the captain  wasn’t as friendly as he once was before so everything needed to be perfect.  It was just him and mav left and he was tailing  his future father in law . he was stuck at the cross road there and then he could do what he really wanted and hit mav or he could let the man win keep him in good spirits and seemed like javy decided to not only give up the choice but well not exactly keep his lips sealed. 

“ come on hangman just cause he’s gonna be your father in law doesn’t mean you need to go easy” his voice rang out not over in jakes ear but over the comms meaning everyone could hear him , mav could hear him. 

“ lips sealed my ass” y/n voice called out letting Javy know she heard him too .

Like a blink of an eye Mav was gone as the two looked around wondering how the hell he was able to slip. 

“ well least we both get to die at the hands of a mitchell” Javy winced sensing his best friend also wasn’t impressed. 

“ gotcha , your out hangman” pete finally said . 

Maybe going AWOL wasn’t so bad , new life in a new country with a new name would work and from the look on coyotes face he seemed to be thinking something similar wouldn’t take much to get him to agree .  the two men probably flew the slowest they’ve ever flown , landed or got down the ladder. Playing rock , paper scissors shoot to who would exit first . One thing jake would say he wasn’t never truly a nervous person but this was different , this was important to him , to his girl. He was happy pete mitchell didn’t “ accidentally” shoot him out of the sky . His palms felt sweaty once his boots hit the tarmac fully ready to be reacquainted with the gravel once more. 

“ you serious about her” mav asked not a single emotion to give away . 

“ as a heart attack sir” jake stood painfully straight feeling like he was back in the academy and not in front of his future father in law. 

“ nothing like what happen before is going to happen again is it?” 

“ no sir never again” could feel the sweat forming on his brow under the mans gaze. 

“  guess you we can skip the push up this time i’ll let it slide , welcome to the family son, guess i owe my wife fifty buck” mav shook jake hand although it took the blonde mind to process it all before he started shaking his hand back . 

“ man that was a close call” javy breath out sigh of relief .

“ yet for me  , the look on my fiance’s face tells me you still done for , it was nice knowing you man “ jake clapped his hands on his shoulder kissing her head leaving javy petrified. 

“ get counting” she  glared sending the man to the ground ready to say hello to the gravel jake told him about. 

It was almost a dream how good the weeks were except the looming fact of what was coming . Turns out nat and roo where also pulled  meaning the three of them would be gone for three months .  she was sitting at the table some restaurant staring at her ring waiting for nat to come for lunch  , staring down at the ring jake surprised her with the day of the good duck park .  she almost threw it til he stopped her showed her , which in her defence as cute as it was putting it with the duck feed was probably not the best idea. She wasn’t a stranger to the whole ordeal of deployment , she grew up with it , seeing her dad and his friend men and women she would class as family leaving for periods of time. But it was different this time it was jake being deployed . it was a training exercise and still that didn’t stop the worry because she lost her uncle goose in training . she was so scared of losing anyone in her life , especially considering what they did and now she was afraid that she was going to love the man she loved before their life together even began . 

“ hey sorry i’m .. hey what’s wrong” nat eyes widened snapping y/n back to reality only realising she been crying.

“ you guys are leaving me” she sniffled 

“ and we’ll be back before you know it” nat hugged  her. 

“ what if something happens?” she asked tears falling down her cheeks . 

“ we got this , we will come back in one piece well with how they annoy me it might be missing piece but i’ll bring them back” nat nudged her playfully. 

“ i need to see jake” she stood only to stumble back into nats arms .

“ no i’m going bring you hospital , you ok ?” she lifted her only to see how unsteady she was 

“ i’m fine” was all she got out before everything went black . 

She couldn’t of heard him right  and yet she made the poor doctor repeat it over and over  but it was like it wasn’t sinking in  like her brain didn’t know the words he spoke .  

“ pregnant , you’re sure like how sure” she whispered . 

“ yes i’m sure from the test and  ultrasound you are around eight to ten weeks  , i will give you a prescription for prenatal vitamins the test also suggest you are low in iron which could be why you fainted” he explained gently . 

“ this can’t be happening not now , how…. Actually don’t answer that” she wince as her cheeks grew hot knowing the two weren’t a vigilante with birth control as they should of been . 

“ you need to take it easy as much as you can  , if your unsure you have option  but their not to be taking lightly , you should talk with your spouse or partner and go from there but it is your choice at the end of the day “ he smiled sweetly seeing how scared she was.  “ i’ll give you some time to  collect yourself no rush  once your ready you can go home , would you like me to get your friend “ he asked as she nodded. 

Honestly she forgot nat was even there , she knew jake would be in the air now  but he would of broke the door down if he wasn’t to make sure she was ok .  what if he wanted it and she didn’t or vice versa , why was it happening now right before he was about to leave for three months . 

“ is everything  ok “ nat asked making her shoved the things in her bag. 

“ emotional and anaemic i’ll be fine” she smiled weaking knowing she really did need to talk to jake now. 

Everytime she even tried to bring it up the universe decided to continue it’s now running joke . she found herself looking at the little black and white sonogram looking at the little blob that was now growing in her tummy and she couldn’t picture anything but loving it knowing what she wanted . she sat in the truck watching the crowds gathering to bid their loved ones farewell .

“ it is bad to think i’m glad your here” jake asked making her head tilt. “ nah not like that i just mean before i used to do this alone , get a friend to drop me off  watching families  saying good bye it was night to see but man it was lonely as hell i pretended it was better that way but i was jealous of it more so” . 

“ oh jake “ she sniffled pulling him into a hug . “ i’ll be here to see you off and welcome you home for the rest of my life”she kissed his lip pulling him in closer . 

“ next time i hope to put a different ring on that finger” he winked. 

“ starting to think you got wife or marriage kink” she rolled her eyes playfully. 

“ nah i got a flumpy kink “ he chuckled getting out of the truck coming to her side letting her out only for her to dive into his arms. She wanted to say it there and then  but stopped not wanting to ruin the moment or so she told herself . the two walking to the boardwalk hand in hand , he didn’t let go when she was hugging nat and rooster making them promise to come home . she reached into her bag handing him the sonogram folded over. 

“ wait til your on the ship before you look” she whispered kissing him over like it was the last time she was going to and maybe it was giving what was about to happen , what he was about to find out. “I love you jake seresin” she said trying not to cry although she was failing miserably. 

“ i love you babygirl “ he held her closer til rooster was pulling him away . 

The moment he walked on the ship , he waited like she said coming to the top deck seeing her standing there waving him off and moment he opened the paper   he knew what it was. He’d seen enough of his sisters to know he was holding a sonogram in his hands and it had her name in the corner. “ i’m gonna be a dad ?” he muttered unsure pulling his phone out hitting her contact instantly she picked it up .  “ darling is this what i think it is “ he asked as he heard here sniffles . 

“ it is if you want it to be” she said quiet he hated he was there to comfort her. 

“ shit darling you made me the happiest man” he chuckled.  “ I’M GOING TO BE A DAD , FLUMPY IS HAVING MY BABY” He yelled so loud she could hear him on the dock and the loud round of applause that followed after. 

“ you’re not mad?” she asked shocked. 

“ no of course i ain’t  this best news i could hope for just wish i wasn’t leaving even more now  but least i get to come home to my babies” she almost hear the grin in his voice. “ bradshaw you crying?” she couldn’t help laughed when she heard the usually “ it’s dust” from roo . 

“ look baby the service is going to go soon but i will call you once it back get home and rest  i love you .. i love you both” he said . 

“ we love you too “ she cried then the line went dead she went to the truck crying even more watching the ship get further and further away in the distance. 

Jake stood staring at the sonogram the high of it all fading as the reality started creeping in 

“ holy shit i’m going to be a dad” he looked to his friends panicked. 

part 11

taglist:@harrysgothicbitch @djs8891 @emma8895eb @darksparklesficrecs @sarah-bear706318

[profounddefendorcrusade-blog]

Clover's personality (in-depth)

This thing turned out way longer than intended. As promised, I wrote my opinions in regards to Clover's mbti; I also wanted to include the enneagram but figured it would be too much, so I'll do that separaretly. For those who wanna get straight to the point, just scroll to the end of the post for a pic of the functions I think Clover has. But if you want more details, read the whole thing. Probably not many people will wanna do that, but I had fun, lol. Please excuse me for nerding out

Analysis

Even before they got into the Underground, Clover thought to themselves "Ok, this is a dangerous mountain and I ain't coming back, I'm probably gonna die and therefore not live to see the rest of my life play out BUT I'm gonna follow my values anyway. They're worth the risk." To me, right off the bat, that's Fi over Ti (aka inner values and morals over inner facts and logic).

I've done some research on this stuff and found out how "Fi knows the value of something not by analyzing it but by feeling it deep inside themselves that it is how it should be" Ti has to be as objective as possible, Fi doesn't. So I sat down and thought about how exactly Clover approached situations.

I feel like their main reasoning for being in the Underground were their inner values and beliefs of finding out what happened to the children. That's why I'd say they're an introvert rather than an extrovert (it's not because they're quiet and reserved, although they are, but because Clover's inner world affects their outer world). Now, both Ti and Fi look inward, and those inner thoughts and feelings affect how they interact with the external world. The real question is: is Clover objective enough to be considered a dominant Ti user?

We can see in the Vengeance route that Clover is stubborn with their beliefs and refuses to look at things from a more... logical POV: "Asgore killed five humans. Is it fair to wipe out every other monster in my way who gives me even the slightest reason to do it?" Martlet was the only exception because she was the only one who had tried to be nice and understanding. Clover's dark side is that they're tunnel-visioned and see morality as black and white (don't look deeper as to WHY the monsters do what they do), and blindly follow their own beliefs over what objectively makes sense. Just like Ceroba, who I'm positive is a feeler (she only considers how she felt about Chujin and not how skilled of an engineer he actually was, even when there's clear proof he wasn't the best at his job). 

Objectively, it's not fair to kill so many monsters after only five humans were killed. If Clover wanted fair vengeance, they would have stopped after five monsters were killed. But no. According to Clover's own logic, everyone morally imperfect, everyone who's hurt them, who tried to hurt them, or messed up somehow, must die. So, Clover isn't thinking about what makes sense; they're thinking about what makes sense to THEM, and stubbornly hold onto that till the end (again, like Ceroba), even after Martlet's warnings. She says how the Royal Guard will be after them.

The logical (T) thing to do would be to STOP before things become even messier, but once again, no. Clover doesn't care about the consequences, only fulfilling their mission that is driven by their own set of values. No matter which route you choose, you will be presented with Clover's own version of what "justice" means. It's not the objective truth, it's not what's the logical thing to do; they follow their own framework based on their (our) choices.

"If unhealthy INFPs are dealing with threatened values or viewpoints that oppose their own, they can go the other way and imagine that others are all corrupt, thinking badly of them, and deluded. They may see themselves as the only people who see “the truth”, or the only people who really care to make a difference in the world. They can become especially harsh and critical of others and take on a martyr role, gradually secluding themselves from other people". - this feels like geno Clover; they thought they were the hero but they were playing the villain all along

Now that I think about it, the logical thing to do, the one that makes the most sense, would be never to have entered Mt. Ebott in the first place. And if vengeance was what Clover wanted to do, it is fair and makes objective sense to kill only five monsters (since that's how many humans died). But as explained, Clover didn't follow that logical conclusion, but rather their own twisted sense of justice. The same goes for neutral. It's Clover who chooses who gets to live and who gets to die based on their own beliefs and feelings, which are not backed up by facts. Everything they do they do because they themselves feel like it should be done. They are the one who decide who gets to live and who doesn't based on their own opinion/how severe they think the misdeed of the final boss is. This counts for the regular monsters who attack them, too; again, THEIR own subjective decision.

For example, they might see Dalv's actions as acceptable/forgiveable and spare him, but not Starlo's and kill him. Objectively, both characters are messy in their own way, but Clover gets to be the "judge" and decide their fate, not objectively looking at the situation, but subjectively. In short, according to them, Dalv may deserve to live, but not Starlo. 

And even if they're a dominant Ti user, which I don't think they are, Clover is more past and future-oriented than present-oriented (N over S). As mentioned, they thought about how much they'd risk by going down Mt. Ebott (potentially dying, and definitely never seeing the surface ever again, or their family) but they followed their heart's desires; to them, morals and ethics (their own morals and ethics) were more important than what the more logical thing to do was (stay on the surface where it's safe).

In other words, they could already "predict" what would happen in the future, while in the present moment (the beginning of the journey).

And right before sacrificing their soul in pacifist, they think about how their death would affect ALL the monsters in the future, whether they had directly met and befriended them or not, even though they wouldn't be there to see it.

Clover seems to be able to easily move between the past, present and future, unlike sensors, who are mainly in the present moment (this is what I've heard somewhere at some point and remembered it, dunno how true it is). They can easily recall the past, and what they remember are things that moved them on the inside.

I've heard some of my friends say that Clover's character arc was to become a kinder person (develop their Fe), which, honestly, I don't think is the case. They simply acted on their inner views of what justice truly means, without further analyzing whatever they believed justice to be.

In pacifist, they're naturally selfless and kind and forgiving: a bit of a prankster, but they're one of "the best souls" according to Martlet. Just look at the ACT options that they used to befriend monsters. Quietly listens to Decibat, offers Dalv a handshake (and friendship), easily forgives Martlet, Starlo, and even Ceroba (+ gives her a hug), endures so many hardships yet keeps their heart pure and selfless. 

They were always driven by something bigger than themselves (like Chujin, who I also think is a N user).

ISTPs are more adventurous and independent and flexible and focused on current problems in the present moment; Clover has been future-oriented from the start; they depended on Toriel to take care of them, and didn't try to immediately "adapt" to the monster world. Their 1st reaction was to stay safe and cozy. ESTJs (yeah, at some point I thought Clover could be one) are more "ruthless" in their pursuits, they "force" others to adopt their inner values. Clover doesn't do this in any route; they simply act upon their own beliefs, but aren't demanding that other monsters to have those same beliefs.

That's why I think they're an INFP.

Functions

Fi (dominant) – "If something goes against their moral code, they will not go through with it." It went against Clover’s moral code to spare monsters in genocide and abort the mission, so they didn’t, regardless of Martlet’s warnings.

"Fi dominants are inclined to speak up against beliefs or actions that go against their personal values or express disapproval of certain behaviors." I can't find the screenshot, but in the Mines, if you interact with the character who's in the same room as one of the puzzles, Clover will find out how that character pulled a prank on that guy who later got a promotion in the pacifist end credits (I need to reply the game to find the screenshot). But basically Clover was upset that their own morals weren't met and gave them a "disapproving look" or smth

"Ti dominants most often feel compelled to speak out when people are acting inconsistent (ie: contradicting themselves) or when people are being illogical from the Ti user’s perspective." I think Clover reacted to the above situation as a Fi user

"Unlike Fe users, Fi users are very blunt and direct. Fi and Te creates a person who is brutally honest about their opinions and feelings. If they don’t like a person, they will let that person know." Not a person in this case, but an example of this are the options we get for Martlet's questionnaire. Clover will have no problem honestly giving her the lowest scores for both questions; we also also get the chance to honestly tell Ceroba that we're not into Starlo's training. There are these cases where they're direct as well:

...and blunt:

they would have given at least a smile or a thumbs up, but no, their honest opinion is their honest opinion

"They appear cold and withdrawn, but tend to warm up as they get to know a person."

Ne (auxiliary) – "Ne views a situation from multiple angles and motivations" I feel like this is best seen in pacifist; this is exactly why Clover decided to give up their soul in the end; they saw all the motivations of the monsters, from many different angles. On the flip side, in the vengeance route, it’s the complete opposite situation: Clover only looks at things from their own pov, completely disregarding others. That’s the thing about the INFP dark side: INFPs become "disillusioned or stuck in their ways." This 100% describes Clover at their worst: stuck in their ways is already explained, while we can say they were disillusioned when even Martlet turned against them/gave up on them (in Genocide). That was enough of a reason for Clover not to feel bad about finishing her off. They never liked her, but they definitely liked her more than anyone else, so I’d say it counts.

"Creative, open-minded, and able to think outside the box" We can say Clover’s creative when they build Axis’ robot companion, solved the two puzzles in the Mines, they’re also most likely into role-playing just like Starlo, based on their clothes (and they seemed into the whole larping thing with him), and how they seem to be into drawing; open-minded, definitely (Clover with everyone; the pacifist route in a nutshell); able to think outside the box (this goes hand in hand with them being creative: I forgot to mention the many creative ways they found to befriend monsters)

"Ne lives in the present like Se does but makes connections to past and future." Imo, this is exactly what Clover does (their sacrifice in the future, and all the things other monsters had said to them in the past; however, they DO interact with the present world at the same time. This is what I meant when I mentioned how they "jump from and connect all 3")

Si (tertiary) – "happy in their comfort zone" Is this Clover? Yeah. Initially, this was their "default" reaction/behavior: with Toriel. They subconsciously became more independent thanks to good old Flowey. As I said, their values led them to take the risk and come into the Underground in the first place, not adventure/excitement (the way I see it). Were they also seeking the truth? Yeah again, they wanted to know the truth behind the whole situation, but I think it had more to do with how they had found the fact that no other humans bothered to look for the kids immoral.

"Si users may draw on their past experiences to guide their present actions and decisions" Example, how the detailed lines they remembered everyone said in true pacifist, influenced them to make the decision to die in the present moment. Or when they asked Ceroba if she would date Starlo, after hearing and remembering Crestina mention his crush on her beforehand, wanting to set them up.

"Si users have a strong memory for past experiences and details" Yep, explained above. Also, dunno if this counts as noticing details, but we can make them beat the Shufflers’ game with ease.

"Si users are typically practical and realistic in their approach to solving problems" The Snowdin mini-quests come to mind (although they use past information here too to figure out what each character needs to be helped). Also, how they fixed the elevator by using a pickaxe (most practical & realistic choice). They’re also pretty rational while dealing with Guardener, and in general, while dealing with enemies.

Te (inferior) – I guess this is why I suspected they could be an ESTJ.

"seen as leaders" By everyone.

"Come up with ideas quickly" Pretty much throughout the game. They’re more low-key about this than ESTJs though.

"Ruthlss and domineering" This is them in vengeance route

"Extraverted Thinkers recognize the emotional content, but then they set it aside to focus on the facts" I feel like this inferior function of theirs is mostly seen in flawed pacifist. They recognized Ceroba’s emotional situation, but chose to be fair and just instead.

"Te users are logical" Recognizing the dangers of the Underground and deciding to stay with Toriel. We can also say it makes sense that Clover attacked those who attacked them first, and finished Ceroba off (Te is what is objective, but from the external world)

"Though they are generally free spirits, they like to have a certain order in their lives. They do enjoy structure, just as long as it does not intrude with their feelings/morals/ethics/etc. They like to be the ones to create the structure, not to have the structure to be created for them."  Vengeance route and Clover’s "mission" come to mind. Basically, the structure is that, whoever Clover sees as morally flawed, gets to die. And they stick to it

tl;dr this picture pretty much explains the way I see Clover's functions in a nutshell ↓

[starlightwayfinder]

I decided to watch some old KH trailers in honor of the anniversary today, and I have to admit, I don’t think I ever rewatched this one after the release of Melody of Memory. When it was first revealed, we were under the assumption that the Master of Masters was the opponent Kairi was facing, but as we now know, it was actually Master Xehanort. While we were aware that the Master of Masters has more plans and tricks up his sleeve, to think of this line in the context of Xehanort is a little different. It brought to mind an old theory of mine, so I decided to go back to KH3, Re:Mind, KHDR, and MoM to compile as much evidence as possible for it.

(As a disclaimer, it slightly undermines the authenticity of his ‘conclusion’ in KH3, so if you’re a big fan of that scene, feel free to skip this one.)

This line in KH3 is a good place to start. From the get go, it was established that Xehanort planned for nearly every possible outcome of the Keyblade War. I also think it’s safe to say that every action he made was an intentional choice based on these plans. So the question is, what is the “final plan” referenced in Melody of Memory’s trailer? I think the game gave us the answer:

It may be easy to jump to the conclusion that this was just a plan for revenge, since Sora is the one who stopped Xehanort to begin with. However, I want to reaffirm that every action he takes is for a reason that serves his goals. It wasn’t just a plan to make Sora disappear, but likely to make him disappear to Quadratum specifically.

This was even foreshadowed in KH3’s Toy Box world. Young Xehanort sends Sora to the world of Verum Rex—though it’s probably closer to a “data” version in this instance:

YX in particular is very confident that Sora’s overuse of the Power of Waking will lead to his disappearance:

And MX has a similar line in Re:Mind:

Except this is where things get interesting. The Sora in Re:Mind is time-traveling from a point in time after he defeated Xehanort.

Xehanort must know this, because he sees the real Sora (from this point in time) about to begin the final battle in the distance. He then acknowledges that the Sora he’s speaking to is from the future. Unless he witnesses the present Sora time travel during their final confrontation, he can conclude that Sora survives their fight to time travel later on—meaning his plan doesn’t come to fruition. Sora unknowingly reveals his hand in Re:Mind this way, and opens the door for Xehanort to plan accordingly—which is kind of mind-breaking to think about…

It gets even better here, during Sora’s fight with Terra-Xehanort:

Sora brags that, like Xehanort, he can also time travel. To which Xehanort responds that Sora will then also need to make the “ultimate sacrifice”, or in other words, “pay the ultimate price”, as MX said. “Also”—as in, Xehanort has made this sacrifice as well by time traveling. As in, Xehanort will also disappear to Quadratum.

We have evidence to believe that as well. I also like the interpretation that he intentionally planned this to survive the world being purged, but that’s kind of a separate theory.

So to recap, Xehanort was probably aware that Sora would survive their final confrontation in order to time travel afterwards. He correctly predicts that the consequence for time traveling would be to disappear… specifically to Quadratum—something that Melody of Memory considers his “final plan”.

So… why? Why would he want Sora to also disappear to Quadratum? Trying to answer that question leads to the most controversial part of this theory:

It’s really nice to believe that Xehanort gave Sora the X-blade as an admission of his defeat, and I’m definitely not against that interpretation. But it is a little strange that before—and after—this scene, in Melody of Memory, he continues to act like making Sora disappear was his big plan. It doesn’t feel right, if he was supposed to be letting Sora “win” here.

I’ll be very curious to see if Xehanort has a role in Quadratum, and why exactly he “paved the way” for Sora to be there as well. Either way, I am holding out for a geniune change of heart from him, especially if what we saw in KH3 was more of a manipulation.

[kfcdoubledown]

I bought an 8bitdo Retro mechanical keyboard!

(Picture not mine, source from PC World.)

I wanted a plastic keyboard, I really do not actually use the knob on a Keychron board I have, it still comes in a scooped keycap profile, and it has a companion numpad with a calculator built in. Win/win/win!

This keyboard comes in four designs (not colorways, full designs) themed after the NES, the Famicom, the IBM Model M, and the Commodore 64 keyboard. The NES keycaps have multiple different fonts on them, the Famicom keycaps have Japanese sublegends, the Model M keycaps have a mock stepped Caps Lock key, and the Commodore 64 keycaps are an apparently off-the-shelf SA set from one of many, many, many keycap companies floating around China (I recognize their font and profile shape from Akko ASA keycaps and numerous other scooped profile keycap sets you can have cheaply off of Aliexpress and Amazon. Do check those out, genuinely, you'd struggle to find a bad scooped keycap set these days and I love scooped profiles over Cherry and OEM.)

The build quality of the actual keyboard itself is good, feels like a very similar plastic blend to what 8bitdo uses for its controllers like their Pro 2. Stabilizers are smooth and don't rattle, the legends on the keycaps are reasonably sharp and in NES-appropriate font, the keycaps themselves are MDA profile (I would prefer SA, but beggars can't be choosers) and are somewhat thin but still good quality, dye-sublimated PBT, no warp on the spacebar. Arrow keys are a separate color from the two tones that make up the main keycap set and made to resemble a d-pad. The keyboard itself is somewhat light, but my perception is skewed from using a metal keyboard for a long time, and this is after all a plastic shell, top-mounted keyboard. Even so I think I'll probably end up cracking open the keyboard and putting in some liquid silicone as noise-dampening and additional weight.

Two knobs control both wireless functionality and computer software volume, the wireless knob is heavy with only three options while the volume one is light with many individual steps. The volume knob can be somewhat unresponsive on individual steps. Bluetooth is very responsive and wants to pair with my computer the moment it's flicked over to, and 2.4ghz wireless comes with a receiver that slots into the back of the keyboard magnetically for storage. A power light on the right of the keyboard mimics the NES power light and pulses while charging, is steady while using wireless or when fully charged and connected over USB.

The underlying PCB is south-facing hotswap sockets (who the hell cares their orientation, this only matters for lighting, which this keyboard doesn't have). By default the keyboard comes with Kailh box whites, a very light clicky switch. I yanked them out immediately and put Boba U4T tactiles in because they're the king of all switches. They thunk nicely in this chassis, the Kailh whites weren't slouches either, they did pick a good stock choice for switch without resorting to Gateron or Outemu blue horseshit.

The NES version of the keyboard came with a two-button macro pad that hooks over TRRS cable (you recognize it as a 3.5mm jack or headphone cable) to one of four ports on the top-right of the keyboard. These are essentially just two keyboard switches with giant keycaps on a separate board and the buttons are populated by Gateron greens. The switches are nowhere close to heavy enough to approximate a button, and I gave them Kailh box navies. Still not enough, but better.

These keyboards also come wiiiiiith a companion number pad!

(Picture credit the 8bitdo store.)

While I don't actually have this one in hand just yet I do have it on order. It looks like it'll be about the same build quality as the main keyboard, and it caught my eye for four reasons and ended up making me purchase the full set as a result:

The numpad has a built in calculator.

Same aesthetic choices as the main keyboard (NES, Famicom, IBM Model M, Commodore 64)

Magnetically attaches to the right side of the keyboard to transform it into a more era appropriate full-size.

Far and away the cheapest wireless mechanical numpad with calculator on the market, sitting at $45.

An important note though is that the Famicom and NES keypads don't attach to their respective keyboards, simply because their respective keyboards don't have magnets inside the sides of the chassis to allow for it. I have some cheap button magnets laying around that I'll use for this purpose and probably see if they're strong enough to be placed on the inside of the board and allow for the numpad to connect to it. I also imagine there's going to be a repop or v2 of this keyboard in the future that has this done already, seeing as the Commodore 64 version of the board and I believe the Model M version of the board already have that.

I'll reblog this and give some actual definitive thoughts on the numpad once it's in my hands.

As far as the board itself is concerned, I quite like it. The keycap profile is agreeable, the nostalgia pandering targeted me with laser precision, the board sounds quite good acoustically (especially for being a top-mount keyboard!) and it has a volume knob I'll see if I can reprogram some day. While I normally hate TKL layouts, I'm putting up with it because it will eventually be a fullsize with the numpad. Worth $150 total? Don't know, can't answer that for you, it's worth it to me but I very specifically wanted a keyboard themed after an old Nintendo console with no setup required and no chasing down or commissioning GMK keycap sets. I also wanted a calculator numpad.

[voylitscope]

Stucky Recs: Holiday fics

December is here, so I've gathered twelve holiday Stucky fics to make this rec post for all of you. They're all perfect for reading under a blanket with the warm beverage of your choice.

Canon Holiday fics

❄️Paper tree | Ellessey | Explicit | 21,391 words

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like pre-war fluff always has this extra softness to it, even more, somehow, than even the softest and sweetest of AUs. It just hits different. This wonderfully warm and feel-good holiday fic is such a perfect example of what I mean. Steve and Bucky are so sweet to, and about, each other in this fic, and I adore it. This one is also broken up into scenes that happen on different days as December goes on. I always enjoy that sort of formatting so much in a holiday fic, and, in this case, it also gives a whole month of delightful, endearing, and lovely pre-war moments.

Quote:

"It's a different taste, though! I want the authentic Mallo experience, in drink form." "It's coconut. The different taste is coconut. We could make it ourselves." Bucky's face lights up, and Steve adds another thing to his mental list of ways he can make those blue eyes get all happy and bright. He thinks about how many things he's not good at, how many things are so hard for him, but seem easy for everyone else with their perfectly functioning hearts, lungs, ears, and eyes. And he thinks about how easy it's always been for him to make Bucky happy. Doesn't even seem like he has to try, but he likes to try anyway. He drops another marshmallow in his own mug, and two in Bucky's, and thinks he could probably spend the whole rest of his life just trying and trying and trying.

❄️On the other end of the line | velleities | Teen | 9,385 words |

So, okay, only the last part of this fic takes place on Christmas. This fic does go through the rest of the year, too. But I feel like the Christmas-set resolution is significant enough to make this one solidly a holiday fic. It's also a gorgeous fic. It's a Post-TWS recovery fic that makes plenty of time for how not-okay Steve is, something I always really appreciate. Like I said, this fic takes them through a year, a Bucky-recovery year, and the growth and rediscovery of their relationship in that year is so well done. It's sometimes heartbreaking and sometimes sweet and always beautiful. I know calling a 9k fic a slow burn is debatable, so I won't say this is a slow burn. But I will say, that by the time this fic is done, these two have really earned their happy and romantic resolution.

Quote:

He can’t hold up a conversation. He doesn’t want Bucky to go – he craves his company – but he’s too drained to think of anything to say. He resorts to just feeling pitiful for himself, breathing in and out and listening to Bucky breathing in and out in return. “D’you want to hang up?” Bucky asks gently. “No,” Steve says hurriedly. “Okay.” Twenty minutes later, Steve is slowly drifting into sleep. “Steve?”   “Mm?” Steve mumbles into the phone, cradling it as if cradling Bucky. “G’night.” “G’night, Buck,” he manages drowsily. Steve somehow sleeps through the night.

❄️I got that good thing for you | canistakahari | Explicit | 5,830 words

You know that correct version of things where, these days, Steve and Bucky live in a nice brownstone in Brooklyn? And awful things have stopped happening to Bucky? And the events of Infinity War and Endgame definitely never occurred? And Steve and Bucky are really happy and super in love? Right. This fic happens in that world, and I love it. This is just so cozy and domestic. It's so low-stakes and so romantic. It's a holiday fic, and it's a fic about just how much Steve loves both making Bucky happy and seeing Bucky happy. It's also a fic about Bucky wanting to get the aesthetic exactly right for a specific sex fantasy. And honestly? They deserve that. We, as a fandom, deserve that. This fic is a joy.

Quote:

“I’ve spent a lot of time looking at pictures of other people's Christmas lights.” Bucky extricates himself from his blanket nest and walks right up to Steve, puts a hand on his chest, and kisses him firmly on the mouth. He is solid and soft at the same time, his hair carrying the faint scent of wood smoke and cold air from the tree farm. “I'll get your lights,” mumbles Steve against his lips. Bucky grins. “Yeah. I’ll make you cookies.” Oh. Oh, Steve didn’t realize it was a trade. It doesn’t have to be, but Bucky is offering. “What kind?” “Whatever kind you want,” says Bucky. He slides his hands down Steve’s chest, fingers tucked into the top of Steve’s jeans. “Even if you want nuts in them.” Steve cocks his head. Bucky doesn’t make cookies often, but whenever he does, Steve counts every single one of his blessings. Bucky will eat two or three and then leave the rest to Steve to devour, which he does, often within the first twelve hours of them appearing. The whole batch.

❄️Home is the Human Heart | aimmyarrowshigh @aimmyarrowshigh | Teen | 3,194 words

This fic parallels two years: one in during the post-TWS recovery era and one when Steve and Bucky are young. The scenes go back and forth between the two years in a way that really sets this fic's tone. It's beautifully done, and there's a touch of a really lovely bittersweetness that never takes away from the warmth, joy, or hopefulness of this fic. I also really, really love how Steve goes about things, with and for Bucky, in the current era scenes. Also! This fic has a line near the end that hit me hard when I first read it and that I still think about all the time.

Quote:

Rachel crawls out from under the table. Bucky gets the jar of pennies he and Becca have been collecting for the last year, and Becca gets the dreidel. Rachel’s eyes go wide at the sight of all the money. There’s probably fifty cents clanking around in the jar. “Steve, d’you remember how to play?” Bucky asks. “Of course.” Steve sounds affronted. “How many years’ve I been losing to you, ya lousy cheat?” “You can’t cheat at dreidel,” Bucky says, laughing. “Punk.” “Jerk.” “I don’t know how!” Rachel says. She kicks Bucky’s knee under the table. “I wanna play!”

❄️Two strangers in the bright lights | Claudia_flies | Explicit | 7,348 words

Listen, listen. It's a holiday fic! It's a post-TWS recovery fic! It's a tower fic! It's a fake dating fic! It's a damn delight, and you should read it. The love-struck, dopey-eyed, total disaster about each other, antics happening throughout this fic are just wonderful, truly. Bucky spends about 85% of this fic practically on Steve's lap . To make the fake dating look real and fool the other Avengers, of course. (Obviously, we need to do it this way, Steve! It has to be convincing, Steve!) And Steve spends about 85% of this fic absurdly happy about Bucky doing just that, and also noticing that doing these things seems to make Bucky happy, and then being even happier because Bucky is happy — but then not examining that too closely, because, you know, Bucky is clearly just really good at this plan and super committed to it. A joy of a fic that's so much fun to read.

Quote:

Steve finds the tablet discarded among the multitude of cushions on the couch while waiting for their new French press to finish brewing, and as soon as he touches the screen, it opens on a web page titled ‘10 Cute Holiday Winter Dates To Go On With Your Boyfriend’ written in an obnoxiously cutesy script. The first one on the list is ice skating, and the next one is decorating the tree together. Each bullet point is accompanied by a cheap stock photo and some inane text about why this particular date is suitable for a cute winter romance. Gently, Steve closes the tablet and carefully places it back where he found it. He pours the coffee into two matching mugs and carries them into the still-dark bedroom. Bucky mumbles something resembling a “thank you” from underneath several pillows and most of the covers as Steve places the steaming cup on his bedside table. Steve smiles and climbs back into the bed, sitting up against the headboard with his coffee and a book. It’s probably the most perfect Sunday morning he’s had in a lifetime.

❄️(I'll be home for Christmas) if only in my dreams | crinklefries | Teen | 13,728 words

A 5+ 1 that looks at 5 earlier holidays, but starts and ends on the current one, one that Steve and Bucky are spending together, in Wakanda. It's an emotional gut punch of a fic, in the best and most satisfying of ways. I love the holidays this fic chooses to showcase, the little stories it chooses to tell, and the moments it chooses to share. I love the wonderfully sweet holiday tradition it creates for Steve and Bucky. I love the way that tradition becomes something that is so important and so meaningful that they're able to keep it, even when it should have been impossible. Really gorgeous stuff.

Quote:

For the first time since his capture, Bucky feels safe. They’re in a fucking goddamn ditch killing fucking goddamn Nazis on fucking goddamn Christmas, but Bucky can hear Steve’s heart beat, strong and steady under his ear, and he feels safe. Maybe because it’s Christmas day, but there are no shots fired. It’s mostly quiet, the group of them in their respective ditches, tensed, just waiting. Someone--Dugan, he thinks, or maybe Gabe Jones--starts singing a Christmas song and then the rest of the start singing too. Steve’s never had much of a singing voice, but he tries and Bucky tries not to smile.

AU Holiday Fics

☃️'tis the damn season | chicklette | Explicit | 4,625 words

A fic about a Steve and Bucky who grew up together, were together as teenagers, and who, if they're being honest, have been in love their whole lives. But they're adults now, and they refuse to hold each other back. This a general premise that comes up decently often in Stucky AUs, and I'm typically into it for them. I can see these two and their stubborn, self-sacrificing ways, each deciding that they were the thing stopping the other from a goal/plan/the general idea of growing up. It's a very specific sort of exes-to-lovers story, and it leads to a very specific feelings reveal, one that's not "I'm in love with you," but instead, "I've never gotten even a little bit over you." It's something that can work so well for these two, sometimes, and this fic is an example of it being done just absolutely gorgeously. It's warm and painful and sexy all at once — until its wonderfully romantic resolution.

Quote:

Steve’s hair is a little long on top, and he’s rocking a scruffy beard, and fuck him for looking so goddamned good. It isn’t fair, Bucky thinks, mixing the drink. It isn’t fair that he looks so fucking good, that he looks exhausted and stressed out and kind of sad, and he’s still the best thing Bucky’s ever seen. It isn’t fair that Steve shows up every year at Christmas and it is Christmas, it’s a fucking gift and Bucky looks forward to it all damn year, but this year there was a little dread too because every year it takes him a little longer to let go.

☃️I've got a lot to pine about | cable-knit-sweater @cable-knit-sweater | Mature | 6,113 words

I just love a fic about people who are having Totally Very Casual sex, and who are both convinced they are the only person in this situation who has developed feelings. A fic about people who are pining while actively hooking up. 10/10. Great trope. This fic is that trope, used at Christmas, and it's wonderful. There are so many feelings! There are ridiculously cute seasonal activities! There are sweet holiday gestures! There are two absolute idiots in love, being painfully obvious about how in love they are — while both being certain, just completely convinced, that the other is definitely only here for the casual sex! There is a romantic holiday resolution! Just a complete delight.

Quote:

Once they get there, though, he forgets about his worries and actually has a good time. There’s a small Christmas market, a stall with hot chocolate and apple cider, and he’s surrounded by his friends. Even Steve seems to be feeling a little better about the whole festive season, and Bucky likes to think he played a hand in that.  What makes it all even better is that Steve is wearing the earmuffs Bucky bought him. He looks ridiculously cute, like Bucky’d expected. The fact that Nat tells Steve he looks cute and makes him blush and grumble a little annoyedly, makes it absolutely perfect.  At some point, he doesn’t get away with just staying on the sidelines and sipping his hot chocolate, and Steve drags him onto the ice. He must notice how Bucky is a little nervous.  “I’ll hold your hand?” Steve offers. “I’ll make sure you don’t fall. I got you.”

☃️If Only in My Dreams | odetteandodile | Teen | 28,317 words

A holiday rom-com. A joy. Sweet, trope-filled, funny, and so very romantic. This fic has a Hallmark Channel-worthy premise in the most fun and most wonderful way. I am a firm supporter of Steve and Bucky getting to have a rom-com life. Instead of, you know, the relentless tragedy of canon. I also really enjoy that, unlike many actual Hallmark Movies, the central conflict continuing to be a conflict throughout the fic is completely believable and understandable. And then, when we get to the end, it's all resolved in such a satisfying (and romantic! and lovely!) way.

Quote:

He’s been so good today, so laser-focused on taking Sam’s advice to heart and throwing his all into his work—into cementing this dream he’s been working toward for nearly three years. It was steadying to apply himself to the tangible things he could make and do, utterly rooted in reality. But the thing is—Steve is real. He may look like a fantasy somebody invented to torture Bucky this week, but he’s a flesh-and-blood person. And he’s looking back at Bucky like Bucky is the dream guy. Bucky doesn’t make a move to step any closer. All of his words and common sense have abandoned him. So he just stands with his heart hammering foolishly against his ribs at the edge of the room. Steve doesn’t look away. But after a moment he squares his shoulders and stands, his full height and broad chest emphasized under the cut of his uniform, light glinting off the medals and ribbons on his coat.

☃️Whose arms will hold you | biblionerd07 | Gen | 10,843 words

The first of two fics on this list to feature a holiday road trip home from college, a snowstorm, and, yes, only one bed. This one is a meet-cute, and wow, is it cute. Seriously, this fic is just so, so very sweet. When I was pulling this list together, I quickly reread over this fic and hit a moment that made my breath catch when I remembered what was about to happen. It's a moment that made me think, "Oh god, that's right. This is that fic!" And then my heart did a fluttery thing. Also, we've got an alive and well Sarah Rogers in this one, and the conversations Steve has with her are just as lovely and delightful as everything else about this fic.

Quote:

"I didn't realize you were trying to impress me." "Why wouldn't I be?" James says, arching an eyebrow in a way that makes Steve's stomach lurch a little. Is James flirting with him? He can feel his cheeks heating up a little. James is apparently oblivious to his internal turmoil, because he goes to his duffel and roots around. He emerges with a pack of cards. "Wanna play?" Steve doesn't know how to play poker. But James doesn't know how to play gin, so they're sort of at an impasse until Steve says, "Well…what about Go Fish?" And that's how two grown college-students end up playing Go Fish on a dusty motel bedspread, eating apple pie that tastes a little old but not terrible.

☃️Not the same river at my fingertips | giselleslash | Expicit | 11,021 words

And now the second road-trip-home-from-college-for-the-holidays (but then a snowstorm! And a motel room!) fic on my list. This one is not a random ride-share meet-cute. This one is about a Steve and Bucky who had a one-night stand years ago, and who haven't stopped thinking about each other since. But: miscommunication. So they're both pretty sure the other has never given them a second thought. But it's fine because they're both totally okay about that. They're very mature about it, okay? They can handle this road trip without any weird tension. They definitely won't make things worse by talking about the thing where they're each convinced the other doesn't like spending time with them. And the combination of the tension, the memory of their one-night stand, and the fact that they're both, actually, obsessed with each other will absolutely not lead to anything at all when they have to get a motel room to wait out a snowstorm. Not even when there is, of course, only one bed.

Quote:

“You’ve brought me a truly beautiful feast.” Bucky laughed at that and Steve instantly felt a hundred percent warmer than he had before. Even Bucky’s fucking laugh was sexy. It was horrible. Bucky had slipped off his boots and grabbed two of the plastic cups from the small tray that held them and an ice bucket. “Gimme,” he said as he waved his fingers at the bottle of tequila Steve still had clutched in his hand for some reason. He handed over the tequila and Bucky crawled onto the bed with it. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed and patted the mattress next to him. “Bring the food and hop on,” he said. Steve got the food containers and did just that.

Bonus:

⛄Here Comes Santa Claus | AidaRonan | Explicit | 6,755 words

So, as I've mentioned before, I hesitate to include recs for fics that are primarily smut (and very, very little plot) on these themed rec lists. Mostly because primarily smut fics are just sorta their own thing. That is a theme. But. I'm making an exception, because truly, you guys, here in Stucky we've got fics for so many scenarios. There is just fic for a seemingly endless amount of scenarios. For instance, there's this one. It's Santa Steve fic about, well, Steve, as Santa (but looking like Steve!), repeatedly visiting (an adult!) Bucky on Christmas, and it eventually leading to sex in Santa's sleigh. And, really, I've gotta say, I love that for us. I love that this fic exists. So I felt like I had to include it with these holiday recs. Even if it very much is primarily smut.

Quote:

“You’re standing under the mistletoe,” Bucky says, and Steve looks up. “Huh. How ‘bout that,” he says, before going back to his work. “What’s the rule if you’re under the mistletoe alone? Jerk off?” “Jesus, are you allowed to talk like that?” “I can talk however the fuck I want.” “Pretty harsh language from Santa Claus.” “Language is a construct like time and gender. And ‘fuck’ is really fun to say. Harsh consonants. So satisfying.” Santa slides a small gift box between branches in the tree. “Besides, no one but you is awake to hear me.”

Happy holidays!

Fic Rec Series

[wispythreads]

I really like the voices that end up coming around in Chapter II, and how differently the world and the Princess become.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some absolutely wild variations of the Cabin and the Princess in later chapters, and it’s nice hearing all the voices bounce off of each other if you get to a Chapter III or Chapter IV (though at that point it’s quite hectic), but there’s just something very neat to me when it’s just you, the two voices you started with, and the one newcomer. It’s fun how the game interprets what you did in the previous chapter, what kind of person you’d have to be to make those choices, or how you’d be feeling after they’d been made.

For example, when I was going about the game for the first time, I didn’t quite like the idea of blindly accepting what the Narrator had told me about the Princess when he was my only source of information. But at the same time, he really was the only information I had to go on. I decided it was probably best to take the knife with me, while fully planning on discarding it if I heard enough from her side of things to determine he was wrong, if not outright lying. The meeting with her wasn’t illuminating, like I hoped, but I had grown more doubtful of Him than I did of her. So I decided to set her free. See what would actually happen if she walked out of the cabin. What the Narrator then tried to pull left me very distrustful of him, so of course I did my best to fight him at every chance, before the Princess mercifully ended it.

I got the Skeptic, which fit perfectly.

(Narrator: Did you just say 'wink' out loud?)

(Voice of the Skeptic: No, I didn't. Wink.)

Anytime he shows up again he’s the one I’m most drawn to agreeing with, and because we seem to be on the same page so often, he’s the one I’m more inclined to listen to if he has something he’s interested in doing, even if I enjoy the other voices too.

My brother, even more blind about how this game worked than I was, decided to leave the dagger behind. He talked with the Princess, all soft and bubbly in contrast to my version, up until he decided the best option was for them to just hang out and get to know each other better. “I can make sandwiches!”

No one besides the Hero liked this idea.

The sudden change in the Princess’s behavior set my brother on edge enough that he was still of the belief that it’d probably be best to just leave her chained up. Then, with her shouting creepy threats at him as he ascended the stairs, and the Narrator prompting him with the reminder that he could come back down to finish the job, he figured that’d probably be the best solution, and retrieved the knife.

Then he saw the discarded remains of her chewed off arm, previously attaching her to the shackles it still limply laid in.

He was NOT comfortable venturing out into the dark after her, and tried to wait her out in supposed safety. It didn’t work. He fell asleep, she pounced, it all went dark. And he died.

He got the Hunted, whom he grew attached to quickly, immediately following his advice without question and then pleading for it when it wasn’t given.

Though I don’t have him here right now to verify if this is how he particularly felt, I think it perfectly fits with the feeling a theoretical player would have with these choices. You gave her the benefit of the doubt, and decided that something was off enough to justify her imprisonment, then dangerous enough to warrant your original mission. She’s not just dangerous, she’s a predator, and only a fool chases after a predator. You’re not looking to be a hero, you’re looking to survive.

Also it’s just very ironic to me that he’s absolutely obsessed with Dungeon Meshi right now and got the most Dungeon Meshi aligned route that could possibly exist. The monstrous chimera, the more heavy focus on action, to eat or be eaten, and if you are eaten, do you give up then? Or do you continue to fight for your survival? The underlying message I saw someone else mention of how to eat is to love.

Crazy stuff.

[changbinsboobs]

dw for being honest. and yes I get the same ick feeling sometimes when reading certain idols nsfw posts but its still inruiging because in a way it reflect how he performs on stage. same i dont know if id get along with seungmin or lee know even as a scorpio i find them a bit too hit or miss like ur not quite sure what version u would get if u were going to meet them. but im sure theyre nice just to have a conversation with and i bet theyve got loads of thoughts on varying topics that they maybe are unable to discuss with others and such yh i love chans talent and his producing skills is amazing just maybe not in the sexual producing sense haha.

i also kinda get the feeling that he is much more comfortable or skilled with performing but u would kind of have to teach him things outside of what he does in the idol world cause i think idols in general rely so much on staff that they might not know much else besides what they do they might have an interest in something else but u would have to instruct them a lot bc in the idol world they kinda kept in their own bubble so to speak. for instance maybe cooking or yknow domestic stuff like that. i think the same about mingi and how he would suit someone whos wealthy yet skilled enough to take care of him.

if possible can u do only for the older members of skz would they want kids if so how many? cause I cant imagine basicslly having to lead 7 other kids then later on bangchan would still want his own but i still think he would be a great father maybe just not right now in this current time period cause he would still want to do his idol activities as long as he can.

Yeah i get what you mean with that hit or miss with lee know and Seungmin. Even tho Lee Knows my second bias after Changbin😂

And the thing about the idols needing teaching and assistance/guidances is actually very on point i have noticed that before in some idols. Not necessarily with skz but just in general. It must have its effect being closed up in a very limited world from your teen or even childhood years and having so much of your life being watched snd controlled and having things done and given to you etc. Im not necessarily getting that feeling with chan but im getting it a bit with Changbin, i think this may also be because of him growing so filthy rich, i remember him saying recently that he has NEVER went grocery shopping alone. Excuse me what?!🥲

Anyways here's the reading, it was very fun and interesting actually i love having a look into such topics🥰 i hope you enjoy it too.

Deck used is the 3rd Eye Tarot🌼🌸

*for entertainment purposes only!

Skz Hyung-Line do they want Kids? How many?

Chan - Knight of Cups, Page of Swords, The Empress, 5 of Pentacles

Wow ok so chan does want kids and he wants to have kids a lot and he wants many at that! His poor, poor wife. Im seeing like 4-5 little buggers😂

Lee Know - Page of Cups, The Hierophant, Ace of Wands

Lee know doesn't seem too eager and wants to keep him and his wife (partner) and their love young. The decision would be probably more in the hands of his wife (im just gonna use that as im seeing very clearly a woman being presented in the energy) as he doesn't mind having a childless mariage. As i said he would love having the extra time with his wife to keep themselves young and explore new hobbies and the world and themselves. But if it came up to it and his wife made a conscious choice of having a child they they would probably have just one.

Changbin - 3 of Pentacles, 8 of Wands

Changbin wants 3 and he wants them quick. I feel like he would love to have girls, probably all 3 of them being girls. I think he would find it really cool if they were triplets or something. Or their first being twins and the third little one being their little sis or brothers and so everyone of their children feels supported and protected among themselves too with the oldest ones having each other and the younger one having their sisters. I also get the feeling that his swimmers are also very potent🌝 so a pregnancy might come unexpected actually. He would love to keep it tho. He really really want to have children quick and fast (if its with the person he loves). Its like he can't wait to already settle down in his family life. I might just be picking on his soul tho, idk if his conscious self is currently on the same wavelenght😅 Oh and i think he would be a very devoted father and want to spend lots of time with his kids and teach them things, and go explore and have adventures with them and have them teach him new things like slang, and what happened at school and how Amanda got pink highlights or whatever😂 like middle school tea yk. He would love that!

Hyunjin - 6 of Cups, Ace of Pentacles

For hyunjin im seeing just one kid. He doesn't seem too eager for kids but he's open to it and sees it as something thats just part of life and being an adult. I think he would be good with his child too, but it will be more of a calmer dynamic and i think it might be a bit of a struggle to actually get that kid. Maybe it would be a while or the acquiring of the child will be a long and tiring process, like maybe something like adoption. I actually see him with an older child too, like him giving something to an older child thats already like 3-7ish. And i also feel the vibe of him being alone with that kid, as in his partner isn't there with him. Kind of explains the calm, devote of excitement energy. I don't feel very comfortable getting into that to be honest so im just gonna leave it as it is and not get any confirmation on anything.

[strixcattus]

Right I'm feeling about up to a proper STHeroine route I analysis post on this fine day (author's note: not enough to do it in one go it seems. I'm finishing up the second half the day after.)

I already mentioned how it seems that the Heroine may have a measure more agency than the Princess, putting her in a position where she can actually push back against us and act on her own accord instead of being passively molded by our decisions. The chapter was introduced as the "Sharp Damsel"—our choice to trust her unconditionally did not create a Heroine solely shaped to be someone we can trust unconditionally, but instead her distrust gave her the added wrinkle of "Sharp." Sharp seemingly as in "wary" or "clever." She knows more about the workings of the world than the Princess is supposed to. She can tell that the Narrator is exerting some control over us, even if it's unclear that she knows who He is.

(The Sly Spectre lead-in seems to reinforce the idea that the Heroine contains "agency," but we're not talking about the Sly Spectre right now.)

The rest of the chapter itself doesn't largely have much to discuss. What is interesting is this post and the art of this one. (That's the mirror sequence in reverse order, if you'd rather save the time of rereading.)

The Long Quiet appears the same as it's supposed to be in the one panel where it's actually drawn, and it's even referred to as such by Not!Shifty. From this we can assume that the Long Quiet continues to exist as normal, and that it's probably us. Probably, but not certainly, because of two points.

Most obviously, the arms that take away the Sharp Damsel are not human arms, but versions of ours. (She also seems visibly panicked at the appearance of the arms, clearly able to see them, while the Princesses all appeared more fatigued than scared, and commented on the cold rather than the arms. Another point towards the Heroine understanding more about the workings of the Construct than she's supposed to?) We can be sure that they're our arms because we see our own arms, both earlier in the route and in the art at the mirror. Which I, er, brightened to get a better look at it and confirm this:

As we can see from this image, our arms in the mirror and in the real world are the same as they are normally. The protagonist doesn't seem fully convinced, however, as the text accompanying this image reads a hesitant "It's you?" instead of a confident "It's you." There's very little clarity of the silhouette, but the other detail that seems to deserve mention is that the eyes of the reflection have two points of shine, instead of the one that the normal mirror image has. Of course, there's no way to know how much any small visual detail actually matters, but in light of the doubt cast on the reflection, it's worth pointing out.

Lastly, we have Not!Shifty's dialogue (Not!Shifty because there is very clearly something different between her and the normal Shifting Mound, even if it isn't yet obvious what). Most of what she says is the same as her counterpart, but there are a few distinctions:

Instead of saying we "bring her the gift of a fragile vessel," this one says we "grace her with a new, fragile vessel"

She refers to herself as "threads of something bright that had been torn and unwound." The thread metaphor continues throughout the conversation, replacing the Shifting Mound's water metaphor.

When we say we don't know what we are, she responds with empathy ("it is nice to know I am not alone"), rather than confidence ("I think you are like me").

She shows some level of recognition of the Narrator (!)

When asked if we know each other, she responds with a positive "maybe" (!!)

Instead of insisting that we will have to return to the Construct eventually due to boredom, she acknowledges the possibility of continuing as we are forever

Definitive analysis: Not!Shifty seems more passive than the Shifting Mound, which sits in contrast to the way the Heroine seems to have more agency than the Princess. She never tries to tell us anything about ourselves, and seems comfortable in the fact that she doesn't yet know anything about herself. She's got a different personality entirely, and it's not yet clear whence that comes.

Theory-space: Her recognition of the Narrator and acknowledgement of the possibility that we may know each other somehow seem to imply that this is not the first time we have gone through the Construct, and that there was once a time where she was the one being guided by the Narrator to kill us. Perhaps this is a world where we and her managed to become one again, and then were torn apart improperly? It would explain our identity issues and the matching arms, as well as... no, I'll save Route II analysis for the Route II analysis post.

Of course, it's too soon to tell exactly what has changed in the division between us and Not!Shifty. I'll stand by my "merging and being torn apart again" theory for now, but I'm not ready to hold fast to it. The next route will probably shed some proper light on things, as much as it can that is.