#that has nothing to do with this poll i just think it’s neat

[emperyans]

Can I request a soulmate!AU with a Clark Kent x reader? Where your soul mates name is on your wrist?

I.

Clark Kent.

It shows up sometime around your twelfth birthday. There’s no warning before it happens- you’re absentmindedly eating breakfast one day when you glance at your wrist and all of sudden it’s there, in neat, slanted writing.

You’re at a loss for how to react at first- hell, this is the name of your soulmate. A few minutes are spent staring in awe at the words on your wrist, before the shock falls away and you’re left feeling a little giddy- you finally know their name.

Every advice column ever written about the matter says not to obsess over it, but your pre-teen self can’t help but fixate on the markings whenever they come into your line of sight.

II.

Clark is not a very widespread first name, you discover. It always ranks around the four-hundred mark in popularity polls, both in North America and the UK.

Despite that, you run into a lot of them. Enough for you to begin to suspect that fate is playing a cruel game- really, how many Clarks can one person meet over the course of their lifetime?

To your dismay, you end up hating every single one of them. Thankfully, none of their last names even resemble Kent.

III.

Clark means scholar.

You wonder if he’s the academic type.

A lot of questioning is done on your part when you’re bored and have nothing better to do. Even more so when you're feeling lonely. Is he tall? What’s his favourite colour? Does he enjoy whole-wheat bread?

When you were a teenager, you had decided he was quite possibly going to be the most perfect person on earth. Your best friend at the time had laughed, telling you that no one was perfect.

You’re older, now. And while you no longer think Clark Kent, whoever he is, would be perfect, you still can’t stop yourself from picturing what he might be like after you have a bad day.

IV.

The first time you encounter it, you’re taking the subway home.

The newspaper is discarded on a scratched up subway seat. The headline is something about Lex Luthor - it always is in Metropolis- but that is not what catches your attention.

It’s under the headline, smudged to ruin by the previous reader's fingers. And yet still discernible enough to make your heart beat faster.

By Clark Kent.

V.

Finding out how to contact the newspaper is easy enough. You cant figure out how to reach him, though, and you wonder what the point of modern technology is if you knew someone’s full name yet still had no way of reaching them.

When you call them, the receptionist tells you that Mr. Kent is out. Leave a message.

You give her a reasonably vague excuse to have him contact you, double checking that she has your name written down correctly. There’s a hint in her voice that tells you she suspects what is going on, but she doesn’t comment on it. You’re infinitely thankful.

VI.

By the time you leave work, there’s a missed call and a voicemail left on your phone. You wait until you get home to listen to it, and it’s a smart idea, because you didn’t know you could get this unreasonably anxious just by hearing someone say your name.

“This is Clark. Uh, Clark Kent. I hope- did I say your name right? Never mind- I was hoping we could meet up?”

He’s stumbling over his words and you can’t help but laugh- at least you’re not the only one completely overcome by nerves.

The voicemail ends with an address and a time to meet up (“ That is, if it’s okay with you-“ ) tomorrow.

You send a text confirming that you’ll be there.

VII.

You’re at the designated meeting place- one of Metropolis’ many parks. How they manage to put them in a city with such high density is beyond you- still, you weren’t here to question their urban planning prowess.

You swear you can feel him before you see him.

The first thing you notice is how tall he is. Very, very tall. He’s dressed in a dark grey suit- carrying a briefcase, clearly having just gotten done with work. It’s not what you imagined- yet somehow, it’s better than anything you’ve ever dreamt up.

He has glasses, you note. They have the effect of making him look impossibly endearing.

You’re not aware you’re gaping at him until he says your name.

“Nice to meet you, Clark.” It’s hard to keep the grin off your face. “You’re saying it right, by the way.” You stick your hand out for a handshake, making sure to angle it so the words on your wrist are visible.

He takes it, a smile playing at his lips. Warmth envelops your hand immediately. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

[luffyvace]

Inosuke x black male reader

The last one from the poll!! Yippie!!

I love inosuke he’s so cool 😎

your hair is….very foreign to inosuke

this is Japan so when he sees you in general he’s very confused??

and confused=confrontational (like with giyuu)

so at first there’s a chance y’all beefed (it may have been one-sided)

but to talk specifically about your hair he probably pulls and inspects it a lot

or at least tries I know you don’t let that slide

he’d ask overly blunt questions like

“what happened to your hair, is it fried?!”

your skin is also new to him

the things he be saying is atrocious but he’s genuinely curious

mans also has no social cues

which makes him come off as rude

and even if he did have social cues he’d ignore them, cuz he doesn’t care 🤷‍♀️

to sum it all up, don’t take it personally

he be munching down on your cooking tho!

so at least that 🤦‍♀️

he always asks for so much / extras

he likes spicy too

He steals tanjiro and zenitsu’s food whenever you cook

When you use AAVE he doesn’t get it

and never will

you never even bothered to teach him

he doesn’t seem like the type of guy who would get it

if you wanna say something and don’t want him to know just teach tanjiro and zenitsu AAVE

zenitsu will get it before tanjiro does-

”WHAT?? WHADDYA SAYIN?? STOP SPEAKING FUNNY!!”

”THAT DOESNT EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE IDIOT!!”

him calling you a idiot is irony I know 😂 /j

your culture/dances also don’t make sense to him..😞🙁

he might get the culture a little bit more than the dances

i mean it’s just dancing but he’ll be wondering why you have to do it a certain way

and as far as culture he’ll be like

”whaddya doin all this stuff for?! ITS POINTLESS!! lets go train instead!”

Tanjiro will get it tho!

he’ll explain his dad used to do a fire dance to ward the demons off

”is it something like that?”

close enough..🧍‍♀️

your bonnet/durag is very strange to him

He doesn’t get why you need something on your head to sleep

You explain to him that it’s to keep your pillow from soaking the oil in your hair and to keep your hairstyles neat

speaking of which when you braid your hair or if you have locs he thinks it’s very cool!

(that’s like the most positive thing I’ve wrote so far..)

Only problem is…..he wants you to do his hair like yours..

”but inosuke, your hair’s gonna fall out! And you can’t loc straight hair!”

He doesn’t wanna hear it..

he gets loud/starts yelling and you have to calm him down

your features are something he notices right off the bat but at the same time it goes right over his head

like he sees you may have a big nose/big lips but he doesn’t really pay much attention to it

like he doesn’t even think ‘everyone is different!’ so why would he pay attention to everyone’s individual features?

he’s looking for if your strong or not if anything 🤷‍♀️

im just gonna put a collage of his questions here cuz I can

”WHY CANT YOU DO MY HAIR LIKE YOURS?!”

”HOW’S YOUR HAIR SO BIG!?”

”HOW COME YOUR HAIR GOES BOING AND MINE DOESNT?!”

”what’s that black thing on your head?” (Durag)

”WHADDYA MEAN MY HAIRS’ GONNA FALL OUT?! YOURS DIDNT!!”

”is your hair a defense technique?? What does it do?”

“how’d you get your hair like that?”

”WHY DO YOU TALK LIKE THAT??”

”I CANT UNDERSTAND YOU!! SPEAK NORMAL!!”

”does your whole village look like that?? SHOW ME!”

his bluntness be getting outta hand ngl

You being a male doesn’t NOT affect inosuke whatsoever

he realized he wanted to be with you, and his mind, you were already his

(he didn’t actually ask you out 🤦‍♀️)

and yeah I pretty much have nothing else to say bc inosuke don’t care.

he’s him like that 🤷‍♀️

Inosuke’s love languages are quality time and gift giving

quality time = training

training = beating

not because he wants to beat you

but just because he doesn’t hold back at all

i hope your stronger than him

cuz if your weak……..😃

with gift giving he’ll remember the things you say you like but……it’ll just end up going..wrong..

for example! You say you need a new durag because it has a hole?

well! The great inosuke has taken the liberty to make you a new one!

like it? 😁

(oh gosh…..you don’t. What is this even made out of??)

”gee thanks..! Inosuke..”😟

”HHAHAHAHAHAH YOU BETTER BE GRATEFUL!! THE GOD OF MOUNTAINS HIMSELF MADE YOU A NEW DURAT!”😼

(yes durat 😋..he doesn’t remember the name)

zenitsu and tanjiro support you two

zenitsu was already aware of non het couples

he doesn’t see the attraction but it’s none of his business to him really

tanjiro is 100% supportive and doesn’t see it any different from a hetero couple

kind confused?? But he’s supportive :)

also commends you for taking on the rambunctious inosuke 😅

inosuke doesn’t care what anyone else has to say about your relationship

Now if they’re passive aggressive he won’t get it-

but if they directly insult either of you—your gonna have to stop him from beating them up 😜

(or join him! 😊)

all in all….your relationship is very chaotic!

you love him regardless <3

Lol inosuke so silly

Hope you enjoyed💝

[starseaweed]

hello submas nation

so

I recently stumbled into the submas au rabbit hole and hooo man. I have been trying to scrabble out for the past two weeks to focus on JJBA, but. These boys. I've gotten on the wrong train line and I am enjoying the ride far too much.

As the co-creator of mutiple pokemon AUs, I am finding it very hard to resist throwing my hat into the pile. (Pokemon: LA and Pokemon: SV DLC spoilers included below.)

I may or may not get to writing (and finishing) a fic involving the dragon train twins, because I am a sucker for dragons– though I'm switching it around because I think it fits better.

Anyway. It goes like this; After being reunited and running the subway again for a year, Elesa urges the boys to take some time off for themselves. It takes a while but she manages to convince them to come with her to Paldea (had a thought just now that she's going to collab with the other fashionista/model, so its a business trip for her.)

The twins spend a few days relaxing before their need for battle cannot be contained, and they begin their adventure around paldea. And of course, they have an absolute blast!

...Right up until they get seperated, and Emmet goes missing. Ingo and Elesa are frantic, because they were finally together (even if Elesa was verry busy) and now Emmet is gone and Ingo's having flashbacks.

Conviently at that time, Juliana/Florian/reader/oc catches a Zekrom with their zekrom treat! Isn't that neat! I'm sure this has nothing to do with that missing subway guy! Oh, Director Clavell, they would absolutely be willing to help search for him!

Update: There's now a follow up poll about the potential fic! Please check it out!

[fairymascot]

i imagine quite a few followers of mine, over the last few days, have been looking at my blog and wondering to themselves, 'what is milgram, and why won't she shut up about it?'

well, lads, this post is for you.

WHAT IS MILGRAM, AND WHY I WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT: a masterpost

milgram is a bit difficult to explain. here's the short version: imagine the popular reality show 'survivor', only instead of real people, it's anime characters. instead of a desert island, it's a magical jail that makes you sing. and instead of an assortment of swimsuit-clad hotties, it's ten highly unstable individuals who have all been, to some degree, involved in a murder. does that clear things up? no?

well, here’s the long version:

a teenager called es wakes up in an eerie, mystical prison, in a guard's uniform, with no memory of who they are or why they're here. the helpful mascot character, a talking rabbit named jackalope, explains that this prison is called milgram, and es is its sole guard and jury. the prison contains ten prisoners, all of whom had committed some sort of murder, although the prison's definition of 'murder' can be a bit loose. none of the prisoners are quite sure how they got there, either, but it's clearly detached from the outside world, and they have no means of contacting anyone from home.

es' job is fairly straightforward. they have to get to know each prisoner, and then decide whether to 'forgive' or 'condemn' them. (this is often translated as voting 'innocent' or 'guilty', but rest assured, everyone is actually guilty. the question is not whether they've committed the murder -- it's whether they're considered justified in doing so.) there will be three trials: for each one, each prisoner will offer their testimony, and receive their verdict. their future in the prison will be affected accordingly.

the prison has a nifty schtick: the prisoners don't testify, exactly. instead, they're connected to a special machine that takes their innermost thoughts, feelings, and memories... and turns them into absolute bangers, paired with epic anime music videos. yes. their fate is decided based on the music video produced by their brain. what happens to those forgiven, and those condemned? well... that will be revealed in time.

that's that for the in-universe setup. in reality, milgram is an interactive multimedia franchise that delivers its story primarily through a series of youtube music videos. the songs are composed by renowned vocaloid producer deco-27 and the videos produced by otoiro. if you're into vocaloid at all, that's probably all you need to know it looks and sounds awesome. (if you're not: i'm telling you that right now.) each character's video has a distinct visual and musical style tailored to their personality, which makes for a very unique and diverse experience. and seriously, all those songs slap.

but the key gimmick is this: es is you. after each character's music video is released, a poll goes up where the viewers can vote to decide whether to forgive or condemn. the majority vote is then canonized, and future story developments will be affected by it.

milgram also explicitly urges you not to vote based strictly on morality. you can vote for whatever reason you'd like. maybe you just find this character cool, and want them to have a good time. maybe they annoy you, so you want them to suffer. maybe you just think this particular verdict would make for some really neat story developments! there's no right or wrong, which makes for some really fun and varied fandom discussions.

another aspect that makes it really engaging to me, is that the music videos -- meant to be the fruit of each character's subconscious -- are rarely straightforward. most of them require some degree of analysis on the viewers' end, and there's no concrete canon explanation provided for most of them. this creates really rich and interesting community discussion! nothing like watching a video for the first time, having no idea what to make of it, and scrolling down to read some passionate fan's frame-by-frame, 5000 word breakdown. it's awesome!

with ten prisoners (plus es, who is not nearly as much of a blank slate as the story would initially have you believe), every fan is guaranteed to find their own little blorbo. each character is incredibly fucked up in their own special way! they're all professionally voice acted and, in addition to their songs, have accompanying voice dramas where you can get to know more about them.

with the first two trials (=seasons) out of three complete, now’s a good time as any to jump in!

OKAY, SO HOW DO I GET INTO THIS THING?

first, a warning: in case that wasn't clear from all the murder, this is not a feel-good series. your favorite blorbo will inevitably turn out to be a horrible person who does horrible things, and will have horrible things happen to them. the videos include, in addition to the obvious violence and murder, themes of abusive relationships, bullying, suicide ideation and child abuse. and that's just off the top of my head.

TRIAL ONE

T1 MUSIC VIDEOS:  you can find every video from the first trial, in order, HERE.

they're all in japanese, and have CC in (just slightly broken) english. this is the main meat of the canon! if you've watched it all and still want more, here's some extra content:

T1 VOICE DRAMAS the character voice dramas can be found in the single release of each song, on spotify, youtube music, or apple music. here are translations gathered from various fans across the web. (i’m linking both youtube uploads and text-only translations, in case any of the links get taken down due to copyright stuff.)

00. es (video / text) | 01. haruka (video / text)| 02. yuno  (video / text) | 03. fuuta  (video / text) 04. mu  (video / text) | 05. shidou  (video / text) | 06. mahiru (video / text) | 07. kazui  (video / text)  08. amane (video / text)  | 09. mikoto (video / text) | 10. kotoko (video / text)

TRIAL TWO

T2 MUSIC VIDEOS: you can find every video from the second trial, in order, HERE.

T2 VOICE DRAMAS 01. haruka (video / text)| 02. yuno  (video / text) | 03. fuuta  (video / text) 04. mu  (video / text) | 05. shidou  (video / text) | 06. mahiru (video / text) 07. kazui (video / text) | 08. amane (video / text) | 09. mikoto (video / text) | 10. kotoko (video / text)

additional resources

milgram official site & twitter - news & updates (japanese)

milgram en on twitter - additional translations (website updates, character blurbs, comics)

rochisama on wordpress - translations of background text in the videos & character interactions from the official app

@milgrammer - sadly no longer active, but has lots of translations, including character bios, cd dramas, and voice actor interviews

@onigiriico​ - currently active translator who’s been doing awesome work on the cd dramas

have fun, and happy judgement!

[oscconfessions]

super duper hot take but god. i wish candle was handled better.

i’ve grown out of disliking her outright and now just… kind of yearn for what could’ve been. iii tries it’s best to both be lighthearted and character-driven, but that balance is poorly maintained and ends up with poorly written slop that doesn’t succeed at either, making it boring and downright assassinating characters at times.

i’ll go into a few characters that i think have been turned into shadows of their former selves, had wasted potential, or otherwise just plain didn’t need to be there.

first of these is Yinyang. I am the #1 yinyang fan, i am literally dating a fictive of them in our system (🥜🪶 anon comes out as a system real), but the arc the writers gave them feels a bit… off to me. The whole point was that they have a very sibling-like relationship, no matter if you see them as siblings or not, and they argued a bunch because that’s what siblings do. But in iii, they toned that down to the point of their character being nothing but sappy moments of them accepting eachother and then moving on. There’s barely any arguments or squabbles, which was what made them interesting. People who understand eachother can still have petty fights it came free with your fucking opinions.

Onto one I that I think could’ve had potential, Candle. If you’ve seen me before, chances are you might’ve seen my rant on how much I dislike Candle. She barely has any flaws except for being bad at communication— something that pretty much every ii character has at this point. There’s nothing to make her stand out and she’s very clearly a big favorite of the writers. And because of that favoritism, they don’t really give her any negative spotlight besides the obvious. Her viewing relationships as purely transactional is brushed off and forgiven by the end, with her not really learning anything from it. But there’s actual, genuine potential for her to be good, and that’s what frustrates me the most. If they didn’t focus on everything being lighthearted and gave her a scene on her own, where she thinks to herself and we get to see how she acts when she’s alone, i would consider that a win. Let her have flaws, and let her grieve over past mistakes. I don’t hate her, I just wish she was more.

And onto our final two, we have characters that straight up shouldn’t have been there at all! Starting with Box. I know Box was voted in as a joke— but to be honest it shouldn’t have even been on the poll at all. That’s not a contestant. That’s a gag that got tired and boring after the first few episodes. Someone else could’ve been given that spot— like Pickle or Mic or whoever else was on the poll without getting in. Box is a fundamentally bad character, and should not have been a contestant whatsoever.

Now, for the last one, is something that people may find a bit controversial. Bot should not exist. I like Bot— I really do. I think they’re neat. But they should not be here whatsoever. Bow is dead. She should not have been allowed to be in season 3. Even if it’s not exactly her, it’s still very clearly supposed to look like her. Let Bow rest. Make someone else take the spotlight for once. Have one of the least popular characters sneak onto the boat. Salt and Pepper literally WOULD DO THAT. Why would you have Bow show up AGAIN instead of actually putting in the effort to make your least likable characters learn to be better? Oh, I know why! You don’t actually care about storytelling and you just wanted to dangle the audience’s favorite characters in front of them so that they’d excuse you not working on the thing you’ve been promising for years! LET BOW REST. Actually put in the effort to make people care about characters they used to hate.

Sorry this was long and rant-y, I just. have a lot of gripes with ii it makes me so so angry

-🥜🪶 Anon

.

[myfaveisfuckable]

Rants!

You x my mom: (ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻

┻━┻︵└(´Д｀└)

┻┻︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵┻┻

(ノ｀Д´)ノ彡┻━┻

T_T at least they're a team but I wanted a naruseku sweep ( ≧Д≦)

Narcistoru/secretoru: Yeah i can gurantee this is the only submission for them for Some Reason. Because no one ships them. Like i have searched the internet far and wide and turn up with like. Close to literal zero. And here's the thing, this is entirely illogical. They work together in this evil group and their deals are essentially that they're. Unhappy people. At first you think they're just annoying but actually they're annoying snd Extremely Miserable. In silly ways, they are such losers and so cringefail. I could write an essay on both of them individually, but basically i love how their focus isn't on being better people, it is on being happier. Individually.

The show is divided into clear parts of who is the main antagonist at the time which really makes you FEEL how unhappy they each are. They're a group but they're also not bc they choose to be unhappy ad get on each other's nerves about it and that's a prime focus of their characters. Anyway, these two make me insane, they spend a lot of time together during the middle part of the show, bc the first villain is gone so now it's just the two of them and their leader who isn't doing much yet. After this part, one of them, narcistoru, is defeated so he's gone for the time being. But these two, they hate each other SOOOOOOOO much it's insane. This is because Narcistoru is an annoying bitch and Secretoru hates that. And they're both generally insane people with dumb beliefs and issues that they view wrongly. It's just so glorious to see them annoy each other so much. Post Narcistoru's main screen time, he gets his conclusion episode. He escapes from prison and Secretoru is supposed to retrieve him. But like not because they need him, in fact, they absolutely did not care that he was arrested because none of these people give a flying fuck about each other. It's just that he wasn't supposed to be a risk. Secretoru and Narcistoru have a rather petty and hilarious fight. Because you see. Now they don't have to get along. They are not on the same side. So the hostility is really thriving here. In fact, she manages to capture him, and while fighting the pretty cures (magical girls), hensays some annoying shit and she goes "actually i changed my mind" and shoves him off this rock in order for the monster (they always summon one) to fucking kill him. Like she tries to murder him in cold blood soley because he's annoying and this was entirely inevitable actually. She wants that twink obliterated. They don't bring this up again in the finale when they're both in prison. They just. Kind of hang out now. They've reached a level of tolerance.

And you may think "why do you ship this" LOOK. THEIR INTERACTIONS. ARE SO FUNNY. IT'S JUST. A VERY FUN SHIP. BECAUSE THEY'RE HILARIOUS. The hostility is so great and i think it would be neat if they had some t4t hatesex. It would solve nothing. They mske each other so much worse. But it would be very hot. Also secretoru has a general "can you shut the fuck up" attitude towards him. I don't even technically ship it but i ENJOY the ship.

And yet. I am so alone in this which is insane because i definitely expected ship content for them even before i actually wanted it myself.

But no, of course people ship Narcistoru with actual fifteen year olds. Like so much. And there is ZERO content for the ship with the other Actual Adult that he interacts with on a regular basis and who he has a fantastic and entertaining and INTERESTING dynamic with. So basically, i am not just sad, i am also SO SALTY. They are so insanely rarepair despite being an absolute epic duo. Awesome crackship, 10/10, literally comedy

Obiwan/grievous: Ok so this is a HUGE crackship and some people are not going to agree but like, Obi-Wan is what comes to mind when you think of the jedi and Grievous hates the jedi as a whole because he believes them to the cause of his mutilation and the suffering of his people, but the jedi are not the ones who did this. Grievous is a pawn in the game of the sith and he doesn't realize that his mind has been altered against his wishes or that he will be desposed of as soon as the war ends. Obi-Wan is a compassionate man and is able to consistently go toe to toe with Grievous, making him a rival Grievous can't help but respect in a weird way (his people are warriors, for all we know, fighting could be a method of flirting to his people yaknow? And obiwan genuienly flirts as a way to throw off his enemies, think of the comedic potential if Obi-Wan didnt realize how MUCH hes been a flirt or if Grevious acctualy gets flustered by it because obiwan is such a competent fighter and IF ONLY HE WASNT THE ENEMY-) If Obi-Wan knew what happened he would have tried to make amends and help his people, and if Grievous learned that it was Dooku (a former jedi turned sith) who turned him into a monster against his will, he'd probably be willing to team up with Obi-Wan to bring down Dooku and the Sith plans for Galactic domination to avenge and to protect his people, and they would be an absolute powerhouse since they are already familiar with eachothers way of fighting and from a writers point of view its filled with so much potential angst and drama, and hijinks, and even enhances the plot and creates parallels between the two that the franchise has never bothered to make and it has so much potential even if they don't fall in love they could be really good friends/partners/allies and if order 66 goes as planned they would be badass rebels its such an overlooked possible dynamic PLEASE 🥺

Nightmare Polycule: The cursed creation of like. 4 people on a niche fandom discord. Polycule consisting of pretty much every adult character in the series. It's awful and somehow the best thing ever. The potential for both crack and angst is unmatched. The divorced parents energy is OFF THE CHARTS. Marcia realizes she is a morosexual and has a crisis about it. Gringe confronts his prejudices by falling for a no-good wizard. Jillie Djinn is Marcia's ex and also dead and also GHOSTING ON HER COUCH which makes it very hard to bring her boyfriends over. Marcellus tries to be dramatic about the fleetingness of human life (except his) and gets made fun of until he confronts his trauma instead. Sarah and Mrs Gringe are having tea and getting a break from the drama.

[spicybylerpolls]

I really like your response about the hypothetically possible will as a top. I gravitate towards bottom will, but only because when i started discussing byler having sex it was always as canon-compliant as possible, a.k.a it was about their first experiences together, as this is most likely to be seen in the show compared to their developing relationship together.

i think practical things would inform their dynamic. they may not even discuss things verbally. even if there wasn't the 'i didnt say it - you didn't have to' line to show the audience how well they understand each other without words (most of the time lol), i still wouldn't have ruled out a mainly non-verbal sex scene between them. maybe because i love silent/expressive/physical acting that doesnt need words. it's so much more intimate to me, the silence of it all. soft music, intense looks, body communication, nothing else needed. and in that case, i think that will, perhaps just because mike has dated el, even if it wasnt sexual, would assume that mike was simply the more experienced one and let him take the lead.

i would be delighted to see a hesitant mike letting will take the lead in s5, and i think we will see this somewhat, but i also think that rather than will being dominant and mike submitting, it will look more like will coming up to mike's level of dominance and meeting him there as an equal, finally confident enough to express how he feels and what he wants, and to ask mike for it (whether verbally or not).

their lovemaking and sex should be a moment of celebration between two equals. i think this is what will move all the last cynical audience members emotionally, because it would represent so much for who will and mike are even outside of a sexual context. it would also lend a neatness to the idea of equality in terms of same-sex sexual activity. two men/two women having sex is more equal than a man and woman, because there aren't those unavoidable differences. its two versions of the same body. what could be more equal than that?

i remember a writer from the 1910s wrote beautifully on this topic of how gay sex is purer and more beautiful than het sex because of this, and also because it serves no purpose other than for two people to connect and make beauty, whereas sex between a man and a woman can often be a means to an end (to put it crudely lol).

do this make sense?

yes/no :)

Please note that the purpose of this blog is not to be creepy or to make anyone uncomfortable. That's why I created the #spicy byler tag (I will tag all polls with this). If you don't want to see this blog or anything related to it on your feed, please block that tag. Not everyone is comfortable with this sorta stuff, and that's okay.

[blorbo-adoption-poll]

Adoption poll round 1 match 29

Natural Harmonia Gropius “N” (Pokémon)

Gregg Lee (night in the woods)

Propaganda under the cut

"N" Natural Harmonia Gropius (Pokémon) Propaganda

Listen. Liste-N, even. N is in desperate need of a better family. He grew up with Pokemon, and was then "adopted" at a young age by Ghetsis, who wanted to use his ability to communicate with them. From the moment of his adoption, N was isolated from most humans and was only given the opportunity to speak with Pokemon who had suffered at the hands of humans. This pushed him to the direction of Pokemon Liberation- He believed by separating people and Pokemon, the world would be perfect. And Ghetsis only encouraged it, forming Team Plasma and crowning N as the king.

Believing N to be fully brainwashed and unable to be deterred, he set N out to preach and convince people to release their Pokemon. As the story goes on, N is challenged by seeing many people and Pokemon getting along and enjoying each other's company. He's stubborn about it for a long time- But when you finally beat him in the final stretch he finally starts accepting that maybe he was wrong- That maybe different ideas in the world CAN co-exist, as can people in Pokemon (though not needing Pokeballs is definitely still a thing he would like to happen.)

And this... Well, what do you think Ghetsis does?

He goes haywire! He calls in good-for-nothing, warped, defective, a freak without a human heart! My poor boy not only gets his worldview shaken, but the guy he considers his dad just loads up on the insults- No doubt to intimidate him! N deserved soooo much better than Ghetsis, which is why I'm submitting him for Tumblr Adoption. He is able to start healing later- Like look at his battle sprite between Black/White vs Black/White 2! He's smiling! And his encounter theme! It's so much more cheerful in BW2! It's not called "Prisoner to a Formula" anymore- It's "N's Theme"!!!! He so deserves blorbo title. From start to finish, a prisoner and tool to learning what he wants and who he really is! He's N, babes, and I'd give the world for him!!!!!!!!!!

Also he says "Burn, baby, BURN!" in Pokemon White while awakening Reshiram. This is so important. To me.

———————

had a crush on him as a kid and now i think he’s neat

Gregg Lee (night in the woods) Propaganda

hes just a little guy and he has knives . he wants to do crime how can u not want him sad fox boy.

[mysterycharacterflowers]

Round 1; A bouquet of yellow orchids, rue, yew, bird’s-foot trefoil, yellow gladiolus, yellow peony, sunflower and yellow amaryllis Vs A bouquet of dandelion, asphodel, poppy, chamomile, red columbine, hydrangea, rhododendron, dark crimson rose and queen of the night

If you know who they are, or are pretty sure of it, please don't tell until this poll has ended!

First, let's talk about the bouquet of yellow orchids, rue, yew, bird’s-foot trefoil, yellow gladiolus, yellow peony, sunflower and yellow amaryllis

Meaning and why these flowers were chosen: Yellow orchids, because he compares himself to an orchid kept in a greenhouse, because yellow is a color of heavy symbolism in his source material—for nothing good—and on the other hand because yellow orchids can represent friendship and new beginnings and he’s a sweet guy who gets a possible new beginning. Rue, because it means regret and he has plenty of that, not so much because of wrongs he committed but wrongs he was complicit in and inherited as a legacy from his family. Yew, because it represents life, death, and reincarnation and he was almost an avenue for someone’s reincarnation. It also represents evil and protection from evil, and someone close to him isn’t always sure which he’s going to be. Bird’s-foot trefoil, because it means revenge and he helps someone deliver comeuppance to those who had wronged them, and though I’m not sure he was in the state of mind to appreciate it as revenge for himself, he deserves to. Yellow gladiolus, because gladiolus represents strength and that’s the last thing anyone would expect this fragile young man to have but in a way he does. Yellow peony, because peonies can represent bashfulness and he is shy and awkward and so repressed. Sunflower, because it can represent intelligence and the pursuit of enlightenment; he is a devotedly scholarly type (in fact, he likes botany a lot so he’d probably vibe with this tournament idea) and knows better than to support the ideologies of his family; he is enlightened beyond their prejudice. Yellow amaryllis, because amaryllis symbolizes love—he is deeply, yet delicately, in love with someone who has brought hope into his life—and because it also means unrecognized beauty and I think that would be funny but neat for him, given that he’s unattractive but possesses a kind, potentially beautiful personality. Description: ‘God, what a pathetic loser’ you think (assuming you’re, ahem, the POV character, but I get it) and it’s a fundamentally compassionate person who was only complicit insofar as he was trapped in an abusive system and had succumbed to despair. Incredibly polite to his shitty family and tells the first person who asks that he thinks the family home should be burned to the ground. He may be a bit ugly and awkward, but in good circumstances he radiates the silly joy of a nerd. Also, he’s one-half of one of my favorite fictional interracial couples; they are such a good and sweet and thematically resonant duo

Check their post here

Now, let's talk about the bouquet of dandelion, asphodel, poppy, chamomile, red columbine, hydrangea, rhododendron, dark crimson rose and queen of the night

Meaning and why this flower was chosen: Dandelion- overcoming hardship [Hes been going THROUGH it, like its been rough for this guy] Asphodel- my regrets follow you to the grave [he is riddled with guilt, for things he did, for things he didnt do, just- so much guilt] Poppy- eternal sleep, imagination [dreams are a very important aspect of the media] Chamomile- patience in adversity [he has been scraping by not dying by the skin of his teeth, he is constantly experiencing the Horrors] Red Columbine- anxiety [he is soso goddamn traumatized] Hydrangea- Frigidity and heartlessness [hes kind of a bit of an evil bitch] Rhododendron- Danger [He has been in non-stop life threatening danger since the series began] Dark Crimson Rose- Mourning [he is defined by his grief and regret] Queen of the Night- enjoy small moments because they do not last [Any minor joy he finds is immediately crushed, this man CANNOT have nice things] Description: Ohhhhh he is riddled with guilt. He is a private investigator. Everyone he loves is dead, its all his fault, it also kind of isnt. He is in a toxic yaoi situation-ship with a ghost in his brain. He is a pathetic wet cat and every eldritch god he meets wants to fuck him so bad it makes them look stupid. Hes serial killer on accident but also on purpose. Hes british and half of the media hes from is him whimpering or gasping- but it isnt horny- hes just so miserable. He loves art, he beat a widow to death with a rock one time. Hes iconic, hes wife material, he had a severed head at one point (not his).

Check their post here

[woltourney]

ROUND 2 / SIBE B / POLL 8

Vastha Mhakaracca (@incense-and-iron) v. Amor Valentine (@chocobotism)

Vastha Mhakaracca:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Vastha Mhakaracca [He/They]

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Miqote - Keeper of the Moon

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Main classes: Dragoon, Dark Knight, Monk, Reaper, Dancer

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. N/A

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. I'm a happy guy! Like to entertain my friends and put a smile on other people's faces. I ended up becoming a hero after following (partly) in my mother's footsteps-- she was a lancer and gave me her old lance when I wanted to leave home to adventure. It kind of broke ages ago… but I still have it! So she shouldn't be too mad about it. Hopefully, heh. Uh, anyway, I enjoy dancing and have tons of experience in managing and entertaining people since my family runs a small inn on the side of some nameless road. As for liking being a hero… it's complicated; as much as I really wish it wasn't that way. It use to be so easy and fun. Simple, even. There was still danger of course, but… I dunno. Fighting five giant ladybugs doesn't really match up in danger levels as the types of things I've been up too as of late [[<-- post EW content]]. Not to mention all the worst parts of having so much on your shoulders, things I really don't want to get into for such a fun event. B-But, don't take it as if I don't want to be a hero!! I can do it, so I want to do it. And it's not a 'If I don't do it, no one will', either. I think there are people who definitely could and would. People who have pulled way more weight through all this than I have. Even so, with all the pain and trouble I've been though, it's worth it at the end of the day. Knowing that I've helped so many people, that I have the power to keep the worst at bay, that I can make a change in the world and have that change try and be something good and positive and kind: that's what makes me like such a dangerous and oftentimes thankless job. Free time? Well, there's: dancing, cooking [[Culinarian is at level 90]], tending to my new island hangout, I've been doing LOTS of sightseeing-- Oh! I LOVE taking pictures and doing photography. Mostly of landscapes, they're just easier for me to work with than people; not to say I don't snap pictures of my friends now and again. What else… Oh! I've been taking up other crafting jobs as well since I have the spare time. It gives me something to keep my hands busy and lets me go out and collect more plants and rocks. I always liked going out to collect random stuff, but some of my older sisters, who I ended up bullied into hiring on as retainers so they could keep tabs on me away from home, got tired of me dumping popotos and iron ingots onto them to figure out how to sell en mass every week. I saw nothing wrong with it, but it really just must be me. Hmm… A lot more stuff about me is kind of personal. While I'm a rather open guy and like to chat, there's even some stuff I don't like talking about too casually or with strangers, sorry! Maybe we can be friends? I'm always open to new friends! Let's talk more sometime, okay?

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. Why should I win? Oh man, I just think it'd be neat! "Vastha Mhakaracca, winner of the…" uh, what was this called again? Oh, right! "winner of the WoLTourney 2023!" Could even put that on my little adventure card thingy just for fun.

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. Some other facts about Vastha he didn't get to cover himself: Transmasc [he/they] and gay (despite all the handsome bachelors in game, he hasn't fallen for more past a short lived crush or two.) He has 4 older sisters, making him the youngest in the family He use to be more meek and shy, which turned to 'all talk no bite', which turned out to now where he's more mellow and friendly but will not hesitate to throw hands if someone starts something He actually likes to do fetch quests because it lets him explore local areas to take more pictures Vastha comes off as a bit of a dunce and a ~stoopid widdle catboi~ to people because he likes to have fun and goof around like he use too (before all the horrors (tm) of being an adventurer). He notices, but doesn't comment on it. He'd rather people keep thinking it and underestimate him so he can prove them wrong through action. And with so much life experience now, he really doesn't care what others think of him anymore; he knows himself and that's all he can control in life. Despite being so giddy and friendly, the man does have some things he dislikes a normal degree, and other things (and people) he hates with the rage of a thousand suns-- which upon mention of will immediately switch his mood to more sour and serious. It's rare to stumble across such topics, thankfully.

Amor Valentine:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Amor Valentine (they/them)

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Au Ra (Xaela)

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. ARR: Lancer/Dragoon; HW-present: DRK main, MCH for yeehaw

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. N/A

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Amor is just a guy carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders despite it all. They care deeply for their friends and family, have a special interest in chocobos, and are full of love for the world they protect. Though a force to be reckoned with in the heat of battle, in day-to-day life they can be quite timid. A traumatic childhood event left them an orphan with no memory of their past, but they were found and raised by a Duskwight woman in Dravania, near Tailfeather. Amor was considered a strange child by most Tailfeather residents (#UndiagnosedAutism), but they ignored it as best they could while focusing their attention on the chocobos their mother would catch and train. On their 20th nameday, they left home to explore the world and hopefully learn about their past, and oops! Hydaelyn's chosen! They then proceed to become the Champion of Eorzea and save the world a bunch of times, with varying levels of enthusiasm. Though always willing to do whatever is needed to protect the realm, they are prone to becoming weary of it all. At best, they'll grin and bear it. At worst, they can become resentful and bitter towards their position in life (see: DRK). Thankfully, spending time with loved ones helps mitigate this negativity. They are taking a well earned rest after the events of Endwalker, but are prepared to dive back into the fray should the world need them. They are fond of foraging when they have the opportunity, and their special interest in chocobos lends itself well to breeding and competing at the Gold Saucer. Sometimes, they give in to the irresistible urge to run around open landscapes before rolling around on the ground.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. Umm… a vote for me is a vote for the eorzean autism alliance :)

[linashirou]

Ok, as the poll was positive about it, I'll share MY HEADCANONS and MY LORE about Hal...

1.- Hal have a slightly Marfan syndrome. (He described himself in my one shot "look at me~!♥" )

"All my life I've been skinny. I've always had a rather delicate appearance than masculine. I'm not a man with a tanned, toned body like Snake, for example.

I'm rather flabby and my chest is slightly sunken due to my mild Marfan syndrome: flat and long feet, a slight scoliosis that luckily didn't worsen with the use of the PC since my early age, hands with long fingers, and vision problems. I was lucky that this wasn't so noticeable, and that I didn't have any problems with my internal organs, but it could have been much worse with my father's "genetic background".

Now that I'm 37, I consider this nothing compared to what could have really happened to me... I consider myself a completely healthy person" 2.- Older = Calmer. He has an obsessive compulsive disorder with tidiness. As we could clearly see in the Nomad in MGS4, his neat and clean desk, at his 30, he started to acquire a taste for order and doesn't feel at peace in an environment with a lot of chaos. He likes to read and being at home: "I'm rather... boring" 3.- Hard-worker. This is no secret if we think about how many "In-game hours" Hal is supporting Snake, but in "TEC" (Hal's fanfiction) He is quite careful when it comes to work: as a boss, he is an attentive and understanding boss, however he is quite easy to get on his nerves. He usually works a lot from home, programming; A short period in the evenings, but the main work is always done early in the mornings: this way he ensures a free afternoon to share with Snake/Sunny (and Lina♥). 4.- Mental gaps. Sometimes, due to the amount of information accumulated in his mind (and as a good otaku, with a lot of "Random" knowledge) Hal has lapses where he simply "crashes" or gives the impression of suffering "mental lags". But the truth is that he also has a lot of memories blocked in his mind, especially as a child, due to traumas. As a result, it is important to recognize... 5.- He knows (all) the truth about Huey. What things he did in DD and all the events that happened in MGSV (Confirmed by Chris in an old interview) (I don't want to go so deep in this point, because I have a complete chapter about this in Hal's Fanfic) But there is something, punctually, that Hal never knew: Where were the remains of his beloved mother?

6.- He have a sweet tooth. Do I need to explain?: * Sweet personality, like candies, snacks and sweet pastry= Good and Sweet boyfriend, father, and friend♥ 7.- He is nearsighted (Myopic). As I explained in another post, in MGS4 he showed that he could see most of the things around him without the glasses, but when Snake asked him when and where Naomi left, he replied "I don't know, I didn't see her. I was without my glasses."

8.- A concerned Father. Hal will always, always have Sunny first in his mind. He will always be concerned with trying to give Sunny all the tools at his disposal to ensure her well being and will always try to give her everything he didn't have in his childhood. (This includes thinking of Lina as a possible mother figure for Sunny, due to the absence of a mother figure in his own life (?)) (Although it is a sort of justification/self-conviction at a certain point).

9.- He's Gemini. He's birthday is a few more days than Lina's. And they do party together. 10.- He likes red-haired women... Just like Snake... (Or maybe is his way to share a taste with him... who knows...) (at least He said to Lina that he likes her more with red hair)

11.- He had some problems with an anckle

After twisting his left ankle in Shadow Moses and neglecting the sprain by moving around the base helping Snake, Hal was left with a sore ankle, adding to the awkwardness of his "naturally" stiff movements. Now in his 30's, he's sometimes just like grandpas, feeling a bit of discomfort with the cold weather; "Ah! it's going to rain… my ankle tells me so…"

12.- Common grounds with Lina: Common interests with Lina are: Anime (particularly Macross, works by Go Nagai, Sailor Moon), video games (fighting games and survival horror), and music from the 80s and 90s (specially Lina's favorite band, Jamiroquai).

And the last one... it's a little NSFW

13.- Softy but Pervy. Hal's personality quite mellow and needy for affection: As a complete inexperienced in his sentimental side, he is always looking for ways to get the attention of his loved ones, being quite demanding of his partner's attention. And although at times he can be a huge stalker (staring at erogenous zones, fantasizing, being a consumer of some "adult content" particularly Hentai) his fetishes have NO BDSM connotations (it is quite difficult for him to be a little rougher with Lina; for example, he can hardly " spank" or "pull her hair" Because of his own experience as an abused person in his youth.). He is rather soft, tender and affectionate, but he does have a certain fixation to latex, derived from his taste for Super Sentai series.

[best-kids-media-adult]

Maxwell: "i just think he's neat. he cares about his students so much and is so willing to drop everything and throw hands with the magical government over them at all times. he's very gentle but a bit mischievous too"

Mr. Benedict:

"He is calm, nurturing, wise, and wants the best for his found family"

"Has a laugh like a dolphin. Invested in protecting the MC kids, but also doesn’t condescend to them, and respects their choices and the heroic risks they run. Let me emphasize: HE RESPECTS THE KIDS. HE RESPECTS THEM AS PEOPLE WITH AGENCY. I love him."

"Even though he has to recruit children to defeat the World Ending Threat (like in a lot of children's media), he only does so after exhausting every other possible option, and after he is sure they'd be in *more* danger by doing nothing. It's very clear he loathes putting children in harm's way, and he does everything he can to support them and keep them safe. He holds a great respect for the children, respecting their opinions and feelings and thoughts with the same weight he gives to adults. He's angry at the world for being so dismissive of children because of their age. He never tells the children what they *should* do. Instead, he's a compassionate listener and provides empathetic advice only when he feels as though the children could benefit from his words. Overall he's just a really kind and wonderful mentor - this goes for both the books and the shows!"

"He cares about these kids so much, he canonically (at least in the books) adopts three separate children (well, two of them are more or less grown up by the time the first book starts but still. They are his daughters). And he becomes a mentor figure to even more children and he cares so deeply and gives great advice and seems to always know what they need before they even have to ask (or if they can't articulate it). He is the best"

"Mentor extraordinaire, cares deeply about his proteges in the Society, is a big softie, and is a genius in his own right. He also recognizes a variety of talents in the Society and nurtures it!"

[amarriageoftrueminds]

Out of curiosity, what's your personal preference for the fic actor characterization poll you posted? Thanks!

Original Poll.

Well my first instinct was to say I do like it when fics incorporate the actor into the character...

(Talking specifically about Bucky, I was thinking about the RL-example of how they put him in Bucharest, in CACW, because SebStan is Romanian, so he could speak Romanian in the scene. I thought it was neat!

So I do like it when fic-Bucky has specific Romanian or Eastern European heritage, a la the actor, because it lampshades this very obvious aspect of SebStan's appearance... which it would be odd to ignore, given the context of the Brooklyn which Bucky grew up in (with rampant antisemitism targeted at EE Jews, where looking EE would have an impact on others' perception of him and his perception of the world.

Owing to-- I guess you could call it colorism? shadeism? --back then, this Bucky would've grown up, for example, watching actors who resemble him being typecast as villains and monsters -- Little Caesar, Frankenstein, etc. Boris Karloff wasn't even EE!) You could also read Bucky being Romanian as a callback to Jewish Romanian Stan Lee, as well.)

...But then I realised I'm actually in the 'depends' camp.

Depends on the character and depends what the actor-trait is.

Those Bucky examples fit the character, but while sometimes the actor-trait adds depth, or addresses a plot hole, sometimes it's just OOC for the character.

I don't mind, eg. people incorporating physical description that very obviously references the actor playing the character, or adding in Cevans' boob-grab laugh into Steve's characterisation, because neither of those things affect Steve's personality. But adding in Cevans traits (or traits of other characters he has played) which don't match Steve's personality ... that does bother me.

For example: even despite Steve's drastically different background, Cevans' tattoos could actually work, on Steve, because it's a counter-cultural thing (compatible with his politics), and Steve grew up in a rough area of Brooklyn with loadsa tattooed sailors around, plus if Steve was a poor amateur artist then tattooing would be one of the few professions he could incorporate that into!

But making Steve (het-romance avoiding, demi- or ace- readable Steve) into a (how can I put this diplomatically? let's go with-) ladykiller, a la Cevans in his slooty era? That just isn't Steve, to me!

And IMO that goes for Bucky, too.

SebStan has multiple 'sad gay spoiled lil rich boy' roles under his belt, and I just can't vibe with AU fics that make Bucky one, because he's nothing like that... I feel like you could swap in a baby Howard Stark without changing anything, and that's usually a sign of poor characterisation in my book.

(Plus, from a shippy perspective, Bucky's upbringing (facilitating defence of underdogs against bullies) + experience of adversity + shared life experiences are all vital to his personality and to what makes him attractive to Steve... so cutting out all those Bucky traits just to put OtherSebStanCharacter's Traits in their place doesn't work, for me! I'm left wondering '...but why would Steve like this guy?')

Another example: SebStan's appealingly awkward theatre-nerd™ clumsiness?

Yeah, it's adorkable, but it makes no damn sense for a Bucky who's supposed to be this former-ladykiller *ahem* dancer sniper supersoldier, etc!

So that's where I am on it.

Hope that answers the question for you, Anon!

[ipsen]

kanae brainrot apparently

“oh that kanae gender poll is neat haha anyways” the next day comes “oh okay.”

my opinion on kanae is “interesting without the burden of hindsight.” if tg had positive trans rep in mutsuki or big madam kanae would be a very good character with a very compelling arc. unfortunately, tg slaps every trans or ngc character with the “GASP. lying about their gender?!” tag at least once. at least mutsuki kinda gets away with it.

anyways. let’s do some vacuum analysis. under the cut.

kanae’s purpose in the story is heavily related to her perception of his personal gender versus what gender she thinks will better serve her family legacy. As the very last remaining rosewald, she wants to be a man because for one reason or another, she perceives women to be weak. her mother succumbed to illness early on when they fled germany, for example, while her brothers fought unflinchingly to help her escape. She was very young, so these facts made an impression upon her.

of course, no one calls her out on this because no one around her understands. They don’t know what it’s like being alone. They don’t know what it’s like losing everything and wanting nothing more than to get revenge against the ones who think they’re better and stronger. They don’t know. They don’t know her. She wishes they knew her. She wishes they loved her.

Until one day:

(can i PLEASE take my eyes off this woman for FIVE MINUTES jesus christ)

eto hates two particular things: herself, and people who lie. this is a core character trait of hers and explains the targets of her torture. people who remind her of herself and think of themselves as superior to someone/something else. why?

because she’s been in those very situations, and it worked out for the worst.

eto targets kanae because kanae hates humans on a broad scale (see: how she treats chie), but this is born of fear as only the ccg are the cause of her suffering and the only ones who really care about her dying, and despite having been thrown about by “humans” (again, ccg) and seeing the value non-ccg humans bring to the table (again, chie (bless chie’s heart btw), who is also hunted by the ccg), kanae still despises them and sees them as beneath her.

eto was the same way at one point. she was targeted by V, who took Noroi, her only family at that time, away from her. In her quest for vengeance, she mutilated Kasuka Mado, who, for all intents and purposes, is not a part of V, but an unwitting weapon swung around by them. she presumably does similar things to other investigators out of rage and pain because there’s nothing left for her and she has no support system to reign her in. this is until she meets arima who decides to help her (and even then…).

and eto, more or less, broke free of the mindset kanae is currently in. only thing is: eto also hates herself. she hates how many people have died on her quest for change, how many people will continue to die even when she “wins”. she hates herself as the instigator, but it’s all she knows and all she will continue to do, and she wishes she could just mutilate herself and die and answer for everything she’s done. but that would be a purposeless death. so she turns to a different pastime and breaks out the sewing kit. surely she can “fix” this pitiful caricature of herself while getting the twisted satisfaction of “hurting” herself.

(spoilers: it doesn’t work.)

and you know what they say: as eto, so kaneki.

neither wants to hurt kanae, not really, but rather they want to hurt the image of themselves that kanae exudes. is it better? no, but it’s an important distinction when factoring in characters.

… this was supposed to be about kanae. please accept my apologies. let’s get back on track.

it’s tragic, isn’t it? the people who have real, genuine, human experiences (eto can eat human food, kaneki was human) are the ones who inflict arguably the most pain on kanae. she continues to be at the mercy of the humans she hates so much. their twisted perceptions of love have infected her and she dies.

and yet she thinks she dies happy.

—

well those are the morning thoughts while i’m supposed to be on vacation. thanks for reading!

[cococaffeinated]

To Keep You, Part 3 (siren AU)

Recap: Part 1, Part 2 It's a drabble-comic mix for this part! My hands couldn't keep up with the story I had brewing and I didn't wanna put it off just cos I couldn't draw fast enough. Also, MC (the reader, you) has hair now. I know not everyone has medium-length hair, but it won in the polls I did outside the Tumblr app! Still, feel free to imagine how your own MC would look like though.

You stood still... Cautious as you watched the gargantuan sea siren dive back into the depths of the dark waters surrounding the cave's opening. It had clicked and chirped at you before going away. You still had no way of knowing what it was telling you. But you had a feeling it'd be back.

Without the light from the siren's lure, you were plunged into the darkness in its absence. You waited a good long moment before beginning your exploration, needing your eyes to adjust to the dark. Before their departure, the creature had pointed to a house and a fire pit further south of the cave... You could have been imagining it, but it seemed to be giving you something akin to a house tour. Despite everything, the thought in itself was funny. 'First things first, warmth and light should be a priority.' You thought as you shuffled over to the fire pit, using the damp cavern walls for guidance. Unfortunately, there was nothing around that you could use to start a fire. And with how damp you are, you didn't think trying your luck with clacking random stones together would be fruitful. Letting out a huff of determination, you blindly walked over to the rope ladder where you remembered seeing it a few moments ago when the cave was lit. It should lead to the cabin you saw earlier. It took a bit of doing... What with some of the rope steps missing from the lack of maintenance on top of it being dark... But eventually, you made it to the top of the tiny cliff, where the cabin stood. Breathless, you lay on your back for a moment. Your gaze wanders to study the area from where you lay. The cabin was simple, nothing grand. It looked sturdy despite its weather-worn look. There were no lit lights inside or outside, no sign of life. To the right of the cabin was a wooden chest. You chuckle to yourself. Thoughts of video games and lootable treasure items coming to the forefront of your mind. If sea monsters were real, you sure as hell hope this thing wasn't a mimic chest. Steeling your nerves, you stood up and made your way to the chest to investigate its contents.

You weren't about to question your stroke of extremely good luck.

Your eyes particularly zoomed in on the cluster of flint and steel in the chest, as well as the torches. While you didn't think you'd need a torch just yet, you were happy to have them handy in case you did. Reaching for the clothes in the neat pile of items, you admired the soft but sturdy material. Rifling through it, you found there were shoes tucked between the tunic shirt and the pants at the bottom.

"Stranger and stranger... If no one has lived here in years, how are all these here and in good condition?" you mutter to yourself. The chest was awfully well-equipped for someone who would happen upon it with nothing in hand. Just like you at the moment. Shaking your head, you focused on your first order of business. An outfit change. You took the clothes with you as you entered the cabin, lighting old lanterns as you went with flint and steel to illuminate the small living space.

Inside was a small bed off to one side, a wooden desk to the other, crates of boxes, and a cabinet. There wasn't much else to give the place personality... Ironically, this told you that whoever used to live here only used this place as a pit-stop at most. A half-way home. You laid out the clothes you had on the bed, covering your mouth and nose as dust floated upward from the slightest impact, before getting out of your wet suit. You slipped the tunic on first... it was soft and warm. And you were thankful that the pants it came with were just as comfortable to wear.

Making quick work of some spare linens you found in the cabinet, you made make-shift socks to cover your feet before stepping into the soft leather boots that came with the rest of your ensemble.

You wished you had a mirror to look yourself over but you felt good, at least. And more importantly, you were no longer cold and wet. Now that you were sure you weren't going to catch your death with a cold, you stepped back outside the cabin to take another good look inside the chest. "Let's see... There's a pouch of gold coins," you hummed as you put those to the side. You could always count them later. "If I manage to get out of here, they could be useful..." you mused to yourself. You next picked up the book, surprised by its weight. Turning it over this way and that, you found small little notes sticking out of the sides on varied segments of the book... It seemed like an almanac of sorts. Before you can crack it open, a sealed scroll letter catches your attention next. So you put down the book for now and gingerly peel open the sealed letter.

The book would need more time to study and internalize. The letter would at least be easier to digest, hopefully.

//TBC