#(i do not expect different results i needed to remake this for ME.)

[wlwcatalogue]

Valentine's Special ~ Aerith/Tifa from Final Fantasy VII: Remake (Compilation)

Since today is Valentine’s Day, and FFVII: Rebirth is releasing at the end of this month, it’s the perfect time to get caught up on Aerith/Tifa, a.k.a. Aerti, a.k.a. possibly the most unexpected F/F ship in gaming! Here is what I consider to be the most comprehensive compilation of Aerti scenes from FFVII: Remake, prepared by yours truly for your viewing (and shipping) pleasure :)

Quick sales pitch: While Aerith is famously The One Who Dies and Tifa is known for her sexy character design, they are also popularly remembered as main character Cloud’s two equally appealing love interests, as attested to by one Robert Pattinson. However, just as the elements present in the original 1997 game Final Fantasy VII were expanded on and added to in FFVII: Remake, the relationship between Aerith and Tifa was also fleshed out… to the point where it became very, very easy to ship them together. To put it in Tumblr terms, it’s like Betty and Veronica, but taken in a different – but still (subtextually) gay – direction compared to Riverdale. Check out the video above, it's just 1.5 hours!

(Longer sales pitch / commentary below the cut)

Originally from the hit 1997 Japanese role-playing game Final Fantasy VII, Aerith and Tifa, along with the main character Cloud Strife, were one of the most famous love triangles of video games at the time, and arguably even now. (Note: Think Betty and Veronica (Archie but pre-Riverdale), or if you’re more familiar with anime, Rei and Asuka (Neon Genesis: Evangelion) or Saber and Rin (Fate: Stay Night).) Although they barely had any interactions together and really were primarily love interests for Cloud in the original game (and subsequent related works), the relationship between Aerith and Tifa was significantly more fleshed out in Final Fantasy VII: Remake (2020), going beyond your standard box-ticking “look, girl power!” exercise. There seems to have been many a fan who walked out of playing Remake who found Aerti (i.e. Aerith and Tifa’s relationship) memorable – whether read romantically or platonically – resulting in many GIFs, fanart, and even compilations of memorable scenes of their “friendship”.

Not only do they interact with each other outside of speaking about Cloud or other male characters (scraping a pass in the Bechdel test, yay!), Remake gives the relationship space to develop from “strangers who hit it off” to “individuals who care about and trust each other”. Significantly, Aerith is the one who seems to take Tifa’s concerns the most seriously and comfort her, and Tifa is also able to see past Aerith’s cheery façade and reach out to her at her times of greatest need. In my opinion, each of the pair offers the greatest emotional support to the other out of all the characters – even more than what they do for Cloud (or what Cloud does for them).

So what makes their relationship romantic rather than simply platonic to me (other than sheer force of will)? Even though there isn’t really any direct flirting or explicitly romantic lines, there are a number of moments which are framed romantically or parallel romantic moments between Cloud/Aerith or Cloud/Tifa. Perhaps the most obvious of this is when Tifa protects Aerith from falling (twice), which is animated and shot in a way which suggests that it’s just as swoon-worthy as when Cloud protected Tifa from a fall in a prior scene. However, another notable example is how the high-five gesture is linked to Cloud’s opening up to Aerith (as he has to be persuaded over the course of several scenes to do the high-five), but Aerith also high-fives Tifa in other scenes later, effectively appropriating the gesture. So while I never expect it to ever become canon, Remake’s Aerti has been a wonderful surprise and I hope to see even greater developments in their relationship within this subtextual space as the FFVII: Remake trilogy progresses.

Let's all hope for the best-- in the meantime, please enjoy this compilation!

#i may write up a proper ship manifesto for them at some later date #“may” being the operative word here #btw my favourite moment is when tifa finds aerith in the train graveyard #truly a “surely any person with a drop of romantic attraction to women would fall for tifa if they were in aerith's position!” moment #final fantasy vii #final fantasy vii: remake #ff7 #ffvii #ffviir #ff7r #final fantasy 7 remake #aerti #aerith #tifa #aerith gainsborough #tifa lockhart #wlw recommendations #(but subtext) #femslash #list #final fantasy #jrpg #jrpg games #aerith x tifa

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

I’ve been thinking a little about why I like the autistic!Raph idea so much, especially when I’m kicking it around with @leonsi, and I think it has something to do with the fact that Raph being autistic breaks a lot of stereotypes about autism.

Don’t get me wrong, I will defend autistic!Donnie headcanons until the day I die, and I love autistic Donnie so very much, but I feel like at least part of the reason they’re so popular is because they fit the popular stereotype of the autistic genius. 

A tall, thin guy (seriously, they’re all tall and thin, it’s weird) who’s a little hard to handle, but makes up for it by being super-smart. Specifically, super-smart about useful things, like science and technology.

It all ties into the indigo children theory, this idea that “weird” kids are expected to save the world adults and neurotypicals fucked up--more prominent in the 90s, but fuck knows you can still find examples of it around here. 

In 20-freaking-18 The Predator remake, already shitty enough on its own, framed autistic people as “the next step in the evolutionary chain,” which is in the end just another responsibility we have to take--to be better, to be useful.

Of all his brothers, Raph’s differences are definitely the least useful. He’s hard to handle, he’s prickly, he’s irritating, he's physically aggressive about protecting his space in a way that sometimes pisses off the people around him, and certain members of the fandom even more so. 

And unlike, say, 2018 Donnie (who is objectively a lot worse and loved a lot more) he doesn’t make up for this by being ridiculously smart or intuitive. He’s not special like a Shelldon Cooper or a Spencer Red or a Sherlock, a kind of special that cancels out oddness with above-and-beyond results.

But this behavior also makes Raph Raph, and that matters more than his capacity to be useful or lack thereof. He grows and changes and fights, he’s useful and useless in equal measure, like any person. That’s the kind of autism that you create when you headcanon Raph as autistic.

And I see myself there. I’m not a science whiz, I don’t invent impossible things or make astounding deductions, my autism doesn’t make me useful or entertaining to watch. I forget how to dress properly, I forget to make room in my conversation for others, I’m rude without meaning to be.

 And I try to do better, without super-compensating by making myself extraordinarily useful. I know that I have worthy even if I am not always brilliant or fun to be around, and so does Raph.

My point is that Hamato Raphael is a Mean Autistic who manages to be worthy of respect despite not being relentlessly cheerful or a supergenius, and I feel like we need more of that kind of representation in our media. And if we’re not going to get it handed to us, we’ll carve it out ourselves.

#autistic author #actually autistic #autism #autism representation #raphael #raph #tmnt #tmnt 2k12 #tmnt 2012 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2k3 #tmnt 2003 #tmnt 2k18 #tmnt 2018 #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt headcanons #autistic headcanons #autistic pride #actually autism #actually neurodivergent #meta #donatello #donnie #leonardo #leo #mutuals #rottmnt

[sapphire-weapon]

If CV remake does happen, will you please create some meta for it?

It depends on what the game does and if I give a shit about it tbh

When RE2make first came out, I went into it fully expecting (and even hoping) to analyze every little detail and totally pick it apart, but once I beat it, I was like, "Yeah that was good, it's just what it needed to be" and my thoughts went no further. And, to date, the only RE2make meta I've written is that one post about the tram scene, and I only just wrote it last year.

I really like RE2make. I think it's a great game. But narratively and stylistically, that game doesn't do anything particularly novel or interesting. The single storytelling technique that that game tried to use was lost on old fans and ruined by them for new fans, so it's completely moot. So I really don't have much to say about it.

The reason why RE4make has kept my attention for over a year now is because of the way that that game's narrative was restructured as a fairy tale. Entire character arcs and relationships changed as a result of this. It's completely fascinating to me that the way that the overall events are the same but are framed so differently. And with just a slight tweaking of the story's themes, RE4's narrative shifted genres from Contemporary Horror to Horror Fantasy.

If CVXR does something interesting like that, I'll be all over it. But if it's more along the lines of RE2make, I probably won't have much to say.

[adasknife]

i have been checking more of john and ada (john is ada's 'boyfriend' from re1) anyways, i don't know how real this is but further on. because i haven't played the original re2 game (don't judge. i read things), it said that ada does carry a photo of john with her. john wrote her a letter (in re1) to expose all the stuff of umbrella but she never had the chance to read because she was never in raccoon city. ada discovered that john turned into a zombie in the spencer mansion thanks to annette birkin (?). in old comics (not sure if still canon), john was investigating the t virus hoping it will be the cure for cancer. he wanted ada's help but they never allowed it. he seemed like a nice guy... he wanted to help people and umbrella have him the money and he accepted. he was the couple of first people to realized what is happening; people are getting sick and the upper people of umbrella were acting strange. and we know what happens.

according to little there is to read of john, i prefer his relationship with ada and than with leon and ada. i as well wonder how the story will change if linda never changed to ada. OH! if you know more of the original games please correct me because i am... too lazy to check the tiny details.

and finally the letter re2:

Dear Ada ,

Ada, by the time you read this, I'll be something... different. Today's test turned out to be positive, just as I expected. I feel like going crazy when I think about becoming one of them.

Ada, you are not infected and I hope you never will be. In case you're the last one left, take the material in the Visual Data Room and go to the Power Room to operate the Triggering System before you escape.

If everything is in order, all the locks can be opened by the security system. You can access the system if you log in with my name from the terminal in the small lab and enter the password. The password is your name. To unlock the door at B2 where the Visual Data Room is located, you'll need to access with our name first and then enter another password.

I've written the code below. I'm sure you'll understand it easily.

And this is my last hope - if you find me completely changed, please kill me yourself.

Yours, John

and the other letter re1 remake:

My dearest Ada,

By the time you read this letter, I will no longer be the person you once knew. The results of my test came out today and I suspected, it came positive.

I feel like I am teetering on the edge of reason just thinking about my impending doom. I would give anything not to have to become one of them.

As far as I know, you are not infected. I sincerely hope things do not reach such a desperate pass, but if it has turned out that you are now the last person alive. I want you to get the material from the Visual Data room.

Then, activate the Self-Destruct System in the power room and escape from here. Please do everything in your power to make this whole accident public.

If everything is still running normally, you should be able release all the locks using the Security System.

I have set up the terminal in a small security room so that you can log in to the system using my name and your name as password.

You will need need another password to release the lock of the door of the basement Level Two where the Visual Date Room is located.

As a safety measure I have coded that password into an X-ray picture: a roentgenogram. I know you, and I'm sure you will be able to work it out without any trouble.

There is just one more thing... and it is my last request. I hope you never have to lay eyes on me in this state, but if you do happen to run into this hideous form, I beg you to put me out of my misery. I hope you understand.

Thank you, Ada

Yours truly, John

#resident evil #ada wong #re1 #re2

[freelanceexorcist]

FFVII Rebirth spoilers under the cut.

I thought I was watching chapter 1, but I was actually seeing all the Zack Fair cutscenes. Yeah, yesterday was one of those days when giant brain farts are all you have to work with.

But yeah.

So from what I gather so far, any time one choice is made or event takes place, it creates a world where the opposite happened, and the white Whispers are involved in that. In the world where Stamp is a beagle, Zack and Biggs both die. In the world where he’s a Yorkie, they live thanks to the white Whispers.

Black Whispers = inescapable fate, white Whispers = choices and multiple outcomes of events. Black Whispers = weaponized by Jenovaroth from what I can tell, White Whispers = maybe created by the planet because it turns out that doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results really is insanity and the whole cycles/destiny thing was a bad idea after all. Black Whispers = Watashi Sephiroth, white Whispers = Ore Sephiroth.

I think I’ve got it. Zack’s choosing to visit Hojo creates another world where we see what would have happened if he’d chosen to save Biggs instead, and in this world, Stamp is a pug. Yeah, now that I think about it, they kinda beat us over the head with that one.

And then there’s of course The Thing, which I didn’t understand AT ALL without the context from the Zack scenes. The Thing happened in the Beagleverse, which created yet another where Stamp will be some other breed of dog and we seem to see the existence of both of them at once briefly, like we did at the end of Remake. We see the world where Cloud doesn’t get there in time and Jenovaroth holding a bloody sword as Aerith collapses and we see the one where Cloud does get there in time, Jenovaroth is disarmed and Masamune gets stuck in the stone. The final scene before the credits roll where Aerith leaves the party to do what she needs to on her own may take place in this new universe.

Interesting.

They’re going full quantum multiverse on this bitch, it seems, and I. Am. Here for it. I’ll leave it at that because theoretical physics is so not my wheelhouse. And by saying that, I may have spawned a universe where I’m Michio Kaku.

Makes me think, though. If those white Whispers had just paid a visit to the Shinra mansion library and worked their mojo on a  certain someone, it would have spared at least one universe a whole lot of misery. I’m just sa—

Whoa.

Whooooooooaa.

Where’s my speculatin’ hat? No, not that one. This gets the fancy one. Ah…

I’m gonna guess this is how we got Ore Sephiroth. Him losing his shpadoinkles and going HAM on Nibelheim spawned a world where he didn’t. Might have still gone crazy, but didn’t cross the Face-to-Heel event horizon in such a spectacular and devastating way. Maybe he was puzzled by why all of a sudden there was so much wind in a closed basement room and the next thing he knew, he woke up on the floor with Zack and some vampire-looking dude in a red cloak standing over him. Maybe he decides to return to Midgar and throttle the truth out of Hojo instead of spending any more time in that damn basement.

Speaking of Hojo, maybe him refusing to give young Sephiroth any information about his mother besides her “name” spawned a universe where he had some mercy and gave him at least a picture of her, giving us the Ever Crisis world. I hope Stamp is a golden retriever in this world, because if anyone needs the presence of a golden retriever, it’s young Sephiroth.

Because who, I mean who, could turn to the dark side after looking at this even just briefly?

The worlds starting to blur together is why he can be in the Beagleverse as well as his own.

Zack, it seems, can also move between worlds, but it doesn’t seem like he realizes this. Maybe Cloud also has the ability.

Damn.

You want a Cloud/Zack/Sephiroth team-up to take down the final boss of the trilogy along with the rest of the party? Because this is how you get a Zack/Cloud/Sephiroth team-up to take down the final boss of the trilogy along with the rest of the party.

I guess we’ll have to wait another four years to find out if we ever do (only about halfway through all the cutscenes so far so *shrugs*). No problem, I can have lots of fun with it while I wait.

I wonder in Ore Sephiroth’s world, if that ends up being a thing, what Stamp’s breed will be. Maybe an Italian greyhound. Those are some cute little buggers.

I mean, look at this little derp:

Odds and ends:

So Barret, Tifa and Red really did die in the Yorkieverse and poor Marlene is an orphan now. Damn.

“If she wakes up, the scary man is gonna kill her!” So, I guess her waking up would be like sending up the Bat Signal and letting Watashi know where she is.

Look, I got no skin in the game when it comes to the Cloud/Aerith pairing. It does nothing for me, but if others love it, great. But that scene with the photographer? Oh lord, I cringed so hard my face caved in.

And wait, what? How can two Clouds and two Aeriths exist simultaneously in the same universe? We’ve got the two who are comatose and the two who became a couple. Could this be foreshadowing the Reunion and the worlds are already starting to meld together? Seems like it, and that rift in the sky may be part of it.

Which kinda makes me wonder: does this open the door to the final installment having multiple possible endings?

Oh yeah!

That’s all for now. Gotta take a break before this story makes my head explode. If you’ve stuck around this long, thank you.

#FFVII Rebirth spoilers #FF7 Rebirth spoilers #Zack Fair #Sephiroth #mind. blown.

[cowboyjen68]

Hey Jen, I hope you & yours are having a good Christmas and staying warm. I guess I just need some hope. My girlfriend broke up with me 10 days ago and I feel like a shell of a person. We were together for 3 years, and I thought she was the love of my life. Now it’s Christmas Day and I’m left to look at the empty place her stocking was that I hung not that long ago and feel overwhelmed by the memories of past holidays together while knowing that right now, she’s off spending the day with her new fwb. I can’t stop thinking about her, I feel like I lost my one chance at happiness. I can’t stop the constant thoughts of her with another woman, and it’s making me feel sick. I miss her so much. I miss her presence in my life and the way she felt against me. I feel like I’ll never want anyone else and she’s already found someone else to sleep with. I don’t know how to cope.

I am very sorry that happened. I had a FWB whom I loved dearly end it with me very suddenly, although I understood the "why" I didn't expect it to be so cold and sudden. My last girlfriend and I were still/are still very much in love but we can't be together so we broke up. I understand a little about the emotions you are feeling.

It as been over a year and I still have some of her things in my closet and I never rearranged her side of the room from when she stayed with me. The book she was reading is still on the shelf near her side of the bed. Sometimes I think about all the things we planned together and the sadness is over whelming.

I can tell you this. After the loss of my first girlfriend (at 29) I was sad and missed the comfortable things we shared. I didn't miss the things that we were incompatible about which included life goals, sex and living in the country. She thought she would love rural living and insisted on buying the house. She lasted about 4 months and was gone ending a relationship of 7 years. But the house was just the final part. On many levels I knew that what we shared was no longer mutual passion but familiarity and comfort. We both went on to find love, her in a long lasting marriage she still enjoys and me in several other women, my last girlfriend being the biggest and best love I have every experienced.

You will not be ready to move on yet and there is no reason to rush yourself or feel like you need to "put yourself out there". When you are ready you will know it and it will likely sneak up on you. In my experience we don't just get "one chance" and love comes in many depths and some relationships last longer than others. The value of your love with another woman is not based on time but the fulfilment you received from it.

You are still fresh in the pain, surprise, anger and sadness. Let yourself feel all of it. Observe the things you miss and no detail is too small to mull over. There might be not any way for you or for her to know what caused her to break it off. The end result is the same so there is no reason to go over the past for signs or to rehash every thing that happened to find a reason. Instead it is best to try to understand that you can't change what has happened but you can decide how to move forwards.

Put energy into yourself but it does not have to be right away. Grieve for a while. Start in your space. Move things around and remake the furniture or decorations in your home to suit you. Take one room at a time and really "see" things that you have not really noticed because they have always just been there. Manipulating our Physical space can make a big difference in helping us to heal. Do things you like to do that you could not when she was around. You get to decide. Being without someone can be less about being "alone" and more about being free to do as you please, if you let it.

I understand you are heart broken and lonely and feeling a deep loss at what could have been. I promise, time will fade those intense feeling and when you are ready to find love you will know it.

#lesbian #love #dating #relationships #breakups

[twiststreet]

I finished the two Final Fantasy 7 remake games, finally. They've been the only entertainment I've been "consuming" since February, besides Chopped on Hulu or whatever movies I might've seen in theaters during that time, and I'd probably still be playing for another month if I didn't get sick and wasn't inclined to move around much for the last couple weeks. They ask for a lot of hours for those games, maybe unethically so (it seems wrong to me, but).

It's just kind of inexplicable. The new game is maybe the biggest game I've ever seen, in terms of geography and detail-- it sure constantly feels like they sunk some money into it. Every small town in that game is one of the best small towns I've seen in a game-- there's a rich level of detail (two girls fighting over a boy in one town, one girl hitting on another in a different town, all sorts of life in the background)-- but ... like, it's unclear to me why that's how they spent their budget, I guess. Or if they had a budget because everything in the game is "More" like that. There's six characters each with their own playstyles, move sets, strengths, weaknesses, that you can use in any fight and then modify on top of that and...? That alone, figuring out a way to make that work, must've taken serious manpower...

But it's to tell a story that I feel is pretty confusing if you haven't played the original game 30 years ago. The original game tells a pretty simple, straightforward story, and this one is just... riffing on it, and taking everything, and turning it into a AAAA blockbuster. And kind of losing ... losing the story that worked to begin with in the proess!

And there's a whole layer of ... the first game has content that suggests it's about the original Final Fantasy 7 characters battling back fan expectations for the remake, while the second game is... just sort of inexplicable. Because it wasn't-- it's trying to hit the same emotional note as made the first game so successful, but then it's trying to also refuse to hit that note, and then it's layering everything under a blanket of gobbledygook. I could not tell you what they were trying to accomplish here.

I don't ... I don't know what would have been wrong with just doing FF7 with a bigger budget. Because the stuff that really works is just getting to hang out with Barrett and Tifa and your videogame pals, not this weird multiverse thing they try to add into that. I don't know that it needs blockbuster sequence after blockbuster sequence. Especially because a lot of stuff in FF7 hasn't aged as well as those parts-- e.g. the robot cat, a character which I 10000% did not remember from the original at all.

And the game is not well balanced at all, as a result of how much game there is. The difficulty spikes up to an unfair degree frequently, even on "Normal" mode.

I'm confused what they were trying to make. There's a lot I liked (I liked the use of a subjective camera-- they use that trick a lot like they're trying to be Jonathan Demme or something, and I like that stuff). And tons I didn't. It's just too much though. It's just too much game, and I don't... i don't see the wisdom of that. Especially becaues the original was more affecting at this point in the story because it was simpler, whereas this, I've finished, and mostly just want to know about the budget... like... how did they figure out how to budget this?? Did they budget this? That's kind of all I'm interested in.

I don't want to play another videogame for a very, very long time, though, so that's a good feeling.

#man is the deadliest game

[thecloudstan]

Yeah, I thought the entire time that it was AC Sephiroth in remake but that he was just using clones the entire time and not showing up physically until he literally rips through time itself. By the way, what did you think of the ending as a whole? And how they handled Aerith’s death? In my opinion there wasn’t any emotional impact for her death because the second she dies you just go into boss battle after boss battle and the time shenanigans happen, and you have no time to breathe and absorb it. The ending itself I found confusing, but I can’t say I completely hated it. I think all the time stuff is interesting and it makes me more invested in the third part because- presumably- that’s when all the questions get answered. Maybe that’s just because I never played the original though and wasn’t even a fan of FF7 until remake came out.

This is a very intriguing question, and as someone who has been playing this game since its 1997 release, I can only answer based on my experience. None of this is meant to sound unapproachable or anything...I just have an embarrassing amount of knowledge and attachment to this game and its characters...so...

I found how they handled Aerith's death to still be deeply stressful, emotional, and impactful. By that point, my husband and I had nearly convinced ourselves that they wouldn't go through with it. We expected her rescue, some sort of immediate fallout that would tie Zack in, and that the third game would be a sort of "World of Ruin" wherein the events have to be fixed and set right in order to stop Sephiroth. While Cloud DOES act, it doesn't result in her rescue in the way we anticipated. I'm actually really happy about this! Theorizing is fun, but I don't WANT to be right about everything. I'd like to be surprised.

In the original, Aerith dies, there's a VERY brief conversation between Sephiroth and Cloud, and you're immediately launched into a fight with Jenova. PROBABLY still crying your eyes out, because Aerith's theme is playing all the while, and just the juxtaposition of those two things was incredible. The party had just lost her and they're fighting for their lives. You, the player, have just lost her and now you're fighting, too. You don't have a choice. You don't get to rest. There is no respite.

Every step through the Forgotten City in Rebirth was nail biting, and her loss was still a tear jerker for me because the devs had thrown me enough off kilter that I kinda had no idea what to expect and had come to doubt my own predictions. Furthermore, it really did pull up a lot of latent emotion tied to this loss. It will always be deeply emotional for me with this game. In ways, I'm not even a good person to ask because I've been so intensely in love with them all for the past...27 years? I imagine the anticipation alone is giving old fans something to chew on that perhaps newer fans just can't relate to. I don't want to paint with too wide a brush. Everyone is different and I just have no other perspective than my own (admittedly very specific) experience.

I have no notes on the ending. I guess I'm actually really happy with it because a lot happened that I didn't expect and couldn't have predicted. I didn't approach it as something that needed to impress or regale me, rather I was curious what they would do and how I could immediately leap to interpret it. It was the same with the Remake ending. Everyone hated it and didn't understand it, but when the dust settled it became something to pick apart and theorize on. They gained my trust with Remake, so Rebirth to me is just a "sit back and enjoy" sort of experience. I also know what's happening because of my knowledge of the original. I know what's happening to Cloud, I understand Reunion, I know how some of these things come to their resolution in the third game (which is basically only the half way point of the original game). Of course, I'm sure they'll change it up because they've VERY MUCH been telling the same story by slightly different mechanisms, but I see the setups already in place in Rebirth.

#stanswers #dogsovercats504 #ff7 #ff7r #ff7 rebirth #ff7 rebirth spoilers #ff7r spoilers #final fantasy 7 rebirth #final fantasy 7 rebirth spoilers #final fantasy vii rebirth spoilers

[belltrigger]

Oh for the character bingo heheh so. Picking feferi because its funny XD. And then Karamatsu and then Emmet!

Aha! Thanks for asking! ♪(´▽｀)

*-Feferi-*

So Feferi huh? With Feferi I am torn! I was not interested in her during the run of the comic, and her connection to HIC (and *her* treatment of The Ψiioniic) kind of made me distrust her. That being said, I do think the general fandom is rather mean towards her. Saying she's boring is kind of lackluster to me; there's a lot to her, a lot of things that happen as a result of (or lack of) her actions. Blaming her entirely for Eridan's outburst is pretty unfair, I think. I've never been a big fan of the "man going berserk because a woman spurned him, so it's her fault" trope.

I do like her design, though! She does need a bit of a bite for being the "fancy free princess" type. Haha

*-Karamatsu-*

I didn't start out with Karamatsu as my favorite. I actually went in expecting for Choromatsu to be my favorite (because of Hiroshi Kamiya ehe. I was on a big kick for him at the time.) But this poor cringefail lad who seemed to actually be trying his best won me over.

The other characters make fun of his outfits but. Uh. Other than having his face on it, I like his style a lot. (Sorry Totty, but your outfits are literally the worst. I hate them so much.)

Karamatsu is silly, and does his best, and I want him to be successful in whatever he wants to do. In fact! I want him to be able to do the things he likes while also having a healthy relationship with his brothers. He loves them a lot, even when he gets mad at them, or frustrated with them (or gets ignored by them （＞人＜；）

*-Emmet-*

(You may notice there is a faint circle around the SQUEAK square. I didn't fully circle it because it's not my intention to squish the poor lad, it just kind of happens.) Into the salad spinner he goes!!

As you can probably see from how Emmet and his brother have consumed my blog, I am completely normal about him :) I certainly don't think of head-canons and scenarios about him all the time!

Of course, despite me being really normal about him, Emmet is probably my favorite of the twins, if I *HAD* to say I preferred one over the other. He's funny and I like that he's always smiling! I love that he and Ingo are identical twins with matching black and white aesthetics, and are so angled! His relationship with Ingo being slightly different in each version of him is also so interesting!! They're close in all of them, but there are little changes that are so fun to explore.

I choose to think that Hisui's timeline is a completely separate universe, and therefore not the end goal for every version of Emmet and Ingo. Some people seem to want other games (including remakes) to involve the fact that Ingo is lost in Hisui, but I would rather that not happen! Fandom is doing an excellent job experimenting with it, and having something canon that is tragic may just make me too sad (*╯^╰)

Oh yeah! I prefer to call him Kudari when I can! Nobori and Kudari just sound very matching to me, compared to Ingo and Emmet. It's a nice aethetic! But, when I switch between the Japanese names and the English names, it's easier for me to say Emmet than Ingo.

#character opinion bingo #valoricky #Submas #Karamatsu #Feferi #character opinion bingo answer

[infiniteeight8]

cosplay plans for the next 6-12 months

Rose City Comic Con is in 6 months, and next ECCC is 12 months away, so here's the stuff I have planned for the next year. A bunch of repairs and improvements, one old project that I still want to finish, and two (related) new projects that I just came up with in the last day or two.

Repairs & Improvements

Star Lord armour: - Test magnets as the new armour-to-bodysuit attachment method. - Assuming the magnets work, install a whole lotta magnets. - Replace/Repair the shoulder clip that's missing half the clip. - Super glue the velcro to the head piece. - Adjust boots to fit over running shoes. (And you thought the two boot adjustments I've done were the end of it! LOL.)

Paladin armour: - Figure out how to fix up the shoulders. (I could just adjust the positioning of the left one, but I'm considering permanently attaching the superstructure to the substructure. The only problem with that is that they will take up roughly 3x as much space in my luggage at a result, so I have to ponder.) - Put a clear coat on all the armour parts. - Repair the chipped paint on the shoe armour. - Install rubber/foam edges on the leg armour to hopefully prevent further shoe armour damage. - Add moar magnets to the flames so that they stay on better. - Make a mechanical attachment for the belt piece (the magnets work, but fall off way too easy--I'll relax more wearing it if its more secure).

Green Lantern - Eventually, remake the boots. Again. Don't get me wrong, I think they turned out well given the rush, but I can do better. - Replace the gloves. They're getting a bit tattered. - Possibly remake the pants. Honestly, they're too small. I can squeeze into them, but they kind of... slide down during the day. But if I'm really lucky, by the time I get around to doing this, it won't be necessary anymore. (Unlikely, but hey, you never know.)

In Progress (generalized points, as this is a long term project and I don't see the point of listing every tiny step separately at this stage)

Tron armour: - Finish making the helmet. - Probably re-make the bottom part of the boots. I can't recall which shoe I made it for. - Test the fit of the rest of the armour and adjust as needed. (I've gained weight since making it originally.) - Figure out the attachments. Never did get these working to my satisfaction, although I have a vague memory of what I planned to try after attempt #1 failed. - Determine amount of EL wire needed for the lighting / Figure out EL wire mounting strategy. Order & Install EL wire. - Make the undersuit. - Figure out how not to die of heat exhaustion while wearing a full body vinyl undersuit and a a near full body armour, including helmet, made out of layers of plastic and foam and absolutely covered in lighting.

New Projects (generalized as above)

Project #1: Captain Marvel leather jacket. Yes, I know people sell various versions. No, I don't like any of those enough to buy them. My sewing skills are very limited, so this will be a long term project involving a lot of test/learning stages.

Project #2: Captain Marvel armour. Yes, I like the design enough to make this sucker twice in two different styles. The armour would be EVA foam, not worbla. I've never worked in EVA foam before, but I've worked with other types of foam, and I've done armour generally. I still expect a learning curve, but I'm much more comfortable with this project than with Project #1.

#cosplay

[easternmind]

Oh boy, what do you think of the Silent Hill 2 remake trailer? I can’t speak for the other announced stuff cause I’m pretty basic when it comes to my appreciation for the series, but I do not care for the style change. There’s nothing wrong with the original’s graphics, and those FMVs in particular are still phenomenal! Do we really need to see every single strand of James Sunderland’s five-o-clock shadow?

I know the original source code was lost, and I know a game as old as SH2 should be played on modern hardware, but if Bloober are gonna remake it from the ground-up, I just don’t see a reason to make the new graphics so overly-polished, the devs of the original made the choices they did for a reason, it’s just detailed enough where each character has incredibly subtle details like Eddie’s dilated pupil’s and Maria’s slight stomach flab, but it leaves just enough room for your imagination to fill in the blanks.

I worry with these new graphics, it’s gonna be like those instances where some horror movies get so overly-remastered that you can see the imperfections that the film grain could hide. At the very least, why not recreate the FMVs to apply to the entire game? I think that could actually be interesting… so long as more of Team Silent were involved. I don’t know much about Bloober and haven’t played any of their games, but I hear they tend to have some major problems with their writing and horror.

We recently discussed Pathologic 2 as a great example of expanding on the original in a different way, but at least the original was a compromised vision so it makes more sense for a game like Pathologic Classic to be remade from the ground-up.

Am I coming off as too nitpicky with just this single trailer to go off of?

If anything you are being too tactful in describing the situation. The current popularity of video game remakes is symptomatic of a creative crisis at the heart of the industry, as well of the average consumer's expectations from technology. Players have allowed themselves to be persuaded by the unfinished thought that the best path to revisit the classic games they grew up playing is to have them reworked to look modern and pristine; paying little or no mind to the fact that their perception of the original game experience will irreparably be altered in the process. Certain studios, on the other hand, feel much more at ease with the prospect of developing a new version of a beloved game whose known popularity gives them a risk-reducing safety net, while also bypassing the strenuous work of developing an original concept. Just a few days ago in another comment exchange here, I repudiated the Bluepoint remake of Shadow of the Colossus, for me the foremost example of the perils this practice entails. To that, I would add that other atrocity that was the also recent Panzer Dragoon remake. I feel downright terrified by how the majority of players considers this to be entirely harmless. Silent Hill 2 is a game from its time and for its time. I remember that the slight resolution upgrade seen in the XBOX edition already exposed the fragile seams that stitched it together. The aesthetics were designed with a CRT TV equipment in mind. As you say, this specific visual style doesn't lend itself too well to modern displays. Adding sheen to its dull textures compromises its entire visual identity. Increasing the detail of character models poses impossible interpretative challenges, leading to the result we saw in today’s presentation, where there is nothing left of James' original facial features to be recognized in the remake. Paradoxically, we’re expected to summon the memories of something exceptional and familiar, use them to fill the credibility gaps of some high definition ersatz that will, in its turn, consume them and replace them by lesser ones. There was already enough information available to establish that Bloober was developing a Silent Hill project, namely the fact that a partnership deal was announced last year right about at the same time Tencent became a major shareholder for this studio. Their games are, for the most part, unconvincing. I played Observer and while it was fine as an independent project, it was clearly not a congruent experience. They also face-lifted it but a few years after the first edition, which I found suspicious, even though it’s their IP to do with as they please. The Medium isn't a complete failure, although it shows a poor lack of understanding of what constitutes horror in a video game experience. I never even touched Layers of Fear games because nothing about it seemed to deserve any attention. Although they are an already established studio, this will be their biggest project yet, with a potential target audience much wider than any of their previous titles. Nothing should distract us, however, from the fact that these are mere tradesmen foolishly attempting to recreate a work of art. I will say that Townfall, by No Code, has the smallest margin by which it may succeed in taking the base themes of Silent Hill and working them from an angle that fits the studio's own artistic direction, freed from the pressure of making the game look identical to its prequels. Their other games, Observation and Untold Stories, are sufficiently unique and inventive for me to preserve moderate expectations that they may actually be in the process of creating the first dignified sequel since the release of 'The Room'. 

[myselfinserts]

“Will someone please just explain what the hell is up with this place?”

The rules of D-Game are considered simple. Upon entering the app, you are given a Sigil and a base amount of points. Using these powers, you are to face others in either Encounter Battles or Class Match Battles. Upon defeating an opponent, you receive a certain amount of points. Points can be exchanged for perks, services, and funds. Upon losing all points, or losing a battle, your life is considered forfeited. The only way to survive a Battle is to either kill your opponent, run out the clock, or surrender.

You cannot leave D-Game. And talking about the game openly and exposing it to those outside of the game is strictly prohibited. Both result in a Game Over, and instant death.

These are all things Les wished he knew before pressing the stupid link. If he'd known, he'd have planned better. Ideally, he wouldn't even press the link. At the very least, he'd have some idea what he'd be getting himself into. He could have prepared a weapon. An escape plan. Maybe even have an ally.

Instead, he was stuck running around for dear life in the middle of a shopping mall late at night, with a crazed killer in a giant weasel costume chasing him with a machete.

"Dammit! I did not sign up to audition for a Willy's Wonderland remake! Get me the hell out of here!"

Les couldn’t understand it. He had expected maybe a 1v1 match with button pressing. Not this. Never this. As he ran up the frozen escalator, thanking the heavens for making the weasel suit a little bottom wide and hard to run in, he tried to think of a solution. He knew he had to get out of there and fast. The question was how. 

Come on, Les, think! What would Eira do? What would Odette do? Maybe I should call someone? Maybe Alberi could do something. But....but, Harper would just bash the poor weasel’s brain in. I don’t wanna kill the guy or anything. I just want him to leave me alone. Dammit!

He didn’t dare glance at his phone. Using the app allowed other players to use the search function. If he were to hide, he’d need to make sure no one could find him. He knew he couldn’t surrender either. He only had about 15 points left that day. He’d spent enough for a month long hide as well as supplies. He’d planned on sneaking out to gather points at one of the underground gambling rings at one of the amusement parks. Places for players with very little skill to get points easy. 

And the moment he set foot outside his hiding spot, he got cornered in a mall. 

Just my luck. 

As he reached the top and turned a corner, he nearly skidded to a halt in fright as he saw a man in a different costume. This one was a turtle. A snapping turtle. He knew that much thanks to a certain animal fanatic. And by the looks of his claws, he was deadly in the suit. 

“Dammit all! Will someone please just explain what the hell is up with this place?”

Les sprinted forward more, wishing for a lucky break as he lunged. A simple kick towards the groin and another to the head sent the guy falling before he had a chance to attack. He jumped over the body and turned tail into one of the nearby shoe shops. A tacky little place that catered to the “skater bro crowd”. Or at least attempted to. He quickly grabbed a duffle bag and managed to put four boards into it before having to zip it up and carry two more under his arms. 

He wasn’t very good at skateboarding, but his skills were serviceable, and it was better than nothing. 

Once he was sure the coast was clear, he quietly tip toed out of the shop and made his way towards the other side of the second floor, hoping to find a different exit. 

Surprisingly quiet. I think I can-

“FOUND YOU!”

Les looked to his left, just in time to see a man in a gorilla costume  carrying a large ax charging at him. Without thinking, he threw one of the skateboards, feeling a wave of relief as it hit the masked man in the face and broke in half. He quickly threw the other one onto the ground as he ran, using the momentum to send himself flying once his feet hit the wood. 

The duffel is really making this difficult. But, if I didn’t grab it-

He continued kicking to build more speed as the gorilla and the weasel started to catch up to him. The turtle was still on his back all the way back towards the skate shop. As far as he was aware, there were five mascots at this mall. Two were chasing, and one was down for the count. 

Just gotta keep going. If my timing is right, I should only have five minutes left. I have to run out the clock!

Les jumped up, getting ready to shred down the escalator hand rails, only to immediately wish he hadn’t. He could see the remaining mascots, an ostrich and a chameleon, waiting for him at the bottom. 

“Oh god.”

A long tongue came shooting out at him, while the head of the ostrich was following not far behind as the neck began to extend. Les leaned back, just barely managing to miss massive damage and only getting a slight scrape to the cheek from the ostrich beak. He grabbed the strap of the duffel and swung it around, hard enough to knock the head off the bird and send him tumbling down the rest of the way. The board he was on flew forward, hitting the chameleon directly in the mouth and sending them to the floor. 

Landing at the bottom, Les quickly scrambled up, reaching into the bag to grab another board. One kick. Two. And soon his momentum was rebuilt and he was spinning around towards one of the back exits. 

Please, let me out of here. Please!

Just as he was about to make it to the end, an arm hit him in the gut knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the ground. Everything in his vision spun. He could barely make out a the outline of someone dressed as a fairy type creature. 

Oh.....right..... they were gonna add a sea sprite to the mall, weren’t they?....

Slowly, most of the remaining mascots started making their way over to him. He tried to move, but the sprite roughly stomped on his arm, threatening to break bone. 

“You killed Ozzy,” the sprite chided. “That wasn’t very nice. He’s a good bird.”

Wait....Ozzy? 

Les barely managed to crane his neck, just in time to see the hard light cubes surround the body of the person in the ostrich costume. Blood had been seeping from the neck wound where he’d knocked the head off. He felt sick.

I....I killed someone?.....

“Now we’re gonna kill you as payback. But it will not be quick, lovely. ”

Everything felt numb. But he didn’t care anymore. He’d done the one thing he’d hoped to never do in the game. And now, these people were going to waste their time toying with him. He closed his eyes and prepared for the pain. 

I’m sorry, dad. I won’t be able to find you now.....

“Oh, FUCK!”

Les’s eyes shot open, just in time to realize the sea sprite had gotten off him and he was able to stumble away. The blue, razor sharp hard light cubes were surrounding the mascots, cutting away at their bodies in chunks as they vanished. He pulled out his phone just in time to see the result. Based on his score, he’d won the fight against the Mascot Mob.

His artistry stat had saved him. 

“You little bitch!” the weasel screamed. “When I get reborn I’m gonna kill you! You hear me?! In the next life, you’re dead meat!!!” 

Les couldn’t help but look at them in pity. 

“.....You shouldn’t have wasted time and killed me when you had me.”

Once they had vanished and the blocky cuts in the ground and along the walls remained in their place, Les picked up the duffel bag, put in his earphones,  and started making his way to the exit. 

He just walked. 

And walked. 

And walked. 

He ignored the sirens passing by. He knew they couldn’t see him. Police couldn’t get involved in Darwin’s Game unless they were players, and even then, they had to adhere to the rules. Same as anyone else. 

When he made his way to the station, there was already someone waiting there for him. Dressed in a casual yet cute lavender kimono, carrying a blanket in her arms as she tilted her head sadly at him. Reluctantly, he removed his headphones to talk. 

“Did you get them?” she asked. 

“You mean the Triad? Yeah.” He reached into the duffel and pulled out three of the skate boards. “It wasn’t easy, Kasumi. I honestly don’t think I should have gotten out of there alive.”

Kasumi nodded, holding up her phone to take a closer look through the ARG setting of her camera. “I noticed you didn’t open your app until the Battle ended. That was a risky move. You might not have found the right items.” She smiled fondly and showed him the result on her screen. The skateboards appeared to be silver, gold, and bronze , each encrusted with matching jewels. “You got lucky.” 

He sighed in relief. “Not bad for the only player not to have a Sigil, huh?”

“No. Not bad at all. Now.....” She wrapped the blanket around him, taking the duffel bag from him. “Are you sure you want to keep being solo?”

“......let me pack my things. I’ll send you the coordinates to my hide out. I still have a month lease on the cloak feature. You guys can stop there as needed until it runs out.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

With a brief hug, Les parted ways with Kasumi, making his way back to his hide out to sleep and recover. 

The sun was starting to rise. 

#myselfinserts #mybnhaocs #friends ocs #class of aus: d-game au #poor les just cannot catch a break

[sapphire-weapon]

Ada/Leon still clearly are into each other though, and I disagree with the idea that the Remakes made it so they aren’t/or they hadn't developed in or past 4.

In the 2RE round-table development video they spoke about how Aeon needed more interaction first before falling in love like they did in the OG.

4R isn't the latest we've seen of Leon and Ada chronologically. After 4R, we see them again in Damnation, where Ada insinuates they had some kind of romantic night together we never got to see, and then in 6 we see Leon tell Chris firmly that he'll defend and keep Ada alive, even under the possibility that she may have killed innocent people (even if this ended up just being Carla).

The remakes still lead into the later games, after all. Leon's feelings in 4R don't change how he feels in 6 - it just means he developed differently than we assumed. Last we've seen of them chronologically their relationship has only gotten closer, with both of them caring about each other more and more.

I guess you didn't catch Leon's constant head tilt after Ada comes into scene and also his immediate action when he saw Ada's captured. The man didn't spare a single second and even told Ashley that he knows it's a fucking trap but he's going in.

Remember, people often say things not exactly how they feel. I picked up all the small body language and actions that Leon and Ada do for each other that I firmly believe these 2 have a real thing for each other and the bond is not going to be broken no matter what.

The most telling sign to me is when Leon and Ada are on the speedboat, Leon tried to get an answer from Ada about what happened at Raccoon City and Ada never gave him a straight answer. This is not how a man who's moved on would act. If Leon moved on, he would not have even asked that question.

I don’t understand how people believe that just because there was no declaration of love given in OG2, or constant flirting like in OG4 that means they don’t like each-other anymore? If anything they just made their relationship more realistic which was their intention.

How are you really trying to justify the things that happen in games that were released in 2019 and 2023 with things that came out a decade prior? That doesn't make any sense, anon.

Damnation and RE6 came out in 2012 -- years and YEARS before the development of the games that we're talking about. The decision to pull back from the ship seems to have been made as a result of the backlash to RE6, so you can't point to RE6 and go, "this is proof that they're still dedicated to the ship." Like.

Come on, man. The response to my point of "They rewrote RE2 and RE4 to erase the romantic connection between Leon and Ada" is not "but look at the romantic connection they wrote in before that." Yeah, no kidding. You can't erase something that was never there in the first place.

I also don't understand how any of the things you're pointing at in RE4make are indicative of a romantic interest.

Tilting your head at someone is not a romantic gesture.

Refusing to leave someone to be tied up for slaughter is not a romantic gesture.

Asking someone if they have literally changed who they are as a person because you don't like/respect/want to be around the person they are/were is ABSOLUTELY NOT a romantic gesture -- and, in fact, is the complete and total opposite of what romance should be.

Like, let me just state, for the record: if a man asks you to change who you are for him, GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM AND OUT OF THAT RELATIONSHIP. That's not a relationship that you want to be in. Period.

And, also for the record: Leon wasn't going to ask the question on the boat, because he didn't see the point in asking the question, and he even says up front that he doesn't trust her to be honest with him. He only asked it because Ada pulled it out of him, and he expected nothing less than the answer he got. I don't know how you read that as romantic and not as, idk, someone who's still trying to process the anger they feel over the trauma that they've endured. Feeling as though you still don't have closure with someone due to a traumatic event involving them is not romantic.

And it's not just the fact that they removed the declaration of love that's my point. In a vacuum and by itself, no, you're right, that doesn't mean anything. But to remove that declaration of love and then replace it with "As much as I wanted to trust you... I didn't [ever trust you at all]."? The intentions of the writers are made crystal clear when you consider those two things in tandem -- especially when you also factor in Leon acting like a total cunt to Ada throughout the entirety of RE4make for absolutely no reason other than petty childishness.

In Remake canon, it seems pretty clear to me that the relationship has been rewritten to be one-sided unrequited Ada having fallen for Leon, which sucks, because he treats her like shit and she shouldn't have to take that -- let alone be okay with taking it -- from anyone, least of all him.

[clairewolf]

the originals, one wrong turn on bourbon

#mine #dean winchester #jack kline #supernatural #spnedit #insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results #(i do not expect different results i needed to remake this for ME.) #i will be the only one pioneering tvdunatural until i die #i changed little girl to kid i would have felt weird keeping it like that. #but truly 'maybe that little girl you miss so much would have been better off if she never loved you at all' hits me in the gut every time #dean & jack. #also happy fathers day. lmfao #i have issues ? #tvdnatural

[bottoms-movie]

SAMBUCKY FIC RECS

so a lot of people seemed interested this so here it is! if ya’ll like this, i can make more parts! this is split into three categories: based on tfatws, canon divergence, and au. all fics are on ao3. all of the fics are complete. some fics do include smut, but i included the ratings, so make sure to check for that based on preferences!

also, feel free to send me asks on your thoughts on any fics or if you’re interested in another sambucky fic rec post!

BASED ON TFATWS

Fill the Hole in my Heart | Not Rated | 4,848 words

Bucky dives into the world of online dating. The girls are nice, but there seems to be something missing. When he goes to Louisiana to meet Sam and his family, he realizes what that something was.

Skip, Reverse | Explicit | 7,945 words

Sam stood in the middle of their local Target with a throw pillow in each hand. The one in his left hand was butter-soft and matched the drapes in the living room, but Bucky had walked by five seconds ago and declared the one on the right “absolutely fucking hideous,” and so now Sam kind of wanted it more than he had ever wanted anything.

Sometimes romance is just bickering with your superhero partner/roommate at several different Target locations.

just won’t do right | General | 7,524 words

Sam's eyebrows go up, impressed, and he reaches over to squeeze Torres' shoulder, "This is amazing, kid. Thanks, really."

Bucky sits and watches in utter horror as the pink darkens on Torres' cheeks.

Oh, he realizes. Oh. Fuck.

body language will do the trick | Explicit | 12,598 words

“There’s no way you’re going to win this,” Bucky tells Sam. “I am going to love language the shit out of you.”

Sam gives him a considering look. “You do seem like you’d be really good at that.”

Bucky’s cheeks flush with heat. “Thanks, pal, I—”

Sam smirks, and Bucky’s eyes narrow. He shoves his elbow into Sam’s side and stalks off, leaving Sam cackling behind him.

“Your ass looks great today!” Sam yells.

Bucky reaches up to flip Sam the bird, and he definitely does not feel grateful that he wore his good jeans today. Bucky’s ass looks great every day.

checklist | General | 4,716 words

Bucky Barnes keeps a mental checklist of things he knows to be true at any given moment. Sometimes the checklist changes, because he's learned something else about himself. It changes, for example, when he starts realizing that maybe he would like to kiss Sam Wilson. Maybe.

best laid plans | 3 parts | 26,808 words

part 1: baby you’re the wave and I’m ready for the crash | Explicit | 6,616 words

Nah, my plan’s better,” Sam declares, before clapping Bucky on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, what plan? Was that a plan? It didn’t sound like a plan to me, it sounded like a vague intention,” says Bucky, still scowling, and Sam grins.

“We’re winging it, the plan is a work in progress! Now c’mon, we gotta make some wardrobe adjustments if we’re gonna get into that club.”

Sam and Bucky have some unorthodox methods of going undercover in a club.

He Doesn’t Deserve You! | Teen | 5,154 words

Sam and Bucky have an argument that results in Bucky being left at the bar. A group of drunk strangers assumes Bucky just got dumped and quickly adopt him for the night to make him feel better.

Reconstitution | Not Rated | 10,228 words

“I didn’t back Steve on the Sokovia Accords,” Sam says unprompted one day. They’re so close to apprehending the Flagsmashers and wrapping up this ridiculous saga.

“I don’t follow,” Bucky says.

“I was the one who refused to sign it first. Not Steve.”

Sam says it so softly that Bucky has to strain to hear him. Sam is loud and chatty and half the time he keeps up a constant stream of chatter just to get on Bucky’s nerves, but Bucky’s coming to realize that when he really wants to make himself heard, he’s soft spoken and mild. Bucky doesn’t entirely follow his train of thought, though.

Or: a breaking down, remaking, and coming back stronger than ever before

Stuck On You (You Suez, You Luez) | Explicit | 10,136 words

Sam and Bucky’s mission was simple: stowaway on a ship suspected of weapons-smuggling in the Suez, gather enough intel to report back, and hop off again in Port Said. Something gets in the way, and a day-long recon session turns into a week of chess, bickering, semi-successful movie references, and trying not to go slowly insane.

His Touch | Mature | 1,006 words

When Baron Zemo touched Bucky’s face, Sam Wilson saw red.

Bucky just wants Sam to comfort him.

rusted | Teen | 2,358 words

Bucky doesn’t grace him with a sound of acknowledgement. He’s been quiet, ever since that night with Zemo. Well. Quieter. It’s almost like. Every time he opens his mouth, he’s half-expecting the Winter Soldier to come out.

He hasn’t, yet. Won’t, ever again. Not unbidden. Sam’s sure of that. Bucky, not so much.

‘You busy?’

‘’m scouring the—’

‘Good,’ Sam cuts the idiot off, ‘I need you to help me shave.’

advanced therapy methods for large adult men | 2 parts | 11,717 words

part 1: The Gottman Method for Dealing with Conflict | Mature | 4,187 words

Bucky and Dr. Raynor have a follow-up session and two entirely different conversations about his relationship status.

Or: Let's do more couples therapy, James.

it’s always Bucky’s Fault | 3 parts | 20,089 words

part 1: Did you see it? | Explicit | 3,905 words

In which there's supposedly a viral video of the Winter Soldier on his knees sucking off Captain America.

Everything is, like always, completely Bucky's fault.

CANON DIVERGENCE

Even in the Present (I Am Living in the Past) | Teen | 16,977 words

Sometimes Sam still questions everything about his ability to shoulder the 80-year legacy he now bears. His history, and the history of his loss, sticks with him and even in healing he doubts whether or not he is able to fulfil his purpose, and whether he may find lasting peace and happiness.

Told in fluid-fragments, the story moves between his therapy sessions after his return from active duty and the post-Endgame present.

You never forget your first | Teen | 3,650 words

The story of Bucky and Sam getting together in a series of firsts.

leftovers | Mature | 19,249 words

With the New Avengers up and running, Sam finally has time to start dating again. Unfortunately, it's not going as well as he'd hoped.

Partners | Explicit | 7,235 words

Sam's not sure if he can be Captain America. He's not a supersoldier. He can't throw the shield. He's just a dude.

And Bucky Barnes is just a nuisance, albeit a pretty good-looking one.

I’ll explain everything to the geese | Explicit | 50,949 words

Bucky is so competent that it hurts my feelings is not a rational complaint to have about a person, and yet, after a year of being Captain America and partnering up with Bucky for the new and improved, post-Blip Avengers, that’s kinda how Sam’s feeling.

It’s not great. It maybe leads to Sam making some rash, ill-advised decisions like claiming he has a previously undisclosed superpower, and then getting caught in a web of lies when he ends up actually developing that surprisingly inconvenient superpower. Talking to birds had seemed like a harmless superpower, but it turns out that birds have a lot of opinions, and they don’t hesitate to tell Sam about them, especially when it comes to his supposedly subpar courting skills. Which is ridiculous, because Sam isn’t courting Bucky. Right?

Night Swimming | Teen | 2,056 words

“Come on. The princess has a new arm for you and I gotta see if there’s a barber around here willing to tackle your…” Sam waved a hand at Bucky’s face.

“I don’t want a new arm,” Bucky immediately bit out.

And then -

“I can cut my own damn hair.”

Sam just raised both eyebrows. Crossed his arms over his chest again.

Dared Bucky to prove him wrong.

AU

Cpvert Coffee & Flirtation Specialist | General | 5,542 words

The reporter says "—for Captain America to—"

And Bucky rolls his eyes. "Oh, here we go."

Sam looks at him then tips his head sideways, got a weird grin on his face. "Not a fan?"

"Not that. Just… the guy seems too good to be true, right? Wings and a shield?? Come on."

"Uh, is that why your eyes are like glued to the screen whenever he's on?" Kate says. "Is that why you call him Captain Tight Ass?"

"He's a goddamn show-off, and you know it. Tight ass or not."

Just then Sam snorts, real loud, grabs his coffee and suffers a horribly controlled laugh on his way out the door.

Stolen Moments | Teen | 98,767 words

“No,” Sam said, chuckling. “I don’t cheat,” he swept his gaze up and down James’ body, “even with guys who look like you. But, I’m bored and a little pissed, so if you wanna sit here and shoot the shit ‘til my man shows back up, I’m game.”

Never one to back to back down from a challenge - especially a challenge who looked like Sam Wilson - Bucky took another swig from his bottle and replied, “Sure, doll. I’ve got nothing but time.”

Steve has Sam. Bucky wants Sam. Sam wasn’t expecting any of this.

Such a Whirlwind Since I Saw You | Teen | 10,871 words

The Men of Letters turned Bucky Barnes into a weapon. Hunters Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanov are determined to save him, but they're going to need Sam Wilson's help.

“So you want me to ditch work, drive across America with you until you find your friend, who you thought was dead - all while avoiding some high-tech hunters who are out for blood?” Sam is asking.

Steve shrugs a shoulder, looking a little sheepish. Natasha almost laughs at the dry tone of Sam’s voice, but he's not wrong.

You Got What I Need? | Explicit | 37,588 words

Sam and Bucky are both in a bind, professionally. Nat points out a solution that neither men like. To save their careers they play along or rather, stop playing all together.

#marvel #sam wilson #bucky barnes #tfatws #sambucky #sambucky fanfiction #sambucky fic recs #fic recs #usermarcy #usersof #tusernini #tusersammy #usersmile #usersamanne #usercross #sambucky fanfic #my fic recs

[yourtamaki]

the broken melody of us

matsukawa x f!reader

word count: 4k

request: mattsun hurt/comfort + neglect?

warnings: hurt/comfort, neglect, body worship, praise kink, oral (f receiving), unprotected sex, creampie, cockwarming

it was a song and dance at this point. a well rehearsed play with a blinding spotlight on the exhausted actors onstage. both of you go through the motions, no life behind the words you’ve spoken so many times they held no meaning anymore. you don’t know why you keep up the charade. you never expect a different result yet still you pick up the phone everyday and call your boyfriend. 

“you think you’ll be home in time for dinner?” 

sometimes you get a different, automated message. “maybe. might have to stay late,” or “can’t, i’ve gotta finish something up,” or your least favourite. a simple, clipped, “no.” 

“don’t stay out too late.” you should cut this part from the script, he never listens. 

“i’ll try.” 

“i love you.” this line is always to be spoken quietly, followed by holding your breath while you wait for his response. it’s the only reason you make these calls. this is your only chance to hear him say it and pretend he means it as much as he once did.

“love you too.” the line goes dead, the lights dim and he’s gone. you’re alone on an empty stage staring out at a bored audience. bored of the foolish protagonist who keeps them locked in the theatre, playing the same ending over and over and expecting something to give, to change. they watch on, silent and judging while you barter away what little dignity you have left. 

let them watch. 

the rejection doesn’t sting as badly as it used to. you’ve learned to bear it, swallow down the hurt that sits like a stone in your gut and go about your day, filling it with any meaningless errand that would stop your mind from wandering back to him. 

mattsun was subtle, you could give him that much. the way he slowly pulled away from your arms until you could hardly remember how he felt beneath your palms. the realization that you don’t really know your boyfriend anymore was slow to hit you but it knocked the air out of your lungs when it did. it crashed down on you when you woke in the middle of the night and turned to stare at his back gently rising and falling with every breath. his hair is longer then you remember and you don’t know why the thought has a lump forming in your throat. you focus instead on the broad expanse of his back. he’s tense, even in sleep, shoulders rigid and you’re sure if you could see his face, his brows would be furrowed. subtle changes that are enough for you to realize you’ve been shut out of his life.

you used to know him. when you were university kids who thought the future would never catch up to them and spent countless days in each other’s company. it wasn’t so much you knew him, it felt like you were him. and he was you. less attached to the hip and more intertwined with one another. you two were of one mind, to the point where you knew what the other needed before they’d even say it. 

your mattsun who was always just a text away. 

your mattsun who would indulge your late night drives, who would look at you with a permanent crooked smile on his face and love in his eyes. 

“you think we’ll always be like this?” you said one night, straddling him in panties and a baggy hoodie in the backseat and lazily kissing beneath the stars. and because he was yours and understood every little anxious thought that crossed your mind, he didn’t question why you were asking, didn’t make you explain what you meant, didn’t try to make a half assed joke about it. 

his hands trailed up your sides as he contemplated his answer, sending shivers up your spine. “probably not. things always change. we’ll change with them.” 

“what if things get worse?” 

“they might. but what if they get better? just cause it’s different doesn’t mean it's scary, angel.” 

“i know. but i hate thinking about it cause things are so good right now. i want it to last forever.” 

“we got time. let’s make the most of it, yeah?” he gripped your hips, slowly grinding you against his growing bulge and pulling you back into a kiss, sighing as your lips slotted together. you took control of the pace and grinned against him when a groan spilled into your mouth. 

“is that your way of saying we should hurry up and fuck?” 

“it’s working, isn’t it?” before you could pull your sweater up over your head, he cupped your face and brought your forehead to his, sincerity shining through his dark eyes. “i’ll always love you. that’ll never change. got it?”

“got it.” you managed to push the words out despite the lump that formed in your throat. he kept his eyes locked on yours as he slid your panties to the side and sank inside you, the familiar stretch a welcome one. 

it was nothing special, one night of many spent panting into each other’s mouths with an unspoken promise still hanging from your lips. but it was a memory you circled back to often, so often you could hear the echo of his vow ring through your head. 

your fears came to pass not long after that. life caught up and tore him from you, leaving you a shattered mess in the aftermath. you tried to fit jagged pieces of yourself back together in an attempt to remake the person you used to be but what stared back at you only left you keenly aware of the empty space he used to reside. 

these days, you like going to the roof of your apartment and letting the wind blow through those countless gaps in your soul. you feel whole for a short while as it whistles through you, the air filled with the broken melody of you, of the relationship that slips past your grasp more everyday. it’s shrill and ear piercing and leaves goosebumps littered on your skin. 

you can’t stop listening to it. 

it’s where you were now, staring out as the sun dipped below the horizon and listening to the haunting sound that’s been your only company in recent memory. later, you’ll go home and crawl into bed desperate for any warmth and no time to miss the heat of a body next to yours. your phone lights up bright in contrast to the darkening sky and it takes you a few moments of staring blankly at the screen for it to sink in that mattsun is trying to call you. 

this isn’t part of the script. 

you don’t know your lines. 

and yet you find yourself answering anyway, hitting the green button before the call drops and you raise your phone to your ear silently. 

“are you okay?” his voice comes out rushed and strung together almost before your phone is pressed to your ear. 

“why’re you asking?” 

“remember that time you failed that essay? i think it was third year and you hid in your room all day and wouldn’t answer the phone?” you did remember. how you couldn’t bear to face the world that day with the crushing weight of failure hanging over you and how shocked you were to see mattsun standing at the front door. “did i ever tell you why i checked up on you?” 

“no.” 

“the whole day i felt, in my gut, like i needed to see you. i can’t describe it, it was like a stab that just dug deeper until i went to your place. would you believe me if i said i have that feeling right now?” 

“i- i would.” you say quietly, wondering if he could even hear you over the roar of the wind. 

“are you okay?” he repeats. there’s a weight behind his words that has tears springing to your eyes. 

“no, issei ‘m not.” 

“i’m almost home, i’m parking right now. i’ll be up in a few minutes, okay? wait for me, angel.” 

you were always waiting for him, weren’t you? what's a couple more minutes? you hang up and try in vain push down the wave of anxiousness that hits you. it’s just mattsun, you try to remind yourself. even if it’s been awhile since you’ve really felt like a part of his life, he’s still the person you fell in love with. right?

even if the issei from the past would never have made you feel so alone. the issei that was free from the hardships of real life, of 9-5s and bills due and rent to pay. you miss that issei, mourn for him on empty rooftops everyday. maybe he’s still alive somewhere within this new issei but it’s not like you would know. 

you head off the roof, shivering slightly as you make your way home. the days were only getting colder, you should’ve known not to stay out for so long. you were trying to get your shaky hands to cooperate and unlock the door when you hear the elevator dings open and your name being called out. 

“you weren’t home?” he asks, gently prying your keys from your grasp and opening the door for you both. as soon as he locks it behind you, his hands are covering yours once more. “baby you’re freezing.” 

words. where were your words? you couldn’t call up any as he brought your joined hands to his mouth, blowing hot air on them and rubbing them between his to warm them up. this is the closest you’ve been to him in who knows how long and you couldn’t summon up a single sentence. it’s not your fault. his attention has always stunned you into silence. 

he thought you were painfully shy the first time you met and though that was half true, you mostly found yourself silently panicking about the handsome man that suddenly sat beside you. the professor had paired the class off to discuss the readings for that lecture and your interest had only come to life when you saw the dark haired man make his way to you. 

“i’m gonna be honest.” he said as he plopped down beside you and showed you the blank document open on his laptop. “i have no idea what we’re supposed to be doing right now. do you?” 

it was his eyes, you decided much later, hugging your pillow and staring at the text you just received from a new number. you came alive under his gaze like you could finally catch your breath, everything dull until his eyes landed on you. you don’t believe in love at first sight, this was something different. it was the dust of collapsing stars finding each other once more. it was strings of fate being braided together. it was more profound, more important than love and it all happened in a moment. 

you nodded in response to his earlier question though it was clear neither of you were paying any attention to what was going on in class, too caught up in the small bubble that surrounded you and drowned out the rest of the world. 

“matsukawa. i’m- my name’s matsukawa.” you must’ve given your name in return judging by the smile he gave you in return. “so what’re we doing, partner?”

this time, you forced a proper response, intensely aware of how you held yourself in a way you’ve never been before. “yeah, she just wants us to talk about today’s reading.” 

matsukawa watched you pull up your notes, resting his head in his hand while you began explaining the general concepts. you paused when you noticed he was still looking at you and not at the notes you had angled towards him. 

“am i explaining it okay?” 

“we’re a month into the semester, how have i not noticed you before?” 

“guess you don’t notice something you’re not looking for.” 

just then the professor grabbed everyone’s attention, the student’s quietly migrating back to their seats but matsukawa stayed where he was. instead, you could just hear him speak under his breath, more to himself then to you but you still managed to pick it up, your face going hot as it echoed in your head. “trust me, i’m looking now.” 

the memory leaves you more vulnerable than you expected, soft in his arms as the numbness finally fades and the shaking stops.

“where were you?” he says.

“the roof.” his brows furrow, lips pulled down in a frown. it’s strange feeling yourself falling back into reading him so easily, not needing him to ask to know he wanted you to explain why. “i like going up there. this place is too quiet with just me in it.” 

the longer you watch him, the more you pick up from his body language. the confusion then understanding that flits across his face, the underlying care you’re so familiar with as he smooths his thumb over the back of your hand. but more than anything you start to see his guilt. his muscles are rigid with it, it swims in his eyes that never quite seem to meet yours. 

“i’ve fucked up, haven't i?” he finally says when he realizes you won’t be the one to breach the subject. 

“issei…”

“no, i have. things have been so endless, i feel like i’m half awake and i’ve hurt you because of it.” 

you squeeze his hands, trying to reassure him. “just talk to me. please.” 

“i hate it. work is nonstop, everyday is the same shit over and over. it’s just a wave that keeps knocking me down and i can barely get my footing before it pushes me down again. and every day i think about quitting just to get ready the next morning. 

“if i was alone, if… if i didn’t have you i would’ve quit so long ago but i want to give you the life you deserve and i can’t do that if i’m broke. and it all might be for nothing cause i might’ve lost you already.” 

the confession ends with mattsun clearing his throat, blinking fast and concentrating solely on your laced hands. you can’t seem to catch your breath, struggling under the weight he had carried silently until now as he finally shares the burden with you. 

“you haven’t lost me, issei. look at me.” you wait until his eyes meet yours before dropping your voice to a whisper. “you haven’t lost me.”

“i don’t deserve you.” 

“it’s not about deserving, i chose you. i chose to love you, i chose to stay when things got bad. yeah, you hurt me.” it’s impossible to miss the full body flinch at your words, “and i’m not ready to forgive you just yet. but that doesn’t mean i’m giving up on us. i don’t want you working yourself to death for me. i don’t care where we live or how much money you spend on me. i don’t need all of that, i just need you. got it?” 

“got it.” you see his adam’s apple bob as he swallows down whatever feeling overcomes him, “i’m sorry.”

“i know.”

“tell me what you need, please. i need- i need to make this right.” 

you answer by leaning forward and mattsun meets you halfway. the kiss is soft in contrast to the way you bundle the front of his shirt in your fists, afraid the moment might end before it’s even begun but mattsun takes his time cherishing you. there’s regret and gratitude and love that dances across your tongue and the taste has pressure building behind your eyes. 

it isn’t enough. you need him closer, need him to line the cracks of your soul with his touch. you pull just far back enough to break the kiss and mumble against his lips, “more, ‘sei please. i’m so cold.” 

“anything you want, pretty baby. let me make you feel good, yeah?” 

his lips crash back down on yours with renewed eagerness. there’s a desperation that wasn’t there a moment ago fuelling you both and urging you to stumble blind into the bedroom, barely letting your mouths detach as you fumble and undress each other. 

it’s not until you’re naked before him that your head clears a bit and shyness comes creeping in. he cups your face as though he could sense you curling into yourself and simply says, “beautiful.” 

the utter conviction in his voice is enough to dispel any insecurities before they have a chance to latch on and you turn your head to kiss the center of his palm, silently telling him you were all right. together you land in a tangled heap in bed, his half hard cock resting on your thigh. mattsun kisses his way down your neck, licking and sucking at every sensitive spot he had mapped out over the years. 

“issei…” you say, impatience tinging your voice as you feel your core throb with need. 

“i’ll get you there, angel, you know i will. let me take my time, i missed you.” 

true to his word, he began kissing every inch of skin he could reach. your tits, your stomach, your thighs all the way down to your ankles, he made sure to shower with affection. it’s nearly overwhelming. you knew you were starved for his attention but it feels like something breaks loose inside you the longer his mouth trails over your body, whispering declarations into your skin that left you tingling in his wake. by the time his fingers dip between your legs, your thighs are sticky with arousal, clit thrumming and begging to be touched. 

“look at my pretty baby’s pussy. all wet just for me?” 

“mhmm ‘s all for you, issei.” 

he hums, swirling his middle finger around your entrance and pressing the thick digit inside with ease. it’s only a few pumps later he adds another, stretching out your gummy walls. his other hand drifts over your mound, his thumb finally giving your clit some attention as his fingers graze over a spot inside you that has your hips rising off the bed. 

“stay still. you want to be my good girl, right?” the quiet authority that radiates from mattsun has you clenching around him, doing your best to do as he asks and keep your legs spread for him. “there you go. you’re taking me so well, baby. you’re close, aren’t you? i can feel it” 

mattsun loves showing off how well he knew your body, how it never took long for you to crumble beneath him. a few more idle circles with the pad of his thumb and your orgasm washes over you, rising gently and leaving you relaxed in its wake. 

that state didn’t last long as he replaces his thumb with his mouth, sucking at your clit that twitches against his tongue, still sensitive from your high. “issei! w-wait please give me a sec-” 

his glare is enough to cut through your babbling, his fingers never slowing in their strokes against that sweet spot. you let out a low moan as he adds yet another finger, the stretch just shy of uncomfortable but it’s quick to fade into pleasure once again. the flame in your gut is far more intense this time and you can’t stop the whimpers he pulls from you. you thread your fingers through his dark curls, tugging on them and pulling him deeper into your folds.

“that’s it, princess. cum on my tongue and i’ll stuff you full, i promise. you can do it, c’mon baby.” 

the encouragement has the coil in your gut tightening once more and the lewd sounds of mattsun lapping up every drop that escapes you is enough to snap it. when the blood stops ringing in your ears, you realize he’s shifted your positions. he’s sat cross-legged on the bed with you pulled into his lap, legs locked around his waist. his cock is pinned between your stomachs, smearing precum on your skin and your mouth waters as you catch sight of the blushing tip. 

he whispers your name to grab your attention, naked devotion plain on his face when you gaze up at him. “i love you.” 

this. this was your breaking point. the words you longed to hear every time you picked up the phone for those dreaded calls. your vision blurs with tears that well up and spill down your cheeks before you could blink them away. “you do?” 

“i do, baby, with everything i’ve got. i-“ he falters for a moments, visibly steeling himself for what he wanted to say. “i want to spend the rest of my life with you. there’s not a future i can picture that doesn’t include you. you’re it for me.” 

“i want that too ‘sei.” you hiccup, more tears trickle out faster than you can wipe them clear. 

you feel his whole body relax, hands rubbing at your sides to soothe you. “don’t cry, angel. wait till i’m inside you at least.” 

“shut up.” your laugh comes out watery but it feels good to smile. “how do you go from sweet to nasty so fast?” 

“just wanted to see you smile.” you try and fail to suppress another grin that only widens when mattsun peppers your cheeks with loud kisses. “so pretty and all mine.”

“all yours.” you repeat, grinding your soaked folds along the underside of his cock. “and you’re mine, right?” 

“that’s right, princess. go on, take what’s yours.” 

sinking down on mattsun feels like coming home, the empty ache finally gone as he fills you and you both moan when he bottoms out. there’s no way for you to bounce in this position but you find that you don’t mind. you feel closer to him like this, what little space there is between you vibrating with how vulnerable you both were. 

it’s relaxing, slowly rolling your hips against each other, not building towards anything and indulging in the other’s touch. your hands roam across his broad back, sucking dark marks into his neck while he grabs at your ass, kneading and groping so possessively you clench around him. 

“fuck.” he groans next to your ear. “keeping squeezing me with that princess cunt, you feel so fucking good. just like that, good girl.” 

“issei…” you whimper, pressure gradually building in your gut as your grinding gets sloppy and legs grow weak. 

“what is it, baby? use your words.” 

“want more, ‘sei i want your cum.” 

“yeah? want me to fill up this greedy pussy and keep you warm with my cum?” he leans forward, keeping you cradled in his arms as your back hits the mattress, your legs still crossed around his waist keeping him as close to you as possible. 

you nod, half delirious with need and mattsun begins thrusting in earnest. his cock is so thick he nudges against every sensitive spot along your walls, his tip battering just below your cervix and hitting so deep you swear you can feel it in your throat. his hands pry yours open from where you had been gripping the sheets and laces his fingers with yours. a swell of love rises in you and has you gasping for air as he fucks you into the mattress. you can’t even hear your own moans over the squelch as you grow wetter and wetter and the smack of his heavy balls against your ass.

your orgasm takes both of you by surprise, ripping through you so violently you’re left a shaking mess. mattsun’s hips stutter, bucking wildly into you as he nears his own high and you stare in awe as he reaches it. it’s a sight you’ll never get enough of, how beautiful he looks as he spills endlessly inside you, mindlessly grinding it deeper with his softening cock. 

“you okay, angel?” he asks, pulling you in for a sweet, lingering kiss. 

“mhmm. can we stay like this?” you weren’t ready to put any space between you, not so soon after reconnecting.

“‘course we can.” he settles over you, knowing exactly what you need. his weight a reassurance that grounds you in a way words never could. it’s a conversation in its own right, one that could only pass between two people who knew each other as well as you knew each other. in the quiet afterglow he tells you that he’s here with you. that you were going to work on being okay again. that he wouldn’t let you feel that lonely ever again. and you believe him with every fibre of your being. 

dedicated to: @honeykeigo @ohno-otome @keigobaby @saintdabi @toshidou @sawam0chi

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