#and some would die after but like. come on. there still have to be some

[derangedroyalfae]

There was this one time I almost died cuz my mom’s car ran out of gas at one of the most horrendous of times. We were trying to make a turn at an intersection to enter the Costco parking lot to use the gas station, but of course it had to die after we started turning left and we’re partially in the soon-to-be oncoming traffic.

My mom gets out to start pushing the car, and has me (I’m a minor at the time, I wanna say a pre-teen) sit in the driver seat just in case it needs to be steered or the breaks be hit. It’s a small car, so she’s able to make some progress, but it’s still a fucking car, so of course it’s heavy. These young men/older boys see us and they’re on the sidewalk across the street parallel to the parking lot from the other direction we’re coming from, but without even being asked, they still stopped what they were doing, ran across the street despite the lights for oncoming traffic going to turn soon, and proceeded to help my mom push her car.

I can’t quite recall the details of the end bit, mainly cuz I had a near death experience, since I guess the brakes on the car were acting up at the time, so when this long as fuck FedEx truck started to come the direction that we were, and it was coming FAST, I started to slam the breaks but…whoops…brakes no work right now. Everyone started yelling for me to hit the brakes which is making me panic even more. The FedEx truck missed me but just barely. If it had been going just a lil slower, I would have more than likely died.

But honestly, the way those guys helped, despite having no obligation to, has stuck with me to this very day. I don’t think they even expected anything from us after helping, they just genuinely wanted to help cuz they were good people.

And trust me, as someone who was a psych major, I know how easy it could have been for them to just fall to bystander bias, but they didn’t.

Being born with a Y chromosome, a penis between your legs, and/or naturally having higher testosterone levels when going through puberty does not make someone an inherently evil person. In fact, all the abusive people in my life that have come for me personally have been cis women.

Radfems need to touch some grass and seek a therapist.

I see the radfems out there saying that every man who's ever been born is a psychopath who's constantly looking for an opportunity to commit a felony and then I remember this one time I was really struggling to get a shopping cart out of another shopping cart and a dude came over to help me, but he couldn't do it, and then another dude came over to help him, and then another came over because it was a challenge he wanted in on, and then I had 3 guys all tearing at a stuck shopping cart, and literally none of them even needed a cart.

And when they got it out, they fist pumped and I said thanks so much and one of them said "easy." And then they left.

And it's like.

I don't think radfems go outside.

[e-therealife]

gf!nat headcanons

type of person to show up at your house without calling first. she figures if you're not there, she's interested as to why and is now gonna wait until you are. probably inside your room within thirty seconds flat. second story? doesn't matter. idk man she's finding a way to scale walls.

probably also jumps out to scare you when you come back.

if you have work or some obligation that you don't wanna go to, she's suddenly trying out everything possible to keep you home/get you to go out with her.

"look, we can totally fake a funeral obituary. someone'll cover your shift for that. now sit down. we've gotta figure out how i tragically died." “you're telling me [literally any food you love] doesn't sound good right now? i'll buy.” doesn't even matter if she hates the food because she just needs to keep you focused on her and doesn't want you to be stressed out about 'stupid stuff.'

rummages through your closet when she's over and tries on your clothes like it's a fashion show. definitely imitates you when she does it.

"no, you totally sound like that. i'd know."

she's sleeping in her makeup all the time. also in her clothes from the day. when you guys start spending nights together, you're wiping her makeup off for her and helping her change. soon, you swear she's wearing makeup and uncomfortable clothes more often just so you'll help her (she is), but she'd never admit to it.

not the best with physical affection, so she's always trying to get you to get sleepy first so you're cuddling up to her or so she can cuddle up to you once you fall asleep.

when you wake up in the morning, she's usually already awake, likely out buying you some really greasy or sweet breakfast. if she's still sleeping when you wake up, she will die on the hill that you were the one who was being all cuddly (despite her being literally on top of you).

tries to show you soccer tricks then fucking trips over her feet and falls on her face.

"watch this," ends up being the funniest phrase you hear from her. she's not even giving up after one attempt, especially if she's not sober.

"you didn't see that."  "what are you talking about?"  "you clearly don't even know how it's supposed to look."

late to/skips class a lot, but if you let her know you're gonna be absent and need notes, she'll be there the entire time, taking everything down so attentively. she's shushing whoever tries to talk to her. 

willing to slip into classes she's not even in. jotting down everything because she doesn't know wtf is going on.

you're potentially banned from soccer games by the team because nat gets too nervous and messes up in front of you.

alright i don't smoke but i read this thing about shotgunning and oh my GOD??? YES she's doing that if you smoke. where are fics with this because hello?

probably tries to keep you away from drinking or smoking if you haven't started yet, though.

would looove roadtrips. also so a one hand on the wheel and the other on your thigh person.

loves seeing you without makeup, especially if you wear it a lot. absolutely encourages you to do whatever makes you happy and loves seeing you express yourself, but she finds little moments where you're sleeping or something all barefaced so soft. she needs you to know you can be comfortable around her.

however, if you are wearing makeup, she loves those lipstick marks a kiss can leave. or if your makeup gets messy (somehow…).

modern au

she's the type of person to send like stupid cat tiktoks and be like "this is u." also says the same thing with the most ridiculous videos of people doing stupid shit.

she's ragequitting video games left and right. if you're playing together and she dies over something stupid (ESPECIALLY if she's killed by an annoying kid or something) you just hear her mic go silent as she mutes it and curses for a minute.

if someone's fighting with her in chat she's forgotten about the game entirely and you can hear her speedtyping angrily.

if you're there in person while she's playing (which she's only doing this if you actively wanna watch. she'd never ignore you to play a game.), you get to see her start swearing at her screen (her accent def comes out for this.).

"are you fuckin' fucking with me? how is this not patched?"  "did i seriously pay for this shit?" "and he's not banned? i can't call someone a prick, and he's not banned?"  "he's hacking. i know it." “aimbot.”

also if someone's making fun of you on a game (even if you suck) she's forgetting about winning and just screwing with them the entire time instead. will sacrifice getting reported for throwing to avenge you.

definitely knows like all internet jokes so she's practically speaking in another language sometimes.

SHARING HEADPHONES and she's only using wired. rejects bluetooth. embraces it when her wires get caught on everything.

author's note: alright friends. this is my first tumblr post ever. let me know if you liked it, and feel free to chat with me! i'm pretty new to tumblr lol so i really don't know what i'm doing. i've got more stuff i'm working on right now and i'm done with finals in a week sooo stay tuned for more posts!

[chigsprincess]

helloaaa how r u?? I want to request headcannons of bllk boys, mainly shidou but u can add whoever else, in a relationship with someone with LONG HAIR. like tailbone length… I’ve seen some of ur work and I’ve been fascinated..

thank u and have a wonderful day! c:

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

a/n: hii! thank you so much for requesting! i hope you have an awesome day as well! to be fair my hair was always on the shorter side but i asked around in my friend group, so hopefully i still managed to make it relatable for the long haired baddies out there!

how they’d act with a s/o who has extra long hair -r.shidou, h.chigiri, s.itoshi, y.isagi

Shidou Ryusei

He is having a field day with it. Literally never gets bored of using it as a beard.

Ties bows in it on a daily basis and just accepts the beating that comes as a consequence.

Has mad respect for you. It’s a nightmare to maintain, and he makes it worse.

Always begs for matching pink highlights, you should just give in at this point.

Beats up creepy strangers who try to touch it without permission on the streets.

Tries to braid both of your hair together in one of those ‘best friends’ hairstyles.

Definitely says shit like: “I want to die tangled in that thing.” all the time.

Chigiri Hyoma

You two have dedicated hair care days, where you help each other put hair masks on and blow dry the other’s hair for them.

You are partly the reason he is growing his own hair out. Definitely wants to catch up to you.

Every day is a scavenger hunt for hair ties in your home.

You two always wear matching hairstyles when you go out on a date.

He hides under it when he is cuddling you from behind.

Secretly uses your expensive conditioner sometimes.

Itoshi Sae

Had no idea it would be this annoying to live with you.

Finds hair in every meal he has, even if he wasn’t in your immediate vicinity when he started eating.

“Day 289 of unclogging the drains I’m starting to lose hope.”

Complains about it all the time, but he finds it extremely beautiful. When you mention cutting it, so it won’t bother him anymore, he instantly says no.

You leave him cute hearts on the shower wall made from the hairs that stuck on it. He is absolutely done with you.

Gets you one of those pet hair removal rolls for every major occasion, along with your actual presents.

Smirks every time you get caught up on the doorknob or in a zipper.

Isagi Yoichi

Thinks you look like a goddess. (and the girl from the ring sometimes.) It looks so pretty and majestic, he adores it so much.

Takes the time to learn about how to properly care for long hair and helps you out on days you are stressed.

Likes it best if you let it hang loose and don’t tie it up, even if the wind blows it into his mouth every 30 seconds.

Likes burying his face in it after a long day of practice. It’s so soft and smells so nice.

Loves public appearances where he can take you with him. Enjoys how mesmerized the people are when they see your hair for the first time.

Calls you his Disney princess all the time.

word count: 487

[midnghtprentiss]

Can I request for Jack Abbot x fem reader? Their child wanted pet(s) and Jack just wouldn't let him since he wasn't convinced that they would take care of it and he's busy with work and so does her. Their kid persuaded her and she tried to tempted Jack to give in. Doing everything just to let him say yes. Jack knew his answer but just wanted to mess you with them🫣. Kisses, fluff, suggestive. Thanks!! :))

a/n: this is my first request omg omg omg, i absolutely loved your request! i changed a few times but hope it matches what you wanted. have fun dear. sorry if there's some mistakes, english is not my first language. enjoyyyy :)

mission called convincing daddy to get us what we want - jack abbot

pairing: jack abbot x wife!reader warnings: jack as girls dad, suggestive content

Parenthood was amazing. You loved it more than you expected. You loved being a mom as much as Jack loved being a dad and he was really proud to be a girl's dad. Your twin girls were the reason for him to absolutely love the new version of him. 

Evangeline and Cecilia were his sunshine, his everything. He would die and kill if meant to make them smile. Even before they came to the world he was excited about the idea of having two versions of himself with the person he loves. He spent nights imagining how life would be so much cooler and brighter, he even confessed to you that he always wanted to be a girl dad but never had the chance to make it right before you. 

The whole pregnancy wasn’t easy, you had a lot of pain, restrictions and anxiety at the same time. Growing two girls at once was a hell of a full time job and apparently will be for a long time. You were eating more, sleeping more, feeling bigger than ever, you can’t even count how many clothes didn’t fit anymore. You started by doing less shifts and when you did, Jack made sure you didn’t work harder, which led you to a few fights. 

“Jack, pregnancy is not a disease. I am more than capable of doing my job and still have two children inside of me.” 

“I’m not letting you do everything you want so you can prove something to other people.” You laughed in his face.

“I am a doctor first and then a mother. So please, let me enjoy this moment before I’ll spend my days being known only as a mother.” 

Everything changed when you got to hold your girls for the first time and actually be a better mom than the one you have. It was a full time job, the hardest job you’ve ever had, 24/7 of being alert and on the edge of your seat for the smallest things. You didn’t showered for almost a week after you got to bring them home, you cried when they cried and the worst part of it all was the excruciating feeling that you were already failing. 

Jack was your number one supporter, your safe haven and he was happy to be there. He dealt with the sleepless nights like a champ, always holding the girls, giving them what they needed just for you to sleep for a while, he didn't even complain about being sleep deprived, he just accepted it. But he never told you how terrified he was of sucking at the only job he couldn’t fail. How he was afraid of sleeping and missing something important, or how anxious he was when they were out of his plain sight. He didn’t tell you he almost gave up being a doctor to stay with the girls. 

As they grew up, you both understood how to be better parents and that brought you closer than ever, creating boundaries and rules to make this right. You agreed on coming back to work at your own pace, making cohesive schedules and trying your best not to go home during shifts. You worked the day shift so he stayed with them and he stayed with the girls all day and he worked at night shift for you to be home during bedtime. 

Real teamwork.

Cecilia was like a mini version of Jack. She was bossy, talkative and had the same bad attitude as him, which sometimes made your life so difficult, but she was glued to you. Everywhere you went, she was there like a shadow. Evangeline was a whole version of you, she was sweet, calm and did her best to be nice to everyone and yet Jack was the only one who could calm her down when she wasn’t having a good day. 

There were nights Ange cried non stop because she wanted daddy and as a consequence Cece cried because her sister was crying. You have to call him at two in the morning, knowing he was busy with a trauma, trying your best to not cry on the phone, asking him to talk to her. Or when Cece was giving him an attitude because he wanted her mama so bad that everyone else was an enemy, he had to call you just for her to feel better. 

You decided to change your tactics again and put the girls to socialize in preschool. At first you hated the idea as much as Jack but eventually you decided to give it a try. They absolutely loved it. The first week was filled with tears and anxiety (from you, especially), the desire of bringing them home and putting the whole experiment behind. By the second week the girls begin to cry less and be more excited about going. It was a relief for your mind and both of you could focus more at work. 

At six years old you could see these girls were smarter than you imagined. They talked about what they learned at kindergarten and included details about everything they knew and saw. There was no better feeling than watching your favorite human beings embracing their personality. 

One day after school during a pick up, you noticed them speaking quietly and giggling with each other pointing at some drawings in their notebooks. 

“What’s happening here? Am I missing something?” Ange and Cece looked at each other and giggled louder. 

“Mama, we want a dog.” Cece screamed and lifted up her piece of paper. 

“Oh really? Why do you want a dog?” You asked curious. 

“Today Mrs. Sunny told us about responsibilities and she told us having a pet helped us with that.” Ange was so excited and her sister was agreeing on everything. “We are big girls now.” Big girls that made her father look under the bed every night for monsters.

“Girls, having a pet is a big thing. Me and daddy are really busy taking care of more things to have animals.” You tried to sound soft, knowing how emotional they can get. “Plus, I don’t if you’re ready for this kind of responsibility.” 

“We can help!” Cece jumped in, “We can give them food, water, snuggles and we can take them to our walks with daddy.” 

That would be fun, you think to yourself, Jack was going to have a stroke when you tell him that. Or better, you’ll let them speak to him. 

The idea of a pet was something you and him already talked about. During your pregnancy you had long conversations with your husbands on the subject, you grew up with animals and in fact helped you with the responsibility of taking care of the people you loved. He wasn’t against it, but you’re both busy and now with two kids taking a lot of attention and time, an animal would make it worse and more chaotic. 

“I agree with you, girls.” Of course you agreed with them, the smiles they gave you is more than enough. “We need to convince dad to let us have a pet, what do you think?” They squealed and laughed, starting to make some plans and creating some crazy scenarios where the pet was included. “I suggest you two work on something really good for him and we talk about this before dinner, alright?”

When you got home, Jack was already waiting outside. Crossed arms, polo shirt, faded jeans. What a view. The moment he opened the car door for them, they were already on him, talking about their day and showering him with hints about the conversation that would happen later. 

He just looked at you confused and nodding with whatever sentence was coming out of their mouths. You walked behind them, contemplating the sweet view of your family. 

While Cece and Angel were doing their homework, you were studying a few things for your lecture and Jack was making dinner. You approached him quietly and held his face to make him look directly at you. 

“We have a problem, a big one.” His heart almost stopped at your words. “They want a dog.” 

“Really?” He chuckled, going back to slicing the onions. 

“Something about Mrs. Sunny teaching about responsibility.” You poured yourself some wine and leaned against the counter. “They are on a mission called convincing daddy to get us what we want. It’s gonna be tough on you, buddy.” 

“What exactly did you say to them?” He put the knife down and stared at you. 

“I said the truth. We’re busy and getting a pet would add more chaos into our lives but I said yes.” You said quietly and he raised his eyebrows. “I can’t resist them, you know that!”

Dinner was chaotic. Cecilia and Evangeline were on fire telling all the good reasons for having cats and dogs. They even called themselves ‘doctor daughters’ and their specialty is love and snuggles. You held your smile the whole time, while Jack was so hypnotized by them he didn���t even blink. 

“Girl, I understand you really really really want that but we need to discuss it better.”  Their eyes were full of water and while he talked about their busy life, their school time and the extracurricular they do, a dog was harder. 

“But we are good girls, daddy.” You almost got up and went to the nearest shelter to get the damn dog. 

“I know, bug.”

After bedtime you were laying next to Jack, tracing lines in his chest and you couldn’t stop thinking about their wish of having an animal. Jack knew this conversation was about to happen for the way you tucked them in bed and he heard you saying you would try to convince him using your ‘supermom powers’. Before the conversation started he was already laughing. 

You smacked his chest and rolled your eyes, trying to focus on whatever you were about to say to him. 

“You know why we can’t have a dog.” You looked at him. 

“Why not? Are you afraid he will steal your prosthetic leg?” He burst out laughing holding your arm.

“You would like that, didn’t you?” He teased and your eyes studied his face. 

“Jack, we are raising two girls. A dog can make our job easier.” You think about your next words. “It can teach them responsibility.” 

“A dog can be dangerous.” He found it amusing how you rolled your eyes every time you disagreed. 

“Men are dangerous, a dog is the sweetest thing they can have. Besides, we can use that to make them stop asking for another sibling.” You reminded him, getting more comfortable against his body. 

“You have a very good point, love.”

“Of course I have.”

“A sibling?” You giggled, hiding your face between his chest. “They can have a dog and a sibling, then.” 

“Easy there, tiger. It’s debatable since I’m the one who carries the children here.” 

“Everybody wins something here, just saying.”

“You’re a trouble, Jack Abbot.”

“You married me.” He held your face, caressing your cheeks gently. 

It took Jack three days to get a dog. He talked to an old army friend of his that had the contact of a guy that had retired dogs and just like that, you got a dog - Luke. He’s the nicest, trained and responded very well to the girls clinging on to him. 

You’ve never seen them so excited and happy to have a furry friend and the best part is watching Jack pretending he’s not blusinh watching his girls run around the backyard. You were sitting next to him, listening to Angel and Cece squeal every time Luke licked their faces and screamed when he runs from them. 

“About the sibling situation.” He smirked and watched your face with the same look that got you pregnant before. 

“Not before bedtime, Abbot.” You pushed his shoulder. 

“Can’t wait for our talk later.” 

Maybe life is worth it for the moments like that where everybody is truly happy.

[habken]

Habs I want your 36 hour long YouTube analysis on bnha including thoughts on the new info from the fan book SO bad the toga stuff has me biting holes into the walls

Okay, it’s long:

First, stuff I liked:

Deku:

Good to see deku stocks rise, they doubted my nephew but he always comes out on top 🙏🙏

Circling back to 431, I don’t think it was all bad and I don’t hate it like some people do. I like that it shows us how passionate he is as a teacher and that he was able to carve out a path for himself outside of hero work. I think people were quick to judge him and make assumptions about him after declining Katsuki’s sidekick proposal, and it was Rough having to see Deku get bashed for it for months. I’m so happy that the new info shows that he didn’t give up on those heroic dreams, he just had to find the balance between teaching and being a pro.

I’m over the moon that he’s #4 and that Katsuki’s ranking bounced back too to #5 as a reaction to Deku being back on the hero scene, this is what I wanted so much from the ending, the two of them fighting neck-in-neck, competing for forever, teasing each other and being in each other’s lives… it’s perfect :’))

I think it’s so cool that apparently Deku was still placing in the top 100 despite being retired because of the extended requirements on the hero ranking, but I think that info should have come up in 430. The epilogue suggested that hero charts were going to be restructured or done away with entirely, and I think it’s silly that it’s only vaguely touched on in an art book lol. That should’ve been part of the main ending.

Streets are saying Deku did not get a degree before he started his teaching career… I’m electing to ignore that because I really want to imagine him in uni. I think it’s fair that UA wouldn’t have traditional standards for teachers… but let my boy get some certification before putting him in charge of a class c’mon.. But also this could be a bit of a misinterpretation considering there’s no official english translations out yet.

Also I’m so glad that it’s confirmed the suit mimics the ofa quirks !! I was worried that wasn’t gonna be the case and I was gonna end up disappointed but I can rest easy!

Bakugou:

I talked about him already kind of but the thing I’m happy to learn the most about from the art book is that supposedly older pro heroes have a soft spot for him. I think there’s something really endearing about that, and I feel like despite having a “bad attitude” he’s such a sentimental and sweet character and he’s grown so much from the middle school punk from chapter 1. He’s got this blunt but genuine quality to him and I think that’s what older characters would latch onto.

I am such a big fan of his friendship with todorok and love what they said about it in the book under todoroki’s section. Also a big fan of the tidbit that monoma tried to get close to him after the war, the guy saw him die right, and there’s something very touching about him trying to reach out and check up of katsuki and worm his way into his life because of that trauma idk. I want to make something about their friendship maybe.

Eri:

IThe information that jirou helped eri with guitar lessons fills my heart with so much joy :’)) I love that Eri has so many older siblings who all love her and want to teach her stuff and be part of her life and cheer her on

I really like that she’s pursuing music! I know some people wanted her to go down the hero path too, but I think it’s really nice that she was able to carve out a path that makes her happiest. It’s what first brought a smile to her face! When class A performed! And seeing her be able to live that dream is so nice :’))

Deku and mirio being her biggest cheerleaders also makes me so happyy. Those are her older brothers frfr.

I’m really glad the one shot was focused on her, very great thag we get to see her relationship with aizawa and the teachers, and learn about her life now. I was so worried about what the extra pages were gonna be about and it was such a pleasant surprise lol

Things I’m… less of a fan of:

Uraraka:

It’s genuinely criminal that the art book doesn’t touch on her reformed quirk counselling programs at all. To me, this was one of the most interesting tidbits of info we got from class 1-A in 430, and something I really wish we’d been able to learn more about.

It’s very clear that her character’s potential was tossed aside the entire story, and honestly her relationship with deku was too. I’m not really a fan of izuocha, but I am a lover of character relationships and the lack of growth the two had together throughout the series was very disappointing to me. I think the idea of romance between them and horikoshi’s aversion to writing it got in the way of their actual relationship and it stayed stagnant for too long — which is why 431 feels so disappointing in that regard — because they should have gotten closer in the actual story instead of in an add-on epilogue chapter.

All that to say, from what I’ve seen from the artbook, her info section is taken up mostly by things that relate to izuku, all we really learn is her parents don’t use the money she sends them LMAO. It’s just so strange for her to be both disregarded as a character and labelled the “Love Interest” when it comes to talking about her as her own person, but yet not have really any development alongside the character she’s supposedly going to end up with in the actual story.

She’s apparently there to cheer deku on, that’s the role they want her to have. They don’t care about who she is outside of that even though her entire character is a separate person with a life and a story beyond having a crush on a boy. It’s misogyny lol.

Toga and the LOV:

Speaking of misogyny… Toga’s death :( Learning that there were other options for her is upsetting. The artbook has really reopened my feelings about all the endings for the LoV members.

In my mind toga had the most satisfying ending, but that’s really not saying much. I don’t think she should’ve died, I don’t think her “facing responsibility/taking accountability” had to mean the only ending for her was death. She was a kid, she was mentally ill, she wanted love and to be loved and to me, her death being off-screened and used as canon-fodder for uraraka’s feelings and to be pushed towards izuku was so upsetting.

Idk it just feels like a habit for the female characters to be sidelined and for their sacrifices and deaths to be pushed to the side, it’s aggravating.

With the lov in general, it just seems like the overall message is there’s no real path to redemption, that the only way they could find it is to die. For a story that seems to want to highlight the fact that everyone can be saved, and that things aren’t so black and white, and that it’s the fault in society that drove these “villains” to where they are, it really does treat them as if they’re completely and utterly irredeemable and there was never any hope for them. That they are a product of their nature/nurture and cannot escape it any way but through dying. It’s not even tragic, it feels lazy and unsatisfying and feels like it goes against whatever the message of the story was supposed to be.

Idk I’ve defended mha a lot, and I think there’s a lot of positives in it. I think it does have strong messages that no one person can fix issues that are societal in nature, and that real change comes with forming community and being there for those around us. Etc etc. But I’m disappointed that a lot of the themes of mha fell flat and don’t go deeper than surface level.

I’m upset that horikoshi has made these compelling and very human villains, and shown us their stories and that they’re not all evil at the core, and then decided that their arcs all had to end in pain and suffering.

The one who upsets me the most is Tomura. He’s been one of my favourite characters since the beginning, and I think his ending hit me the worst. To me it felt like he was right on the cusp of something and then afo came in and told him his whole life was a lie, that he was groomed to be an angry man with half a quirk that could only destroy, and every choice he’d ever made was directly under afo’s influence. That he never had any free will, he was always meant to go down this path. I thought for sure the final battle with deku and afo would have shigaraki fighting back against the possession, and I was disappointed that his final moments were barely anything at all.

Learning about his original quirk and the original plans for his ending, it’s made me angry about his arc all over again. Thinking about how things could’ve been, and that there were other options for his final moments, I’m frustrated.

I hate that the villain’s are used as emotional canon fodder, to serve as character development for the heroic main characters, when horikoshi made us so invested in their stories as well. You just end up wanting to root for them, not in a “I want them taking over the world” way, but in a way where they find some sort of happiness. And we kind of maybe get that from toga, but to me all their endings just don’t hit the mark. They feel cheap and unsatisfying, and this art book drives a lot of that home for me.

Anyways yeah. I’m gonna stop myself here before I go crazy lol. Hope this made sense

[pyrodolls]

MORTAL KOMBAT 1 BOYS JEALOUSY HCS

WARNINGS: almost every male character on the main mk1 roster is included, a little bit of angst here and there, established relationships, some mentions of harassment and assholes not taking no for an answer, gender neutral reader, lowercase intended, you can clearly tell havik is the author's favorite, reader condones havik's actions in his part but author doesn't it's just for story purposes, characters may be ooc idk, not proofread we die like sindel

A/N: i got this idea while i was in the shower this morning blasting what is love by twice cuz i finally got around to the khaos reigns dlc yesterday and my interest in mk1 has been revived. also this took me 10 hours to write for some odd reason. also i've never written this many characters before in one part... please like and reblog i really am proud of this and hope you guys like it too <3 also you can tell the more i was writing the longer the paragraphs were getting

doesn't get jealous (he trusts you):

LIU KANG has full faith in your loyalty. he doesn't take it personally when someone flirts with you. he'll gladly step in if the person flirting with you isn't taking a hint, but overall, he isn't bothered. in fact, he's more concerned about your well-being than his. he'll comfort you after the encounter and ask if there's anything he can do to put your mind at ease.

KUAI LIANG would silently watch the interaction from a distance, waiting for the person to leave you alone. similar to liu kang, he trusts you and gives you the chance to defend yourself before he does. he's confident that you wouldn't leave him, but he still stays nearby in case you need his help. in the event that you do need his assistance in getting rid of the person, he wouldn't hesitate to teach them a quick lesson then evacuate the scene with you.

GERAS couldn't care less. in fact, he isn't surprised you would be hit on. you're physically and socially attractive, it makes sense that other people would attempt to court you. he trusts that you won't let the interaction go any farther. if the person persists or is disrespectful, he'll walk up to you two and bluntly state that you're taken, then leave immediately. he won't waste his time with assholes and perverts.

RAIDEN would feel a little awkward. he trusts you, so it's not that he's unhappy with you, but he feels uncomfortable for you. he's a very calm and civil man, so he usually tries to avoid confrontation. but when it comes to you? especially when the person is making you uncomfortable? he has no problem politely telling that person off and walking away with you. he'll later reassure you by reminding you that assholes and creeps will always be around, but so will he.

doesn't get jealous (because he gives you scary dog privileges):

KENSHI TAKAHASHI wouldn't feel jealous at all if someone were to hit on you. he knows his partner is wonderful, so of course other people are going to approach you. besides, he knows he looks a bit intimidating with his tattoos, muscles, and confident aura. weirdos that flirt with you will back off when they see kenshi casually put his arm around you as you talk to the person, as if he's daring them to try something. his years involved with the yakuza have made him fearless. he has witnessed the wrath of man many times, so he has no issue teaching another one a lesson if he must.

BARAKA is like a guard dog. with his physique and face? yeah, nobody is messing with you or even approaching you. he usually feels very guilty about this, advising you to leave him due to the embarrassment of being associated with him. but sometimes, his curse can be a blessing to ward off perverts. it fills him with a very rare sense of pride, being able to protect you just by standing by you.

GENERAL SHAO definitely gives you scary dog privileges. he's well-respected in outworld, so everyone usually respects you, his partner, as well. this can be a double-edged sword, however. while outworlders often avoid you out of respect, it is also out of fear of the general's wrath. it's hard for you to walk around anywhere without stares or people trembling in fear, afraid to upset you. not because they're intimidated by you, but because the general has made it very clear that if anyone (especially his soldiers) were to treat you with anything but respect, they'll get an axe to the head.

he's instilled this fear into everyone's head, so you aren't harassed when you are alone. the general is often busy with his own endeavors, so he likely won't be there to defend you instantly. that's why he is very strict with his soldiers when it comes to you. you won't need his immediate protection as long as he makes sure everyone follows his rigid commands.

REIKO, similar to the general, has earned respect among outworlders for his strength and tenacity. while you aren't as feared as you would be with the general, reiko still has his ways of making sure you aren't bothered. because unlike the general, he has slightly more time on his hands to accompany you in your free time. when strolling around outworld, it is not uncommon to get a few stares, but reiko is brave enough to stare back at people with the fury of a true warrior. he has the scars on his back and calluses on his hands to prove his fighting spirit that nobody is reckless enough to challenge.

QUAN CHI is either hated, feared, or respected by everyone. nobody is going to mess with you as long as he is around. with his sorcery, he'll have no problem cleaning up the rodents that attempt to flirt with you. you won't even get the chance to reject anyone, since he's always ready to harm anyone that even dares to look at what is his.

BI-HAN, similar to the general, has already warned everyone in the lin kuei of the consequences that come with disrespecting you. he laid out many rules on how they should interact with you. if anyone among the clan dares to break these terms he drilled into their heads, they will be met with a harsh punishment. he won't tolerate rulebreakers.

and that's what he did on the day someone broke his rules and drunkenly flirted with you. the problem is, he would also be angry at you. bi-han firmly believes that you should be strong enough to protect yourself when he isn't there. if the person that was hitting on you starts to go a bit too far, and you are unable to stop them, bi-han ends up blaming you for their actions. despite having a myriad of punishment methods in his mind, he still wants you to fend for yourself anyway. he is upset for weeks after the incident. it is unclear whether bi-han is angry at himself and taking it out on you, or if he is truly delusional enough to blame you for an incident you never asked for.

gets jealous, but handles it rationally:

JOHNNY CAGE is used to people hitting on him. he's sexy, and an actor, which is a dangerous combo to date. he's made it very clear in private that he would never leave or cheat on you for someone else, and he ignores the numerous amounts of supermodels and fellow actors that attempt to date or sleep with him. you've gotten used to it overtime, as you already discussed your boundaries with him. but you two have never discussed what to do if you are the one being hit on.

if someone were to flirt with you in front of him, he'd butt into the conversation, putting his arm around you and saying: "yeah, my partner's smokin' hot, aren't they?"

he'd start to brag about you and the person would probably get annoyed and walk away. you can't tell if johnny was jealous and purposefully drove them away, or if he just wanted to use the opportunity to talk about you at length. perhaps it was both. you'll never know.

KUNG LAO is infamous for being cocky and prideful. some find his confidence charming, others dislike him and read his personality as arrogant rather than confident. so how could kung lao possibly be jealous? well, the answer is: he isn't. or at least that's how he appears.

he's the type of guy to love showing you off. he's protective, but proud. he'll walk around with his arm wrapped around your waist, with his head held high knowing you only belong to him and nobody else. which is why his ego is so hurt when someone has the audacity to hit on you. did they not clearly see that you're together? kung lao is more personally offended than possessive over you. he won't visibly get angry or anything, just mildly annoyed. he'll become touchier, giving you more kisses and compliments than usual. if you questioned his behavior, he'd respond with a playful: "what? am i not allowed to love my partner?" emphasizing the latter end of the sentence for everyone in the room to hear.

gets jealous, and does not handle it rationally:

SHANG TSUNG, similar to kung lao, is prideful enough to enjoy showing you off. but shang tsung tends to be sassier and hold grudges. while he lets you express yourself and wear/do whatever you want, he didn't expect it to backfire when someone ends up being attracted to you and attempting to court you. but he doesn't do anything about it. he stands from afar and waits for your conversation to be over.

you reject the person and go back to him, but shang tsung would spitefully ignore you. he even started responding to you with sassy quips after you were hit on. you could attempt to make amends with him by trying to initiate a conversation, until this little shit rolls his eyes and says something along the lines of: "why don't you go have fun with your partner?"

you'll never know if he's simply overdramatizing his jealousy to hide it, or if he's just being his usual petty self to get a reaction out of you.

TAKEDA TAKAHASHI is a young man focused on his endeavors. it's not that he doesn't care about you, but he (unfortunately) must keep his distance from you sometimes. your relationship is secret for the sake of your safety. nobody knows that you two are together, so it doesn't surprise him that you are flirted with every now and then. takeda does, in fact, feel jealous. he's not just jealous that they get to openly show their affection towards you, but he's also a bit insecure at times. he knows you won't leave him so easily, but there's still the nasty thought that creeps in the back of his head every now and then, telling him that you deserve better and he can't give you the love you deserve.

TOMAS VRBADA is usually a confident man. he may be kind and generous, but that doesn't make him weak. he's been a hardworking fighter since childhood. he's garnered an impressive amount of experience and intelligence regarding the battlefield over time. but romantically? he doesn't have as much experience. you're probably one of, if not the first relationship he's ever been in.

so, when you're hit on, he isn't quite sure what to do. he understands that the person flirting with you probably just doesn't know you're not single. tomas would speak up and calmly mention that you're already taken. the person that was flirting with you would scoff after seeing tomas, telling you something along the lines of: "him? really? you could do better." instead of causing a scene, tomas ignores the person and leaves with you.

but hours later, it still bothers him, even though he pretends it doesn't. he thinks about your relationship and wonders if you really could do better. he tries his best to be as loving as possible towards you, despite his inexperience in romantic relationships. but with his cluelessness, conflict with the lin kuei, and trying to build up the shirai ryu? he doesn't have a lot of time for you, so he understands if you wanted to leave him. it's a thought that will haunt him for days if you don't notice his behavior and ask him about it.

SYZOTH has always been secretly insecure during your relationship. he fears that you may leave him due to his zaterran blood. plus, after his family was killed by shang tsung, he has been afraid of losing you like he lost them. sometimes he fears he is too clingy, and other times he fears he isn't attentive enough. it makes him feel as if he isn't enough for you. these fears are only enabled by someone flirting with you. his mood would immediately turn sour after witnessing that interaction, until you reject that person and put them in their place. as appreciative as he is for your loyalty, (and flustered to hear how much you care about him) he still can't shake his anxieties away.

you'll likely have to comfort him and reassure him that you will always stay with him, not bothered by his struggles. you must be the one to bring it up though, because syzoth is too afraid to admit that he is jealous. he'll keep it bottled up until you notice his behavior.

ZEFFEERO's pride gets in the way of admitting his true feelings most of the time. you've helped make him more comfortable being vulnerable, but it's only natural that the high mage refuses to admit when he's jealous. it was hard enough to court you; even harder to watch as someone attempts to court you for themselves. it annoys him to watch someone think they can just flirt with you. it enrages him even more when they refuse to take no for an answer and persist in their catcalling. with his blood boiling, he struggles to contain his emotions and stop himself from resorting to violence.

after the incident is over and you dealt with it on your own, he refuses to leave your side in public ever again. whatever gathering or meeting you must attend, he'll be there too. that way, it'll ease his anxieties and make sure you are safe and comfortable. even though you've shown you're capable of taking care of yourself and staying loyal to him, his jealousy drives him to believe that you need him.

a secret fifth worse thing:

HAVIK... yeah you probably guessed he'd have an entire category to himself. it is very difficult to tell how havik feels when someone else flirts with you. is he angry at them for trying to take you? not quite. his beliefs are bent on freedom, so it isn't like you're tied down to him in any way. but at the same time, he can't help but feel a bit hurt, maybe even a bit betrayed at the thought of you leaving him. he doesn't have anyone else. he's been forced to fight for himself after a painful past in seido, then seeking retribution ever since. nobody has condoned his acts since drowning its capital. anyone that isn't on his side is considered his enemy. you're the last person he considers an ally.

you're also the only person that sees his vulnerable, traumatized side that he often disguises with anger. his wrath has tormented him for years, driving him to insanity and believing it is okay to kill anyone that opposes him. it was a miracle that you were able to see through his mask of anger and show love and support towards him, which are two things he isn't used to. that's why he can't help but feel irked by someone attempting to court you. you're the only person that has genuinely loved and cared for him, even after the things he has done. now that he's had a taste of what love and affection is like, he's not going to let you leave him that easily.

he tells himself that he doesn't need an ally, and he can help bless millions with anarchy and chaos by himself, but deep down, he still selfishly wants you for himself. he would feel more comfortable in his rebellion with you staying at his side rather than leaving him for someone else. so yes, he does feel jealousy, (and fear that you'll leave him) but he refuses to admit it and conjures up a lie that you need each other, convincing himself of a false idea rather than facing the truth that his strong desires of "freedom" magically go out the window when it comes to you.

[civilbucky]

I saw thunderbolts today 🥹

NON SPOILER OPINIONS!

i think for starters the casting was done BEAUTIFULLY!

lewis pullman did an amazing job as bob and i would actually die for him. 10/10

this movie was such a breath of fresh air. marvel i feel like actually listened to what fans wanted and did a great job.

laughed way more than i expected??? had my ass giggling so much omg.

i feel like people saying this movie sucked or was mid missed the point IMO

it was sooooooo nice seeing accurate super soldier strength and little details pertaining to them being super soldiers. *chefs kiss*

THUNDERBOLTS SPOILERS AHEAD

I WAS SO FUCKING FERAL I CANT BELIEVE HOW MUCH SCREENTIME BUCKY HAS

YELENA AND ALEXEI???? OH MY GOOOOOOOOD WHEN ALEXEI SAVES THAT LITTLE GIRL AND IMMEDIATELY GET SMOKES WAS SO FUCKING CRUEL HE SAW YOUNG YELENA AND I COULDVE SWORN SHE WAS GONNA DIE LIKE SOME TWISTED ASS FORESHADOWING 😭 their relationship in this movie actually hurt me so much i loved getting more from them!!! also the thunderbolts being named after her soccer team was so sweet. alexei was such a dad and SHOWED UP! even after being torn into by yelena.

i loved wyatt russell. i think hes such an amazing actor and i feel like we get so much more walker that shows his true color. i love that marvel doesnt try and make him a hero nor do they try and make him "redeemable". he truly is himself and selfish in ways where he puts himself first and then others second. his wife leaving him and taking his child are the consequences of his own actions, and we can empathize with him without feeling like they were trying to make us love him. he is such an interesting character and i loved him in this movie.

WHY WOULD THEY KILL TASKMASTER SO EARLY ON?!?! SHE HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND IT WOULDVE BEEN AMAZING TO SEE!!! i get its more comic accurate but she was such a fascinating character. wish i couldve seen her more.

i feel like ghost didnt have as much depth in this movie compared to quantumania. i still loved her character in this movie and she was quick as shit on her feet talkin mad shit to john which KILLED ME they were all so funny 💀 she was so useful and brutally honest and i could gush over her all day.

and now to bucky... my main MAN 😫 PERSONALLY WOULDNT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HANDLE HIS VOID I WAS CRYING ENOUGH IN THAT MOVIE!!! i wouldve loved to see it but it was so nice watching a movie where he wasnt constantly suffering. he is such an amazing character and i was sobbing at the fact that he never truly wanted to fight and was always thrown into wars, and now he was saving people and working with a team to try and help people rather than killing them. their faces when people were cheering for them had me losing it in the theater. i feel like to a point valentina did rope him in to be the new avengerz (hehe thank you alexei) but he seemed genuinely happy and i feel like itll be so good for him to feel like he can do good and prove it to himself.

alSO HIM AND SAM FIGHTING AND BEING BORDERLINE ENEMIES???? COME FUCKING ON NOW!!!!! i feel like sam shouldve been supportive but i completely understand the anger about the name. but my baby is doing so good leave him alone!!! he wants to do good!!!! (i dont truly believe they are enemies. i think they have such a solid foundation they will come back from this but it broke my heart)

personally could talk about bob all day. the way his back story was set up and his home life??? DAMN!!! he was an anazing character with such a range and depth that lewis pullman really hit it out of the park. sentry was so haunting to see and the void really had me crying in the club. showing how much it can help you to just lean on your friends around you was such an amazing touch. after the post credit scenes of him not being sentry/the void anymore i am so excited and curious for what they do in doomsday!!! GAHHHHHH BOB I LOVE YOU!!!

all in all 100000000/10 the mental health and leaning on people for help was so beautiful and well done. yelena taking responsibility and telling bob that she was wrong about shoving it down was something to BEHOLD. i absolutely loved this movie and i think all characters being their authentic self really made it.

[hearts-hunger]

oh my god what the FUCK was that

okay, the two things i liked first. pros:

surprisingly, being a game truther, i liked the changes made to the tv station. having the soldiers strung up in the dark with the floodlights and thunderstorm gave that scene a brutality and scariness it doesn't have in the game, and dina and ellie having to sneak out like they did was very high-stakes and suspenseful.

ellie's "i would die for you. i would. but that is not what just happened" whole bit was so good i went back and rewatched it. her admission about her immunity and the dialogue in that moment felt true to ellie's character. isabella and bella did a great job with that scene. of course it makes no sense that ellie is surprised that dina is pointing a gun at her, but whatever. for the most part, that scene was done really well.

okay, now for the cons. buckle up, because there's a lot of them.

why the fuck are the making dina and ellie a happy little couple? "i'm gonna be a dad" give me a fucking BREAK??? i can't even express how antithetical to the story of the game this is. because ellie is not happy about this baby, she's horrible to dina, she's so wrapped up in revenge that she can't think about anything else. making them like...... dream up a baby registry is SUCH a mistake. and having dina go with ellie? this is supposed to be the part where ellie goes truly unhinged. she loses every shred of morality. not even dina and her baby can bring her back from the precipice, even all the way to the bitter end when she's built a life with them. she goes alone, to plow through all of seattle, to become a cold-blooded killer, to kill abby at any cost. but nope! now here comes mommy and daddy on a fun little killing spree while they think up colors for the nursery. what the fuck, genuinely.

like, not to be dramatic, but it's...... completely shredding the most intense and important character development in the story. tonally the game makes a very clear divide between jackson and seattle, and the show is forcing warm, intimate, loving moments into what is supposed to be a cold, gloomy, numb-feeling section of the story. ellie doesn't respond well to dina being pregnant. this is the moment where she really shows a side of herself that is so steeped in anger and fear and grief that she almost never gets over it. whether she will ever get over it is, like, a major question the game leaves us with. why are they screwing with that? why are they making ellie more palatable? let her be fucked up!!!

as for dina, what in the chappel roan comphet coming out trauma is going on with her. i actually hate how they've turned the confident bisexual woman from the game into...... whatever this dina is. i'm just personally not that interested in "my parents didn't approve, i was confused, i'm not brave, i tried to force it with a guy" whatever kind of bisexual storyline this is. maybe some people are. but i liked dina how she was in the game: simply, unapologetically, confidently bisexual. we don't have to have trauma in our coming-out stories. we can just be bisexual.

also, it's weird that they made dina and ellie's first sexual intimacy be some weird trauma-bond, heat of passion, right after a near-death-experience kind of thing. dina and ellie sleeping together in the game felt sweet, tender, flirty, warm, safe. this felt rushed and strange and insincere. it felt cheap, maybe. i can't really describe it. it was like it was written for straight men. like, graphic, rain-soaked, sloppy, hair down and makeup smudged. maybe i'm in the minority on this but it didn't feel good to me. i'm interested to know what people thought about it.

i think we're spending way too much time on isaac. perhaps if we hadn't wasted so much time in jackson in therapy we'd have time for development on isaac, but we don't really have time now.

anyone holding onto the "here's how tommy can still kill all of seattle" dream can put the tin hats away. it's not happening. and it sucks and it's a waste. but it's clearly not happening.

also, these are maybe nitpicky and not really story related, but:

didn't love the graphic content this episode. maybe that's a me thing. but the stupid josh peck gratuitous vulgarity, the full nudity in the torture scene, the straight up sex with dina end ellie - i know that's hbo's style, but i think we've maybe lost the art of subtlety.

everybody's said this but their clothes look brand new even after they've been crawling through mud and rain and whatever. it looks fake and weird.

in that same vein, ellie's bite marks have all looked super clean and not gnarly as if she's almost gotten her arm gnawed off. also she gets bit every other tuesday so it's lost its wow factor.

okay, i know i said a lot but that episode truly was a lot. come talk to me here or on my tlou blog @ellies-miller about your thoughts on this episode! i want to know what everyone thought and discuss it!

[the-hopeful-squid]

I've talked a lot about Gi-hun and the rebellion, but the biggest reason Gi-hun's rebellion was not an example of compromising his morals, hypocrisy, or 'sacrificing players on his team' is a very simple but important point that I think a lot of people - especially people who want to engage in activism of any kind - struggle with:

Gi-hun didn't sacrifice players. Gi-hun sacrificed an opportunity.

Gi-hun knew players were going to die in the riot. That would be true whether or not Gi-hun participated. Moreover, he knew there was a very high likelihood that participating in the riot, no matter how hard he stuck to defense over offense, would lead to either or both of him killing opposing players and/or coming out of the riot too exhausted to fight anyone else before the next game began.

If all of the best fighters on team X participated in the riot, and the vote the next day still went in favor of team O, then he would have accomplished nothing except keeping more X voters alive to die in the next game anyway. Not only that, but now the strongest X voters would be the most exhausted and/or hurt, thus the least capable of playing any game that required strength or alertness, and therefore the most likely to die.

However, because the vote had polarized the players who wanted to stay and the players who wanted to leave so strongly, In-ho inadvertently gave Gi-hun an unexpected alternative to participating in the riot - an alternative that In-ho himself would never have considered, because it required being open to the idea that players could fight the guards and overseers who had kidnapped them, held them hostage, and killed them in a series of horrific death games in the first place.

In-ho couldn't see that option, because he has indoctrinated himself too heavily into the idea that the only way to survive is to play by the rules of the System, with joining the System - preferably in a position of power, if possible - as the ultimate ideal goal. Gi-hun, on the other hand, understands that Systems are made of people. He understands that people - whether they are poor and exploited, holding guns and doing the exploiting, or directing all the guns and exploitation from a nice comfy spot at the top - are people, and unlike abstract, faceless Systems, people can be fought. People can bleed, and people can die.

People can be defeated, which means the Systems they prop up can be defeated, too.

They won't be defeated, however, if no one who is willing to fight them is able to fight, because they already spent all their energy fighting someone else that the System threw in their path for precisely that reason.

And thus we return to the crux of the matter: Gi-hun did not sacrifice his morals or his values or the lives of people on his side. Gi-hun gave up the possibile chance to help some players survive during the riot, in exchange for the hope of a more difficult but potentially more meaningful chance to save everyone and stop the games in one go after the riot ended.

Or, to repeat the more succinct version from above:

Gi-hun didn't sacrifice players. Gi-hun sacrificed an opportunity.

And those are very different things.

[sinisterexaggerator]

OK, my main issues with the Bane arc are as follows, while some can be explained away with headcanons or critical thinking skills, lol. Still. They bother me because it left US to do the work and did not properly elaborate on the how or why, or the who these people are even?!

Bane takes his style from a mentor who we don’t see his relationship with him at all yet are supposed to believe he cared about him within his five minutes or less of screentime. Cared enough to take up his hat and his mantle. I get he was left in charge of the gang, but they didn’t show that either, yet his guys come to pick him up once the transport arrives?? Then it’s straight to the Police Station? I have no doubt Bane would look up to someone who gave him a roof over his head when he was homeless and was starving, but I just wish we had seen more. Why he cared so much about his passing.

He ditched his friend right off the bat for a guy he just met. I mean, I guess it makes sense he could do that for his love of credits, and his fear of the cops, but that was the first betrayal, and it was Bane betraying Niro and not the other way around.

Arin was cool enough in her own right but the very first scene we see her she is already holding her stomach like she preggo. She was worried from the outset about telling Bane she’s knocked up, and that’s all she was there for—to serve as a plot device between two men.

The fact she leaves Bane for his best friend turned enemy after they meet one time. Did you even love Bane? And of all the people to marry, why Niro? Is it because of closeness to Bane you chose him? Is it because you didn’t want your child to grow up a bastard and fatherless? Smells like teen pregnancy and a shit situation for a girl caught between a rock and a hard place.

Thug / cop / good guy / bad guy trope with a love interest caught in the middle so cliché and overdone and did not like, tbh.

Why was Bane so delulu about Arin wanting to see him after being in prison for so many years and no one heard anything about her or seen her? Yeah, we can say he didn’t get messages in prison, but really?? No one told him anything??

Niro says she died a few years ago—did she die while “giving birth?” Did passing that huge ass egg kill her?

WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL HER OFF SCREEN?

Colby. I cannot get behind the name Colby, I am sorry. I see people’s reasonings for their acceptance of it and just no, not for me.

Why was he already called Cad? Why no backstory as to why he renamed himself Cad Bane? Shouldn’t there have been a lead up to that? It’s literally just a nickname he goes by? How unoriginal. I expected more.

They did not show how he got so good with blasters. Did Lazlo teach him offscreen somewhere? I suppose we’re supposed to guess or use inference here, but not all viewers are that smart HAHA.

Where did he get the accent from all of a sudden? Did he steal that from Lazlo too? Kid Bane didn’t talk that way but all of a sudden young adult Bane does.

The whole “you took everything from me” bit is still kind of a weird thing to say. I know fandom is explaining it in different ways. I just have to assume he means his freedom, his girl, his right to vengeance, his right to choose in terms of Arin stopping him from another duel and that it was stolen out from under him. But that’s not Niro’s fault??

They never explained “why” Arin couldn’t tell Bane. Was it because she was afraid of what he would say? Again we have to assume here. Of course the man would be conflicted, and he’s a known hothead.

Why did they say he got off on a technicality?? Are murderers not given life sentences in Star Wars?? Why not a prison break scene—much more fitting. Lazy writing, imo. But. They only had so much time I guess.

What the fuck was the point of making him a dad?? Are they going to revisit this in the future? Is he going to have—god forbid—a redemption arc?? Is he going to have to face-off against his own kid, and maybe show just how much more of a bastard he is ( hope so )?

This story in and of itself did not convince me of why he is the way that he is. If anything it showed he does care about people, like Arin, and even briefly his “son” before he is turned away. So how does that explain how he is so ruthless, coldblooded, a baby kidnapper, etc? Of course I guess that is up for us to decide, and decide we will. I can only imagine it erodes his psyche overtime, what with regret and all, and that lingering knowledge of fuck I have a kid out there—unless yeah, no big deal. Didn’t actually give a fuck about his girlfriend beyond her being some kind of prize to be won, and he just … writes him off. We can INFER it is for the best; he thinks he would be terrible as a dad; he knows he couldn’t raise the boy for the lifestyle he chose .. but again. Why. Just why. This wasn’t needed.

WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE BOBA VS. BANE ARC. IT WAS RIGHT THERE.

AND IF HE CAN'T EVEN TAKE HIS OWN KID UNDER HIS WING, WHY WOULD HE TAKE UP JANGO'S?? Because he owed him a favor?? So he didn't owe Arin anything then?? HmMMmMM

[idrawweirdstuffnominors]

This is gonna sound silly and sad and angsty BUT I need a fic where the reader finds out Pete has been cheating on her with a pornstar from sick mofo studios and she gets rlly angry

Idk I need something abt confronting him I think it'd be fun to read

( the realness is realnessing this is by far my favorite Pete fic I've made

Title: “What You Deserve”

(Epilogue Pete x Reader — angst, hurt/comfort, post-breakup, mention of drug use and porn industry, emotional damage, soft ending)

You weren’t snooping.

You didn’t have to.

The tab was already open on his laptop. You were just gonna close it — until the video auto-played.

Her moans filled the room. Too loud, too fake. But what made your stomach flip wasn’t the girl’s voice.

It was Pete’s.

His cocky, filthy little laugh in the background. His Brooklyn drawl. The sound of your boyfriend calling some pornstar from Sick Mofo Studios a “good little cumdump.”

You shut the laptop so hard it nearly cracked.

---

He didn’t deny it. Just leaned against the wall, arms crossed, looking bored.

“So what, it’s not like we were married,” Pete said, barely glancing at you. “Besides you would'va the same damn thing. ”

“WHAT?” you echoed, shaking with rage. “You are fucking stupid if you think i would cheat on you with a pornstar.”

Pete rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, I needed the cash. And she was hot. It ain’t like I love her.”

You didn’t even remember what you screamed at him after that. Something about betrayal, about lies, about using you. He just stared back, smug and unreadable.

You slammed the door on your way out, hoping you never saw his face again.

---

Three days later, you did.

You didn’t recognize him at first — hoodie up, hunched over, pacing in front of the bodega. You thought he was drunk. Or high.

Until he punched the brick wall.

Hard.

And again.

And again.

You ran over without thinking, but he didn’t even look up, teeth gritted, face wet with sweat — or tears.

“Fuckin’ bitch,” he snarled to himself. “Took my money, took my fuckin'—fuck!”

He stumbled, then collapsed against the wall, sliding down into a heap on the sidewalk. He wasn’t crying. Just breathing like he was gonna pass out.

You hesitated.

You had a choice.

You could’ve walked away.

You should’ve.

Instead…

---

He woke up on your couch, bandaged and clean.

Groggy. Confused. Angry.

Then… guilty.

“You fuckin’ kidding me?” Pete rasped, blinking at your ceiling. “This your place?”

You nodded silently from the chair beside him.

He groaned, covering his face. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ…”

“You were passed out,” you said. “Your knuckles were split open. You were dehydrated. What was I supposed to do, leave you bleeding in an alley?”

He didn’t answer.

“...She’s gone?” you asked after a pause.

Pete laughed. Bitter. Broken. “Oh yeah. Took my cut, my stash, and my fuckin’ jacket. Probably halfway to Vegas by now.”

You laughed at first at his karma but then swallowed. “I'm sorry.”

Pete looked at you like you’d grown a second head. “You’re sorry?”

“I’m not forgiving you,” you said quickly. “Don’t think that. I’m still pissed. But I’m not gonna let you fall apart like this.”

Pete stared at the wall for a long moment.

“You always do that shit,” he muttered. “Act like I’m not a lost cause.”

“You’re not.”

“I cheated on you. Lied to your fuckin’ face. And you still—why the fuck do you care?”

“Because,” you said quietly, “I know where you come from, Pete. I know what your old man did. I know how your brothers treated you like shit. I know that half the time, you say things just to push people away first.”

You paused.

“And I know, for all your bullshit, you never once gave up on me. So I’m not giving up on you either.”

Pete turned his head slowly. His eyes were bloodshot. There was a tremble in his jaw.

“You’re a fuckin’ idiot,” he muttered.

“I know.”

He looked away again. “...But you’re a good one.”

Silence.

Then Pete let his head fall back against the pillow and shut his eyes.

“Thanks for not lettin' me die in a gutter,” he said hoarsely.

You didn’t say anything.

You just reached over, took his hand gently, and held it — right over the bandages.

And for once, Pete didn’t pull away.

—

You came home expecting the usual: him on your couch, hoodie up, pretending not to watch you when you walked in.

Instead?

You smelled garlic. Oil. Basil. And heard clattering from the kitchen.

For a half-second, your brain leapt to intruder.

Then you saw him.

Pete, hunched over the stove, mumbling curses as he flipped chicken in a pan that clearly didn’t like him back.

“What the hell are you doing?” you asked, dropping your keys.

“Burning dinner,” he said, not even looking up. “And possibly your pan. Dunno yet.”

You stared. “You cooked?”

Pete shrugged, still messing with the sauce. “I was bored and figured I owed you somethin’ that didn’t involve me actin’ like a complete asshole.”

“Big if true.”

He smirked a little. “Don’t make me regret this.”

The kitchen was a mess — marinara on the counter, a rogue garlic clove on the floor, one burnt breadstick that looked like it saw God and lost.

Still. The smell was amazing.

You folded your arms, suspicious. “Why chicken parm?”

Pete sighed, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “My nonna used to make it when I lost a fight or bombed a test. Said it was the only thing that could shut me up.”

“And?”

“She was right.”

He finally turned to you, still guarded but… softer, maybe. “Look, I’m not good at this, alright? I’m not gonna cry or beg or do some Lifetime movie bullshit. But I know I screwed up. I know I wrecked somethin' good. And if this”—he jabbed a thumb at the pan—“makes things suck a little less, then... I dunno. Maybe I’m not completely useless.”

You snorted. “Is that your version of an apology?”

“Don’t push it. I cooked. That’s the apology.”

Still. He looked… nervous. Like he was waiting for you to throw the plate back in his face.

You took a bite instead.

It was good. Stupidly good.

You tried not to smile. “Damn it. I hate that this is edible.”

“Right?” he grinned. “Told you. I’m secretly talented. Just usually use it for evil.”

You ate in silence. Pete watched you like it was the most important thing in the world.

Halfway through the meal, he muttered, “Still don’t know why you’re lettin’ me crash here.”

“Because I know you,” you said. “And I know your bullshit is armor. Doesn’t mean I forget what you did. Just means I know you’re not the soulless prick you act like.”

Pete raised an eyebrow. “I mean, I am a prick.”

“True. But you’re my prick. When you’re not being a dumbass.”

He scoffed, but the corner of his mouth twitched.

You stood and walked over, poking him in the chest. “Try this again, and I’ll hit you with a ladle.”

He looked almost touched. “You sound like my nonna.”

“She sounds smart.”

“She also smoked Newports and carried a switchblade, so yeah, probably.”

You bumped your forehead against his for just a second.

“Don’t make me regret this.”

Pete’s voice was low. “I won’t. Not this time.”

He didn’t say more. Didn't have to.

But when he cleared the table, he did it quietly — and made sure to wrap the leftovers for you first.

---

[trstalks]

……I need your thoughts on moony (the werewolf)…… like does he exist inside of Remus and comes out to play for kinky sex? Is he obsessed with Remus and calls him mate and will die trying to give that man pups? Or even during full moons does he still actively search out for regulus and (WE HAVE TO BE OK WITH MONSTER FUCKING HERE) have his way with his since that pesky human (Remus) can’t stop him?

TRUST TRUST TRUST I am so okay with monster fucking ‼️‼️‼️‼️

I think that Remus and Moony have a lot of disconnect, but are ultimately the same entity and want (mostly) the same things. Like Remus is ashamed of Moony and thus Moony acts out and cannot be controlled. One thing they both definitely want is Regulus.

I think somewhere around his last years, Remus starts hearing Moony a little louder when it gets closer to the fulls. Little intrusive thoughts in a way. I think Moony really is just trying to unrepress urges that are already there (like needing to have Regulus) because Remus had hidden so much of himself away in shame.

Once he starts taking wolfsbane and starts dating Regulus he starts to work through the shameful feelings surrounding Moony and his urges. Wolfsbane allows him more control during the fulls but more importantly it allows him to connect and communicate better with Moony (in my opinion) so they start to become one a little more. (More of a give and take if you will)

I’m imagining that a couple of times during sex Remus would accidentally let slip one of his “moony thoughts” which include a lot of breeding and possessiveness. Like “you’re all mine.” “I’m gonna breed you full of my pups, baby.” WHICH Remus is very embarrassed about after the fact until he realizes how into it Reg is.

As for Moony coming out to play during kinky sex, this ABSOLUTELY happens once Remus becomes more comfortable with that side of himself (which Regulus helps him with) it starts small with dom/sub dynamics that they switch around with, because Remus likes equality, but then they start getting into some harder scenes where Remus will tie Reg up and use him for his own pleasure, tie him down to a breeding bench, slap him around a little bit. Etc. Anytime he does something that Reg loves he’s enticed to go further into this Moony headspace.

But Moony DOES start getting greedy, because he can tell that Regulus wants more. So much more that Remus hasn’t worked up to yet. He can smell the desire radiating off of his mate anytime he’s closer to the surface, and he’s tired of Remus holding him back.

The next full moon when Remus transforms (which he now does in the comfort of their home since starting wolfsbane) Moony FIGHTS hard for control. He’s manipulative about it, telling Remus that he wants to see his mate to cuddle. Deep down Remus knows what Moony really wants, because he also wants Moony to take over and fuck Regulus until he can’t walk, but his conscious won’t let him take that step.

Still, Moony is like the little devil on his shoulder, saying, “no, no, no, I just want to see him. Nothing more.” And “just one taste- I won’t do anything else.”

Werewolf Remus walking towards Regulus wakes him up and he can immediately sense that there’s something going on. Especially when Remus/Moony starts sniffing at him and licking him. Remus is pushing Moony back, but he wants it just as bad as his wolf does.

Moony convinces him more “just let me taste him- just once and I’ll stop.” Which Remus knows is bullshit but he allows anyway because he wants a taste too, and when Moony’s tongue swipes over Regulus’ lips he moans and opens his mouth for him, staring up at the wolf with wide, trusting eyes.

“Moony?”

The wolf preens, and Remus’ resolve is slipping, but he doesn’t want to ever hurt Regulus, so he takes a step back.

“Wait!” And Regulus is already taking his clothes off, and spreading his legs for Moony. Remus stares at him and comes closer, lowering his head to nuzzle at Reg’s inner thigh.

“I want it, please? I can take it I promise.”

And at that moment, Remus doesn’t have it in himself to hold Moony back anymore, who’s fighting him harder than ever to give over control so that he can claim and breed his mate. His mate who is sitting there and offering himself up to Moony.

——

Regulus looks down and can see when Remus relinquishes control over to Moony, he can feel the air shift and the intentions radiating off of the werewolf. He knows exactly how this night is going to end, with him getting fucked into next year, and bred so roughly he’s passing out.

Moony lifts his snout from Regulus’ thigh and licks from Regulus stomach all the way up to his neck, lightly brushing his teeth over the spot there in a mock display of a bite.

He doesn’t want to change him, but he can’t help himself from grazing his teeth over sensitive skin feeling the younger man’s blood rushing through him.

He lifts his paws up to either side of the couch that Regulus is sitting on, effectively caging him there and he licks his long canine tongue into his open mouth. Regulus moans around it, and closes his mouth to suck on it for a moment before releasing him.

Moony growls, nipping at him before lowering his snout down between his mate’s legs, sniffing the wetness gathered there. His mate is ready for him, even without being touched.

He starts licking into Regulus’ cunt, sloppily shoving his long tongue into his hole. Regulus is moaning and writhing and his hands come up to rest in Moony’s fur while he continues to fuck him with his tongue.

It doesn’t take long for Regulus to cum like that, and when he does, Moony licks it up eagerly.

Regulus is panting, already spent on the couch, but Moony is nowhere near done. He wraps his teeth around Regulus’ wrist, careful not to break skin, and pulls him off of the couch onto the floor. He takes his large paw and rolls Regulus over onto his stomach.

————

A few hours later and Moony is still fucking Regulus into the floor, uncaring for his mate’s discomfort over his own pleasure. He’s bred him multiple times already, but has been triggered into a rut and likely won’t be done for quite some time.

Regulus is just laying there taking it like a good boy, not fighting or moving much, just letting himself be fucked open by Moony’s huge werewolf cock. With every thrust in, more of his cum leaks out. Regulus can barely let out a little “uh, uh, uh.” Every time he’s pushed into.

———

He wakes up the next afternoon, clean and wrapped up in a huge blanket in Remus’ arms.

[spyskater]

Okay, I need to talk about Ava's arc. Because there are a lot of people saying it's nonexistent. And yes, it is small, but it's also not very loud and in your face. A lot of Ava's arc is in her actions and what she chooses to do. Spoilers under the cut.

Ava's arc, in my opinion, is her having the courage to say the things she actually wants. Whereas Yelena's arc is about finding a community and finding light in the dark and finding purpose, Ava only needs the community and her problem is that she refuses to admit it even when it's right in front of her. Her first big action of the movie is killing Taskmaster and then immediately after looting the body, which Yelena scolds her for. And while Ava doesn't respond in the moment to that scolding, it clearly sits with her, because when the team does escape and are clear of Valentina's goons, Ava is the one who reaches out and creates a connection to Yelena by asking about Taskmaster. She builds a bridge to bond with Yelena by acknowledging her action and giving Yelena a space to grieve even though she's the one responsible for the death.

Her second big action of the movie and one of the big plot motivators is Ava being the one to save Yelena, Bob, and Walker from the incinerator once they save her from her power block. Her excuse for coming back is that the elevator was broken and she had to come back. And she does this again outside when she gets the van for them to escape in. She says she saw the path forward and she needed them to get out. But the film never shows us either of these things, never shows us a broken elevator or a blocked path she couldn't overcome alone, which means that Ava is lying. She really just wants to help these guys, but wants to seem like some callous asshole about it.

She breaks character in Alexei's limo. While Alexei is giving his big speech about how they have the potential to be an amazing team, Yelena and Walker groan and grimace and clearly think this is all stupid. Ava smiles. Sure, she finds humor in it, but the film explicitly shows us Ava smiling at the idea, because she LIKES it. She likes the idea of the three of them being a team, even if she barely knows these two. Because hey, at least it's a community, right? It's a quick moment, but it's purposeful in the edit.

On the way to Avengers Tower, she and Yelena have clearly teamed up to give Walker shit, because they share a moment where they simply glance at each other about John's gun. Little sister energy activated. During the fight with Sentry, Ava's the one who immediately grabs Bucky's arm when Bob tosses it aside. She's also the one who looks directly at him in horror when she realizes he's hurt. She's known Bucky a few hours and immediately has adopted him into their group without any question. Also, shout out to Walker for having Ava's back through the entire fight.

Yelena calls Ava out on not being a good person, which is the thing that seems to hurt her the most and Ava's reaction is to completely go invisible when they all walk off, to no longer be perceived. But when it comes time to help people? Ava's the first person helping Walker to lift that slab of concrete even though she has the strength of an ordinary human. When Yelena walks into the Void, Ava is the first person to dedicate herself to following Yelena in. She full on argues with Bucky about it and this is the moment when Ava finally says what she needs to. This is the place her arc needed to reach, because she never would have said this at the beginning of the movie. The last time she even spoke to Yelena, Yelena was in full on "we suck, we're losers" mode. To Ava, Yelena probably wanted to end it all when she walked into the Void, but that doesn't matter to Ava. She's still willing to die if there's the slightest chance of saving Yelena. And when they reach Yelena and Bob in the Void, Ava is the one who makes the saving blow, mirroring the fact that she was the first to make the killing blow in the incinerator. And she does it with the sword she took from Taskmaster.

Ava is always the first one down for her team and her story is about her being open about it. Ava was raised without community. She was raised by nothing but adults to be an assassin, like Yelena. And I think that's why she attempts to bond Yelena first. It's why Yelena Belova is Ava Starr's first ever friend in life. And we discover that, with a community, with friends, with family, Ava once again becomes the first person willing to make the sacrifice for her people, just like she was willing to make the sacrifice for her dad in the quantum explosion.

[theseinfernalangels]

hellooo i’m not sure if your lil blurb requests are still open but if they are could you do 33 or 38 with bodhi?

38: Whispering, “I love you,” before a chaste, delicate kiss.

“Durran!” A squadmate’s voice rings out from across the gym. “You coming?”

The aforementioned boy blinks once or twice, glancing at the door and then back at you.

“No,” he replies easily. “I’ll catch up.”

“Well, don’t cut it close,” his squadmate chides, pursing her lips. “I don’t want to get in trouble just because you have the hots for a Squad Leader.”

Bodhi grumbles under his breath and turns to face you again, still coaching the First-Years whilst they sparred. He wants to go stand with you so badly, but he also understands how it would look to everyone else: A marked Squad Leader with a marked First-Year clinging to her shoulder — they’d either think you were plotting something or sleeping together, and while Bodhi didn’t mind the latter, he didn’t feel like having people stare at him suspiciously more than they already did.

So, he opts to sit and watch from against the wall, admiring your strict demeanor that he didn’t get to see outside your duties. Barking commands, scolding missteps, studying the fighting First-Years with a critical eye and pointing out their blind spots. Oh, yes; Bodhi likes it when you’re all soft and nice to him, but it’s undeniably hotter when you’re not.

“Time!” You call out after about ten minutes. “Take a water break and breathe. We start again in five minutes.”

You turn and slink over to Bodhi, whose eyes light up as he sees you approach.

“You’re stalking me now?” You quip, cuffing him on his marked shoulder.

He grins but shakes his head. “I had some extra time. I wanted to see you.”

The look that crosses your face is a mix of fondness and exasperation. “Bodhi,” you huff, “you can’t just do that. You go where your squad goes. That’s the rule for First-Years.”

“Sure.” He shrugs. “Because the squad is the heart of the school, and whatever bullshit they said.” He pauses. “What about what’s in my heart, huh?”

You snort, shaking your head. “Alright, little poet. Don’t get all philosophical and romancey on me now. You have to get out of here.”

He pouts, his pretty lips dipping ever so slightly. “But I like being romancey with you,” he protests. “And don’t pretend you don’t like it, either.”

You nod. “That’s fair,” you acknowledge. “But what I don’t like is you trying to bend the rules just to come be with me.”

You leave the last part of your sentence unspoken. As sweet as that is, anyway. 

Bodhi opens his mouth to whine again, but he’s cut off by a yell from outside. “Durran! Get your ass out here now. Don’t make me report you to leadership just because you’re feeling rebellious today. It’d be a damn shame.”

You stiffen, your watchful eyes sharpening at the obvious taunts. Feeling rebellious. It seems like no matter what you or your friends do, you still can’t keep angry cadets off of your backs — especially Bodhi, whose jaw clenches a little. There was no fighting it some days, and this just happened to be one of those days.

You lean towards him, brushing a thumb over his cheekbone. “Hey,” you soothe, pressing a kiss right under his eye. “I love you, okay? Get out of here. I’ll come find you later, when things die down.”

The smile that Bodhi shoots you is strained. “Gotcha,” he mumbles, sliding from his place and kissing your forehead. “I miss you, you know.”

Your heart twists as you watch him walk away reluctantly, as if he was considering putting up a fight just to stay.

“I know.” The words are quiet enough that he can’t hear them. “Trust me, I know.”

[thorntopieces]

Genesis isn't entirely sure when it became entirely and utterly obvious that his parents don't love him.

It's not that they hate him, by far not, but Genesis knows that they don't love him, not in a way real parents love their real child.

They love the idea of him, love how they were conveniently handed a child instead of having to try for one for possibly years on end, love how his genius can be paraded around social functions and when on the town, love how he's able to play the part of the ideal child.

They enjoy the convenience.

Maybe they think he plays along because he has some sort of obligation to them, because he knows that they're not his real parents— they have never hidden it, after all —but Genesis has never known anything different and so he's not driven in the same way another adopted child might be to constantly please them.

He lives up to their expectations and beyond because it's a role he can play, an expectation he can fulfil, the ability to step into the role of someone he's not.

Genesis doesn't care for their affections, of which there aren't many, doesn't particularly care for how they applaud his achievements in public but feel like little more than strangers when alone in a home that is too large and too cold for three people to live in. It feels like a stage, where every act is little more than improvisation. He learns the general gist, where and when he is meant to act, which roles he is meant to inhabit and he wears them.

The home is cold and Genesis is used to feeling like a shell of a being when not expected to perform. For as long as he can recall he has added and removed parts and pieces of his personality based on his parents' reactions to them. The undesirable isn't discarded outright. No, they are more like costumes left in the changing rooms, waiting to be used during another performance.

The flamboyance has no place at the dinner table, nor at school, nor at the many social functions that are hosted in their homes.

They have never once deprived him of any of his needs, and for that he is grateful. It still feels like a mercy to be able to leave for Midgar the day Angeal turns fifteen.

As expected, Genesis becomes exactly the thing his parents feared when he leaves Banora with Angeal, headed for Midgar and the SOLDIER program. His materia proficiency and Angeal’s sword fighting skills had gotten them directly recruited into the SOLDIER program.

Those two weeks back on Mideel and Banora between passing the exams and moving to Midgar had been almost unbearable. The continued parading of him without even once truly acknowledging him. Sneaking out every single night to spend the night at Angeal’s and coming back before the sunrise.

Coming back to Midgar with its constant brightness and mako pollution feels like a breath of fresh air.

After his first enhancement with mako Genesis realises that there really is very little he can to do permanently harm his body, and as a SOLDIER he’s been emancipated even if he’s under eighteen.

His first trip to Wall Market is enlightening in more ways than one and the first inhale of cigarette smoke feels like a salvation, a balm on his emotionally exhausted brain.

He feels alive in a way he hasn’t before, even as the smoke itself makes his body riot.

It’s a reprieve, a moment of peace.

Genesis has become exactly what his parents feared he would be.

--

It becomes a ritual of sorts after that. A way to calm himself down. In equal measure it’s a punishment.

Even if the dozens of harmful ingredients can’t do any long-term damage to his body, it still reminds him that at least the very base parts of his body are human, because he can still taste the smoke, can still feel it curling in his lungs, can still cough and choke on it.

But it can’t hurt him, not in the way that it would hurt a normal human. And even if it does, he’ll die long before any real adverse effects can catch up to him.

It’s the one thing he keeps to himself, keeps hidden from even Angeal. Hiding something makes his heart weep, but he’s not capable of handling Angeal’s condemnation.

He’s been doomed to fail since he was born.

It’s only fitting that he would find solace in something so revered, so doomed, a symbol of high class and a proof of the depravity of the poor.

It’s when Angeal is once again dragged away from him by that horrible Second Class Zack that Genesis finally snaps. He doesn’t stalk after them to chew Zack out or interrogate Angeal because his best friend slash boyfriend is kind to a fault and would not let it stand for Genesis to run his mouth over petty jealousy.

Deep down they both know it’s anything but.

Instead, he takes a moment to feel in the inside pocket of his coat, checking for a cardboard carton of cigarettes and a lighter (partially for the look and partially because he really doesn’t trust himself around materia when he feels like this. It would be far too easy to let a torrent of fire consume and burn him to ashes).

Then, through the back not-very-secure backroom hallways, all the way up to the helipad where a small nook next to the air conditioning sits; where one is shielded from any curious eyes, ears and noses.

It’s there then that Genesis collapses to the floor in a slightly pathetic heap of murderously strong emotions and leather. He’s pathetic when he gets like this, unstable and uncertain and volatile in a way he doesn’t like.

The clashing of opposing thoughts in his head (that every single one of these feelings are justified, that he’s earnt them, that he’s irredeemably evil — not for any atrocious acts he’s committed in his life, but solely for the crime of being alive).

His hands shake as he digs through his pockets for the half-empty pack of cigarettes and the lighter.

There’s nothing suggesting that he can’t light up with materia, but when it feels like his heart is boiling in a pot of acid, when his collarbone threatens to shatter from the emotional turmoil ravaging him, depriving him of his usual grace, it doesn’t feel safe enough.

He’s only tried it once and it hadn’t ended well.

That, too, had felt like a failure, like a confirmation of all of his inadequacies.

Because Genesis is the best materia user the Shinra Electrical Power Company has ever had and will ever have. Even their beloved Sephiroth, the lab-grown child turned killing machine, who is meant to be everything a SOLDIER should be and more.

And yet he can’t really control himself well enough to actually light a cigarette with materia without risking lighting himself on fire.

The first inhale of nicotine feels like a rescue.

Genesis is prepared for every eventuality and in the case that he’s ever caught with them on his person there are multiple excuses ready on his tongue, prepared to deflect any suspicion that might come his way.

As a First, he’s never subject to inspections (the Turks sniffing through his apartment is not the same, Reno only leers at him with poorly hidden glee whenever he’s found something worthy of his somehow fleeting yet obsessive interests).

It would be easy enough to say that he confiscated them off an unsuspecting Third – claiming that while smoking is not prohibited for commissioned officers and SOLDIERs, it’s a terrible idea close to mako injection (as Genesis had had the disadvantage of finding out – the side effects had been so much worse when he’d been smoking).

Not that it really matters to him, he doesn’t have a sense of self-preservation anyway.

It’s not news to him that he doesn’t have all that long to lie. SOLDIER lifespans are shorter than average.

He doesn’t allow even the smallest amount of reprieve between cigarettes, content to let the smoke fill him, cleanse him, tarnish him irreparably hurt him and change him.

He’s already so ruined it doesn’t matter, still in Angeal’s presence only due to all of the energy Angeal has spent on him over the years. For all that Angeal is wonderful and perfect, he’s always been victim to sunk cost fallacy cases. Angeal doesn’t give up on anything, not even when he’s aware that it’s hopeless. Not when it comes to his stupid pants, not when it comes to dying SOLDIERs on the battlefield.

The fact that he seems to have given up on Genesis is an anomaly.

After the fifth cigarette the thought of thinking doesn’t hurt so much any more and Genesis stops to stare out over the helipad.

Zack’s different, but – Sephiroth was different, too. Different because he wasn’t and could never be Angeal.

But it was never this bad.

Maybe it’s because Genesis has always been almost as obsessed with Sephiroth as he was with Angeal.

Angeal was put on that pedestal because he is perfect and kind and present in a way Genesis’ parents never were, Sephiroth earnt his spot through straight-up hero worship.

[elainsgirl]

“Azriel will never ever reject his mate for Elain”

Yes he would. I don’t really understand why people keep saying that the mating bond is the most important aspect to SJM’s couples. Many of my favorite couples aren’t mates (Lorcan/Elide, Manon/Dorien, Yrene/Chaol). And even in the ACOTAR universe, SJM wrote that matings bonds don’t equal happiness. Both Rhys’s and tamlin’s parents had mating bonds - both marriages were unhappy.

You’re telling me that if rhys/Feyre weren’t mates and Rhys found out he had a mate, he wouldn’t immediately reject that mate? Or if Cassian discovered he had a mate (other than Nesta) he wouldn’t choose Nesta? They may have been originally drawn together due to the mating bond but they fell in love with each other regardless of the mating bond. Neither Feyre or Nesta knew that Rhys and Cassian were their mates when they fell in love - and they would’ve still fallen in they weren’t mates.

Azriel doesn’t want a mate. I don’t think anyone in the entire series actively sought out a mate - they just wanted to love someone and have that someone love them back. When Cassian remarked that he wanted what Feyre and Rhys had, he didn’t mean the mating bond (because he already had that) but their mutual love for each other. Azriel isn’t jealous that Cassian and Rhys has mates, he just wants someone to love him like Feyre/Nesta loves Rhys/cassian.

So yeah, Azriel would reject a mating bond for elain. Just like how Nesta/feyre/cassian/rhys would reject a mating bond for their SO.

If you came away from the bonus chapter thinking Azriel only wants a mate - you read the entire thing wrong

And if you’re somehow at the conclusion that Az would leave Elain for his mate - you dont have a sense of romance and how Sjm does hers.

Azriel wants Elain. He wants ELAIN to be his mate, but despite that he still wants Elain. That is the woman on his mind, who he is beginning to love, a “mate” isn’t going to change that and what type of love interest would that even make Azriel? Would you honestly want to read about a male character dropping the woman who he was willing to die for, for his “mate” - thats some messed up story and it definitely doesn’t make a good romance that will do well with todays audience.

Mating bonds are there to show these two characters were meant to be, that they’re fated for each other. It is NOT the foundation of their love story - specifically talking about Mass and how she writes love stories. The mating bond comes AFTER the couple have falled in love and established they want each other. Its a little cherry on top -

Take the mating bond away from Feysand and Nessian - their love for each other isn’t going to just dissipate into thin air. Its not going to simply disappear, “awe well, i guess its time to go our seperate ways because we’re no longer mates anymore” - thats not going to happen because they dont care about the mating bond - it doesn’t define their love. There are so many iconic couples that aren’t mates and Mass hasn’t specifically labelled herself as a fated romance author. And in each series you have couples without mating bonds (their love is just as strong and powerful as couples with mating bonds) elriel fit that pattern as they’re a couple without a mating bond too.

Mass has told us mating bonds ≠ perfect match. And which pair of mates aren’t happy for each other? Elucien. I don’t understand why people want these two characters who have been miserable and depressed around each other for the past 2 and half books together all because of some stupid bond? Eluciens and Gwynriels have the same belief as the fae people, who spend time with their mates even if it makes them unhappy because “there must be a reason they’re paired together!” - and this belief is what Sjm is trying to abolish. That just because you’re mates, doesn’t mean you have to accept the bond and makes yourselves live out a sad life together.

None of the males chose their women because they wanted a mate. It was all natural- they found each other, were drawn together and whilst the males *suspected* they were never 100% sure YET they still fell in love and chose their women and their women chose them too.

Azriel doesn’t want a mate nor a mating bond - if that was the case, he would not be wanting Elain instead the bonus would have focused on him and Mor and az complaining why Mor wasnt his mate and why the mating bond hasn’t snapped etc. Does Az think Elain could be his mate? Yes. Just like Rhys thought the same with Feyre and Cass with Nesta but is that driving him to want Elain? No. Cassian was jealous of Rhys, it definitely would make you feel jealous to see your brother living out the drean with his mate whilst your struggling with your own love interest so Azriel parallels Cass and guess what? Nessian was still endgame and will elriel be - the jealousy is simply an emotion, it doesn’t affect their interactions with Nesta/Elain, they’re not forcing any of their feelings onto their girls.

Azriel would reject his mate for the woman he loved, just like his brothers would do and if anyone believes otherwise they haven’t truly grapsed the characters and the story Sjm wants to tell.