#and yet my prof says they're straight

[bigification]

Bear Darts

"Yes! They finally came in." I say in excitement as I pick up a package in front of my dorm. I rush inside and rip open the package. 8 small darts with a weird green liquid inside and a bamboo tube. "There's no way they actually work right?" The website seemed so legit and the concept seemed too good to be true. "Guaranteed to transform any man into a certified bear." Was the tag line. I am tempted to jab one of them into my arm right now, but I'm too nervous. What if it's just poison or something? I should at least test it out, it'll be fun anyway.

I stuff the darts and the bamboo into my bag and head to campus. Who to start with? Mr. Henderson could be a good option. I don't like him so if it goes wrong I don't care, and he's pretty scrawny so I'll be able to see any difference. I decide to head to Mr. Henderson's office, figuring he'll be a good test run.

On the way, I come across a raccoon rummaging through garbage in an alley, and an idea sparks through my mind. If it's that harmful, it would hurt a raccoon, so I might as well test them out. I pull out a dart and the bamboo and head into the alley. I slot the dart into the end of the bamboo, line up the shot, and blow as hard as I can. I hear the swoosh of the dart piercing the wind. The dark hits the raccoons back and it barely reacts, as if it's just a measly mosquito bite. The green liquid drains out of the dart, and I wait for a reaction. It doesn't take long for the animal to start twitching. It's hard to tell in the shadow of the alley, but my kind went straight to the worst, it was poisonous. But then I saw its body change shape. It wasn't much, but its scrawny limbs grew thicker, its belly grew rounder, and its grubby little paws grew larger. By the end, it still resembled a raccoon, just larger and meatier than you'd expect a raccoon to be. Could this be real? I continue watching as the raccoon resumes its normal activities.

I let out a chuckle in excitement at what was yet to come. I walk back out of the alley and speed walk to Mr. Henderson's office, this was gonna be good. The website said results may vary depending on what the person looked like before the transformation, and based on other things like genetics. Essentially it's random. But I was still hoping to see Mr. Henderson with a big hairy gut spilling out of his shirt.

I finally make it to his office and I slowly open his door just a sliver. He's standing in the middle of the room, looking over at the wall to the left of the door. I feel confident enough that he's not able to see the door from the way he's looking. I look over to see he's very concentrated on a bunch of photos hung up on the wall, which makes sense as he's a photography prof.

I take a mental image of the prof before I line up the shot, so I can compare the before and after in my mind. He's got buzz cut and a bushy salt and pepper beard. His frame is quite skinny but I can see a little bit of a belly and moobs under his shirt. That shirts definitely not doing him any favours, I wonder what it will look like on him after. His arms and legs are scrawny, with little fat or muscle on them. He's also wearing some camo shorts.

Now with his image locked in my head, I prepare a dart and like up the shot. Same with the raccoon, I blow as hard as I can and the dart lodges into the side of his belly. He flinches for a moment, but then stops in places. I can see his muscle twitching, as if they're cramping and freezing him in place. It all happens so quickly. It starts with his belly. His small belly grows in waves of soft fat, each wave packing dozens of pounds. Each wave makes his gut jiggle more and more as it grows rounder and rounder. His gut and his love handles spill over his waistline as his shirt rides up, revealing a stretched out belly button. Soon enough, it appears as though he stuffed a small beach ball into his stomach with how large it is. Though it is soon complemented by a growing pair of soft moobs. If what he had before were moobs, he now has full on man tits. They're soft and round, pressing tightly against his shirt. I can even see his nipples harden under the shirt. Next to fall is his ass. His once flat derriere quickly plumped up similar to his belly. Waves of fat perked up his ass as it threatened to rip through his shorts. The button on his pants popped off and flung across the office in dramatic fashion, leaving his fly wide open. His arms and his legs thickened slightly as a layer of fat covered them, though they stayed quite skinny in proportion to his body. Also, in the process, his beard had grown out and became almost all grey.

The entire time I could feel my dick riding up into my waist band. This was so much hotter than I expected it to be. I want to go in there and get my hands on that fatass so bad, but I have to have restraint. His muscles have stopped twitching and he seems back in control, though he still seems laser focused on the wall of photos. He reaches to scratch his belly and seems a bit shocked at the fact that he's scratching skin rather than shirt. "Huh, I coulda sworn this fit yesterday, musta shrunk in the wash." He shrugs, completely oblivious to the changes his body had just gone through. I don't know if I find it more or less hot that he seems to not care that he's a fatass. I don't have time to think about it though, as he starts to turn towards the door. I quickly grab my bag and run. I'll get to see him for photography class tomorrow anyway.

I think about who I want to hit next. I've got 6 darts left and plenty of profs on my list. Now that it seems safe, I'm more willing to go for profs I like. So I think one of the hottest prof off the top of my head. Mr. Ahmed. God he's hot. He's got perfectly toned skin, a thick black beard, and beautiful eyes. The only thing is he's quite skinny, and I like my men thick. So this is the perfect opportunity, and his office is close by.

I arrive at his office and see him just on his phone. My mouth salivates as I think about what I'm gonna do to him. I pull out a dart and shoot it. It lands right into his biceps and the green liquid rapidly drains from the dart. My hand instinctively drifts to my crotch as I wait in anticipation.

He froze in place, just like Henderson. But this time it started from his arm instead of his belly, it must be from wherever the dart hits. His once skinny arm swells, ripping his sleeve in the process. His forearm followed suit, growing a thick pelt of hair in the process as his delicate hand grew into a monstrous man hand. The transformation continued into his shoulders, then to his chest. His shoulders broadened, pushing his small shirt to its limits. Then his suddenly exploded outward, tearing straight through what was left of his shirt. Thick muscles now lay under thick man tits as they hand over his stomach. His already thick chest hair became more dense as his nipples grew large and sensitive. His other arm quickly grew just as large as the first, evening out his hulking body. His exposed belly went from flat to large and rotund in a matter of seconds, though it remained quite solid from strong muscle that grew below it. His gut befell a similar fate to the rest of his body, being covered in a layer of dark hairs.

His lower half quickly grew to match his upper half. Fat and muscle flooded into his ass and thighs until his dress pants ripped in dramatic fashion, leaving him in nothing but his extremely tight underwear, leaving little to the imagination. The legs continued to grow, and his feet seemed to grow at least five sizes, busting out of his shoes. Finally his facial features began to change. The rather young professor looked as if he aged 15 years in just moments as wrinkles and blemishes riddled his face, and his hairline receded slightly. His face also seemed to become a bit chubbier, matching his hulking gut.

He finally unfroze, seeming unfazed by changes in his body. He reached to stretch some of his muscles, I'm sure they're sore after such an intense transformation. But he quickly realized his lack of clothing and left to a backroom to find some. The idea that he wouldn't be able to find any clothes that remotely fit him made it all the more hot for me, but I got out before I got caught.

I was on top of the world, there was no way I would stop now. I thought about who to find next, and the choice seemed obvious. Mr. Salim, how could I forget the health and fitness prof. Ive never had him, but damn it is tempting to take a fitness class just to get to look at him more. He kinda looked like Mr. Ahmed but buff, cocky, and far more charming.

I quickly made it to the fitness building and found his office. I peaked in and saw him working out with his earbuds in, this was my shot. Without hesitation I load a dart and shoot. I chuckle quietly as I see the dart lodge into his ass. He goes to scratch his ass but fails to notice the dart, soon after he drops his weights and freezes in place. His already perky ass grows slightly, but not as much as I'd expect. Still enough to pants ride down his ass a bit, revealing a bright blue jockstrap. Of course Mr. Salim would wear a jockstrap. His thighs grow significantly, bulging with muscle to the point of ripping his pants. The rest of his legs follow suit, growing thick calves and massive feet.

I can see under his shirt that his waist is tightening up, which is surprising given that he's the first one to not get fat. A little disappointing if you ask me, but I'm not disliking what I see so far. His shoulders broaden and his chest puffs out, ripping right through his shirt. His arms nearly double in size, making his look like a bodybuilder as his hands grow to match. His face seemed to age as some of his hair turned grey. As he aged, his already hairy body became even more so, covering most of his body in thick salt and pepper hair. Even his stubble grew out into a thick silver beard.

Mr. Salim put down his weights, got up, and walked to the mirror in his office. He turned so he could see his ass in the mirror and snapped a photo.

A part of me was hoping to see him become a fat slob, something about fat gym teachers always got me going. But I certainly wouldn't complain about this view.

The health and fitness building is right beside geography and history, so I should head there. I try to think of a teacher I've had in this department. Maybe Mr. Smith? I had him for first year history and he's hot, I just remember him being a bit weird. That doesn't matter, I'm already on my way to his office.

I peak through his door and see him focused on his computer, perfect timing. I load a dart and shoot it. It hits him in the side of his thigh. Within moments I can see his jeans struggling to contain his growing legs. His jeans become even tighter as fat fills his ass, creating a loud pop sound as his belt snaps off.

His slim torso expands until he has a thick muscle gut and love handles that spill over his jeans. His chest grows into two strong but soft looking pecs that are impossible to miss through his tight shirt. His arms explode with muscle, making it look like they're gonna rip his sleeves. Finally his face fattens up a bit as a short beard covers his soft jawline.

Mr. Smith leans back in his chair and crossed his arms over his tank of a gut.

It wasn't what I expected for Mr. Smith to be honest. I expected him to turn into a big fat history teacher, but he is hotter as a muscle chub. As I'm watching, he goes to unzip his jeans. He whips out his massive dick and starts to jerk off. Damn I didn't expect Mr. Smith to be packing that, but maybe it's a side effect of the darts. I keep watching until he swivels his chair in my direction, I can't risk being caught so I leave.

I look at my watch and realize I've lost track of time, I have a math class right now. I run across the campus to my math class and quietly sit at the back of the theatre.

I quickly get bored and wonder if I should hit Mr. Derrick with a dart in the middle of the lecture. It's risky but I'm bored so fuck it. I pull out the dart and try to shoot it as quietly as possible and it hits him square in the stomach. Mr. Derrick is a very scrawny man, so I'm curious about how it's gonna effect him.

As soon as he gets hit, he stops talking and freezes in place, but weirdly enough, no one in the class seems to notice. The man's skinny body explodes with fat. At first he grows a small pot belly, then a sizable beer belly, then it settles as a giant ball gut that looks like he stuffed a beach ball down his button up. I'm surprised his shirt has ripped yet. His chest grows two man tits that are visible through his shirt. The sleeve of his jacket starts to look like stuffed sausages as his fat arms fill out all the space in them. The man's thighs thicken until his pants start to rip and his fat ass causes his fly to rip open. Finally his clean shaven face grows a thick brown beard.

He continued the lecture as if nothing had happened. His lack of awareness of his body makes even more hot. I can't believe he ended up that fat, I can see his gut spill out of his shirt each time he reaches up. And every part of his body bounces when he walks around. Eventually he ended up sitting down for the second half of the lecture, and he was often out of breath from just talking.

Once the lecture is over, I walk up to the front of the theatre and talk to Mr. Derrick.

"Hey, I've been struggling keeping up with the material lately, I was wondering if we could have a one on one session?" I ask him.

"Oh ya for sure, just come by during my office hours and I'd be happy to help." He responds. The man is practically panting at this point and I can see the sweat start to drench his beard.

"By the way, I don't think that shirt fits you anymore sir." I say just to make him uncomfortable. He just looks down, blushes, and runs off. Hobbling as fast as he can out of the theatre.

I got two darts left, I should use them wisely. The only teacher I can think of right now is Mr. Brown. His voice is so deep and buttery but his body doesn't match it, he's really skinny. I think he'd be better off as a bear anyway.

I make my way to the athletics facility, I've had him for French and English class, so I know where to find him. He works out around this time most days, so I make my way to the gym. As I walk to the gym, I see him in the corner of my eye in the showers. He's turned away from me, so I quickly take my shot, hitting him in the back. His back muscles grow and become more defined before a thick layer of fat covered them and creates thick rolls down his back. His stomach grows into a sizable belly with a thick belly button. His chest expands, first to juicy pecs, but then they slowly soften into a pair of moobs. His traps grow as his shoulders broaden, I also notice that he's getting taller, like a lot taller. He was shorter than me, but now his head is well above the shower head. His arms grow to match the rest of his hulking body.

Next his ass widened and started to sag slightly under its own weight. His thighs thickened until they rubbed together and his feet grew from a size 11 to a monstrous size 20. I also noticed his dick grow to at least 10 inches, if not more. All the while he was still getting taller, by now his shoulders were above the shower head. Finally his facial features became softer and fatter as the hair on his head fell out, although his stubble grew into a thick black beard.

As the transformation ends, Mr. Brown reaches behind him and grabs the dart out of his back. He's the only one to have noticed it. He looks at the dart for a moment, then turns toward me. I try to duck behind the wall, but I think he saw me. I hide in one of the bathroom stalls until I hear him leave, with the size of that man, it's not hard to tell where he's walking.

Once I can't hear him anymore, I rush out of the stall and grab my bag. But just as I reach the door, I bump into Mr. Brown. He's waiting at the doorway with a small green towel wrapped around his waist.

"What's this?" He says holding up one of my darts. Interestingly enough, it's a full one. The one I shot him with should be empty, so that means. Oh no. I look through my bag, the last dart is gone. Before waiting for a response, Mr. Brown just grabs my arm and jabs the dart into it.

I feel frozen in place. My clothes feel tighter and tighter until I hear them rip. I feel the warmth of the locker room air touch my bare skin. I start to feel itchy all over my body as my perspective shifts higher and higher. I feel so strong. I feel like I've grown a foot in height, but I'm still at eye level with Mr. Browns chest.

I finally gain control of my body and look down at the damage. I have thick pecs and a little bit of a belly, all covered in hair. Thick arms and legs, also covered in hair, actually my entire body is now covered in hair. And the bulge in my underwear is massive.

I turn my attention back to Me. Brown.

"Where did you get these?" He asks in his deep intimating voice. I stutter for a moment. "I'm not gonna snitch, I just got a few people I want to use it on." Mr. Brown asks. My fear turns to excitement as I realize the damage Mr. Brown and I are gonna do together.

[onceuponalegendbg]

Thoughts During Arcane 2x04 Paint the Town Blue

Who else has been freaking out all week?

Let's go.

I'm shaking I'm so scared and the episode hasn't even started yet.

LMAO Oh my god they have Cait doing the Shinji Dad finger lock thing? What is she going to tell someone to get in the robot? Wow that took me out.

I will say, that has to be my least fav montage so far.

So Cait... how we feeling about the decisions we've made lately? .......Wait.... Are her and Maddie....?

Oh Cait..... you really are doing anything not to do any self reflection huh.... This is not a slight to Maddie, I like her but dang Cait....

I really don't want to hit play.... I'm still processing this.... We're only three minutes in.... how am I already at a loss for words....

She is really trying to justify it to herself huh. But also, and I've had this question since the clip of Pit Fighter Vi released, how big of a time jump are we talking here? A couple months? Couldn't be years cuz Isha looks the same.

What are you doing Jinx?

Jayce, Ekko, and Prof H must be missing then.

Rictus is his name.

Isha really playing the part isn't she.

Maddie really trying to be the angel on the shoulder isn't she.

So she's not completely blind. And she definitely has spunk standing up to Ambessa like that. I think it's also just... now that the immediate grief and anger has passed she's had time to actually think about her tactics. Not to mention that her actions cost her Vi. Again, I love Maddie but.... I imagine for Cait it's not what she wants.

Salo really bummed out huh.

"I gotta go bother someone." .....That should not have made me laugh as hard as it did. New favorite Jinx line just dropped.

Jinx is about to make me cry. Ella why are you so good.

They're all paying respects in their own way.

I admit, Sevika is a good orator.

Here Comes Warwick.

Trauma has been Re-triggered.

God I absolutely love Sevika and Jinx bouncing off each other. Sevika's such a good straight man for our favorite wild card. The team up I've truly been waiting for.

Also, before we continue, I have a hunch that the end of this episode is gonna end with us seeing Vi, and then next episode is going to heavily feature her... you know, seeing as a lot of the structure of season 2 is paralleling season 1.

LMAO

Ok two things: This Enforcer not giving a damn is so great but seeing Jinx in the get up is so weird because she's so tiny! Especially next to Sevika!

Really Ambessa? Now you're putting the pieces together!?

Oh wow. Someone appreciating Jinx... that must be a weird feeling.

Oh this kid is so gonna die. Jinx just isn't allowed to have good things.

YEP IT"S FRICKIN VANDER!!!

Alright, so no Vi but I will definitely take this cliffhanger. I mean, we all knew it was coming but dang.

[gobbluthbisexual]

Ummmmm??? Care to explain, Homer?????

Iliad XXIV

[gerec]

I know X-Men aren't being integrated yet, but: lt's important to me that Erik have WWII origins and there be a good reason we haven't heard of mutants in the MCU yet. Do you think jumping straight into the Krakoa storyline would work? Moira, Charles, and Erik working early and secretly in mutant history so mutants didn't make the news? PStew in the MoM trailer is in a place & saying a line that could work for Quiet Council IMO and then Strange falls through a green place that could work asKrakoa

I keep telling myself that if I have zero expectations for X-Men in the MCU than I can't possibly be disappointed with whatever they end up doing to my favourites lol.

Regarding Magneto - I've never understood people saying they have to change his background as a Holocaust survivor because it wouldn't make sense that he's still youngish and alive and I'm just??? He's a mutant? They age slower? It's LITERALLY that easy of an explanation like why would anyone see the need to alter such a fundamental and important part of this character's makeup - there's a fucking talking raccoon and Howard the Duck in the MCU it's not that far of a stretch to make mutants age differently lol.

I LOVE the current HOX run of X-Men in the comics but they're in such a weird place I'm not sure it works as their introduction to the MCU? I mean, they've got the resurrection thing going which changes the stakes for mutants immediately, and it required quite a lot of storytelling to get them to that place in the comics. I think it makes more sense that mutants will come into the MCU somehow through the multiverse (as in they've always existed just not in the 616), if not in MoM than later through the other stories they've been telling like in Loki s2 or even Antman 3 via Kang?

Having said that, I would actually love it if they did something different with the X-Men then 'Prof X and his school vs Magneto and the Brotherhood'. That's been done (very well in the OT) and I'm ready for something new and interesting 'shrugs'.

[thecatwhodestroyedyou]

Do you believe that the universe gives signs?

Lemme tell y'all a story. Hope you guys enjoy it. 😁

We needed 1 day old chicks for our class tomorrow. So today, I went out with my classmate which was on her way home. We just happen to be going on the same route. At first, I wasn't sure if I will really go to the store where they sell chicks because some of our classmates might've already bought some for the whole class or if they want me to buy for them since I'm already going there, might as well right? Right.

So, I decided to tell my friend that I'm just going to stay at the mall near the train station and eat or something while I wait for everyone's reply. But then, the jeep that we were riding went pass the mall and straight to the station. So I told my friend "Is this a sign that maybe I should go buy dem chicks?" we laughed cause I said it with a joking tone. Lol

So we both rode the train and we talked about school stuff. I went off first. Then I saw a grocery store and remembered that I needed to buy a conditioner since I was out of conditioner. I went in and as I walked in the grocery store, I was searching in my phone for directions. And as we all know, not everything is in the internet. So I decided, fuck this, imma just wing it and search by eye.

As I found myself lost in a place where I've never been before, I stumbled upon a store that sells feeds and other pet stuff. I figured that I should buy the feeds then ask the lady where I can buy day old chicks.

When I got to the store, this really kind lady told me that she thought I was her daughter cause we both wore glasses, then she looked at my ID lace while she was putting the feeds that I was going to buy in a plastic bag. Then she told me that her daughter goes to the same school, which made more sense why I somewhat resembled her daughter. We chatted a lot about school stuff as well and how she cried when her daughter was crying due to the difficulty of our program. I was willing enough to advertise the store. The store's name is Malupetz btw, and they have a facbook page. Then she gave me directions to where I might find day old chicks.

Chatting with her made me miss my mom. You can really feel the mother in her and the struggles that she and her daughter faced. She showed me the unmatched kindness that a mother would give like I was being taken care of.

So, after thanking her and saying our farewells, I walked towards the direction she gave and stopped at some point on the side walk to check my phone. The timing was great. No one in class had any chicks and it was convinient that I was already there. So i volunteered to buy for the whole class since we only needed 1 chick per group.

As I search for dem chicks, I freakin' saw ducklings! I've wanted a duck since I don't remember when. I needed to resist buying 3 day old ducklings 'cause, girl, I ain' t ready for that kind of responsibility yet. At least now I know where to buy some when I'm ready.

So, after going from store to store asking the age and price, I only found one store who was currently selling 1 day old chicks. The problem was, they're gonna be 2 days old by tomorrow. So, I had to ask multiple people and our professor if its ok to buy 2 day old chicks. Our prof. wasn't replying yet, so we assumed she was busy. While I wait for her reply, I wanted to find a place to stay for the time being. Then my classmates were worried af (I feel so loved, yo!) and told me to hide my phone cause that area is dangerous. True enough, it was. Then I remembered that I passed by a church a while ago. So I decoded to stay there for a while.

We have this belief in the family that when you go in a church for the first time, you should make a wish.

Then, a lady (I'm assuming she works with the church) gave everyone a folder containing the prayer for San Roque. So I decided to dedicate my time waiting to pray.

This was the last part of the prayer.

There were only a handful of people who prayed with us. Not to mention that I haven't been to church for a while.

I felt so happy and light hearted. The fact that I went to a place I've never been before, alone, should've scared the living darkness out of me, but it didn't.

Then I checked my phone and our professor said that It was ok if I can't find day old chicks.

I went out of the church and saw people that were selling sampaguita. I remembered that my altar back in our apartment had dried ones and needed replacing. Then I remember that there's this old lady selling sampaguita beside a university who works hard to earn money. So I decided to buy the flowers later since the old lady selling them is on my way home.

Bought dem leghorn chicks, bought bedding for the chicks, bought sampaguita from the old lady otw home and got home to my beloved gatto.

So, you may ask, how was passing by the mall, straight to the train station a good sign?

Well, it showed me that I should take the risk.

Take the risk of going to a place unknown to me.

I was able to buy conditioner (not so important)

I met a new friend

I prayed and thank the Lord for His blessings and the safety He gave me.

I got to know a new place (not to mention finding ducklings. Hehehe)

I was able to help an old friend by buying her flowers.

And lastly I got what I came for in the first place

Dem adorable chicks.

Not a single moment was wasted or unproductive this afternoon.

Sorry for that long story, I just wanted to share my day. 😊

I hope I didn't bore anyone or wasted your time...

[grinchwrapsupreme]

ALRIGHT HERE WE GO BABY

So when I first watched Endgame back when it first came out i wasn't too into marvel and hadn't seen Infinity War yet, so my first reaction to seeing Prof Hulk was "when did that happen?" and the answer I got was "off-screen between movies." Immediately I hated it and since then I've seen some similar sentiments about it "ruining Bruce's character" or "being lazy storytelling" etc etc. and now that I've seen Infinity War I still hate it! But when I go into the Prof Hulk tag I see a lot of people who really really like the Prof Hulk development and even go into, at length, why it was a good choice for Bruce's (and Hulk's) character. So why is there a big divide between people who love it and people who hate it? The answer is Character Trajectory. (essay under the cut)

Bruce's character arc went pretty smoothly between the first Avengers and Ultron, and took a strange but understandable turn in Ragnarok. He's been the Hulk for 2 years, he's a bit out of it, he doesn't know what's been going on. We bring him into Infinity War and we have the same confused Bruce who now is having difficulties with the Hulk and, again, this makes sense because while everyone else has had time to recover, Bruce is going straight from movie to movie with no recuperation in the interim. We're getting pure Brucey-boy.

What's interesting to note is that before IW there were 2 major Hulk-outs and 1 major Hulk... in?? that were against either Bruce or Hulk's will. Nat pushes him off a cliff forcing a Hulk-out against Bruce's wishes; Bruce jumps off a spaceship to force Hulk out into battle, which, judging by the delay, the Hulk did not want. Between those, Hulk didn't want to turn back into Banner during Ragnarok and once again did so Against His Will.

So we come up to IW and it makes sense that the Hulk doesn't want to come out, he's tired of being used and pushed around. He liked having full control on Sakaar and he doesn't like being under Bruce's control. But what's really key here is that this is never made obvious. What we get is Bruce and Hulk are "having a thing" and cannot cooperate, which is why we get Bruce fighting in the Hulk Buster while actively arguing with Hulk, and Hulk never shows up again. We finish the movie with Bruce.

Now because of the events of Ultron and Ragnarok, we can look at this and understand the Hulk's motivations, but because they don't say it out loud like they do in this deleted scene you have to actually think about it. What happens if you take it at face value the way most action movies are presented? We don't get an immediate reason. We get a different character arc.

Instead of seeing this arc as "Hulk really wants equal say and autonomy" we see "Bruce discovers he doesn't need the Hulk to be an equal member of the Avengers." We see Bruce fight in the suit and he's excited about it because he's still kind of loopy and it appears to be Bruce moving past his self-disgust and learning to feel confident and secure without the Hulk there to protect him. And we finish the movie with pretty much just that from Bruce: he's confident, he fights, he's kind of goofy, and he's not really there much. We don't see his relationship develop with Hulk beyond "they're fighting."

And then you move into Endgame and suddenly they're... integrated?

This isn't a bad choice in terms of the intentions of the writers. They wanted to show that Hulk and Bruce found equilibrium and learned to cooperate and become one strong, smart, confident person. That was the intention. Bruce is healed, Hulk is healed, Professor Hulk is the natural conclusion.

The problem is that they didn't set up that trajectory in IW. Instead they set up "Bruce can solve his own problems now and doesn't need the Hulk and the Hulk doesn't want anything to do with Bruce." Crucially, we are missing that key moment wherein Hulk and Bruce reach an understanding. Hell, we don't even see the peak or underlying cause of their "thing." We leave them still fighting and practically parting ways and come back to them unified. That's like ending Civil War during the airport fight and coming back in Infinity War and they solved their problems off-screen (as an example, I know they didn't resolve anything until later). It doesn't work. We know they come back together, we know they still have their differences but ultimately rely on each other, but because we were allowed to see some reconciliation through a common purpose we aren't asking why they aren't trying to kill each other anymore.

The logical trajectory for Bruce's character as set up by Infinity War is "Bruce moves on to become stronger on his own." Instead we get "at some point Bruce and Hulk settled their differences and decided to work things out. The intention to get to that point was there, but they didn't set it up in a way that logically leads to that point.

So we return to this deleted scene. I personally don't like this scene, I don't think the dialogue is very strong, BUT it gives us that important character moment that changes the trajectory. It shows us Bruce and Hulk coming to understand what the other wants and forming a shaky, but present, foundation for their eventual integration. Without the foundation of this discussion we are left wondering, well, where the hell did this big, smart, green guy come from? This deleted scene shows us where the line of thought of their character arcs is headed. It's a major fork in their relationship and without it we can speculate, but we don't have any foundation in the canon movies for the end result.

And that's where fans get divided. Some fans, including myself the first time I saw it, go into it and wonder what the hell just happened because we were ready for a Bruce Independence Arc. Other fans go into it and they're excited because they could recognize the resolution to a longer-running conflict and understood the intention despite skipping over the fork in the relationship. For them, it's obvious that Hulk and Banner would come together, and for those who need the fork to guide us in the right direction it's obvious that this is NOT where banner's storyline was headed.

You get 2 different readings of the same storyline because half of us were sticking with the flow of the movie and half of us were jumping ahead with the intention. And none of this is even touching on people who read the comics.

tl;dr The creators left out a key point in Bruce/Hulk's storyline that could have changed the trajectory of their relationship and then decided to change the trajectory between movies anyways

the problem with watching the marvel movies after everybody's over it already is i'm sitting here ready to go with an essay about Professor Hulk's Character Arc Trajectory: How to Divide an Audience and i know if i take the time to sit down and write and post it nobody who cares will see it and the people who do see it will understand that i'm unemployed enough to write an essay about the Avengers