#its seems like that's all the movie did. of course the characterization is gonna feel off when the character's morals and behavior is askew. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bratkook · 4 years

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damn the charcuterie board. (m) pjm. myg.

pairing: min yoongi x reader x park jimin genre: light crack, smut, pwp, warnings: threesome (obvs), oral sex, face riding, unprotected sex, sloppy seconds, stupid jokes about raw meat lmfao word count: 6.7k of pure filth author’s note: hihiii this is loosely based on a request i got a while back that i finally got around to doing. i hope you guys enjoy it, feel free to shoot me a message and lmk what you think!

“This feels wrong.” Jimin exclaims, finger pointing at the wooden slab that Yoongi just laid out on the coffee table in front of you two. Yoongi looks down right offended, a scowl gracing his face as he glares at Jimin.

“What the fuck, why?” He grumbles, plucking up a slice of cheese and stuffing it into his mouth, rounding the corner and plopping down next to you on the couch.

You stare at Jimin in amusement, your feet resting on the coffee table, your hands gently patting your knees, “Yeah why?”

Jimin scoffs, leaning forward and pushing the slices of salami around with his finger, a disgusted look on his face as he does so. “This is raw meat Yoongi, raw meat and cheese.”

“With dried fruits!” You interject.

“Yes, with dried fruits.” Jimin hums, reluctantly grabbing a cracker and chewing it slowly, almost cautiously.

“And nuts!” You continue with a laugh.

Jimin sighs, “Yes, thank you Y/N and nuts.”

“You’re so uncultured.” Yoongi grumbles out, reaching forward to grab the piece of peppered salami that Jimin had been assaulting prior, “Its cured meat, not raw.”

Jimin scoffs now, “Same difference.”

You chuckle under your breath, reaching forward to grab the unopened wine bottle sitting by the charcuterie board, swiping the bottle opener as well before settling back onto the couch.

The bottle sits between your thighs as you twist into the cork, a smile on your face due to how Yoongi and Jimin continue to bicker about whether the meats were raw or not.

A pop sounds off when you uncork the bottle, momentarily silencing Jimin when he mentions not wanting to catch salmonella from the raw meat touching the cheese.

“I’m gonna pretend like you’re not an entire idiot and didn’t just say that. Y/N, pour me a glass.”

Jimin stares at him like he just said the most offensive thing, sagging into the couch with a grumble, crossing his arms under his chest while you pour Yoongi a large glass of Merlot.

“If it means anything I think your charcuterie board is beautiful Yoongi.”

You take a glance at him and see him admiring his work, the marbled slab of wood that held different meats, cheeses, crackers, dried fruit and nuts, along with an assortment of jams and dips to top it off.

“This is why I love you and you only.”

He reaches over and hooks an arm around your shoulder, tugging you into his side, not caring that you flopped over and nearly spilled his glass of wine.

“Her only?” Jimin once again complains, he had been in a rather grumpy mood today, whining about the tiniest things. You had an inkling something at work must have happened that dampened his mood. “How are you gonna say that.”

“We’re like the three musketeers Yoongi you can’t single out Jimin like that.”

Yoongi laughs under his breath, taking a sip of his wine slowly while Jimin continues, “No way, we’re totally a Lizzie McGuire-esque friend group.”

That makes Yoongi choke on the drink, his teeth knocking into the glass as he coughs obnoxiously, your body jostling against his as he pounds on his chest. “What?”

“What?” Jimin parrots, “Y/N’s Lizzie, I’m Gordo–“

“And what, I’m Miranda? The fuck.”

How in the hell did he fall under the Miranda characterization, this was so fucked up.

“Would you rather be Kate Sanders? Or Ethan?”

Yoongi had enough, he nudges you aside to reach over once more, his hands grabbing a handful of grapes and chucking them at Jimin, laughing when the fruit messes up his blonde hair. “Fuck you, I’m Gordo.”

You reach over yourself, grabbing some dried oranges and popping them in your mouth, deciding that Jimin had been attacked enough. “To be fair, I think I’m more of a Miranda, Jimin’s definitely Lizzie and you’re Gordo for sure.”

That seems to satisfy everyone, Jimin beaming at being called Lizzie, grabbing the grapes that had landed on his lap and popping them in his mouth with a grin, “Yeah that sounds more like it.”

Yoongi continues to sip on his wine, letting you go back to snuggling on his side, your legs now outstretched over onto Jimin’s lap.

Little by little you and Yoongi, and after much hesitation even Jimin, finish the majority of the contents of the board and wine. Laying on the couch, warm faced and full you groan out when Yoongi’s fingers dig into your calves, massaging the flesh.

“Hey, wasn’t your date with Chanwoo yesterday?” Jimin asks softly, ears perking up when you let out a soft moan at the tension Yoongi’s releasing in your legs.

Yoongi watches on curiously, your face on Jimin’s lap, content as he rakes his fingers through your hair. You had been gushing about Chanwoo for weeks now, how excited you were to finally go on a date together. Yoongi and Jimin were the two people you went to for everything, they knew absolutely every dirty secret about you and as much as Yoongi loved knowing what made you tick, hearing about your love interests was definitely a downside.

“Yes,” you sigh, your tone differing greatly from the dreamy way you had spoke about him before, tracing a fingertip on the fabric of Jimin’s jean covered thigh, “he made dinner and we watched a movie at my place.”

“So netflix and chill?” Jimin snorts, laughing when you punch your arm out to hit his stomach.

“You know what, so what if it was. I have needs and I needed to get laid.”

Yoongi hums now, his fingers pausing on your skin, “And were your needs met?” Hes asking because he knows, he can tell by your voice that whatever had transpired between you and Chanwoo had not satisfied you.

He was right too, Chanwoo had been a gentleman, coming over to yours right on time and making a plate of carbonara that had been delicious. Halfway through watching Jumanji—that alone should’ve been a sign that you were not going to be getting the dicking you desperately wanted—he had made his move.

A messy make out session on your couch led to him fumbling out of his jeans as quickly as he could, barely giving you time to fall into the motions before he was rutting into you like a horny teenager.

His eagerness would have turned you on if he hadn’t been so insistent in hiding his face in your neck, getting himself to cum in three minutes flat. Not even an entire scene of the movie had passed before a whine met your ears as he finished. He had the audacity to ask you if you had came as well and you were in no hurry to soothe his ego, bluntly telling him it had been underwhelming and asking him to leave.

After he had gone you moved yourself into your room, grabbed your favorite vibrator and searched the internet for a video worthy of getting you off. You had stumbled onto a threesome video, watching a petite girl getting railed from behind as she choked on cock at the same time.

As you sat in your friends house, laid on the couch between the both of them, that video comes to mind again. How would it feel to have both Jimin and Yoongi have their way with you? Just like they knew everything about you, you knew everything about them, having heard every story of their sexual escapades. Unless they were all talk, you knew they were both very good lays.

Your thighs press together as your mind wanders, Yoongi’s question no longer being a focus of interest, instead you pictured yourself on all fours on this same couch, Yoongi thrusting into you from behind while you sucked Jimin off.

The two boys aren’t idiots, they can see the dazed out look on your face that you can’t conceal, the way your thighs are rubbing together on top of Yoongi’s lap, nudging along his crotch in a way that has his own mind wandering.

“Whatcha thinking about in here?” Jimin asks, his finger gently tapping at your temple, dragging you out of your explicit daydream.

You blink back to the present, turning your head over to look at him. The smirk he’s currently sporting makes you think he can read your mind, his eyes piercing into you with his head slightly tilted in faux innocence.

“I just–“ you stop to sigh out, flopping onto your back and readjusting your body on the couch, “Chanwoo sucked so I had to get off on my own and this damn video is seared into my mind.”

Jimin hums, his cock twitching at the visual he gets of you in your room, desperate to get off, sweaty on your sheets as you rut against your hand. Maybe you’d think of him, calling out his name when you brought yourself over the edge.

“I need specifics sweet heart.”

You roll your eyes at the teasing tone in Jimin’s voice, you knew they weren’t going to let this go now, not until they got all the details. “It was a threesome video.”

“Oh?” Yoongi perks up, “Two girls one boy or?”

These perverts.

“Two boys one girl.” You grumble out, feeling your cheeks start to blush for some reason.

“Strange.” Jimin sighs out, his fingers resuming raking through your hair, where as Yoongi’s trail up onto your thighs until they reach the hem of your jean shorts and then they come back down to repeat. “Have you ever been in a threesome, is that like some secret desire of yours?”

Your lips purse as you think it through, you hadn’t been in one and whenever you thought of threesomes the only men who occupied that space were currently on the couch with you. “Never have and I guess you could say that.”

The way Yoongi and Jimin share a look has you furrowing your brows, “Wait, have you two?”

Yoongi’s the first to break, his smile spreading across his face as he laughs in an almost giddy way. “Y/N, we’re two horny boys who happen to be room mates. Of course we’ve been in a threesome together.”

Well that was news to you, maybe your idea of being in one with them wasn’t so far fetched then.

“You guys never told me.” The tone of your voice has Yoongi laughing out loud, his palm swatting at your thigh, making the pout on your face turn into a scowl.

“We didn’t think you wanted to know that.”

You scoff, “Yoongi considering you told me about the time a girl asked you to pee on her I’m pretty sure we’re past the i didn’t think you wanted to know that stage.”

Jimin laughs at the memory, how Yoongi had walked into his room after she had left, looking almost scarred at the request. He was not a kink shamer by any means but water sports were definitely a hard no.

“She has a point.” He chimes in, his fingers now twisting your strands in a playful manner.

Yoongi hums in agreement, toying with the hem of your shorts, dipping slightly under the fabric until his fingertips felt the edge of your underwear. A smirk curves up his lip when your leg jumps slightly at the sensation.

He stares down at you with an expression that matches Jimin’s, “It was a while back, if you want details I can give you details.”

“Oh I think she wants details Yoongi, she needs material for the next time someone disappoints her.”

“Fuck you.” Your hand reaches for the discarded remote, Jimin having placed it onto the coffee table after deciding to play episodes of Lizzie Mcguire. Before you can grasp it though, Jimin’s grabbing your hand and yanking it back, forcing you to lay back onto the couch once more. He grabs your other hand as well, pressing both of them above your head in a strong grip.

“No baby, you wanted details we’re gonna give them to you right Yoongi?”

The brunette boy nods along, his fingers pressing onto your thighs when you try to wiggle out of his grasp out of annoyance. “That’s right, I’m sure you’d love to know how we made that pretty girl cry. Bet you wish it was you huh?”

Yoongi doesn’t miss how your thighs resume pressing together, your hips lightly bucking into the air at his words.

“I’m curious though,” Jimin starts, his fingers tracing delicate shapes onto your wrists, “which one of us would you fuck first?”

“Neither.” You laugh out, giggling harder when Yoongi slaps your thighs. He calls bullshit, they both do. While you three have technically never slept together, the amount of drunk kissing and fondling shared between you was evidence enough of the sexual tension surrounding you.

“No?” Yoongi wonders, a curious look on his face as he stares at you, “So if I just–“ he reaches for your short buttons, slowly popping them open and moving on to the zipper, pulling it down halfway, “took these off and ate you out you wouldn’t be begging me to fuck you?”

A stubborn shake of your head is all you give him, your teeth nibbling on your bottom lip as you mentally urged him on. When Yoongi invited you over to hang out this is definitely not what you had in mind but once again, you were a woman with needs and you needed to get laid properly.

“Should we find out?”

The first crack in your exterior is shown when you softly nod your head, wiggling your hips to get him to resume unzipping your shorts. Yoongi chuckles when you lift up your hips, helping him in tugging them off completely, your soft pink underwear being put on display.

“Cute.” Yoongi hums, tossing your shorts aside. His fingers trail around the edge of your underwear, gently pressing down on your center where a small wet patch soaked into the fabric.

Jimin holds both your wrists in his left hand, the right one coming to drape across your stomach to hold you in place. You feel totally restrained but ready to let the boys do whatever they pleased to you. It could partially be blamed on the fact that you were incredibly horny but you had fantasied about this for too long now.

“You gonna slide them off or just stare?” Yoongi chuckles at your remark, his jaw ticking out at how bratty you were behaving.

“Oh believe me, I’m not just gonna stare sweet heart.” Yoongi mumbles out as he stands up from the couch, motioning for you to get up as well.

A curious look over takes your face as you watch him, Jimin’s light laugh making you feel like he knows something you don’t. With a bit of hesitation you haul yourself up.

His fingers hook onto your underwear and tug them down, letting you step out of them and leaving them in a pile on the floor. His eyes lock onto your center, a devious grin on his face when he sees how riled up you got yourself while lost in your thoughts.

“Do something then, give me new material to think about the next time someone disappoints me.”

Its Jimin’s hand that shoot forward, delivering a swift slap onto your ass, your body jumping at the slight sting on your flesh. “Watch it, patience gets rewarded. Let Yoongi have a taste.”

“Gotta see if you’ll beg or not.” Yoongi mumbles out, his fingers trailing up your thighs once more, light feather-like touches until he reaches the hem of your shirt, tugging it off as well and humming when he sees you’d forgone wearing a bra.

His eyes look onto Jimin and he nods, he clearly knew what that meant because he stands right up and clears the space on the couch for Yoongi to settle back onto it, this time flat on his back.

For a moment you’re confused but when he motions his hands for you to join him it clicks and your jaw drops open for a second.

Yoongi wanted you to sit on his face.

“Really?” You shyly ask, no one had ever asked you to do that but Yoongi seemed very eager to be in this position, his head nodding immediately.

“Really, unless you don’t wanna.” He shrugs casually with a grin.

“No, no I do.” You whisper out, stepping towards him and straddling his hips. That only makes Yoongi chuckle, his hands settling onto your hips again and tugging you higher up his body.

“You gotta get over here for that sweet heart.” He teases and Jimin laughs along, stepping forward to help Yoongi haul your body up until your thighs were pressed into the sofa, snuggly beside his head, your core right above his face and you’re struck with a brief moment of embarrassment at feeling so exposed by this position.

You can feel his breath on your skin as he inches forward, Yoongi’s fingers dig into your ass to keep you in place. A soft kiss is pressed onto the skin of your inner thighs, his eyes flicking up to look at you and send you a wink before he slowly licks his way up to your center. His ears focus on the hitch of your breath when he reaches your clit, a playful flick of his tongue that lasts a second until hes moving on.

A small sigh leaves you as you relax against Yoongi, your head dropping back as you settle lower onto his face, a hum of content coming from him, pleased that you’re relaxing into the motions.

The teasing flicks of Yoongi’s tongue have you on edge, not wanting to bite back and beg him to do more so you let him take his time. Let his tongue explore, dipping into your slit, down to your entrance to collect more of your arousal before moving back up to your clit. A teasing pattern that has you moaning quietly, your body hunching forward to rest your hands on the arms of the couch.

His fingers dig into your ass harder as his eyes shut, savoring the way you taste, not quite expecting this to be the events of the night but the way his dick is currently aching in his jeans shows how much he’s enjoying the change of events.

“Fuck.” You shudder as he licks a broad stripe up your slit, your hands gripping the material of the sofa harder as he latches back onto your clit and Jimin reaches forward to touch you, his hands softly rubbing the back of your knuckles to get your attention.

His plump lips spread into a smile when he sees your mouth drop open into a moan at the rhythmic sucking that has you grinding your hips onto his face, a groan from Yoongi meeting your ears from the action.

“You wanna beg yet baby?” Jimin asks from in front of you, a smirk on his face as he touches your cheek, his thumb rubbing along your lower lip. His eyes widen when you take the digit into your mouth, sucking on it as if it was his cock.

“No.” You breathe out with a smile, softly biting down on his thumb as you stare down at your friend.

“No?” Yoongi asks as he moves away, a frown on his shiny lips as he nods. A giggle leaves your mouth, your hand moving from its spot and reaching to grip his hair, slowly tugging him forward and the face he gives you only makes you giggle harder, “I knew it.” He barely gets out before he has a mouthful of your pussy again, this time eating you out with determination.

You might not have begged them yet but he would take it, the grip in his hair spurring him on. His fingers spread you open as he digs in, his tongue alternating between flicking against your clit or sucking on it.

“Shit Yoongi,” you keen as you resume grinding against him, your other hand grabbing onto Jimin’s that moved from your mouth onto the back of your head, tangling into your hair and bringing you forward to crash your lips against his.

“Better than Chanwoo already huh?” Jimin speaks softly when he pulls back, acting as if he isn’t at all affected by whats going on, as if the way you’re grinding down onto his room mates face isn’t making him want to take his cock out and ask you to sink down onto it.

“So much better.” You moan. Yoongi hears it loud and clear, a smile on his face at the confession. His fingers move down until they circle your entrance, dipping in teasingly to test the waters. A groan of frustration is the only response to his action so he continues, slipping a finger into you and wiggling it around your heat, the warmth and wetness helping the digit sink in with ease so he adds another one, spreading them apart to stretch you open for whats to come.

Jimin licks his way into your mouth, his tongue tangling with yours in a heated kiss. The way you’re moaning into his mouth has him tugging at your strands, wanting to pull you closer as if he wasn’t close enough already. He can hear your breathing shuddering as Yoongi’s ministrations, pulling away to catch your breath.

“He’s getting you nice and ready for us sweet heart.”

Your walls clamp down onto Yoongi’s finger and he laughs, “Oh she liked that Jimin.”

“Hm, did she?” He chuckles, watching your face screw up when Yoongi goes back to thrusting his fingers into you, his lips wrapping around your clit and sucking with more fervor, intent on sending you over the edge, wanting to feel you falling apart on top of him.

“Fuck, nngh-” you keen, dropping down further onto Yoongi and he lets you, your hips grinding down onto him as you seek your release, the pleasure blooming in your stomach as it inches closer, “so close.”

“Thats it sweet heart, let go.” Jimin speaks softly. Yoongi’s uses the hand on your ass to continue to rut your hips against his face when you fall head first into your orgasm, the pleasure spreading through out your body and causing you to still as you nearly bent over. Jimin’s hands clutch onto your shoulders to keep you up when Yoongi doesn’t pull away, humming and slurping against you to milk out your orgasm until you’re twitching on top of him, your hips stuttering on his face, jumping slightly when he delivers a gentle slap onto your ass once he pulls away.

You might have just came but Yoongi is completely satisfied, happy to be buried between your thighs for as long as you needed, his cock pressing against his jeans it was a shock he hadn’t cum in his pants when you did.

“You taste so good.” He groans, continuing to lick at the skin of your inner thighs, collecting the drips of your cum up in a tantalizing manner.

“Let me have a tase.” Jimin begs, his hand trailing down your torso until his reaches your sensitive center, a soft shiver running through your body when he grazes your clit before slipping two fingers inside of you. It lasts for a brief moment, he spreads his fingers out and coats them in your arousal before pulling them back out and bringing them to his lips.

You watch in awe as he pops them into his mouth, his eyes slipping shut at the taste of it, licking them clean as he moans, “I’ll have to get a proper taste next time, but I’m feeling a little neglected sweet heart, can you help me.” He pouts, grasping the hand that was tangled in Yoongi’s hair and bring it to the top of his jeans, trailing them down slowly until your hands cupped his cock over the material.

“You can’t single out Jimin like that Y/N,” Yoongi teases, sliding out from underneath you, “suck his cock and make him feel included baby.”

Jimin smirks down at you when you nod, your hands moving to unbutton Jimin’s pants as Yoongi settles behind you, his own hands roaming your body until they reach your nipples, enjoying the way you gasp as he pinches the pebbled buds.

Jimin watches on patiently when you finally unzip them, tugging them down as best as you can until he takes over with a chuckle. He steps back from the side of the couch to slide out of his shoes and jeans, his black briefs joining in on the pile of clothes on the floor.

His cock springs out when its released from its confines, already leaking precum from watching the earlier events go down. Jimin was a fan of watching, getting pleasure out of seeing others fall apart but he loved partaking on the action more.

Your hands press gentle touches onto his cock as he slides his shirt off, revealing his toned stomach to you, not at all shy about being naked in front of his friend. “You just gonna stare?” He shoots back at you with a smile, dragging you out of your admiration of his cock and you smile back at being called out.

“No,” you breathe as you lean forward, your lips an inch away from the head of his cock, “gonna make you feel good.” You promise, one hand wrapping around the base of him as you ease him into your mouth, the slight tang of his precum hitting your tongue. He lets out a breath at the warmth of your mouth, how your lips wrap around him as you sink further down, your tongue running along the bottom of him.

“Good girl.” He praises, cupping your cheek softly as you start to bob down his length, your cheeks hallowing out as you suck, your eyes fluttering up to look at him and he groans, his top teeth biting down onto his lip at the visual.

You’re bent forward on your hands and knees, holding yourself up with one hand on the arm of the couch while Yoongi kneels behind you, using your moment of distraction with his best friends cock to undress himself as well.

His own cock has been throbbing in his jeans, a feeling of relief washing over him when its finally released, the tip angry and red as he wraps his hands around himself. He watches on curiously as you moan around Jimin’s cock, pumping his length in time to match the motion, a soft groan leaving his lips when he sees Jimin thrust forward into your mouth.

A choked moan escapes you, your throat tightening around his cock for a moment until he pulls back, his shining length leaving your mouth as he smiles down at you, his eyes locking onto Yoongi’s as he settles behind your ass. When you feels his hands on your hips your turn your head around, eyes wide at him being fully naked now as well, “Can you keep sucking his cock while I fuck you sweet heart?”

You’re nodding immediately, turning back around to bring Jimin’s length back into your mouth, sinking down onto him quickly and he groans at the feeling, his head dropping back as he moans. “Fuck, just like that Y/N.”

You hum against his length, arching your back when you feel Yoongi bring his cock towards your entrance, his bulbous head teasing you, sliding in between your lips to thrust forward, evenly coating himself before nudging his way inside of you. When he breaches your entrance your pause, Jimin’s cock nuzzled in your mouth as you let out a breath, feeling Yoongi stretch you open inch by inch, his palms on your ass rubbing the skin softly until he bottoms out with a sigh.

“You love this huh?” Yoongi asks as he pulls out, waiting for a moment before thrusting in, the force of it making you sink further onto Jimin’s cock, “Love being stuffed like this by your best friends?”

Not being able to respond you rut back onto him, hearing him chuckle as you do so, the hand clutching onto the arm of the sofa digs in harder as he begins rocking his hips into you, the sound of skin smacking together joining in with Jimin’s moans as you continue sucking his cock.

His hands tangle into your hair once more, holding you in place as he starts the shallowly thrust into your mouth, taking note to be gentle to not overwhelm you as Yoongi fucks into you.

“Such a good cock slut, is this living up to your fantasy?” He asks, giving you a wicked smile when you look back at him, “It’s living up to mine.” He admits, his eyes glued to the way your lips spread apart to take him in, covered in your spit as he thrusts into you. Jimin thought of this often, he wasn’t blind to the way you’d stare at them, how you’d get that dazed look on your face whenever the topic of sex would come up between you three, no doubt thinking of the ways they’d defile you.

You gurgle a response around his length and he coos at you, his eyes looking back at Yoongi and smirking at how lost he looks in the pleasure of it all, his cock being enveloped by your heat, the way your walls flutter every time he surges forward. His fingers are digging into your flesh harshly, slight imprints that will most likely remain on your skin for days to come but it urges you on, urges you to continue to please both men but when Yoongi rubs against your g-spot you have to pull back from Jimin, a wet gasp leaving your mouth as your head hangs forward.

“Shit,” You moan out, your hand staying wrapped around Jimin as you weakly pump his length. “feels so good.”

He just laughs at the slur in your voice, the fact that he knows he could do so much more to you yet you were already falling apart, “Yeah?” He implores, his head falling back when you squeeze around him, your walls clamping down around him whenever he thrusts out, almost as if you’re pulling him back in, wanting to keep him nuzzled inside of you.

“You’re not doing a very good job at following directions” He scolds lightly, forcing you back into action as you apologize and wrap your lips around Jimin’s cock again, “Don’t worry, we’ll help you.”

Yoongi nods at Jimin, making the younger one smirk as he nods back, the two of them waiting until you relax once more before they take turns thrusting in to you, practiced motions that make you feel connected. Yoongi thrusts forward as Jimin pulls back, feeling like they were attached together.

You let your jaw open further to accommodate for the way Jimin was fucking your throat, not caring about the drool that escaped your mouth and pooled onto the couch. Both of your hands held onto the couch now, needing them to hold your body up as they ravished you, using you to seek out their own pleasure and it had a gush of wetness escaping you.

“Fuck,” Yoongi groans at the glide, harsh pants leaving him as he focusing on the way your arousal clings to his cock, dripping off of it and coating your inner thighs to add on to the mess of earlier. He’d already been on edge from having you riding his face earlier, the warm feeling of pleasure knotting up in his stomach at each thrust. The way you’re taking him in, letting them both do what they want to you has his nerves on edge, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up as he feels his release approaching.

Jimin takes note of the way Yoongi’s thrust grow in speed so he eases off, shallowly thrusting into you and pulling out as his friend seeks out his release. Your head rests on Jimin’s stomach, moans of pleasure being able to sound out now that your mouth was free. He feels the wetness of your lips against his skin every time Yoongi thrusts forward, “Oh my god.” You cry out, arching your back further for him and he hums in approval.

“You gonna let me fill you up?” He rasps out, his hand splayed across your back until it reaches your hair, tangling around Jimin’s as they both tug at it, “I’m gonna stuff you nice and full, then Jimin can fuck it all out of you and fill you up too.”

Your walls clench up at the thought of it, wanting nothing more than for Yoongi to fuck him cum into you with Jimin joining in and adding more to the mess of it all. “Fuck, please.” You whine, panting harshly onto Jimin’s skin, “Please.”

Yoongi moans at your pleading, his hands moving onto your hips to force you back onto him. His jaw drops open, the pretty moans you let out drawing his release closer, “F-fuck, sweetheart-” He groans, his thrusts growing sloppier as his climax washes over him, the band inside of him snapping as the buries his cock deeper inside of you, ropes of his cum filling you up to the brim.

“Mm,” you hum out when he continues to rock into you, shallow thrust to push him cum deeper inside of you. His head is dropped forward, his eyes shut as he tries to ground himself after his orgasm.

When he pulls out with a sigh he opens them once more, locking onto the way globs of his cum leak out of your swollen lips, your clit is aching from not being touched but you knew the night wasn’t over with.

“Such a pretty sight.” Yoongi muses, his fingers gathering the remnants of cum that had leaked out of you, stuffing back inside of you. “You gonna let Jimin get a turn?”

Your thighs come together as you nod, looking up at Jimin, his cock still hard and throbbing as he wraps his hand around himself, “Fuck me Jimin, please.”

He releases his cock to clutch your face and bring you back in for a kiss, he maneuvers around the couch and pushes you back as Yoongi removes himself from behind you and settles onto the far edge of the couch. A squeal leaves you when your back meets the couch, your hair splayed out on Yoongi’s lap as Jimin settles on top of you, his hips slotting between yours, the weight of his cock on your stomach fills you with excitement.

“Gonna fuck you so good.” He mumbles against your lips, smiling when you open your thighs wider for him, one of your heels pressing into the back of the couch while the other rests on the edge of the cushion. His hands guide his cock to your entrance, a sigh leaving the both of you as he slides in with ease, the added wetness of Yoongi’s cum aiding in the glide. “Fuck, you’re so messy.”

You throw you head back onto Yoongi as he bottoms out, your hands clutching onto his sides at the feeling of being filled up once again, “You guys are gonna ruin me.” You admit with a laugh, a breathy moan joining in once Jimin begins to thrust into you, the squelching sounds of just how wet and messy you were filling up the room.

“Are we?” Yoongi asks, a smile on his face as his hands roam down your body, his fingers gently circling your nipple.

“We’re all you’re gonna think about next time you get fucked huh?” Jimin pants, a beautiful moan leaving his plump lips when he falls into a steady rhythm, “Next time you’re in your room trying to get yourself off, I hope you think of us.”

A high pitched moan leaves you when Yoongi twists your nipple in his grasp, Jimin’s hips rocking into you with new found energy, the curve of his cock rubbing against the sweet spot inside of you. Your heels move from the edge of the couch to wrap around his waist, pushing him further into you, “God Jimin,” you cry, rolling your hips into him to match his thrusts.

The both of you had been edged on enough from earlier, with Yoongi seeking his own release and keeping you on edge and you not being able to continue sucking Jimin’s cock the two of you are teetering close to your release.

Jimin’s thrusts have your body jostling upwards, Yoongi having to release your nipple to grasp your shoulders to keep you in place and it has you shutting your eyes, bursts of light flashing behind your lids every time he pistons into you, “Fuck this is so hot.” Jimin moans when he pulls back enough to look at where you two connect, his cock covered in a sheen of wetness and cum, the couch being utterly ruined underneath your ass but this was worth it.

“You close baby?” Yoongi asks, trailing one hand down your body until it reaches your clit, rubbing tight circles on it and smirking when your back arches at the feeling.

“Yes,” you whine, your fingers digging into Jimin’s sides. When you look up at him, seeing his hair sticking to his forehead, sweaty from exertion, his mouth dropped open as he moans, it has that same bundle of pleasure tightening up inside of you once more. “harder Jimin, please.”

“Since you asked so nicely.” He winks at you, his hands unhooking your legs from around him and pushing your thighs towards your chest. This angle has you feeling like his cock is splitting you open but you love it, love the way he jack hammers into you like its the only thing he wants to do.

With the way he continues to hit your g-spot, coupled with the expert flicks of Yoongi’s fingers on your clit, your orgasm crashes over you in a flash, your nails digging into his skin and making him hiss in slight pain but it numbs up when he sees how you unravel because of him, your head thrown back as moans of his and Yoongi’s name fill the room, how your thighs tense up and tremble in his grasp, your hips rocking into his desperately as you cum.

“Fill me up Jimin, please.” You plead, your mind swimming with pleasure as he continues to fuck you, “Wanna feel you.”

His brows pinch together as he drops his head forward, “Whatever you want baby.” It comes out in a breathy sigh, his thrusting turning into a roll of his hips as he nears his release, his moans raising in pitch until they get cut off with a gasp as he cums, continuing to rut into you as he empties his load inside of you to join Yoongi’s mess. The added warmth of his cum filling you up makes you mewl, soothing rubs on his skin helping him ease down from his high while he stills inside of you.

“Wow.” He sighs as he collapses on top of you, humming when Yoongi’s fingers trail through his hair. You giggle underneath him, sandwiched between your best friends, sweaty and filled with cum, a wonderful turn of events.

When he finally pulls out of you he takes his time to admire your cunt, eyes glimmering at the mess between your legs and it makes you squeeze them shut with a laugh, “Stop staring.”

Yoongi chuckles and pinches your cheeks gently, reaching forward and grabbing a lone cracker that was left on the charcuterie board from earlier.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Jimin groans out when Yoongi begins to eat as if they hadn’t just fucked your brains out. The eldest just shrugs as he picks up a piece of salami and munches on it as well.

“You should be thanking this charcuterie board for the best sex of your life.” He retorts with a smirk, bringing half of the eaten cracker to your own mouth which you accept with a smile, still resting on his thighs.

Jimin pauses at that, staring at the board in thought before he shakes his head, “You know, for someone who complained about raw meat you sure had no problem with that right now.” You tease, opening up your legs once more and cackling at the look he gives you.

“Whatever,” he pouts, swatting at your thighs, “make another one of these damn charcuterie boards next week or something then.”

#btsghostie #jimin smut #yoongi smut #bts smut #park jimin #min yoongi #yoonmin smut #bts imagines #park jimin smut #min yoongi smut

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nikibogwater · 3 years

Note

What did you think of Nari's characterization in ROTT?

Disliked it, as with most of the other things in the movie.

The short version of it is this: In Wizards, Nari's primary character traits were empathy and compassion for others. In Rise of the Titans, her primary character traits seem to be just a general lack of awareness for what's happening around her, and a tendency to make light of very serious situations.

Now before I get into the long-form answer, I will preface by saying that the writers of RotT were at a severe disadvantage when writing for characters who were introduced in Wizards because Wizards was still in production at the time. So I understand why Nari ended up feeling like a completely different character in the movie, and I am not shaming anyone for it. But the fact of the matter is that I found her characterization in Wizards to be much more appealing, and if that characterization had carried over to Rise of the Titans, I think I would've had slightly warmer feelings towards the movie. But let's get down to brass tacks now, because I've actually been dying to talk about this. This is gonna be a loooooong boi, so I've put everything under the cut to avoid clogging people's queues (I'm just really passionate about this bean goddess, okay? 😅)

When Nari is introduced to us in Wizards, she is quietly watching the arrival of our heroes at the castle. She doesn't make herself known to them, but it is clear she is very interested in what's happening. She does not make any other appearance until the Arcane Order launches their assault on Camelot.

Nari's first spoken words are, "Merlin! This is all my fault!" and as one would expect after hearing this, she is very obviously distressed and feeling guilty for putting everyone in danger. Merlin tells her they need to escape to the past, and that he needs her help in order to do it. Nari's response is to begin charging her magic as she says "I will do what I can."

After our main characters are thrown back in time, we're introduced to Nari as she was in the past. Although she is allied with the Arcane Order in their war against humanity, it's clear that she displays the least amount of malice out of the three. In fact, it's revealed that Nari has always been rather fond of humans, and has even reached out to them in friendship a number of times. After resurrecting Morgana, Nari is the one who does most of the explaining and introductions, showing a bit of a playful/mischievous side as she pokes fun at Bellroc and Skrael. ("I told you she would, Skrael! So old, and they still haven't learned manners.")

During the Battle of Killahead, we see Nari watching the war from a distance, and it's clear from the expression on her face that she is not liking any of this. Though she does briefly aid her siblings when they join in the battle, she reveals afterwards that she can sense the pain and suffering they have inflicted on others--and she doesn't believe the Order's ambitions are worth that. She abandons the Order, presumably spending the next 900 years in hiding, before seeking Merlin's protection.

Once our heroes have returned to the present, Nari becomes a bit more involved in the plot. She expresses genuine sorrow over the destruction of Arcadia Oaks High ("Your beautiful school-home was crushed!") and is clearly distressed by Jim's agony as the shard in his chest begins to work its dark magic. ("Poor soul! Your corruption...I feel it worsening.") After Jim is taken by the Order, we can see her comforting Toby in the background. She continues to show great concern and empathy for the people around her, and is still eager to help wherever she can, though her magic doesn't seem to be combat-oriented. She is also shown to be somewhat timid, hiding behind Merlin or Claire during confrontations with the Order--she is very clearly terrified of her old allies, and seems to want to avoid direct contact with them. When Douxie is struck down by the Order and is falling to his death, it is Nari who runs to try to save him before anyone else--apparently, if someone is in need, Nari's first instinct is to rush to their aid.

So, from all of that, we can gather that Nari, as she was characterized in Wizards, is intelligent, curious, cautious, gentle, empathetic, and very aware of what's going on around her. She is also a little playful and wild, but never to the point of disregarding what's happening or how others are feeling.

In Rise of the Titans, Nari remains consistent with this characterization for all of...seven minutes.

Initially, Nari is still very much herself in this scene (though I wish we could've been told what exactly made her want to stop running and face the Order head-on. Again, in Wizards, it was abundantly clear that that was the one thing she did NOT want to do). When Douxie expresses his anxiety about the situation, she takes him by the hand, offers him a reassuring smile, and says, gently but firmly, "No. No more running, Douxie." Excellent interaction. 10/10. Five stars. That's also the only time in the movie where Nari displays any level of awareness regarding Douxie's (or anyone's) feelings/wellbeing.

The body-swap scene is when Nari's character just completely swings in the opposite direction, and she becomes near-unrecognizable as being the same character from Wizards. Douxie, being our favorite Self-Sacrificing Idiot, swaps bodies with her at the last possible second, causing the Order to take him instead. Nari, now stuck inside Douxie's body, seemingly doesn't think much of this development at all. In fact, her first response is to giggle playfully. UM, NARI. NARI, SWEETIE, YOUR BIG BROTHER IS IN THE CLUTCHES THE MOST EVIL BEINGS KNOWN TO MANKIND. LIKE, THEY LITERALLY KILLED HIM THE LAST TIME HE RESCUED YOU FROM THEM, WHY ARE YOU NOT MORE WORRIED ABOUT THIS?! Up until this point, Nari has never been shown to underestimate the Arcane Order--she seems all too aware of the kind of violence and destruction they are capable of, which explains why she was so terrified of them in Wizards. But in Rise of the Titans she seems to just....not really care anymore? The entire time she is in Douxie's body, she doesn't express the slightest amount of concern for him, or for anyone around her. She just keeps doing...cutesy forest gremlin things, like singing to her flower, batting at a light fixture, and antagonizing Archie (she's definitely not the only character who was severely lacking in empathy in this movie, but this is an essay about Nari, so I'm not going to bother touching on everyone else). This is a direct contradiction to her characterization in Wizards, where she was shown to care deeply for the people around her, and displayed genuine distress whenever they were in danger or suffering.

Nari also persists in being pointlessly cryptic for the entirety of the movie because....reasons. Before the Order breaks Douxie's body-swap spell, she tells Jim, "Trollhunter make ninth configuration--the Kronosphere will make right." Which, of course, doesn't help him in the slightest. And when they finally succeed in rescuing Nari, she doesn't elaborate or explain this at all. She just says it again. Listen, I can get behind Nari being Insanely Ancient, and maybe a little out of touch with modern trends, but I'm fairly certain that Wizards Nari at least knew how to communicate. She never showed any inclination towards being cryptic or mysterious on purpose, at least. We're never given any explanation for Nari's sudden lack of clarity, so I guess it was just there for plot reasons. Which makes it that much more infuriating.

Also I don't know why, but the little "Hehe!" Nari does when Douxie pulls her into a hug kind of grinds my gears, because Nari, love, this is a really serious moment, you were just snapped out of mind control and your siblings are currently rampaging across globe in giant magical mechs, why are you giggling like a four-year-old and not, idk, SOBBING IN A MIXTURE OF RELIEF AND HORROR BECAUSE YOU WERE ALMOST PART OF WHAT DESTROYS THE EARTH?! AS THAT WOULD BE A MORE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO WHAT JUST HAPPENED????!!!!! But that's just a stupid little nitpick.

Now this is not me saying that Nari's characterization in the movie is objectively bad. Actually, it's kind of fitting for the Tales of Arcadia brand of humor--Super ancient demigoddess who houses the power to completely destroy the earth is also kind of a clueless ditz and needs to be babysat like a toddler. If she had not been introduced in Wizards, I would've been fine with this. But, much like the rest of the movie, Nari's vastly different characterization felt a tiny bit like a betrayal, and it consistently bothered me in every single one of her scenes. It also kept me from feeling the full impact of her death--seriously, I didn't cry at all when she was killed. Which....yeah, I'm just as surprised as you are.

So anyways, if you've made it this far, thank you so much for the ask, Non! Normally I have a bit more self control than to just....essay-dump like this, but honestly I've been thinking about this for way too long, and I had to get it out of my system. 🥴 And to anyone who really liked Nari's characterization in RotT--that's totally valid! Again, I don't think it was a bad characterization. It was just very inconsistent with her character as she was introduced to us in Wizards. And I just happen to prefer Wizards Nari over RotT Nari. 🌿✨

#tales of arcadia #toa #rise of the titans #rott spoilers #toa nari #niki answers #long post

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everafterkeiji · 3 years

Text

Song: Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

Summary: Hanamaki finally seals your fate by proposing to you- with a crappy ring that is.

Pairings: Takahiro Hanamaki x fem! reader

Word count: 6.9k

Genre: absolute fluff and crack, curse words

A/N: not me screaming when i had this idea, I've never felt more single in my life- brb bawling my eyes out- also let's pretend their in the same classes✋

Well, fate isn't something to be entirely trusted upon and neither should Hanamaki.

"Aw, shit."

He cusses when you bump into him, considering his incredibly tall figure, you were caught off guard on who you even crashed into. A small clink sound lands on the floor as you immediately face the boy who was looking at the ground, quite weirdly searching his pockets.

"Sorry- wait you're Hanamaki right?" You asked him, familiar with his hair color. You've seen him play countless of times due to the support of the school for each of their games yet you've never been this close with him. With his state, you immediately question what's got him so frantic.

He eyes the pen that was dead on the floor and he pouts before crouching down to reach it before he dusts off the dirt on it. He opens the cap of it before mindlessly writing on his hand and frowning even more when the ink didn't held its usual consistency- every stroke of a word had it loosing its pigment.

"Man, 'Kawas gonna kill me." He sighs before putting his hands and pen in his pocket as he looks at you surprised. How can he dismiss that he'd bump into you? He immediately bows in a way to apologize to you, completely forgetting that you were the one to hit him.

You knew he was pertaining to the well known setter but you were solely confused in what he was so worried about. Looking at the pen in his pocket, you saw how the ink was full but there were black spillage in the inside. You raise your eyebrow in confusion.

Did he just drop a new pen?

"I'm sorry I dropped your pen- I can let you borrow mine." You propose to him as he takes the pen in his hands admiring it like a wound in someone's arm. Seeing how you were scrambling in your bag to reach for your pencil case, his eyes sparkled at how it contained numerous pens, highlighters and mechanical pencils.

"Looking at the murder you caused, I'm simply asking for more than one pen then."

You tilt your head in curiosity but instead you opened your pencil case as he digs his hand in there picking three pens making you want to scoff at how he picked the gel pens that were your favorite. He looked at each one, writing on his palm if everything was working. He raises an eyebrow at you making you question if this was a fever dream because of how random it was- he acted like he was in a stationary section and it benefitted him that this particular section was free.

He then takes your hand causing you to internally yelp at his actions. Your eyes trail to what he was writing, you noticed it was his name instead. You look up at him as he smiled. Once he finishes writing, he extends his hand out while with the other hand held a pen ready for you to take.

"What's your name?" He asks processing on your features and asking himself why he's seen you dozens of times yet he's yet to get your name.

"Y/N." You say as he gestures for his hand as if telling you to write it. Somewhat following your instincts, you write your name on his hand. After it, he peeks the spelling of it and then casually shakes your hand as introduction.

"See you around, Y/N! You saved my ass with those pens so I guess I owe you one."

"Those are expensive."

"Now hold on there-"

That was how you met and the universe couldn't even joke about how they put you two together.

Now here you two are, invested in a stare off as Matsukawas sleepy eyes often switch his gaze between you and his best friend.

"Makki, it's in a week."

"I specifically remember it's the week after that."

"You two are hopeless." Issei comments making you laugh as Makki pouts at how you agreed with him. Nevertheless, Matsukawa leans his head on his arm ready to fall asleep at any moment. You return to arranging your notes while Makki twirls a pen in his hands while glancing at you once in a while.

Truth be told, it seems that fate still worked its way to the both of you. Ever since your-rather unique- encounter, a friendship was bound to happen. He surely made an impression on you and how could you miss to not be around him? Soon enough, you were also introduced to his teammates and you disliked how it strengthened your bond with him. There was comfort in his presence and to see him fool around with his teammates always radiated an amazing energy between you and him.

You also wanted to thank Oikawa for being somewhat the reason your conversation led to where you are now.

"What'd the pen do to make you this- scared?" You asked as he puts both hands behind his head, leaning on the seat.

"It's a scary pen when it belongs to Oikawa." You turn to him confused as you rest your chin on the palm of your hand, ears perking up at how interesting it was.

"You're telling me you don't own a single pen and you always borrow Oikawas?" He scoffs with a smile before looking at you.

"Of course I bring pens, it's just better if it was from him." You let out a loud laugh, finding it hard to believe this was the sole reason Oikawa would commit murder on him. Hanamaki smiles at the sound of your laugh before shaking his head, at awe at the situation.

It was a coincidence how Oikawa always found a way to strike a nerve to Hanamaki when you visit them in the gym. He knew that beyond his teammates calm composure was a boy who undoubtedly likes you. Ever since Hanamaki returned the pen to him, he knew it wasn't his and in his mind, he asked himself who could've lent him a pen, more so that he had three brand new ones.

So when he sees you tagging beside him, he's taken his first lead to figure the two of you out. After a few more observations, he's convinced that you two were just blind to the feelings that were lingering around.

He's told Iwaizumi about it but all he got was a lecture on how he should let Hanamaki take it easy with asking you out. Which he also argued since it was taking too long, making Iwaizumi land him a smack to the head.

He had his boundaries, maybe not for himself, but for his friends he was more than willing to wait for this relationship to come together.

"So- a date? That's cool right? I mean arcades and shit."

"Makki, you're a loser."

"Arcades are awesome shut up."

"Yeah, for sure. Like Y/N is interested in 'arcades and shit'." Mattsun chuckles as Hanamaki lets out another pout as he sinks in his bed.

"I mean- we've gone on hang outs, she likes them anyway!" He argues making Mattsun shake his head with an amused smirk on his lips.

"So you're telling me you've actually had dates with her then?" Issei asks as Hanamaki shrugs making the other boy groan at the lack of response. Hanamaki raises his head, pursing his lips at the actual thought.

You have actually gone on multiple dates with him. If you could even call it that. To Makki, he thought they were just subtle friendly things but he realizes how he's actually grown some fondness in each place.

"Y/N no I'm telling you- if I were the mastermind, we'd be successful." He argues before taking a sip from his drink. You rolled your eyes as you let your mind ran through the scenarios of having a heist with him and the boys.

You two just finished a heist movie and now you had to endure Makkis fantasies of how it would go down if the characters were him and the rest of the volleyball team. He was so invested in it that you actually had an entire plot and characterization for each teammate.

He argued that he'd be the best mastermind to ever conjure a plan for a heist. A stealthy ninja is what he says he mimics. You tried to argue that Iwaizumi would be good at it, since you noticed how responsible and at control he was but it had Hanamaki listing his reasons.

"No one would ever notice me! Because you know what- their attention would be on Oikawa! Then boom, get in the getaway car with a shit ton of money and thanks to who? Me of course." You let out a laugh making him stop his occupied thoughts to take a look at you. He adores the sound of it too much, especially since he was the usual cause of it. He sees the way you were wiping your eyes with the scenarios he'd told you.

Then your laughter slowly fades when you started to eat again as Makki admires you and how you've effortlessly got his mind to set more dates just to see you this happy.

You look up from your previous position, looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Wait, where am I in the heist then?"

He looks at you, almost blurting out the initial idea he had for you in this specific role.

Honestly, I'd spend the money on you. Take you anywhere you wanted to go, Y/N.

That was what he wanted to say but his mouth translated it to a different saying.

"You could die-"

"Makki!" You shouted playfully, ruffling his hair. He laughs but unknowingly, his hand lands on top of yours when you sat back down.

"Excuse you, I can be a good distraction and assistance for action." You commented making him scoff.

"Yeah like you'd be able to hold a gun for a second."

"Please, I had Oikawa beg me to delete a photo of him."

"Okay maybe you are powerful."

You laughed once again, not even feeling how right it was for you to be holding hands like this. It felt comforting yet it brought your heart to speed up like it was in a marathon. You wondered if Makki felt the same, or was this another act of friendliness?

"I wouldn't want you to get hurt though." He whispers, making you smile and blush at the same time. As if it was another point on the score board for how many times he's had your heart go on a frenzy.

"Well, that's what the great mastermind is for right? To keep us safe and succeed?" You say, making him give a gentle squeeze to your hand, as you glanced down on them enjoying the way it looked.

As if I'm gonna let anyone lay a hand on you, Y/N. You're safe with me always.

After a few sly times where he'd hold your hand while you crossed the street or even tugging on your jacket when passing through a huge crowd so he doesn't lose you, he's realized he would absolutely drop the stars for you. He doesn't know whether he should feel terrified because of how he could put your friendship at risk but then he feels- almost relieved that the first person he could ever love is you.

It shouldn't even be difficult to ask you to hang out. You'd usually respond a second after he asks you, it's not even that big of a deal.

Now it's different.

He's finally gotten a clutch on his feelings and he thinks about his next moves. He often just let things happen, loving the way the moments just flowed naturally and perfect in some way but now he's choosing his words since he didn't plan on confessing in such a dorky way- especially when he just says it out loud without proper practice.

"Why don't you ask Oikawa for help then?" Issei suggests making the boy shake his head at the thought already.

"Do you know how much blackmail that idea comes with? He'll never live it down." Hanamaki says as he scrolled through his phone, almost frowning at the thought of humiliation coming from their captain.

"C'mon! He knows a lot of shit about flirting and dates! Maybe even help you in confessing, idiot."

He thinks about that deeply. Each member of the team would have completely diverse answers. As of the mean time, the only proper suggestions he'd get is from Iwaizumi, Oikawa and Mattsun. Though Mattsun has given him plenty of advices, he knew Oikawa was at the top for someone's idea of romance. The man has fangirls, he's obviously heard and experienced many hopeless romantic scenes in his life.

Iwaizumi would've actually been a lot of help knowing the guy is very good at maintaining control and responsibility. He'd give the proper date ideas, the mood to set. He looked like the perfect blueprint for Hanamaki to copy. He also believed that Iwaizumi would think nothing of these advices so it's a win-win if you ask him.

"Right, okay. I got this."

"Why me though?" Iwaizumi asks as Hanamaki spikes another ball.

"Look Iwa- I genuinely trust your judgment more. I just need help." Iwaizumi chuckles before collecting another ball.

"Fine fine. Just meet me after practice."

Hanamaki cheers when he hears him, even smiling now that he can figure out a way to show you how much he likes you.

Sure, he's doing it unintentionally sometimes. Tiny signs that should show you how he is absolutely in love with you. He'd show this in various ways as well. It comes as an instinct in some way. He'd hit you with a "let's have lunch" and you'd gladly accept. Mattsun has pointed out that Makki has already made a move on you countless of times but it had Makki questioning the depths of being friendly and going through courting you.

You haven't even made things official yet these so-called dates had your classmates wondering how your relationship started, even if it hasn't. Makki would always lean his head on your shoulder during lunch, to rest his brain from the lessons. For you, it's nothing. Makki has always been like this after you got comfortable with each other. This affectionate side of him even had Mattsun wonder why on Earth would he ask for help when he clearly doesn't need it.

The three of you are now seated in a lecture, boredom crossing your minds but Mattsun's mind was rattled by Hanamaki. After their conversation about asking help from Oikawa, he thought that Makki would actually go through the plan. Looking back on his motives with you, he just doesn't see a reason why he needs assistance from the setter. He can handle this all on his own, so scribbling down on a piece of paper, he throws it to Hanamaki who awakens by the action.

Hanamaki yawns as he opens the crumpled paper, his eyes widening and cheeks heating at the group of words.

'You can literally just confess to her now, even without shittykawa.'

He glares at Mattsun while the other boy shrugs with an expression that says "seriously, it's not that deep." He huffs before grabbing a pen and replying to his previous statement, then throwing it again.

'Try confessing to the girl you like during a lecture, Sherlock.'

Mattsun chuckles as Makki crosses his arms in front of his chest. His eyes land on you, who is fixated on the lecture. He smiles softly at the idea of a date with you, but this faint moment was ruined when Mattsun directly throws the ball of paper to Hanamakis face, earning a chuckle from some of his classmates.

He opens with eyebrows furrowed, annoyed at the shot.

'Not now dumbass, after classes. Just go up to her and say you like her, it's that easy dude.'

Hanamaki turns to him mocking his words while Mattsun rolls his eyes as Makki writes again. As he was about to throw the paper in Mattsuns direction, a student raised their hand hitting the paper and it suddenly landed on the floor beside you instead. The boys had their eyes widen as you saw the paper.

In a flash, Hanamaki picks up the piece of paper before you could grab a hold of it and you let out a gasp when he suddenly appeared in front of you. You blinked at him as he slowly walked away, wide eyed, to avoid conflict with the teacher.

You and Mattsun share a look together as you looked away, utterly speechless at what just happened. When you looked away, Mattsun hides his laughter by stuffing his face in his arm as Makkis cheeks never grew out of its red shade.

Meanwhile, Mattsun finally held a memory that he can never forget.

"It's not a big deal. You guys have been friends for so long. I don't think Y/N would mind." Iwaizumi comments making Hanamaki silent.

Can you really feel the same way?

A year of knowing you- should that be enough to fall in this deep? Is there even a requirement before someone can confess? Because in a span of time knowing you, there wasn't a moment where he regretted anything. He could thank the universe for one stupid pen, maybe even Oikawa. Everything that led to where you are now, he's never been more contented in his life.

During movies, your favorite spot was to lean your head on his shoulder. To just sling your arm around his waist on the way home, holding his hand while walking through crowds, it just fits. No matter where you were, what you were doing with him, it seemed like there wasn't an extra space in the puzzle pieces, it all connected.

But you two couldn't figure it out for yourselves.

"Well, does every confession need some sort of grand gesture?" He asks Iwaizumi. The ace bites his lips before kicking a rock on the path he was walking on.

"I don't really know. What does Y/N like anyway?"

"Hopefully me." Hanamaki jokes, but he deeply wanted it to be real. He figures if all of this asking for help was going to guarantee him something good, better yet, a yes from your lips. But first, he had to answer Iwaizumis question.

"She likes simple things- you know how she likes it when I like hold her stuff and all? She also likes those weird food thingys at one date-or hang out we had- you know that scent that reminds you of a romance movie-"

"Makki, you know her this well and you're nervous for nothing. I'm sure that she'll love whatever you do- you're friends for a reason." Iwaizumi says making Hanamaki sigh, hearing those words again.

"Exactly! That's the problem. Fuck- I can't even act like I don't like her. Am I being too obvious or friendly? I don't know where the line ends or starts. I shouldn't get nervous cause it's her- she doesn't care what I do- she's happy with whatever but I just want it to be.. perfect." He rants and ends it with a tired sigh. God, he was getting frustrated. At this point his feelings were overwhelming him, he just needed an outlet for it.

He can't just act like the sight of your smile doesn't make him smile as well, or even just seeing your sleepy state when you walk into class. If his heart didn't flutter whenever you were around, maybe by then you couldn't call it admiration but he just fell and there wasn't a way to stop him.

He didn't wanna stop either.

"Mattsun." You say as Mattsun lets out another laugh as you roll your eyes. It was after practice and since Takahiro couldn't walk you home because he told you he had to talk to Iwaizumi about something, Issei was the one to walk you home.

"This is gold." He states making you shove him a bit. He smiles when he sees you pout. This is where he decides. He could literally say how Hanamaki was asking him for advices like you are right now, but a side of him just wants to see what Makki could do. It was all too funny for him, even if hated how oblivious you two were.

If Hanamaki was falling for you with each day, you did the same. It was inescapable. You met him during second year and the fact that he had you tugging on your heart strings, it was something you can't ignore.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"I'm studying, 'Hiro. What's up?" You asked him as he raised an eyebrow at you. You stopped writing to look at him fully.

"We're at a mall." He states like you didn't know. It was bizarre to go to a mall cafe and your purpose was to study when you were with the spontaneous Hanamaki. That's on you for getting distracted on your strict teachers subject.

"Yes, Makki. I know that." He lets out a pft then takes the notebook of yours, closing it. Even putting on the caps of your pens and placing them back in your pen pouch. He also grabs your bag and placing all of those items inside.

You didn't stop him though. You've had enough with 'studying either way'. You'd die if saw how you weren't even taking notes, you were actually writing about how beautiful his eyes were. You were just purely lucky that he didn't care what you were writing because he thought it was about school.

"Happy now?" You asked him as he nods with a childish grin.

"Super. Let's go, cutie." Your eyes widened with his statement so you turn your head away to sling the backpack on your shoulder but he stops you before you could.

He removes his hoodie and hands it to you, making you stare at him.

"What for?"

"It's hot- well duh it's cold, Y/N. C'mon I wanna go to cinema. " He says nonchalantly as you take the hoodie and wear it. What causes you to stop midway was when he pulled down your blouse to prevent it from rising up when you wore his jacket. After placing your arms in, you blushed at minimal gesture.

It made Hanamaki let out a cough, when he did it like a reflex, not even thinking about it.

"Cutie huh?" You teased making him roll his eyes, though he was thankful that you broke the silence.

"Yeah no shut it."

There were many more memories that could list out why you liked him but maybe they just held the same reason.

"Leave him a note then if you can't say it in person." Mattsun suggests, even though he wishes he could've said something else. He doesn't know if that was a good suggestion or not. This could ruin whatever Makki was planning on doing. He should ask him about his plan later on so he can tell you what not to do in order for his best friend to succeed.

You reached the front of your house as you gave Issei a hug, to thank him. He pats your hair as your pull away from him.

"Hey, you've got this. It's you and Makki." He says smiling, assuring you. You nod at him as you sent a wave, him doing the same then walking away.

When you entered your room, your phone rang. Seeing Makkis name light up your room had you answering it in a heartbeat.

"Makki, what's up?"

"Hey, I just called to say I'm sorry I couldn't walk you home today. " He says running his fingers through his hair. He did want to walk with you but he trusted Mattsun. He couldn't waste the time Iwaizumi gave him for advice.

"It's fine, 'Hiro. Mattsun and I are fine." He smiles at what you said, while you left your phone on the nightstand you decided to change out of your uniform. While Makki decides on what to say next.

"Hey Y/N?" He calls for you, once you were done dressing up, you took the phone lying down on your bed.

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go out, for real this time?"

"I'm gonna go sleep." He says, biting his tongue, despising how he couldn't say it. He hears you yawn on the other end of the line.

"That's a lie but night Makki Makki!" You said chuckling as his ears turned red at the nickname. He shakes his head with a smile.

"Goodnight, dumbie."

"Hey! I called you a decent nickname."

"Wow okay then. Goodnight, princess."

Hold up, he said what?

I said that?

He quickly ends the call before you could let out a comment on what he just said. A wave of panic rushes to him not knowing your reaction. You covered your face with the pillows the surrounded you, letting out a frustrated scream.

Fuck.

The morning comes and Hanamakis heart was racing like he going to attend a deadly match but in reality he was just going to confess. He's set all the things that he needed for today, mostly the materials but he himself wasn't nearly as ready.

He's going to wear a uniform. How the fuck do you make that look presentable and polished? Should he wear a new hoodie for you to wear afterwards? Just- how?

He's been staring at himself for too long then he hears his parents call for him saying that Mattsukawa was at his front porch. He sighs before grabbing his bag and heading out of his room.

"So you ready?" Issei asks as Hanamaki shrugs. He wanted it to end right away but then again he wants things to slow down while he sees your reaction when does it.

"Fuck no. Iwaizumi helped me with a few things, he said something about gifts so I searched for some." Mattsukawa nods, as he thinks about what you were up to. Can it actually happen now? The two idiots would finally have the guts to confess on the same day?

"Honestly, this will be very entertaining. What time?"

"I was thinking kind of like after school." He says making Mattsukawa agree with him. It benefits the both of you. Never in a rush to admit, it could also give Makki some time to accomplish some of his plans.

"Do you think it'll go ok?" Hanamaki asks, almost nervous for his answer. Mattsukawa only smiles, knowing the possible ending.

"Yeah."

Betrayer. Oikawa thinks.

He lets out a pout of annoyance and when he spots you, he immediately walks over to you before Hanamaki could.

"Morning Oikawa! Have you seen-"

"Y/N-chan! I'll walk you to class today!" He says sweetly making you question in what was going on. He sees you peer your head over his shoulder, looking for Hanamaki which made him scoot a bit so your vision was blocked. Realizing that Hanamaki probably hasn't arrived yet, you shrugged.

"Okay, Tooru."

As Oikawa slings his arm around your shoulder, he could feel Takahiros stare as he walked with you. Even Iwaizumi had to double take on what he just saw.

"What's with him?" Hanamaki asks, feeling a slight burn in his heart when he sees you laughing with the pretty setter.

"I don't know, maybe he's just bugging her." Iwaizumi comments, making Makki roll his eyes. Mattsun takes notice of his behavior and lets out a chuckle.

"Aww, seriously. It's Oikawa! He's not going to steal your girl." Hanamaki blushes at his words and the boys eye his reaction, making them laugh at the change. Makki rolls his eyes before letting out a sigh, an act as if to reassure himself that things would go according to plan.

When Makki enters the room and meets your eyes, you already flash him a smile gesturing for him to seat with them. Oikawa sends a glare in his way making Mattsun lazily raise an eyebrow to the setter. Oikawa turns his attention to you once again, his chin on his palm as he stares at you.

"You're so pretty Y/N-chan! Wouldn't want that to go to waste do we?" Your ears couldn't really believe what you just heard. A sea of gasps echoed through the room when the compliment left Oikawas mouth. Murmurs of how luck you were started to spread and Makki was stood frozen.

"Flirting with my best friend isn't cute, shittykawa." Hanamaki comments, a distinct tone in his voice that didn't sound all too jokingly. The word best friend rings in your head as you actually felt a strike to your heart with his words.

How can you confess like this when you're down to rejection?

You felt like Hanamaki gave you a wake up call. Is this really the farthest you could go? Just friends? You let out a sigh, suddenly throwing away your previous plans of admitting your feelings for him. You gripped the pen in your hand as you tried not to be controlled by the pain.

Mattsukawa sees how your hand was trembling, replaying what Makki said, he nudges the boy next to him who was busy giving a cold shoulder to Oikawa. Mattsukawa prays that Hanamaki realizes what he just said.

Hanamaki feels the harsh nudge of his best friend making him look your way, a downcast evident in your features. Before he could ask you what's got you upset, the teacher walks in making Oikawa and Iwaizumi leave. Oikawa passes by Hanamaki making the tension even more noticeable.

Mattsukawa grips Hanamakis arm, to stop his mouth from sending a snarky comment and to hold him back from a glare. Hanamaki sits in his usual place as he ponders on what's gotten you this down. Was it Oikawa? What did he tell you? Could it be something that included him?

He sincerely hopes it doesn't involve him or else his hearts going to keep aching with jealousy.

What the fuck?

That was the only question that lingered in Hanamakis head.

Throughout the day, he figured that he'd be able to avoid you without you knowing what he was doing but instead, he found himself getting distracted in the fact that you sat with Oikawa between breaks. He couldn't even focus where to put the gifts in, he's totally forgotten about his locker and the possibility of you finding about it makes him panic.

He just hated how he feels the envy consume him. It took him a while to not give in to it. He had to continue, if he didn't- he would cower away. He wasn't going to waste another chance because of Oikawa, he can promise you that.

"You think Oikawa knew something? Maybe he's actually stalling you." Mattsukawa suggests, to remind Hanamaki that he was sure the setter isn't a barrier to his plans.

"He said something to her- I just know it. She's distant with me." He says tiredly, Iwaizumi leans on his arm to whisper to Hanamaki.

"Maybe he figured out you were going to confess." Iwaizumi says shrugging, Hanamaki shakes his head.

Are you turning him down then if this was real?

A way to softly push him away and tell him that your friendship mattered more?

If this was the case, he's leading his heart to a trap.

And it went like this until Makki had to confront Oikawa, sick of the change in you. It was practice time so he had the setter to himself. He knew you were waiting for him so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

He just wanted to be yours already.

"Oikawa, what did you tell her?" He asks quietly. Even if his heart held its beat because of jealousy, he's sure that the boy he was talking to had no interest in you the same way he has. Oikawa has never shown you signs of love or any affection at all. Sure, it was fun to be around him but he looked at you as a friend, a company he can find comfort in but who's to say Makki doesn't feel nervous?

"I didn't tell her anything what are you talking about?" The boy answers making Makki sigh.

"She's avoiding me. It doesn't make sense then." Oikawa raises an eyebrow at Takahiros expression. He looked so- distraught. It starts to sink in him how the lack of your presence takes a toll on his friend and there was the tiny ounce of regret that hits his mind.

When he sees Hanamaki open his locker to reveal a boquet of flowers, his eyes widen. He then closes them immediately, cursing himself for the misunderstanding.

"Isn't that what you were supposed to give Aika?" He asks, his throat dwelling with nervousness. Hanamaki furrows his eyebrows, evidently confused in how their classmate who he is even close to, got dragged into the situation.

"What-"

"Shit."

"Oikawa!"

I hate running.

He says to himself whie doing it, he's never ran this fast before. God, now everything was at rush. He had to pack his things immediately, make sure the sweat didn't cling to him like it did. He even had to rummage through his locker to make sure everything was inside his bag. Mattsukawa was also frantic. Iwaizumi was calm enough to knock some sense into Oikawa after Hanamaki tells the news on what exactly happened.

So here he was running to your neighborhood, flowers and all because he'd be dumb enough to be the guy in Oikawas misunderstood scenario.

"Oikawa!"

"Wait okay fuck I'm sorry- I might have heard something wrong earlier." He says, a hand to the back of his neck. Hanamaki isn't sure if he should feel relieved that Oikawa doesn't have any admiration towards or feel the fucking rage to strangle him for whatever led to this.

"What exactly did you hear anyway?"

"I can't just give the flowers to Aika. I can't act like an admirer of hers, I have to confess to her myself." Hanamaki says sighing as Iwaizumi and Mattsukawa nods.

Oikawa turns his back on the trio as he frowns at the idea of you and Hanamaki not being a couple. It seems that his friendly gestures didn't actually hold anything else, he'd fallen for Aika instead. Though he feels slightly pissed that Hanamaki led you on in some sort of way.

Once he sees you, he immediately goes your way in order for you to not witness the heartbreak that was about to unfold.

"Oikawa, I was planning to confess to Y/N. Mattsukawa suggested that I try to give her the flowers anonymously at first by letting Aika bring it to her but like I said, I didn't wanna look like an unknown loser." Hanamaki lets out a puff of annoyance as Oikawa rests his hand on the boys shoulder, now that tiny ounce of guilt grew and grew.

"I'm really really sorry, Makki." He says sincerely, Hanamaki sighs before nodding at Oikaws, accepting his apology knowing Iwaizumi could lecture the boy after his slip up.

"I need to go to Y/N now." He says but Kindaichi looks at his teammate with a water bottle in hand.

"Y/N-san left hours ago." He says as Hanamaki sends a glare towards Oikawa then he looks at Kunimi just to confirm Kindaichis statement. Kunimi nods before returning back to his unbothered state. Hanamaki lets out a scream of frustration as he dashes towards Mattsukawa and Iwaizumi, Oikawa being dragged along by his shirt.

"Oi, did you two fight?"

"Long-story short he thought I was giving the flowers to Aika. Now please, lecture the damn asshole- I need to find Y/N." He basically hands Oikawa to Iwaizumi who already landed a ball to the captains head as he runs off to his locker to leave immediately.

He could never adore someone else when you remained to stay at the top of his list- since no other name follows it.

He pats down his sweat with a towel before drinking water then spraying his cologne all around him. He was in front of your room door since your parents gladly invited him in while he mentions to be quiet at the sight of the boquet of flowers in hand and now it's finally happening. He was either going to face a prize or a bucket of tears.

Here goes nothing then.

He knocks on the door as you continued to scroll through your phone but you spoke, "It's open!"

He opens it softly, before stepping in your room, closing the door in the process. You look up from your phone only to get the life knocked out of you when you see Hanamaki.

"Hey Makki-"

"Y/N please I just need to tell you something okay."

He takes the vacant spot next to you on your bed as both your hearts pounded loudly with each second. Your mind couldn't stop racing at what he was going to say if it was just flat out rejection, meanwhile Hanamaki doubts what he bought you. He carefully takes your hand with his, caressing it gently while your cheeks were heating at the moment.

"Y/N I-"

You roll your eyes before ending the call, not even caring to know who called. Meanwhile, Makki wanted to stop himself from coughing from the embarrassment.

The phone rings. Oh, fuck me.

"Go on- really sorry." You say with a slight chuckle, as he smiles, thankful you read the room at how nervous he was. Instead, he went to his bag to find a certain box. Once he finds the blue box, he takes your palm and places the object on it.

You smiled at him you opened the box, praying that you don't let out a squeal when you see what's inside.

"Paper rings?" You say chuckling as Hanamakis eyes widen, threatened to pop out of his sockets since he was in full disbelief. You laughed as Hanamaki tried to get the back from you but you ran from your bed to wear the damn thing.

"Y/N!" He yells trying to reach the box from your hands but your laughter echoes through the room.

You're too fucking cute for me. You think to yourself.

"It's a perfect fit on me, Takahiro." You say even holding out your hand with the paper ring as Hanamaki hides his face on a pillow, an attempt to hide the humiliation. He can never bounce back from this. Where was the actual matching rings that he bought? The one with yours and his initials were embedded on? Did he leave it on his desk when he was trying to figure out your ring size? He was truly fucked.

When you tried to reach for him, the ring broke since it was surrounded by tape and it didn't really held strength to it. Realizing that it was folded paper, you opened it seeing scribbles and doodles from Makki.

Y/N's ring size is 6 maybe 7?

Get the flowers that Iwaizumi suggested. Which flower was it again? The ones that symbols love? Fuck it.

Does she prefer me with this perfume or not?

She smells amazing all the time, I hate it.

God, I like her too much it's unbelievable.

I feel like I'm proposing to her but I'm not complaining.

You immediately drop the paper to look at him, switching your gaze between him and the paper. You hid your face in your hands as you wondered if this was actually reality. Hanamaki likes you back? Proposing? It was overwhelmingly cute.

Hanamaki lifts his head from the pillow and he sees you looking like you were embarrassed for him. He immediately goes to you, hands on yours as he tries to lift them off your face.

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" He teases, hopefully it was able to grab your attention, and it did. You slap his chest from how flustered you were as he laughs before taking you in his arms, playing with your hair as your mind goes blank.

"Okay maybe the secret is out but I'm serious, Y/N. I like you- so fucking much it makes me wanna buy all the shit you want if we succeed in a heist- and I never wanna stop feeling this. The ring is crappy but I've got the actual one in my room so" He pulls away from your embrace as he lifts your chin to meet with his face who was intoxicatingly close.

"Do you accept my proposal of being my girlfriend?"

"If I said no?" You teased with a smile as he chuckles before locking his lip with yours, his hand finding its way to your cheek as you immediately kiss back, the pieces finally clicking in its rightful place. He deepens the kiss as your hand finds its way to the nape of his hair, pulling him closer while his own hands make a trip to your waist who he soon finds addicting.

He pulls away, caressing your cheek as your forehead touched, smiles plastered on either faces.

"I gladly accept, 'Hiro."

"Not like I'll take no for an answer, princess."

#haikyu x reader #haikyuu!!#hanamaki x reader #mattsukawa x reader #mattsukawa issei #hanamaki takahiro #oikawa tooru #hajime iwaizumi #aoba johsai #xine's world of romance

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kiribakuhappiness · 3 years

Note

I wanna know your thoughts on the possible new my hero moivee With all the different theories going around I wanna know you standing point

I’m glad you brung it up ‘cause I’ve been dying to talk about it for a hot minute, first of all -

Okay. I have so. many. thoughts. on this and I’ve been waiting until I felt a bit better after being sick to answer this ask because I tried to write up a response already and my brain was so foggy that it literally made no sense, I was just *rambling* and then I pointed to a picture that was completely unrelated and went - see?!?! Ahaha! Like, oh my god.

But! Now I’m back on my coherent rambling bullshit so - here we go. (Please be aware of any slight spoilers regarding the manga / series in this post and that all of these are my own opinions and my own theories, which you are more than welcome to disagree with or have some kind of rebuttal for. I’m just here to be a part of the discussion and throw in my two cents on a few things since some of my followers are curious!)

These are all of my first immediate thoughts upon seeing the promotional image and the tagline included.

*cracks knuckles*

Their new costumes??

Their new costumes?????

I don’t know how to describe this feeling that I have nor do I have any evidence to back up this first claim that I am about to make but my only thought on the costumes is that they are government-issued or specially-made specifically for a certain mission or training exercise, mostly because of the NHA (National Hero Association???) logo printed on the sides and also because they’re not shown in the manga or anything like that outside of this promotional teaser -

But damn, are they sleek as FUCK.

Like, if Todoroki went the rest of his days using that suit, I would die happy, because wow, immaculate. I am so in love with Bakugou’s new gauntlets. Just fucking send me to heaven (or hell idk the rules) now.

As for the “HE” in the teaser sentence shown on the original image – I think, like most people do, that it is meant to be inferred that they are referring to All for One in some degree (though I don’t think that All for One is going to be the main villain of the movie. I think there will probably be a side villain or something that takes precedence over All for One and that All for One might appear just for a bit at the end or something).

HOWEVER, I have other theories about who “HE” is referring to, which I will get into in a moment.

(Quick side bar here – Do any of my followers also think that All for One is Deku’s father or something? Because let me tell you, ya girl just can’t get this damn fan theory out of her head ‘cause like... Deku was born quirkless, All for One is about borrowing and lending quirks, all the other parallels, and we know how much my man Horikoshi loves parallels… I just... I don’t know what happened along the way and I think someone posted something ages ago that may or may not have debunked that entire theory already but after the Dabi reveal of recent chapters it just feels very in line with the BNHA mindset and previously displayed plot twists, but WHAT DO I KNOW, BACK TO THE SHOW!)

So.

The three musketeers.

There’s a lot to unpack there.

Firstly, I think Todoroki is going to experience One for All at some point in some way, because Bakugou already experienced it and the whole slogan for the three musketeers is “all for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall” - which is obviously a play on the quirk and All for One, blah, blah, blah. So I think that at some point Todoroki is also going to have One for All for a short period of time just like Bakugou had in Heroes Rising (but boy, if they try to pull the same bullshit they did before where they were like “OOP. He used OfA but he doesn’t remember any of it lul” I’m going to lose my fucking mind, cause that really pissed me off in Heroes Rising LOL).

But. I also wanted to take a closer look at Alexandre Dumas’ novel “The Three Musketeers” - just for funsies (stay with me on this wild ride, I promise I connect all the dots at the end):

Disclaimer: I am a huge literature nerd. I’ve read “The Three Musketeers” so many damn times, it’s insulting, and there’s A LOT that happens in those novels that I won’t ever be able to ramble on about for long enough to do it justice for those who haven’t read it and that’s fine because there’s only a few things that I would like to bring to everyone’s attention in regards to the original stories and how they may or may not connect with this movie.

1. None of the three musketeers are the protagonist of the story.

The protagonist is actually a man called D’Artagnan, or sometimes he is referred to as “the fourth musketeer” by readers, who arrives in Paris because he wants to join the King’s musketeers, but somewhere along the way he ends up offending/pissing off the three musketeers and they all end up challenging him to this duel (because of course they do, violence solves everything, don’t you know?) and the duel ends up getting interrupted by a bunch of guards working for the ‘bad guy’ (who I won’t name just to keep this as simple and straight forward as possible) and D’Artagnan ends up fighting WITH the three musketeers to defeat the guards and they all end up being friends (LMAO I am way oversimplifying this but that’s literally what happens and now you get the point).

2. The ‘bad guy’ has a lot of his work done for him by his right-hand woman; MiLady de Winter.

I believe (and this is just one of my theories) that MiLady from the three musketeers is SUPPOSED to make us believe that it’s the reflection of the UA traitor, but I don’t think she actually IS, and I will also explain what I mean by that in another moment.

SO!

With these two pieces of information in mind, I theorize that the aforementioned “HE” in the tagline actually doesn’t have anything to do with a villain or All for One at all, but it’s actually referring to whoever ends up fighting alongside the three musketeers (Bakugou, Midoriya, and Todoroki) in the movie, and who the entire movie is going to be centered around in some way or another (don’t misread this; I still think that Midoriya will be the main NARRATOR of the movie but I don’t think that means that he will be the main CHARACTER – there’s a very distinct difference between those two roles. One of them is telling the story, the other is who the story is actually about).

Now, IF we’re sticking with the three musketeers theme (which you can tell I’m obviously leaning very heavily on that being the case in all of my theories because that is literally all that we are given to theorize about at this time), then I would like to provide my take on who is who, because I think it’s a very important distinction, which are as followed:

Bakugou is Porthos

Porthos is generally known for being very extroverted, loud, he is known for his physical strength, and he is described as being “gullible” (which, that word by itself with its reflexive connotations doesn’t seem to fit him at all, but when you think about what the word gullible actually means – easily persuaded or manipulated – then yeah, it fucking fits the boot LMAO). Not to mention that he (Porthos) is often used as a sense of comic relief, which I truly believe that Bakugou is ‘used’ sometimes as a comic sense of relief throughout the manga and anime, because it off balances his ferocious nature in a way that further proves to the audience that just because he is feral, that doesn’t inherently mean that he is bad.

Midoriya is Aramis

Aramis is generally known for being vastly ambitious and never satisfied in the sense that he is always working for more, which stumbled me at first because I was originally picturing Bakugou as Aramis, but he (Aramis) craves to live the life of a solider (see the parallel? Midoriya craves to live the life of a hero), and he (Aramis) sees every new victory as a step in the right direction to a ‘greater power’ (which, if my characterizations are correct, parallels Midoriya’s mindset that every new victory or challenge he overcomes is another step towards better handling and controlling One for All and making it his own quirk).

Todoroki is Athos

Athos is generally known for being very noble, handsome, and he is a bit of a sad or melancholy character, as he has a very depressing and mysterious backstory that he actually ends up telling to D’Artagnan, but he doesn’t end up telling D’Artagnan that the sad story is based on him (which, I don’t know about you guys, but that damn near sounds like Todoroki Shouto to me).

Now.

NOW.

Are you guys ready for this? We’re gonna get into the really good theories here.

I would no doubt be flooded with inboxes and messages if I didn’t mention the poses that the boys are portraying in the teaser image and how it all connects to the mysterious UA traitor and how everyone (including me) is losing their damn minds over the fact that Bakugou is using Kirishima’s pose, and so people are theorizing that must mean that Kirishima is the traitor since Midoriya and Todoroki are mimicking both Shigaraki and Dabi, respectively.

Here is my theory on all of that, and here is the detail that I think a lot of people are overlooking that I think might be really important IF (seriously, all of my theories ride on this) IF Horikoshi and the producers are indeed leaning heavily on the comparisons between “The Three Musketeers” and the BNHA characters (which I can only assume that they are, otherwise they would have chosen different wording, etc, for their promotional images).

So, Athos’ big sad backstory is all about how he was married to this woman who then ended up being revealed as this convicted thief and all this angst happened and by the end of it, Athos believes that his thieving wife is dead.

Athos believes that his thieving wife is dead.

Athos (TODOROKI) believes that his thieving wife (MURDEROUS BROTHER - DABI) is dead.

I just. I feel like this is really important BECAUSE in “The Three Musketeers” story, Athos’ thieving wife who he believed to be dead (drink every time I repeat that line ahaha) is actually alive and well and working for the aforementioned ‘bad guy.’

HMMM. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE ANYONE WE KNOW????

It’s my theory (and my own opinion) that this whole movie is going to be heavily driven by the Todoroki family and all of their Keeping up with the Kardashian type drama in some way (maybe not directly because manga and spoilers and blah, blah, blah, but in some sort of significant way), because the first movie was all about Midoriya going to I-Island and learning more about One for All and All Might and everything like that, and then the second movie was all about Bakugou and how he ended up using One for All and how he and Midoriya worked together and they showed snippets of the LoV doing their things back in Musutafu, and now I just assume that Todoroki is probably going to be given One for All at some point in this movie, or he’s going to share it amongst Bakugou and Midoriya, because the three musketeers, and the fact that he’s in the promotional teaser when literally nobody else is, and the fact that his character heavily seems to reflect Athos character in the novel to an almost absurd degree.

So, for me, the whole ‘Kirishima being the UA traitor’ and that being proven by Bakugou using his signature move in the teaser photo is not anything to seriously worry about - and I don’t say this just because I’m a KiriBaku fan or anything at all like that (though seriously, if it’s true, what the fuck am I gonna do with this damn blog, I-?? Ahaha!) but I say this for a few different reasons;

I don’t think the “convicted thief” or whatever that is heavily implied within the three musketeer story is connected to Bakugou in anyway, I think it’s all a contrasting parallel to Todoroki and the Dabi reveal somehow, and that the UA traitor won’t be making any kind of appearance in this film in that way.

I don’t think their relationship (Bakugou and Kirishima) is center stage enough to be used as any kind of plot twist in the story, unfortunately. And what I mean by that is; I think that the entire relationship was built up as a way to influence the audience into rethinking their original thoughts about Bakugou’s character from the beginning of the series (since in the beginning he was literally the most horrible shit kid to Midoriya and everyone hated him and he was treated as a villain – blah blah blah – thus building up the suspense leading up to the rescue arc in which the audience was genuinely divided at the time on whether or not Bakugou was actually going to side with Shigaraki and join the LoV), because then once he (Bakugou) declines the offer to join the LoV and he accepts Kirishima’s helping hand, it was supposed to be a turning point for the audience to realize that they may have been misled by his feral ambition into believing that he could really be a bad guy when in the end, he’s just as much of a hardcore hero fanboy as the rest of his class, and that if such a great guy like Kirishima can befriend him then he must not be all that bad.

We have already seen Kirishima’s backstory. We have already seen the struggles he faced to get accepted into UA, we have already seen how much he looked up to Mina’s bravery, we have already been introduced to his undying love for the most chivalrous hero Crimson Riot, and hey, maybe this whole persona thing he has going on is all an act, sure. Maybe the villains got to him when he was still dark-haired and weak, and maybe they are copy+pasting Crimson Riot into Red Riot as a way to slip under the radars, yeah, maybe. But I really fucking doubt it. Mostly because, unfortunately, I believe his relationship with Bakugou (as mentioned above) was written specifically to reverse the audience’s opinion of Bakugou, but then since he became so popular and was such a loved character, that then his inclusion in the Eri rescue operation sort of solidifies him as the man that Horikoshi says he is. It just wouldn’t make any sense, in my opinion as a writer, to turn Kirishima right around in a 360-twist to be revealed as the traitor, since it would just feel like too much of a stab in the back in regards to the trust that the readers are giving Horikoshi in believing that what he shows us is more or less the truth because we don’t have anything else to go on and he went into such great detail into his backstory that it would be such a waste to then say, ha, SIKE.

I think that Bakugou using Kirishima’s pose is a deliberate red herring – I think it’s specifically meant to throw the audience off in all these different directions and to get the theories growing in the fandom, and I actually think that it’s meant to pull attention AWAY from Todoroki, because in my opinion, the entire movie will most likely focus heavily on Todoroki in some way or another (whether because of Dabi or not), since I believe that he will probably gain the use of One for All at some point during the film, just like Bakugou had, and I believe that the LoV (and more specifically, Dabi) will have some part in this film outside the realm of All for One.

I just think that the narrative is constantly trying to lead us in different directions so that you don’t end up paying much attention to all of the other little details that would then point towards something else, much like how (spoilers for some of the manga chapters here - if you don’t want to read then skip the rest of this paragraph) they keep kind of hinting at Bakugou’s death, over and over again, like dangling it on a string and being like, is he gonna die this time? What about this time? What about now - with his guts all over the place after he fucking saved Deku’s life? Could happen at any moment!

So, I just think that Bakugou using Kirishima’s pose is just because Kirishima has had a huge influence on his character development and it would be the perfect red herring to lead the fans on some wild goose chase in the interest of gaining public awareness for the movie.

(Also - in the discussion of the UA traitor, I really believe that it’s Class 1-B’s sensei, actually - ahaha! Either that or Aoyama, but I’ve started to kind of lean away from that one because Class 1-B’s sensei is fucking sus and I don’t care what anyone says, that’s my own theory until proven wrong! Just let me live in this world a little longer, okay?! :,D)

Soooo... to sum this shit up (TLDR AMIRIGHT LMAO), because holy shit this got way out of hand and I haven’t even really gotten into the meat of all of my theories regarding the fucking PLOT of the new potential movie yet but whatever –

TLDR;

- I think the really cool NHA suits are temporary costumes issued specifically for some type of training exercise or undercover mission or something like that.

- I think Bakugou posing like Kirishima is some kind of red herring meant to make everyone panic, but I don’t think it really holds any weight in the UA traitor discussion/theory, and I don’t think the UA traitor will be revealed in the movie – because it would kind of be dropping a BIG plot point in the series into a separate movie that maybe a good portion of the manga readers / anime watchers might not even see and therefore would not fully understand once the series caught up with the movie (whenever the timeline might be). I just think a lot of the stuff that happens in the movies are not directly related to the series for the very purpose that if somebody watches the anime but then doesn’t watch the movies, they don’t miss anything too important.

- I think the movie might lean heavily on Todoroki and perhaps include some of his family drama, especially in regards to Dabi (since the reveal happened right before the promotional teaser dropped and generally speaking it takes about 8-9 months after initial speculation for the movie to then come out with a trailer of some kind, which would be plenty of time for those who want to read the manga to have done so by then), and that at some point during the film Todoroki is going to use or obtain One for All in a similar manner that Bakugou did in the second movie in order to help fight off a random side villain that doesn’t have much of an impact in regards to the fight between heroes and villains happening in the main storyline.

- I think the “HE” in the teaser image doesn’t have much to do with All for One, but actually it’s referring to some mysterious side character who is going to end up fighting with Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya (playing the parallel, inferred role of D’Artagnan) and that All for One won’t actually be the villain in the film, but he may show up for a bit at the end.

All of these theories revolve HEAVILY around the basis that the producers and Horikoshi are attempting to lean on any of the other parallels regarding “The Three Musketeer” novels – or if they just thought that The Three Musketeers sounded dope as fuck, let’s throw that on there because there’s three of them, right? Get it?

Which, if that’s the case, then literally most of my theories go right out the damn window and I have no idea what this movie could be about, LMAO!

So… yeah. What do you guys think?? I’d love to hear your ideas – rip this post to fucking shreds if you want to, because there’s like an 87% chance or higher that I’m completely off base with everything I’ve just said and that my over-active imagination clung onto The Three Musketeers relevance and just wouldn’t let go of it and it totally sent me off in the wrong direction, I don’t know! It’s possible, ahahaha!

Anyway

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w-ngs · 3 years

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jan21

hello 2021! you did not get off on a good start. let’s try and be a little better, okay?

i didn’t read much this month (and probably won’t be for a long while because of school), but it was a wild month. well, you’ll see.

***

crooked kingdom, leigh bardugo — oh my god???? i completely forgot that i read this before i left for school and almost didn’t include it in my monthly wrap-up????? how dare i forget this masterpiece.

it was great. i loved it. i think overall, i preferred 6oc because heist stories are my guilty pleasure. but romance-wise... let’s just say kaz and inej have made it to my top 10 ships. but also i read through this so fast because i had to finish it before i left that half the story is kinda just not in my brain lololol

the most intriguing part of the entire story was the anti-wraith. her character kind of came out of nowhere, and i’m not really sure she had much of a purpose than being someone who could physically match inej. i guess she was also anti in the sense that she had no respect, just ruthlessness, which is the opposite of inej and what she stands for. but i don’t know if the anti-wraith was significant enough of a character to really be considered a foil.

i don’t really give spoiler warnings because hardly anyone reads these other than myself lolol but big spoiler ahead. skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to know. cuz i accidentally spoiled it for myself before reading and i kinda ruined it for myself lmfao.

poor matthias. he was there, and then he was gone. i feel terrible for nina. they were finally on the same page, and then he had to act all saint-like and trigger some idiot into killing him. and matthias finally came to terms with what he’d been taught and what he was trying to teach himself (#charactergrowth), so he wrapped things up neatly for himself before the bye-bye. but nina, she finally got her guy on her side and they were supposed to change the world together. sigh.

and of course, we got kaz. he’s my favorite. how could he not be, with his trauma and desire to overcome it but not letting it define him and still maintaining that evil genius act he’s so good at. it definitely hit harder in this story, the extent of his trauma. it made him more real, too. both sides of him coexist, and one could not exist without the other. he’s crazy, in nearly all senses of the word. also crazy in love, the mfing idiot. ugh, i love vulnerable kaz. i love what inej brings out in him, how she knows just how hard to push without driving him over the edge. also i saw a tiktok (this app is gonna come up a lot more in the next few reviews fsjdsdfkjdf) with a photo of them kissing with a towel between their mouths because he can’t touch her but he desperately wants to and what a perfect solution is that their... bathroom scene had me holding my breath. or at least taking very shallow breaths. it was intense. so intimate, i felt like i shouldn’t even have been there. ugh, the cute little babies. uwuwuwuwuwu

one last note. leigh bardugo is a very good writer, plot and characters and all. everything flowed much more smoothly in this book, and once again i was impressed by the detail provided. you go girl. i can’t wait to see the tv series development.

a 10/10.

***

the shadows between us, tricia levenseller — literally what did i read lmaooo. this is my first tiktok book recommendation. and it. was. boring. boring characters that didn’t make much sense. boring plot. i skimmed it after the first 50 pages cause it was so boring. that’s it bye.

a 3/10.

***

manacled, senlinyu — um. wow. i literally......... even hours after finishing it my brain is still ridiculously scrambled. edit: it’s about a month later and sometimes random scenes and images still pop in my head for no reason and then i feel all twisted inside again. i love it.

so, this is not a published book but a dramione fanfiction on ao3. i don’t read fanfics that often anymore, mainly because i’d rather read other things, not because i don’t like them. but i found this one because a tiktok that showed the illustrations in the story and i was so blown away by the fact someone would illustrate an entire fanfic that i just had to read it. and i have no regrets. it’s kinda long and a biiit wordy for me at times but holy shit that hit like a mother trucker. and i haven’t read dramione in ages, not since... years. so this really hit different.

the illustrations are beautiful. they’re what dragged me into the story in the first place, so, of course they are. but i’d literally spend minutes looking at every detail in amazement at how perfectly the emotions were captured and the lighting casting the perfect shadows and just… everything. i know nothing about drawing but my eyes were truly blessed.

i think integrating the handmaid’s tale with the hp world was ingenious. i would never have expected that. and wow. the relationship between the two, it’s…….. i can barely put it in words in my mind, and it’s even harder to articulate on paper. complex, but at the same time not, simply the desire for the other to stay alive. timeless. destructive. their only defense from the harsh reality of their situation. desperation at its most desperate, their one and only survival method. depressing. it’s so depressing. i was so sad, the angst almost too much at times.

the flashbacks were insanely intense. and i thought the handmaid section was bad. it was awful to read. i could hardly bear it, it was so dark at times i didn’t know how either of them got through it all. i mean, they barely did. the near-death scares, the constant need to create a blank slate within yourself in order to not overwhelm yourself with crushing emotions… wartime sometimes has a tendency to sound romantic, but theirs wasn’t anything near romantic, and i appreciate that the author chose to be very real about it.

at the beginning, and in the middle when we went through the flashbacks, i was afraid the love would be toxic. and, well, it kind of was at some points. but in a time like that and a situation like theirs, it would be hard to not have a toxic relationship. i was glad that in the end theirs was a good love, the kind that sustained and kept them alive and got them through until the very end, because it was what they needed from each other. and, of course, my favorite part of it all was draco’s ceaseless possessiveness that only seemed to grow, never fade. i love simpy men.

they deserve each other. i was afraid at the end they wouldn’t, that one of them would die—that draco would die because hermione basically did once already for him, so he would have to “return the favor”—also she was pregnant so there was no way she’d be the one to die—idk many theories. but at the end i’m so glad they both ended up alive. after everything, they deserved it.

i did nothing for two days straight but read this book. except eat. and barely sleep. and i have no regrets.

a 9/10.

***

bloodlines, richelle mead — dang. i used to be obsessed with vampire academy when i was in middle school. i even watched the terrible movie that released because of it. and now i can’t believe i really thought that was peak literature lmfaooooo

i remember adrian being such a funny and interesting character that i picked up bloodlines to see if it was gonna be as good as i remembered it was. i was disappointed. it was just... well let’s just say there wasn’t enough to get me invested in the characters as i used to be. i think what it was is that adrian’s characterization was so weak. he wasn’t as ~quirky~ as i remembered him to be haha. the plot was also way too slow-paced, and a little too easy to guess. maybe if i was 12 again i’d be going crazy over it like i used to. but i’m not a pre-teen anymore and my brain craves stuff along the lines of manacled—destruction, death, angst that wants me to pull my own heart out to stop it from hurting.

a 5/10.

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wincore · 3 years

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AGREEEE, WORKING OVER THE WEEKEND IS THE WORST esp since im in uni full time and i work 9-5 on the weekends which means... no breaks for me ever.. 🥲

MASSIVE CRUSH ON OIKAWA OMGGG I SUPPORT THIS!!!!! but i am unfortunately much older than 15 and still enamored by 2d men 😔 life’s rough like that HDJWKDJ YES ATSUMU CAUSES PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE.. HES THE WORST!! btw.. ive heard that the oikawa to atsumu stan pipeline is very real... so if u get to s4.. u may develop atsumu brain rot like me 👁_👁

OOO alright run on, extracurricular, vincenzo, true beauty, love alarm, & perfect crime. NOTED!! ive actually been meaning to watch extracurricular for a while now, it looks so interesting!! now that it has the wincore seal of approval i must watch 😤 OMGG SAKURADA DORI I SAW HIM IN ALICE IN BORDERLAND!! super good show but really gore heavy at some points 👁

ahh ok thank u for the reccs, ive been thinking about starting demon slayer too!! shoplifters sounds really interesting :oo crime??? i havent watched a full movie in a while so i will def check it out!! THESE R ALL GOING IN MY NOTES APP.

NEXT YEARRR omg it sounds far away but i know time passes so quickly nowadays so I WILL WISH U LUCK ONCE AGAIN 💛 i hope u update us when the time comes!!

UGHWHHD EVEN THIS SYNOPSIS IS MAKING ME MISS UR WRITING?!? I LOVE THE WAY U WORD IT... “given a choice to pretend, you find that jaehyun is the lesser of the two burdens to bear” AHHHHHHH omg “he’s in a relationship and doesn’t rlly care about the soulmate system” THIS IS ALWAYS SUCH A PAINFUL SCENARIO IN SOULMATE AUS PLSS!!! Wait is the soulmate of yn gonna be an oc/vague character or another member :O EITHER WAY... PAIN! THIS IS GETTING ME SO EXCITED AND U HAVENT EVEN MENTIONED ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT JAEHYUN’S LIKE IN THIS FIC YET

RUNWAY CHARACTER CAMEOOOS YESS I LOVE RUNWAY YN!!!! i actually reread it last night and ugh i was reminded how much i love yns personality... just the process of experiencing all tht self doubt with them!!! so real & makes u root for them :’)

“if jeno plays edward i need him to that apple scene like taemin did” WHHHHHWJDJJWJDBW THIS MADE ME CHOKE ON THE WATER I WAS DRINKING LMFAO

GODDDD THESE TROPE/MEMBER PAIRINGS, HARD AGREE HARD AGREE!!! HAECHAN AND RENJUN ARE E2L 100%!!!! i think bc the ppl in the bff2l category cant convincingly hate yn back LOL

“gets complimented on his lyricism often but like every song’s about you” STOPPPPP HES SO PERFDCT FOR THIS TROPE!!!!!

OMG I SEE EXACTLY WHAT U MEAN ABT SICHENG IN ROYALTY/CHAEBOL AUS... i think like u said it’s because of his poise & the way ppl are generally in awe of him but also bc of his reluctance to open up!! more reserved until he trusts u... funny and kind but sometimes perceived as aloof... those r some prince tendencies! “what are corporate businesses but modern day kingdoms” LMFAOOWJDJ SERIOUSLY THO

“mans really said i will not give you any onscreen idol personality to work with” HDJWJDJWJSJ LITERALLYYYY this is why i have trouble reading jaehyun fics sometimes bc sometimes they can feel “inaccurate” but its mostly just bc there’s no Standard Personality Stereotype to go off of. but a random & uncommon trope i think he’d pair well with is exes to lovers!! Yes im basically just a jaehyun + angst advocate.

“i think most of them would pair well with bff2l??” FACTTTTTTT and no im not just saying this bc its one of my favorite tropes.. heh... i think i told u this before?? but ur like the main reason i started enjoying e2l!!! i didnt like it before bc i love the PINING in bff2l but then i started reading ur works n was like OH SHIT! THERES LOADS OF PINING HERE TOO...

i think yangyang is not bff2l or e2l, he is in his own category which is Annoyer2Lover HDJWKDJ ex: troublemaker, wasted nights

OMGGGG I DID NOT EXPECT ROYALTY AU TO HAVE SUCH A LARGE LEAD IN THE SURVEY??? and cryptids is so low 😔😔 cmon guys, vampires r fun!!!

WE R LITERALLY WRITING ESSAYS TO EACH OTHER RN BUT I LOVE IT 🥺🥺 its a such a nice break to read ur response when im burnt out from studying!!

OMG IM GOING THROUGH #moonwrites AND IM LITERALLY AN IDIOTTTT IVE BEEN OFF TUMBLR FOR SO LONG I DIDNT REALIZE THAT ROMEO ROULETTE HAD A PREVIEW OUT????

“And I get what out of this?” “Me?” IM IN LOVE WITH THIS CHARACTERS PERSONALITY ALREADY LMFAOO

“—and when this whole game you’re playing is over, you’re going to say I rejected you.” ?!?!???? THE WAY JAEHYUN IS A LITTLE SHIT! THEIR PERSONALITIES ARE BOTH SO FUN PLSJWJDJEJ IM MORE EXCITED NOW!!

pls disregard the part in my last ask where i asked abt romeo roulette.... i had no idea all of the information i needed was sitting right in front of me 😔😔

- tata

WHAT 9 TO 5 ON EVERY WEEKEND???? the system has failed you this honestly feels like a villain origin story 😭 when does it get better???

ALSO let me answer the other asks separately for better readability lol we really out here writing essays GOOD THING i have practice writing but like. this is infinitely better to write 🥰

PLSSS SOMETIMES I WILL SEE AN EDIT/TIKTOK OF OIKAWA AND BE LIKE DAMN I REALLY NEED TO CATCH UP I MISS THIS MF also are you daring me to ruin my life for 2d men bc i will do it without hesitation. wait till i watch hq again and get that atsumu brainrot with you he seems annoying enough for me to like ^_^

AND YES PLS I WAS SO ABSORBED IN IT!! extracurricular was the most gripping show i’ve watched in a while like yes enough teen romance give me two unhinged teenagers doing crime 🤩 AND OMG??? THAT’S WHERE WE SAW HIM TOO and although niragi was literally vomit-inducing human trash, sakurada dori is like. a good actor. except i hated coffee&vanilla which starred him it was literally so cringe i couldn’t 😭 i blame the writers for that though. IM EXCITED FOR S2 OF ALICE IN BORDERLAND THO i really like horror (and i can tolerate gore if ive been desensitized enough) and like i read the manga too!!! the games were really interesting (although morbid).

😭😭 MY NOTES APP IS FULL OF RECS FROM FRIENDS ALL OF THEM HATE ME FOR NOT WATCHING THE SHOWS BUT LIKE. i binge 3 or 4 at a time and strike them off and then go 6 months without watching a single tv series hhh.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I SURE WILL UPDATE !!! it’s so exciting to think about grad school sometimes :33

AHHH IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE IT AND THE PREVIEW TOO SGSDJKDS there’s a few differences in the actual fic i think bc i changed up the language (and i dont remember what else bc i refuse to look at my writing) JAEHYUN RLLY IS A LITTLE SHIT he’ll be like hm yeah im pretty chill :) and then proceed to beat yn at her own game at times. (she wins mostly dw) the fact that i made her soulmate cha eunwoo like girl if i were you i’d crash their relationship 🥱 (jk) but like. jaehyun too is 🤩 despite being dry af

ASDKDSKDS YOU REREAD ALL (ALMOST) 19K WORDS ??? IM SO GLAD YOU LIKE THAT FIC SM AAAAHHH IM FEELING LIKE AN ACTUAL AUTHOR 🥰 i loved runway yn too they were like boss attitude with 20% anxiety.

LOOK JENO BETTER BE PULLING MOVES LIKE THAT TO IMPRESS THE GIRLS 😤 if he hits himself in the forehead with the apple, bonus points bc that was true comedy (as invented by taemin)

AND YES. LIKE I KNOW MARK HATED DONGHYUCK SO MUCH HE WANTED TO LEAVE SM BUT LIKE HE’S TOO NICE WITH EVERYONE ELSE 😭😭😭 i cannot picture him pissed off apart from that summer fight </3

thinking about dejun getting rejected by a girl he wrote a song for. rip brother.

IM GLAD YOU PUT THAT INTO WORDS BC THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT IT IS!!! he’s got all of these regal qualities but he’s still human ykyk so it makes for the most amiable person on earth 😌 i love this characterization of him!!

oof exes to lovers with jaehyun... i had a similar idea a while ago (with theme song sincerity is scary by the 1975) that i discarded bc i don’t think i’m cut out to write that 😭 (YET) so i will keep this is mind. u r so right about jaehyun feeling inaccurate bc it’s like he’s very mild in personality onscreen sometimes?? so him having strong personality traits makes me go 🤔🤔 that man is overreacting. (jkjk but like you get the idea)

WAIT RLLY OMG BC OF ME???? i would never enjoy e2l irl bc irl dudes are 🤢🤢 and if they annoy me i will end them. but in fiction the mutual pining and initial disgust at yourself for liking the other??? helllooo 🤩🤩🤩 especially if it’s in a romcom style <3 bff2l is also better in fiction bc if the relationship doesnt work out irl and the person become uncomfortable with me i will just get annoyed jskshdl

LMAO YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT YANGYANG HE’S JUST THAT™ DUDE skgkhs he feels like someone fun to hang out with but he would annoy you the whole time. also he is cute 🥰

AND EXACTLY!!!! IM HAPPY FOR ROYALTY AUS BUT CMON. LOOK AT THOSE VAMPIRE TEETH. feel like media ruined vampires for people 😔

THIS IS SUCH A NICE BREAK FROM STUDYING HONESTLY!!!! im like working on two semi-large projects AND studying course and out-of-course material simultaneously so my brain is a little fried. thank u for this 😘

#tata 💖#anon #answered

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zenosanalytic · 4 years

Text

People What Aint From Round Here Is The Problem...

So I just watched Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood and I have THOUGHTS:

Ive read a few reviews&ruminations on this film at this point and I can’t believe that none of them got(or at least, mentioned explicitly) the primary thesis of this movie, spcl given that Tarentino flatly states it out the mouth of his primary protagonist within, like, the first 15-20mins of the film: “...most important thing in this town is when you’re making money you buy a house in town. You don’t rent... Hollywood real estate means you live here. You’re not just visiting, not just passing through. You fuckin live here.” i.e., the most important thing in Hollywood, to Hollywood, is the people FROM Hollywood; Everyone else is just a filthy, trouble-making tourist or profiteer who is “Passing Through” and “Doesnt Get It” and “Is Fucking It Up”(It being the film industry), and probably “Secretly Hates Movies”. There are places and aspects of this movie that are basically a Nativist Angeleno rant, written by a life-long Angeleno film-nerd-turned-film-maker, against Hollywood’s critics(and his critics which he just totally conflates with the former), and probably non-Angelenos(and non-Californians?) in general.

There are two ways to read this thesis: Straight and Subverted/Satirized.

The evidence for reading it straight is pretty plentiful. Lots of reviews have puzzled at where the line connecting the constant hippie-bashing, the weird focus on knocking Polanski’s Polishness & preference for shooting in London, and the inexplicable pot-shot at Bruce Lee is, and I think this is it. “The Hippies” are repeatedly presented as a corrupting force: digging through trash, living in squalourous filth at the Spahn Ranch dragging members of “Old Hollywood” like its owner into it with them, selling drugs, and using sex to “control” men. And attached to this is presenting “The Hippies” as foreign; not only from another place, but refusing to assimilate with the LA way of life and hostile to it. The Manson family are the only explicitly identified “Hippies” in the film(other than, possibly, the one who sells Cliff an acid cig). The only “positive” portrayals of Bruce Lee in the film are silent ones of him teaching anglos kung fu, which has some fairly obvs and well-understood Implications.

But there’s also good evidence for reading it as subverted and satirized. Both Tate and Dalton are NOT from California, let alone LA, and Booth’s origins are left unclear. Dalton’s the only one of them explicitly id’d as being from elsewhere(Missouri), but Tate’s easy to google and she was a military kid who grew up all over the place. When Dalton returns from Italy, that sequence and his look in it are VERY reminiscent of the scenes introducing Polanski at the beginning of the film. The side-characters around Tate, perennially shown in a positive light, are also non-Angelenos. Doing Spaghetti Westerns revitalizes Dalton’s career, despite his disdain for Italian cinema. Tate and her crew, while not explicitly ID’d as “Hippies” and often shown in Mod and other fashion styles, are also presented in “Hippie” fashion, shown listening to “Hippie” music, smoking the “Hippie” Reefer(Im sorry, but Comedy Demanded this phrasing and I am Devout u_u), and implied to be living a polyamorous “Hippie” life.

It really is difficult for me to say which predominates. On the one entirely metaphorical hand, the ways in which Dalton’s Angeleno chauvinism are subverted and mocked are fairly obvs, but on the other emh, the film is FILLED with LITERALLY GLOWING nostalgia for this pre-Hippy, pre-Lefty, pre-70s, Conservative and Republican California&Los Angeles. Dalton’s focus on property-ownership&the film industry in the opening thesis could easily be seen as resolving these subversive contradictions to allow for a straight read(ie: Tate, Booth, and Dalton are “Hollywood People” who’ve both bought real-estate in LA, and who’ve grown up in film or film-adjacent fields and choose to center their adult lives in the film industry). So much, in fact, that I kinda started to wonder abt QT’s politics while watching it. And, if it WAS satirical, then what’s the point of the knock to Bruce Lee and focusing criticisms of Polanski on his Polishness and shooting in London? Is that just meant to characterize Dalton and Booth as nativists and racists?

It really cannot be said enough that there are REALLY MORE APPROPRIATE CRITICISMS to make of Polanski than 1)begin Polish, 2)possessing boyish effeminacy, and 3)preferring to shoot movies in London instead of LA. Which are this movie’s only problems with him(though it also takes the time to show him bitchily smoking a cigarette in an evening gown while being rude to a dog). Obvsl I dont object to villainizing an ACTUAL REAL LIFE VILLAIN like this shitstain, but I DO object to being asked(albeit gently) to participate in this film’s understated nationalist bigotry.

It’s possible that Cliff’s turning Pussycat down during the drive to the ranch was intended to be this but I highly doubt it. And if it was it’d be misrepresenting Polanski’s misdeeds enormously, considering that Pussycat, the too-young girl, is the sexual instigator in this film. Polanski liked to manipulate, drug, and rape underaged girls(he pulled the same shit with models in Europe before getting busted for it in LA, btw, then continued doing it after fleeing back to Europe); really not the same situation.

There’s another irony in that, while the film goes out of its way to call Polanski “boyish” and imply that makes him feminine and that this is Bad, there’s also a subtle under-current that... Tarentino sees himself in his youth the same way? He’s certainly never been short like Polanski and Jay Sebring are/were, QT’s 6 1, but the actors he cast to play them and the description made of the pair in-film are more than a bit reminiscent of how Tarentino looked&was discussed in the press back in the 90s when he was starting out. AAAaaand the film explicitly calls that Tate’s “Type”; leaving me with the question: would Tarentino be able to stop himself from implying a dead starlet would have been attracted to him? I leave the answer to your imaginations, Dear Readers u_u

Having said all that it IS a really good film, which I liked, I dont think it’d be very hard to set aside this political stuff while watching, the driving sequences are especially emotive&exhilarating, and there’s some seriously great acting in it. IDK if I’d say I liked it more than the recent Emma movie, tho.

I feel like each of the trio, Tate, Dalton, and Booth, were meant to symbolically Embody LA/Hollywood/California? Like Pitt especially seemed to be channeling movie characters and CJ from GTA: San Andreas throughout his performance, while I couldnt help but think of Ronald Reagan watching DiCaprio(spcl given the character’s likely politics). So there’s this sense in which the film is a fantasy of “Old Hollywood”, embodied by these three, Vanquishing its “Enemies”, represented by The Hippies(moralizing, pretentious, gross leftist) and potentially Polanski&Lee(foreign film ppl who refuse to integrate into the LA scene). Again, given the political history of Cali after this era, this embodiment raises some questions for me abt the film and QT’s politics(particularly in re: misogyny and feminism).

Also DiCaprio is totally going to get pitched a Reagan biopic off of this role and I sincerely hope he has the good sense to turn that shit the fuck down.

Circling back to the ranting at his critics, this movie was definitely and consciously a response to them. Like: up until the last 5-15 minutes of the film, and aside from a handful of too-lingering too fetishistic too on-the-nose creep shots of the female cast that Tarentino simply could not stop himself from making, OUATiH is precisely the sort of “Serious” film Tarentino’s critics have been saying he should make for decades now(of course he did Jackie Brown, which was that and which he blew Completely out of the park). And then there’s that bloody, gross-out, exploitation-movie ending. I dont actually think it was as bad as many critics were saying it was? For some reason I was thinking there was gonna be a massacre of the ENTIRE Manson family, which would have been totally out of left-field. But it WAS clearly a stinger of a major tone-shift thrown in as a Fuck You to the ppl who’ve called out his violent and exploitative preferences throughout the years. As for me I generally like his movies and think he’s a great filmmaker but he absolutely does go too far sometimes.

Rick Dalton, in an evening-gown, with a mixer full of iced-margarita in one hand, getting all up in the face of the driver of a loud exhaust-spewing jalope in his PRIVATE STREET was TOTALLY Tarentino himself :| By which I mean NOT ONLY that That’s ABSOLUTELY the sort of cameo he would have given himself 30 years ago and if it made any sort of sense at all in the film(which here it wouldnt have, obvsl), BUT ALSO that I feel 94% confident that Tarentino has actually done that at least once in his lifetime :| :|

I think the monologue&interactions T gives Bruce Lee leading up to the fight were probably more insulting to him than the fight itself. Contrary to popular discussion, it isn’t Pitt’s character totally trashing Lee, he gets in one good throw after Lee repeats a successful attack at his request(which I doubt Lee would have ever done from what little I know about him; not being predictable in a fight was his whole Deal), but rather an even duel between them(most of the fight is just the two blocking each others’ attacks). I dont think the film was trying to say “Lee was full of hot-air”, if it wanted to say that it’d have shown him getting trounced instead of showing him knock Booth down then trade him blow for blow, but more “Lee was pretty arrogant and a bit pretentious”.

OK, that’s abt all that I can think of right now: thanks for reading ^v^

#Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood #Quentin Tarentino #Long Post #Cinema #zA Reviews #Movie Reviews #zA Commentary #zA Opinions #analytic posts

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sharksfood · 4 years

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I saw Onward last week with my friend who is an avid LARPer and fellow lover of all things fantasy, so it was a perfect movie for the two of us. in general I adored it! I’ll probably see it again if i have the time and of course, i’m getting it on BluRay. i would also LOVE to snag the art book since the character design for this film was probably my favorite part.

[some spoilers]

my biggest complaint (and its not a complaint, just a negative i guess) is that Onward didnt feel like a Pixar movie to me, both in the story and animation. the animation style wasnt as interesting as some of the Pixar movies in the past (though thats been kinda up or down for a while), and it didnt feel as fresh or mind-blowing. to me it fit in better with the regular Disney animated features, not Pixar. Especially in comparison to Toy Story 4, albeit theyre very different styles, something about it didn’t pop for me like most Pixar movies do. The story was a little bland with Pixar in mind, though i did love it! i just always think of Pixar as the studio that gives stories and feelings to things we usually don’t expect. And Onward i guess was so similar to real life that it didn’t feel that way. Maybe if they had pushed the fantasy-realism even more, or changed some modern things to fit with these creatures more (they did do this but i think they didn’t push it far enough), that would have sold me.

and i’m not gonna talk about it at length, but the whole “Disney making a big deal about their ‘first’ LGBT character and acting so high and mighty about it” did dull the magic for me. considering the police officer was in two scenes, plus she didn’t have ANY characterization beyond being a cop and having a gf with a kid, it really did not live up to Disney’s hype. i’m not saying she wasn’t “gay enough” or whatever, but had they not brought it up beforehand or made any “hype” about her, i would have liked her a lot more. To compare this to Paranorman (not everyone agrees its good rep) Mitch being gay wasn’t something for LAIKA to brag about. Had Disney followed suit, their “first” gay character wouldn’t have become a meme.

Okay, so for the good stuff, I am a huge sucker for sibling bonding and especially HEALING in fiction. it gets to me more between sisters, but still. Ian and Barley like each other and get along well, but they still have their problems and doubts. The fact that they grew into their own and with each other is beautiful, especially the fact that Ian now sees Barley as a father figure AND a brother. That is an element i haven’t seen before, let alone done this well. I also really appreciated the tension between them in that Ian thought Barley was a screw up, that he thought less than great about his actions and choices. This sort of thing isn’t explored in media enough, and I’d love to see more. I believe most people don’t consider that our siblings’ opinions do matter to us as much as our parents’.

Again, I LOVE the character designs in this film. Everyone looks unique and distinct while still having key traits for each species. I love these designs way more that those in Monsters U, which felt kinda cut-and-paste with the monsters. I loved how you could tell that even within the elves they were still different races (or at least coded) with hair, facial features, and skin tone, all the while still blue! They did this with other creatures too, like how Corey is black while also being a Manticore bcs of her hair texture (and of course the incredible voice of Octavia Spencer). And you know what diversity Disney added and made not a peep about? One of Ian’s school friends walks with crutches! I can’t say what his affliction is, but its wonderful to see some inclusion to disabled folks.

My favorite characters were Barley and Corey. Barley was just so incredibly well rounded, like he was perfectly imperfect. I could go on and on honestly. Corey on the other hand was just plain AWESOME! Her little personality crisis felt kind of rushed to me, but to me it fit as an allegory for the whole film; she is a magical and powerful creature who let herself become weighed down by modern society and lost her moxie. I also love that Corey and the boy’s mom, Laurel, became friends (but i wouldve died to see them as a couple). I really want to know more about Manticores in this universe, since she seemed like the only one, and also might be immortal?

What initially drew me to this movie was seeing a centaur character in the original trailer, as trivial as that sounds its true. I love centaurs so much, and they hold a special place in my life for many reasons. I was a bit dissapointed in that there was only two centaurs prominently shown in Onward; Colt and the gal playing DDR (which was adorable). In the trailer there was one more, but not in the film. I did really like Colt, and he’s growing on me more. But one thing that has not left my mind is why to the centaurs and satyrs not wear pants?! everyone else does!! its probably bcs Pixar wanted the audience to clearly read them as centaurs/satyrs so pants would cover their cool legs, but still.... Do they just have a different level of decency than others? I have to know. But I love that the centaurs have horse ears instead of human ones <3

Lastly, and this isn’t good or bad, but I just didn’t resonate with Ian and Barley bringing back their dad. I mean, it was very emotional and a great drive to the story, but since I still have my parents I guess I just couldn’t connect to it. I liked how they were able to characterize the boy’s dad with just legs, that was adorable and a huge feat for animation!

Some little things I want to mention: the final boss dragon was SO COOL, it reminded me of the giant Ralph at the end of Ralph Breaks the Internet how it was made out of pieces, Ian was accurately scared to drive for the first time and i FELT THAT, Barley went the entire movie with a broken arm/wrist and took every swing like a champ! that boy is so chaotic i love him. ALSO it was so cool how Ian and Barley had each bits and pieces of their parents looks! like Ian had his dad’s face and body but his mom’s eyes, etc. Love that choice family design

All in all, a dazzling and wonderful movie with great characters and a cool story/theme, just not what I would expect from Pixar.

#onward #onward spoilers #onward review #babble

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judewillem · 4 years

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Yukie, Noriko, Yuka

the neutrals!!!!!

Yukie:

How I feel about this character:

I know that I once held the title of Number One Yukie Utsumi Hater in the fandom but consider: I was a dumb 17 year old with critical thinking skills that needed work. As such, I don’t really mind her character now, and appreciate her character in Angels Border. I will still admit that I was disappointed in the novel’s characterization of Yukie, but it was nowhere near as bad as the movie and manga’s characterization of her. However, I thought Angels Border showed a side to her that I really admired- it showcased her more as a leader and her vulnerabilities. And, I will say that juxtaposing her angrily telling her father she’d die for this country if he’d sit back and do nothing, along with her death following the massacre, was one of the most haunting scenes in any of the versions of BR.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Haruka/Yukie: I’m not gonna lie, at first I thought this was just another best friend pairing (because they’re really popular amongst the 3-B kids), but after reading Angels Border, oh my god. Haruka’s love for her, along with the belief that she’d “taint” Yukie absolutely broke my heart. I understood completely why Haruka wanted to keep her feelings hidden, but I would have loved to have seen what could have been between them! Haruka’s devotion to her, and willingness to die for her, makes this definitely one of the best 3-B ships.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Yukie/The Neutral Girls: Slight copout? Still. I love the idea of her being mother hen to this group of the nicest girls in class, and of course, that really comes through in the lighthouse scenes, considering her willingness to round up all her friends and stay together in the hopes of survival- and if not- dying with her best friends. I would’ve loved to have seen more of her dynamic with the girls outside of the program- I can really picture her being a good friend to all of them, and able to help them out of any messes they found themselves in!

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I know that I’ve softened on her considerably over the years, but her movie/manga characterization was awful. I’m sorry, the fact that in a scenario where she survives the program along with her classmates, she would be willing to stop being friends with one of her closest friends over a crush is just so shallow!!!! Focus on y’all’s inevitable trauma and need for community/connection, how about that!!!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Relating back to what I said earlier, I would have loved to have seen Haruka get a chance to tell Yukie how she feels. It just kills me that Haruka was willing to die not telling Yukie about her feelings, and that’s exactly what she did!!! Which is so upsetting!!! Yukie deserved to know just how much her best friend cherished her.

Noriko:

How I feel about this character:

My baby!! Definitely my favourite female character!!! I absolutely love her for her emotional strength and ability to always see the best in people, even in circumstances as horrific as the program. I think she’s really underestimated for her bravery, like the scene with Yoshitoki in the classroom AND the fact that she kills Kiriyama is a testament to her strength.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Shuya/Noriko:

My fave BR ship!!!! I always thought their personalities fit each other so well, and I loved how both of them saw the best in the world, even at its worst. I’m a sucker for the trope of a couple bonding and seeing each other for their goodness and hope even amidst awful circumstances- not to mention, I just thought that they had a really cute dynamic with them awkwardly navigating their feelings. I would’ve loved to have seen what life was like for them post-program.

Yoshitoki/Noriko:

While I vastly prefer Shuriko, I also thought Yoshitoki’s crush on Noriko was so sweet. I’ll probably expand more on this when I get to Nobu’s section, but I’ll say here that I loved that Noriko risked getting shot, and standing up to Sakamochi, all to get him help. I would have loved to have seen more of their dynamic pre-program!

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Shogo/Noriko:

I’m a huge sucker for the tough guy being close friends with one of the sweetest girls in class. I thought their playful dynamic in the book was really cute, and I would have loved to have seen more of their dynamic one-on-one, especially that conversation where Shogo admits that she and Shuya are great friends to have.

Noriko/Izumi:

I discussed this in my Izumi analysis!!

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Can’t believe this is an unpopular opinion but anyways she deserved to survive. You don’t have to be a gun-wielding badass to constitute as a strong person, and I think Noriko’s hopeful outlook on the world and peaceful demeanour is a great thing. Also, I want textual evidence from anyone that accuses her of being whiny because bitch where!!!!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

Honestly, I would have loved to have seen any version of BR delve more into her trauma. All three versions really focus on Shuya, but it’s really underdeveloped from Noriko’s perspective. I mean, her best friends all killed each other, and (in the manga at least), her family disowns her. I guess I would’ve loved to have seen a glimpse of life after the program from her perspective to delve into her trauma.

Yuka:

How I feel about this character:

I love Yuka! I thought it was a breath of fresh air to come across a character so lighthearted, even after so much time passed in the program. I really wish the novel delved into her character more, and it was so awful that she accidentally got such a harsh end.

All the people I ship romantically with this character:

Keita/Yuka:

I absolutely fully blame fan content for this one. Given their personalities, I could see them being such a good match- a perfect blend of idiots and fun! I think that they’d compliment each other well, and I could so see Keita being an absolute disaster when it comes to handling a crush on her.

Tadakatsu/Yuka:

I know this is only briefly mentioned in Angels Border, but I would’ve loved to have seen more of their dynamic! I can so picture Yuka being bold and open around Tadakatsu and teasing him at any given opportunity. I would have loved to have seen the two of them go from brash friends to a couple!! They would’ve had a really interesting dynamic.

My non-romantic OTP for this character:

Yuka/The Neutral Girls:

It’s hard to pick a single neutral girl to narrow it down to, but I love what we saw of Yuka’s relationship with the girls! I love the idea of her teasing them about anything and everything, and being the most outspoken out of them all. I think she complimented the group nicely and gave the group dynamic a bit more of a fun side!!

Yuka/Yutaka:

An underrated friendship potential for sure!! I can picture these two having a really light-hearted friendship based on causing chaos for their other friends.

My unpopular opinion about this character:

I don’t think I have any??? Every opinion I’ve seen on Yuka seem good thank god!!

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

That she could’ve stayed around longer!!! I’ll never forgive Takami for introducing such a fun character and then killing her off like half a page later.

#PHEW THIS IS LONG SORRY Y'ALL #long post #keitaiijima #ask

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professorspork · 5 years

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Can you talk a little more about why you found Endgame devastating in a bad way and not a good way?

I sure can! I can talk a lot more, in fact! I’m going to put this under a cut because Ihave a feeling it’s going to get Quite Long (ETA: it is, this is 6k words I amso sorry) so if anyone just wants the tl;dr version, I recommend GaviaBaker-Whitelaw’s excellent article ‘How the straight agenda ruined Avengers:Endgame.’

If you want my own personal take, well. Enter at your ownrisk, here be monsters, etc:

First of all, the very short answer to your question: Itagged this photo as emblematic of all the ways Endgame was “devastating in thebad way and not in the good way” because, if I’m being really honest, Steve and Natbeing queerplatonic life partners (who maybe occasionally fuck but mostly don’t)was my absolute favorite thing about the MCU. (Yes, despite all the words thatfollow hereon about Bucky, I stand by Steve&Nat being my Absolute Favorite,because it was entirely about what was onscreen and nothing about the fanon thatfollowed.) And now it’s Gone and not only is it Gone it was Taken From Me, andI’m salty.

The much longer answer:

What’s maddening is that I honestly loved the vast, vastmajority of Endgame. I adored, like, 92% of it!! It’s just that the remaining8% is the part that’s a) most relevant to character arcs and b) permanent,which leaves me at a bit of an impasse. It’s hard to remember my delight overthe way Natasha laid down haphazardly over old take-out containers whilebrainstorming at her peak adorableness when she’s, y’know, dead. (Which isn’teven my biggest issue!)

I’m going to break it out by character, from most toleast irksome to me so we get the heaviest stuff out of the way and then by theend I’m just shouting on my lawn going “AND ANOTHER THING.” I’m also not goingto go into The Thor Thing, because I think everyone worth talking to is inagreement about that being fatphobic and offensive.

Okay, here we go:

STEVE

I fucking hate that Steve went back in time to marryPeggy. AND I LOVE PEGGY AND I LOVE STEVE/PEGGY SO I’M SO MAD THIS IS WHERE I’VEBEEN LEFT. I have tried to make my peace with it, I have failed, and I amhonestly not used to being this mad at a fictional character. I know it’suseless to hold it against him—something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately isthat argument some fans make about like “why are you slutshaming X characterfor wearing skimpy armor, she just feels most empowered riding into battle withnothing but a strip of leather over her tits” when like, the characterdid not make this choice, the writers made it be that way—but unlike, say,the characterization of Steve in Age of Ultron, which I can happily disregard becauseJoss hates Steve, Markus, McFeely, Russo & Russo have been the architectsof everything I love about Steve. It’s straight from the source! And soI… I’m taking it personally, though I know I shouldn’t. I feel like Steve turnedhis back on me and left me behind.

Well. Me and Bucky Barnes.

It’s probably no secret if you follow this blog that I’ma big Stucky girl. I have admitted it’s one of my top three ships of all time;my steve and bucky tag is 21 damn pages long. But I promise, I PROMISE, thisisn’t even about that. Regardless of whether or not you think these two are orever were in romantic love with each other, their best friendship is one of themost important and indelible parts of the MCU.

Steve’s emotional arc over the last several movies hasrevolved around his intense obsession with all things Bucky. He bailedon his concert tour, defied orders and became Cap-in-combat to save Bucky in1944. He tore down SHIELD, HYDRA and the whole world for Bucky when he foundout he was alive. He became a war criminal on the slightest chance he couldprove Bucky’s innocence! And then, when they were finally reunited, finally foronce on the same page at the same time, Bucky was taken in the Snap. And so,like. It seems a bit WEIRD to me that Steve’s heartbreak over the Snap isframed as a Peggy thing (see: him looking at the Peggy compass before their first act attack on Thanos; his talking exclusively about Peggyin the Snap support group he runs WITH GAY MEN) when Peggy died a natural deathafter a long life in Civil War and not, y’know, Bucky, his oldest, mostintimate relationship-haver, or even Sam, his best friend. It seems a bit ODDto me that we see dozens of cute, short reunions and meetings in the finalbattle with 2014 Thanos—known Extremely Important Relationships Tony/Dr. Strangeand Peter/Carol are given significant on screen exchanges—but we don’t seeSteve and Bucky reunite with one another. It feels a bit CONSPICUOUS to me thatSteve does not tell Bucky what he plans to do when he goes to take the stonesback, full on SUSPICIOUS to me that the two don’t say boo shit to each other—can’teven stand in the same group together when Steve comes back from histime vacation—and outright UNBELIEVABLE to me that Steve Rogers would choose tolive seventy years of his life without Bucky Barnes.

I just don’t buy it.

I don’t buy that after four movies of you telling me itisn’t the case, Steve Rogers’ happy ending doesn’t include Bucky. (Andwe’ll touch on the whole idea of what it means to have a “happy ending” in abit.)

It feels like a deliberate side-step. It feels like thecreative team tried and failed to come up with anything approaching a normal,just-two-bros reunion scene for them and with the weight of their past intimacyeverything they wrote came off as a marriage proposal so they scrapped itentirely. It’s insulting. Not on a “my ship didn’t go canon” level—I never in amillion years expected Steve and Bucky to ‘get together’ in any concrete sense,I wouldn’t even have known what to do with it if I got it, I never wanted that.All I wanted was for the text to honor the affection, the bond between thesetwo just as much as it did in any of the other movies. One of the best featuresof the MCU is its consistency when it comes to character detail andrelationship nuance. So how on earth (I know how, we all know how) did theydrop the ball on what is literally their flagship friendship?

But it’s not just that Steve goes back in time withoutBucky, or without saying a word to him about it. It’s that Steve goes back intime and then, apparently, does absolutely nothing for seventy years, includingsaving Bucky.

The time travel rules in Endgame are… unique. They areunprecedented. And it’s easy to tell that’s true, because not once have thedifferent members of the creative team been able to give a consistent answer onwhy or how it works in interviews after the fact. So like. I accept that mytake on this may not be the “canon” take, and until we get a post-Endgame moviethat addresses these things there IS no canon take. Regardless of what their “thisisn’t Back to the Future” rules means about whether or not changing the pastmeans changing the future, in the future all of these characters lived Buckywas on ice/doing murders until the events of Winter Soldier, also in which theworld learned SHIELD was HYDRA. The Russos think Steve created his own branchreality when he went back in time, and the question is then how he got back toour world to hand off the shield; Markus and McFeely don’t think that’s true;they think Steve lived concurrently to his own regular timeline and was always Peggy’s husband. YOU WOULD THINK THEY’D HAVE REACHED AGREEMENT ON THIS EITHER WAY BEFORE THIS POINT, BUT I DIGRESS. This meansthat either a) M&M are right and Steve went back in time and neither toldhis new wife Peggy “hey honey, you know that startup you’ve got going withHoward, maybe don’t invite Arnim Zola unless you want your entire legacy to beNazis,” nor did he save Bucky when he knew he was somewhere in Eastern Europebeing fucking tortured and brainwashed. He didn’t stop Howard and Maria fromgetting in the car. There’s a lot of joke tweets about how Captain America just“let 9/11 happen” and like—it’s a joke but it’s also NOT A JOKE--- orrrrrr b) theRussos are right and maybe Steve did all of those things in a branch reality,which they felt no need to mention when they were wrapping up the emotionalstoryline for their marquee character, which is lazy at best and kind ofunforgivable at worst. Even in the Best Version of Events, where not only arethe Russos are right and Steve went back in a splinter timeline, but in thatsplinter timeline Steve co-founded a Nazi-less SHIELD with Peggy and theyfought crime Hart to Hart style, saved Bucky, stopped the Vietnam War fromhappening and cured AIDS, it still means Peggy no longer did everything she didon her own, fighting and clawing for it like a honey badger. And should shehave had to? No, of course not. But is it her defining trait and greatestaccomplishment that she did? YES! This matters to me! Erasing it without givingher a say matters to me!

And the fact that all of this is in doubt is BONKERS. Iwould feel less weird about if they didn’t leave all of it unsaid! If they’dincluded a scene with Bucky before Steve went back where Bucky just went “Steve,listen. I know what you’re thinking, and you can’t save me, okay? It wouldbreak the time continuum or something. Now go be a reckless idiot like I knowyou’re gonna and say hi to Carter for me” it would at least feel like theycared the slightest bit. Hell, if they gave Peggy ANY LINES AT ALL it wouldfeel a heck of a lot more like the reuniting of two characters I love and lesslike a mortifying hetcon where Steve erases all of Peggy’s professionalaccomplishments and canon husband and other family just to have hisfairytale happy ending with a voiceless woman-shaped smilebot.

Do you have any idea how much I would have cried if we’dgotten a scene were Steve showed up at the Stork Club in time for his dance?Peggy doesn’t even need to have A LOT of lines (though she should!) A tearysmirk and a “you’re late” reprise would have gone so far! (Especially if they’dhad a final, heart-wrenching goodbye for closure and then he’d returned to thefuture, giving us the best of both worlds, but what do I know.) But no, EdwinJarvis gets a line in this movie and Peggy doesn’t. She has no say in the endof her story—it’s a decision that’s made at her. She’s a bit player inher own life. Steve isn’t reunited with Peggy, he gets a dance with the idea ofPeggy. But like. The real Peggy is brash and terrible at emotional honesty! Shewould be a nightmare to be married to! So is Steve! That’s why I love them,they’re awful! And it just feels like all of that was erased in a moment infavor of a vision of unsustainable hetero bliss.

(Honestly, the way I make peace with this is by thinkingthat after maybe six months with Peggy they were both like “oh godwhat were we thinking, this is never going to work” and broke up, and thereason Steve didn’t tell Sam his wife’s name is that it wasn’t Peggy andhe’s too embarrassed to say so.)

And like. I’m trying not to feel like an awfulbitch/bitter old crone about it, because the thing I keep circling back to inconversation with others is them saying “can’t you at least be happy for himthat he’s at peace? Don’t you think he deserves to rest? After everything he’s done,shouldn’t Steve get a chance to be happy?”

Listen. Do I think Steve deserves a chance athappiness? Yes. Do I think Steve Rogers actually has the capacity forsustainable, long term happiness? … Honestly, no. That’s one of the reasons Ilove him.

Steve is miserable. His life is hard, he’s got PTSD, hehas trouble adjusting even in the best of circumstances. But he’s a fighter.And the reason I admire(d) him so much is that no matter what life threw athim, he was relentless in his forward momentum. He had to go on, he had to keepstanding up for others. He didn’t know how not to. Does this mean he needs ashit ton of therapy? Yes, it does—and the therapy is better in the future, Imight add! But like. As much as the creative team keeps going on about howtheir overall arcs were “Tony needed to learn to be more selfless, like Steve,and Steve needed to learn to be more selfish, like Tony” I think there’s adifference between learning to grasp happiness with both hands in the unlikely,miraculous event it comes your way, because it’s brief and shining and worthcelebrating, even though it comes with heartbreak, and just… noping out of yourlife and ignoring your problems for seven decades while everyone else worriesabout it. I’ve never seen Steve sit still and keep himself out of trouble forseven minutes—now I’m supposed to believe he managed it for seventy years? Hewas Peggy’s weird secret attic husband no one knew about? I respected him,loved him, and identified with him—I felt represented by him—because not onlydid he have to fight for every scrap of happiness he’s ever had, he felt likethere was honor in that fight. That’s why Mjolnir declared him Worthy!! And forhim to then lay down his responsibility and NOT FIGHT for 70 years momentsafter being given that distinction… it stings.

I appreciate my happy endings when they’re hard-won. Thatoften means they’re bittersweet. And if Steve’s ending were framed that way—yes,he got back his Era and he got the girl, but he lost his best friend, his foundfamily, and any determinedly-etched-out balance—I might be more okay with it.But it’s presented as the uncomplicated ride off into the sunset he deserved,and… I don’t want my stories uncomplicated. Steve Rogers is not anuncomplicated man. I know a lot of this is YMMV and I’m maybe a bit more darkin my tastes than others, here—hell, I think it’s cheap that the Elrics got alltheir flesh back AND Mustang got back his sight in FMA:B, that feels like toohappy an ending for me—but telling me that what Steve’s really wanted allthis time was to have a house in the ‘burbs and chill doesn’t resonate. Steve’swhole thing since Day 1 was “how can I sit idly by while other men risk theirlives? I can’t stand that.”

It feels like a How I Met Your Mother ending. If Stevehad had the option to go back at the end of Avengers 1, I’d have bought itcompletely that he’d take it (both for character arc reasons and for “he didn’tknow Bucky was alive then” reasons). But he’s not that guy anymore. Yet itseems like they decided a long, long time ago that Steve was going to go backin time and get a do-over, and years of development, growth, moving on andbonding with other people be damned. Who cares if Steve got Bucky back, whocares if Steve got Sam back, who cares that he’d lived 13 years, his entireadult life, in the future? Nat’s dead, might as well go back to the other damewho liked him!

And. And here’s the thing. If everything else were equalbut Bucky and Peggy’s roles were reversed—if Peggy fell from the train, and itwas Bucky who founded SHIELD with Howard; if Steve met Bucky again as adementia-ridden old man and Peggy were the Winter Soldier, if it were PeggySteve spent all these movies desperately trying to save and nurture—I feel likeeveryone else would find it REALLY WEIRD if Steve went back in time to do itall over again with Bucky! That’s not a question of romance, or gender. Not forme, who loves all of these characters equally. It’s a question of the emotionalarchitecture the story is built upon.

Historically, every decision Steve’s ever made in theentire time we’ve known him has been about Bucky. And for this ending to work,it requires us to either ignore that, or think this single-minded focus wasnever about Bucky at all—that it was instead a sublimated love where Buckybecame a signifier for Peggy or the past Steve lost, instead of a person in hisown right, the person Steve’s always chosen and who’s always chosen him, sincethey were kids. Til the end of the line. Asking me to believe that is a)horrible, and cruel, and frankly homophobic and b) simply untenable—I don’t thinkthat the plots of First Avenger, Winter Soldier or Civil War stand up to thatreading.

And even in the kindest reading of all of this—that Stevedeserves to return to the time he was stolen from, because it’s his TrueTime and Peggy’s his True Love—then my god, doesn’t Bucky deserve that, too?Steve was an orphan with, after Bucky’s “death,” ONLY Peggy and I guess theHowlies to tie him to the world. Bucky has a family! He’s got sisters! Theythink he’s dead! If Steve deserves this, doesn’t Bucky, after everything he’sbeen through, deserve it too? If it applies to one of them, it applies to bothof them, doesn’t it? No matter which way you slice it? (For the record, if Stevehad taken Bucky back to the past with him I'd still be scratching my head aboutthe timeline bearing out—and I think it would make the Sam!Cap offer even morekind of paltry and afterthoughtish than it already is, Sam deserves FIREWORKSand A CROWD damn it, and it also deserves to be a decision not made AT him, seeabove—but at least I could be like “yeah, that's exactly the kind ofhilariously not-thought-out decision Steve would make, have fun kiddo.”)

But I guess Steve inviting Bucky on his Happy Ending Tourof the past would be too much like a fucking proposal so, uh, no, we don’t getthat.

NATASHA

Here is a top ten list, in no particular order, called “I’dbe fine with it, but.”

1. I’d be fine with it—Natasha is a hero, and she deservesa hero’s ending, she merits going out in a big swing to save the world—but she’sstill the Smurfette, man. It means something different to kill your only original female leadthis way than it does to kill a male character. It especially means that whenyou kill her in the exact same way you killed Gamora—THE OTHER SMURFETTE—onemovie previous. It feels cheap, and it feels callous. M&M&R&R havetalked a lot about the woman/women in the office who read a draft where Clintdied instead and said “DON’T YOU TAKE THIS AWAY FROM HER” but a) tbh I feellike maybe they were reading a different draft than was ultimately shot, thismovie evolved a lot over the years and b) when you’re the Token Girl, your storyis more than just yours. In a franchise of this scale, it’s just… it’s notequal yet. If the circumstances had been utterly different, if Nat haddied wielding the Infinity Gauntlet, at least it would be novel. And like—I amnot the kind of person who thinks standing against Bury Your Gays means no gayscan ever die or else, for example; sometimes a Good Death is warranted if it’swell-written enough—but again: it’s the “she feels empowered in that skimpysuit” thing. You didn’t HAVE to create a murder cliff that only exists forfemale characters to die for the men who love them. You made that choice. It’speak “why do we even have that lever?!”

2. I’d be fine with it—Natasha loves Clint, of course shewouldn’t let him die for her, not when he’s fighting to get back his family—butit would have made more sense for Clint to die as penance for all of the ninjamurders he did after losing his kids than for Nat to die because she can’t haveany. It feels like it privileges bio family over found family in a way that’skind of dismissive and gross, and it calls back to the mortifying line in Ageof Ultron were Nat referred to herself as a monster over her infertility. And theargument that Clint couldn’t die, there’s a Hawkeye Disney+ series falls flatwhen Nat has a MOVIE coming out and Vision also has a Disney+ series and yetis, as of this moment, still dead.

3. I’d be fine with it—Natasha loves Clint, of coursethey’d bicker over who would jump—but when the “dramatic” scene that precedes amajor character’s death resembles nothing so much as this comic, you’re doingit wrong. I shouldn’t be giggling over their antics right before someone fallsto their death.

4. I’d be fine with it—Nat did it for her family, whomshe loves—but her family didn’t even honor her back, and that’s bullshit. Tonygets a massive funeral and Nat gets nothing? I admit that what I trulywant for her—a long sequence of RENT-style “what Angel meant to me”testimonials—would have been a bit weird to include pacing-wise, even if I dothink if I asked Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner nicely over twitter they’dprobably improvise one for me anyway. But it didn’t have to be that. A singleshot in a montage would be enough. A shot of Clint, Laura, Fury, Steve, Sam, Okoye and Pepper doing a shot of vodka together and pouring one out for Nat would havebeen enough. Simple, elegant, gets the point across. It’s not hard!!!

5. I’d be fine with it—they needed to get the Soul Stone,for skimpy outfit reasons someone had to die, I get it—but then Steve has toput all the stones back to reverse the heist and stop the branch timelines fromcollapsing like The Ancient One warned about. How the fuck do you return theSoul Stone? And Steve could, wouldn’t that cosmically mean we get Nat back? Asoul for a soul, isn’t that the deal?

6. I’d be fine with it—I understand that playing the longgame and forcing yourself to fall in love with Red Skull so you cansacrifice him, though hilarious, is not actually a solution—but it just seemslike there are other ways to write around this moment. Nat and Clint have bothlost so much, sacrificed so much. That doesn’t count? This isn’t like Thanos,who’s never sacrificed a thing in his life. Nat’s given up so much for thecause; Clint lost his family. The Soul Stone couldn’t just sense that?Or—what if they’d jumped together? Full Rose and Jack, “you jump, I jump,right?” Refusing to be separated. What would the Soul Stone math be then? Ifeel like it would have been a cooler story to find out.

7. I’d be fine with it—ScarJo needed a way out of hercontract, after the Black Widow movie (which: how they’re going to make thatwork is a whole other rant I do not have time for here)—but killing Natasha inthe one irreversible way in a damn comic book franchise just feels soneedlessly final. If you’d said “after everything, after holding the Avengerstogether for five years with nothing but the force of her will and some peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches, she’s tired and disillusioned with it and wants toroam the world for a while without the team, maybe fight some normal crime fora bit” and had her phased out quietly I would have understood! It would havebeen fine! Preferable, even!

8. I’d be fine with it—I don’t think it’s total bullshit whenM&M&R&R say that this was the end of her arc, she’d found herfamily and become a true hero—but the implication that death is the only way toend an arc is lazy and, in this case, hurtful. It comes off as “we couldn’tthink of anything else to do with her, so we killed her.” You can’t do betterthan that? Tony and Steve were gone. Natasha ran the Avengers, andpulled Nick Fury duty on top of it, for five years and death is the onlyend of her arc? Again, I know ScarJo’s contract is up, but that answer is justoffensive. In a perfect world, given the circumstances you’ve described the endof Nat’s arc would be continuing to lead the fucking Avengers.

9. I’d be fine with it—maybe all those office ladies wereright, maybe it would have felt pandering and sexist and deflating if Clint hadstolen Nat’s moment and died for her—but it’s kind of conspicuous that thereare only two female leads in this movie, Natasha and Nebula, and when both trulyexhibit their agency in their climactic moments, they choose to die. And Nebulakilling her past self to save Gamora is one of my favorite moments of the film!But god, there’s more to female agency than suicide, right?

10. I’d be fine with it—the way Steve cries when he findsout is gratifying and in-character—but Tony’s question of “Did she have anyfamily?” is fucking horrifying. You know she doesn’t, Tony, Jesus Christ.It was a sloppy, lazy setup just so Steve could say “Yeah. Us.” Which wasfucking unnecessary because we know that, that’s why she died for you. (Thecomedy reading, which is that Tony was implying she, like Clint, had a secretFarm Family is hilarious but, y’know. Not the right time.)

And speaking of the sir himself…

TONY

This one is a big case of “it’s not what you say, it’show you say it.” I didn’t expect Tony to get out of Endgame alive. (In fact, Ihad braced myself for a total party kill for the original six, which, if it hadbeen a TPK, I would have felt way better about it tbh. If they’d gone down one byone Rogue One style, at least the playing field would be even; that wouldremove a lot of the sting.) Tony’s the bedrock, he’s where we started, and ofcourse this would be the end of his road. He was going to go out big, he wasgoing to save the world. I knew that was the deal.

But they also gave him a little girl.

To my eyes, you can give Tony the ending he deserves—the endingwhere he and Pepper get to settle down, where he gets to be the father he neverhad, the one where he’s finally stable, finally at peace—or you can giveTony the Ending He Deserves—the one where he, the flagship, the starting pistolof the MCU, gets to vanquish Thanos saying “I am Iron Man.” Epic.

You… you lose me when you do both.

Here’s where I get my hackles up:

Were there any other outcomes you considered for Tony?

MARKUS No. Because we had the opportunity to give him theperfect retirement life, within the movie.

McFEELY He got that already.

MARKUS That’s the life he’s been striving for. Are he andPepper going to get together? Yes. They got married, they had a kid, it wasgreat. It’s a good death. It doesn’t feel like a tragedy. It feels like aheroic, finished life.

It is a fucking tragedy! Pepper is left alone with a fiveyear old girl! Pepper does not get a perfect, finished life. It’s a gross,reductive, alienating view of fatherhood, which is all the more starkly (punintended) contrasted when you compare him to Scott, a good dad whoactually gives a shit that he missed out on three years of Cassie’s lifein prison and then ANOTHER FIVE in the Quantum Realm. Honestly, this is whathappens when you don’t let women write these movies—the characterization formen suffers, too, not just women. Because it wasn’t even a factor to them.Like. They literally cut a scene from the movie where a vision of Morgan fromthe future absolved him of guilt for leaving his family behind. That’s… reallyawful, fellas. Surely you can see how awful that is?

I want to feel good about Tony’s death. I want to feelinspired. Part of me does. But god, that little girl. God, Pepper.

But then, it’s pretty much par for the course. Because it’sworth it to talk about

WOMEN

This isn’t about how the one “Girl Power” shot wasshallow fanservice instead of substantive representation, how it makes no sensein the plot of the moment, or how it’s a totally empty gesture unless they planon giving us an A-Force movie (though all of those things are true).

It’s about how this movie has a gender problem in whichthe vast, vast majority of female characters got to be “badass” by bucklingunder the will of their male counterparts—and those who didn’t mostly justweren’t in it enough for that to be true.

Peggy doesn’t get any lines; she is presented not as thestrong, capable individual we know her to be but as a storybook reward forSteve’s good behavior after all these years. She is a prop, not a person.

Pepper is, for the thousandth time, defined as strong andcapable because she’s able to withstand all of the crap Tony puts on her. Ilove Tony/Pepper, I think they’re the beating heart of the MCU, their screwballenergy left a positive and indelible mark on the MCU that redefined how loveinterests work (well, barring Betty Ross, I’m so sorry Betty your movie isawful and you deserved so much better). But like. Tony gives her a company whenhe doesn’t want it anymore, he gives her a suit even though he knows she’s notinterested, he talks her into having a child together and then he leaves herbehind. Pepper is like an amazing, super intense version of one of those cookswho up-cycles leftovers into new, amazing, even-better-than-the-originaldishes. But she shouldn’t have to be, and she deserves better.

The same goes for Valkyrie, who is literally handedthe crown of Asgard for no other reason than because she’s there. It’s notthat she’s not capable, it’s not that she doesn’t deserve it, and it’s not thatshe won’t do an amazing job, but again: it’s a decision made at her. Why isthis still happening? (See also: Sam!Cap, and another way that Sam is stillgetting the Love Interest treatment after all of these years).

Carol was underused, and utilized entirely as a Deus ExMachina instead of as a person with feelings every time she did show up. Whileshe has the raw power to back up that plot usage, aside from her little smirkand “hey, Peter Parker,” we got almost no humanity from her. It’s not like theMCU is bad at establishing loads and loads of nuance in just a few lines—the massivejuggernaut that is Clint/Coulson shipping was launched when they exchanged twosentences to each other!—so it doesn’t feel like a lot to ask that Carol bein the scenes she’s in. You know?

For the most part, I really love how they handled Gamoraand Nebula, but the fact that 2014 them were Super Team Thanos flies directlyin the face of where both of them were at the start of GotG—and for Gamora tochange her mind after learning that in the future, she and Nebula are trulysisters when it’s Nebula who always wanted that for them is… a littlereductive. This was Their Movie—five more minutes to really tease out thenuance here would have really gone a long way.

Plus there was that whole scene where Frigga was like “actuallyit’s fine if I die; I’m just glad you’re okay honey. I feel so empowered inthis skimpy outfit. It has to be this way!” If Nat didn’t die the way she did, this scene would read differently! But she did! So it doesn’t!

Okay. Okay. I’m sure I’ve forgotten things that botheredme, but I have to stop somewhere so it might as well be here. In fact, here’s alist of things I really liked, to remind us all that I did like this movie:

America’s ass! “I could do this all day”/“I know!” ThePB&J cut diagonal! Cooper’s baseball mitt! Tony and Nebula playing PaperFootball! Nebula and Rhodey being best friends / “he’s an idiot!” Clint and Natforehead touch! Nat lounging on the takeout containers! When Hope calls Steve ‘Cap’and Scott gives her a little Look about it! Instant Kill Mode! Bruce and TheAncient One talk metaphysics—and the fact that Bruce is what is astrallyprojected out of Hulk! The redo of the elevator scene being subverted with “HailHydra!” Tony and Howard! Rocket’s much-needed frank pep talk to Thor! Ding dongditching 1970 Hank because he deserves that and so much worse! Tony revisitinghis Age of Ultron mentality at his lowest—frankly, it made me buy it in a wayall of AoU didn’t! Nebula murdering who she used to be so she can becomesomething new (let the past die, kill it if you have to amirite?)! Theindulgent credits sequence with the original 6 and their autographs! Quill’sface when he saw 2014 Gamora! TIME HEIST AS A CONCEPT LBR. Everyone’s funeralfashion choices, some of which are patently Bonkers! Smart Hulk having to riphis shirt off and pretend to enjoy smashing to blend in in 2012! The whole tacosight gag outside the compound! I love you 3000! Scott reuniting with Cassieand saying “you’re so big” instead of “you’re so tall!” Steve being Worthy!Thor doing a self-Fastball Special by hitting Mjolnir with Stormbreaker! YIBAMBE!

I don’t think I have ever cried as hard as I didwhen Sam said “on your left” and all of the Snapped heroes came back in Strange’sportals. Desperate, sobbing, joyful, elated, transported, awe-filled GASPINGkind of crying. I could hardly breathe. I really freaked out the guy next tome, I’ll tell you that.

I’m upset because these movies are good. This movie isgood. It made me feel… I don’t think I can describe the acute, painful ecstasyof that moment as long as I live, when everyone I loved, everyone gone,returned and returned and returned. I’m tearing up just describing it to younow.

I say these things because I care. I say these thingsbecause I don’t want to stop caring, and when characters I love are written inways I cannot understand, that I cannot abide, I am removed from the equation.And I am the damn target audience for this fucking movie. What I think matters.And it matters that I say it.

If you actually made it this far, I am very impressedwith your fortitude, and I thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

#hoo boy #i do not want this in any tracked tags #not that those even work anymore #but here's some filler #and one more #okay #avengers endgame #endgame #mcu #avengers endgame spoilers #endgame spoilers #Anonymous

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lala-pipo · 4 years

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(2) and also… omg… Minhooo??? such a gentleman I cannot… there are so many feelings in this chapter (coupled with smuts, but like… my heart… i can’t… from one cute moment to smut then some jealousy then some smut then some more cute moments… it’s like exercise for my heart… Honestly, it’s kinda difficult to see what 13 future chapters are gonna cover, because like these 2 chapters already explore soo much?? omg… I can’t wait for the next chapters!

(1) … oh… my… god… chapter 2 update!!! It was such a roller coaster ride omg… after the movie scene and he went to the kitchen and saw Jonghyun there, honestly what I was thinking was that… why is he studying there, was it for a reason wink wonk (or maybe I’m reading too much into it, because jongtae are my babies lol). Honestly not surprised if that was not your intention, I’m just too close to the ship that I would start seeing things lol

(3) I might have said it before, but you are an amazing writer! … this part right here had me squeezing my own heart “ignoring how awful the thought of Jonghyun sleeping with someone else made him feel” TnT… and you can write the flow of the story so beautifully, like it’s not forced or paced too fast or too slow, it’s perfect! Your choice of words and characterizations are just amazing! Thank you so much for sharing your stories, and for all your hard work! Looking forward for the next update! (4) Oh!! and I saw on ao3, I did enjoy chapter 2 very much!! Thank you!! It’s kinda cheesy but I was so giddy when I saw your message to cricket anon lol… it’s like senpai remembers me… hahaha anyways, stay safe and I hope you have a goood day! (5) (umm... I honestly forgot if I asked the first question as an anon or not, oh welll, if you figured out it's me... it's okay... hahahha) you don't need to reply to this one, just saying that I'm not sure if I pressed the ask anonymously button before I sent the first message lol... have a good daaay!! - cricket anon ********************************************************* Dear Cricket nony, You did send the first message non-anonymous, but we just pretend that never happened and keep your identity hidden, so I inserted the first message to the others. ^^ Thanks so much again for sending me so many asks. That was such a lovely surprise after waking up. ♥ 1) The kitchen table is like the pivotal element in this story, so a lot of important conversations and actions happen at it, but it’s also the place where Jonghyun comes to study, so of course it was crucial for the end of this chapter that Jonghyun stayed at the kitchen table, but it’s also the place where he would have been if it hadn’t been for Taemin. ^^ 2) We are far away from reaching the tip of the iceberg, dear. haha But as I’ve said last week, the first 6 chapters (maybe also the 7th chapter) are kind of quick paced like the first 2 have been, but it slows down after that. The other chapters are exploring feelings more ‘deeply’ if that’s the right word to use. It also might be a relief to some that there are also some chapters without any smut in them. I know! Shocking 😂 But those might feel a little less than a rollercoaster ride then. ^^ 3) Thank you so much, dear! I’m glad you enjoy my writing. At the moment I’m struggling a lot with self-doubt, so reading that someone enjoys what I write and the way I write is very nice. So thank you! ♥ It’s so hard to gather an audience for SHINee fics these days unless you are known to write for one specific pairing (which I’m not because I just like to jump between pairings a lot *lmao*). I mean it does have its advantages to see a different group of people read your stories depending on the pairing you write about (e.g when I wrote an OnTae oneshot I’ve seen people in the comments I’ve never seen before which was fun), but I have the feeling that especially these days people mainly read fics from specific authors because they know they solely write one ship (or two at max) and don’t even check the ao3 page anymore. This might not apply to Jinki ships as I always have the feeling MVPs are the most supportive fanfic readers no matter the ‘On’ ship (MVPs love their fics it seems, which is lovely). Anyway, I don’t know how things are on other platforms. Meanwhile, there is me who sits in her multi-ship bubble. ^^” 4) How could I have forgotten about you, dear cricket nony?! Your last messages were so lovely that I won’t forget you so easily! ^^ Please stay safe as well and once again thanks so much for your messages! I hope you will have a lovely weekend and a splendid week! ♥

#non-fic post #cricket nony #Anonymous

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flaming-pancakes-4819 · 4 years

Text

A Talk About Redemption

Hello everyone, and welcome to my TED talk.

Spoilers, if that wasn't clear

As the big bold letter ontop say, this little discussion will be a sort of educational talk on redemption. Or, in other words, how to do it right.

Be warned: I’m not the best at explain - and it’s currently 12 am- but I’ll try my best to get my point across.

Now, I would like to point it out right now that I actually thought the new star wars movies were decent- not perfect, but decent. I understood vaguely what whoever was writing this trilogy wanted this new saga to go but, of course, there were a lot of flaws. One flaw I will talk about is, of course, redemption.

Now, another warning before you read on: I am a reylo fan. Yes, yes, I can hear you judging me for this, but listen for one sec. I liked reylo, yes, but it wasn’t done right. I loved the trope and where it could have gone. I loved the characters and the potential for each- especially ben and rey. The thing is: the characters arcs wasn’t done right. it was full of flaws and chopped up arcs; these characters could have been amazing- if done right.

But I’m not gonna talk about all these characters because, as the big letters say, I’m here to talk about redemption. Specifically, about Ben’s redemption arc since that’s what the trilogy clearly shows. A villian turning into a hero in the end.

Now, for one moment, tell me: does this sort of arc sound familiar? I wonder what other character had this development. A character who was evil and hated and yet, in the end, managed to redeem himself and fight on the good side.

If it wasn’t clear, I was talking about Zuko from The Last Airbender. As far as I know, this guy had the only good redemption arc I can think of at the top of my head.

This guy who has done terrible things and raided villages in this self-centered quest to find the avatar for a father who basically used/abused him, had, in the end, joined forces with the avatar- the good side- and defeated the man who tormented him for so long.

And it’s this characterization and its’ steps that I want to talk about and how it correlates with Ben’s- and how Ben’s arc could have been better. Way better. Before we begin, I will like to point out that I will be introducing the most basic steps in a redemption arc- in my eyes anyways.

Anyway, let’s begin.

Step 1: Misguided illusion

The first dip in the pond I see when looking at Zuko’s character is one thing: his goal. His wants, his needs, and the faith he has. Basically, the tinted glasses of illusion. Zuko was all about getting his father's approval. He wanted it, he thought he needed it. He was hellbent on finding the avatar to restore his honor. It was his whole being, in a sense; his one drive in life. He wanted to gain back acceptance in something that was not as perfect as it seemed; he wanted this misguided acceptance from a nation/father who didn’t deserve it.

It’s this small list that makes up the beginning of a redemption arc: the goal and faith of a character.

Now, for Ben, what is his goal? What does he have faith in?

It’s clear his faith is in the dark side but his want? To me, it’s unclear or not developed enough. This has always been a con to me; I never understood what Ben really wanted since he was in the dark side- or almost as Snoke said he wasn’t “there yet” idk- he was a key player and a right hand man to Snoke, so now what? Does he want power? Control? What does he want? My guess is to become a full member of the dark side.

That goal is what gets up to the next step.

Step 2: Internal Struggle

In Zuko’s case, the thing that toppled his world and shook his faith was when he met Song, a girl who had been scarred during a Fire Nation assault. Sure, there were other instances of existential conflicts in Book 2, but with Song, it showed Zuko that the Fire Nation wasn’t as great as he thought it was. It challenges his faith.

Now for Ben, what is that key moment? Where does his conflict get challenged? I would say when he killed his dear ol’ dad, Han. Now, I thought this was a great conflict; he feels guilt over his dad’s death. But the thing is, it wasn’t enough. For me, I needed more of that struggle, of that conflict in which that moments hurt him- not really in TLJ but in TROS.

Step 3: Back To The Beginning

Now this is a step in which the character reverts back into their old ways when the opportunity of their “goal” appears. Think of it as a set back.

For Zuko, this was clear when he betrayed his uncle to achieve that chance at earning his father’s acceptance and his honor. But the thing is, he’s learned. He’s struggled. He has a new mindset now and that mindset is now a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit anymore. He now has a clearer picture of what the Fire Nation is and what he thinks it should be. Peace for all nations. This is his new want.

Now what about Ben?

I think it’s clear to what his set back is: when he killed Snoke and took control as Supreme leader. While this clearly shows a goal for him, it’s not enough because, as stated before, his goal was to be one with the dark side and he just… kills Snoke? That’s what he wanted before. So was I wrong? Did he want power? Why does he want to rule? Because he’s evil? Okay, then why all the mumbo jumbo about his guilt over his pops and his supposed “not there yet” dark side transition. Also, does the guilt over his dad over transition to guilt over his actions?

Many questions, not enough time. Or evidence, for that matter.

Step 4: New Ideals

This is where the fun begins.

So after the whole fiasco of seeing his family again and going back home, Zuko leaves. By his own choice again, but for what he truly believes in: peace. His changed ideals are what drive him to this step. He doesn’t want honor anymore but about something bigger- seeing the Nation he once believed in not be what it was supposed to be and going out of his way to change that.

And Ben?

Well, he did throw that saber into the ocean so there you go.

Step 5: One Of The Boys

Last step is pretty short but a nice bow ontop of a wrapped present.

Zuko goes to the good side- aka. Aang and the squad- and defeats his father. Yay! Hooray! Give this man a medal. But that’s not the important part here; it’s that he made this choice with his own reasoning behind it and his own ideals. He’s learned and applied it accordingly.

Going back to Ben. What about him?

This part was understandable and heartbreaking. Ben went to help Rey, sacrificed himself for her, and then become one with the force. Yay?

Now, this whole chart may make it look like Ben got almost all the check marks- but there’s one problem, and that’s his actual characterization.

Ben is an unstable man in my eyes. He doesn’t know what he truly wants and his goals are all over the place. Yes, he was a crap guy who did bad things but so did Zuko and look how he turned out. No, it’s all about how Ben was portrayed and what was missing- and that’s his goals.

For instance, how does his goal affect with what he’s learned? Yes, he killed his dad and felt guilt, but how do you apply that to killing Snoke? Why did he take control after that? How does that connect to his want of being one with the dark side and his guilt over his dad?

It doesn’t and that’s the problem.

Now, I don’t mind that throne room fight scene; it was visually beautiful, but still, somewhere along the lines, something happened and Ben’s character was muddled in the middle to the point that the ending was as clear to Ben’s character arc and how it connected.

Yes, some of you might say “Well, Avatar was 3 seasons and Star wars was 3 movies.” Well, that doesn’t excuse writing a good redemption arc- or a better one in which that arc is clear on the whys.

Anyways, that’s all from me. Thanks for reading all this. It’s currently 12am and I just came back from watching the movie. Hope I wrote this well. I am tired.

#star wars #star wars review #star wars tfa #star wars tlj #star wars tros #kylo ren #ben solo #rey #star wars spoilers #star wars tros spoilers #ahhh #hi #welcome to my ted talk

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