#why is the writing center pissing me off so bad!!!

[munadyke]

girl who is somehow feeling both quite empty and also incredibly full of rage at the same time...things to be considered

#um! #have things to do..but nothing pressing..but also like boy do i want to hashtag like yell just 2 get it out #why cant i just sit here and read my book all day!!! #why is the writing center pissing me off so bad!!!

[sturnsbae]

heyyy can you write smth about matt calling the reader "my baby" in podcasts, videos and even in front of their families without caring who's around?

MY BABY - MATT STURNIOLO

warning: very very soft matt, so if you’re not into pure fluff then this story is not for you!!

—

matt never fails to express his love for you. he’s so passionate about loving you, and making sure you know that. one day around the beginning of your guys’ relationship he had accidentally let a new nickname slip, and you fell in love with it.

you were wrapped in his arms cuddled up in his bed as both of you were dozing off. “i love you. you’re my baby,” matt had groggily let slip out of his mouth. the corners of your lips had turned up when he said this.

“i love that nickname,” you had said. so then it became yours. all yours.

~

the guys are recording a podcast episode on happiness and your name is brought up per usual. matt’s face lights up immediately and a big smile appears on his face.

“oh yeah she’s a huge form of my happiness. it’s like an instant serotonin boost whenever she’s around, she’s my baby.” he smiles, not at all ashamed that both of his brothers are around, as well as all of the viewers who will be listening to the podcast episode.

“it’s so cute that you call her that,” nick smiles in awe.

“it’s disgusting nick, don’t lie to him,” chris groans.

“shut up chris, you’re just mad that you’re single,” matt retorts.

~

matt’s phone rests on the center console of the car facing with the screen up. he’s in the middle of talking to nick when he feels a buzz and notices his screen light up out of the corner of his eye. his head turns and he notices that it’s a snapchat from you.

he grabs his phone and leans back in his chair as nick and chris bicker, opening the photo from you and immediately blushing. he bites the insides of his cheeks to prevent a smile, but ultimately fails when chris calls him out on his so called “antisocial” behavior.

“dude get off your phone, stop being antisocial! we’re filming!” chris rolls his eyes.

matt shuffles to put his phone away, not enjoying the sudden spotlight on him. “sorry sorry, i was just snapping my babyyyy,” he sing-songs to piss chris off.

“ew dude! i hate couples,” chris huffs and crosses his arms as he slides down in the passenger seat.

“you’re just mad that matt is cheating on you with y/n,” nick chuckles from the back seat.

“you know what, you’re right!” chris says as he sits up and gets close to the camera shaking his finger at it, “you know what y/n! i’m matt’s passenger princess not you! and i was his baby first too!”

“oh my god,” matt laughs and rolls his eyes playfully at his brothers antics.

~

you were visiting his parents in boston for the first time, and you were beyond nervous to say the least. it was such a nerve wracking feeling to be meeting the most important people in his life besides you and his brothers.

“they’re gonna love you, y/n. you’re my baby, they know how much i love you. they’re gonna love you just as much, maybe even more!” matt reassures you as you both walk a few paces behind his brothers in the airport.

you give matt a nervous smile as you both approach the car where both of his parents are waiting in the pickup line. mary lou quickly gets out of the car and hurries to hug her boys, before approaching you and matt with a big smile.

“hi sweetie,” she smiles to matt

“mom, meet my baby y/n!” matt smiles as mary lou wraps you in a tight hug.

“it’s so nice to meet you, mrs sturniolo,” you smile.

“oh please honey, call me mary lou,” she smiles at you. you then walk off towards the trunk and put your bag into it. as you walk off, mary lou turns to matt, “now i see why you call her that. she’s such a sweet and pretty girl. you did good, matt.”

—

i’m sooo sorry if this is bad it was so rushed 😭

#matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #matthew sturniolo x you #matthew sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo x you #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #nicolas sturniolo #sturniolo x you #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo fluff #matthew sturniolo fluff

[whaddayadothatfor]

Ctenizidae

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x Fem!Reader

Summary: You’re an anomaly from another universe. You’re not dangerous though, so Miguel’s made the executive decision to keep you around until more dangerous criminals are caught and sent home first. Unless that’s not the only reason he’s decided to keep you around…

Content warnings: dub-con, voyeurism, masturbation, obsessive!Miguel

WC: ~1k

AN: Y’all this is so unedited but I wanted to write smut for this man so I did! If y’all like it I can post a second, smuttier part.

MDNI

“Here.” You drop a small plastic bin of chocolate chip cookies in front of Miguel. As a peace offering. No, really.

Miguel raises his right eyebrow in question. He doesn’t even answer you anymore. The other Spider-people go about their day in the cafeteria, having seen this scene time and time again.

Every day for the past two weeks since you were suddenly teleported to Nueva York and promptly labeled an anomaly, you’ve been practically begging Miguel to send you home. He’s declined every time.

This is pretty much how the conversation goes each time:

“Miguel, I think I should—“

“No. We have to send the most dangerous anomalies back to their universe first—“

“I’m dangerous! I’m plenty dangerous.”

“The only thing you’ve maimed, tortured, and killed in the past month is a flippin’ houseplant. You’re staying.”

You see how frustrating this man is?

So you’ve decided that maybe bribery— sorry, a peace offering— will work better. Hence, the cookies.

“Maybe if you eat something sweet you’ll stop being so bitter and stubborn all the time,” you smile tightly. “Then you’ll find it in your heart— the one that shrunk three sizes— to let me go home.”

“I appreciate the offering— though you could use some more creativity in your approach— but just know that these won’t get you home.” He pries open the container and lifts one to his mouth before moaning in delight. “These are delicious. Thank you,” he said, sucking the melted chocolate off of his thumb. His overly enthusiastic groans were clearly a tactic to piss you off, and it worked.

You simmer in anger as he smirks while chewing his cookie. You try to snatch the bin back, but he moves it out of your way.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he says, pushing up from the small table he was sitting at and leaning down to whisper near your ear. “No take-backsies.”

He flustered you, and he knew it. He laughed as he walked away. You stuttered a retort in embarrassment, but he didn’t even have the decency to turn around.

“Ugh, I hate that guy,” you stomped in anger. You muttered several curses before you turned around to leave, only to see several wide-eyed Spideys staring at you in concern. This is why you wait until after you’re alone to throw a tantrum— it scares the locals. Whoops. “Uhh, carry on. My bad. Enjoy your lunch!”

You quickly walk away, feeling defeated. But it doesn’t matter, you’ve got nothing but time. You’ll catch him when he’s sleeping. He’s gotta be more amenable then.

Later

“You know, just for the record, I think you going to his room this late at night is a terrible idea,” Lyla warned as she flitted between standing and reclining with her arms crossed behind her neck.

“Well I think him keeping me here is a terrible idea. I guess we’re all full of them.”

“Seriously—“

“Lyla I don’t care! I’ve got a family to get back to. Friends, a life. I don’t care how fine that man is, I’m going back home. Tonight, preferably.”

“Whatever, it’s your funeral.” She acquiesced before disappearing into the ether, just as you arrived at his door.

“Wait, Lyla! Open the door.” Without a response, the door opened. “Thanks, Lyla.”

You walked in to the large room to see Miguel sitting up in a chair near the center of the room.

“Miguel, you need to listen to me—“

The sight that met you was so shocking you had to take it in one part at a time.

First, You see Miguel’s side profile as he faces the wall to the left of you. He’s breathing heavy, chest heaving as his hand vigorously moves up and down his— oh. Maybe you came at the wrong time.

With the sudden awkwardness that’s overtaken you, you look somewhere else, anywhere else, only to find the source of what he’s staring at— a video, no, porn. The second piece of the puzzle, you take in the video’s content. First, you just see flashes of skin and hear soft grunts and moans emanating from the screen. But then you realize, the voices sound familiar, really familiar. Then it hits you.

It is you.

And him. The both of you together. And that realization connects all the pieces of the puzzle together. He’s keeping you here, on purpose.

Your eyes dart back to Miguel, who has now abandoned his video in favor of the live view he has right in front of him. He’s shirtless but he still has some grey sweats on, pushed down just enough that he can jerk off. His hands move desperately over his cock, aborted grunts and breathy moans coming out sporadically.

He turned his head to the side, his cheeks flushed and his eyes narrowed with desire. You were frozen, stuck in time. Miguel kept stroking his cock while staring into your eyes. He did this right up until his orgasm overtook him, throwing his head back and jerking his hips upward as he called out your name.

His cum spurted out in waves, once, twice, three times. It was thick and opaque and made a mess all over his lower stomach. He sighed and sank back into his chair.

“Did you enjoy the show?” His voice is low and heady as he calls out to you. It takes you a moment to respond, because admittedly you’re still staring at his— well, his everything, dick included. Still It was a very, very nice, thick, veiny d—“Am I interrupting?”

His teasing knocks you out of your reverie.

“I-I should go.” You said. You’re starting to realize that Lyla might have been right. Maybe you should’ve waited until the morning. You start backing up to leave but Miguel shakes his head and the door shuts behind him.

“No, no, no. See, that’s your problem. You’re always trying to leave,” he chastises.

He stalks towards you, like you’re prey. You move backwards until your back hits the door. He reaches over you, placing an arm over your head and his index finger under your chin, lifting it upwards. He bends down, close enough that you can see even minute details of his face.

He narrows his eyes as he bares his fangs.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

#marvel x reader #miguel x reader #miguel o'hara #miguel o’hara x reader #marvel smut #across the spiderverse #spider man 2099 #spider man smut #oscar isaac #oscar isaac characters #oscar isaac smut #y/n

[runicarbiter02]

Helllooo! Request are open and I'm running over here. Can I request hdc for alejandro vargas and ghost, being jealous because there crush is a little bit touching with another men. Thank youu honey.

A/N: This is definitely an interesting one! I'd be happy to write these for you, since you specifically specified them, I'll just do them for this one. :) I hope you enjoy, darling! I'm still learning how to write for Ale, so I apologize if he's a bit OOC! Also, thank you all for over 1,000 notes on my first headcanon request! I am so, so happy you all are liking the post! ~ Hannah

ALEJANDRO VARGAS

I imagine with Alejandro, this would be a slow burn friends to lovers sort of situation. You, Alejandro, and Rudy have all been friends since you all joined up together. Alejandro has always been on the flirtier side with most people, which is why whenever he flirts with you, you don't tend to think much of it. That's just who he is, right?

Los Vaqueros had just gotten a new member, a young, handsome man in his mid-twenties. He's conventionally attractive and funny, which some of the other women definitely admire, but your thoughts are elsewhere. Unfortunately - or fortunately, if you look at it a certain way - you were assigned to show him around the base and get him up to speed.

Cut to the both of you in the mess hall on base, chattering away. Alejandro sees the both of you, and his blood boils. Who does this hijo de puta think that he is?

What really pisses him off is when the young man leans in, saying something that makes you laugh and you playfully shove him away with a coy smile. Alejandro quickly storms out, furious with the young man, but furious with himself for getting so upset.

He doesn't realize you follow him out until he feels your hand on his shoulder.

"Ale? What's wrong, hermano?" If only you knew how much he hated that nickname coming from your lips.

When he turns, one look at how concerned you are, and all his frustrations come spilling from his lips. He's just about to brush it off as him being silly when you don't respond right away before a laugh is erupting from you.

"Ale, he's not into me. He's just friendly. I thought he was flirting with me earlier, but he let me know that he's no even interested in sexual stuff. He's ace," You reassure, and suddenly, Alejandro feels ridiculously stupid. But that falls aside when you stand on your toes and brush a kiss to his cheek. "Now come on, cariño, you need to eat." His eyes follow you as you return to the mess hall, and he's stunned into silence.

Maybe he feels a little less bad about getting jealous.

SIMON "GHOST" RILEY

This man hates his jealousy. Despises it.

But, it's a part of him nonetheless, and it's something he has to live with.

I imagine it as quiet, little things around base that really gets to him: you're a medic, a really good one at that, and the men absolutely love you for how kindly you treat them all. You have patience, but you aren't afraid to bark orders at them if they're acting out of place.

"MacTavish, if you rip your stitches one more time, I'll kick your ass into next fucking week." "Captain, I don't care if you have more paperwork to do, get your ass in bed before I drag you there myself." "Hold still or I will personally strap you to this cot myself, rookie."

Your feisty nature and take-no-shit attitude is absolutely what drew him to you initially. Cue almost a year of pining on his end, and on your end, but not to his knowledge.

The final straw that ultimately cracks his resolve is a young sergeant that is trying to flirt with you while you stitch up a bullet wound on his side. It's obvious you're just being polite as you accept his compliments and hum in response at his attempts at flirting, but it still rubs Simon the wrong way.

Simon's jealousy is quiet, boiling, settling in the center of his chest. Every touch of yours against the sergeant's skin merely stokes the flames, but he does nothing, continuing to brood in the corner. He waits until you're done, shooing the young man off with a half-assed threat of harm if he ruins his stitches. That's when you finally notice him.

"Ghost, what have I told you about lurking in my med bay?" You tease softly before taking note of the hard look in his eyes. Slowly, you put two and two together, chuckling softly. "Ah, I see. C'mere, big guy."

He isn't mad. Not at all. All he can think about is that young man, who has all he doesn't: charm, good looks, youth, and the blessing of a childhood unscarred by a demon of a father. Simon isn't so lucky.

He can't stop himself as he follows your instructions, stepping into your office and taking a seat at your desk as you close the door. You sit on top of your desk and smile down at him before you hold out your hand expectantly. He furrows his brows but gives you his hand anyway, grumbling something about how he "doesn't know where your filthy mitts have been."

As soft kisses are pressed to his knuckles, however, he goes quiet. "Silly, jealous man. Can't even see that I look at you the same way you look at me. Eyes of a hawk, my ass," You tease.

He turns every shade of red beneath his damn balaclava, and you're damn certain to tease him about it as he melts back into the seat.

Hijo de puta - Son of a bitch

Hermano - Brother

Cariño - Honey; dear

TAGLIST

@floral-force

#alejandro vargas x reader #alejandro vargas #simon ghost riley x reader #simon ghost riley #cod mw2 2022 #cod mw2 #cod imagine #cod x reader #cod headcanons #runic writes

[danikamariewrites]

Dude every time I read Tairn’s insults or snarky remarks about anything and everyone, I cackled every time.

Could you do one where Tairn chose reader instead and reader, Xaden, Sgayel, and Tairn are just shit talking about everyone with their minds through out the day? I would love to see more of Xaden and Tairn bonding over being grumpy together lol

I have a really bad habit of when someone pisses me off I just insult them in my mind and I could just imagine Xaden accidentally laughing out loud at the insults causing the reader to also laugh lol

Shit Talking

Xaden x reader

A/n: this idea was sm fun to write. Also this is very heavy on Dain hate, bc I hate him.

Warnings: none

Sitting in history class waiting for the professor to start, you reach out and tap on Xaden’s mind. “Morning grumpy! How are you?” You don’t know who the huff came from, Xaden or Tairn.

“You’re too joyful for the morning.” Tairn deadpans. You chuckle to yourself and hear Sgaeyl chuckle as well. “He’s right.” As you were about to scold them for being old grumps, you hear the classroom door opens. Dain and the professor walk in.

“What’s wrong?” Xaden asks feeling your annoyance at Dain’s presence. “Dain’s observing class today.” You hear all three of the groan. You slap your hand over your mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.

Dain sits down at the front of the class and you relay that to the others. Sgaeyl laughs, Tairn lets out another annoyed groan, and Xaden laughs out, “Loser.”

As class goes on the four of you continue to talk about your fellow riders. It’s also rare Tairn and Sgaeyl are so vocal about other dragons. Or speak to you and Xaden when they don’t need to. It was nice and it felt normal in an odd way.

At Battle Brief you so badly wanted to sit with Xaden, but you had to stay with your squad. This time you feel Xaden tapping on your mind. “Hey sweet cheeks.” You feel your face heat. You turn slightly in your seat and see him hiding a smirk behind his hand

His eyes quickly dart to you, then back to the professors at the center of the circular room. “Aetos is particularly talkative today.” You mentally groan, “I know, his voice is so grating.” Another huff from Tairn has your eyes rolling.

“Wingleader,” you jump in your seat a little, shocked by Tairn addressing Xaden. “I think we should just be rid of him.”

“Mmhhmm, for once I agree with you.” “Now, now my mate, behave. We know he and his dragon are pompous but leave them be.” Sgaeyl chastised. Your heart skipped a beat. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. You had this full feeling in your chest. Like you were about to burst that the people your closest with were getting along.

Walking to dinner alone you hear Xaden in your head again. You pause for a moment at the intrusion and continue down the dimly lit stone hallway. “Are you heading to dinner?” “Yeah, are you there?”

Xaden steps in front of you from a shadowed alcove off the hall. You have to lean your head almost all the way back to see his face. He’s so gods damn tall and you love it. “Hey beautiful.” The corners of his full lips turning up, brushing lose hair behind your ear. Caressing your cheek, moving to hold your chin with his thumb and forefinger.

You smile up at him, fluttering your eyelashes. And out of nowhere you both burst out into a fit of laughter. You love Xaden’s laugh, it’s loud and untethered. Like he doesn’t have a care in the world for a moment. Grabbing on to each other for balance as you wipe at your eyes, calming down. Xaden pulls you into him kissing the crown of your head.

You start walking down the rest of the hall toward the dinning hall. You break the comfortable silence between you, “I had a good day today, thank you.” You feel Xaden stiffen next to you. “Why are you thanking me?”

“Because, you and Tairn, and Sgaeyl made today fun. I liked that all four of us were talking. It made me happy.” Outside of the large doors Xaden stops. You don’t notice until you were two steps ahead that he wasn’t with you.

Looking back at him, his face set in contemplation. You open your mouth to ask him what’s wrong when he says, “That makes me happy. All I want is for you to be happy. And I’m glad I could give you that today.” You close the distance between you, wrapping your arms around his middle and burying your head in his chest.

Xaden wraps an arm around your shoulder bringing his other hand up to cradle the back of your head, stroking your hair. You stay like that for a few more moments until footsteps and a scoff interrupt. You both look to the source of negativity and see Dain. “Get a room.” Disgust at your affection is clear in his voice. He walks in the dinning hall as you and Xaden look at each other and laugh.

tags: @nyotamalfoy @auggiesolovey @bubybubsters @baybay123455 @msiecrane

#fourth wing #fourth wing fanfic #xaden fourth wing x reader #xaden fourth wing #xaden riorson #xaden riorson x reader #xaden x reader #Xaden x you #Xaden riorson fourth wing

[meibywabie]

Xie Lian isn’t a hero.

I started with TGCF first when I was introduced to danmei, and I was floored by what I read. It wasn’t just boys kissing in ancient china, it was actually about human tragedy and the selfishness of the omnipotent.

The theme of TGCF doesn’t revolve around XL alone. It’s much bigger than that. This isn’t a ‘TGCF is better’ post, but rather, TGCF is different. And it’s different because Xie Lian isn’t a typical human hero.

XL is not a heroic character like WWX, and he isn’t a sarcastic/comedic relief hero like SQQ. And it isn’t because of their personalities. XL is just as selfless as WWX and just as unreasonably punished as both other MC’s. However, when bad things happen to WWX, you know it’s because of his personality. Because of his kindness, his confidence, his wit. It’s simply BECAUSE it’s WWX as the protagonist.

Same with SVSSS. That story couldn’t have happened without Shen Yuan in SQQ’s body. Like we never would have gotten that level of sarcasm, pity, and empathy. And the novel tells you that repeatedly. Everything that happens in the previous two novels does so because of who the main character is.

But when things happen in TGCF, XL isn’t even the center of the conflict. It’s almost always someone else’s fault, someone else’s business, or someone else’s issue he just happens to be present for. But somehow, it always comes back to him. It’s always his job to resolve things.

Unlike WWX, the conflict isn’t his fault. WWX actively pushes the narrative with his actions. He drives the conflict and later becomes it. Whether he’s at fault or not is the point of his story, but for XL, he’s really just incredibly unlucky. He’s tragic in the sense that he’s just being fucked over by everyone in his life. For what? For being…wonderful!?

I absolutely love that his one little phrase pissed off the evil emperor of heaven. Like his mere existence is a problem.

It’s an incredible piece of writing that the things that get him into trouble are his altruism. Altruism that is fitting for someone who thinks himself a GOD. But also, altruism that many of us mortals share.

Why CANT he save his people if he’s a god? Why CANT he answer everyone’s prayers? Why is he not good enough or strong enough to resolve this conflict if he’s literally a GOD.

XL is constantly facing issues and asking questions that humanity itself has asked.

Why isn’t god answering me, why isn’t god helping me, why do we have a god at all? TGCF has a commentary that doesn’t limit itself to just XL and the type of person he is in the way that MDZS relies on WWX and SVSSS relies on SQQ.

Those novels are how most novels typically function. You choose a specific type of human and see the world through their eyes.

But XL isn’t human. Not in the way he acts nor in the way he tells this story. He tells you everything he witnesses and it barely affects him anymore. He just has some wise thoughts about what everything means.

But TGCF isn’t asking: what would happen if a kind prince ascended to godhood?

Instead—

TGCF begs the question:

What if you told the story of humanity, not through the eyes of a human, but through the eyes of god.

Xie Lian is god.

XL is 800yrs old, has lived through countless tragedies, celebrations, friendships, betrayals, and he ascends. Again.

He’s been stuck with the burden of immortality and now he’s re entering the place that gave him that burden. He walks into heaven to see new gods, but the same old problems. And the whole vibe he has in this is less benevolent and wonderful and more like a fed up mom who’s tired of seeing the girls fighting.

He sits back and watches these issues devolve and shuffles his way into the conflict by accident. Because he’s the only one competent enough to do anything about it.

XL doesnt react like a human being, at the start of the current timeline, he’s a god.

He’s an 800yr old god. He’s seen everything, learned everything.

We see this prince who thinks himself a god then become one. And instead of learning what it means to be a god so he can help the common man— he learns what it means to be a common man so he can become a real god.

XL goes through HELL. He loses countless times, is left, betrayed, ruined, trampled, destroyed. He is constantly being thwarted by not just people but the very gods he worshipped and the god he himself became. But again— XL isn’t even that big of a personality for us to cling to that alone and see how these things happened to him??

He isn’t boasting about how great he is out of pride and ego, he isn’t rampaging or going mad with power, he isn’t a huge character. But his lack of those qualities is what triggers Jun Wu to ruin him. He wants to see him go crazy, wants to see him struggle. Wants to see his ego and pride. And he’s not the only one!!!

Mu Qing is also incredibly jealous, so are the other gods!!! And Qi Rong, his own family!!! His parents even get upset with him for not doing enough. Everyone saw this kid blessed with so much and started wishing for him to break. And they succeed. He goes insane, he starts killing, he starts wanting to die, he starts losing faith.

But MAN it is just so gorgeous to me that this character is almost…forced to be a main character? Forced to suffer, forced to make mistakes, forced to be a problem. He is so powerful and smart and incredible and then he is made to believe he is nothing. Here is this god who has been forced to feel HUMAN.

And once he finally feels that way, once he finally falls to the ground and loses everything, someone comes by and offers his hat.

And that’s all it takes for a man to truly become a god.

TGCF asks what if you told a story through the eyes of god? It shows you this guy sighing through drama and fixing peoples problems.

And then it goes back and tells you: What makes a man, god?

And we read all of XL’s history. His victories and failures. And it perfectly describes how he’s ascended again. Not out of heroics this time. But out of his pure humanity.

God is a kind, gentle, but confident man who wanders around helping who he can and opening his doors to those who wish to come in. He resolves the conflicts he’s there for, and takes note of those he wasn’t there for. He trudges along holding no grudges and sighing when people make mistakes. He loves selflessly and holds no judgment. He feels strange letting people take care of him but he will take care of you. When he can, and when he has the chance, he will take care of you.

XL is almost born with every book definition of what a god is: kind, selfless, strong, and true. But his story forces him to learn how to be human instead. To fail, die, love, kill and suffer. And when that god was beaten and broken, he was saved by one thing. A human.

That’s how you become a god. And that’s what it means to be one. To be human. To be a good person.

XL couldn’t have been a WWX. He couldn’t have been a staple protagonist with a heart of gold, wit and passion. He couldn’t have had a story with everyone’s conflict directly tied to him and because of him. That isn’t what TGCF is for.

It isn’t about XL himself. It’s about god. It explores the selfishness that comes with immortality, and the selflessness that comes with mortality.

There are other aspects that make it a nice protag story. He falls in love, he’s kinda air headed and sassy. He did have the character and maturity to choose to become a wonderful godlike person but that’s a post for another day. But honestly, if this were a regular novel, it probably would’ve been about Hua Cheng. He lives for love and passion and devotion. He kills and saves and sacrifices, he denies godhood and wins the girl in the end. Now THATS a hero.

But XL isn’t a hero. He’s a god.

MXTX wrote a story that wasn’t about a sheepish prince who lost it all, but instead wrote a story about gods and humans. She wrote what reads like a Greek epic to me. With such hard comments on morality and cruelty. She really hit me with everything I love about literature. And yes I do love MDZS and SVSS but TGCF is different.

Like guoshi said: the gods are human, after all. But XL above them all, is most definitely a god.

#im honestly pretty sure if Jun Wu hadn’t ruined XL’s life he woudlve become like LQQ and been a little stupid LMAO #Jun Wu could never #TGCF #heaven official's blessing #heaven officials blessing #hob #hualian #xie lian

[oneshlut]

Your Valentine (Veneer x Reader) [Headcanons]

Rules For Requesting

Characters I Will Write For

Masterlist

Summary: General Valentines headcanons for Veneer

Extra Info: Happy Valentines!! Hyperfixation on Veneer so why not lmao,, Takes place pre-canon! Since Veneer is such a difficult character to write for with reader inserts and whatnot, I tried to keep the reader's occupation and all up to interpretation. I'll work some stuff out if someone requests meeting and crushing headcanons!!

Believe me when I say that Veneer is an absolute sucker for Valentine's Day. As a kid, he adored making his own letterbox for the holiday in class, and even as he grew older, he loved giving Valentines gifts to his friends, and especially Velvet! Velvet never really participated in the holiday other than wearing pink, but he didn't mind.

As you probably know, he also loved being the center of attention. Being absolutely spoiled growing up, receiving at least five valentines every year, then upping the rate of valentines he received as a pop star by at least 1000%, Veneer wasn't taken out of the spotlight often. This caused him to become a bit of a brat when it came to receiving gifts.

However, Valentine's Day quickly became a bit of a bore without a real "valentine". The letters he received began to repeat themselves, repeating the same phrases over and over.. couldn't his fans be a bit more creative than just "be mine"? Veneer would rather just buy gifts for himself at this point.. which wouldn't be too bad of an idea. Ooh, maybe he could get those new pair of shoes he's been seeing everywhere!

His perspective on the holiday quickly changed, though, as soon as he found himself a valentine. Well--a future one, he supposed. Who could turn the Veneer down, anyway?

And so, we introduce you to the scenario. You were the one to change his point of view, you were the one he wanted to spend Valentine's with. Of course, he denied his feelings at first. Why would he even think about romance? He had a job to do! Which was to be famous! And sing! And.. other things-! Veneer didn't have the time to date--especially if he had to present himself as taken to the public.. Ugh, that was way too much work. Not like he was nervous about being rejected or anything, he wasn't allowed to be..

As of the week before Valentine's Day, the two of you were "just friends". That's what you thought you two would ever be. He's.. Well, you're sure he's got better options than you. He was famous, for god's sake! And you were.. you were sure he didn't like you back. And how wrong you were.

Veneer definitely got a lot more fidgety as the holiday was approaching. It started out with the simple tapping of fingers, to bouncing his legs, then to wrapping his arms around eachother (via stretchy limbs). This nervous behavior wasn't going to just pass over Velvet.

Velvet was used to Veneer being nervous sometimes--especially before a big show. It got annoying for her to deal with all the time, but this jittery side of him was extremely new, and suspicious. He wasn't his usual sassy self, and the thought made Velvet even more irritated than usual.

When Veneer was confronted by this behavior by his sister, he immediately shrugged it off. Stage performances definitely helped with his acting for this scenario. Outright denying his sister of his strange behavior--despite the video evidence of him fidgeting during interviews--he quickly changed the subject, drowning out Velvet's interjecting voice. Okay, now she was pissed.

Not for long, though. Considering their upcoming performance in five minutes, Velvet took a deep breath and acted rationally for once. Even throughout the performance, Velvet could still tell something was off about her brother. Whatever--she had better things to worry about than her lame brother. Velvet could care less, as long as Veneer didn't mess up their image or anything.

And with that, Veneer was in the clear. But still extremely nervous. It was now only the day before Valentine's, so he had to ask you today or never. Why was he even nervous? He was confident about himself in every way, the thousands of gifts sent to him throughout the week proved that he deserved to be adored, why wouldn't you think the same?

Well.. thinking of it more now, you treated him more than just a celebrity. You saw him as a person--someone with feelings, someone that deserved to be treated with kindness. You always brought that point up to him when Velvet would treat him poorly. The fact that he deserved more. He never really got your point--after all, Velvet was his sister! That's what siblings do, they fight, they tease, and they have to do everything together. If he wasn't what Velvet wanted him to be, who was he? Veneer didn't get your point until now.

So--that was the main reason he was nervous. You saw him as his true self, accepted him as his true self, and.. you were aware of his flaws. That's what he was afraid of.

Either way, he persevered. Veneer isn't one to back down from something, especially when he's already committed with money and all. That's right--he went classic! A rose of your favorite color, a box of your favorite chocolates, and the nicest accessory he could find in the most expensive-brand store in the city. Unfortunately, shopping for Valentine's items in public as a famous celebrity drags a lot of attention to him. He normally loved the attention, but going shopping without his sister wasn't a great look on the news. Especially when it would eventually track back to Velvet herself, who didn't give Veneer permission to leave. But that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

News spread fast in the city, so it didn't take long for it to reach you aswell. Hearing that Veneer was out shopping for a Valentine's gift for his valentine made your heart drop slightly. You shouldn't have been disappointed, it wasn't like you were expecting anything. Nevertheless, the thought.. upset you. Clicking your phone off of the news website, you put it away, sighing outside of his door.

It took a bit of searching, but Veneer eventually found you outside of the door to his room. Why would you be here, of all places? You also seemed to be pretty deep in thought, not noticing him at first. He tapped your shoulder, and you immediately jumped, snapping out of your daze.

Honestly, Veneer was the last person you expected to see at the time. You figured he would be off to meet his valentine, busy with someone else to confess and--.. and suddenly the pieces started to come into place in your mind. His hands twisted behind his back, the rosy color that covered his cheeks, and the way he avoided eye contact. With that realization, your face flushed the same color as his did.

Saying that Veneer was anxious would be an understatement. When he gets nervous, he tends to overuse words like a middle school girl, confessing with multiple "like"s and "literally"s. It's funny, don't worry.

And if you accept? Well, he knew that you would. Totally. That doesn't stop him from overreacting, though. At the simplistic words of "Of course", he immediately loops his arms around you multiple times. Again, via stretchy limbs. Overjoyed, you embraced him in return. Veneer couldn't be happier at the fact that he was your Valentine.

He'll deal with Velvet's fury later.

#headcanons #x reader #request please #requests open #x reader headcanons #fluff #x reader hcs #tooth rotting fluff #mount rageous #trolls #trolls 3 #trolls band together #trolls band together x reader #trolls x reader #veneer x reader #velvet and veneer #trolls veneer #velvet trolls #veneer trolls #trolls velvet #trolls veneer x reader #valentines day #valentines gifts #happy valentines #valentines hcs #themed headcanons #valentines themed #no beta we die like floyd #crush headcanons #romantic headcanons

[2dmenenthusiast]

"You gonna make me?"

(John Price x Gn!Reader)

Jesus christ I've never finished a fic faster in my life. I'm absolutely feral for this man istg. Also, I 100% don't know shit about sparring or the military. Thank you

Feedback and Reblogs are encouraged and appreciated! <3

Summary: You made a mistake on the field, and your teammate got shot because of it. Safe to say, your Captain is less than happy.

Reader's callsign is Sting

Words: 3.6k

Warnings/Other info: references to injury, blood mentions, lots of fuckin guilt, this is smut free besties, just my mediocre attempt at writing fluff, reader is gender nuetral

The phrase “seeing red” couldn’t begin to describe the white hot rage that seared up your spine and wrapped tight around your neck like a noose. You just got back from a meeting with your Captain, and he had reemed into you like you wouldn’t believe. It was a bad call in the field, completely your fault. Soap got a bullet in the arm because of it, and you couldn’t stop beating yourself up over it. And while your anger directed at yourself was enough to have your fists clenched so tightly that you left crescent shapes in your palms, the reprimanding you got from Price left you vibrating with rage. You were ready to lash out like a cornered, rabid dog, biting at the hand of anyone who reached out. Which is why you found yourself in the training room on base, throwing jabs at the punching bag like it just insulted your mother.

The stinging of your knuckles through your wraps should've been a signal for you to stop and take a rest, but the screaming thoughts in your brain had you persisting, the solid, repetitive thump of skin meeting leather echoing throughout the empty room.

“Woof, remind me not to piss you off.”

You huffed out a breath, movements finally coming to a stop as you rested your palms against the bag. Sweat trickled down your forehead, chest rapidly falling and rising with each chased breath, and Gaz stopped a few feet away from you. A grey muscle tee sat loose on his torso, paired with black gym shorts. You quickly assumed he was here for the same reason you were, and while you had no reason to be mad with him, you couldn’t help but feel frustrated by his presence. You just wanted to be left alone with your thoughts for a few hours, take a long shower, and then go to bed.

“You wanna go a few rounds?”

You raised a brow, fist resting against your hip. “You sure?”

Gaz shrugged. “You look like you need it.”

You let out a humorless chuckle, clapping Gaz on the shoulder as you passed him. Okay, maybe the company didn’t sound so bad anymore. You quickly adjusted your wraps and shifted your neck, feeling the muscles tense and pull. “Just don’t go easy on me, alright?”

Gaz gave you that dazzling white smile, one that would have people stopping in their tracks, but it vanished as soon as it appeared once he came at you. Gaz was young, spry, his speed certainly giving him an upper hand compared to his big and burly comrades. He was light on his feet, easily stepping back when your fist swung out, and he was in your space the next second, hand pushing against the center of your chest and his foot sweeping your ankle. You landed on your back with a thud, the mat breaking most of your fall, and Gaz clapped his hands together.

“Alright, keep gloating Kyle,” you chuckled, grasping his hand when he went to help you up.

“I’m just lucky to catch you off your guard.”

You huffed, lips tilting up in a bitter smile and rubbing the back of your neck. “Yeah, seems like that’s been happening a lot today.”

Gaz’s expression immediately dropped, and he shook his head. “No, hey— I didn’t mean it like that—”

You waved him off. “It’s fine. Let’s go again.” 

You were relieved when he lunged at you without question, and you both moved around one another in a less than graceful dance. Gaz always had your back. Whether it be in the field or on base, he knew what you needed from him, and he was more than willing to let you throw him around a bit to get some of your frustration out. 

And maybe you haven’t thought about it much before now, but you were grateful to consider Kyle a close friend. 

Punches were thrown and blocked, and he actually got you pretty good in your side, the sudden force and the sting afterwards sending a rush through you. By the time he was spent, sweat dripping down his forehead and his limbs feeling the slightest bit of fatigue, you were on your back with his back pressed against your front, arms wrapped around his neck and legs trapping his hips. He struggled to get out of your hold, gripping your forearms and attempting to pull them away, but then there was a loud squeak of the doors opening, and you both paused as your Captain came sauntering in the room.

“That’s enough. Let him go.”

The deep timbre of his voice made a feeling you couldn’t quite place surge through you. It settled deep in your bones like sweet, thick syrup, and the look he pinned you with set your skin ablaze. 

Trembling limbs fell to the ground as you released Gaz, and he stood with a huff and quickly helped you up. His hand clapped against your back in a reassuring manner, his way of trying to cheer you up from the impending doom you were about to face, and he jogged over to Price. They muttered hushed words, shooting quick glances your way. The sight made anger flare up inside of you. What were they talking about? Was it about you? Was it about your royal fuck up today? 

An unintentional growl resounded in your throat, and you began picking at your wraps, the sweat collecting under the fabric making your skin itch. It was only now that you finally took notice of the blood seeping through the cloth, and the sight took your mind back to the field. The shouting. Echoed gunfire. Soap’s blood pooling under your hands and seeping through your fingers as you desperately called for Evac.

“You’re gonna be fine. We're gonna get you outta here, okay?”

It should’ve been you.

A low whistle drew your attention, head snapping up to watch Price as he sauntered towards you. Gaz gave you an anxious smile and a thumbs up from behind him, and you frantically shook your head with widened eyes.

Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go—!

He left.

Dammit!

With a deep sigh, you avoided looking at your superior and walked over to your duffel resting on the bench, rummaging through it to find your water bottle. As soon as the water hit your dry tongue, you desperately took deep gulps of it, some of it spilling out the sides and sliding down your jaw. You finally looked at Price while you capped the flask, catching his gaze follow the water droplets that slid down your neck and under your shirt. You pretend like the sight doesn't shoot blistering heat through you and begin packing away your things.

“What do ya think you’re doing?”

“Leaving. What does it look like?”

If you were anyone else, you’d be scared to talk to him like this. And if you knew what was good for you, you’d reign your attitude in. But you weren’t about to roll over and show your belly, and a sick, masochistic part of you wanted him mad. 

“No. You’re not done yet.”

You barked out a sharp, sarcastic laugh, tossing your things aside and whirling to face Price. He wore that same serious look on his face, eyebrows set deep and his gaze narrowed. You tried not to focus on the crows feet that danced around his eyes, because that’s not what’s important right now and you should be upset with him. Not admiring the little details on his face that you’ve secretly come to love. Or looking at the way his arms flexed when he crossed them over his chest.

“Who says?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “I do.”

Closing the distance, you mimicked his stance. “You gonna make me?”

A smirk spread across his features, and if you had a death wish, you would’ve slapped it right off him.

“Oh, I’ll do more than that, sweetheart.”

The pet name sent tingles down your spine that you refused to acknowledge, replacing those fluttery feelings with the rage you felt bubbling up inside of you. At this point, he wanted you to hit him. And he couldn’t be upset with you if you followed through with it, right?

He gestured with his head. “On the mat, soldier.”

Letting out a disgruntled huff, you reluctantly did as he instructed, like an obedient little dog. He was your Captain, you were supposed to follow orders. But the idea of letting someone yank you around and instruct you like a marionette made your blood boil and the veins in your forehead pop. But another part of you knew deep down that if you really didn’t want this, Price wouldn’t make you. You were just too stubborn to acknowledge it at this moment.

Once you were a good few feet away from him, you got into proper stance, feet spread apart and firmly planted, your weight evenly distributed. He copied your position, nodding his head to let you know he was ready, and you began circling each other. It was a waiting game, the clock ticking down as you anxiously waited for one of you to strike first. And despite everything in you saying to let him come to you, your eagerness and impatience got the better of you.

You lunged first, fist flying towards him which he easily deflected. You hit his solid forearm instead of what you were aiming for, and the quick jab in the same spot Gaz hit earlier had you stepping back with a growl.

“What happened today?” he asked. No. Demanded.

Your jaw clenched tightly, teeth painfully grinding together as you came forward again. “I don’t want to talk about it!”

Price gripped your arm and yanked you forward, spinning you so your back was pressed flush against him, and his arm wrapped around your throat. 

“You were impatient! You ignored a direct order, and it got your teammate a bullet in the process.”

With a strangled cry, you bent your knees and used your weight to push against Price, using the leverage to flip him over your back. He harshly landed on the mat with a pained grunt, and you scrambled to plant yourself on his chest, shins pressing down on his arms and your thighs framing his face. Of course, you’d imagined this scenario once or twice before in the privacy of your own room, but you didn’t picture it happening quite like this.

“So what do you want me to do? Go back in time and fix my mistake?! As much as I’d like to, I can’t!”

His hands came up to grip your thighs, pushing himself up off the mat and slamming you on your back, the air effectively leaving your lungs. His hands were on your hips the next second, flipping you on your stomach so fast that the room spun, and he had you pinned before you could even blink. There was a solid arm pressed harshly against your shoulder blades as Price straddled your hips, using practically all his weight to keep you down. You tried reaching back with your hand to grab ahold of something, anything, but he trapped it in his ironclad grip and pinned it beside your head.

A frustrated noise left you, slamming your fist into the mat as angry tears gathered under your eyes. You knew Price was trying to teach you a lesson, but couldn’t he understand that you’ve already screamed at yourself the exact same words he was throwing at you?!

He leaned down, and the scent of expensive cigars and gunpowder filled your senses. It was like he was slowly taking over every part of you, his touch and his smell seeping into your skin until all you could think about was him. Molten heat surged through you, settling deep in your belly and sending your pulse skyrocketing. You were sure if he placed his fingers just right, Price could feel your heart beating erratically in your wrist.

“You’re a good soldier, Sting. And you know it. Don’t make me regret putting you on my team.”

His gravelly voice was like thick smoke, sending you in a haze as you pressed your forehead to the mat and let your body relax underneath him. You hated to silently give up like this, but your body and your mind was tired. The only place you wanted to be more than underneath your Captain was in your bed.

“Whoa. Am I uh, interrupting somethin’?”

Head snapping up, you spotted Soap by the door, a grin slowly appearing on his face as he leaned against the wall. You were quick to spot the bandage wrapped around his shoulder, and Price lifted off you when you tapped the ground twice. You appeared at his side in less than a second, eyes zeroed in on his wound, and the guilt was eating at you all over again.

“God, Johnny. How are you feeling?”

He shrugged his uninjured shoulder. “Been better. Doctor thinks I’ll pull through.”

He was joking. 

He… had a fucking bullet in him because of you, and he was standing here, smiling and joking with you.

Why?

Why wasn’t he angry? Why wasn’t he cursing and screaming at you? How could he even fucking stand to be around you right now?!

Your head gently shook back and forth, eyes cast towards the ground and your jaw clenching so hard it made your ears ring. “Soap… I’m so sorry. I—”

“Did you put the bullet in my arm?”

Your gaze lifted, his brow raised at you. “Well, I mean, no. But—”

“Then stop worryin’ your pretty head. I should be good for field duty soon enough.” You saw his gaze shift downwards, and his brows knitted in concern. “Though, I think you should be more concerned about yourself there, Sting. Jesus.”

You followed his line of sight and looked down at your hands, blood soaking through the wraps around your knuckles. Rough fingers wrapped around your wrist, gasping when Price suddenly lifted your hand up so he could inspect it. His eyes then landed on your face, and you shrunk under his disappointed stare.

“Bloody hell. Come on, let’s get you sorted out.”

Tugging your hand out of his hold, you gave Soap a tight-lipped smile and brushed past them. By the sound of heavy boots thumping against the floor, you figured Price followed after you.

“And where’d you think you’re going?”

You refused to stop, so bullheaded in that moment that he’d probably have to tackle you to get you quit. “The infirmary.”

You heard his footsteps stop, relief filling you for just a second as you thought he’d finally almost left you alone.

Almost

“Sergeant!” he barked.

His voice stilled you, back straightening like your spine was being pulled up by a string. Silence filled the space between you, and you were hyper aware of your breath filling and leaving your lungs, the sound of it almost too loud for your own ears. When you finally turned to face Price, his intense stare sent a chill through you, and your chest shuddered with an anxious breath when he held up his hand and curled his middle and index finger towards himself. 

With one foot in front of the other, you slowly closed the distance between you two, a million little thoughts running rampant inside your head. Price either didn’t know how intimidating his presence was, or he knew all too well. Either way, the gaze he pinned you with pierced right through you, and if you didn’t know any better, you’d swear he was able to read your mind.

Hopefully not. If he heard what you thought about him late at night—

Shut up!

Stopping just a few feet shy from him, you held his stare for a moment before he turned, gaze falling on his broad back. The way his muscles shifted and flexed under his tight shirt almost stopped you in your tracks, and you scolded yourself for acting like such a lovesick fool before obediently following after him.

Aren’t you supposed to be angry with him?!

Why? All he did was point out your mistake.

A mistake you’ve relived over and over again until you wanna blow your brains out.

When you made it to Price’s office, he opened the door and wordlessly gestured to one of the seats in the room while he rifled through his desk. You sat without complaint, hands gripping your knees and focusing on your bandages splotched with red. When he found his first-aid kit, Price grabbed another chair and slid it in front of yours. His knees gently knocked into yours when he sat down.

“Alright, lemme get a look at you.”

Your fingers flexed, and you lifted one of your hands to place it in his. He was gentle when he gripped the edge of the fabric and began unwrapping your hand, and the stark difference between now and how he was when you were sparring would’ve surprised you if you hadn’t seen this side of John before. He was gentle and kind when he could be, always making sure his team got a proper looking at after missions, scolding you when one of you stubbornly let a wound go untreated. He cared about you, no doubt. Anyone was a fool to think otherwise.

The wraps uncomfortably pulled at the skin around your knuckles, the blood making it stick, and you let out a hiss. Price didn’t pause or stop, and you were grateful for it. You didn’t want him to treat you as weak or take pity on you. Not when you didn’t deserve it. It was only when he was wiping the blood away that you finally spoke after a prolonged silence.

“It should’ve been me.”

Now that gave him pause. The wipe froze against your skin for a split second, and he let out a sigh through his nose as he tossed it into the bin before grabbing a new one.

“And why do you think that?”

You didn’t answer right away, searching around the room as if you’d find the answer residing in a hidden corner. You were ashamed. What if Soap got killed today? How could you live with yourself knowing that his death was your fault? Your hand shook against his, and Price carefully tightened his hold to steady it.

“It was my fault. I should’ve taken the bullet, not him.”

Once Price was done with your left hand, he moved on to the right, giving it the same treatment. He shook his head. “Awful things happen to good soldiers that don’t deserve it every day. You can’t control it.”

“But I—”

“But,” he sighed, thumb gently pressing into the back of your hand, “you need to listen to orders, Sergeant. You’re lucky the bastard didn’t nag ‘im in the head.”

You nodded. “I’ll make it right, Captain.”

Once he was done patching up your hands, you moved to stand, but his hold on your hand didn’t falter. Rather, his hand snuck up your arm and pulled you back down into your chair, his lips quirking up in a small smirk.

“I believe you’re forgettin’ something, darling.”

Your eyes narrowed, leaning an elbow against your knee. You tried to remain tough, but you could feel your resolve turning into mush the more you stared into Price’s eyes. “You still expect me to kiss you after all the shit you said to me today?”

His smirk only grew, and his eyes crinkled up around the edges.

Fuckin’ cute bastard.

“Do I have to order you, soldier?”

You scoffed, pulling your arm out of his grip before suddenly maneuvering onto his lap. His hands immediately found their home on your hips, giving them a possessive squeeze, and you rested your arms against his shoulders.

“I think you can save the powerplay act for later, John,” you muttered.

He mumbled a quiet “Yeah?” as he stared at your lips, the word devolving into a soft sigh once you leaned down and pressed them against his own. Arms wrapped around your waist and squeezed you to John’s chest, your nose gently knocking against his as he chased your lips every time you pulled away. You cupped his face in your hands, and the roughness of his beard tickled your skin.

Could be tickling somewhere else right about now—

Jesus christ, shut up.

Price was always deep and intense when he kissed you, trying to pour every bit of love he had for you in each one. It felt like he stole the breath right out of you, your thoughts swirling and your mind hazy. He knew exactly what to do to turn you into putty in his hands.

“Where is it?” he muttered against your lips, and you reluctantly pulled away with a gasp as you tried to catch your breath.

Reaching under your shirt, you tugged at the chain securely hidden underneath it and pulled it over your head, dropping it into John’s awaiting hand. He smiled, fiddling with the clasp before cool metal slid over your finger.

“You should wear it more.”

Your brows drew together. “I thought you didn’t want to tell anyone?”

“We don’t have to. I just like seein’ it on you.”

Your lips slowly split into a grin, and you looped your arms around your fiancé’s neck. His large hand gently ran up and down your back, sending pleasant chills down your spine. With the way he looked at you, you’d do just about anything for him.

“I’ll wear it all the time then.”

Tagged: @latinxs-himbos-and-cowboysys

#John price x reader #captain john price x reader #Price x reader #John Price imagine #John Price #Captain John Price #Price #Cod price #mw2 #cod mw2 #cod modern warfare #cod modern warfare 2 #modern warfare 2 #cod john price #cod fanfic

[skxllz]

𝒫𝓲𝓷𝓴 𝓣𝓸 𝓜𝔂 𝓡𝓮𝓭

ken x male! reader

{ song; hey lover, the daughters of eve }

summary; ken discovers y/n's soft side after an argument.

warnings; sad ken, mentions of a panic attack. upset/angered reader, says things he doesn't mean. some angst but fluff at the end!! I think that's all? :'')

side note; I'm still new to writing for ken so I apologize if I haven't fully grasped his personality yet. leave feedback in the comments/reblogs! not proofread.

date started; 11.11.23

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“ y/n! please, talk to me! ” ken insisted for the umpteenth time throughout a span of fifteen minutes.

see, he's been pining after you like a puppy dog since you've woken up. the blonde resides in your house - and even though you've made it clear you're not interested in him that's a lie, he continues to bother you as if the pair of you are dating. from what you've heard, he used to be obsessed with barbie - and yes, you're aware of his situation of being a doll and coming from barbieland and all that complicated shit.

but, what you don't understand, is how he managed to find an interest in you. not only were the two of you complete opposites, but aren't dolls supposed to stick to their counterparts? barbie is his counterpart, isn't she? plus... do dolls even know about different sexualities, or is this one of those situations where labels aren't a thing?

well, no matter what the hell is happening, you just weren't bothered for it. ken was annoying you, actually making you regret taking the blonde in. again, a lie.

you just wished you could think. with him around, it was impossible to. work has been stressing you out, family troubles had arisen- you just didn't want the responsibility of a doll who was now in the real world as a fully grown man. did he even fucking age? probably not.

“ ken! ” you whirled around finally, stopping the male in his tracks from yapping your ear off again and again with the same choice of words. please talk to me, y/n! you were tired of it. “ please, for fucks sake, stop! ”

ken's worried expression turned down. his lips fell into a puppy-fied frown; his usual happy, sparkling blue eyes now reflecting... a broken sense of hope. “ what? ” he spoke quietly, voice cracking.

no, did he mess up..? was this... was this barbie, all over again?

surely not! y/n wasn't like that. he was always quiet; and even when he seemed moody, he was nice to ken! y/n didn't mind his presence, nor his quirky attitude, nor the fact that he could only ask questions and tell him how he was so good at beach!

... right?

“ ken, ” you took a deep inhale through your nose, closing your eyes to try and calm your growing irritation. once the irritating arose, so did the anger. and when you got angry- “ please. just... quit. I need some time to myself. ” your eyes opened back up, to show irises that held nothing but seriousness. “ do you understand? ”

“ but... y/n. ” ken breathed, quickly grabbing the hand that had lifted to make a knowing gesture - only to bring it to his chest with a big smile now lighting up his face! “ I'm here for you! I love you! please, let me he- ”

“ fucking- no! ” you snatched your hand away, only to probe a finger to his broad chest, which was displayed since the man never buttoned his shirts. “ I told you, again and again, that I need space right now. ”

he looked devastated, backing away - but you only moved closing, poking his chest with a rough touch and startling him. “ y/n- ” ken's voice came out in a whimper, but you cut him off again.

“ you're pissing me off. ” you growled, Corning him into the wall. the anger in your blaming eyes shone through, scaring the blonde that was already trembling. he had never experienced such... an emotion. sure, he's gotten mad at ken in the past, but ken's never seen it get this bad! the way y/n was staring him down, brows furrowed to the center between his eyes, teeth gritted- it made men's body react in a way that he didn't want if to.

why was he shaking?

you surely didn't notice, too caught up in the fuel of your raging emotions. “ you've been annoying the fuck out of me, ” you smacked his chest. he jumped. “ constantly down my throat! with, ‘ oh, y/n, what's wrong? please talk to me’ - well guess what?! I don't want to talk! ”

your breathing had become harsher, leaving your nostrils to flare. ken didn't know how to respond; his mouth was dropped ajar, shock and hurt evident in his face. “ I'm tired, ken. ” you rasped, your voice strained. “ of the constant whining, and your questions, and the god damn fact that I can't have any time to myself. you're always around! ”

ken's mouth closed, and he thickly swallowed. what were these things he was feeling? he's felt some... hurt with barbie before, but never this strong. it's like there is a dull throb in his chest, and it hurt more and more with each harsh word y/n said. ken didn't like it, mot one bit.

and now.. water was sliding down his cheeks? these are what barbie referred to as tears, right?

why were tears coming out of his eyes?

that's when he noticed he wasn't listening any longer, either. your shouting filtered out, blending in with the background noise of the whirring fan and television lowly playing. why couldn't he hear?

why was his... breathing picking up?

and- his stomach. It hurt. like knots, or something, was in his abdomen. it made him grab at his torso, forearms pressing tightly.

that's when you slowly calmed down, your breathing becoming regulated. you had turned away from him in the time you were yelling - not because you couldn't stan's to look at his pretty face, but because... that expression he wore.. it made you feel bad.

why'd he look like such a kicked animal? you hated it - the fact that he had you wrapped around his stupid finger. the fact that you knew, deep down, you had fallen for ken just as he had you.

that's exactly why you didn't want to be near him. It hurt, to know you were gaining feelings for another person. after your ex, you didn't want another relationship - not so soon, or... at all. the pain just wasn't worth it.

but, ken? he was an absolute babydoll. his blue eyes lighting up everytime he spoke about the beach, and the other ken's he got along with, and everything he's learned in the real world - including things about horses! he loves horses...

your brows curved down and you swallowed the ball that was arising in your throat. you couldn't... you had to apologize to him. you didn't mean anything you said.

and, as you slowly turn around, you realized that the sound of a sob caught your attention. your ears perked and you straightened, facing the bolonde.

ken had slid down against the wall, now on the floor, face in his hands as he cried. he kept furiously wiping at his eyes, trying to stop the tears - but as you could see, they wouldn't.

a frown immediately overtook your face, as did the look of regret and guilt.

“ ken... ” you mumbled, feeling horrible. what had you done?

you glanced away, sighing to yourself. then, cursing under your breath, you decided to finally out away your pride - you needed to help him. comfort him. and so, you closed the small distance between you two and kneeled.

“ ken- ” your voice, for the first time since ken had met you, was as soft as melted butter. in any other situation he'd be quick to look at you- because y/n, sounding as silky smooth as that? It couldn't be. but alas, he did not raise his head.

the sobs continued. his shoulders shook, his body trembled. you had really hurt the man, and it was setting in just how dire the situation was. ken has never experienced such a pain...

“ ken, sweetheart. ” you called once again, this time reaching forward to take ahold of his finger tips. he tried to jerk away, a reasonable reaction, but you wouldn't let him; sliding your fingers forcefully around the front of his own to pull them back from his face.

“ don't look at me! ” he cried out, squeezing his eyes shut and whipping his head away. his eyes were raw, red around the outside... his cheeks were tear-stained and his smile lines were biting through, making his frown that much more noticeable.

it was breaking your heart to see him like this.

ever so gently, you moved one hand away from his own to lift it to his face. your fingertips met the corner of his jawline, only to slide under; cascading to cradle the underside of his jaw and lift his head. “ ken. ” your voice was still soft, but held a sternness to it. “ ken, can you look at me? please? ”

ken had stopped sobbing by now, but the tears were still rolling. he was sniffling, hiccuping; trying to stop himself from looking so pathetic. It definitely wasn't manly to cry - and he didn't like that. why couldn't he stop crying?

the ache in his chest, it just hurt so much.

“ baby, ” that caught his attention, as he sniffled again, “ look at me. ”

for a moment, he didn't listen, and you thought perhaps he was being stubborn - which was valid -, but slowly he began to lift his eyes to meet your own.

his bright, baby blues were glossed over; sadness in them. tears kissed his lashes, making them stick together. he looked... pretty. but you still didn't want yo see him cry.

ken deserved to smile, and laugh - and you enjoyed seeing the corners of his eyes crinkle up when he grinned. his orbs always sparkled, radiating the best glow-y energy... but as of right now, they didn't. heartbreak just settled within them.

your frown deepened, thinking over what exactly you had said... It was some pretty fucked up shit. If it were you, you definitely wouldn't have wanted to hear it. the only difference is that you can take such words with a hard stare, not easily letting things like that effect you - but ken? his heart was as sift as a teddy bear. It's no surprise he ended up in a pile on the floor.

“ ken- ” your thumb stroked the side of his jaw. since he was calming down, he took notice - and he happened to like it. “ I'm sorry, for what I said.. ” your voice was no more than a whisper. you didn't want to startle him even more.

and, somehow, he took notice of that. ken was not the brightest, you knew that and so did everyone around him- he was the natural stereotype of a blonde. but, by the way he glanced down at your thumb while you moved it in slow circles, you knew that he knew you were trying.

“ I... ” you sighed, shoulders slumping “ I didn't mean any of it. I'm just frustrated, and overwhelmed. ”

ken was quiet, so you kept speaking. at least... the tears stopped. “ I know it isn't an excuse to yell at you, ” your eyes momentarily flickered down to his pouting lips. he didn't notice, so you quickly looked back to his eyes before he could. “ but I did. and I'm apologizing, because you didn't deserve that. any of it. you're a sweetheart - the sweetest guy I know. ”

“ I am? ” ken's voice finally rang out, coming out raspy and raw from crying. you winced from that, a pang of guilt taking over your chest... nonetheless, you nodded.

“ yes, ” he was looking up at you, eyes big and doe eyed as you spoke. you could feel a big, melty feeling in your chest. It was warm. “ you are. the sweetest, honey. ”

now that he was more focused, ken actually acknowledged the pet names you were using. his lips parted slightly and his brows raised curiously. did he hear you right?

you were no dummy, instantly taking notice. It made you grin, just the tiniest bit. “ I don't actually find you annoying. ” your fingers moved, gently scratching on the other side of his jaw.

ken's face was slowly lighting back up. the attention he was receiving was the kind he's always wanted. his heart, now moving faster like it always did when you were near, felt as if it was doing flips and turns and downright juggling.

shouldn't he be mad, though? you had hurt him.

but... you said you were sorry. you're giving him attention, and calling him sweet names, and even specifying the apology. that should be more than enough, shouldn't it?

but dear god, he wanted more.

you had been speaking the whole time, but of course the poor man zoned out; too busy focusing on your lips, and pretty hair, and gorgeous eyes, and tge way your mouth moved, looking oh so kissable-

“ y/n? ” ken spoke out before he could even comprehend it himself. you paused, looking at him expectantly- and a smile melted onto your lips.

“ yes, dear ken? ” you hummed, rubbing the pad of your thumb over the lining of his jaw. his eyes fluttered at that, nearly making you laugh.

“ can you.. ” he was breathless. “ can I... kiss you? ”

the movement of your thumb paused. your eyes zeroed in on his lips, then flickered back to his baby blues. he noticed, yet said nothing; choosing to let out a hopeful breath.

“ ... hm. ” you hummed, pretending to ponder. teasing was in your element, and often you'd do it to people yoy fancy- never to ken before, but.. he was an exception now, wasn't he? “ you want to kiss me? ”

“ yes. ” the blonde whimpered, eyes dancing across your face in impatience. “ please. ”

“ why should I let you? ” a twitch of a grin raised your lips, the corners if your mouth threatening to break out a full blown smile.

ken frowned at that. immediately, he thought this was more rejection- of course it would be. why would you suddenly want hi-

but you didn't let him think negatively. not anymore.

leaning forward, you pressed a soft, meaningful kiss to ken's lips.

ken was left... speechless. his eyes widened, and his cheeks turned rosey. why did he feel hot? warm? warm and hot? his body was tingly and on fire.

chuckling, you parted your lips from his, amusement shining in your orbs. “ you okay there, cowboy? ”

“ perfect. ” he breathed, staring ahead with sparkles in his eyes. literal sparkles.

you would've thought broke him if it weren't for his eyes flickering back into you, seconds later. his chest fell quickly in a large exhale of excitement. “ can you do that again? ”

you grinned.

“ of course... come here, blondie. ”

#barbie imagine #barbie movie #ken imagines #ken x you #ken x male reader #ken x y/n #ken x reader #rg! ken #ryan gosling x reader #ryan gosling ken #rg! ken x reader

[swaps55]

WIP Whenever

Tagged by @citadelsushi. Thank you!

Tagging @mallaidhsomo, @stormikins @cr-noble-writes @striderincosmos, if you feel so inclined!

A sneak peek at Horizon:

~

“Our best chance of helping these people is to get to the GARDIAN controls,” Miranda says. “We have to stop that ship.”

The gravity well does a somersault, thick and sluggish. “Garrus. See if you can find a terminal and a colony schematic. If this place has some kind of bunker or safehouse…”

“I’m on it.” Vakarian disappears into a prefab.

“Grunt, Jack, scout ahead. Have a feeling there’s going to be more resistance waiting for us the closer we get to that platform.”

“Come on big guy,” Jack says with a jerk of her head. “Bad guys this way.”

Miranda jogs to keep up with Shepard as he follows Vakarian into the prefab. It looks like someone’s quarters. A child’s board game sits half-finished on the table. A newsfeed plays on a vidscreen. Shepard ignores all of it and hovers behind Vakarian, who flips through files on a terminal.

“Shepard, what’s going on? Who are you looking for?”

“You’re right,” Vakarian says. “There’s a safehouse, here, in the center of town.”

“With the defense system out of commission, he’d have tried to save as many colonists as he could. That’s where we look.”

Miranda resists the urge to shoot them both. “Shepard if we lose that ship, this mission fails.”

Shepard whirls back towards her so fast she almost recoils, but Vakarian lays a talon on his arm before he erupts.

“I’m on it, Shepard. If he’s still on this planet, they’ll have to go through me to get him off it. I’ve got the safehouse. You need to get to the GARDIAN. If he’s on that ship, you’re the one who can stop it.”

What am I missing? Frantically Miranda runs through the mission briefing. Someone is here. Someone he cares about.

The Alliance team.

The mission briefing hadn’t contained any names. She’d written it off as unimportant. Chambers’ report confirmed he hadn’t attempted to reach any of his old contacts. He’d bought into the mission. Believed the collector threat.

But there’s someone here, and they’re important to him. Important enough to risk the mission over and she’d missed it. Between handling Jacob and prepping for the collectors she’d missed it.

What did the Illusive Man tell him? And why didn’t he tell me?

“Take Solus,” Shepard says quietly.

A hum runs through Vakarian’s subvocals. “I’ll find the bunker, then circle my way south towards you. Don’t die while I’m gone. If I find him and lose you, he’s going to be pretty pissed.”

He claps Shepard on the shoulder before heading out. In the direction of the GARDIAN platform, the whine of collector rifles sound over Grunt’s distant roar. Shepard unracks his rifle.

Miranda falls into step beside him. “Shepard, what haven’t you told me?”

He doesn’t so much as glance at her. “When it’s your business I’ll tell you.”

“You’re compromising the mission with a side objective I know nothing about. If you told me I could—”

Now he does halt, gaze searing a hole through her. “See how fast I leave this colony to the collectors and wash my hands of all of it.”

The horrible thing is, she believes him.

#snippet

[ohanny]

KentaKim royalty AU!

(screw “five fun facts” i have never been good with rules, @le-trash-prince hope you don't mind)

once upon a time, in a land far, far away tony is king and also a giant, sexist dick. he rules his kingdom with an iron fist, over-taxes the poor, believes alphas are the shit and omegas are only good for breeding and has made being the royal gardener into the most perilous position in the land (he beheaded four gardeners last year alone for over watering his bonsais and one for looking at them with “malice in his eyes”). but even a grand monarch like tony must have allies - and since everyone thinks he's a raging asshole, he actually desperately needs them which is why he resorts to the oldest royal scheme of them all: MARRIAGE.

enter kim. kim is the royal omega from an extremely wealthy kingdom just across some ocean stretch and sails into town, set to marry tony’s eldest son babe. (well, currently eldest. tony does not have a great track record when it comes to keeping custody.) babe is not very enthusiastic about this situation since he is carrying a secret affair with the castle archivist, charlie. (and by secret i mean pretty much everyone except tony knows but since they like babe, they just pretend babe actually is that passionate of a reader behind closed doors.)

but babe also has a conscience and really feels bad for kim who seems like such a nice young man so when they stroll in the gardens, arm in arm, far enough from their chaperones for an illusion of privacy but in their sight so nothing uncouth could happen, babe apologetically whispers that he finds kim bewitching indeed but alas his heart belongs to another. to which kim says “oh thank fuck, i would rather jump off a cliff than let you knot me”

babe: well that’s a bit harsh.

kim: also your dad’s shit.

babe: i mean -

kim: and i am here to kill him

babe: um -

kim: by the way, pete says hi!

and oh pete, tony’s original eldest son who years ago sadly perished (was banished) because he fell off a horse (because he dared to do something as leftist as write poetry to the stable boy way). it was actually kim’s family who sheltered pete and recognized him as a way better option for tony’s throne and kim is in cahoots with him, going undercover. in return of a proper alliance and the liberation of tony’s people, kim’s family will get rid of tony - plan a being an assassination, plan b an outright invasion.

plan a is proving to be quite tricky due to tony being a paranoid motherfucker, but kim is patient. of course something has to throw a spanner into his plans and that something is someone: namely kenta, tony’s secret bastard son most loyal knight. it starts when kenta is sent to summon kim to afternoon tea and sneaks up to him so quietly that he startles kim and suddenly finds himself slammed against a statue with a knife against his neck - oh how the turns have tabled!

kim: oh shit.

kenta: …

kim: i mean oh no, you scared me kind sir!

the knife disappears in the blink of an eye and kim let’s out this ditzy little giggle and offers his arm all “isn’t it time for tea! how lovely!” steadfastly ignoring kenta’s disbelieving are-you-fucking-kidding-me eyes. and well, kenta does escort kim to have his lovely afternoon tea with the other palace omegas. and then keeps escorting kim everywhere. no matter where kim tries to sneak off to, kenta somehow always finds him and it takes everything he has in him to not snap and scream because it is infuriating.

and then the ball happens. because of course there has to be a ball to celebrate the fortuitous engagement full of fancy dresses and foods and wine and palace plots! kim wants to take the opportunity of all the chaos and security being centered around the throne room where tony holds court to sneak but this time it is not kenta who catches him first. this time it is just your regular assassin hired by your regular jealous local omega noble who had their eye on babe and are now pissed they missed out on the royal wedding special. kim is honestly a bit shocked because “seriously?!?” but then kenta, once again, appears out of nowhere and steps in front of kim to shield him as the assassin attacks.

kenta kills the assassin but gets rather seriously hurt in the process. they’re alone in an empty hallway and kim is applying pressure on kenta’s stab wound, cursing up a storm, just letting it all out because what’s the point of hiding anymore? he goes on an epic, totally not panicked, rant about his fuckass skirt and who the fuck wears this many frilly layers, it is the most impractical shit ever and how he totally could have dealt with the assassin on his own if it weren’t for these damn petticoats! “see this is what's wrong with your entire society!” kim hisses as he drags kenta towards the sick bay. “obviously your omegas cannot do anything because who fucking could wearing all this crap! i am a person, not a cupcake!”

kenta stares up at kim in awe. he should probably have more questions but… wow. at least he can blame it all on blood loss.

so anyway, kim dumps kenta outside the sick bay and then runs off before anyone can see him and his blood stained clothes. he enters his room, sends a maid to the party to tell them he suddenly felt ill and retired early, and then spends the rest of the night pacing, pretty sure he fucked up and should be fashioning a rope out of his sheets to scale the tower and disappear. but nothing happens. he hears there was an attack, of course, and sir kenta got hurt but when questioned, kenta looked tony straight in the eye and said he must have hit his head because he cannot remember anything.

kim really could have done this without catching feelings but fuck.

so the next time he and babe have their little garden stroll, kim lowers his voice and insists they will add kenta to the list of people who will be protected at all costs. when babe sceptically exclaims kenta is tony’s right hand man, kim stares him down with a “he goes on the list or you can kiss me and my armies goodbye.” that is one thing dealt with. the next is actually avoiding getting knotted by babe because tony would love to have them married by the end of the month and that cannot happen. so kim starts delaying by any means necessary - he insists his religious beliefs demand they be wed when the stars are aligned a certain way and oh, he simply must have pink gardenias in his ceremony! it has been his dream ever since he was a little pup but alas it is november so they must wait until gardenias are in full bloom!

kim in the council meeting in his cupcake dress:

tony, gritting his teeth: of course. we don't want that.

but the longer kim delays, the more tony suspects something is off. kim is cagey and his mask is wearing increasingly thin. there are rumblings of soldiers making moves and gathering in kim’s kingdom. fuck, even kenta is being shady with his head injury and insisting he keep an eye on kim and then come back with shit like “he complained the tea wasn’t sweet enough and then accompanied babe to the library to read poetry.” absolutely useless, that one. the horror.

of course this will all come to an end when tony, sick of kim’s antics, invites him into a totally non-threatening family dinner in the privacy of his quarters. babe is there, as is kenta, guarding the door. it is the tensest consuming of roasted quail the kingdom has ever experienced with buttholes all across the land clenching for seemingly no reason. for dessert tony serves kim tea with a side of hair yank and knife to a throat with a “you will marry my son in three days time or take a dive off the tallest tower, you filthy fucking -”

aaaaaand he has a knife in his back. it's unclear who looks more shocked: tony or kenta himself who kind of acted on instinct when he saw his kim threatened and about to be married off to someone else. he is about to just go full catatonic because oh, what has he done when kim grabs his face and kisses him. “wow. the plot twists just keep on coming” babe says to absolutely no one but if he has leaned one thing from charlie, it is that someone needs to narrate things for the record.

(of course it isn't as easy as simply getting rid of tony but it is a great start. they will have to weed out loyalists and find out who they can trust and then rework the whole damn constituion but hey, no tony! pete and way will ride in with an army at their backs only to meet open gates and a very smug kim (happily wearing pants) stating “i told you my ass was irresistible enough to get the job done!”)

#pit babe au #kentakim #charliebabe #pit babe the series #embarrassingly i have even more in this verse #but there has to be a limit

[thyandrawrites]

On Nagi's emotional intelligence

One thing I find interesting about Nagi's character is that he's not only bad at getting across his emotions in a way that leaves little room for misunderstandings; he also struggles a lot to identify feelings (not just his but especially other people's) for what they are, and to put himself in other people's shoes.

Both the manga and Nagi's light novel offer several examples of this, and I noticed a common denominator in most of them. So I thought it could be fun to compile them in a post.

(long ramble under a cut! Contains slight manga spoilers up to manshine city arc)

Preface: I did not study psychology, and though I try my best not to misuse words and be insensitive, mistakes in good faith can happen. Please bear with me

So, what kicked off this whole thing is a scene from Episode Nagi. This one:

Now, without context it would be easy to write off Nagi as a self-centered genius who is looking down on team Z for being "weaker". And that's exactly how Isagi, who doesn't know Nagi prior to this, takes his questions. They're just a taunt, as if Nagi is mocking Team Z's determination to overturn the scores when they're a team that doesn't yet know its own skills fully.

And the thing is, regardless of Nagi's intentions, his words are condescending. He doesn't mean them to be, but you can't deny that calling someone stupid to his face is not conductive to a polite or constructive conversation, lol.

Unless you're Nagi Seishiro, that is.

Nagi... Doesn't seem to grasp that essentially calling team Z the bottom of the barrel while asking what keeps them going is... Well, rude. Patronizing, even. Which is why he looks so puzzled when Isagi's response is negative, and when he doubles down on his hunger for goals.

In his head, phrasing it this way was perfectly fine. He was genuinely asking, and he expected a response. He wanted to know, not to piss Isagi off and be left hanging.

The reason behind Nagi's obliviousness is of course a lack of social skills. We know he tends to keep to himself, preferring video games and the silent company of a cactus over social interactions, and it shows in how stilted his ability to properly communicate becomes over time.

But in the intro I said I don't think it's just a struggle with communicating what he means. I also interpret it as Nagi struggling to put himself in other people's shoes when their experiences don't mirror his, which complicates his attempts to communicate further.

What is translated as "What's his deal?" in the panel above in japanese has a bit more nuance than that, and it clues us in to what was likely going through Nagi's head a bit more.

"What's this creature (Isagi Yoichi)"

The kanji that compose Isagi's name are transcribed with a different reading (the furigana indeed reads "creature")

Now, if you read Nagi's light novel, the words might sound familiar:

(credits to @/ hoshi801_ on twitter for this translation)

That's because we have another example of Nagi being weirded out by and puzzled at how differently he and others seem to function.

From Nagi's perspective, he's not the weirdo, others are! He keeps observing this world where everyone puts effort into things that he only sees as a hassle, and he doesn't get how anyone can find any appeal in them. In other words, Nagi doesn't really understand how other people work (how they think, how they feel, what motivates them), and he tends to use himself as a metric for understanding them better, not realizing how flawed that approach is.

I also reckon this is why he can sometimes come across as lacking tact.

"it's easy for me. How come is it not easy for you?"

What he says to Bachira during the 4v4 seems like another prime example of Nagi attempting to figure out others by comparing them against himself.

In his intentions, this little speech serves as a way to get Bachira to step up his game. After all, had he really been fine with not picking him, he could've kept his mouth shut, won the match, and picked Rin as he said he would. No need to warn Bachira beforehand, giving him a chance to prove himself in the field and compete with Rin as the best choice moving forward.

But the words Nagi uses are familiar once again.

"Do you think you'll get chosen if you lose? Still living in dreamland? [...] I want Rin, and I bet Isagi feels the same." -> Nagi to Bachira

Vs "you'd be satisfied if I chose you here? You wanna act like a team even if we're not excited about it? You think becoming best in the world is that simple?" -> Nagi to Reo

And then

"We don't need you the way you are now." -> to Bachira above

Vs, "'You're fine as you are.' That's what you said to me, Reo, but... For me to dream with you about being the best again, I want to change." -> Nagi to Reo (in his head)

Nagi doesn't really understand Bachira, either, but he understands the bond Bachira shares with Isagi. Two separate times, he sees himself and Reo's relationship mirrored in it, and that's what prompts his "pep talk".

While he might not grasp what motivates Bachira's ego, Nagi knows what motivated himself. So he offers much the same to Bachira. You want to keep playing with Isagi, just like I want to keep playing with Reo. So change, like I did. Keep working towards that dream, and don't throw in the towel, accept defeat, and wait for Isagi to pick you.

Bachira and Isagi's bond is pretty much the only time we see Nagi try and succeed at relating to someone else's emotions. He's able to do this because he can sense the similarities between them. It's a pattern he's plenty familiar with. So we could say he's still applying that flawed method I talked about above. Understanding others by comparing them to himself, assuming they think the same way.

But I'd like to point out that while he does get their bond as far as it mirrors his and Reo's, Nagi still doesn't grasp the ways in which it differs. Namely, he remains oblivious to Bachira's desire for connection. Nagi is perfectly comfortable being a loner, and while he misses Reo, he adjusts to the separation quite easily, at least emotionally. Well, partly because he caused it, but also because from his perspective, he and Reo were never really apart-apart. They'd eventually meet up again, Nagi would tell him all about his side quests, and they'd be fast besties once again.

At least, that's what Nagi envisions, because Nagi is a straightforward person who doesn't really grasp other people's perspectives past his own personal experience.

For that reason, I think, he remains oblivious to how his advice to Bachira hits like a slap where the boy's at his most vulnerable. But it all works out in the end, so in the grand scheme of things, Nagi has no reason to give it more thought past this interaction. Nagi's team loses, Isagi advances with Bachira, all is well again.

If Nagi got away with giving this as little thought as possible, though, his dynamic with Reo doesn't give him the same easy out. Not for lack of trying on his part. Reo doesn't initiate conversations with him for days (weeks?) on end, and Nagi is fine with never questioning it.

Now, normally I'd make a point here about how Nagi's major weakness is his refusal to think hard about anything unless he's forced to—or about how that's the main hinder to his development to date—but that's a post for another day. Suffice to say, for the sake of this argument, that his willingness to let things stay tense between him and Reo is part of the problem here.

Well, "willingness" might not be the right term here. From his pov, there isn't any tension at all, in fact.

Again, because Nagi had a reason that justifies leaving Reo behind, he doesn't see a strain in their relationship until Reo points it out to him. Worse yet, he struggles to see Reo's viewpoint even after Reo does point it out to him.

He's as clueless as they come, and he's closest to Reo than anyone else in blue lock. Despite this, not only does he not realize why Reo is upset with him and doesn't want to link up anymore, he also fails to grasp that Reo's angry at him at all.

I ran out of image space so I'm just gonna quote the next bit:

N: "We promised, right? To win the world cup together. I've just kept making the best choices I could for that goal. During the rival battle, I thought I could get stronger if I went with Isagi. And I chose England because I thought I could learn from Agi and Chris. So, now it's you, Reo. You're stronger now, so you and I can beat Isagi, unlike last time."

To which Reo understandably replies,

R: "Damn, you really are a selfish jerk, you know that?"

Nagi doesn't seem to realize that if you are a team, you should, you know... Communicate with your partner. Instead, he decides for himself, without even asking for Reo's input, what's the best course of action to achieve their dream, doesn't share his thought process with Reo at all, embarks on said course alone, and then one day randomly decides to have Reo tag along in it.

In his head, I think it all makes sense to him because he assumes Reo already knows all this, intuitively. After all, that's how their whole dynamic has been built so far. When Reo isn't anticipating Nagi's needs before Nagi has uttered them aloud, Nagi is instinctively following the vision Reo set up with a pass, and completing it with a goal.

I'd say that the fact that they relied so heavily on silent communication for much of their time as friends is half the reason why they are so bad at communicating with actual words. I'm including Reo in this because he's equally guilty of it too, what with him saying "do what you want" aloud, only to wish for Nagi to stay without verbalizing that thought to him.

But I digress.

My point is, in the scene above, Nagi assumes Reo would be fine with the split because Nagi himself was. It doesn't even occur to him that Reo might see it as the negation of their promise to each other, or that he would feel abandoned and forgotten about (sorry, can't post pictures, but notice his shock at Reo's accusations. Chapter 187). After all, Nagi spent the whole time thinking about all the things he wanted to tell him.

Once again, much like with Isagi in the first selection, Nagi's puzzled and surprised at Reo's angry burst in response to his pushing; he assumes the drive he feels will be mirrored or at least understood by the other person, but instead he's turned down, faced with a negative reaction he doesn't quite understand.

As Reo puts it, Nagi's imagination comes short of letting him empathize with Reo's feelings. The choice to move on without him is purely functional, then, but from his perspective it never involved any emotional distance. To Reo, however, who was left with an easy to misunderstand parting speech, the hurt of a perceived loss strongly overshadowed anything else. Nagi doesn't anticipate Reo's emotional response over rationality because Nagi himself is not an emotion-driven person. He doesn't see that Reo would be plagued by self doubt because Nagi doesn't doubt his skills. He fails to see how his actions could easily be misconstrued as indifference because Nagi's not one to read hidden meaning into people's words, and assumes others take things as face value, too.

But that's more than communication failure! That consistent lack of effort to imagine how others would feel or act in a given situation is a pattern, at least imo.

I think Nagi never had to make that kind of effort before, since he was pretty much on his own, and in a lot of ways he's still adapting to having peers he trusts and that he wants to be trusted by in response

One could say this is as much a process to him as understanding his own ego for football is, and I find that really fascinating to watch

#Bllk thoughts #Blue lock meta #Nagi seishiro #Nagi seishirou #Episode nagi #This took me way too long to type and I feel like the ending isn't as strong as the beginning #But I'm tired of looking at it so please accept it...? Thank you for reading if you hit that read more. Xoxo

[rip-us-xoxo]

Put on a show- Eddie Munson x Reader

I've had this idea for awhile so I finally decided to write it! I hope you enjoy ;)

WARNINGS- SMUT, jealousy, semi-public sex, let me know if I missed anything!

~~~~~

School spirit was in the air. The first basketball game of the season and Eddie Munsons first basketball game too. He hated them but since you two began dating over the summer, he felt obligated to watch his lovely lady cheer.

Eddie sat at the top of the bleachers, arms crossed with one of his feet up on the seat in front of him. He was bored beyond boredom. At first, he didn’t think sitting there for 2 hours would be that bad, he would be watching you cheer the whole time. Little did he know, you really don't cheer that much. Basketball is such a fast-paced game. The moment you would start a chant together, you would have to stop because someone scored.

Eddie felt his eyes start to flutter shut when the buzzer blared, signaling that the 2nd quarter was over, meaning it was half-time.

You told Eddie that you and the girls were performing a dance for half time as a way to start off the season right. He watched as you shook out your nerves, waiting to get called onto the court.

“Let’s hear it for the Hawkins High cheer squad!” the announcer boomed, causing the crowd to roar. “That’s my girl! Let’s go, Y/n!” Eddie yelled as you ran onto the court, your signature smile lighting up the room.

You and Chrissy were front and center. He watched as you sent each other a smile while the band got ready to play.

The energy was high from the moment the band began playing.

He then watched as you and Chrissy strutted to the front of the formation, sassy looks now on your faces. He wondered if you two always performed like this because obviously, Chrissy was known as a timid girl, and so were you. He chuckled to himself as he watched you two wink at the crowd.

Your team's moves were sharp and together. Your stunts were flawless and people's tumbling passes were mind-blowing. Eddie couldn’t care less though, only there to watch you.

You looked adorable as you shook your poms, moving from one formation to the next and smiling like there was no tomorrow.

But the next second, his throat went dry. As girls were stunting in the back, you and Chrissy faced the side and slapped the ground, slowly dragging your arms up your legs. The sound of the crowd was a mix of gasps from parents and the basketball guys cheering at the top of their lungs. Eddie quickly looked over to where the basketball players were sitting. 

People knew you two were dating, Eddie made it very clear every second of every day that you were his girl. People just chose to not believe it was true since they never saw you two do anything other than hold hands. The reason actually is that you were afraid of showing affection in public.

His eyes fell on Jason, whose jaw was clenched. He then watched as Jason turned around.

“You better not be hollering at my girl,” Eddie saw Jason sternly telling them. Eddie couldn’t tell what the other guys were saying except for your name. Eddie's fists clenched as a low growl came from his throat. He was pissed off now.

Which is why he was so confused about how you were able to do a move like that in front of an entire crowd of people. A crowd of people who just think you’re with him because of a bet or something. But you and Eddie both knew you loved him genuinely, you were just shy.

“Tigers!” you all screamed in unison, signaling the end of your performance. This broke Eddie out of his death glare, but he was still furious. He clapped slowly as he watched you and the other girls run off of the court.

The game continued as normal, except for the fact that Jason kept missing shots, the moment still on his mind probably. Eddie couldn’t stop thinking about it either. He was very much awake now, watching your every move and then looking at the guys who now weren’t watching the game but were watching you stand there, probably imagining some really nasty things.

How could you do such a suggestive move with such an innocent smile on your face?

It didn’t register that he was rock hard until he realized that him replaying the image in his head over and over again made him hornier every time. He tried to stop and calm down, but he couldn’t. Those guys hollering at you made him want to just take you in front of everyone. He knew you would kill him if he did that though.

The next two quarters went by slow as hell, until finally, Hawkins lost, 27 to 31. The crowd moved out of the court to the hallway to greet their star players to tell them ‘better luck next time’, but Eddie needed to find you and find out what the hell that was.

He spotted you and Chrissy giggling innocently over something by the trophy case, beelining through the crowd to get to you. Your eyes lit up as you saw him walk toward you. 

“Eddie!” you beamed.

“Jason!” Chrissy cheered at the same time.

Eddie and Jason both looked at each other. They both had the same, furious, looks on their faces. The two then set their sights back on you two, too infuriated to pick a fight with each other.

When Eddie reached you, you wrapped your arms around his neck, making cute noises. He just wrapped one arm around your torso, breathing in your scent. He then looked over to Jason and Chrissy.

Chrissy went to hug Jason, but he just grabbed her hand and angrily ripped her from her spot, probably going to take Chrissy home to her parents and lecture her about being a woman of god or some shit like that.

But, Eddie had different plans for the two of you. He was your ride home, so you had all the time in the world.

When you let go, your smile made him almost feel bad for being so mad. Almost. He knew you were innocent to certain things, but he sure as hell knew you weren’t that innocent.

“Let’s go,” Eddie said, making sure his anger showed in his voice. You two walked in silence until you made it outside.

“Did you like the dance?” you asked, trying to make conversation. “Oh yeah, I loved it, especially when all of those guys looked at you like they were about to pounce on you like the true Tigers they are after seeing you bend over like that,” Eddie said in his voice that only comes out when he’s about to lose his shit. Your eyes widened as you looked over at him, “W-What?” you asked, his answer catching you off guard.

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” he scoffed and walked faster. “I don’t know what you’re talking about- Eddie, slow down!” you whined, trying to slow him down, but he was mad beyond reason, for a reason that you didn’t know why.

You made it to Eddies van, where you tried to let go of his hand to go to your side. But, his grip didn’t loosen. “I don’t know where the hell you think you’re going, get in the back,” he ordered, making your lip quiver. You genuinely had no idea what he was talking about and now he was really mad at you.

“Take your clothes off,” he demanded, closing the door behind him. “What? We’re not having sex in here! What did I even do?!” you pleaded, your back against the back of his van.

He turned around quickly to grab your chin, startling you a bit, “You bent over for the whole basketball team to see in your little dance that you insisted I come and watch.”. “Eddie, I didn’t mean-” you tried to reason, but Eddie didn’t want to hear any of it. “I don’t care, strip or you’re gonna be in even more trouble.”.

You just sat there, “The basketball players are outside! They might see us!”. “What’s the issue? I thought you showed off your body for fun?” he asked, condescendingly.

“Eddie, I don’t want anyone to see me naked!”. “Then you better be quiet then because they aren’t looking this way, so don’t give them a reason to,” he said, “Now, I’m not telling you again, clothes off. Now.”. 

You shakily took off all of your clothes while Eddie watched. You didn’t want to admit that this whole situation went right to your core. As you stripped, your eyes went between his stare and the boner in his pants.

Once you were fully naked, he slowly looked at your bare figure in front of him up and down. He breathed out before ripping off his shirt.

He looked godly from where you were laying down. His bare chest on display while he’s on his knees, towering over you. Your breath hitched as he crawled toward you and took two fingers, swiping them through your folds. “I knew you loved acting like a slut in front of everyone,” he chuckled, examining his two fingers, “naughty girl.”.

He then sat against the back of the passenger side chair. You just stared at him, unsure of what to do. “Well, I can’t fuck you if I’m fully clothed,” he said, rubbing his hand over his bulge. You quickly sat up, crawling toward him.

You stuck out your tongue as you focused on unbuckling his belt so that you could get his pants off as quickly as possible. He lifted his hips up so that you could fully take them off, his fingers hooking onto his underwear, taking them off as well. Eddie hissed when he finally wasn’t restricted anymore. You threw his pants behind you and immediately looked at him for direction.

“Come here, pretty girl,” he said, patting his thigh. You made your way over to him and grabbed his cock, slowly lowering yourself onto him. You gasped when he pushed you down, getting impatient with your slowness.

“I want you to make yourself cum on my cock, put on a show, just for me,” he said, putting his hands behind his head. You nodded and immediately got to work. You moved your body up and down and around, exaggerating every move you made.

You began to grind onto him faster, begging for a release to come to you. “Atta girl,” Eddie gasped, one hand moving to your hip, the other right on your clit. He began rubbing circles, making your core tighten.

Your movements slowed, the pleasure becoming too much, and you were scared the boys outside would hear you.

“Stop slowing down,” he grunted, using his one hand to move you up and down, thrusting his hips up into you at the same time. You entirely forgot where you were, your moans slowly getting louder and louder.

“Shh, quiet, pretty girl, you didn’t want anyone hearing us, remember?” he asked, fucking into you faster. He chuckled as you fell apart, not being able to answer. But you definitely heard him, your noises coming to almost a complete stop.

Eddie missed your pretty sounds instantly, not caring about what you wanted anymore, he just wanted to hear you. His pace fastened and the circles on your clit got rougher and faster, leaving you no choice but to start moaning again.

Soon enough, he felt you clench around him, cumming around him, moaning louder than he had ever heard you moan before. Eddie slowed down his movements, helping you ride out your climax.

While doing so, he looked over to find one of the guys who hollered at you, staring straight at Eddie with his mouth agape. The scene was sinful.

Your mouth was wide open, pleasure all over your face, hidden in the crook of Eddie’s neck. Eddies bangs were stuck to his forehead while your sweaty bodies were pressed up against each other.

Eddie just looked at the guy, licking his teeth before thrusting into you a few more times, making sure that guy truly knew you were his. Your head flew backward as you clawed at his chest, loudly begging for mercy. The guy quickly walked away, getting in his car, probably going home to jerk off.

Eddie chuckled, making you look up at him. “What?” you asked, still in a daze. “Oh, nothing,” he said. You just hummed in response going to push yourself off of him.

“Ah, silly girl,” Eddie said, pushing you back down, “I still haven’t finished yet.”.

~~~~~~~~~

xoxo

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x reader smut #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson

[pidges-lost-robot]

Right okay no because episode 4 season 2 of Voltron has been pissing me off since I rewatched it omfg so I’m going to rant about the episode, what parts I found to be be especially egregious and why and then maybe some of the changes I would’ve made.

Right so Greening The Cube pisses me off for one big glaring reason: Pidge’s character development

I will start with the Olkari to really get into why everything about this very Pidge centric episode pisses me off.

So the Olkari are described by Coran as a proud class of engineers, builders of vast cities that could change the shape at the whim of their creators and (unfortunately cause Voltron does this with too many alien species they introduce) ‘a seemingly magical ability to manipulate solid metal and with the wave of their hands build a computer inside a block of steel’. This is a species that is known specifically and immediately for their ability to ENGINEER (this is important) and their technological prowess.

(on a side note though, can someone tell me why the writers and producers decide as frequently as they do to make alien species just kinda ‘have hand wavy magic’ as like their main thing they do, like do this even with the Olkari a little even though their whole deal is like technological and engineering prowess??)

Now we find this out when the team have that spore fight at the beginning of the episode when we learn this is a specifically Pidge centered episode with her classically knocking Lance down a peg by noting that ‘a billion sunsets happen everyday, some genius engineer actually built this’. This line right, this exchange is what the episode tells us it’s built on - it’s not actually.

Much like everything in this show especially in the first two seasons, it has good concepts and terrible execution, no desire to actually develop the characters and so little time in a given episode that they always use so inefficiently so this is an ambitious thing to episode to attempt to tackle in 23 mins, and the fact that this exchange is had with the character that I’m pretty sure the voltron writers process for writing his lines was picking bits of paper out of a hat with the options being ‘flirt’ ‘bad joke’ and ‘dumb’ written on them isn’t helping it’s case.

But in a better show that cared about their characters, this exchange is important at establishing this as a viewpoint Pidge has and opposing viewpoint for her to grapple with throughout the course of the episode. Pidge is arrogantly smart and there’s good reason for that - she’s never wrong. Because she is so often right (often because the writers just say she is), it creates the illusion that she is avid and open learner, but this one line kinda suggests otherwise. Lance is ignorant to dismiss the specific mathematics and engineering that had to go into building the castleship, but it’s interesting character wise how equally quick Pidge was to dismiss the idea of sunset being beautiful because it’s just a natural process that happens every day. Pidge doesn’t really get or seem to consider the ways in which natural or everyday processes in of themselves can be beautiful and valuable.

So we get to the spores and Pidge hears about this planet of technological advancements and engineering and is super excited but do you know who in this episode I don’t see getting super excited despite ENGINEERING being a huge part of his character and who he is, and who would likely be an interesting foil to Pidge as despite his own tendency towards being suspicious and worried about new things tends to be a lot more open to learning new things?! HUNK ‘IOSEFA’ GARRETT!!!

Hunk is the fucking engineer of this team! And you know how we establish that this is how Hunk could be the foil? Because when Pidge points out that the spores or pulsing in a programmed manner rather than a strictly natural one, it is HUNK that points out that he thinks it may be a code and jumps to wondering who the code could be from, not willing to dismiss the idea that this spore is coded. Pidge doesn’t quite outright dismiss it, but she says she doesn’t know because it makes no sense. She makes a definitive statement “You can’t program a spore”

Now Pidge and Hunk should be both be excited for this, but in the actual episode, we see this excitement immediately deplete when Pidge is informed they will not be going to the tech haven, but the forest. Once again, this can build off the point of the episode because it establishes another related thing about Pidge’s character. Not only does Pidge struggle to appreciate the beauty of something like a sunset, almost dismissing it, but she also can be quick to presume that unless something is within her specific wheelhouse of knowledge, that it will not be of interest to her. I believe that if we keep Hunk excited here, this would immediately boost the characterisation already present in the episode. Hunk is not deterred by going to the forest, but Pidge presumes theres nothing that will be of interest to her and therefore is going to bore her. Because the point of this episode should be Pidge can be quick to dismiss things she sees as simplistic, boring, everyday and natural things and that by dismissing them as being beneath her, she limits her own knowledge by doing so.

Which brings me to the team testing out the Olkari tech, and Ryner, the Olkari engineer they interact with the most, remarking that the commands using the headset should be in binary code. It is some of the few actual science in the worldbuilding for this place but I think it messes with the characterisation for Pidge. This is tech that has had to be thrown together using the surrounding forest and resources and having it be specifically be operated in a manner that Pidge out of everyone is an expert in rewards her in a way that it shouldn’t. Pidge has already dismissed that this will have any interest to her (she literally once again reinforced just before this arc when Ryner states that natures designs are superior to any they could devise and Pidge remarks that she will take her computer over a tree any day)

Pidge should not be rewarded in this moment by having an immediate aptitude for this tech. I believe for this part, Hunk should be the most likely to be able to work these things, and that Keith and Lance are shortly after, when they show a willingness to defer to a more knowledgeable party when they’re struggling to get it. But Pidge should have the most trouble. She doesn’t get why she is able to pick it up, and is insistent that she does it alone. Shiro maybe asks why she won’t go and just ask Hunk for help.

Because ultimately, Pidge has built up an identity of being self sufficient and being gifted. She may have gotten picked on, kids may have excluded her, but she understood things they never would. They may have been stronger and bigger, but she was right. And nothing would change that. Well, until she can’t get the hang of this tech.

I think with the way that the cube is used in this should incapacitate the lions for now. They need this tech to infiltrate the main city and regain their leader. Pidge has to stay behind in the forest with Shiro while Hunk, Lance and Keith take the lead on that mission because she isn’t able to work it. The leader is supposed to be the genius leader that is the only one capable of designing the cube who is being threatened but I like that he turns out to be safe and was working with the galra. And I think he should reflect something about Pidge. Lubos is a genius, and he knows that the Galra need him, cause they can’t build this without him. But he believes that this value he has to them means that he has the upperhand, they can’t pull one over on him because he’s the one with all the cards. But he’s thrown his own people under the bus in the name of a plan he turns out to not have the upper hand in because he fails to consider that there was value and purpose in the simpler things, his people didn’t need their value to come from being a part of building something advanced for some one else, they could derive joy and purpose from the everyday things too, and has to actually be rescued by Lance, Keith and Hunk when this all backfires on him.

Now what happens in the episode is that Pidge is told she must have a deep connection with nature which she denies but then has an aptitude for this tech and has the best lion for the plan and saves them all from the galra soldiers. Lubos is revealed as a liar and they all get in their lions and find their weapons don’t work. Now of course, cause in Voltron canon, Pidge is the only one who notices things in her episodes and points out that the cube they use their lions to attack is absorbing their attacks and gets to have an i told you so moment as it gets fired back at them and somehow no other person realises this. Its echoing like Coran’s cube. They try physical hits but it does not work and Pidge is soon shot down in Green. Ryner uses telepathy now to tell Pidge she must bond with her lion more as the Olkari heal her lion and she kinda just sits and thinks about how circuits and codes are like tree roots and that seems to be enough.

She then shoots at the cube, and despite it never having worked, it works now and a tree root grows out the cube destroying it.

Once again, Pidge is just kinda being told she can do things and then she does them or just suddenly comprehends and this all suddenly works out and means so much of the initial set up is fucking pointless. Cause what does Pidge learn here that she didn’t already learn ten minutes ago after being shown to be reluctant to accept new information and then immediately changing her mind cause the plot required it? And on top of this, she saves the day doing the same thing the others did, shooting at it with her lions gun and it simply works cause this episode is Pidge centric?

I think the lions stay down for now, they need to use this Olkari tech to shut the thing down before Pidge uses her lion to destroy it with her lions gun. Because I believe that Pidge should not only not have an immediate affinity for this tech, but that as a result of this, should be able to by the end of the episode, which will prompt the bonding with the Lion later to gain access to that ability, the ability to not just appreciate the way that nature can relate to technological advancement but be able to appreciate the value in it. Pidge in the time the others are getting Lubos begins to explain to Shiro that she hates needing to ask for help. Shiro reminds her that she’s part of a team, and her skills are important, but there are things the team can offer perspective on too.

She tells him she knows but and she doesn’t quite finish it, because maybe a little part of her was still valuing her worth to others based on the superior knowledge and programming she could provide and that this in turn made the other side of the coin that she was on some level undervaluing her teammates for not having those same skills. Hunk took to this tech well, he’s not just an engineer but he works a little more intuitively than she does, and Keith while stubborn about fighting and the things he’s good at, is more than comfortable asking advice from those for things he’s not well versed in, and while yes, similarly, Lance can be quick to dismiss the beauty of engineering, he was quick to recognise when this viewpoint did not serve him or the people he was trying to help, and swallowed his pride and adapted to achieve the goal. And more importantly in their comparison from the offset of the episode, Lance can be insecure, but he’s not afraid to be wrong, in fact he expects it.

The core of this episode should be Pidge values intelligence, because to her, if she’s not right, if she’s got it wrong then what value can she have to anyone. And that this belief is limiting her.

Pidge defers to Hunk’s expertise, willing to stay back when the plan to deactivate the cube goes ahead to make she can understand this tech better and maybe get word to the others once she gets it. She can’t help until she can work their tech.

The fights begins to not go well, the cube reflects back at them so Pidge figures out deactivating it will require using attacks not against it, but to isolate it from stimuli it can use against them, but the cube is beginning to mess with the coms and she needs to get out there to them to let them know. She’s scared but if she’s wrong, she’s just gotta keep trying, because being afraid to be wrong will only keep her from getting to them. Ryner encourages her to think of the way nature can be like technology, evolution in a way was a series of refining and improving on a design in response to new conditions, a sunset can only be enjoyed the way it is because a series of variables came to together by chance and refined to allow the experience to be had. Pidge thinks on this, the way that this tech is the same way, and the tech begins to work. She’s still a litlte shaky but she’s beginning to get the hang of it.

She gets the info to them, and they able to lure the cube somewhere that keep it isolated from things it can weaponise, and the Olkari are able to power the cube down. There is the worry that the cube could be activated if the Galra come out to find it, but Pidge feels her lion nudging her mind, able to reach her now the cube has been deactivated. She runs to her lion and rather than thinking of her lion as tech first, sentient second, she recognises that Green has an idea and this is when the ability to use Green’s ray to create spontaneous organic tree growth is used on the cube to split apart the design from the inside. Normally she’d be sad that a design like this is destroyed but in a weird way she can appreciate that is actually looks kind of neat. The other’s remark also that they think it looks cool, Lance even taking a photo of it and sending it to Pidge.

As they head off, Ryner thanks Voltron for their help and plans to join the coalition and gifts Pidge with a small simply engineered model that looks like the machines they had to utilise. Its one of the initial design models they made for the machines and Pidge thanks Ryner for it. As they arrive back at the castle, the little model takes pride of place in Pidge’s work station.

Ultimately the point of this post is that the original episode as it stands frustrates me as it’s an episode that clearly wants to get into Pidge’s character and explore it a little but spends most of the run time being too afraid to allow some of Pidge’s flaws to take any sort of precedence in the episode or allow any of the other team members to offer her any sort of perspective on these flaws. Its too afraid to let Pidge grow and learn things and be wrong. Allowing other characters to interact with these traits of hers, contradict them, and act as foils to them isn’t taking attention away from Pidge, it’s an opportunity to highlight something about her as a person. You can use other characters and how to respond to the main character focus to learn about them through the ways they differ.

#this may be all bad and not worth it #and i’m sure if i properly sat down with it i could do a little better #but like just take from this what you will #voltron #vld #pidge #pidge holt #hunk #hunk garrett #takashi shirogane #lance #lance mcclain #keith #keith kogane #shiro #voltron: legendary defender #rewriting voltron episodes #long post #pidge gunderson #pidge vld #my headcanons

[mrstsung]

I want this shang but only the version in my head. Only the version i handcrafted away from the narrative and the hype schlock that was mk12/mk1. The version that is his humble beginnings,freshly cursed by the gods,former warrior of earthrealm,having a falling out with his former friend and mentor lord raiden and cohersd by shao kahn to serve under him thus betraying earthrealm. The version i handcrafted and carefully made with love. Tho it can apply to any and many of the various iterations of shang tsung over the years. I feel a young shang's misadventures is long overdue or at least a proper backstory that isn't overtaken and overshadowed by corporate meddling. (I would absolutely love to have mr.tagawa's input more on this personally,and his opinions and thoughts on my backstory for shang. But alas maybe some day)

But anywho. A young shang tsung would be nice but better written or given at least a better script.

Because mr. Alan lee is such an amazing talent. And i feel he deserves so much better as shang tsung,one of THE if not THE MOST iconic antagonist of the mortal kombat series. (As with many other actors and VA for said character.)

Like this shang's aesthetics(minus the claws gauntlets tho they are growing on me but they could look better. Maybe more snake or dragon motifs?),the charm is there,the feeling,the attitude,the actor does an amazing job,but the problem is....legitimately....everything else. When your "antag" is better than everyone else,and i mean that genuinely. Better than the script and plot,better than the protags,better than the other antagonists,etc. Then....it's not good. Of course i love shang and want a win for him once. Especially now he has legitimate reasons why he does what he does,why he is how he is,and you genuinely feel sorry for him,and want to hug him,give him a friend,ffs you just go "ah fuck man, you good?" Yeah. He actually has something shown at least. Not my personal flavor. However for canon to be bold enough to do so is shocking. But what pisses me off as a fan of both mk and shang tsung. Is that...

1. It took them waaaaay too long to make that happen.

2. It doesn't feel sincere even when they did.

3. It feels rushed and plot convenient. And centering shang's whole backstory around liu kang instead of well....shang tsung. At least it feels that way. It doesn't feel like the character has agency. So it feels like a half assed apology for doing shang dirty.

So that's why i don't like the story that shang is centered around. Now if we take the character,the concept of a shang tsung down on his luck,barely surviving off of scraps,even tho he serves a powerful kingdom and emperor with a cushy job as a court mage. That i would love to see. That's exactly how i always saw his og backstory, if you want him to rectify mistakes ACTUALLY FUCKING DO IT AND NOT BACKTRACK FOR STATUS QUO FOR YOUR "PROTAGS OR HEROES" TO WIN!!!! Like holy shit dude. Like crap,the Fanfics are better than canon writing and nrs knows it! They seem to even try to copy what we as fans to but fail so hard. But it's sad it feels so half assed when a "professional gaming company" is supposed to make this. But i feel its corporate meddling,and Hollywood greed that prevents this series,at least storywise and narratively from reaching its true potential.

Sorry for this vent. But this character I'm very very passionate about. But mostly this game series. I love this game. I love playing it. Almost all the games. It's my childhood as many others. And I'm not gonna stand for mediocrity and slander to one of my faves.

But anyways. Enough rambling. Back to shang.

Like mk12/mk1 shang tsung isn't bad at least looks wise. No more different than anyone else. But it still bothers me they all look "samey" and not in a memey,jokey,fun way. It looks sloppy next to him. Ignoring everyone else around him,looking at shang individually. Omfg he's a cutie. He's smug,he's the shang i know n love but just....younger. like in His 30s or so. Around my age. Which is cool. But....i still kinda wish his old man shang wasn't a ruse. I ignore it was a ruse tho so it doesn't count. In fact like i said. I'm rewriting the whole thing period.

Will it be kinda self indulgent? Maybe a bit self inserty,Yes. But i don't care. Because he deserves better than that.

We owe it to mr.tagawa. to shang's character. To all the voice actors and actors and amazing talent over the 30+yrs mk has been around. We deserve a good story,a better story,and even more so,a better fucking game. To play. To learn. To have fun with. Without paying and arm and a leg to even access it. Period.

Shang tsung baby you deserve better. So so so much better.

#mortal kombat #shang tsung #self ship #self shipping #💚heart and soul🐍 #shang tsung mortal kombat #mk f/o #antagonist f/o #villain f/o #villain/antagonist f/o #vent #sorry for this but srsly i deeply love and appreciate the character and he deserves only the best #apologizes for the vent #mk12/mk1 shang tsung #mk1 2023 shang tsung #my version of mk12/mk1 shang tsung is the only one I'll ever accept of a young or babyface shang tsung #i can't really ever hate any version of shang tsung this man has me in a vice grip of death lovingly of course #that's my curse of the gods tho to never escape shang tsung's little claws around my heart n soul oof

[graaaaaayy]

Book reviewwwww

Scythe by Neal Shusterman. probably spelled that wrong, but I can’t be bothered to verify. Anyway, 6.5/10

Let’s start with the list of things I liked, because that one’s shorter.

you guys better give this notes cause it takes an embarrassingly long time for my dyslexic ass to write a 1k word review with everything almost everything spelt right.

SPOILERS BELOW

Goddard died, thank goodness he was starting to get on my nerves

Faradays alive, fucking called it

the thunderhead is very intriguing I want to know more about it. Every dystopian setting has to have ‘its thing’ to set it apart, which ironically makes them similar. The thunderhead should be a plot hole ridden cliche but it stands out, because it’s very carefully written. We don’t know much about it but whatever we do know just piques one’s curiosty even further. 10/10 writing in that respect

Faraday and Curie’s romance ??? Come onnn

The goddamned High Blade himself has an illegitimate daughter. I have a love hate relationship with the dystopian genre because the mcs are usually the only ‘woke’ ones who start the revolution but here the entire frickin sycthedom is corrupted and they all know it. But nobody wants to do anything because then all hell will break loose which is exactly what we saw at the end of the book

what I didn’t like ( don’t come at me ) :

Okay, why were both citra and rowan bland as hell ? They both have exactly one personality trait. Rowan never shuts up about being the lettuce like that makes him special - have you ever heard of this concept called being the middle child buddy ? - and citra’s whole thing is that she’ll always say whatever she’s thinking. You and me both but at least that’s not my whole personality girl.

I WANT MORE BACKSTORY ABOUT THE AGE OF MORTALITY AND THE THUNDERHEADS WAY OF GOVERNING AND NANITES AND REVIVAL CENTERS AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND CELEBRITIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AND I DIDNT GET IT. It wasn’t even to build suspense or anything it was just sloppy world building. And before you tell me an author can’t write a 700page novel, first off yes they can and second the first half of the book dragged on so much that I nearly gave up on reading it. Some of that could’ve been sacrificed for actual world building and plot.

Rowan and Citra kissed once, one time and basically the next time they have a conversation they’re proclaiming their love for each other ? And Citra had absolutely no proof that rowan hadn’t been corrupted, the guy snapped her neck, seemingly participated in goddards massacres ‘willingly’ and then she’d just heard that he shot a family member in the head during his test before the instructions were fully given. Why the hell would she just let him go ?

the way people react to scythes changed drastically from start to finish. People just went from terrified grovelling to just showing up to their parties ? What happened to ‘you never know if a scythe is just gathering people to glean them ? Especially Goddard who’s known for mass gleaning.

if the thunderhead had indeed done away with everything that was harming humanity then why didn’t it get rid of the concept of celebrities ? Consumerism still seems to exist. It’s got more cons than pros. Why isn’t there AI law enforcement that can’t succumb to bias ?

The klunky world building deserves another mention because it really pissed me off

If Goddard ( bad guy ) was smart enough to have cronies that hung on to his every word, then why couldn’t Faraday, Curie etc ( supposed good guys ) also rally together and secure allies so that they’d be ready when the inevitable uprising arrived ?

okay I know some of this is because of ‘undisclosed plot purposes ^TM’ but it could’ve been done better. That is all. Goodbye

#scythe book #book review #citra terranova #rowan damisch #scythe curie #scythe faraday #scythe goddard #scythe anastasia #scythe lucifer