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girls4keigo · 3 years

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A Bird Whisperer’s Guide to Fighting Villains and Falling in Love | Hawks x Hero!Reader

Summary: Hawks needs help to defeat an upcoming hero attack in Tokyo. What better hero to ask than the one he’s been crushing on for months

Warnings: F!Reader, Hero!Reader, Fluff, Cursing

Reader plays hard to get. Reader has a nature quirk and can control natural elements and talk to animals. Reader is a popular hero

a/n: hi! this is my first post i hope you all enjoy! :)

————

You sighed, trying to keep your composure while talking to a bunch of big name heroes. The fundraiser events that your agency made you go to were unbearable. Standing around for hours listening to the most mundane heroes try to impress you with their line of work. But hey, if it helps boost approval ratings I guess it’s not that bad.

For the past year you’ve slowly been climbing the ranks of the hero world. With a powerful quirk and unique fighting styles it was hard to go unnoticed. By now you were familiar with how the industry treated female heroes. It seemed as if the general public cared about anything but your hero duties.

It was all love, relationships, “Who are you dating?”, “What’s your skincare routine?”

You honestly didn’t expect any different but geez, it sure did piss you off. And now that you were in the top 3, you weren’t expecting any of it to die down. Might as well just get used to it.

You continued to chat when suddenly your ear twitched as you sensed a certain birdie approaching.

Oh God.

“Hey. Mind if I steal ya away for a little?” Hawks’ signature smirk appeared on his face as he approached you.

Hawks seemed to really be latching onto you for quite some time, well since the new hero rankings were announced. You were on your way to surpassing the number 2 hero and had gained a lot of notoriety in the past couple of months.

He was clingy for sure, always play flirting, inviting you to lunch, showing up at your agency unannounced. It was obvious that he was just trying to get a reaction out of you. You’d be surprised if he admitted to actually having feelings for you. Well, not that you cared anyways. Your job was to save civilians, defeat villains, and do things that any other normal hero would. Love was simply not on your agenda.

Holding back a heavy sigh, you complied and stepped off to the side with Hawks.

He seemed delighted by your decision, using his feathers to fetch you a glass of champagne off of one of the caterer’s trays as you two walked over to the bar area.

“So your agency makes you come to these lame things too, huh?”

You didn’t answer, not very interested in the direction that the conversation was going in.

“You look nice.” He bit his lower lip, dragging his eyes vertically across your figure.

“Thank you.” You replied, taking a sip of your champagne.

After you both had made your way over to the bar he instructed his order to the bartender, asking you if you wanted anything and keeping the same dumb smirk on his face when you denied.

“Rarely ever see you in a color other than green. I mean, I guess it’s your entire thing but I really dig this red look you’ve got goin’ on” He mused, as he watched the bartender carefully make his drink.

He wasn’t lying. He’s been eyeing you since you walked in, you look good.

“What do you want, Hawks?” You asked, visibly annoyed.

“Damn.” He chuckled, “Small talk isn’t your thing, noted.”

You side-eyed him, getting impatient with his overly relaxed demeanor.

Catching the hint, he got straight to the point. “There’s some trouble going on in Tokyo.”

Now you were intrigued. You took another sip of your champagne, “Petty villain attacks like always, isn’t it?”

You turned towards him, he got a good look at your face before he answered.

Fucking pretty, he thought to himself.

“That’s what I thought at first but it’s getting harder to believe that as I do more digging.” He looks around before inching closer to you, trying to keep his volume to a minimum. “The League is planning something big next week. The ‘Rain of Terror’, they’re callin’ it. They’re trying to ease the amount of big attacks in the city to let our gaurds down. And frankly, I think it’s working.”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “How do you know all of this?”

“I’ve got connections,” Was all he said, with a shrug.

Ok, whatever. You’ll confront him about that later. “And this ‘Rain of Terror…’ what does it entail?”

“Bombs.”

“Shit,” You muttered.

“Big ones. Huge ones, actually. I don’t know how the fuckers did it but they found a way to make these huge, bioengineered clouds that ‘rain’ bombs.”

You grew uneasy. Raining bombs? Over the entirety of Tokyo? The amount of destruction it would do to the earth, to civilians, made you panic. Hawks sensed your uneasiness but continued anyways, “I want us to team up. Your quirk would be useful with the entire controlling nature n’ weather thing.”

He loosened up from his serious expression, talking a bit louder and showing a teethy smile, “Plus I think we’d make a pretty good team. I’ve already got a plan so we’ll meet up at yours tomorrow.”

“As in my house? Why not anywhere else?�� You questioned.

“Well,” He grabbed his drink and used his free hand to rub the back of his heck, “This isn’t really the typa thing we can talk about in public. Mass hysteria, panic, that type of thing. And my living situation is pretty…complicated right now.”

You felt a small tap on your shoulder, followed by the voice of your high school aged sidekick. You turned to the younger hero. “Uh..Y/N? It’s time to go. I gotta be back by 11.”

You sighed before turning back to Hawks.

“Kids and their curfews, right?” He commented.

“Fine. I’ll have my agency send you my address. Don’t come during the day.” That was the last thing you said before finishing your drink all in one quick sip and making your way to the exit. You could feel his eyes on your backside until you left the venue. And the singular scarlet feather rushing in front of you to open the car door for you was really the cherry on top.

You rolled your eyes.

“Woah.” Your sidekick mused, “He seems to really like you. You should give him a chance, he’s hot.”

You giggled at her comment, “He doesn’t really like me, y’know? He flirts with every female hero.”

—

You heard a slight tap on the window leading up to your balcony. You already sensed him flying towards you when he was about a mile away, but your bedroom? Reluctantly you walked over and opened the sliding door.

“Never heard of a front door?”

“Well that’s no fun, is it?” He said, displaying his signature smirk. You looked cute out of your hero clothes. Hair tied up and messy, and in big comfy clothes.

Adorable, he thought to himself. He walked in as if it was his own befroom, slipping off his shoes, gloves and jacket and placing them in the corner of your room.

“Make yourself comfortable I guess.” You deadpanned at him, “And we’re still going downstairs anyways.” He shrugged.

He couldn’t help but be taken aback by the layout of your room. There were plants in almost every corner, on every shelf. Vines growing on your walls, half read books strewn across your bedside table and dresser, your pet birds of all different shaped and sizes flew freely around your room, chirping every once in a while. “So you’re a bird whisperer, huh?” He said, looking around.

“I’m an animal whisperer.” You said, “That’s kind of like my entire thing.”

He let out a hearty laugh before making his way out of your room.

“Tea?” You asked, heading towards the kitchen as the winged hero made himself comfortable on your couch.

“Sure.” He picked up your remote with one his feathers, flicking through the channels.

He turned his attention to you a couple moments later as you took a seat across from him at your coffee table, setting down two mugs of green tea.

He explained his plan carefully, paying close attention to all details and pausing for any questions you might have. You had to admit, as much as an annoying asshole this guy could be, he knew what he was doing. You could tell he plans his strategies very carefully, as much as he likes to come off as lazy and laid back to the general public. He was a damn good hero. And you hated admitting it but he was right, utlizing his speed and your ability to control weather, it wouldn’t be all that hard to stop villain attacks.

Hawks also couldn’t help but admire you. You seemed attentive, always paying close attention to detail and asking a lot of questions. I mean he already knew you were good at your job, watching some of the viral videos of your fights with villains.

—

When the day finally came, it went as smoothly as planned, of course with a little bumps along the way. Still, the few civilians that were hurt only had minor injuries, and you and hawks made it so only a couple bombs hit the ground.

You, Hawks, and some other minor heroes who had joined mid-battle regrouped to talk about how to resolve the collateral damage.

“It’s not too much to be honest, I’ll have it all repaired by midni-“

“Wow! What an incredible display of courage from Hawks and Mother Nature, currently sitting at number 2 and number 3 of Japan’s Hero BillBoard Chart!” A loud reporter exclaimed, accompanied by a camera crew.

Of course.

You tried your best to ignore and keep talking to fellow heroes until a microphone was shoved in your face. The face of the reporter gleamed as she talked to you. “Tell me Mother Nature, how does it feel working with number 2 hero Hawks?” You winced at the question, but answered nevertheless.

“Hawks is a diligent hero with a lot of experience under his belt despite being so young. It was great working with him.” You answered, forcing a smile on your face.

“There’s speculation that you two planned this together..is this true? How were you able to predict this attack? More importantly, are you two dating?” Those questions hit you like a truck.

“Um..no comment.” Was all you could answer with.

Nevertheless, the reporter persisted, “Well there has to be something going on. It’s just my opinion but you two seem perfect for each other.” She giggled at the camera, “Please! The public is dying to know!”

Before you could even muster up an answer to the reporter’s overwhelming question, a giant scarlet wing came between you and the reporter, blinding both her and the camera from your view.

“Hey. She said she doesn’t wanna talk about it. Let’s respect personal boundaries, yeah?” Hawks said in a nice but slightly defensive tone.

You blushed, looking up at him. As nice we he was trying to sound, he looked angry. And damn right he was. How dare they talk to you like you’re no more than just some D-list celebrity? You’re a fucking hero, who cares about dating speculation when you just saved Japan’s largest city? And how dare they ask questions about him when you were the one doing most of the work. He was enraged, and it was his natural instinct to protect the thing he cared for.

Before you knew it, he latched his arms around your waist, pushing you into his chest.

You were flustered. “What are you-“

“Let’s go.” Was all he said before flapping his wings, sending you guys soaring through the air.

You held on to him for dear life, damn was he fast.

Hawks smirked to himself, feeling your rapid heartbeat against his chest. You were trying your best to hide your blushing by burying your face in his neck, granted that probably made it worse because he could already tell by how hot your face was.

God, she’s adorable

As soon as you two landed on top of a building, you pushed him away as quickly as possible.

He chuckled, putting both of his hands up in defense, “You’re the one making this awkward y’know? Plus you owe me for saving your ass.”

You were angry. Was it because of the downright rude questions that the reporter asked you not too long ago, was it because you knew tabloids would be posting all about you and Hawks for the next couple of days, was it because you were..warming up to that damned bird?

And then you started. “Just so you know, this..us..is not a thing. It will never be a thing. I wish you’d just stop flirting with me all the damn time. Just move on to the next female hero. I actually don’t care what you do. Just leave me alone. I don’t understand why you have to be so clingy, it’s annoying.”

Hawks did nothing but smile, listening to you ramble.

“You know…I-“ He interjected, only to be interrupted by you.

“And geez, you’re so goddamn entitled. I owe you? I don’t owe you anything. I didn’t even need your help. You’re no different from any other guy, you’re fucking insuffer-“

Hawks shut you up with a gentle kiss on your lips.

Oh.

“You talk too much.” He said in a low whisper, before pulling on your chin to kiss you again. You kissed him back, resting your hands on his chest, completely indulging in the moment.

Fuck. Your knees were weak. As much as you wanted to keep going you pulled away, blushing furiously and refusing to make eye contact with him.

“Oh? So now you’re shy?” He chuckled, pulling you closer to him. He tried to catch your gaze but you just moved your head away from him each time.

“Someone might see us. This is bad,” You were able to muster out.

“You’re so fucking cute.” He said, making you blush even more. He continued, “I don’t flirt with you for no reason, y’know? Sure, sometimes it’s just to tease..but I think you’re amazing.”

You felt like you were melting in his arms. Unable to find the right words, you panicked. You were gone in seconds, manipulating the wind so it could carry you back home, the same stupid blush unable to leave your face.

“Call me!” He yelled.

That damn bird.

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robthomissed · 3 years

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Life With Sammy

enjoy these little slices of life that I wrote based on a song that really doesn't mean anything but gave me the idea

inspired by Sentimental by WMD

Before Sammy

Life was…..fine. You were living and things weren’t bad but things just felt a little hollow. Every rainstorm or trip to the art museum or meal cooked for one was nice in a lot of ways but you couldn’t help but look around sometimes and feel like it would be nice to have someone there to share it with. Over time the light and color started to drain and each day was just more of the same. The small voice inside you saying it just wasn’t going to happen, time to make peace with being alone.

But then there is Sammy. He barrels into your life all big blue eyes, loud laughs, and warm hugs. You soon realize life with Sammy means more…

Laughter

He was laughing at you. This boy had the nerve to laugh at you even after you told him you had never learned how to skate. Sammy was managing to keep his amusement to soft chuckles as you wobbled along the wall of the Blues practice rink during a pre-season family skate.

“Come on babe, just slow down and watch me.” Sammy said as he helped you off the ice after your fourth fall in the last ten minutes. You weren’t one to stay patient while learning a new skill because your perfectionistic streak took over which was causing your brain to move faster than your feet could learn.

You let out a heavy sigh and took his hands as he proceeded to skate backward with infuriating ease. You focused your attention on his skates to try and pick up on what he was doing. Just as you thought you were getting the hang of it, Sammy's right skate caught a gash in the ice and he flailed backward dragging you down with him. There was a short moment of panic on your part when Sammy stayed quiet and still on the ice after you landed on top of him with his head tucked into your neck. Then after a few excruciating seconds, you felt him start to chuckle and you breathed a sigh of relief.

You both just laid there laughing to yourselves for a minute before he said “Okay, not that I don't love having you on top of me but let’s save it for when we get home.”

This sent you into another fit of blushing and giggling which you tried to hide by tucking your face back into Sammy’s shoulder. When you did finally manage to get yourself up off the ice Sammy still looked overly proud of himself that he had made you blush that hard.

Rain

You were sitting in Sammy’s car one night in the rain and just talking about life. Nothing and everything. Solving the world's problems and ranking the best place to get frozen custard in town. The rain is hitting the car just hard enough that it blocks out any noise from the outside world and creates a little bubble in time and space. It is only you two and the rest of the world is far away. The light from the streetlights coming through the rain-covered windows is lighting up his face in the most gorgeous way. The raindrops are casting shadows that cascade down the side of his face and make the shine of his eyes that much brighter.

Beauty

Sammy is beautiful in the small moments…

The way the summer sun brings out the auburn in his hair

The way his hand looked holding a wine glass

The furrow of his brows when he really focused on something

The way he always opened the door for you

The hugs after a long day

The way his voice sounds talking to your cat when he doesn’t think you are in the room

The crooked smile he gives you in the morning

The way he blushes whenever you tell him how breathtaking he is

Sammy is beautiful in so many ways and you hope one day he’ll actually believe you when you tell him

Relief

You aren’t stupid. You know the risks of playing professional hockey. You had seen numerous guys go down with various injuries in your years as a hockey fan. But having that knowledge in your head couldn’t prepare you for seeing Sammy crumpled in the corner after a crushing hit from you don’t even know who. The play continues up the ice but you can’t make yourself care as you watch Sammy lay still. Why haven’t they blown the whistle…. don't they see him? Finally, Torey gains control of the puck and the refs blow play dead as Ray trots out onto the ice. Robby quickly skates over to help him get to Sammy as fast as possible. The arena has gone so quiet you are sure the people around you can hear your heart pounding. Sammy begins to stir just as Ray and Robby reach him and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Okay. He’s moving. That’s good. Vince and Rouzy deliver a couple more trainers from the bench and then join Robby who is hovering just far enough to be out of the way but close enough to feel involved.

After a long few minutes, Sammy gets to his feet mostly on his own, and after a second of leaning on Vince and one of the trainers he skates off by himself. You stay in your seat for a few minutes unsure of what to do until Sammy texts you telling you they are sending him home but they want you to drive. You are greeted by Sammy’s widest smile as soon as you enter the training room. It makes you feel better that he isn’t flat on his back and seems to be mostly normal.

He gingerly gets himself off the training table and gives you a hug.

“You okay?” you ask into his shoulder

“Yeah babe, I’ll be okay. Just shaken up a bit so they don’t want me driving home” he says after placing a kiss on the top of your head.

“Okay good because I want you to stick around for a while,” you say with a sigh.

“Don’t worry you are going to be stuck with me for a long time” Sammy punctuates his teasing with a poke to your ribs which gets a giggle out of you.

“I think that is a burden I am willing to bear.” you tease back and break into giggles when he sticks his tongue out at you.

“Alright goofball let’s go home and get you off your feet”

Quiet

Sammy has a bit of a reputation for being loud. And he is when he is out with friends or when he gets excited about something but he also has a quiet side. Your favorite times with Sammy were when he was just walking around the apartment in his comfy clothes, a glass of wine in hand trying to decide what movie to watch. It was just so quietly domestic and made your heart do all kinds of fluttery things.

One night he catches you just staring at him while he is puttering around the kitchen making himself a late-night snack. When he notices he just stops what he is doing and asks “What?”

“Oh nothing.” you say quickly looking away trying to hide your blush from being caught.

“No no, tell me.” Sammy says as he circles around the kitchen island to stand in front of you and lean on the counter to block any potential escape.

“It’s- it’s just… I don’t know. I’m just really happy I get to see you like this.” you say blushing and barely making eye contact. Feelings are hard okay.

“ Like what?” Sammy says with just an adorably confused look that twists your gut a little bit more.

You sigh a bit and take a moment to find the right words. “Just this quiet side of you. I love your big and bubbly side but it is nice to know you are comfortable around me like this.”

Sammy looks at you still kinda confused, not saying anything and you begin to panic. “You know what, never mind just ignore me. Just go about your business”

After a few moments of silence, you suddenly find yourself pressed into Sammy’s chest as he tries to almost climb into your lap which is difficult since you were already perched rather precariously on the kitchen counter. You really can’t do anything besides hug him back and chuckle a bit.

When Sammy pulls back he just takes your face in his hands and kisses you on the forehead. “I love you babe. Of course I’m comfortable around you. So stare at me as much as you like.” He gives you a cheeky wink and turns his attention back to his snack.

Pleasure

All the years around various trainers and medical staff must have been what gifted Sammy with the unique ability to consistently find the knot in your shoulder with devastating speed and accuracy. The first time you had asked him to give you a quick shoulder rub after a long day you were not prepared for the targeted attack of his thumbs on your shoulder blades. He actually got a little scared when you let out a little noise of pain after he found a particularly sore spot one night.

“Oh no, did I hurt you!? My mom says I don’t know my own strength sometimes.” You didn’t even have to look back to imagine the way his eyebrows were knitted together with concern.

“No babe it’s fine. It’s that ‘hurts so good’ kinda thing. Keep going” You reassure him while rolling your shoulders to encourage him to continue.

Sammy seemed less than convinced but resumed his task nonetheless. He seemed to be holding back a bit though until he found a particularly tough knot and really went to work on it. You couldn’t hold in the winces and sighs as you felt the tension melt out of your body. It was your turn to be confused when you heard Sammy start quietly laughing behind you.

“Oh what now you are taking pleasure in my pain?” you asked with more than a little sarcasm.

“No, it’s just that I have only heard you make those noises under….different circumstances.” Sammy said with a smirk clearly heard in his voice.

You just rolled your eyes and turned to stick your tongue out at him because you couldn’t really come up with any clever retort. Sammy just continued to look very proud of himself when you announced you were going to make popcorn and he better have a movie picked out by the time you got back.

Struggles

You would be lying if you said that Sammy being out of town so much for a large part of the year wasn’t a strain on the relationship. You were the kind of person who really valued routine and knowing that your partner would be there when you got home most nights. You knew that that wasn’t going to be possible with Sammy and it had actually been the reason you had turned him down the first time he asked you out but thankfully he had persisted and you had decided he was worth it in the end. There were still hard days though because you would come home wanting to cook dinner together and cuddle on the couch but would be greeted by only your cat who was a great cuddle buddy but no replacement for Sammy. On those nights you would call Sammy just to hear his voice and see his smiling face. You were also usually treated to a few guest appearances by Vince and Rouzy who seemed to be ever-present around Sammy on road trips.

So while you still have bad days and crave the stability of a partner with normal working hours you know you wouldn’t trade Sammy for the world when he stumbled in the door dead on his feet but still trying to tell you every stupid thing Wally did and handing you some random airport trinket from whatever city the team had most recently visited.

Promise

Since Sammy had come into your life things had just felt better. You looked forward to getting up every day and seeing what was in store because you had someone to share it with. Sammy being in your life made you want to strive for more. He pushed you to be your best just like you did for him. You both made the other want to keep going to see where life would take you next. You never knew what was around the bend but you did know that you didn’t have to face it alone anymore.

Life with Sammy means more of everything...

#sammy blais #st louis blues #st louis blues fic #sammy blais fic #nhl fic #hockey fic #nhl #hockey #missed writings

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gospelofme · 3 years

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47 Thoughts While Watching Part 1 of The Bad Batch season finale (spoilers ahead!!!!!)

“They’ll still come for you”. Ugh that sounds so sad. He’s confident about it too.

How did Echo get so good at ship repairs? Unless basic ship crap is mandatory for sudden repairs. Which I guess if you hang with Skywalker, that’s a requirement.

Aaahhh, the Kamino theme is memorable.

So I wonder if Rampart planned to leave Crosshair on Kamino all along?

I love the fact the Kaminoans kept secrets from the Republic/Empire. Like using their credits to fund their own projects.

I wonder how Omega knew about that platform….I didn’t think she’d ever left Kamino. Unless she went there with Nala Se for whatever.

Damn, I’d hate always getting wet when I go outside.

So the pad and lift are proximity sensor based. Not weight.

So the tubes aren’t documented on any schematics. So none of the blueprints that Tech has access to have them on there. That means one of two things:

- there are “official” and “unofficial” blueprints. Like some the Republic were given and the actual plans.

- Nala Se had the tube system built specifically for her.

Private research lab doesn’t mean secret…but still, why did she get a private one? Was it just to create the enhanced clones? Or was it used for more “off the records” projects?

And if there are other tubes that run throughout Kamino, and they’re all secret, WHY!? Like why do they exist? Surely the Kaminoans know they can just go wherever they want whenever they want because they fucking live there. Unless….they became prisoners in their own home….

About how uncomfortable Omega is having to go to the lab…

“why would I be?” He sounded like he rolled his eyes there.

The amount of salt that is being sprinkled by Crosshair right now.

“We didn’t have a choice?”

“And I did?”

Okay so when I first watched this episode, I thought that meant he no longer had his chip. But now I see it as Crosshair not having a choice because Hunter had committed treason by what his orders were telling him.

Also, I love the colors used in the control room. Idk why. They just all work. I think it’s because the rest of that place is so blinding with white light.

So how did they build the tubes under water….

“Most in Tipoca City don’t know about it.” So some do.

Omega sounds so sad. Honestly since I’m certain there were more than just five enhanced clones, since Nala Se said that that was all that remained, I wonder if Omega saw the clones that didn’t survive the experimentation.

About how Tech always looks like he’s texting. I’m waiting for him to take a selfie with Echo or something.

About Hunter still trying to convince Crosshair that this is all influenced by his chip. I think Crosshair knows he’s being used, but he (like the others in Clone Force 99) want some sense of normalcy. Like Echo said earlier, “we’re soldiers, what other path is there?”

Okay the alarm reminds me of the purge siren.

And the indoor alarm sounds like an airport alert.

About Echo taking charge, although I think he naturally is the next in command rank-wise. Do we even know the rank of Tech and Wrecker? What was Crosshair’s rank before?

Omega should’ve gone and tattled on them to Rex. Like “and then they just ditched me!! Again!! I know I have no combat training but still…”

Its pretty clear that Crosshair knows how the team is going to act. Like what tactics they’d use and decisions they’d make. Like on Bracca, Crosshair knew immediately the scanner frequencies were being jammed, because he had seen Tech use that trick before.

“We’re running out of time Commander” I have enjoyed that guy’s voice. It’s soothing.

The way Crosshair spits out “the Republic” makes me think there is something more than just the inhibitor chip at play. I wonder if he’s always harbored ill feelings towards the Republic. Cut had issues with the war that were so strong, he deserted. I wonder if Crosshair had similar feelings.

Wow he is really hurt about being left behind. And I can understand that. But Hunter did have a responsibility to Omega, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech too. He couldn’t risk them being shot and killed while trying to reason with someone who is shooting at him. Of course maybe if he had made more of an effort to get Crosshair to come with them…..of course I do think the Empire has done some brainwashing of Crosshair as well.

“I was one of you. You may have forgotten, but I haven’t. And it’s why I’m going to give you, what you never gave me. A chance.”

I think there is more to this than face value. It could very well mean he’s giving them a chance to join the Empire. But that whole conversion always used the term “choice”, not “chance”. “Chance” is used more as “an opportunity to do something”. That “do something” could be making a decision though. Like “I’m going to give you a chance to join the Empire.” But it could be “I’m going to give you a chance to get out of here.” Hunter didn’t give Crosshair a chance to prove he was loyal to them either. Plus the way the rest of Crosshair’s team reacted tells me they weren’t aware of their Commander’s intentions.

I love how Tech, Wrecker, and Echo are standing there like 😐

I thought it was interesting Crosshair decided to send Omega on a shuttle off world. Of course where would that have been? Just pick some random coordinates and say “good luck”? How would that be received by Rampart? Of course I don’t think he cared about Omega. That was just Nala Se and Lama Su really. And honestly, Crosshair was sounding like he’d actually thought about this. Like if Hunter wants to keep Omega safe, then he needs to realize that she won’t be safe with them. Especially if they’re being hunted. However there may have been an ulterior motive here too. With Omega out of the way, It will be like “old times” when it was just them. He probably feels like he was replaced by a kid.

The change in music though. The emotional, sweeping theme dropping down to a more sinister theme when Crosshair mentions their superiority over regular troopers.

“This is what we were made for.” What if, and hear me out…what if the enhanced clones were created specifically for the Empire. Their deployment during the Clone Wars could’ve been a testing phase. They may not have been prepared for the chance the inhibitor chips didn’t work. Crosshair had mentioned that Hunter couldn’t see the bigger picture. What if that is the bigger picture. That all of them were created to serve the Empire. Not the Republic. Which would explain Crosshair’s sudden disgust with it.

That reflection shot of Tech staring into the mirror. I like that shot. That’s really beautifully animated.

I have a feeling Crosshair knew his new squad wouldn’t listen to him. The “stand down” sounded like he was just saying it to say it. I don’t think he ever had respect for them, not after what happened with Saw’s fighters. They weren’t following him out of loyalty, but fear. And loyalty is a big deal to Crosshair. Honestly I think he had planned all along to kill his new squad. Like from the beginning. Which is why he was trying so hard to get his old squad members. The sooner he got them and convinced them to come to his side, the sooner he could shoot his new squad.

I have a feeling Crosshair know’s the reason why they were all created. Granted that could be brainwashing by the Empire to gain his compliance and loyalty. But something tells me that they were created specifically to become an elite squad for the Emperor.

Crosshair has some serious Anakin vibes when he’s telling Hunter to not become his enemy. And Hunter has some Obiwan vibes with the whole “we never were” line.

I do enjoy the weight they give Crosshair when Hunter flips him. Like the sound of him hitting the floor. He’s heavier than he looks.

Lmao that one TK trooper like “nope, imma get the fuck out of here.”

“Let the clones die together.” Yeah that bitch always intended to leave Crosshair on Kamino. Rampart never actually considered him important since he was the one that pitched the idea of an all conscripted trooper squad. He only had Crosshair as a part of it because Admiral Tarkin still liked the idea of clones. I think Rampart is going to try to climb over Tarkin on that Empire ladder. He didn’t mention to Tarkin that Crosshair was still on Kamino.

Aaahhh now the subject of the chip. Does he or doesn’t he? I think he does. The Empire wouldn’t remove it and take that risk of losing that compliance and blind loyalty. Plus the “does it really matter?” tells me he doesn’t know when, which he would if it was recent. He did have it in the first episode though. It showed up on the scanner and he did the whole “good soldiers follow orders.”

So I don’t think he was going to shoot Hunter. I think he feigned movement to make Hunter shoot him. He may not have thought Hunter’s blaster was sent to stun even. He may have intended to have Hunter kill him.

I do like how Hunter doesn’t hesitate to not bring Crosshair this time.

Damn the shots of the empty facility kills me.

Okay, so I know this was sad BUT the bombardment of Kamino was beautifully animated. Honestly. The underwater shots of the bolts hitting the support pillars. And it reminds me…Omega asked Tech about these the war was like and now she kinda knows. She’s never seen explosions like that.

Get ready for part 2

@jgvfhl @leias-left-hair-bun @escapedthesarlacc @halzore @eyecandyeoz

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hualianff · 3 years

Text

Thinking about a historical AU with prince XL and rogue merchant HC.

They’ve grown up knowing each other when XL would convince his caretaker to venture outside of the palace and HC was on the streets begging for or stealing food. XL was the only person who acknowledged HC’s pathetic existence during that time. He brought HC food from the palace and bought him trinkets from the vendors using XL’s own allowance money.

With HC’s survival and fighting skills, HC makes the decision to travel with a band of rogues to climb the social ranks and improve his quality of life wealth-wise. He’s only seventeen when he leaves for the first time.

He makes sure to tell XL before he goes.

While XL completes his duties as prince, HC is on the road making a name for himself. He loses his right eye early on due to an ambush where he was the only one to make it out alive. He’s very distinguishable with the eyepatch, but no less handsome, as XL claims.

Whenever they can, HC and XL meet up to share their stories and check in with each other. They fall in love during these times. HC promises to always come back for XL, and XL says he’ll always be waiting for HC to return home.

Except eight years later, when HC is on his way to the furthest kingdom he’s traveled to yet, equipped with a hefty amount of men and goods (XL’s letters kept in his pocket), HC catches wind of a siege on Xianle kingdom.

He immediately turns his caravan around to head back to his home—to XL.

HC is too late. Bodies litter the streets as well as the royal palace. Countless individuals are missing too, including the prince of Xianle. The queen, with her dying breaths, tells HC that they took her son, before falling against the king’s limp body, open wounds pooling blood on the plush carpet.

HC screams.

A split-second decision has HC hunting down the culprits who attacked the monarchy. It turns out to be a local group of rebels who had succeeded in gaining foreign aid, something HC was completely oblivious to; he hadn’t been around often to know of the trouble they caused, nor did XL mention anything in his letters.

The fortunate thing about working with the same people for the better half of the decade means HC has people he can trust and who can fight to fend for themselves.

Leaving his crew to deal with the remaining rebels, HC sprints to the prince’s chambers, where it looks like a tornado came by and wrecked everything in its sight. The bed, the drawers, the empty spaces where furniture should’ve been.

HC finds crumpled pieces of paper on the otherwise empty waste basket.

It’s a half-written letter addressed to “Beloved,” XL’s signature elegant penmanship stopping mid-character when he appears to have been interrupted.

HC clutches the piece of paper to his heart, tears gathering in his eyes, XL leaving nothing more than his jasmine scent.

HC ends up taking control of the palace, having enough men and connections within the kingdom to gain legitimate control, as none of the royal family members were present or alive to do so.

It takes months to clean up the aftermath of the attack, and another year to organize tasks for workers who have never set foot in the palace before and messengers to learn the routes around the town.

HC also has a team specifically assigned to search for the prince. There has been no report of XL’s body, so HC has reason to believe his beloved is still alive out there.

HC is determined to get him back.

Over the years, HC interrogated (tortured) all the rogue groups that contributed to the attack through the local rebels. He has task forces tracking those groups down, leaving few alive for further interrogation on the prince’s whereabouts.

Three years after taking control of Xianle kingdom, HC’s men locate the final rogue group, taking in three prisoners.

The first one has a noticeable limp and curses loudly regardless of who he talks to.

The second one has a cold face of steel, head held up in defiance as two men restrict his movements.

The third one wears an iron mask that appears to be bolted into the side of their temples, head bowed in submission.

All three of them have the rogue symbol burned into the backs of their necks.

The two maskless prisoners hold firm that they were not involved with the rogues during the attack of the kingdom. Their marks are proof, as the members of the group who join willingly may choose an area besides the backs of their necks to place the rogue symbol.

HC doesn’t like their tones one bit, too brash and disrespectful in his presence. Though they pose a logical argument, HC doesn’t really have time to deal with them.

As he’s about to signal his men to finish the job, the one with a limp suddenly speaks out.

“We would never bring any harm to His Highness or his family. We knew them personally...they quite enjoyed stopping by our vendor back in the day. If anything, we hope you can allow us to labor in the restoration of the kingdom Prince Xianle and the king and queen helped cultivate.”

Burning hot rage fills HC’s gut. For some reason, appealing to XL seemed to be this man’s last attempt to earn HC’s mercy.

“It will not do you any good to lie,” he says icily.

“It’s true,” the other stone-faced prisoner says. His mouth twists in bitterness. “His Highness had many dreams to fulfill when becoming king.”

HC’s lips curl in a snarl.

“A garden. In the front for anyone to enjoy,” the man continues. “Filled with roses, lotuses, and magnolias.”

“Jasmine,” HC mutters to himself. He rubs his temple tiredly.

The trial had gone longer than it should have. But a sliver of hope clutches at his heart. Perhaps he can take a chance on these fools.

“You, with the mask, do you have anything to say for yourself?” HC addresses the third prisoner, making sure they are on the same page as the other two.

The masked prisoner keeps their head bowed. Their hands make a flurry of gestures that make no sense to HC. Before HC can question it, the first prisoner says,

“Forgive this one, for he cannot speak. He’s had a terrible beating to the skull about a year ago by the leader of the rogue group we were captured by,” he explains. “But he is willing to cooperate under your rule, as we all are.”

HC slams his hand down on the arm of the throne.

“Very well.” He turns to the guards. “Take them to the dungeons. Await my orders about what to do with them.”

The guards comply, heaving the prisoners up and pulling them to side doors, the dungeons in a separate structure than the palace.

HC unconsciously touches the pocket of his robes where XL’s final letter resides.

“Soon, my love. Soon, I will find you and bring you home.”

#tgcf #heaven official's blessing #hualian #hualian au #xie lian #hua cheng #cerdrabbles #tian guan ci fu #another prince XL AU we love to see it #rogue merchant HC who ends up becoming king #but rough waters ahead #open-ended AU #that might change #I just have poor writing stamina pls understand

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kyotarou · 3 years

Text

practicality

Inspired by @iwaixiumi-main on Tumblr! (using your quirk for the first time headcanons)

characters: katsuki bakugou

plot: you’ve only used your quirk in front of your friends for fun little tricks, but never at its full potential. your classmates witness this for the first time when katuski bakugou hits a nerve.

warnings: swearing, angst, dedgration (not sexual), kind of a fluffy ending

word count: 1.5k+

a/n: i apologize for making kirishima the secondary love interest that gets thrown away at the end for the second time 💀💀 i promise i’ll write smt just for him 😩

Your Quirk: You have the ability to control any water around you. When under your control, the water can become as strong as iron (you determine the strength). The downside: the more you use, the heavier it feels—use too much and you could injure yourself from the weight (possibly even crushing yourself).

Your classmates had seen your Quirk in action many times before, mainly for fun, but never during combat. You knew water wasn’t accessible in every situation, so you stuck with fist to fist action. After exam season, it surprised you to find your name on the list of students with top scores, especially on the combat portion since you barely used your Quirk. Nevertheless, a large weight was lifted from your shoulders.

Denki and Kirishima invited all of Class 1-A to the beach to celebrate. You brought your bag inside one of the stalls, taking your sweet time to change. It was the weekend, after all, no need to rush. Worn out from exams, you planned on using the day to relax, unlike your classmates who buzzed with energy. Your plan was foiled when Kirishima caught you tiptoeing out the changing stall, hoping no one would spot you.

“Hey hey hey, (Y/N)!” Kirishima slung his arm around your shoulders. “You ready to hit the waves with us? Maybe you can finally show us your Quirk!”

You shook your head with a small laugh. “Come on, Kiri, you’ve seen it before.”

Kirishima led you towards the shore. “Yeah, yeah, but I wanna see how manly it can be!”

You pushed him off with another laugh which turned into a scream when he shoved you into the water. “Oh, you are not getting away with that!”

As Kirishima tried to run, tendrils of water wrapped around his ankles, keeping him grounded. He tried using his Quirk to escape, but you were stronger. You and Kiri spent the next few minutes stuck in a splash battle, which gained the attention of the others. Though you wanted good old-fashioned fun without your Quirk, the rest of the class encouraged you to show your best tricks, and their jubilant faces made it hard to refuse. You sent waves crashing at their feet to see who could run away the fastest, played volleyball with a bubble of water with Uraraka, and even swam out to the deeper parts of the beach with Kiri who was starstruck when you created air bubbles around your heads, letting you safely view the fish that swam by.

On the shore, Bakugou watched with steam coming out his ears. He gritted his teeth as you and Kirishima sat beside him at the picnic table, Kiri’s arm wrapped around your shivering body as the sun began to set. Jealousy nipped at his skin like harsh bug bites.

Why should I give a fuck? Not like I’m into them or anything.

But he knew damn well he wanted it to be his arms around you and the one to brush the wet hair out of your face instead of stupid Kiri. He glared at you and the red-haired boy, him feeding you a piece of sushi like a baby.

“Brrr, the airplane’s coming, open wide!”

“Dammit, Kiri! Just give it to me already.”

You twirled your finger and a stream of water flew into Kiri’s nose. Bakugou rolled his eyes as you doubled over in laughter, chin resting in his palm.

“Tch, couldn’t use your Quirk for something useful?”

You shrugged. “I’d say this is pretty useful.” You stuffed a piece of sushi from Kiri’s plate into your mouth as he wiped the snot from his face.

“You’re an idiot. Just cause you can do cool shit with it doesn’t make you the shit.”

You gave Bakugou an awkward smile, who kept his eyes glued to the table. The rest of the class went quiet. His taunts were usually followed by a scoff or chuckle, but his voice was sharp and cold.

“Never said I was. Not my fault everyone thinks it’s cool, right guys?” Your classmates chimed in agreement.

Bakugou snorted. “So why didn’t you use it during exams? Why don’t you use it for something better than shitty party tricks? Don’t you want to be a hero? How can you do that when you’re too afraid to use it against a real opponent?”

“I-I’m not afraid!” Your cheeks burned with the anger bubbling in your stomach. “It’s just not practical!”

“Not practical, my ass. Admit it, dumbass, you bribed your way up the class rankings, didn’t you?”

Kiri looked between the two of you nervously. “H-Hey man, I think that’s enough. Let’s all calm down and have some fun, alright?”

“Shut up, Kiri! This isn’t about you!” Bakugou snarled. What the hell was he saying? Even if he refused to acknowledge his feelings, you were his crush—he let his mouth talk without thinking and there was no going back. He was letting his explosive attitude get the best of him and part of him felt relieved to blow off some steam.

The table shook as you shot out of your seat, your clenched fists shaking at your sides and furious tears streaming down your face.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

The class murmured as ocean water climbed slowly up the sand, dangerously close to where they set up the barbecue. “You know I studied so hard for those exams. Don’t you remember all those nights I spent awake in the middle of the night? Shitty party tricks, is that all I am to you?”

The water rose like a cape above your shoulders, casting a dark shadow over your wrathful face. Your arms trembled under the weight, but the adrenaline ignored the pain. Kiri scurried from the table, leaving Bakugou to stare at the ominous wave blocking the last of the sun’s golden rays from view. It truly did look like an iron wall, so close to crashing down and crushing him underneath. Bakugou set off an explosion as the wave stopped inches from his neck in the shape of a spear, the tip sharp enough to slice his skin.

“Is this practical enough for you?” you sobbed. You sank to your knees and covered your tear stricken face. The water retreated to the ocean, leaving everyone untouched, except the poor table, now charred from Bakugou’s hand. Sniffling, you snatched your bag from the sand and excused yourself before slamming the door of the changing stall. After getting dressed, you declined Uraraka and Deku’s offer to accompany you to Heights Alliance. With the mood now sour, Class-1A packed and cleaned the area before heading home in tense silence.

Bakugou couldn’t sleep that night. He stared at the ceiling with a frown, hands clasped together on his stomach. He cared about you so much, but he let his stupid jealousy consume him. Now, you would probably be angry with him for the rest of your life, and Bakugou couldn’t live with that. Seeing you walk away with your head down and wiping your tears shattered his heart. You were the one for him and he fucked it up like he always did.

He jumped from his bed with a pounding heart. He slipped on his shoes, which were on the wrong feet, and left his dorm.

What the hell am I doing?

Bakugou pounded on your door. He couldn’t care less if the whole building woke up—he had to see you. He was never one to share his feelings, but with you in mind at that moment, there was nothing more he wanted to do. Bakugou pounded on your door again, tempted to blow it down if you didn’t wake up. To his surprise, you answered with a scowl and puffy eyes.

“What the fuck do you want?”

You swore your ribs almost caved in when his strong, muscular arms wrapped around your body fervently. Bakugou kept his hand on your head as he nuzzled his nose into your hair, inhaling your sweet, comforting scent.

“I’m sorry…” he murmured. His grip tightened when you tried to push him off.

“Is that all you have to say?” you hissed. Your voice shook at the foreign feeling of his warmth, making you wonder if it was someone else disguised as him.

“No, it’s not.” Bakugou cupped your face with both hands, heart beating a mile a minute as he stared into your eyes. “I like you id- (Y/N). I’ve always liked you, and I’m sorry.”

You were paralyzed. Bakugou’s calloused thumb brushed a stray tear you didn’t even know had fallen from your face. Your mouth hung open in disbelief.

He… likes me?

His words from earlier rushed back into your head. You tried to shake off his grasp. “What a great fucking way to show that.”

“I know, I know. I didn’t mean any of it, you have to believe me. I was just… I was jealous, okay? I was fucking jealous of you and Kiri getting all buddy-buddy, and I said shit I shouldn’t have said.” Your eyes widened as he placed a tentative kiss between your brows. “You’re more than a party trick; you’re everything to me. And I can’t live with the idea of you hating me, cause I like you too much to handle that. Hell, I might even love you.”

Your lip quivered at the sudden rush of emotions. You clung to the front of his shirt and pressed his face against his shoulder. “Do you really mean that?”

“Hell yeah, I do. I-”

You cut him off with a gentle kiss to the lips. “I like you, too, Katsuki. But what you said…”

“You don’t have to forgive me right now. But you’re my world, my little teddy bear, and I just want to hold you. Is that too much to ask?”

You shook your head. “It’s never too much to ask.”

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thelovelyghostwriter · 3 years

Text

Some of my favourite female characters in fiction

This list is not exhaustive and while I do have other characters that I find charming and that I love, I have noted these characters because in my opinion, they have struggled and/or there is a certain analysis to their personalities.

Please take note that some of the characters are not morally good or have done questionable actions. This is not to discuss or say they are role models, but rather to write up what they represented, their role in the story or simply their personalities. I’m not here to justify the character’s actions.

Remember that a well-written characters do not have to be morally good.

Also, a lot of them are from memory and the analysis aren’t well-structured.

Let’s dive in:

1. Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby

Daisy, in my opinion, is incredibly misunderstood and unjustifiably hated among the readers. Her betrayal to Gatsby is indeed vile and it did upset me, I definitely think that she is materialistic, shallow and hurtful.

“I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Daisy did shit on Gatsby [trying to avoid spoilers here].

However, I do like to note that I think part of her materialism and shallowness is because of how women were in the 1920s. They did not have any freedom or agency. To Tom, she seems to be a trophy wife for him to keep; and to Gatsby, he only liked the idea of her, he wasn’t in love with her. To everyone around her, she was an item, a beautiful doll to be possessed, rather than a person. I think that’s why she turned out like that.

She's materialistic because men around her sees her as an object. Nonetheless, Daisy is still “careless” and hurtful; and I think this stemmed from the life she had led that were a compilation of choices that were made for her. Her betrayal towards Gatsby is what makes her character rather disappointing to most readers. The whiteness in her dress as described in her first appearance? It’s not innocence, but rather a void and jadedness.

2. Neon Nostrade from Hunter x Hunter

Yet, another girl in our list that loves to be hated by the fandom. Though honestly, most of her haters are Chrollo and Kurapika stans who gets jealous because Chrollo got to hang out with her and Kurapika works under her. Also her repulsive hobby - although this is actually what makes me like her.

I have addressed this in my other posts before, but let me just copy and paste them (and modify a bit): Her upbringing and exploitation by her dad makes her materialistic and emotionally detached. This materialism and detachment is manifested in the form of her hobby as a dead body parts collector. But other than that, she’s really a normal girl, just sheltered and spoilt. The money she spends are even from her talent Lovely Ghostwriter, her father will be nothing without her. So I don’t see an issue with her spending them on shopping etc.

In fact, I would argue that she bathes in materialism to fill the emptiness that she has. Her father is more concerned with her ability and power, she has no friends and is guarded 24/7 by employees.

All the times she threw tantrums and the way she talks… it’s a different speech pattern altogether when she interacts with Chrollo - which may suggest that the whole spoilt attitude is exaggerated to gain attention from a father who is indulgent in terms of material gifts, but not in terms of affection and time for her.

When Eliza cried, she was willing to forgo bidding the auction physically. Yes she did not care about the bodyguards because she is more focused on the living and the present (Eliza) than the dead.

The reason why she didn’t seem fazed when Dalzollene and the others died is because a) they were her bodyguards, it’s their job to put their life on the line to protect her, b) she mentioned to Chrollo that her fortune-telling is for the living, she likes to live in the present and doesn’t believe in the afterlife.

Neon is more focused on who is alive, rather than the dead (which also represented by her hobby of dead body parts collecting). She focuses on the present, unlike her clients who likes to know their future or people who dwell in the past. Kurapika on the other hand, is the complete opposite. He dwells on the past and likes to focus on his dead clan rather than the present times with his friends (which is completely understandable).

Another significance is that her fortune-telling ability is very useful and helpful, she says that she wanted to make people happy with it; but however, it is commercialized and used as a means of power (knowledge of the future = power) by her father and pretty much everyone around her. Just like how she objectifies dead people by collecting their parts, the people around her sees her as a tool due to her fortune-telling abilities, rather than see her as a person. Even Kurapika chose to get employed under her, for his own agenda (he is bound to meet dead body parts collectors at some point).

She treats people like objects because people see her as one.

Of course, collecting dead body parts is a pretty fucked hobby; but what she represents and her role as a minor character is what makes her an outstanding minor female character in the show.

Yes. She has traits that are not your typical role model, but neither are other hxh characters. She’s not independent, naive, can’t fight, in need of saving, uncaring at times and spoilt. She is far from so-called “strong female character” that we often look up to. She is a character with bad traits which is a result of being a victim. But that’s what makes me love her as a character in hxh. It reminds us that there are girls out there who has lack of freedom and control over their own fate; and their only way out is through materialism and detaching themselves from people.

In fact, she might be even relateable to some people more than other female characters because there is vulnerability in her character.

3. Hua Mulan (Mostly the Chinese 2009 film, though the most well-known is the Disney 1998 animated film)

There has been various adaptations for this character, with the Disney Animated version being the most prominent.

However, my favourite one is definitely the Chinese film Hua Mulan: Rise of A Warrior (2009). It portrays the horrors of war and the suffering it brings, nationalism, camaraderie among the army - all while giving us the admirable Mulan climbing up to the ranks of being a war general.

I highly recommend this adaptation. I know the Disney Live Action 2020 version did not receive good reception, and we honestly did not need one because this 2009 Chinese film does the job well (I like their soundtrack though). It's not really well-known because it's a Chinese film (which is hella ironic because Hua Mulan is a Chinese character? Lmao).

"Today we will stain the battlefield with our blood. Behind us is our homeland. If we have to bleed out our last drop of blood, if we have to become bleached bones in this desert, we must defend it to the death! We must let the Rourans know we Wei warriors will never surrender and will never compromise! Soldiers may rebel against me, generals may leave me for dead, but I, Hua Mulan, will never betray my country!"

Generally, I either have an issue with strong female characters because they are just shallow (meaning they are only physically strong, often viewing rudeness, misandry and independence as strength). I like female characters who are so much more to that.

Mulan, in this film, not only showed her badassery in fighting the war for more than a decade, but we also see how much she struggled. Everytime her comrades die, her heart gets broken. Yet she has to learn how to pick herself up and become the leader that they need. She dislikes war, she dislikes the bloodshed; yet she fights for her country.

To me, a strong female character is not just a feminist icon or someone who can fight. In fact, a female character doesn't need to be someone capable of fighting, what makes her strong is to be able to overcome turbulence with determination.

I think this is something that is lacking in recent "strong female characters" - showing us their strength through perseverance.

As for the Disney's counterpart (talking about the 1998 film here), it is less morbid but we also see her trying her best to make her family proud and protect her country. Like the song Reflection and Loyal, Brave and True, she struggles with finding her purpose and her role in her family.

"The greatest gift of honour, is having you for a daughter."

4. Blanche Dubois from A Streetcar Named Desire

It's been years since I had analysed Blanche, but among all the 6 books that I had to study for English Literature, A Streetcar Named Desire has been my absolute favourite.

I think what struck me in this book is not just the style, but Blanche's vulnerability. Her actions are definitely not morally good: she misrepresents things, she lies, she even had sex with an underage student. She's paranoid, mentally unstable and prissy. Which was why, her polar opposite character, Stanley, is so annoyed with her.

After her husband's suicide, we see Blanche relying on the company of men to fill the void of her loneliness and misery. She is also concerned about her beauty fading with age - I find that highly reliable. It sounds incredibly "vain", but beauty does play a part.

Based on Evolutionary and Mating Theories among humans, appearance in women are especially important (also for men but not as much as women). Of course, there are other factors and traits that people find attractive, but Blanche's concern is valid here. She needs to find a husband to escape from her financial troubles; and her age, beauty and chastity plays a huge factor in her search for getting a man in the setting she was in (which was Mitch in this case). Ironically, these are the very traits that she has "lost" and so desperately tries to hide it.

Her ending is truly a devastating and upsetting one. [Will not talk about it due to spoilers]

"I've always depended on the kindness of strangers."

5. Haibara Ai/Shiho Miyano from Detective Conan

Perhaps one of the girls that is a wasted potential. In a series where the characters are mostly flat, she's arguably the most multi-faceted (but somehow I had heard that she no longer has the same complexity as she used to have - it's been a while since I followed this series).

But I remember absolutely loving this character.

Her background story is really unique in the show and one that is embedded within the Black Organisation plotline (why her character was dropped... Forever frustrating for me).

From the moment she was first introduced, we see Conan taking an immediate distrust towards her. A guy who is a detective who had been catching criminals - yet one ex-syndicate member stands before him. The one that actually helped to develop the APTX4869 that changed his life.

Yet, we see that it wasn't entirely within her control. Both her parents were syndicate members and when her sister tries to get both of them to leave, her sister dies.

Ai starts off as seemingly cold, pessimistic and avoidant. But as her arc goes on, the iceberg around her melts. We see her quirky sarcastic replies, her taste for fashion and she genuinely desires to be happy. Her relationship with Conan developed into a beautiful one - to the point where Conan trusts her with anything and they would risk their lives for one another.

Yet, we also empathies with her impending jealousy and heartache. The boy she has fallen for already has someone else. What's more, the girl is genuinely kind and is a splitting image of her sister. After Ran saved her from Vermouth, she quickly warms up to Ran as well.

She's also the key to developing the antidote for Shinichi to be back with Ran - an almost painful metaphor for her to give him away (he never belonged to her in the first place). Yet, she doesn't really stop them from being together (even though in some cases she appears jealous or phrase ShinRan's reunion as a word of caution).

I definitely think she is the most compelling character in Detective Conan because of her character development and the struggles she faces. It's definitely upsetting that her character has been neglected.

“Don’t judge people from the outside. Like any rose has thorns, the more the person appears nice on the outside, the more you should doubt the inside.”

6. Misato Katsuragi from Neon Genesis Evangelion

Who is the best female character in Eva? Asuka or Rei? My answer will always be Misato, Risato is a close second (I wanted to analyse Risato, but I’m trying to keep it to one person per series). Misato is one of the 90s anime babes. She definitely captivated many people’s heart.

I must say though, I have a soft spot towards female characters who has some sort of daddy issues (why I like Neon Nostrade). It’s been a while since I had watched Eva, but I’m going to try to remember why I like her.

I think the concept of Hedgehog’s Dilemma has been echoed throughout the series, and all the characters seem to struggle with emotional attachment towards people. I actually like to phrase the Hedgehog Dilemma as “Avoidant-Fearful Attachment Style” - wanting connection with people, yet not being able to do so out of fear of being hurt.

For Misato, when I initially first watched Eva, I compared her a little to Blanche Dubois in how they cope with loneliness - their sexuality. I remember being confused with her interactions with Shinji, who was half her age. At times, she serves as his guardian/mother figure; but at some moments (I think it was sometimes after Kaji’s death), she tried to seek comfort with Shinji by attempting to initiate sex (which Shinji rejects). I remember coming across a comment somewhere that Shinji and Misato’s relationship is somewhat like Humbert and Dolores (from Lolita) - can’t comment on this as I only read the first chapter of the book.

It makes me think that she uses sex as a way to cope and the only way she can connect with people (and it’s superficial), which doesn’t work for Shinji because she needs to be her guardian (and ultimately fails to be purely his guardian once she crossed that no-no boundary).

Another thing to note was her backstory about her dad. There seems to be a dissonance, given that she resented her dad for not spending time with her due to his work, but he ended up sacrificing her life for her. I do think it’s a bit of guilt (because resenting her dad but he saves her - these two contradicts one another). It’s clear that her issues to connect stems from her backstory regarding her father.

It’s interesting how she compares Kaji to her father. I do think she loves Kaji, but “reminds him too much of her father” (as to put it simply). There is this... stereotype that we find someone similar to our opposite-gender parents, no matter how shitty they were towards us. I believe that it is because we tend to stick to something that is familiar to us, even if those type of people aren’t good for us (I think to break this cycle is to practise self-awareness and know what is good for us).

Anyway, Misato is a character that I really liked (as all the characters in Eva) because they highlight Hedgehog’s Dilemma that stemmed from their parental issues. Maybe I have not watched a lot of anime, but female characters with issues with their fathers are not as explored deeply as male characters and their parental issues. A lot of times, female characters (especially in shounen) serves as a romantic interest and yes they can have really sad backstory, but not issues towards their father and how it affects their relationship with other people. So far, the only ones I had seen is Mukuro (Yu Yu Hakusho), Misato and Neon Nostrade.

7. Disney's Cinderella

First of all, she has been a victim of abuse since she was a child. It's not easy for her to escape her predicament. Where can she go? It's not that easy.

Boy. I hate how much people remember Cinderella wrongly and attack her for being "backwards", which is actually factually wrong.

Cinderella always get flack for using the Prince to "escape" her predicament when "she can do it herself".

I say that's bullshit. I actually came across a youtube video: Cinderella Stop Blaming the Victim [please check it out for more in-depth analysis]

Despite all that, she's doesn't internalize it. She knows she doesn't deserve to be treated this way, and she does to a certain degree stand up to them (whenever the cat makes her tasks harder). She knows when to fight back and restrain herself because it might endanger her life.

After years of suffering in this domestic household, she remains kind, compassionate and hopeful. Which is not an easy feat. The problem is, these traits are often seen as feminine and synonymous with being weak. But it is actually, in fact, signs of strength. The mental fortitude she has to remain kind after all she went through is a sign of strength.

The Fairy Godmother only appeared when she was losing hope - take note that she ends up crying because her stepsisters tore her mother’s dress (which is the most disturbing scene in the film).

Even I had remembered this wrongly - one crucial fact is that... She did not want to go the ball to nab the Prince. That was her stepsisters. Homegirl just wanted to chill. She did not even know she was dancing with the Prince!

When Lady Tremaine locked her up to prevent her from reaching the Prince, it wasn’t the Prince that saved her. She and her animal friends got her out of the room, and proceeded to prove that she was indeed the maiden that had danced with the Prince. Her marrying the Prince was only a fitting end to her because it provides her a home and an escape from an abusive household; however, it was her resilience for holding onto fate and being mentally strong, and her initiatives partially contributed to her happy end. The Prince is more like a passive character.

I highly think that people tend to brush her traits - e.g. compassion, having fate, being kind is listed as feminine. However, it is far from being weak, which most people would deem it as. But that is definitely not true.

“No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish can come true.”

8. Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan

Mikasa is either a hit or miss among AOT fans. Some people like Mikasa because she is physically strong and her loyalty to Eren is admirable. On the other hand, some people think she’s clingy and her being physically strong makes her a Mary Sue.

Whether or not you like Mikasa, there is a fact that she is not a Mary Sue. The definition of a Mary Sue is a female character lacking in weakness and seems perfect.

She is physically strong, yes - I believe that Isayama wanted to distribute traits to the trio. Even Hannes has said it in S1. Armin represents intellect, Eren represents grit and Mikasa represents strength. So her being physically strong makes sense, and Isayama also provided an explanation for it (being an Ackerman).

However, this does not mean she lacks any weakness. Arguably, her loyalty to Eren is both a liability and her strength. This “weakness” has been highlighted by her dilemma between her loyalty towards Eren and her belief that mass genocide is wrong.

[I won’t go into details about the manga parts that have not been animated as of 2021, can’t spoil it too much].

#daisy buchanan #mikasa ackerman #misato katsuragi #evangelion #cinderella #mulan #haibara ai #ai haibara #detective conan #shiho miyano #neon nostrade #hxh #hunterxhunter #blanche dubois #a streetcar named desire

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theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 4 years

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Lily Evans and Severus Snape: Headcanons

So, I was asked in the ask about Sirius and Regulus what I thought about Snape and Lily. At this point people are probably going, “Oh that Carnivorous Muffin is just clearly a Snape stan who thinks he could never do anything wrong and anyone who was slightly mean to him is evil.” Shockingly, I’m actually not, I just happen to think sexual harassment and attempted murder are bad and probably worse than JKR intended (I do think she was trying to go the “boys will be boys” route versus “oh my god, they just dumped pigs blood on Carrie at the prom and then threw her at a starving vampire”)

So let’s start on Snape.

First, Snape did live an incredibly shitty life, with circumstances beyond his control, that did lead to many of his poorer choices. In no way am I saying that it was alright for Snape to have grown up in an impoverished, abusive, household and endured years of humiliation and torment at school.

That said, I believe that we all, in some respects, are responsible for our actions and our decisions. Yes, even when we come from non-privileged backgrounds. Life is hard, some people will have it much easier than you, that doesn’t excuse you becoming a domestic terrorist or tormenting and terrifying your students, young children, so much so that an entire generation comes out with a loathing and incompetence in your subject.

I guess let’s start back on his friendship with Lily Evans. We get... a really weird perspective from Snape on that friendship. Time and her tragic death have warped it into this strange worship where I’m not sure the Lily Evans that exists in his mind and memory is the one that really was there. She’s this shining Madonna idol who he failed, actively betrayed, is very very hung up about it years later.

I suspect they weren’t as good of friends as either of them thought they were and it comes down to Snape’s resentment of his own upbringing and muggles. I believe Snape was very racist towards muggles, specifically, due to his father. It was his way of grappling with his home life and only fueled by being in Slytherin. Lily was probably, in his mind, always a golden exception to the rule (Lily is the token, gold standard, muggleborn where she’s pretty, brilliant, charming, etc.) That Severus himself was a halfblood clearly caused him some angst. What I’m getting at is that I believe throughout their entire friendship, especially when they got to Hogwarts, there was an unacknowledged undercurrent of intense racism that eventually boiled up with that one incident in Snape’s fifth year.

Calling her that, while he views it as a slip of the tongue that damned him for all time, I see it more as a Freudian Slip. That sort of thing doesn’t just slip out from nowhere, not at that age when they both knew exactly what that word meant, it simmers beneath the surface, and was ultimately what he thought of her. Later, she became the Madonna figure that he views her as today (ironically perhaps even less of a person than he viewed her as at the time).

That said I think a number of factors played into the young Snape becoming a Death Eater. One, becoming friends with Lucius/that crowd who were all being sucked into Tom’s influence. Two, having his terrible home life and all the implications of Snape resenting his own blood status as well as muggles and muggle borns at large. Three, the loss of friendship with Lily (now there’s nothing to hold him back anymore, he has no reason to preserve muggleborn life). Fourth, Dumbledore’s letting Sirius, James, and Remus entirely off the hook in the werewolf incident.

That last one, especially, I imagine cemented Snape’s utter hatred of ‘the light’ (don’t get me started on the stupidity of light/dark in Harry Potter but I guess I’ll use the term) and those that cater to muggleborns. They’re hypocrites of the highest order, Dumbledore claiming to defend the poor and non-nobility, when he goes and does the exact opposite (James is the next lord Potter, Sirius is still pureblooded even if disowned, Severus Snape is a dirt poor halfblood).

So what I’m saying is I understand why Snape did become a Death Eater, I do not condone this action. Especially as, unlike Regulus, Snape never gets cold feet. He loves being a Death Eater at first, he’s living the dream, getting all the revenge he ever wanted and burning the stupid wizarding world to the ground as he scrambles for ways to climb in Tom Riddle’s graces. We don’t see any hint that he was wavering, thinking of the fact that beloved Lily might die in battle, perhaps at his hand, until the prophecy.

Now, I’m a little kinder than some about the prophecy. We know Snape overhears the first portion of the prophecy in early 1980. He eagerly rushes to the dark lord, regales him with the prophecy in both a) aid to the cause and b) in the hopes of climbing in the ranks and gaining the dark lord’s notice. At this point, Lily Evans is pregnant, perhaps knows the gender, but has not given birth. Months later, when both Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter are born at the end of July, Snape realizes he has signed Lily Evans’ death warrant (because despite Dumbledore talking, I imagine Tom always planned to kill off both children, Pettigrew just happened to make things convenient for Tom to go to the Potters first).

With Lily’s death now so inevitable, and her blood on his own hands, Snape has his existential crisis, goes to Dumbledore who puts the Potters in hiding and becomes a double agent. Snape also pleads for Lily’s life with Tom and he puts in a minimal amount of effort to spare the woman.

Then Lily dies anyway and now Snape lives in the bitter cynicism most commonly seen in characters from Game of Thrones. He’s Dumbledore’s agent and sort of a Dirty Harry character, getting to see all the nasty things that many of the other order members never have to deal with. He’s one of the more intelligent characters in the series, able to see the truth of the world he lives in, but he also doesn’t care enough to actually do anything about it. He’s a bitter, resentful, and angry protector of Harry Potter, choosing to hate a naive child for all the reminders of his own terrible life (both in Lily, for failing and betraying her, and in James his most hated rival and tormentor). He gleefully enables the favoritism of Slytherin (my god how he panders to Draco Malfoy) while tormenting poor Neville into terror (that Neville’s greatest 13 year old fear is Snape is very telling).

Basically by the time we get to him in canon Snape not only isn’t happy but I think he doesn’t want to be happy. He’s accustomed to his bitterness, his cynicism, his quiet rage and moves forward out of both resignation, guilt, and a sense of obligation to a woman’s ghost. The actions he takes in canon aren’t so much for Harry as they are for the memory of Lily Evans.

Even if Snape could be happy at that point, change his life or his purpose, I do not think he would. He’s a man who has given up on life.

Now, onto Lily Evans.

You probably think I’m going to rail on her to for the sheer hypocrisy and nerve of marrying James Potter. I’m actually not. Lily Evans is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series and probably the one I’d label as the most moral (though that’s a very low bar in Harry Potter, the characters are almost all assholes, but even so Lily would still be very high on the list).

You know what, I’m just going to damn myself and sound like a crazy person. Lily Evans always reads to me as a more moral young female Tom Riddle.

What the hell? You undoubtedly ask but I’ll explain.

Lily, while having a far more stable homelife than Tom Riddle, also comes from a muggleborn background. She’s exceptionally brilliant, very good looking, and very charming with a lot of people who would call her friends but no one close. Lily, aside from Snape (and that’s debatable), has no friends.

If Lily had not been a Gryffindor, and were Dumbledore not a raging misogynist, his Tom Riddle bells likely would have been ringing with her.

“But wait, that can’t be right!”

Oh, yes it can. First, as I went into above with Snape and Lily, there was something deeply wrong with that friendship. I believe they both considered themselves best friends, didn’t see many of the warning flags, but ultimately we see the giant fissure when Snape lets loose the m-word. Given all of that, I would not label them having been true friends in the first place. Just the appearance of friends.

Otherwise, while it’s very easily to canonically point out James’ friends it’s incredibly difficult to do so with Lily. First, people hardly remember Lily. We get Dumbledore talking about her like she’s the Virgin Mary, saving her son with the power of her love. We get Snape’s weird Virgin Mary impressions of her. Otherwise, it’s pretty much just Slughorn. Everyone else remembers that she married James and that was great because JAMES WAS SO COOL and that she had very striking eyes and was “nice”. Lily is less than a ghost in Harry Potter canon (sadly Harry never really realizing it).

Also, unlike James who has Sirius, Remus, and Peter to point towards (that are very important characters in canon). Lily has no one. The godmother was Alice Longbottom, a woman many years older than Lily and James who probably liked Lily well enough but I can’t imagine was a close friend. In canon there’s an offhand mention of two girls named Mary and Marlene but we don’t see much of them/Severus was always cited as Lily’s closest friend. As for Lily’s sister, well we know they’re estranged. I think it’s very telling that Lily writes a letter to Sirius, James’ best friend and certainly not hers, telling him that James is pouting over his invisibilty cloak. It’s because there was no one else to write.

So Lily Evans is a brilliant girl, who everyone likes and is very charming, but has no friends and led a very lonely and short life.

Here’s where my slack towards Lily comes in.

When she dumps Snape I completely understand why she did so. Snape dropping that word wasn’t simply a mistake, a moment of infinite regret, but something that revealed what he truly thought of her and where she came from. Lily was absolutely right in walking away.

However, without Snape, her closest friend is suddenly gone and the world is cold. As graduation approaches I imagine Lily’s career options become clearer and clearer. While very talented and smart, Lily is a muggleborn, what job she does manage to get (thanks to the sheer nepotism of the wizarding world/lack of jobs) will likely be through Slughorn if she manages to get a job at all. The world is cold and it is cruel and no one seems to even notice.

Cue James Potter. I do believe, probably until seventh year, Lily loathed James, not simply because of the horrifying things he did to Severus (and I’m sure she knew very little of it, Snape hiding most of it from her out of pride and shame), but because he’s just a giant dick. He’d make flirting with her a kind of game and joke to be shared with Sirius, something to hold over Snape’s head, like she’s a prize to be one.

However, by seventh year the werewolf incident has happened, Snape’s retreated further and further into Death Eater recruit land and she’s cut him off, and for all my “James is a dick” I do imagine he calmed down a little. Now that Snape is no longer friends with Lily/after the whole almost murder incident I imagine they didn’t bully him nearly as much as they used to. Though yes, they probably still bullied him, but Lily probably doesn’t know that now that she’s lost contact with Snape.

James is charming and very good looking. He seems a bit more mature than he used to be. Lily is desperately lonely, living in a world that rejects everything she is, and James seems like one of the few who does support her (that James is more of a ‘pretty fly for a white guy’ kind of support for muggleborns doesn’t hit until later). So Lily is charmed and makes the largest mistake of her life, she and James start dating.

Now, given their extreme youth as well as Lily’s pedigree (say what you like, I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Potter were thrilled that their son was dating a muggleborn) I imagine the wedding was a shot gun wedding and Lily got unintentionally pregnant. Yes, go ahead and throw fruit at me or call foul, I just can’t imagine they’d want a child that young while in the middle of a war while they’re part of an active resistance movement and only just out of Hogwarts.

Then things start snowballing downhill. Lily and James have just joined the resistance movement, Lily’s son is prophesied to defeat Voldemort, they strongly suspect one of James’ close friends is a spy, and they’re forced into hiding.

In hiding is where I imagine stress runs high and their marriage begins to fall apart. We know from Lily’s letter that James was routinely leaving hiding, using the cloak, so he could meet up with Sirius and Peter (I imagine Lupin’s on the out as they suspected he was the spy). While James might not realize what a big deal that was, I imagine Lily always did, and she begins to realize just what she’s gotten herself into but there’s no way out while in hiding.

Now we go really off the rails into headcanon territory in: what the hell is up with Harry Potter?

In my stories, I often choose the unwitting god route. Harry can’t die because he is a god, he becomes the master of death and always was the master of death. This is an answer, but it’s one that makes canon Harry a god and... I would not want canon Harry as a god. JKR and Dumbledore push the “Lily loved her child so much that it deflected death... multiple times” but this always felt... unsatisfying. Many parents love their children (fathers too, JKR, let’s not make this weird Virgin Mary thing) and yet Harry Potter alone in the history of mankind survives multiple times.

Most likely, Lily pulled off some insane bullshit with absolutely no resources and minimal education AND EVERYONE IGNORES IT. We do know that Lily crafted the blood wards, wards stronger than anything Dumbledore himself can come up with/than Voldemort can break. Ones that protect Harry not only at home but away from it as it melts Voldemort for simply touching his skin. Lily pulled off the impossible in only a few months and did it right under everyone’s nose.

This makes her easily one of the most intelligent characters in Harry Potter. Probably beating out Dumbledore and maybe tying with Tom Riddle. And Dumbledore tells us, “Your Virgin Mary mother loved you so much, Harry, that it courses through your veins and lights those that would want to harm you on fire.”

So, that’s Lily for you.

Now, that said, I’m probably a bit biased and clearly very lenient with her marrying James. To be honest it took me years to figure out why the hell Lily would ever marry James after what happened with Severus and was always one of those weird canon things I never quite understood. He’s that good looking and charming, I guess, was my response.

The answer I now land on with some confidence was that the world is that cruel and bleak and Lily was utterly alone for two years.

By the way, a side note/plug, of all my stories while head canons do pop up here and there I think “October” is one where they tend to crop up more. It’s a vast AU of canon, but it gives an idea of what I think x character would do in y situation.

#headcanons #harry potter #lily evans #severus snape #october

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cto10121 · 3 years

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Does R&J Play With Gender Stereotypes?

So I came across this piece of meta by @hamliet that rather intrigued me:

There’s also another layer here: the imagery Romeo uses for Juliet (the sun) and that Juliet uses for Romeo (the moon) is the inverse of how imagery was typically presented in those days. The moon was feminine; the sun, masculine. Even if we look at Romeo and Juliet’s respective character traits, Romeo is the flighty, impulsive, love-struck one who cries all the time, while Juliet is the decisive, bold, and loyal one. That’s the first thing Juliet declares to Romeo in the balcony scene: that she will always be loyal, and she shows this in every choice she makes in the story.

Let’s break this down.

“the imagery Romeo uses for Juliet (the sun) and that Juliet uses for Romeo (the moon) is the inverse of how imagery was typically presented in those days. The moon was feminine; the sun, masculine.”

Romeo does indeed call Juliet the sun, but Juliet never calls Romeo the moon—or likens him with anything symbolically feminine, come to think of it. The closest she or the play gets is a small but clear association with night: Romeo has “night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes” and Juliet implores “loving, black-browed” night to give her her Romeo. Even then it is so that he can “make the face of heaven so fine / That all the world will be in love with night / And pay no worship to the garish sun.”

Instead, Juliet consistently uses the same love language of authority as Romeo does with her, calling him her lord, husband, knight, “day-in-night,” “mansion of a love,” “god of my idolatry,” and, (my particular favorite), “tassel-gentle” or “falcon.” “Pilgrim” is the lowest social rank she uses, but of course she is following Romeo’s pilgrim-and-saints flirtation and its wink-wink bilingual allusion to his name. Romeo’s use of “sun,” then, could be viewed in the context of both lovers conferring cosmic/earthly authority, beauty, ownership, and sovereignty to each other—the Elizabethan equivalent of calling each other wife/husband. And of course they begin doing that immediately after they marry.

Even if we look at Romeo and Juliet’s respective character traits, Romeo is the flighty, impulsive, love-struck one who cries all the time, while Juliet is the decisive, bold, and loyal one.

Definitely not. Romeo is plenty decisive and bold—making the first move in wooing Juliet, climbing the orchard wall, showing himself to Juliet, immediately agreeing to marry her, nearly killing himself when he thinks Juliet might not take him back and, er, actually killing himself for her. I wouldn’t say he is impulsive, either—though he makes decisions fairly quickly, it is almost always with some deliberation beforehand (“Can I go forward when my heart is here?” “Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?” and his monologue after Mercutio’s exit) and of course there are instances in which he restrains himself (“I am too bold” and his monologue after Mercutio’s death). The most accurate description of Romeo is that he is a risk taker—at least when he is well and truly motivated. And even then it does not rob his deliberation or even his wits.

He is also not flighty. In fact, he proves just as loyal as Juliet—as soon as he meets her, he forgets about Rosaline and leaves her clear behind. He doesn’t once waver in his conviction that Juliet is for him and makes plans to die with her (and does!). His love for Rosaline is clearly framed by the narrative as shallow, performative, and passive, and the verse bears this out. He was never in any kind of relationship with Rosaline—his love was an unrequited crush that he was at perfectly liberty to have ditched, frankly. After that, it’s Juliet, Juliet, Juliet until he dies.

Also, once more, Romeo is no crybaby. He explicitly cries a total of two times—one even before the events of the play, when he pines over Rosaline under a grove of sycamore, and another when he’s 1) seen Mercutio get mortally wounded, 2) killed Tybalt, 3) learned that he is banished from the city, and 4) mistakenly believed that Juliet no longer wants him (the Nurse’s reply is vague enough to be misinterpreted); at the very least he is devastated to have been the cause of her pain. Anyone would break down in those circumstances. Juliet herself breaks down on hearing the news and arguably is more verbally vehement than Romeo—namely, that even the words “Romeo is banishèd” are worse than if herself, Romeo, her parents, and Tybalt were dead. She ends that monologue with a passive suicide threat: “And Death, not Romeo, take my maidenhead!” How anyone can argue Juliet isn’t as lovestruck as Romeo is beyond me.

What Shakespeare was most likely aiming for was showing the mutuality of R&J’s love with parallel scenes and even language. Both have chances to act strong, decisive, and bold, both show vulnerability and great emotion and passion, both are lovestruck. Both demonstrate so-called “masculine” and “feminine” traits, which is almost always culturally-and time-based, anyway. There are only a few key differences between the two—almost all of the above traits, however, they both share. It’s almost as if…Shakespeare understood that no man or woman had all masculine or all feminine traits.

Moving on to the conclusion:

In other words, Shakespeare was deliberately playing with gender and its stereotypes in the play, which gains an even more interesting layer to it when you consider that Shakespeare was himself almost certainly bisexual (his sonnets are preeeetty explicit). It’s not a patriarchal narrative; it can well be seen as a queer narrative in a patriarchal society. And it shouldn’t take two kids having to kill themselves to get society to realize how effed up it is. It isn’t an out-of-touch play, but instead one extremely relevant to our society 500+ years later.

You just opened up 200+ years of fandom wank, OP. I’ll just do a quick sum-up.

The Sonnets are a complete mess. They are contradictory as hell, there is clearly more than one persona speaking, there is evidence that Shakespeare edited and revised them, evidence they were published with his permission, quite a few sonnets are based on pre-existing sources, and, most damnably of all, none of the most likely candidates for the so-called Fair Youth and Dark Lady fit the narrative of the Sonnets perfectly or even satisfactorily—if there is even a clear narrative to these things to begin with. Sonnets were artificial works whose clichés and conventions were heavily satirized in Shakespeare’s own works—Berowne’s own rant-y sonnet swearing he would never believe in love sonnets comes most readily to mind. They were usually not meant to denote an actual real-life relationship, although there was a kind of “game” in trying to figure out which parts are true and which ones fiction. At least one sonnet sequence had a completely fictional addressee (Fulke Greville, I think).

Shakespeare’s sonnets do break a lot of these rules and conventions, and radically, and as they seem to have been compiled over many years, they lend themselves to autobiographical speculation. But, as a bit of a poet myself, I feel this: No one writes 154 sonnets—plus a whole narrative poem!—to one lover or even multiple lovers. Poetry is much less personal than laypeople think. Outside the sonnets, Shakespeare is not linked to any man romantically, and, besides his wife, only to two women (unnamed citizen’s wife and Jane Devanant).

Even if we assume Shakespeare’s bi, though, that doesn’t mean R&J is a queer narrative, which brings us to…

It’s not a patriarchal narrative; it can well be seen as a queer narrative in a patriarchal society.

A queer narrative that has its lovers express their love through the language of heterosexual marriage (husband, lord, wife, lady, pilgrim/saint), and commit suicide by a chalice-and-blade symbolism that mimics heterosexual sex (Romeo drinking a “cup” of poison and Juliet stabbing herself with Romeo’s dagger. Freud couldn’t have done it better). If Shakespeare was thinking “gay allegory!!!” he would have had to at least change or erase the symbolism (straight coding?) of the double suicide, or have Juliet attribute to Romeo explicitly feminine imagery. He would have to have done some major plot rejiggering. He would have had to, in short, change the whole story.

(Unless by “queer narrative” you mean “anything that has an emotionally constipated male lead who doesn’t growl sexily and a female lead who doesn’t cry/faint at the drop of a hat.” That’d be most every narrative, lol.)

Also, I’m hard-pressed to think of love romances that are 100% patriarchal narratives, and those that do (Casablanca, maybe?) are not really true ones, anyway. Patriarchy inherently opposes all romances of love and sex, including heterosexual. It demands that men be raised as soldiers to kill enemies, slaughtered, and discarded, and women as chattel and land to be bought and sold. Marriage was that transferral of property. Having children is necessary, not out of love and care for them, but to propagate the species and create even more future warriors and womb incubators. It grudgingly accepts only (mostly straight and like maybe 1 or 2 gay) love narratives that can be subsumed into this narrow paradigm, but the tension of interpretation is always present. Ideally, it prefers to ignore, diminish, scorn and mock, or even suppress them. I suspect most people’s problems and discomfort with R&J stem from this pathology, this deep-seated unease over anything that touches on human experience patriarchy can’t quite control or subsume.

Shakespeare was obviously no lover of patriarchy (in his personal life, though…well, it’s debatable). His plays resist it greatly to various degrees, and R&J is no exception. R&J hews much closer to the reality of heterosexual love and love in general, which are informed by, though are not inherently tied to, patriarchy (as are gay relationships, sadly). Shakespeare is just being a good writer in throwing most of that rotten apple away; it doesn’t apply to what he was trying to do, anyway. R&J’s challenge to patriarchy, though, is heterosexual in nature.

And it shouldn’t take two kids having to kill themselves to get society to realize how effed up it is. It isn’t an out-of-touch play, but instead one extremely relevant to our society 500+ years later.

True dat.

#romeo and juliet #shakespeare #cristina metas #rj meta #r&j meta #rj are just so boyxgirl op #accept it and you will find peace #repressive traditional gender roles are back in fashion it seems #the victorians couldn’t accept romeo as a man either and had him be played by an actress #but if we’re going to take our notions of gender from the victorians of all people well…

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ryleighflynnagin · 3 years

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Reasons the Tangled Series…Was Not that Great.

I just want to say that I really wanted to like this show. I really, really wanted to like this show, but I just couldn’t.

All in all, Tangled series is just not a good story. By the way I refuse to call it Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, because I just think it is a stupid title, but I think the title change played a bit of a role in the direction the writers suddenly took the series. When I first had seen that they were going to do a series continuing the story of Tangled, I was ecstatic., because Tangled is one of my all time favorite movies. I was excited to see the continuation of two characters I really grew to love, and in some ways even relate to. The show at first started to feel like it was going to be about Rapunzel and Eugene and their adventures. But by the time it got to the end of season 2 there was a but of a shift in the focus of who was playing more of an important role and who was more the side character. It had suddenly felt like Eugene had taken a back seat to the show and was more of a side character and Casandra played more the main character. It felt like the show was trying to force the audience to care about this new character Casandra rather than use the two characters that already had a following from the movie.

Casandra’s motives made no sense.

In the show we find out that Casandra’s biological mother was Gothel. Gothel abandoned Cass for Rapunzel the night Rapunzel was kidnapped when she was a baby. Cass was about 3 or 4 around this time. Cass was taken in by the Captain of the guard and raised Cass as his own. Zhan Tiri then manipulates Cass into being angry at Rapunzel for Gothel’s actions. The motives seem rather weak, for someone like Casandra. Casandra was raised by someone who upheld law and order. Who held onto morals and principles. While, yes, even the strongest can falter as we saw evidently in the episode where the captain was purposely trying to make Eugene fail his test to becoming a guard. Casandra was also shown trying to manipulate Rapunzel from joining the games of strength back in season one. We can see that she can still be misguided and be a bit selfish in her motives. But to completely derail her character and go against everything she was supposed to do which was protect the princess and help guide her to where ever the black rocks were taking her, and completely betray her all for the sake of being mad at Rapunzel for something NEITHER of them had control over, seems rather weak and petty, and an unearned twist in the story line.

Casandra got what she wanted and was still ungrateful.

Casandra all her life wanted the respect of her father and become the captain of the guard. Well, by season two, she pretty much got what she wanted. She was entrusted by the kingdom, ergo, her father, to protect Rapunzel throughout the journey. What else did Casandra want? Ok, yeah, she didn’t have the title of guard yet. But the job she got, they don’t entrust that role to just any shmuk. Did she really think someone like Stan or Pete could have been trusted to do the job that she had to take? No. Stan and Pete are morons. So this job had to be given to someone that knew what they were doing. The captain could have very well said that Casandra is a lady in waiting, and that she needs to stay back in Corona and do what ladies in waiting do. The captain could have been the one to take the princess to where she was going because that is what guards do. They guard the royal family. What else was Casandra expecting? She got exactly what she wanted. She got trust from her dad, to do this job that a high ranking guard would have taken. She got the trust of the king and queen to protect their only heir to the throne who had been missing for 18 years, and Cass still wanted more. Cass complains about being in Rapunzel’s shadow, but Rapunzel in the princess. The princess, on a hierarchical scale, is more important. It didn’t matter who it is, the guards are always going to be more expendable and be considered less important than the royal family. That is literally their job. Casandra was entrusted with one of the most important jobs in the kingdom; protect the princess and heir to the throne. But Cass was still not satisfied.

Eugene had more of a motive to be the one to take the moon stone.

So in season two we find out that Eugene is actually the lost prince and heir to the dark kingdom. King Edmund, Eugene’s king and father, explains that he tried to destroy the moon stone and in the process accidentally killing Eugene’s mom, and nearly killed himself in the process. Edmund then orders everyone in the kingdom to leave including shipping his only child out to safety. Edmund explains to Eugene that their entire lineage was devoted to protecting the world room the moon stone. Eugene not only would have been their next heir to the dark kingdom, but Eugene would also have had the same responsibility. Edmund also mentions that he believed the black rocks led Eugene back to the dark kingdom, and not Rapunzel. It would have made way more sense for Eugene to protect Rapunzel from the moon stone and would have had more motivation to do so. Edmund mentions this. He tells Eugene “Don’t let the same fate befall on the one you love like it did your mother.” It looked like that is where the show was going. Very clearly, yeah, this makes sense. This is what all of season one and most of season two was leading up to. The show even had tipped the audience off that someone was going to betray Rapunzel who was close to her. Eugene was going to take the moon stone to protect Rapunzel and inadvertently betray Rapunzel because the moon stone is evil. But then...no...that’s not what happened because Casandra wants...what exactly? Glory? It just felt like the show took a sudden left turn somewhere because….why? For what purpose did she really need to take the moon stone. Because she is mad at Rapunzel for something Gothel did? It just seemed so last minute. The twist at the send of season two did not feel earned. There wasn’t really anything definitive to say that yeah Cass was going to be the one to really betray Rapunzel and take the moon stone for her own gain. At least Eugene could have started out with good intentions to protect the one he loves, because he had already lost so much due to the moon stone. He lost his mother, he lost his home, and he was abandoned by his father because of the moon stone. It is also in his lineage to protect the world from the moon stone. Eugene would have taken that very seriously and would have done everything possible to protect Rapunzel from harm. We’ve already seen that when Eugene chooses death rather than allow Rapunzel to heal him and live a life of servitude to Gothel in the movie. Cassandra only wants glory. It would have made way more sense for Eugene to push Rapunzel away for her own safety and lock himself away with the moonstone while trying to battle the evil pull that the moon stone has on people who try to control it. Edmund even explained that the moon stone can get inside your head and that’s what happened to him. Overall it would have been much more believable for Eugene to have taken the moon stone. It was Eugene’s kingdom that got destroyed by the moonstone, and it was Eugene’s childhood that got effected by the moonstone, much like Rapunzel’s childhood was effected by the sun stone.

Zhan Tiri would have had more ammo to manipulate Eugene, than Casandra.

Eugene grew up thinking that his parents were explorers and treasure hunters and would find him when they were done traveling the world. But somewhere in his childhood, Eugene let go of that idea. When Edmund trie s to call Eugene “son” Eugene promptly tells Edmund, “you do not get to call me son.” This showed some one the first signs that Eugene is feeling resentful about his fathers abandonment. Eugene also tells Rapunzel that no Edmund is not his father, and that Edmund is a “strange man who can’t keep his thought to himself.” Eugene is rather upset and holds a grudge against his father and at first really doesn’t was anything to do with Edmund. Eugene tries to get rid of Edmund when Edmund shows up at Corona seemingly out of now where. Eugene doesn’t even call Edmund dad at first. Eugene calls him by his name. He doesn’t see Edmund as his father and makes that rather clear several times. Eugene doesn’t even fully come to forgive Edmund and really understand why Edmund did what he did until the last episode when Edmund is under the influence of the mind trap. Zhan Tiri could have easily used that to manipulate Eugene and it would have made more sense and would have been more believable because Eugene did not have anyone to adopt him and take him in. Eugene was left to pretty much left to raise himself. Eugene didn’t really have anyone that truly cared about him In the movie Tangled when Rapunzel says that she like Eugene Fitzherbert much more than Flynn Rider, Eugene tell her that she’d be the first. Meaning he didn’t feel that anyone reaTangled Adventure made it less about the two main characters and more about Rapunzel and her friendship with her handmaiden. When the series was introduced, it seemed like it was going to be about both Eugene and Rapunzel, and that is what I got excited about. I wanted to see my two favorite characters again going on adventures and learning more about them together. While we did learn some new things about Eugene, I just think they were more side notes, rather than anything that played any importance into the main story line. If you try to take Eugene completely out of the movie Tangled, the movie wouldn’t have made any sense. Rapunzel would have never left the tower, and she would have not figured out that she was the lost princess. It wasn’t until Eugene climbed up Rapunzel’s tower that she made a deal to take her to see the lanterns. If she had not gone to the kingdom, she wouldn’t have made the connection that she was the lost princess. If you take Eugene out of the series completely, Rapunzel still would have gone to follow the black rocks to the dark kingdom, and Casandra still would have taken the moon stone for herself. Eugene doesn’t really play a significant role in the show that held any major effect on how the story turned out. Yeah he helps a bit, but nothing we learn about him, nothing he does, really has any major outcome on the plot. He’s a side character. The writers took a main character, and turned him into a side character.

We see that Zhan Tiri manipulates Cass with the idea that Cass deserves the glory and that it is her destiny to control the moon stone. Yeah glory and power is very appealing to a lot of people. A lot of stories center around a main characters greed and desire to become powerful. But why Casandra? The nature of her anger toward Rapunzel seemed so flimsy. Eugene had much more motivation to take the moon stone and would have been a more malleable target for Zhan Tiri. The old saying “the way to hell is paved with good intentions” would have been a perfect moral for this story. Eugene would have wanted to protect his loved ones from the moon stone, but Zhan Tiri could have used Eugene’s past experience of being abandoned and his father essentially killing Eugene’s mother to allow the moon stone to get inside Eugene’s head. Thus inadvertently, turning Eugene against those he cares about by making him think those who he thought cared about him are really against him.

Overall, the story of the Tangled Series felt forced at certain point. It felt like everything looked like it was leading up to one direction and then at the last minute the direction took a sudden detour without any real reason. It felt like the writers essentially pushed Eugene to the side, and replaced him with a character that didn’t have the same merit. It was almost as if Eugene and Casandra switched places. Cass was supposed to be the captain of the guards, but that was given to Eugene. Eugene was meant to take the moon stone, because that is his birthright, but Casandra took that role instead. Why? Why did the writers feel the need to push a beloved character that a lot of viewers already grew to love from the movie, and kind of force this other character that was not part of the original movie so quickly? It felt forced, and unnatural. In story telling, you want the relationship between the audience and a character to grow naturally. You don’t want the audience to like a character just because the writers said so. That’s what it felt like with Casandra. Eugene is suddenly a side character, and now you have to really care about this new character 2/3rds into the show. The changing of the title was even evident that it was no longer about Rapunzel and Eugene and their adventures after the movie. They changed it to Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, making it seem like Eugene wasn’t really as important any more as Rapunzel was. The movie title Tangled, implied that both Eugene and Rapunzel were equally as important. But the title Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure made it less about the two main characters and more about Rapunzel and her friendship with her handmaiden. When the series was introduced, it seemed like it was going to be about both Eugene and Rapunzel, and that is what I got excited about. I wanted to see my two favorite characters again going on adventures and learning more about them together. While we did learn some new things about Eugene, I just think they were more side notes, rather than anything that played any importance into the main story line. If you try to take Eugene completely out of the movie Tangled, the movie wouldn’t have made any sense. Rapunzel would have never left the tower, and she would have not figured out that she was the lost princess. It wasn’t until Eugene climbed up Rapunzel’s tower that she made a deal to take her to see the lanterns. If she had not gone to the kingdom, she wouldn’t have made the connection that she was the lost princess. If you take Eugene out of the series completely, Rapunzel still would have gone to follow the black rocks to the dark kingdom, and Casandra still would have takenthe moon stone for herself. Eugene doesn’t really play a significant role in the show that held any major effect on how the story turned out. Yeah he helps a bit, but nothing we learn about him, nothing he does, really has any major outcome on the plot. He’s a side character. The writers took a main character, and turned him into a side character.

#series review #tangled #tangled series

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illneverrecover · 4 years

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swear not by the moon (M) | jhs & pjm

➛pairing: Jung Hoseok x Reader x Park Jimin ➛genre: werewolf!AU, hybrid!AU, slight ABO dynamics (mostly Alpha, tbh), PWP, smut, fluff, a pinch of angst. ➛word count: 6987 (she thicc) ➛rating: M ➛warnings: ~werewolf kinks~, power play dynamics, slight dom/sub (mostly Alpha being in control, but you get the gist), oral (female receiving), dirty talk, marking/biting, brief mentions of blood, cum play, fingering, rough sex, copious amounts of cum, slight degradation (in the form of the word ‘bitch’ because, ya know, werewolves), doggy style (see before reasoning), over-sensitivity, knotting, cock warming, hints of polyamory. ➛summary: Tonight is the night you are consummating your mate bond with your Alpha - if you can prove first to his Beta that you are worthy to do so. ➛notes: OOF. I’ve been itching to do a werewolf piece ever since I had to cancel my @ksmutclub submission last Halloween, and my love @jimins-ass-eater rolled through with the win! After showing her my original outline, she commissioned for me to finish this fic like the angel she is. This one was originally just a porn without plot, but I tried to rework some more story in while still focusing on the filth, and that’s just the way Suzu likes it. Thank you so much for your support bb and I hope you like this! 🖤 ➛song: Swear Not by the Moon - GOT7 & Teeth (Nightcore version) - 5SOS

Tonight is the night you officially mate to your lover, and you’re shaking like a leaf.

The scarlet dress you chose was short silk, slinky lines grazing the tops of your legs and see through chiffon long sleeves that settle in the middle of your palm. You didn’t even realize that the fabric was that long until this moment, when the delicate cloth was being tested by the tight press of your nails into your fist.

The night air nipped at the bare skin of your thighs, the wind causing you to shiver as you approached the Alpha’s house. Being half werewolf meant that the blood that ran through your veins left you almost feverish, so a jacket had seemed pointless - but clearly, you had overestimated your nerves.

Raising your hand to the door, you only get a single rap in before it swings open, the boxy smile of Taehyung awaiting you on the other side. He was one of the Alpha’s closest advisers and ‘brothers’, one of your dear friends - though you were surprised to see him.

“They’re ready for you upstairs,” he nods, gesturing towards the hall leading to the second floor. You eye him, wondering if he was going to wait around. You know it’s customary for those important to the Alpha to witness the ceremony, but anxiety had your heart thudding painfully in your chest at the thought.

As if sensing your discomfort, he gives you another wolfish grin. “Don’t worry, princess. I’m not staying. The two of them can testify just fine without me.”

He gives you a slight bow before turning and exiting the home, leaving you in the foyer by yourself to gain courage and climb the stairs.

There was no reason to be this nervous, you told yourself. It’s Hoseok - your Alpha, your mate - who’s waiting for you up there, ready to officially consummate your mating and declare it to the pack, the world. You’ve known Hoseok since you were both young, your human mother being very close with Hoseok’s own purebred mom, making you instant friends. Days were spent running around the compound with Hoseok and his best friend, Jimin, the three of you counting down the months until your 16th birthday when you would go through your first full shift together into wolf form and find your role. You had been an inseparable trio, there for each milestone, for every shift, from confirming that Hoseok was an Alpha, to finding out he was the next pack leader.

You shouldn’t be scared.

And yet your legs shake as you take each step, the excess adrenaline rushing through your bloodstream triggering your wolf senses to activate. You could sense them, their scent intermingling and comforting you, reminding you that there was nothing to be worried about. You knew them, loved them, would do anything for them.

Gaining resolve, you knock twice on the frame, straightening your back and forcing a deep breath in through your nose-

“Hi, beautiful,” a soft voice greets you, a shaky smile on his face. One hand reaches out, palm up. “Are you ready for this?”

Releasing the breath, you grin back, nodding once before placing your hand in his. Your nerves are soothed the minute you feel his skin against yours, and as his thumb rubs against the top of your hand, bravery fills your lungs.

“Yes, Beta. I am ready to prove myself worthy of the Alpha.”

You hear Jimin’s growl of approval first, his hand slipping out of yours to pull something out of his back pocket - a thick midnight strip of silk; a blindfold. Eyeing him, you see his deep blue hair styled out of his face, as if he had run his hands through it incessantly, and his cheeks tinted pink - with lust or anxiety, you aren’t sure.

He moves behind you, exposing your Alpha for the first time, Hoseok’s body folded in the large crushed velvet chair directly across from the bed. His crimson hair was styled in a side part, sweeping back to expose his forehead and give you an unobstructed view of the spun gold of his eyes. He appraises you, gaze dragging from the crown of your head down the exposed skin of your legs, and though he doesn’t speak, you can see the enthusiastic consent shining in his eyes, in the low rumble of his growl.

And then your sight is taken, the blindfold placed over your eyes, secured with a knot at the back of your head before you feel a touch at the small of your back.

You’re guided into the large room, tentative steps taken with Jimin’s gentle direction as he leads you to stand before the Alpha. Once you are in position he slides away, your senses sharpened when the comfort of his body is no longer close.

For a moment everything remains still, heavy breathing and the steadily increasing smell of desire the only signs of the two other wolves in the room. Biting your tongue, you fight your instinct to call out to him, to say anything at all, lest you ruin the ceremony.

“Then, my mate,” Hoseok rasps, his voice low and thick with need. “Prove that you are worthy to me. If you are able to take my Beta, then your loyalty and merit to your Alpha will be known to the pack.”

You knew the words were coming, and yet you gasp, warmth rushing to your cheeks, arousal pooling low in your belly as the implication settles over you.

“Jimin,”

“Yes, Alpha?”

“Fuck my mate, make sure she is deserving of your Alpha.”

You had always known one of them would be your mate.

It was the only thing that made sense, that explained why you were so drawn to the two boys back in your youth, always being pulled to their sides. Yes, your mothers were all friends, and so time spent together was imminent, but forming bonds between you three had been fate.

Being a hybrid, you knew how the pack viewed your kind from the time you were born, your parents always reminding you with cautionary tales. Hybrids were looked down upon; the lower end of hierarchy, bottom of the pack. Your father, a pureblood wolf, had found his mate in your mother, a human. While such relationships weren’t forbidden, they were frowned upon, and yet your parents risked it all for the call of their mate, their twin flame.

And while they would never regret their choice, they were worried about what the consequences would mean for you.

Luckily, once Hoseok and Jimin were in the picture, they didn’t have to worry any longer. They were always by your side, looking out for you, protecting you. Both boys being of pureblood lineage, their families were respected, and by being in their good graces, the same was extended to you - somewhat. It helped that their closest friends within the pack were also so accepting (with perfect pedigrees to boot), the five other boys always around if Hoseok and Jimin were not. Namjoon and Jin were invariably ready to defend your honor at a drop of a hat, Yoongi and Taehyung prepared to console you after a long day. And the youngest of the bunch, Jungkook, frequently offered to fight anyone you could possibly want him to, often dying for a chance to flex his muscles. They had become a family within the pack of disapproval, and inside the small group you felt like you had a place, a purpose - a home.

It didn’t stop the whispers, the glares you would get the closer you all got to your 16th birthdays, to your first shift as wolves. Hoseok had come from a long line of Alphas, his status basically guaranteed for his first transition, however Jimin was a wildcard. Hybrids weren’t given rank as it wasn’t promised that they would be able to shift at all, and so there was talk about the reputation you would bring them, especially if you didn’t have a wolf.

You’ll never forget the relief that flooded your system during that first shift, the feel of your bones settling into your wolf and the freedom that your soul felt as you ran alongside your best friends. True to speculation, Hoseok was granted the rank of an Alpha, and Jimin a Beta; the perfect duo. Once you had shifted back into your human skin, you hadn’t been able to stop smiling, your cheeks aching with joy over the success of your friends, over having a wolf.

However, the pack wasn’t nearly as enthused.

If anything, the rumors and gossip become incessant, whispers following the three of you like a ghost wherever you went.

‘That Jung boy is an Alpha, he shouldn’t spend so much time with her.’

‘Jimin will likely be his Beta, why doesn’t he say something? He knows it’s not proper.’

‘What if one of them mates with her? What will their parents think?’

They told you to ignore it, of course. Reminded you that times were changing, that old traditions were being disassembled to make way for new ones, that one day it won’t matter what the others think. Jimin was always the first to point out that even if one of them were your mates, that it could be quite some time before the bond even took place; the mating call usually only becoming apparent during a time of high stress or pain. Who knows what will have changed by then?

You took solace in the fact that they didn’t seem to care about what others said, that they alongside the other five boys were always ready to reassure you. But it didn’t stop the small, lingering voice in your mind that whispered to you in the dark of night, that slowly dripped poisonous words until they hummed lowly in the background of your thoughts - what if the pack is right? What if you aren’t good enough for them?

That inner voice got louder the day that Hoseok was named next pack Alpha.

The current pack Alpha was sick, body riddled with a cancer that was only growing, and he had named his successor knowing that his time left was limited, wanting to spend his final days off with his mate instead of settling pack business. He made the announcement nonchalantly, as if he was discussing the weather or other small talk, asking everyone to gather in the center of the compound before calling Hoseok to the front.

You remember how Hoseok had startled at his name, how quickly his heart started racing as he made his way to the dying Alpha, Jimin trailing softly behind him. You remember staring up at him, eyes glossy with pride and fear, nodding reassuringly when he started to recite the pack Alpha creed - and you remember the blinding hot heat of the mate bond suddenly snapping into place.

Hoseok had stiffened, eyes widening as he found your face in the crowd, the red string of fate clearly visible now between you both. Slowly, your scent evolved, undernotes sliding into perfect harmony to match his own, and it was all he could focus on, barely remembering to finish the words cementing his title. True to form, the mating bond had made itself known in a time when the red headed Alpha had needed it most, and it was you - his best friend, his confidant, the most beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on.

You hadn’t missed the way Jimin reacted; how his brow pinched as if in pain, the way his eyes were swimming in unspoken emotion as he glanced between his Alpha and you. You wanted to call out to him, to explain - as if there was anything to explain - but instead, he gave you a wide grin, stepping forward to then speak the words that would ascertain his place as Hoseok’s Beta.

When the ceremony was complete, Hoseok had stalked towards you with a new softness in his eyes, and all you could think when he wrapped his arms around you for the first time as mates was that you would give him the entire world if he asked - and you didn’t want to let him down.

It didn’t take long for the rest of the pack to find out what had happened, for the unwanted criticism to be hurled in your direction. While Hoseok formed his own counsel made up of his close friends - the boys you had grown with from childhood - as pack Alpha, it didn’t stop the members from the previous court from trying to guide him; encouraging him to deny the mate bond to you and find himself a proper wolf for a male of his stature. He was reminded of all the benefits of a pureblood mating; how powerful his pups would be with another pureblood female, how it would strengthen his claim as pack Alpha, protect everyone from any other nearby packs. And, as if an afterthought, how a pureblood female would be able to handle the official mating ceremony better, wouldn’t let emotions and other unspeakably human traits stop them from performing the tradition.

Hoseok wouldn’t hear it, eyes blazing with a flash of molten gold when he growled back that he had found his mate, and there would be no further discussion on the matter - that the next wolf that dared to insult his mate like that again better be ready to fight, or be prepared to leave.

But their opposing arguments echoed in your mind for days.

Your sweet Alpha was always there to talk you through it, explaining that the mating ritual was centuries old but not necessary, that if you weren’t comfortable with it he’d abolish it immediately. He never wanted to make you do anything you didn’t want, that he knew and could feel your love and loyalty to him and didn’t need a silly ‘test’ to prove it.

And just when you would start to acquiesce, you’d see another sneer, hear another dirty insult about your hybrid status, and you felt your resolve firm.

You would go through with this ceremony to prove that you belonged by Hoseok’s side. You would prove to the entire pack that you were worthy, that hybrids were deserving and stronger then history would have them believe. That you could do this, that you were to be respected - as was your Alpha.

And with your declaration, the ritual had been planned for the next full moon.

“Is this okay?”

Jimin’s voice is as soft and tentative as his fingertips grazing your arm, the delicate way his free hand moves to cup your shoulder. You wonder what his face looks like, what’s hiding beneath his stoic and gentle eyes, but instead you just nod.

With a slight push, he begins to walk you backwards towards where you remembered the large bed was placed in the room, directly under the expansive skylight that was currently framing the moon’s bright glow. You swore you could feel the nerves in his touch, in the way he sucks air between his teeth, and you curse that you can’t just rip off the blindfold and console him - even while part of you knows that would make things worse.

Stopping only when the backs of your thighs hit the resistance of the mattress, you reach out to cling to him, pulling him closer to you. Desire is mounting, a slow dull ache beginning to make itself apparent between your thighs, and you just want him to do something, anything-

“Your sight has been taken, leaving you to the devices of your Alpha and his Beta, to prove that your loyalty lies with your mate,” Jimin murmurs, lips dancing around the curve of your ear and leaving you shivering. “With your senses dulled, do you trust your Alpha? Believe that he will make the right choices to protect you and honor the pack?”

It’s a question, you know, but the way Jimin speaks it makes it sound like a fact, a declaration - that they will never hurt you, that you can always rely on them, if you so choose.

“Yes,” you claim, voice steady for likely the first time all evening. “I trust my Alpha. I trust you both.”

Jimin’s breath hitches in surprise, not expecting your last words, but you could feel his lips grinning against the shell of your ear.

“Thank you, princess.” He places a chaste kiss at your pulse point, before moving away from your frame once more.

“Your mate has confirmed her stance, Alpha. If you accept this, the blindfold can be removed at this time.”

Heart thudding in your chest, you await Hoseok’s response, no doubt in your mind that he’ll agree to move forward with the ritual, but unable to stop the voice lingering in the recess of your mind whispering that you aren’t good enough - never good enough, not for him.

As if he could sense your worry, you suddenly feel Hoseok’s presence in front of you, his scent becoming stronger as he reaches out to tuck an errant strand of hair behind your ear. “Yes, I accept her vow, now and always,” he assures, thumb tugging at your lip briefly before his hand moves to untangle the knot holding the blindfold in place.

Blinking, you let your eyes adjust to the room, pupils blown wide at the sight before you. Jimin is flushed, his hand continuously coming up to brush his navy hair away from his face as his gaze turns fierce, eyes flashing to the icy blue color of his wolf. Next to him, Hoseok is every bit the Alpha - tall, broad, imposing without having to lift a finger. A dangerous smirk is on his face, and you swallow thickly thinking about what comes next.

Wordlessly, Jimin moves forward, cautious when he reaches out to put his arms around your waist. His eyes are searching, imploring you for assurance that he isn’t upsetting you, and when you give him a quick nod, he rests his forehead against yours.

You stay like that for a breath, two, before he leans in, pressing his pillowy lips against yours. The kiss is modest at first, easy brushes of his pliant mouth against yours, but when he feels your tongue sweeping out to taste him, he pulls back with a gasp.

“Are- are you okay? Are you sure this is okay?” he cups your face, fear etched into his brow. “Because if it’s not okay, we can stop, Hoseok understands-”

Rushing forward, you silence him with another kiss, your tongue successfully finding purchase in his mouth, swirling against his own before you pull back.

“Jimin, it’s okay. I’m okay. Do whatever you need to,” determination shines in your gaze, and you refuse to drop the eye contact until you’re sure he understands. “Do whatever you want to.”

A growl tears through his throat, and gone is the timid man you’ve grown up with, who was scared to touch you - and in his place is a wicked creature, dripping in lust and confidence. His hands immediately sink into your hair to tug at the roots, his mouth moving against yours voraciously, hungrily. He kisses like a man starved, licking and biting at tender flesh until you’re whining, head rolling to the side to bare your throat.

He nuzzles down the expanse of your neck, trying desperately not to scent you, even if every instinct he’s ever known is roaring at him to do the opposite. You smell so sweet, so exquisite, and he feels the sharp point of his canine drag along your vein as his mouth waters.

“Fuck, I wish I could mark you, just once,” he rasps, nipping and dragging his tongue against the base of your throat. “You would look so pretty with my mark right here…”

“No marking, Jimin.”

Hoseok’s voice was like ice water in your veins, and your eyes snap open as Jimin bites at your collarbone lightly, playfully. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to. I’ll be good.”

He pulls away then, raising a brow at your wanton state, impish grin erasing any signs of shyness that were lingering. Palms slide down the front of your dress until they reach the hem, pausing only to change direction once they meet the softness of your thighs to pull it over your head. He stares at you while he reaches for your panties, ripping them off of you with a flick of his wrist before he throws them over his shoulder.

Jimin steps into your inseam, moving closer until you drop to the bed, sitting up with the ravenous werewolf standing between your legs. His hand slides to your jaw, turning you to look at him. “But you don’t want me to, do you, princess?”

Forgetting to breathe, your arousal builds rapidly at the predatory tone in his voice, at the lecherous way he stares at your heaving breasts.

“You don’t want me to be good, to behave,” he purrs, climbing over your waist as he pins you to the mattress. “You want me to do whatever I want, want me to claim you, too. It’s why you agreed to this ceremony, isn’t it?” Dropping his head, he noses the line of your neck, trailing until he’s down between your cleavage. “You wanted to do this because you wanted me, too - right Princess?”

Moaning, you writhe against him, gasping when you feel the hard line of his cock tempestuously close to your center. He sits up long enough to rip your bra from you, kissing his descent down your body until he’s lodged between your thighs, glistening cunt on full display.

You wait for him to say something else, tease you more, but instead he presses his face into your heat, inhaling deeply before his tongue is sliding languidly through your folds.

“Fuck, Jimin,” you cry, a hand fisting in his indigo locks. His mouth is vicious as it moves against you, flicking and suckling until you are practically sobbing, clit pulsating with lack of friction. No matter how much you tug on his hair, how hard you grind his face against you, he continues his leisurely pace, lapping at you like he has all the time in the world.

“Jimin, please,” you beg, body buzzing with pleasure. Your high was so close, just on the tip of his tongue, and your patience was waning. “Please just make me come, I wanna come.”

Humming against you, he looks up then, icy eyes barely visible over the line of your cunt. “You taste so fucking sweet, Princess. So good, I can’t get enough.” Pausing, he leans closer to your engorged bundle of nerves, pulling it in between plush lips, enjoying the way your body violently contorts. “I could spend all night between your thighs.”

Whining at his words, you paw at him to no avail, body still suffering under the torture his ruthless mouth is causing. Flopping back in frustration, you form a plan in your mind, fingers finding purchase in his tangled tresses to give a few experimental yanks.

Bracing yourself, you pull the wolf up by his hair, using your often ignored strength as a hybrid to your advantage. He detaches from you with a grunt, flipping to his back easily as you exploit his shock to climb on top of him, peering down at him with a grin.

“And I said I wanna come,” you croon, hands reaching between your bodies to yank at the fabric still covering him until it was in tatters. Thrilled satisfaction is a heady cocktail coursing through your veins, making you feel lightheaded as you took in the awestruck wolf below you. With no barriers, you could feel his firm shaft buried between your lower lips, and you rock forward, gliding until your clit nudged his swollen cockhead. “Are you going to make me come?”

A growl of assent rips through the room, your Alpha’s pride beaming at how you managed to pin his Beta and take control. His pleased sounds just make you feel more drunk with power, and you lean forward to curl a hand around Jimin’s pearly throat, hips rolling until his length catches on your entrance.

Jimin lets you push down against him, hands gripping the flesh of your hips to steady you as you impale yourself down on his dick. The lithe hand around his neck squeezes once before slipping to his chest, your head falling forward as you feel every inch of him seated inside of you, pelvis resting flat on his own.

He can feel your cunt fluttering around him, adjusting to the sensation of intrusion. Your bottom lip is trapped painfully between your teeth, eyes closed to the pleasure, and Jimin gasps at the sight. He allows himself a breath, two, to fully drink in this image of you on top of him, full of him - knowing it wasn’t one he would be seeing again.

Still grasping at your waist, he begins to thrust upwards brusquely, smirking to himself when you immediately cry out a choked version of his name. He likes that - his wolf likes that, needs you to do again. Digging his nails into your side, he pulls you until your body lays flush against his own, breasts trapped against the hard lines of his chest - before bending his knees to drive his cock into you with more force.

“I’ll make you come, little bitch,” he hisses, pace not faltering. You whine at the nickname - a common one within the wolf community, but one the Beta had never used to address you, until now. His hands trace down and around your hips, grabbing the globes of your ass forcefully. “But you’re going to say my name when you do.”

He’s dragging your pelvis against his own, grinding you against him as he continues to plunge you on his cock, the combination of his ministrations hurdling you towards your impending orgasm. It’s delicious the way the friction lights your nerves on fire, the way he reaches the tender spot of your walls just enough to have your mouth watering, and you find yourself giving him exactly what he wants.

“Jimin!” you moan, voice pitching as the edges of your vision became blinding white. A satisfied growl rumbles through his chest, his lips suddenly tangling against yours.

“That’s it,” he murmurs, sweat beading on his forehead as he bounces you on his length relentlessly. “Come for me,”

Another cry of his name tears through your throat, your high cresting into an explosion of burning stars, your cunt contracting around him as if to pull him in deeper. Jimin continues his torture, crushing you against him with delicious friction to draw out the pleasure until you were practically hiccuping against him, boneless.

“Fuck, that was so hot,” he whines, his cock throbbing with every pulse of your pussy as you milk him through your orgasm, his thrusts becoming frenzied and desperate. He can feel you dripping down his length, your arousal coating him, the scent overpowering the room and driving his wolf to the brink - and abruptly he’s releasing inside you without warning, mouth latching onto your neck as he spills his seed, teeth careful to not puncture the skin.

Sucking in air, you remain collapsed on top of Jimin, mind still hazy from your climax. It’s only when you feel a brush against your brow that you peel your eyes open, see the towering Alpha before you.

Ah, yes. This wasn’t over.

“You did so good, Princess,” Hoseok coos, smiling down at you as he loops an arm around your naked form to pull you from the Beta. Gingerly, he lays you on the bed adjacent to Jimin, climbing to kneel next to you.

“And you too, Jimin.” he looks over to the man beside you, pride raging in his gaze. “Thank you for making sure she was worthy of your Alpha. Thank you for treating her so well.”

Jimin seems to get choked up then, eyes brimming with emotion, but he smiles and gives Hoseok a nod. “Of course, Alpha.”

He sits up, pausing to await further instruction, but when Hoseok moves to lean over you, Jimin coughs, awkwardly scanning the room.

“I… I should go. Let me just grab my clothes and then I’ll wait downstairs-”

“No.” Hoseok’s voice is stern, the command evident in his tone. “No, you will stay - in this room, and on this bed.”

You raise a brow then, matching Jimin’s confusion as you peel your eyes open to stare up at the wolf, waiting for him to proceed.

“We are a pack together. All of us at the compound, all 8 of my counsel - my brothers, of course - but most especially, the three of us.” His eyes flick from you to the Beta, making sure you were both listening before he continues. “It’s always been the three of us. Regardless of status, of mates, of whatever is thrown our way. That isn’t ever going to change.”

Heart thrumming in your chest, joy takes flight under your skin at his words, at the new declaration he was affirming. It was the three of you against the world, and now it always would be.

Jimin chuckles in delight, elation shining in his ice blue eyes as he sits back onto the bed, moving to prop himself up near the headboard. “Yes, Alpha,” he resolves, wry grin tugging at his lips as he nods towards you. “Well, don’t let me keep you.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that.”

Hoseok’s returning snicker has chills racing down your spine, the wolf inside instantly recognizing the power of the Alpha kneeling before you. His eyes glow gold under heavy lids as he begins to undress slowly, pink tongue darting out to wet his lips as he devours you with a gaze.

His bare chest is tanned, sinewy muscles rippling as he unbuttons his pants, freeing his thick length to bob against his toned stomach. His cock is just as beautiful as he is, girthy and long, a perfect tapered tip, and you wish that you had a moment to lavish it with your tongue, to taste him fully. Every inch of him is lethal, calm ferocity, overflowing in authority, and you can feel the gush of your arousal mixed with Jimin’s seed smearing against the tops of your thighs as you wait for him to claim you.

Towering over you, Hoseok drops his head to nuzzle at your cheek, turning your head until he can bury himself in the crook of your neck. “So beautiful,” he whispers, lips insatiable against heated skin. “My mate is so beautiful, so perfect.”

There’s tenderness in his voice, controlled carnal lust veiled thinly in the intensity of his love, and you soften at his touch. “You’re perfect, Hoseok. My Alpha.”

A throaty purr rumbles in his chest as he trails his tongue against your flesh, following the line until he can capture your mouth with his own. The kiss is searing, white hot electric as your tongues intermingle, teeth dragging against swollen lips. His hand travels down your body, nail tracing a thin path until he’s at your sopping cunt.

“Such a messy girl, hmm? Jimin gave you so much of his come, and this is what you do with it?” He clicks his tongue in mock disapproval, fingers sliding in the sloppy mess only to then press inside of you.

Jolting at the sensation, you whine as he continues to scoop up the viscous liquid before shoving it inside your aching center, body raw and smoldering with each intrusion. When he deems the job complete, he plops his fingers in his mouth, sucking them clean.

“I’m going to fuck it all out of you, princess,” the grin he gives is shameless, causing blood to rush to your cheeks. “I’m going to fuck it all out of you and then fill you up again, until you’re dripping with nothing but me.”

The digits that were in his mouth are now tapping against yours, lips parting to allow him to press against the bed of your tongue. His eyes darken as he watches, a satisfied hum low in his throat. “Do you understand?”

Nodding, you mumble the words around his fingers, voice thick with need. “Yes, Alpha. I want to be filled with you, want you to ruin me.”

Just like with the Beta before, you see a bright flash in Hoseok’s topaz gaze before the wolf in him seems to take over, a feral smirk curling his mouth. A famished low growl is your last warning until strong hands are flipping your body, placing you on your stomach before pulling your hips up, presenting your bare center to him.

His palm reigns down on your ass cheek, blossoming the skin pink, retching a cry from your throat. “Jimin, help hold her in place for me, hmm? I don’t want my perfect little bitch going anywhere.”

Arousal floods you at his words, and you clench tightly in a poor attempt to keep from leaking all over the tops of your thighs. Wordlessly, you tilt your head up and meet Jimin’s gaze just as he gives you a lecherous smile, hands moving to pull yours to lay in front of your head, wrists pinned by his grasp.

With your head and chest down and ass up, you were exquisitely offered to the Alpha, and the subservience alone has you trembling with anticipation. You can feel Hoseok move to kneel behind you, the scalding heat of his skin so close to yours, large palms kneading and yanking at the flesh of your hips.

The desire to have him inside of you is driving you mad, your body writhing to feel any inch of him. He chuckles at the scene, appeasing you with lazy strokes of his thick length up and down your soaked slit. Mewling, you move to reach behind you, wanting to force him to plunge into your walls, but a quick squeeze of Jimin’s hand reminds you of his presence.

The Beta clicks his tongue, shaking his head. “So impatient. You’re completely helpless but so desperate for our Alpha, aren’t you?”

Hoseok drags his cock until it barely catches on your entrance, making you drop your head with an embarrassed whine.

“Good,” he murmurs, rolling his hips so that he slowly sheaths himself in your warmth. “I hope you are ready for me, because once I start, I won’t be able to stop.”

Unable to take the torture a moment longer, you sway your hips back, sinking onto his length fully with a cry of his name. The tension of your arms being stretched out slowly ebbs into pleasure, your back bowing to ensure every delicious inch of him is now buried inside of you.

“Don’t stop, Alpha.”

Your words seem to be a trigger, and the wolf behind you growls out a rasp of your name before he slides out - only to slam so hard into you that your teeth rattle.

The pace he sets is punishing, skin slapping on skin as he pistons in and out of you with otherworldly strength. Deep groans harmonize with your high pitched whines, your head turning to the side to gasp for air as you take him fully with each thrust. You understand now why he had Jimin pin your arms - holding you in place as you thrash forward with every assault of Hoseok’s pelvis.

The Alpha’s hands abandon your hips to press into the mattress on either side of your head, body looming over you. His mouth falls to your neck, biting and sucking marks until they’re blooming in a dark red violet, making your toes curl. Hoseok alternates between marking you and praising you, pressing words of affirmation into each bruise he indulges.

“You feel so good, so fucking wet and tight, all for me,” he croaks against your skin, mouth spit slick and raw. “All for me, my perfect princess, my mate, my mate-”

A high pitched keen rips from his chest, and you feel his canines drag against the thin flesh of your throat as his hips pick up momentum, pounding into your center. You know what’s coming, and you feel the band in your belly tighten at the thought, your cunt throbbing in time to your pulse.

A hand that was holding himself up moves to grasp at your breast, tugging and twisting the nipple until you sob, hurtling you towards your climax.

“Claim me, Hoseok,” you whisper, turning your head to give him better access. “Mark me as your mate.”

A sharp howl echoes through the room, your wolf cantering with a needy plea as you bare your throat to the Alpha, giving yourself up to him. Even the Beta answers the cry, your wrists forgotten as he shows allegiance to his leader, tilting his head to expose his neck.

It’s then you feel Hoseok’s teeth puncture your skin, his mouth latching right to the curve of where the column of your throat flows into your shoulder. The hand previously pawing your breast is now at the base of your neck, holding you tightly as he suckles at the wound, drinking deeply from your life’s blood.

Crisp pain bubbles into mindless pleasure, the mate bond now fully snapping into place as he continues to fuck into you, propelling you to your end. With his mouth working at your neck and cock pounding into you, you’re unable to hold back any longer - letting out a piercing cry of his name as you’re thrown headfirst over the edge.

The orgasm is intense, blinding, your body convulsing as waves of euphoria crash over you. It seems like hours pass before the high wanes, leaving you dizzy and your mouth dry. Hoseok isn’t faring much better, muttering nonsense as he works you through it, your cunt squeezing him with every ripple until he’s groaning out a warning.

“I’m gonna come, f-fuck,” he grits his teeth, nuzzling against your cheek. “Gonna knot you.”

The sensation of him swelling inside of you has your eyes widening, body flinching with oversensitivity. “Hoseok, I can’t - I don’t think I can take-”

“Shh, you can take it, I know you can,” he coos, his hand slipping to rub at your engorged clit, causing you to cry out. “My mate, my good girl,”

His mouth finds your mate mark, licking and nibbling it when his hips start to stutter against you, his choked moans ringing in your ear. You feel his release coat your walls, followed by an increase in pressure that’s minor at first, but rapidly increases. Wiggling, you try to move away, but he holds you to him, sweeping the hair out of your face. “You’re doing so well, taking it so well. It’s almost over.”

Just as you plead that you cannot possibly take any more, the swelling stops, trapping him deep within your core. You feel so full, almost uncomfortably so, but your body seems to adjust quickly, a flushed heat smoldering in your gut at the ache. Hoseok presses a lingering kiss on your mark before shifting you so that you’re both on your sides, him cradling your back with an arm slung low on your waist.

To your surprise, he even beckons Jimin over, who immediately comes to lay facing you, hand reaching to clasp your own, sincere smile creasing his eyes. Your chest tightens with affection, heart ballooning as you lie between your two wolves, basking in the love they’ve shown you, bathing under the pale light of the full moon.

It takes about a quarter of an hour for the knot to deflate, Hoseok wincing when he finally slides his softened cock out from inside of you. The satiety you had felt remained, even as some of his seed begins to dribble from your spent center, and to your delight your mate refuses to allow you to clean it up, instead resuming your previous cuddling positions.

With your body nuzzled warmly between the Alpha and Beta, your lids grow heavy with fatigue, idle chat of the men lulling you into a light sleep. You can hear them whispering, talking lowly over your snoozing form, but can’t bring yourself to focus on the words.

“So, does your earlier declaration mean this could happen again?” Jimin smirks, smugness evident in his tone despite the question.

Hoseok hums. “Maybe. Who knows? I’ll never say never, though ultimately it’s up to her.”

“Well, we might want to keep that between the three of us, then. I can practically hear Jungkook’s indignant cries about fairness if he finds out.”

The redhead barks out a laugh at that, his chest vibrating against your back. “Good point. The pup did always have a bit of a crush on her,” he trails off, hand reaching to clap against Jimin’s shoulder. “But he isn’t the only one.”

Silence envelops the room then, breaths and heartbeats the only white noise calling for you to give into the siren song of sleep. Blinking, you force your eyes open to peer up at Jimin, wanting to say something, anything to reassure him - but the Alpha beats you to it.

“It’s okay, Jimin. I know. I know she knows, too - and we both love you. Mate bond or not, it will always be the three of us.”

You can’t see Hoseok’s face, but you can hear the sincerity in his voice, the genuine love in his words. However, you can see Jimin’s expression, and your pulse races at the smile you find there, the mirrored adoration shining in his eyes as he stares at the Alpha before dropping his gaze to yours.

“I know.” His hand reaches out, thumb smoothing the angle of your jaw, giving you a knowing look before he glances back at Hoseok.

“It will always be the three of us, no matter what.”

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unholyplumpprincess · 3 years

Text

The Bet

Anonymous commission !!!!!!

Summary: It should have just been a quick win bet to let you finally get your fix of Revenant again. 'Become champion' shouldn't have been too hard, considering you'd nailed him and his squad before he could get you in the past. And yet, of course, Revenant wants to always win. And he will win, especially if it means you're up on the table for him to have. Or. In which you and Revenant have a FWB situation and he's been teasing you for weeks with no relief. So you come up with a bet to mutually solve your issues, totally set on winning. How hard could it be?

Reblogs > Likes. It costs zero dollars to reblog the fics u like!

!!!Minors and ageless blogs dni or you will be blocked on sight!!!

Fandom: Apex Legends

Relationship: Revenant/Reader

Warnings: R18+/NSFT, Revenant has a dick attachment, Reader is gender neutral and has a vulva, mentions of canon typical violence, relationship is shown more as FWB than romantic.

Words: 2.9k

_____________________

As far as anyone knew? Revenant was not a person who played well with others.

That was something he liked to keep up, a good face at that. He was good at growling out hate filled things of how pathetic a person was, mowing down people with a good hearty laugh about it, and making the cameras love him more and more. The Syndicate wanted to keep their little...falter under wraps. The fans all around thought him to be a ruthless killer with nothing but sadism and glee for it in his metal little heart- or rather, lack thereof. It drove them wild with excitement.

However, you knew better. You knew him in ways people couldn’t even fathom.

~Rest under the cut~

You knew of Revenant at his most vulnerable moments. To the way he didn’t immediately resort to violence if you so much as touched his shoulder, to the way he liked being under someone, to the way he squirmed under the lightest of brushes against a sensitive wire. You knew him to be sadistic as everyone else saw him, that may have been true, but what they didn’t get to see was him at his weakest points. Where weaponry was not needed besides a sharp tongue and painful wit.

No, you knew him on his knees, optics swirling with dangerous emotions as you cupped his cheek and told him what a good boy he was. You liked it that way too, that you were the only one who could see him like that. Of course, it wasn’t a strictly one on one relationship, nor was it a relationship at that. Friends with benefits wasn’t the right word either, not with the way he snarled his possession of you- even if he knew better than to stake a claim.

You were an addiction to him. An obsession. Revenant couldn’t get enough of you, and there was power behind that statement, wasn’t there?

The problem to that statement, however, was his want to tease. He wanted you as addicted to him as he was to you. One of his activities and games he liked to pull being making you forced to think about him. And what else better to make you do it than to limit your pleasures of his form? He’d thought it to be a brilliant idea.

You’d thought it to be infuriating.

But, in the end, it worked, so maybe he was in the right.

It starts as a little game, something you could have laughed at and brushed off. Your sponsors had wanted you paired up with someone different, your chemistry with Wattson and Octane was always something to be excited about. Revenant had been paired up with Caustic and Wraith for the next two weeks of the season. This wasn’t an issue, though you two worked well together, you often butted heads. The issue with this?

Revenant had no issues going solo. And he certainly had no issues antagonizing you throughout firefights.

Out of the corner of your eye you always seemed to see a black and orange lit figure nearby, lit much like the fresh spread of lava. The amber glowing eyes in the darkness out of the corner of your eye always made shivers run down your spine. You knew his totem only allowed him to go so far, but much like a ghost he’d appear and then disappear when you’d finally whip around to aim a gun his direction.

Wattson had taken note of your behavior and the callouts of ‘enemy’ being nearby and had paused your squad’s trek to ask if you were alright, if you needed to take a second. You felt like you looked paranoid, not to mention it was a distraction technique- the bastard.

But, hard to think you’re imagining things when not a minute later you’re lagging behind and feel a smooth metal hand trace up your side from behind, a presence lingering behind you. A snarl in your ear and the growl of a voice box, “I could have my way with you right here-”

But when you whip around and press your wingman into his chest and pull the trigger, only a dark laugh follows as he zips back to his totem.

Fucker.

The sudden gunshot gets your teammates attention in question, Octane throwing up his hands in a ‘what the fuck’ gesture to you to which you reply with a half shrug as you speak into the comm, “Shot a cargo bot, missed.”

Even with goggles and a mask he doesn’t look convinced.

It happens again and again and again. Revenant likes his games, especially likes it when you’re waiting for him at any turn with your gun ready and your haunches pulled up like a flighty cat. He waits, and waits, and waits until you’re alone or lagging behind before he seems to find you. It’s little things, just a touch, a whisper, almost like a ghost is haunting you and driving you up a wall.

A hand brushes your side promisingly, another squeezes your hip or ass, a gruff voice growling in your ear- nothing above a whisper to never let the comms hear, “What a delicious example you would make if I fucked you open in front of all these cameras.” Wattson caught him that time, having only seen him sneak up behind you before she fired her sentinel perfectly into him and over your shoulder.

Another day, another haunting touch up to your chest, a skim of metal digits up the front of your throat, “A pathetic little toy you’d make for my squad, don’t you agree?” Before you’d managed to whip around and shoot a bullet right between his eyes. Your aim was getting better, but it’s only met with a delighted snarl as his ghost zipped back to his totem.

Every day, for the next week, he avoids you. Well, almost avoids. Revenant catches you in the hall sometimes, but before you can grab him and demand something, he skims right past you with a brush and a grunt of amusement. He’s playing you- playing you like a damned mouse to his cat. His plan is working, you’re fired up, near desperate to have him do the things he promises. But, there was just one, teensy little thing.

In your relationship? Whatever it was? You didn’t give up control. You were comfortable in it, liking to make him your bitch essentially. You liked him on his knees, liked him sounding desperate, hell you’d like him saying ‘please’ if he wasn’t so stubborn.

And he was very, very stubborn about politeness like: ‘Thank you’s and ‘please’s.

So, for him to come at you saying things like that? That was...new. You figured he was taunting you, maybe trying to spur you on, so you try to call him out on his bluff the next time you see him.

And the next time you see him? You don’t let him walk past you.

You push him to a nearby wall, pent up on no sexual relief but even more pent up in irritation. Revenant’s face doesn’t move, no muscles to really pull anything, but he does look at you with a look that must be curiosity- or hunger.

“You think you’re so funny,” You start with a growl to your own tone. It would never be as impressive as his own, but it gets his attention well enough. The way he tilts his head only serves to make your eyes narrow, mocking the same movement with your own head. Your eyes flicker across his face, licking your lips and gnawing your bottom lip briefly. “Fine. You want to be a tease? Play ghost? I’ll play games too.”

You hear him grunt in amusement, his optics hypnotically seeming to spin with deeper shades of oranges. You wait for him to gain interest before you continue, your hand stays twisted in his scarf, keeping him to the wall. It’d been weeks since you’d last fucked, you almost demand it, but instead you huff in amusement back at him. “A bet.”

The word makes him perk like a cat, his metal skeletal fingers wrapping around your wrist idly as you wait for him. Your eyes flicker between his optics as Revenant makes a soft noise in his chest, something that would sound like a rumbling purr on a big cat in contentment. “And what...sort of bet did you have in mind?” He almost sounds like a cartoon super villain the way he purrs it out, his thumb idly stroking along your pulse point. A quiet threat.

“The next person to be the champion is the winner. If you win, you can top next time, do whatever you want to me,” You start slowly, you’d had time to think of giving up control, but even you weren’t so confident as it comes out of your mouth. Almost tight in your throat. But the way he snarls in his chest tells you that that interested him enough.

“And if I win- and I will win,” You begin again, tugging on his scarf to get his attention again. “You let me do whatever I want to you. Please and thank you’s included. You’ll be a good boy and do whatever I say. Do we have a deal?”

With too good of a bet on the table, of course he agrees. But, you know he’ll eat those words. He’ll be under your heel soon enough and give you that ‘please’ you’ve always dreamed of hearing. You’ve kicked his ass every round thus far with a bullet to the chest and the head.

This would be a piece of cake.

It was not a piece of cake.

It seemed the bet WAS really too good because his kill count racks up higher than you’ve ever seen it get. You don’t even place top three with your own squad, maybe fifth in line and watching with a growing, gnawing feeling in your stomach as he climbed the ranks. Each shot perfect, his want for blood seeming to mellow out with his need to win.

Revenant becomes the champion that round, and you hear very quickly from mutters of other legends that he’s refused to do interviews and let his squad handle that part.

It’s not a surprise to you when a hand snatches you and yanks you into the hall as you quickly speed walk to your bedroom. You yelp, regardless, as you’re dragged to someone else’s bedroom.

Revenant’s chest almost hums with his voice box rattling his inner systems with his dark laughter. He doesn’t even make it to the bed with you, slamming you to the door, a hand around your throat and his leg thrust between yours. You make a choked sound, face flushed, and your heart absolutely pounding in your chest.

There’s only a brief moment where he leans into you, growling in your ear, “You did mean what you said, yes? I’d hate to have your screams be of pain.” It’s...almost sweet the way he’s asking for consent- even if it’s quiet. It could sound like a threat, but you understand his quick hesitation. You weren’t-- you’d never been beneath him.

Your quick nodding doesn’t shake him into believing you, he hisses under his breath for you to say it so he can hear you and you quickly chirp like an eager bird, “Yes! Yes- yes, a bet is a bet- have me. Any way you want. S-same safe word I use for you if it’s too much.”

The process from there isn’t slow. You knew Revenant wouldn’t be one to take his time if he had you in his clutches, and only proven to you when in no time you’re being stripped. It’s a bit of a blur, the first few moments. Your brain tries to wrap around it and make sense of it. Metal fingers cruelly squeezing your chest and toying with your nipples, a hand yanking your hair and forcing your head back so you couldn’t watch, the sharpness of metal teeth at your throat- the desperation of yanking your clothing off.

You’re naked before you realize it, back against a soft bed rather than a wall. He’s fit between your legs, hovering over you much like a starved spider, tracing his fingers up your inner thighs and making you quiver from the sensation.

His laugh is fitting for the situation, low and dark and sending shivers up your spine, “Always giving punishment to me,” He begins, his voice deep and resonating throughout his chest with the reverberations of his voice box. “That’s what you call it, isn’t it? And yet, who knew you were punishing yourself...” His voice trails off, his palm resting atop your mound so his thumb can trace from your hole, up through your lower lips to your clit.

The sensation is beyond anything you’ve felt. Though Revenant’s digits are metal and ribbed to allow joint control, they don’t feel sharp nor like they’ll catch. A unique texture experience. You can’t help it when your hips lift up, a sharp exhale leaving your nose as he circles your clit.

Fuck, did he find lube somewhere or were you just this wet?

“Rev-” You start shakily, feeling two of his fingers tracing down through your slick and to your hole. One presses in, almost like a ribbed toy is the way you’d describe it. Your thigh muscle twitches as you resist clamping your legs down on his arm, instead resting a hand in your own hair to ground yourself as you whine.

“If only you let me do this sooner,” He murmurs as his finger presses deep inside of you- fuck it was long- curling just right and testing the waters before fitting a second inside of you. “Could have found what a little, needy bitch you were a lot sooner.”

You would kick him if he wasn’t right. Revenant’s pumping his wrist now, fucking you thoroughly with his two fingers, rendering you ineffective. You knew he wasn’t much for foreplay, but even you’re thankful he’s prepping you. You bite back a sound when a third finger is introduced, his thumb stroking your clit in time and making your inner walls contract in time with the way you sob out a swear.

In no time, his fingers move from you, wiped on your inner thigh unceremoniously. Bastard. But, he introduces your favorite part.

His cock attachment today was something you had picked out. It matched his plating appropriately, a black coloring with deep amber nodes framing the sides and glowing much like his eyes. It was thick, maybe about as thick as your wrist and seven inches long. The ribbed sensation on it made it uniquely shaped with a rounded head leaking the light red coloring of his lubricant reserves.

You throw an arm over your eyes and turn your head as one of his hands grabs your hip tightly, the other guiding his cock inside of you. You bite your bottom lip when Revenant growls, pushing inside of you in near one go with the help of stretching you and how his lubrication helped with the slide.

Your toes curl, pressing your heels into the backs of his leg’s plating, already feeling on edge. “Rev-” You start once more, your voice shaking as you lose focus.

A yank of your arm makes you whine, trying to tug it back, but his hand snatches your jaw and forces your head towards him. “Look into my eyes when I fuck you raw. Remember who you belong to.” He snarls, your eyes fluttering open near on command and meeting deep amber optics. They swirl hypnotically, a hint he’s recording this for his own database. Bastard.

But, you can’t find it in you to care. Letting him hold your jaw to keep you there, his thumb tracing your lower lip as his hips slam into you again and again. He’s always sensitive, he won’t last very long, and you were already on edge.

His pleasure is expressed through huffs and growls, his voice box mimicking a moan only to branch off into something static-filled as if losing connection on the phone. Choppy, echoing, and yet his optics never leave your half lidded eyes. Your lips are parted to express your own pleasures, eyes fluttering and near rolling back into your head as his hips slam into yours again and again. It’d bruise you, that much you knew, but you can’t find it in you to tell him to be gentler.

“Reven- Rev—cu-cumming, don’t stopdon’tstop-” Your voice shakes, edging off into a wail as you start to cum with jerks of your hips. His groan is music to your ears, a low sound reverberating in his chest as his back hunches inwards, looking ever so much like a spider as his hand slips from your jaw to wrap around your throat. He’s cumming with you, his cock jerking and emptying at least half his reserve in you.

You’re panting, dizzy and euphoric. A soft laugh leaves you, gently nudging at his chest, “Should- should have let you top earlier, huh?” You laugh playfully, breathy and unfocused.

“Who said I was done with you, little thing?” He snarls back at you, shoving you right back down onto the bed and crossing an arm over your upper chest to keep you down.

Revenant intended to milk out his winning. All night if he needed.

He intended to make you scream loud enough for the whole compound to know appropriately what this ‘thing’ was between you two.

That you were his.

#Revenant #Revenant x Reader #apex legends #apex lemons #nsft #lemon #commissions #princess writing

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mc-critical · 3 years

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What are your thoughts on Ibrahim? For me it went from indifference and dislike in season 1 to liking in season 2 and becoming my favorite male character in season 3 tbh. Actually the only good male character by season 3 (season 4 has many other options too). He is probably the most complex and well written character and I really sympathise with him. His arrogance was his downfall but if Suleyman wasn't such a bitch it wouldn't have been lol. He wasn't wrong in that imo. He was a slave, a fisherman's son but his intelligence and skill took him farther than anyone else and it's not wrong to be proud of such a feat. He deserved the pride more than just about anyone, even Suleyman. What I dislike the most about him is his treatment of Nigar after their relationship ended. She's my favorite character and although their relationship itself was my favorite in the whole show (other than Nurbanu and Selim) it ended really badly

Ibrahim is one of my most conflicting characters on the series: one time I feel like I don't get the appeal, especially not the stans in one Bulgarian forum, he doesn't elicit such a strong emotional reaction in me as he does in others, but then once he hits an incredibly strong arc and I begin to analyze his character and all its dimensions, I come to love him for what he is and realize how much effort has gone in conceiving and developing him. He's certainly the most well-written male character that isn't a sultan or a prince in the entire franchise. (the sultans aren't the brightest, but the bar is so high when it comes to their writing. There isn't any of them that is badly written. The princes are also well developed, but now that I think about it, Ibrahim surpasses some of them as well!) He's delightfully fleshed out with every detail; his actions, while morally ambiguous at times, are very understandable and you can clearly see the deeper, nuanced reasons why he does what he does. His arc was a sight to see from beginning to end and watching it reach its inevitable tragic conclusion was heartwrenching. At a point he became so important to the narrative, whether it was intentional or not, that the show (or actually, S03B in particular, because S04 was absolutely fantastic!) began to lowkey miss something without him. He had such a strong presence that couldn't be matched by anyone else after him.

[To be brutally honest though, I find his dynamic with Hürrem in terms of screentime to be kinda overrated. Not that it's bad or anything, quite the contrary - their chemistry was great, they were consistent and fun to watch, they had quite a few great scenes that were definetly more than Hürrem and Mahidevran's, I dare even say this is one of the most solid antagonistic dynamics of Hürrem's writing-wise, but I just find it sometimes gets way too much credit? It's weird, I know.]

The most interesting thing about him is, without a doubt, his fatal flaw that I... actually don't think is arrogance. It's not up for argument that Ibrahim can definetly come off as arrogant, but the arrogance is rather a manifestation of his fatal flaw, not his fatal flaw itself. I believe that it's precisely his inferiority complex that is the root of his vulnerabilities: as you said, he's been only a fisherman in Parga, and his background is both a source of memories where he can recall his more "innocent" days with his family and a tough spot for him where he is consistently reminded of something that is already in the past after all he has achieved. He did want to return to Parga, to see who he used to be one more time, but after that it's as if he never gets a chance to forget, to put it behind him. He pretends he has forgotten, but that consistent reminder of how he has started seems to be constantly haunting him to the point he begins to remind himself of it. It's not only people like Figani, Iskender Çelebi or the other members of the divan in early S01 that don't let him forget, it's as if he himself doesn't want to forget. It's undeniable that he had climbed up to heights he wouldn't dream of and the role of a grand vezier needed getting used to and to be dealt with with care. On one hand, we could argue that he reminds himself of Parga as a way to preserve his moral compass, in a way, to realize when and how he has screwed up or remind himself of the limitations of how far can he go, for Süleiman is his friend and companion who he wouldn't want to disappoint. But on the other hand, the more he rose in the hierarchy, the stronger became a wish for him to exceed these limitations placed upon him by everyone around. Süleiman is able to give him everything if he wishes, so why not let it happen? Then he's going to prove to everyone, prove to his inner demons, this sense of inferiority that he, in fact, can not only become the most politically adept grand vezier there is, but a person who has his own country within the country and can rule it with ease. The political arena ultimately becomes a target of his inner conflict where he projects more power than anyone else, is most influential and does the best in order to gain the goal, not only to gain SS's approval, but show that, yeah, he can do his best for the role he's put in, fixating on the Ottoman country he claims to be a ruler of and his apparently endless rights. It turns into a coping mechanism where he can escape his past and background and he gets so sucked in it that his self awareness becomes less and less. That's where his arrogance comes from and I feel that if he didn't possess that complex of his, he would've managed things way better and had more self control, as a result. He was a very good politician in the show, setting in motion many good strategies (his strategy gave them the Mohacs victory after all), having a strong, pragmatic mind and many innovative ideas and if he didn't try his hardest to convince himself he's worth something that isn't just the story of the fisherman in Parga, Hürrem wouldn't stand a chance against him.

This inferiority complex is the reason for his infidelity, too. He loves Hatice dearly and he never expected that she of all people would do the very thing he dreads the most. Her pulling rank on him came as such a shock for him that it seemed he would never forget or forgive. It put infinetly more salt to the wound, deeply hurting his ego and the self-esteem he was just beginning to gain. That's why he let himself in Nigar's hands for so long, for she would only want to please him, for that relationship would have no limitations whatsoever and wouldn't restrict Ibrahim in any way. It was something that was his, something the dynasty would never touch or learn about. I love Nigar and Ibrahim's relationship, too. Principally, I'm not a fan of love triangles at all, but that one is a notable exception for how wonderfully, but crushingly psychological it is. It wasn't added in only for the sake of the drama, it was set up for very long and it was like the characters actually got there through their own actions and they had to truly face that struggle to flesh out and evolve. But there wasn't genuine love there, not in Ibrahim's part. That was his biggest weakness speaking, causing the illusion of love, not the real feeling of it. He wanted to preserve this relationship as the fisherman in Parga, but to me, it felt like he showed something more similar to his own confident assertions of the power of a grand vezier than actual regard for Nigar's feelings. It all was a lie he wanted to believe, because of his ego's denial, and he believed it so much he told Nico that Nigar was the person he truly loved in E51. And when he did get out of the lie (the monologue in E57), see how he reacts differently in front of her now - he turns off every single try of hers to give him affection, he reacted very badly when he learned she was pregnant, it was as if he wanted her to wake up from the dream and move on, too? And due to his inner conflict that perpetuates his arrogance grew even more in S03, he got over Nigar, but not over her child. Esmanur's birth made him return to and enforced his old habits that made him consider that child as another piece of solace, something out of the dynasty, also only his, trying so desperately to have her live with him and Hatice. The infidelity and the way he treated Nigar after he realized the error of his ways are ones of the worst things Ibrahim did, along with Leo (now, I get he wanted to knock Hürrem down a peg, but that was admittedly much for me.) and while I understand why these events and interactions came to fruition, I can't justify him for them.

I agree that had Süleiman not given him as much power, his inferiority complex would be highly downplayed, at the very least. He underestimated the possible consequences of Ibrahim's rise and it really doesn't look like he knows him as much as he thinks he does. Whether he did it to test him (SS's lasting reminders that Ibrahim gets closer to death) or because he loves him dearly and wants to embrace his potential ("I want you to use that mind only for me!") or both, it's like he gave him both too much freedom and too many boundaries at once. I mean, I understand why SS executed Ibrahim: his affirmations, no matter their backstory and how metaphorical they are, pose a definite threat for a padişah and along with his growing paranoia of betrayal, he couldn't be sure how far he was going to go anymore. It's as if Ibrahim crossed every line, openly acting like he controls the padişah and his state in front of the fellow pashas, efendis and ambassadors and that couldn't be controlled anymore. It's as if he had done his best efforts to bring him down to earth, but since none of it was working, he decided to act accordingly. The many "failures" of Ibrahim have been piling up in the narrative in the span of 81 episodes and I get why SS would finally snap for what was the final straw. However, doing so much unprecedented stuff for a grand vezier was bound to bring disasters for the padişah due to the chance in his mind that he would try to question or prevail over him, hence Süleiman should've realized that it was only natural one would want more and more. And that happened with S03 Ibrahim - he fought more and more with his inner demons, hence wanting to have more and more to be validated by the others and by his own ego that perhaps wouldn't feel satisfied regardless.

While his fatal flaw underlines his complexity, it also gets complimented by his many positive qualities: his love for Hatice was very sweet in the beggining and after the Nigar plot, it turned out to be really genuine - their reconciliation was very telling in that aspect; his relationship and loyalty to Süleiman deserves respect, even though his inferiority complex came in the way, he still would never give him up and never once lost hope in his recovery when he was in his deathbed and while that may become up for debate in S03, he would never openly stand against him and would gladly try his best to please him; his bond with Mustafa is amazing, too - I love how he practically raised that kid and gave him sound advice as well as his mother; that said, his relationship with Mahidevran deserves more appreciation and it is one of the most reciprocal and understanding, soft and "carefee" dynamics of the show; I love his dedication to his family and how he loves them as much and remembers them with the same fondness as ever before. In short, when going in depth, this multifaceted character has so much to offer, like, wow!

Okay, when I first watched the show, there was that point where I felt Ibrahim overstayed his welcome and I even wanted for Hürrem to finish him already (heh, those were the days! 😅) but now when I've rewatched and reexamined MC many times, I see that despite of his few negative traits, everything about this character flows so well and so organically and it's one of the characters in the series that have aged really well with time in my eyes. And I respect him so much for that.

#magnificent century #ibrahim pasha #ask #illusorybeing

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