#and get gut punched by the fact that this is fanart for the guy from bridgerton and chris pine in that fucking dnd movie

[skltart]

the holy man and his thief

[mrzardark]

[I don't want to debate either, but this post helped me to release something that I felt stuck in my gut and that I couldn't get out.]

The best thing to do is not to deny the truth…

Tatsumaki's character was destroyed.

And I also feel that it was under the excuse of making her more "attractive"/"ideal" for a wider audience, magnifying certain things and reducing others, if not distorting/removing them completely…

I liked the three points addressed, and would like to complement them if possible:

1. Disrespect to Tatsumaki as a character…

Tatsumaki's behavior during "Psychic Sisters Arc" was completely OOC. It felt as if her character had been flanderized, infantilized and stripped of all those facets that could be considered uncomfortable, negative or repellent. All for the purpose of "sanitizing" her.

Now, instead of wanting to take revenge on Psykos for what she did to her during their fight, she is the one who is mainly interested in protecting her…

Now, instead of continuing to be a "cage" from which Fubuki wants to escape, she turns out to be just a good big sister who always ends up being right…

Now, instead of continuing to show disinterest in finding an opponent capable of overcoming her, she's portrayed as someone who was always willing to have a good fight (which is one of the worst retcons ever done to her character)…

And now, instead of disliking Saitama, they want her to believe that she's interested in the bald guy just because of his strength and his ability to overpower her and/or be her punching bag…

It's like the original Tatsumaki is quickly being discarded in favor of the AI Tatsumaki from the commercial.

2. Self-insertion…

Here I may be being a bit more inquisitive, but I feel that Tatsumaki's OOC behavior, along with the narrator's explanations and the text on the cover of chapter 182, had some focus towards self-insertion.

This because it was emphasized many times that Tatsumaki, for no logical reason, was enjoying being with Saitama and the whole situation. And that's already a trigger for some readers to self-insert themselves into Saitama and feel that Tatsumaki "enjoys" being with "him".

(And the fact that Saitama is the main character and, at times, a simpleton doesn't help make this any harder to achieve lol).

3. Destruction of Tatsumaki's appearance…

Tatsumaki's entire appearance has undergone a transmutation for the sole purpose of increasing her sex appeal, highlighting childish features and simplifying her design.

Physique-wise, the modern Tatsumaki is more in keeping with the more saucy and exaggerated fanarts of her than her original appearance. As if she had been remolded specifically for the purpose of being able to fit them.

As for clothing, Tatsumaki's first outfit was a balance between comfortable and unique. It went perfectly with the "witchy" image that had been ascribed to her, and which she had accepted, without straying into the revealing or the obscene.

But the current attire is only there to increase her sex-object appeal and further abuse the worn-out underwear controversy; in short, it doesn't seem like something she would consciously use.

After all that Tatsumaki has been through throughout her life, why would she wear a dress that would only succeed in getting her objectified and disrespected? Why would she want others to view her as a sex object and not with respect? Why would she want to send an image other than that of someone to be feared and respected?

Also, what was the need to get rid of her iconic hair for a standard one?

I just don't understand the reasoning behind all of this…

man i’m trying really hard to be happy about opm but the way they did tatsumaki a few chapters ago left a sour taste in my mouth that i can’t seem to get rid of. i cannot believe what they did to her design i STILL feel betrayed it’s ridiculous

i’ve already bitched about this on twitter a while back but i’ve been feeling upset about it the past couple days so i’m gonna complain again.

pictures of the old way she was drawn vs the new way plus my rambling dialogue on the way fanservice changed in opm under the cut

(old tatsu on the left new on the right)

she looks more like a kid now and yet is simultaneously more sexualized at the same time. it is STRANGE i don’t like it

i think when i read these chapters i suffered the whole time but was in denial about it like “ITS NOT THAT BAD…” until i saw pic #2 and finally said “it is… it really is that bad.”

i’m not even someone who’s super annoyed by fanservice (i mean obviously i’m an opm fan). and i can usually ignore it easily…

as long as it doesn’t fall into 3 categories

1. involves sexual assault/it’s disrespectful

2. the fanservice is just the boring male protag getting boobs shoved in his face

3. sacrifices having a good design for the sake of being “sexy”

the crimes against #3 are straight up egregious.

tatsumaki used to have an extremely solid design. her dress had a lot of emphasis on the iconic tendrils and it complimented her well. her hair was very curly which matched the tornado theme and was an overall joy to look at. her eyes were sharp and cold which also felt iconic for her character and it reflected the harshness of her personality. her freaky eyes were always one of my favorite parts of her design.

In the new design, her dress has been shrunk to try to reveal as much as possible. it doesn’t match the flow of the legs like the old way used to and just feels awkward. the tendrils are translucent too which again. messes with the dress. her hair isn’t as curly anymore it lacks the DRAMA the old hair has. the eyes are too soft now, and it doesn’t feel intentional. i can already hear someone going “oh well the eyes are like that to show she’s enjoying herself.” except the eyes haven’t been changed slightly, they’re changed completely. they look exactly like the eyes of any other character.

I’m giving proportions a whole section to itself lol. they’ve widened her hips, somehow shrunk her already small torso even MORE, and gave her a bobble head, and more emphasis on boobs. looking at her, especially in pic 2, it feels like you just gave a hentai artist a pen and told them to draw tatsu. there’s zero regard for her original design and proportions it’s just skimpy clothes slapped onto an unrecognizable face and body. i mentioned this earlier but they babyifyed her face and made her act more “childish” than she already kind of did while sexualizing her more it’s extremely uncomfortable.

#1… the disrespect…

sexual assault isn’t really in opm for fanservice… yet… (i do not trust murata to not draw some non consensual boob groping at this point) but the disrespect, the objectification and complete lack of regard for the characters is palpable

i don’t read one punch man for the fan service and i never have. the reason why i’ve gotten this far without getting pissed off is that i felt like the fanservice, while excessive, wasn’t totally disrespectful. it felt like the characters were like that, not 100% for the audience, but because they were comfortable with it too. i don’t know how to describe it but nothing about tatsu’s design now says “i dressed myself like this, i feel good, i’m going outside now”

she feels less like a character and more like an object to be placed in situations she wouldn’t be comfortable with and react in ways she wouldn’t typically react, stripping her of her personality to be more “ideal” exclusively with the audience in mind and robbing her of what made her unique in the process.

#2 ehhhh not as applicable

(#2 mentioned because i already wrote about 1 and 3 so leaving it out is awkward.)

saitama truly does not give a fuck lol. he doesn’t even feel like a middleman for the audience he’s just there. the fanservice feels more viewer based than self insert/projection based. that’s the only box opm isn’t currently ticking. saitama hasn’t had his personality revoked for the sake of the audience (YET. again i trust no one anymore)

final thoughts

every time i see the recent chapters and the art style just i think about her and just feel this sadness and sense of betrayal. i don’t think i would’ve had a problem with the psychic sisters arc if the tone and execution were more like the webcomic (rare words from me lol. i love the webcomic but celebrate the manga for its differences) and if tatsumaki was still drawn like an adult. I MISS HERRRR

i even get a little upset seeing fubuki now too. i don’t know if i would’ve if it weren’t for how tatsumaki has been demolished but i look at her and see how she’s posed and how her dress has somehow gotten tighter and feel sad none the less.

anyways i could continue but i actually need to move on with my day and i don’t feel like drafting this to expand on later since it’s just a rant lol. sorry for any grammar or spelling errors i wrote this at 7am after staying up the night before working on a quiz with heavy writing that i didn’t realize would take SIX HOURS. thanks for reading. hope i’m not alone here.

[pbeltarts]

Ok your fanart made me (probably all who saw it) to ship Danny and Dash so I have some questions related to Dash and a little with my new favorite trans boy.

Did you thinked about a backstory for Dash and a reason why he bully Danny?

How Dash and Danny meet? What was the relationship between Danny and Dash until bulling? The fact that Danny is trans made Dash act the way he does?

How the Fenton family react when Danny came out as a trans boy?

How is Dash family and how much they influence Dash life? We know nothing about it from the original in and I think you have or will have a really interesting idea about it.

Did Dash know that Danny is trans or he thinks Danny is just a skinny shy guy?

MOST IMPORTAN QUESTION: WHY IS DANNY SO ADORABLE???

Sorry if there are so many question. 😅

holy moly okay so

I think Dash and Danny have known each other since childhood days, kinda like Sam and Danny and since I don't think Danny came out until late middle school/early high school (essentially a time just before the show plot starts), I think most people who have been in the school system growing up with him would know he's trans

HOWEVER, I don't think this is a reason Dash would bully him or at least not the main reason? Cus I just don't like that narrative of 'bullying the queer kid'. What I think the case is, in a lot of bullying anyway, is that Dash kinda struggles himself with liking himself starting late middle school. Hormones are a thing by that time and I think Dash is gay, and that starts this internalized homophobia and stuff and to get away from that he starts doing anything possible to sort of prove his brain wrong. He does football, he works out a lot and beefs up, he hangs out with all these pretty girls, etc etc bc he's definitely not gay!!! right???

I think Danny partially becomes a target because in that time of Dash refusing to accept himself, Danny has? Danny has accepted himself and came out and is openly changing and I think that felt like waving a red flag at Dash so then he starts his bullying stuff. Which isn't cool, bullying isn't cool, none of this behavior is justified, just how I think it manifests.

I think too after awhile it's almost just normal to Dash to pick on Danny and he doesn't even remember why he does it anymore. Like even after highschool starts and he maybe is out to his close friends and is more comfortable with this change, he's still picking on Danny but the 'why' is fuzzy. Which I would think makes the identity reveal to Dash more gut-punching bc he would then remember everything he did and why he did because he's forced to reevaluate everything in that moment.

As for Dash's parents, I've not given them much thought. There's the idea that most shows go for that his dad is some overbearing football guy who wants his son to be super masculine, but honestly, I think that's kinda meh. I think in my idea, Dash's dad would be the more openly supportive and slightly laid back one? While Dash's mother is more... expecting of her son? She has high standards she expects him to meet.

As for the Fenton family's reaction to Danny's coming out, I think they'd be really supportive. They're already clearly unconventional and nonconservative thinkers, so I don't think there'd be any apprehension. I like to think that Danny told Jas first because she's the most grounded in the family and therefore she would be able to give him a sound reaction and help him out. I think she talked him through his gender crisis and helped him to research and talk about it to figure out how he really felt. Then I think they told his parents together, Jas mostly there as support, and his parents were super happy for him. Jack proudly proclaims 'MY SON' any instance he can, will really emphasize it in conversations. Maddie less energetic but just as supportive, immediately helping him fix his room up and getting new clothes and stuff for him to feel more comfortable.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

I was thinking that pt3 jotaro, rohan, and narancia headcanons with their s/o who's an idol. There's also one scenario I would like where s/o is waiting for whoever it is and some creepy fan goes up to them and ya know, invades their privacy, how would they react? Sorry if that's too much 🥺

Ohhhh niceeee! Let’s see how this goes ~!

~~~~

KUJO JOTARO

Even if the music you do isn’t his cup of tea, he still supports you very much, in his own way

He buys all your CDs and cassettes, every bit of merch, even if it’s figurines, Tshirts, stickers, pins

And will, without a doubt, act as your personal bodyguard

He’s genuinely shocked if anyone actually has the guts to get anywhere near you when he’s around ( unless it’s a meet & greet, a signing or something )

So you can imagine the face he made when he was escorting you out of a venue after a concert, while you were still glowing and wearing your cutesy and flashy idol outfit, and this...This...Guy...Waltzes up to you

With a stupidly lecherous grin on his stupid face 

And asks for an autograph on his merch Tshirt

You smiled politely, as per your Idol persona facade that you had to put up to keep up your positive image, and having to sign Tshirts was nothing out of the ordinary for you, so you didn’t mind it

But as soon as you stepped closer to him, he sneaked his arm around your waist and pulled you into his arms

And he started slurring a shit ton of perverted ‘love’ confessions

But boy of boy, he had no idea that your bodyguard was also your boyfriend

He’s literally dead

Jotaro will snatch his wrist from you, snap it broken and push him away

Then he picks you up bridal style, walking away, while he lets Star Platinum to Ora the shit out of this idiot

He would have liked to stay and watch, but he didn’t want you to witness such violence, even if you’re a Stand user and had to fight before

That night, he will be a bit quieter than usual for most of the time, until he gets to hold you to sleep

And when he thinks you’re finally asleep ( even if you aren’t ) he will mutter a very sweet ‘I love you’

-----

KISHIBE ROHAN

He’s a artist, okay??

Rohan = Art = Aesthetics

He will design all your clothes, one outfit for each song, all your special effects, all your stage backgrounds

Will also help you with songs if you ask him to, or will give you ideas if he sees you’re in an artistic blockage

Will propose to travel with you as your manager, but also, will plan trips in various places he deems beautiful, hoping you’ll feel inspired

Also, a ton of photoshoots

You’re a Goddess, alright??

Divine

And he will make sure EVERYONE sees that

Not to mention, he does all your album art and posters - He would get genuinely offended if he wasn’t the one to do them, actually

And a LOT of fanart

But he also does fanart with the two of you together, or with your Stands, either as they are, or dressed in the two of you’s artsy clothes

He actually takes great pride when people buy your merch, because it’s designed by him, so while they appreciate you, he’s also feeling appreciated from the shadows

It’s not the fame, but the art loving that matters to him!

However, one day when you and your girl group idol friends were at a long table, signing things for your fans, while he stood in the chair next to you, scribbling around in his notebook and occasionally gossiping with you

Some guy leaned over the table

Dangerously low

And close to your face

And just...Grinned

It was super creepy, and despite the perfect facade you always pulled, you could only lean further back on your chair and give an awkward half-smile, greeting him and very uncomfortably writing on the disk he bought

But he then asked for a kiss, and that was the last drop for Rohan

Before you knew it, the little white man that his Stand was punched this creep and wrote “Will always shout his most embarrassing secrets out loud”

And that happened

And it was so bad that the guy started sobbing and ran out of there

It took all self-control both you and Rohan had not to laugh hysterically

But by the time you finished the signing session, he took you to a nice cafe outside and you could finally freely gossip and mock all the idiots that cross your path

ESPECIALLY that guy

-----

GHIRGA NARANCIA

He’s literally your biggest and most vocal fan!!!

Will fanboy about you ALL the time, so much that he kinda annoys the Bucci gang

But they’re also happy for him ‘cause he got to meet the love of his life and he is so excitable and happy with you

So they will also support both you and him

Will be there, in the front row, with huge signs that say “Y/N WE LOVE YOU”

Will constantly yell ALL the lyrics to ALL your songs, and when you’re talking to the crowd, he’ll whistle and cheer so loud

It makes you grin so much and he loves it

Also, instead of the hip hop things he used to listen when on going on missions with the gang, he will listen, hum or sing your songs

So much that every member has at least one favourite line of your songs and will unfortunately have a song stuck in their head

After the concert, you had a meet & greet backstage with a few fans, but of course, Narancia was there and ran to hug you and spin you around, congratulating you on another perfect concert while kissing you all over your face

Apparently, despite the fact that you were open about your relationship with the boy since the beginning of your career, some of your fans weren’t aware of it  - Or maybe they didn’t want to acknowledge its existence

So as soon as Narancia let go of you, so you could catch your breath, you got picked up by someone else, which made you squeak in shock and surprise

This action left everyone speechless - Literally jaw dropped

And Narancia got so pissed off at this fan’s rudeness that he started throwing hands with him

Well, not literally, he respected you too much for that

But he literally picked the boy up by the scruff of his blouse and threw him away from you, threatening him to never get anywhere close to you ever again

If you don’t respect Y/N’s personal space, you don’t respect her music either, so you don’t deserve to be anywhere near her!

So he got security to throw him away from here

All while he commanded Aerosmith to chase him down and shoot the hell outta him, while he held you in his arms and comforted you

Not to mention, he’ll get info on him with the help of Buccellati’s gang and will make his life a living hell

All while giving you only sunshine, rainbows and unicorns, because you deserve all the best and nobody will EVER bother you again <3

[amirosebooks]

Dean’s Old Yeller Principle

“He made me so mad at first that I wanted to kill him. Then, later, when I had to kill him, it was like having to shoot some of my own folks. That’s how much I’d come to think of the big yeller dog.”

— Fred Gipson, Old Yeller, Chapter 1 (Published in 1942)

When I was twelve or thirteen my English teacher passed out copies of Old Yeller as assigned reading. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book, the quote above from the opening chapter tells you most everything you need to know for the context of this meta post. And for those of us who are still emotionally scarred from the damned book, I’m sorry for dredging up those memories.

Now, before I go any further, a disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, this meta and interpretation of canon is my own. I’m not trying to “preach” to anyone about why Dean “is allowed” to be an asshole while he’s grieving or going through some shit. Or any other argument that consistently gets thrown back in the face of meta posts like this whenever Dean is being an emotional dick. You’re entitled to your interpretations, feelings and reactions, as am I. I’m merely offering this meta to 1) get it out of my mind 2) point and wave about the nods to this classic book that’s traumatized generations of American children 3) cheer Dean on for turning yet another teaching from the “older, wiser generation” John came from on its head.

Groovy? Okay, now we can move on.

I’m gonna throw the rest of this under the cut for length and to keep people who are sensitive to pets / animals dying in really sad ways from having their days ruined by talking more about the book unless they’re good with having that happen.

Now, as I said in my disclaimer bit, Old Yeller is largely considered classic literature here in the states. My memories of it are a weird mix of vague on the details and strong on the emotions it evoked. From what I remember, the main character was a young teenager when his family brought home Yeller. For whatever reason, our main character hated this dog. I don’t remember the details and they’re honestly not important to this meta. The hate he felt toward the dog is important. So is the fact that the hate slowly turned into love and devotion to the dog. Which made it even more gutting when, on a hunting trip (if I remember correctly) Yeller was bitten by a rabid animal and contracted rabies.

At the end of the novel, the Coates family are once again attacked by a wild animal, a wolf, and saved by Yeller’s bravery. Yeller is bit during the attack and becomes infected with rabies. Travis knows that despite his connection to Yeller and Yeller’s protection of his family, the dog must be killed before it becomes fully rabid and does any harm to him and his family. As the man of the house while his father is gone, Travis takes it upon himself to put Yeller out of his misery with his hunting rifle. Travis is heartbroken by what he has done, but knows that it was the right thing to do for his family. (From here.)

Sound familiar? Good. That’s what I thought too when we got the shot above in the graveyard in 14x20.

[Obviously, rabies, once there are symptoms like Yeller had, is incurrable, so putting him down was literally the only option. And we are talking here about Supernatural, which operates on soap opera rules so anything goes, but let’s just roll with the similarities for the sake of argument.]

I remember telling my husband while we were watching it “Dude, they’re really going to Old Yeller Jack, omg.” (I even made fanart of the moment.)

And then, something incredible happened.

Dean threw out the script yet again and set off season 15 with the dull thud of a gun being tossed into the grass.

Now, I hear you. “That’s great, Ami. Why should we care?”

Lemme tell you a thing, friend.

In order to tell you thing thing, I want to take a trip way back to season 4. Back when the brothers were still nose deep into John Winchester’s gospel of Monster = Evil = Kill The Thing.

(Screencaps are all from Home of the Nutty.)

4x21 - When the Levee Breaks

Sam: Stop bossing me around, Dean. Look. My whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots, and I trust you because you are my brother. Now I’m asking you, for once, trust me.

Dean: No. You don’t know what you’re doing, Sam.

Sam: Yes, I do.

Dean: Then that’s worse.

Sam: Why? Look, I’m telling you-

Dean: Because it’s not something that you’re doing, it’s what you are! It means- Dean cuts himself off.

Sam: What? No. Say it. (Sam has tears in his eyes.)

Dean: It means you’re a monster. (Transcript from here.)

I remember the first time I watched the show and I got to this episode. That fucking line was such a gut punching moment. And it was such an effective and emotional moment that Ruby was able to extend it later to further manipulate Sam.

Now, the screencap I grabbed for this moment is of Dean in tears (well, that single man tear he’s known for) after labelling Sam a monster for a reason. I want to remind all of us of just how much it killed Dean to have to use that label for Sam. To have to try to rationalize that the boy he raised, his brother, the guy who has been there forever and has always been Dean’s charge to take care of is now the thing that Dean is going to have to put down because he falls under the label of monster.

You know what, let’s go back a little farther, to the first episode of season 2. To this moment:

Remember this look? The one we later learned was thanks to John telling Dean that Dean was going to need to put Sam down? That Sam was going to become a monster? Yeah, ouch.

I added the year Old Yeller was published (1942) to the quote at the top of this meta to help give some context about the time it was written and the world it was released into. I’d also like to make note that in 1957 (or about a year before Henry Winchester jumped forward in time to meet the brothers in season 8 and give them keys to the bunker and had to choose to abandon John when John was still a fairly young boy) Disney released a movie version of the book. It’s absolutely, if the movie exists in the SPN world, the kind of thing young John would have watched and taken some kind of black and white moral guidance from.

It’s the kind of book/movie that John would have probably (note, this is where we start diving into my own headcanons for a moment) made sure the boys were aware of when he started thinking about bringing them on hunts to keep them from freezing because the “person” on the other end of their shotgun is someone’s mom. I could see it being the kind of thing he’d use as a way to show them both that, yes, shit is hard but you have to do the right thing and sometimes that means killing the thing you love. At least, I could picture him thinking that way. (Also, this still makes me wonder about exactly how early John started suspecting there was something different about Sam, but that’s a whoooole other post.)

Moving on and forward to season 6.

6x20 - The Man Who Would Be King

Castiel: The angel-proofing Bobby put up on the house – he got a few things wrong.

Dean: Well, it’s too bad we got to angel-proof in the first place, isn’t it? Why are you here?

Castiel: I want you to understand.

Dean: Oh, believe me, I get it. Blah, blah, Raphael, right?

Castiel: I’m doing this for you, Dean. I’m doing this because of you.

Dean: Because of me. Yeah. You got to be kidding me.

Castiel: You’re the one who taught me that freedom and free will –

Dean: You’re a freakin’ child, you know that? Just because you can do what you want doesn’t mean that you get to do whatever you want!

Castiel: I know what I’m doing, Dean.

Dean: I’m not gonna logic you, okay? I’m saying don’t… Just ‘cause. I’m asking you not to. That’s it.

Castiel: I don’t understand.

Dean: Look, next to Sam, you and Bobby are the closest things I have to family – that you are like a brother to me. So, if I’m asking you not to do something… You got to trust me, man.

Castiel: Or what?

Dean: Or I’ll have to do what I have to do to stop you.

Castiel: You can’t, Dean. You’re just a man. I’m an angel.

Dean: I don’t know. I’ve taken some pretty big fish. (Transcript from here.)

This was after two seasons of Cas fighting by their side. Two seasons of Cas giving heaven the middle finger on behalf of the Winchesters. It was enough time for Dean’s first reaction in a time of confusion on a hunt was to call Cas for help. And it was enough time for Dean to go from assuming Cas was a demon summoned with “bad mojo” to drag him out of hell on behalf of Sam to genuinely starting to care about Cas.

Dean did threaten to take Cas out here if he persisted down the path he was on, but you can tell by the rest of the conversation and just how hard it was to convince Dean that Cas was lying to them that Dean was hoping talking would work and he wouldn’t be forced to put Cas down.

Unfortunately…

6x22 - The Man Who Knew Too Much

Castiel: You doubted me, fought against me, but I was right all along.

Dean: Okay, Cas, you were. We’re sorry. Now let’s just defuse you, okay?

Castiel: What do you mean?

Dean: You’re full of nuke. It’s not safe. So, before the eclipse ends, let’s get them souls back to where they belong.

Castiel: Oh no, they belong with me.

Dean: No, Cas, it’s it-it’s scrambling your brain.

Castiel: No, I’m not finished yet. Raphael had many followers, and I must punish them all severely.

Dean: Listen to me. Listen, I know there’s a lot of bad water under the bridge, but we were family once. I’d have died for you. I almost did a few times. So if that means anything to you… Please. I’ve lost Lisa, I’ve lost Ben, and now I’ve lost Sam. Don’t make me lose you too. You don’t need this kind of juice anymore, Cas. Get rid of it before it kills us all.

Castiel: You’re just saying that because I won. Because you’re afraid. (Behind him, Sam picks up the angel killing sword.) You’re not my family, Dean. I have no family. (Sam stabs Castiel in the back with the angel killing sword. Sam groans. Nothing happens. Castiel pulls the sword out. There’s no blood on it. He puts it down.) I’m glad you made it, Sam. But the angel blade won’t work, because I’m not an angel anymore. I’m your new God. A better one. So you will bow down and profess your love unto me, your Lord. Or I shall destroy you. (Transcript from here.)

Again, Dean tried to argue with the overpowered angel, he tried bargaining, pleading, and appealing to Cas’s fondness for them, but it didn’t work. Sam was the one who was forced to try stabbing Cas and it… also didn’t work.

7x01 - Meet the New Boss

Sam: Dean, look, I know you think that Cas is gone –

Dean: It’s 'cause he is.

Sam: He’s not! He’s in there somewhere, Dean. I know it.

Dean: No, you don’t.

Sam: No, I don’t. But, look, I was pretty far gone sometimes myself, and never gave up on me.

Dean: Yeah, and it turns out that you’re about the Same open book as you’ve always been. Hallucinations? Really? I got to find out from Death?

Sam: What was I supposed to do?

Dean: How about not lie? How about tell me that you’ve got crazy crap climbing those walls?

Sam: Why? You can’t help. You got a lot of pretty severe crap swinging your way lately, and – and I thought –what? I thought why burst the one good bubble you had left? It’s under control.

Dean: What? What, exactly, is under control?

Sam: I know what’s real and what’s not.

Dean: Sam –

Sam: Dean, look, we can debate this once we deal with Cas.

Dean: Yeah, you know how I’m gonna deal? I’m gonna stuff my piehole, I’m gonna drink, and I’m gonna watch some Asian cartoon p**n and act like the world’s about to explode because it is. Hey. You got to be kidding me. “Massacre at the campaign office of an incumbent Senator by a trench-coated man.” There’s security footage. Well, I think reaching Cas is, uh… out of the cards. (Transcript from here. And hopefully my slight censoring the last paragraph keeps tumblr from blacklisting this post into the aether…)

Here’s a sad thought for you, how often do you think–while Cas was terrorizing the country as Godstiel and, later, after he walked into the lake and exploded into Leviathan goo–Dean thought about how he should have listened to Bobby and Sam and taken Cas out before he had the chance to swallow the Leviathans and become super powered? Probably a lot, I’d guess.

This moment, as much as I, personally, hate seasons 6 and 7, went pretty damn far to reinforce this Old Yeller principle in Dean’s moral code.

He had to sit back and watch, literally, while someone he cared about went out of their goddamn mind with power while killing and terrorizing people. He had to do that knowing that there was a moment when he could have done something to prevent it. He could have killed Cas when he had him locked up in the ring of holy fire and they were having one of their many breakup moments.

Dean felt like he could have stopped all of this, but he’d been weak and tried talking it out first instead. And you can’t convince me that he didn’t check the news and every drop of blood Godstiel brought about to the blood on his own hands because of that choice to give Cas a chance to see reason.

10x09 - The Things We Left Behind

CASTIEL: How are you, Dean?

DEAN: Fine. [Cas gives him a look.] I’m great!

CASTIEL: No, you’re not.

DEAN: Yeah, well, I lost the black eyes, so that’s a plus. But I still have this. [Dean reaches over and gently slaps the Mark on his arm.]

CASTIEL: Is the Mark of Cain still affecting you?

[Dean flashes back to his dream from earlier, of the blood covering him, the dead bodies lying around him.]

CASTIEL: Dean?

[Dean blinks hard, coming back to the present.]

DEAN: Cas, I need you to promise me something.

CASTIEL: Of course.

DEAN: If I do go dark side, you got to take me out.

CASTIEL: What do you mean?

DEAN: Knife me. Smite me. Throw me into the freakin’ sun, whatever. And don’t let Sam get in the way, because he’ll try. I can’t go down that road again, man. I can’t be that thing again.

(Transcript from here.)

I may hate seasons 6 and 7, but holy damn do I love season 10. I know it’s not a favorite among many people in the fandom, but it’s one of mine.

This moment, this burger date of sadness and pain, is a big favorite for me. Dean sees the writing on the wall. He’s been a Knight of Hell now. He’s been as darkside as he can get. He’s, likely, being reminded daily of his time in Hell in the last ten years of his stay there where he was torturing souls. And he’s begging Cas to keep him from returning to that place. He’s begging Cas to adopt the Old Yeller principle because he sees it as the only option left if the mark consumed him again. And that kills me.

Let’s take another jump forward to season 13, where Dabb & Co really started putting Dean’s Old Yeller principle into text in a heavy, purposeful way.

13x02 - The Rising Son

SAM Dean, wait a second. (Sighs) The kid came through for us today. Jack saved us.

DEAN No. No, whatever that was, that was a reflex. It was a sneeze. Maybe next time he sneezes, he kills us. Good night.

[DEAN hears a clacking sound coming from a distance. He follows the noise to JACK’s room.] JACK Ah!

[DEAN finds JACK trying to stab himself with a blade. The wounds immediately heal.]

DEAN Okay. What the hell?  (he gets in the room) Give me that. You—Don’t be an idiot. Look, A, this is not gonna do anything to you, okay? And B, you… What the hell?

JACK Exactly. What the hell am I? I can’t control… whatever this is. I will hurt someone.

DEAN You know, my brother thinks you can be saved.

JACK You don’t believe that.

DEAN No, I don’t.

JACK So… if you’re right?

DEAN If I’m right… and it comes to killing you… I’ll be the one to do it.

[DEAN leaves.]

(Transcript from here.)

Can I just bask in the glory of the grieving widow!Dean arc from the beginning of 13 for a moment? I’d also like to take a moment to 🙌 Jack for being a wonderful Team Free Will mirror (and mimic) from the word go.

Ahhh…

Okay, moving on.

I loved this bit in 13x02 so much. Partially because it’s such a heavy handed foreshadow to 14x20, but also because it shows so clearly how good Jack is at reading the emotions in the room. He’s, like, three days old at that point, but he’s already having an existential crisis about whether or not he’s evil. He already understands (yes, thanks to jackass grieving widow!Dean…) the whole Monster = Evil = Kill The Thing.

He also shows that he understands the Old Yeller principle. And, for better or worse, he and Dean reach an unspoken agreement here about it. (Again, this is my reading. Your mileage may vary.)

13x04 - The Big Empty

JACK I’m afraid.

MIA/KELLY Why? Why are you afraid?

JACK Sam thinks you were right, that—that I’m good. He wants me to believe it, and I wanna believe it, too. It’s just, I… I’ve hurt people. I didn’t mean to. It was an accident. And I know I should feel bad, and I say I feel bad, but most of the time, I mostly… I don’t feel anything. And that’s why I think maybe… Maybe I’m a monster.

MIA/KELLY Jack. It doesn’t matter what you are. It matters what you do. And even monsters can do good in this world.

JACK You really believe that?

MIA/KELLY I have to. I have to.

[MIA hugs JACK again.]

(Trancript from here.)

Killing me would be kinder than subjecting me to these feelings so soon after being introduced to this fucking character. Omg. Poor Jack.

Now, yes, a huuuuge part of Jack’s opinion of monsters and the whole “What do we do with monsters children? That’s RIGHT, we kill them.” thing is because Dean is an asshole when he’s emotional and grieving and deep into survival mode.

But, that doesn’t change the fact that Jack is still worried about the fact that he doesn’t feel things the way that everyone else seems to. That he has powers no one, including him, can understand. And that he’s killed people without meaning to. He’s afraid of himself just like Dean was afraid of what he was capable of if the mark took him over again.

13x23 - Let The Good Times Roll

(Sam continues down the hallway while Dean turns to another hallway and approaches his bedroom door. He stops as if to listen to something and then continues down the hall, away from his bedroom door. He enters Jack’s room, where Jack is sleeping and talking in his sleep)

JACK Stop! No!

DEAN Jack? (Dean touches Jack’s shoulder to wake him) Hey. (Jack jumps up, anxious and disoriented. Dean holds out his hand towards Jack to calm him) Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy. You’re just having a bad dream.

JACK (breathing heavily) Sorry.

DEAN It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize. I have 'em, too. All the time.

JACK You do?

DEAN Sure.

JACK You, um… What do you see?

DEAN Well, depends. Mostly…mostly people I couldn’t save.

JACK Me, too. Over there in the other world, I said I’d protect those people. But…I saw so many of them die. And…I tried to save them. I…I tried, but… I’m sorry. I wasn’t strong enough.

DEAN Jack… (Dean sits on the edge of Jack’s bed) it’s not about being strong. I mean… Look, I don’t know what you saw over there, and I don’t know what you went through. I know it was bad. But I also know that you came out the other side because you are strong. But even when we’re strong, man, things are gonna happen. We’re gonna make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect. Right? But we can get better. Every day, we can get better. So whatever you’re dealing with, you know, whatever…whatever comes at us, we’ll figure out a way to deal with it, together. You’re family, kid, and we look after our own.

(Transcript from here.)

It’s not about being strong. IT’S NOT ABOUT BEING STRONG.

This is where we veer away from Old Yeller a tiny bit because, again, in the book Yeller had rabies which they could do nothing about.

The moments I’ve highlighted in this post all come back to one motivation. The overpowered person/angel/asshole in question was trying to gain enough strength through supernatural (lol) means in order to have the power to destroy a (perceived) bigger threat than whatever the cost was to get that power.

Sam’s demon blood drinking was supposed to give him the power to destroy Lucifer and get revenge for Mary and John and their lost childhood. It went badly and earned Sam the label of monster and falling, at least temporarily, into the territory of the Old Yeller principle.

Cas started lying to the brothers and working with Crowley so they could gain the power to stop heaven from starting yet another apaocalypse. Cas wanted to keep the Winchesters (Dean) safe from being destroyed in a holy war after being forced to fight his brother to the death. Again, this did not go well and lead to Cas succumbing to the Leviathans’s power and dying front of Dean after losing the Winchester’s trust.

Dean took on the Mark of Cain to defeat Abaddon, the evil that made John grow up without a father. It left him torn between going on a, essentially, soulless killing spree or becoming a Knight of Hell… again.

Hell, even the way Jack came into the world was fraught with Sam lying to Dean about working with the BMoL to have the power and strength to defeat Lucifer/the nephilim. Not to mention the months of lying Cas did after he decided that Jack’s power and strength was the only way they could destroy Lucifer once and for all. Again, this ended with Cas dying in front of Dean and the BMoL trying to exterminate everyone including the American hunters.

That’s the lesson Dean is trying to instill (hypocritically, let’s be honest) to Jack here. Strength and power come at a terrible cost and if you can solve a problem without resorting to that level of fuckery that things will be better.

And, also, that if things do go bad, that Jack is family and “we look after our own.” To Dean, this is where the Old Yeller principle kicks in. It is, in a rather fucked up but well earned way, the best option he knows for making sure another one of his loved ones doesn’t fall under that monster label. That none of them end up with more blood on their hands or bringing about the end of the world, again, because of their soap opera problems.

13x23 - Let The Good Times Roll

JACK I’m sorry.

(Jack walks towards the exit and Castiel goes to follow him)

CASTIEL Jack!

(Dean grabs Castiel’s arm)

DEAN No, hey, just – just let him go.

(Jack is walking through the woods, banging a closed fist into his hand and punching his shoulder)

JACK You keep hurting people! You keep… (Jack flashes back to all the people he has hurt with his powers – Nate, Sam, Dean, the female police officer) hurting… (flash to the male sheriff) (yelling) Why do you keep hurting people?!

(Transcript from here.)

This lesson, the lesson of power and strength not being the best answer because of the cost it comes with is not an easy one to learn. Especially when you were born as a superpowered, emotional Winchester by adoption. Life is scary when that’s the hand you’ve been dealt and using the power you have is an appealing balm to combat that fear.

13x23 - Let The Good Times Roll

JACK (moving towards Lucifer, eyes glowing and hand outstretched)Tell me the truth!

(Lucifer’s eyes start to glow, his head tilts to the side and he starts speaking)

LUCIFER She saw me when I was scouting out the bunker. She saw me and she screamed, and then…so I crushed her skull with my bare hands. And it was warm and wet, and I liked it.

(Lucifer’s eyes return to normal and he looks confused)

JACK You’re not my father. You’re a monster.

LUCIFER (yelling) Come on, man! (Lucifer bellows so forcibly that Sam and Dean cover their ears, his eyes glowing red) Okay. I tried with you. I really tried with you.

JACK Everything you told me was a lie.

LUCIFER Because I told you what you wanted to hear, man. So what?! I killed the girl! Big deal! She’s a – she’s a human! She doesn’t matter!

JACK So am I!

LUCIFER Yeah? And that’s your problem. (pointing at Jack) You’re too much like your mother.

(Transcript from here.)

To me, this moment reads as Jack embracing that black and white Winchester thinking. He has yet (even now that’s he’s currently dead in season 15) to grasp the concept of people being morally gray. He sees himself as either embracing the monster side of himself from his bio dad or rejecting that side of himself to embrace Kelly’s human side. The side that can’t hurt people on accident. The side that makes him more like the Winchesters. Because he doesn’t want to fall under than monster label. He doesn’t want to fall under that Old Yeller principle. He doesn’t want to hurt so many people that he will have to die because neither he or anyone else can control him.

Yes, this moment is FAR more complicated than just that, but it’s definitely part of it.

14x10 - Nihilism

DEAN Sam said that one of your reapers really came through with the assist. I’m thinking that was probably you.

BILLIE Don’t tell anyone.

DEAN You broke the rules.

BILLIE I took a calculated risk. I warned you about the dangers of jumping from world to world. But you ignored me, didn’t you?

DEAN Rescuing Mom and Jack, helping out those other folks – I’d say it was worth it.

BILLIE And just look at you now. Do you remember visiting my reading room? The shelves and shelves of notebooks describing the ways you might die?

DEAN Yeah. Upbeat classics.

BILLIE Well, it’s the funniest thing, but they’ve all been rewritten. They all end the same way now – with the archangel Michael escaping your mind and using you as his vessel to burn down this world.

DEAN All of them?

BILLIE All of them. Except one.

(Billie hands Dean a book. He opens it and then looks at her, stunned)

DEAN What am I supposed to do with this?

BILLIE That’s up to you.

(Dean looks at the book again and when he looks up, Billie is gone. He looks back at the book and then looks around, a mixture of fear and confusion on his face)

(Transcript from here.)

Remember what I said about Dean being well aware of the price that has to be paid in exchange for the power and strength to defeat supposedly unbeatable enemies?

Yeah… Dean “knows” that the time has come for him to call his own bluff. The one from all the way back in 10x09 (not that he was bluffing then, but he didn’t have to take action on it then) when he asked Cas to take him out. “Knife me. Smite me. Throw me into the freakin’ sun, whatever.”

We didn’t know that was what this moment was until the next episode. But this is the moment when the Old Yeller principle went into effect again. And you can see how much it hurts Dean, how resigned and heartbroken he is over it.

14x11 - Damaged Goods

DEAN It’s a Ma’lak box. [DEAN closes the door to the box. He and SAM are standing over it.] Secured and warded. Once inside… nothing gets out, not even an archangel. Especially an archangel.

SAM Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve – I’ve read about these, but – but no one’s ever – they’re impossible to build.

DEAN Yeah, well, not so much.

SAM That’s your plan? You want to be buried alive?

DEAN Buried’s not safe enough. Plan is, pay a little hush money, charter a boat to take me out to the Pacific. Splash.

SAM You and Michael, trapped together – for eternity?

DEAN Yeah.

SAM You do realize how insane this is, right?

DEAN It’s the only sane play I’ve got. Michael gets out, that’s it for this world. And he will get out.

SAM Well, how do you know that for sure?

DEAN Because I do. Because I can feel him in my head. That door is giving. I can feel it giving.

SAM But there has to be another way.

DEAN There’s not, okay? There – Sam you’ve tried. Cas has tried. Jack… And I love you for trying. But none of it’s gonna work.

SAM We don’t know that.

DEAN Yeah, we do.

SAM What?

DEAN Billie.

SAM Billie?

DEAN She paid me a little visit. She said that there’s only one way this ends right. And this is it. This, right here, this box. So, she gave up the special recipe, and all I had to do was the work. It’s fate.

SAM Since when do we believe in fate?

DEAN Now, Sam. Since now.

(Transcript from here.)

Here is the moment. The one where Dean was at his absolute lowest. When he hit that point where resignation about his fate met having to act on his principles. 

14x12 - Prophet and Loss

DEAN Well, I will call this a win. Kinda nice. Going out on a high. SAM “Going out” being the operative phrase. DEAN Sorry. SAM “Sorry.” How sorry are you? Sorry that you fight to keep Donatello alive, but when it comes to you, you just throw in the towel? Or are you sorry that, after all these years, our entire lives, a-after I’ve looked up to you, after I’ve learned from you, I-I-I’ve copied you, I followed you to Hell and back… are you sorry that all of that it – it – it means nothing now? DEAN Who’s saying that? SAM You are, when you tell me I have to kill you. When you’re telling me that I have to just throw away everything we stand for, throw away faith, throw away family. We’re the guys who saved the world. We don’t just check out of it! [SAM pushes DEAN.] DEAN Sam, I have tried everything. Everything! I got one card left to play and I have to play it. SAM You have one card today! But we’ll find another tomorrow. But if you quit on us today, there will be no tomorrow! You tell me, uh, you don’t know what else to do. I don’t either, Dean. Not yet. But what you’re doing now, i-it’s – it’s wrong! It’s quitting! I mean, l-look what just happened. Donatello never quit fighting. So we could help him because he never gave up. [SAM moves closer to DEAN.] I believe in us, Dean. [DEAN doesn’t say anything. SAM gets angry and punches DEAN in the face.] I believe in us. [SAM tries to punch DEAN again, but he stops him.] DEAN Hey, hey, hey, hey! [SAM hugs DEAN.] SAM Why don’t you believe in us, too? DEAN Okay, Sam. Let’s go home. SAM What? [SAM pulls away from the hug.] DEAN Let’s go home. Maybe Billie’s wrong. Maybe. But I do believe in us.

(Transcript from here.)

And just like Dean predicted in 10x09, Sam was able to talk him out of sacrificing himself. How was he able to do that? By reminding Dean that they were the fucking Winchesters. They fucked with the cosmic balance constantly and always, always found another way. A way to avoid the Old Yeller principle. A way to live and fight again.

Which, they totally did, but the price of not throwing Dean into the ocean for an eternity of alone time with alt!Michael banging away in his head was their adopted child.

14x20 - Moriah

JACK: You’re not gonna lock me up again, are you?

DEAN: No.

(Dean raises the gun, aims at Jack and exhales deeply. Jack kneels down and bows his head. Dean, looking puzzled, lowers the gun and walks closer towards Jack. When he’s right in front of Jack, he aims the gun directly at his head. At this moment Sam comes speeding into the cemetery, car tires screeching. He gets out of the car and starts running towards Dean and Jack)

SAM: Dean? Dean!

JACK: (to Dean) I understand.

(Sam is still running, yelling for Dean. The music is getting more suspenseful as Dean holds his aim steady at Jack)

SAM: Dean, don’t! Dean? Dean!

JACK: I know what I’ve done.

SAM: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Dean! Hey, hey, hey! Dean!

DEAN: Stay back, Sam!

SAM: (Panting)

JACK: And you were right all along. (Chuck comes up alongside Sam) I am a monster.

SAM: (to Chuck) Do something. … You’re enjoying this.

CHUCK: Shh.

(Dramatic music plays)

(Dean cocks the gun. He looks Jack in the eye for several seconds and then slowly lowers the gun. At this point, Castiel also comes running towards the area)

(Dean uncocks the gun and tosses it to the side)

(Transcript from here.)

I have yet to rewatch this episode, but from what I remember I don’t think it had completely sunk in to Dean in that moment of choice that Chuck was there revealing that he was invested in the outcome of this showdown between Dean and Jack. In that moment, that split second of choice between following through with what he’d believed for so long for following through with an extension of the order John gave him about Sam back in the hospital back in 2x01, Dean made a choice for himself. And that choice was to believe that they’d find another way. He decided that when it came right down to it, he couldn’t kill his child for making the same bargain for power and strength that he himself had made multiple times over the last 14 seasons.

He was also directly confronted with a similar situation to that from the end of season 6 and beginning of 7 with Cas and the Leviathans, in that when it really came down to it, he wasn’t capable of murdering someone he considered family.

And then Chuck had to go and erase any chance they had in following up on that. He killed Jack so that they didn’t have a chance to find a way to help Jack balance the power he’d absorbed from destroying Michael or living without his soul.

So yeah, from where we sit now with only one episode of season 15 under our belts waiting with baited breath to see where the rest of this end of the road season takes us, it makes sense that Dean, of all people, would be in the middle of an emotional fucking collapse. And that he would be a huge, whiny, pissbaby douchebag about it because that’s the Dean Winchester way.

Does that make his behavior okay? No, of course not. But does that turn any of the rest of them into saints? Nope, of course not. And I, personally, wouldn’t have it any other way. I like that they’re flawed and fucked up and keep getting back up and going back to each other and keep trying. That’s why we’ve had 15 goddamn seasons of this. Because it’s what they do.

[scarletraven1001]

Academia! - Chapter 2

Summary: Bulma begins adjusting to her new school, and Vegeta is inexplicably annoyed by absolutely everything about her. However, when the blue-haired girl gets herself in a bit of a bind, he finds himself jumping to the rescue.

A Vegebul high school AU, inspired by the lovely  fanart  of @okebtrash!

Previous Chapter:  1

Also on Ao3.

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Note: Hello! Sorry for taking so long with this update. My job has been terrible to my fanfic-life lately, but this story (because of all the amazing art OMG) has been screaming in my head, so I really needed to write it!

I hope you all enjoy this! Feedback would be very much appreciated.

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Chapter 2: The Prefect

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Everything she did made him angry.

Everything.

From his usual perch at the edge of a small balcony, Vegeta watched the blue-haired succubus as she flounced around the school grounds, her infuriatingly short skirt flitting annoyingly around her upper thighs.

Her insipid, pointless half-ponytail – bound by a ridiculous rubber ornament that looked like two tiny balls – bounced on the side of her head along with her steps as she waved at Kakarot and his woman, and she promptly sat down with the usual pair like an awkward third wheel on a motorbike.

The woman – he refused to even think about her name – began to chat animatedly with the other girl while Kakarot stuffed his face like a baboon.

Oh, how he hated her.

It was not even as if the woman did anything explicitly wrong. She just got on his nerves, in a strange way that he could not quite comprehend.

She was trouble. But he did not know why.

And Vegeta, the elite prefect, hated being uninformed.

It was easier to hate her, than to keep wondering why his eyes always strayed to her whenever she was in the vicinity, or why the sound of her screeching, annoying voice made him turn to her like a compass facing the north.

He really, really hated her.

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“No way! Seriously?” Bulma asked, her chopsticks freezing on their way towards her mouth, the bit of teriyaki chicken dangling as it perched before her slackened jaw.

“Seriously!” Chichi laughed while Goku, her boyfriend, grinned with a nod, unable to speak around the sandwich he was chomping on.

“Goku, I can’t believe you punched her out of a fighting ring!” Bulma laughed, before she finally resumed eating, eying the grinning couple before her.

“It was a karate match!” he defended. “My grandpa always told me to never hit girls, but I needed to hit Chichi so I could win and get to fight the reigning champion!”

Chichi just laughed. “Yes, and so I lost to him that day, but I didn’t really mind, because he asked me out afterwards. Win-win!”

Goku grinned. “I told her I’d treat her to lunch because I hit her. And after that, we just kind of hung out together.”

“And now he’s my boyfrieeend,” Chichi sang dreamily.

“I still don’t know what that means-”

Bulma shook her head with a laugh while Chichi just laid more food out onto Goku’s bento box.

A sudden breeze off to her right made her compulsively look up, and as she did, her eyes strayed up onto a nearby balcony, where she found a pair of intense, narrow eyes looking condescendingly down at her.

Their eyes met, and as she hesitantly lifted her hand up to wave at him, he stiffened, quickly turning away and disappearing from her sight.

“What a strange guy,” she thought.

“Neh, Bulma-chan?”

Bulma turned back to Chichi, who was smiling as she held out another plate of tiny pork dumplings.

With a wide grin, she took a couple of pieces for herself, savoring Chichi’s incredible cooking.

If it was true that the best way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, then the dark-haired martial artist was thoroughly bulldozing her way through to Goku’s, whether he understood it or not.

“Are you alright?” Chichi asked, and it was only then that Bulma realized that her chopsticks had paused on their way to her mouth, yet again.

“Oh, yes! Yes, sorry,” Bulma said sheepishly.

Goku seemed unconvinced though, as he stopped chewing for a few moments. “Are you sure? You look a bit upset.”

Bulma smiled. “Well, not really upset, per se… Just…” she hesitated. “Do you guys know anything about Vegeta?”

Chichi blinked. “The prefect?”

Bulma nodded, while Goku brightened.

“Yeah! Vegeta’s awesome! He’s my biggest martial arts rival, and my best buddy,” he said.

Chichi rolled her eyes. “Goku, he hates you.”

“He does not,” Goku said. “He’s just a bit mean-looking sometimes.”

“Sometimes?!”

Bulma coughed slightly. “So, he really isn’t very… erm… friendly, huh?”

“He hates everyone-”

“He’s just misunderstood, Chichi-”

Bulma’s mind wandered as the two started bickering, making a few realizations.

One: Vegeta was apparently indifferent to almost everyone.

Two: He was a martial artist, and for some reason, Goku liked him.

Three: If he was always the way he appeared, then Bulma had a very slim chance of befriending him.

She had never been around people her age, always being stuck around much-older scientists in Capsule Corp’s research and development team. Fellow teens were an enigma that Bulma had not yet managed to study and completely comprehend.

Being the genius that she was, though, she knew that teenagers are strange, hormonal people, and mood swings were a norm rather than an anomaly.

Some just disliked you for no reason, and perhaps, Vegeta was such a case. In fact, he seemed to strongly dislike her.

She knew that it shouldn’t really bother her, since she had already made quite a few good friends during her first two weeks in Shenron High. Her mother had warned her that it was impossible to make everyone like you in high school, and Bulma should be content with being well-liked as of then.

However, she found that a part of her refused to accept that Vegeta just didn’t seem to be all that fond of her.

It didn’t really make sense to her. It wasn’t as if he was special.

But somehow, a strange little thrumming, from deep in the bottom of her gut, just insisted that yes, he was.

Bulma was nothing if not a scientist, and she knew that she would not rest until she fully understood the reasons, the issues surrounding the animosity that Vegeta displayed towards her.

Nodding to herself, Bulma decided: She was going to get to the bottom of this.

She had no idea how, but she will.

But first…

“Ne, Chichi?” she called. “May I have some more of those dumplings?”

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“Alright, class,” the teacher spoke, a stern look on her face as she assessed each student with a tick in her eye.

Vegeta gulped, self-consciously adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose when the teacher’s gaze landed on him.

Ms. Uranai was a hard sell, a very old woman who seemed to have used up all her youth teaching delinquent high-schoolers.

She was bordering on ancient, and Vegeta would not have been surprised if she had actually lived through the History lessons that she gave the class.

“I am rather disappointed in you all,” Uranai said. “This exam was not that difficult, and yet, only two people got high marks. Two! You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

The whole class sat unmoving while the old educator narrowed her eyes at them, holding out a folder.

“All these papers in this folder, have unacceptable marks,” she said, putting the folder down on her desk with a look akin to disgust. “I will leave them here. Do what you want with your own results.”

Nobody dared even blink while Ms. Uranai turned, retrieving two sheets from her desk. “These two passed. More than passed, honestly. And I shall be announcing only these.”

Vegeta straightened. He was sure that his paper was there…

“Mr. Ouji,” Uranai called, much to his relief. “Come and take your exam please. Ninety-eight percent.”

He heard a few soft, hesitant applauses from the edges of the classroom as he stood up to get his test.

Ninety-eight? Who could ever top that?

Uranai handed the paper to him, before her eyes suddenly brightened as she looked down at the remaining sheet in her hand.

“And this! This one almost erases my disappointment with the rest of you. Almost,” Uranai said, suddenly beaming. “Ms. Briefs, our new student, come and take your exam.”

Vegeta barely hid the snarl that rose from his lips at the sound of the blue-haired little witch’s name, and he turned, trying not to glare at her, as she shifted in her chair a few seats away from his.

A couple of other hesitant claps, as Bulma stood with a gulp, looking almost scared of the exam as she walked forward.

Vegeta watched as the girl finally held her exam up to see her results, and as she looked at it, her already large blue eyes turned huge in her apparent disbelief.

Uranai grinned widely, as Vegeta stiffened in denial.

Could it be…?

“One-hundred percent. Congratulations, Ms. Briefs.”

The class erupted into surprised applause then, and Bulma looked up, a huge smile on her face as she looked around at everyone.

Vegeta looked around in distaste, lifting his hands to clap reluctantly, even though he was seething.

Kakarot actually whooped, the idiot, and Chichi looked so delighted, it was sickening.

He looked back at Bulma, who was positively preening.

He narrowed his eyes in irritation, unabashedly meeting her gaze when it landed on him.

Her smile dimmed slightly, before she turned away to smile at the other people in class.

How… dare she…

How dare she best him.

8-8-8-8-8

She was so happy, she could float.

Well, maybe not float, but she could probably build a small copter to help her fly.

Her first exam in high school, and she was the only one to receive full marks.

This ought to make her mother happy.

Her father, not so much.

Dr. Briefs had been entirely against her going to regular school.

He would probably just sigh, and Bulma could practically hear him now…

“Bulma, you are a certified genius. Of course, you would get full marks. You could probably give your teacher an exam.”

She huffed, mentally sticking her tongue out at her father.

She walked slowly towards the corner where she knew her driver awaited her. She had given him explicit instructions to not move a single inch closer to the school than the tree that she had picked for him to wait beside.

She wanted the full ‘school experience’.

Classmates, a uniform, the walk home…

Her father had emphatically put his foot down regarding her request to walk all the way home.

With a bounce in her step, she carried her bag, happily humming a tune.

She was just about to turn the corner that would make the car visible to her when a small ball bounced up from the edges of the trees that lined the sidewalk.

Intrigued, she stooped down, her short skirt hiking up her bum as she picked the ball up.

“Wow, what a sight, ain’t it, fellas?”

She straightened in surprise, tugging her skirt down as she dropped the ball and turned around, only to find a group of four boys, narrow eyes leering at her from a few meters away.

They were all wearing green uniforms, and Bulma recognized it as the ones worn by another school on the opposite side of town.

“May I help you?” she asked stiffly, taking a small step back when the boys moved forward.

“We heard that a pretty new girl had started in Shenron,” the guy in the middle of the group said, his large eyes raking shamelessly over her body.  

Bulma frowned. “Well, I am pretty, alright. You’ve seen me now. Satisfied?”

Another stepped forward. “Not really. See, just looking isn’t always enough, is it?”

Bulma shuddered, small tendrils of fright beginning to zip up her spine.

She had never before been in such a situation.

She was alone in the street, just a few scant meters away from her driver, but they were still a few meters too far.

Her driver would be sitting in the car, and even if she screamed, she was certain that he wouldn’t hear.

She was stuck, facing off against four perverts who were all twice her size –

“What the hell are you losers doing here?”

All heads turned towards the low growl, and Bulma felt an elated sort of thrill go through her while a small gasp escaped her lips.

His flame-shaped hair was unmistakable, and his narrow eyes were in furious slits as he regarded the thugs who were terrorizing her.  

“Vegeta!” she cried out in relief, and as he turned to look at her, Bulma noticed a few things that seemed odd.

He was, on the outside, still the same stern boy who watched over the school with the eyes of a hawk, the boy who snarled at students running in the halls or holding hands in the library.

Yet…

Something about the way he carried himself as he stood before the bullies was not the same, and it took Bulma a few moments to begin to understand the changes.

He was not wearing his glasses, and without the glare of the specs, his eyes looked ominous, sharp, far more intense than she could ever remember them being.

His navy blue uniform was not as prim as it was at school, leaving a few buttons opened and exposing a rather rumpled white shirt underneath.

Even his stance was different, just a bit jauntier than usual, his weight mostly on his left leg, while his arms crossed threateningly before his chest.

Vegeta was not tall, not by a long shot, but as she looked at him, he appeared so impossibly imposing, and she surmised that it was the looseness of his posture that just made him seem a lot wider, as if he was ready and rearing for a brawl.

It also did not escape her notice that the four boys had stilled, their body language screaming more than just a bit of discomfort, and she realized, much to her delight, that these boys were afraid of him.

Together, those men could possibly be nearly eight times Vegeta’s body weight, but they were afraid of Vegeta.

Vegeta smirked, before he spoke again.

“Well? What are you doing in my district? And just you four?” he sneered. “Is Ginyu still in the hospital from my beat-down last week?”

The shortest one stepped forward, hands in fists at his sides, but he was stopped by the tallest man with a hand on his shoulder.

“No, Guldo,” he said.

“But Recoome-”

“No,” he repeated, his voice overflowing with contempt. “We can’t take him. Not without Ginyu.”

“Damn right, you cannot. And even with Ginyu, I dare you to try,” Vegeta said. “Get the fuck out of here, and don’t ever think of bothering my classmates again.”

“Keh,” the boy apparently called Guldo said. “What’s the matter, Prince? Are we encroaching on your property? What do you think, Burter?”

A rather tall one with a wide forehead spoke up. “I think the Prince is looking after this girl.”

“Tch,” Vegeta spat. “I care nothing for her. But, as a student of Shenron, she is under my watch. If you know what is good for you, you will leave now, before I lose my patience with you for daring to speak to one of my people.”

Bulma watched as the four boys angrily, mutinously turned, and Vegeta stood, glaring after them until they got into a large white SUV.

They sped away, but not before a few middle fingers were raised towards her dark-haired classmate, who raised both fists back in a demented sort of salute.

When they were all out of sight, Bulma finally let out the breath that she had been holding.

She turned to Vegeta with a grateful smile, but was not expecting to see him striding purposefully towards her, brows furrowed low over his eyes.

“You are unharmed, yes?” he asked as he reached her, his gaze quickly assessing her while she nodded.

“Yes. Thanks to you,” she answered. “I’m so glad you happened to be close by!”

“Tch,” he said again. “You are stupid for walking alone all this way, in the first place.”

“I am not-”

“You are,” he growled. “You have a driver waiting for you just beyond those trees. Why don’t you just have him pick you up from the school gate?”

She startled when Vegeta moved past her, walking towards the place where the car was parked.

Bulma shook herself free from her disbelief for a second before she jogged to catch up, walking beside him as he appeared to be leading her towards her car.

“I just… I wanted to know what it’s like to walk from school,” she said, giggling slightly. “I see it on TV all the time, and I wanted to try it.”

“Is this all just some game to you?” he asked snidely. “An experiment? An immersion activity?”

“Vege-”

“I have read up on you,” he continued. “You are a prodigy. A genius. You do not really need to go to school.”

She looked down, staring at the brown leather of her shoes in chagrin.

“I just wanted to know what it’s like to be… normal. Is that really so bad?”

He paused, and Bulma looked back at him as he stood just a pace behind her.

Vegeta looked thoughtful, melancholy…

“No. It is not,” he said after a beat. “Yet, you need to be careful. Just because you are pretending to be normal, as you say, does not mean that you are.”

He sounded so sure, almost condescending, and Bulma bristled. “What would you know?”

His smirk was slow, mocking. “More than you would think.”

He started walking again, and before Bulma knew it, they were standing in clear view of her car, where she could see her clueless driver napping in the driver’s seat.

She turned to Vegeta again, and though he had gotten on her nerves for a moment, she resolved to forget about the slight and focus more on the fact that he had actually stood up for her.

“Ne, Vegeta,” she said. “I really am grateful. Thank you for your help back there.”

He simply waved her off, and with a last smile at him, she turned to walk to her car.

She had almost gotten in when she turned back, brow raised.

“Say, would you like a ride home?” she asked.

His house was probably close by. After all, if he was there, didn’t that mean that his house was in the same direction where she was going?

He shook his head, then began walking back in the opposite direction.

She shrugged, before she opened the door and stepped into the car.

It was not until several minutes later that she began to wonder…

If his house was in the opposite direction… what had Vegeta been doing there?

8-8-8-8-8

Vegeta felt his brow twitch as he walked back towards the school.

He did not know what had possessed him to trail after Bulma that afternoon, but he supposed that he was glad that he did.

It was very unlikely that Ginyu’s boys would have let her go as completely unscathed as she had gone, if he had not been there.

He chose to focus on how Bulma was safe, thanks to his strange lapse in sense, rather than dwell on why he had followed her in the first place.

Those thoughts were much, much easier to deal with.

8-8-8-8-8

To be continued…

Read Previous

[joanacchi]

For any artist on tumblr who need to hear it: try not to look at your followers count for a while, it helps

Hi there guys!

I’m not sure if this is going to help or not tbh. I don’t mean to create a big discussion over this… I just need to talk about everything I felt since I created my page, Chibibatch, on 2015. 

I remember the first time a drawing of mine made a huge success on this website, my first interactive painting of Sherlock. 45k notes! I was SO happy to have my work recognized. I love doing chibis and cute stuff, and since that’s what made people happy too, I was nothing but glad that I could keep providing things for people to enjoy. I don’t regret to have been part of the Sherlock Fandom so actively as a fanartist as I have been. 

But

I also felt that something was holding me back. Before my page, my work was incredibly more versatile as I explored many types of drawing styles. Between 2015 and 2016, 90% of all my production consisted on chibis and heavily stylized drawings. I stopped studying anatomy, color, composition, backgrounds… I even refused other types of illustration work in order to focus on my fanart commissions and creating content… as long as my follower count kept rising for my chibis it was like feeling validated and accomplished as an artist. It was a very satisfiying feeling, a rush that I couldn’t get enough. 

The penny dropped when I compared an older drawing with more anatomical features with a recent one I did on a whim. They were almost the same. In a year, I have barely improved my technical knowledge because I have been drawing the same thing too frequently.

And GOD, that hit me hard. Suddenly everything that I have been neglecting came back as a feeling of intense guilt and a feeling of uselessness that I have never felt about my work before. As I posted other original works that had little to do with chibis, I noticed the attention it got was not the same, which is perfectly natural as I have been running a theme-oriented blog for so long, but in my desperate mind it was like a punch to the gut. This is by NO MEANS my followers’ fault, as this had more to do with my mental health at the time that didn’t let me rationalize it further.

But it’s a fact that the single-themed blog thing affected my versatility. I started to doubt myself and find every single mistake I could in every single drawing I did. I obsessively observed more accomplished artists’ pages and wondered  why would I even continue to draw if people could enjoy such better quality work instead. This was not a simple, passing thought. This feelings woke up with me every single day, every time I picked up a pencil. It was NOT healthy and affected my personal life as well. 

By the end of 2016 my self esteem as an artist was completely shattered. I was literally drawing and posting on automatic. I tried to get out of the Sherlock Fandom a bit, tried to explore other styles but my self deprecating demeanor kept holding me back, and by every “different” drawing I posted I would lose 4 or 5 followers. It was driving me to a point where I thought “should I just stop drawing?”

And that made me feel so empty and alone. Drawing is a very special part of me, and I used to hold it dear. The thought of stopping was so repulsive that it drove me to keep drawing, day by day…… 

First, I tried to draw for other fandoms, in other styles. Yuri on Ice!! helped me a lot in this sense. Then I began to look for concept series of original stuff. Four Elements, Signs, Aesthetic, anything. I made a folder of every reference I found pretty. And most importantly: I stopped myself from looking at my follower/Like count. 

You have no idea how simply stopping myself from looking at that count made a difference. I suddenly felt like I was drawing just for the happiness of it again. It was like it was when I started this blog. 

By mid 2017 I was even studying again. I decided to focus a bit on noses and planes of the face, other painting techniques and exploring other styles making the most of my versatility. I rediscovered my passion for not only cute stuff, but also darker themes, with darker colors. I began to explore my relationship with architecture and drawings. Right now I’m moving on to the anatomy of hands and perspective.

Now I have TONS of tutorial videos for study and I train more than I post “official” drawings. 

I don’t regret making chibis and brightening people’s days. I met some of the most important people of my life during this amazing time. I have a lot to thank to the Sherlock Fandom. I will also NOT stop drawing chibis at all, this is not what this text is about. 

But I regret letting social media pressure dictate my value as an artist. I regret caring more about how many followers I had than the quality of the art I was making. I regret I forgotten one of my most particular asset as an artist: my versatility. 

This is my ART blog, and now I’m going to post art with more variety. I’m going to post studies, unfinished work, other styles, other medias, 3D, sketchs, smooth paintings, anime paintings, fanarts, original work, humorous stuff, conceptual stuff… because it’s important to me that I keep doing it. 

I don’t know how many followers I gained or lost on this process. But I’m happier with my path now, and that matters too. 

So if that helps any artist who is feeling the same…well. it’s a plus :)

[spinnerprincess]

not that people pointing out taz fandom's blow up are wrong to point out the inevitable fallout of thinking a thing is completely unproblematic and flipping when it turns out to have an entire problem, and I'm not saying people's complaints are invalid, the graphic novel designs are bad, but I do think a lot of people are making this into a problem specifically because they don't like it.  while this is very "oh no my pure media has failed me burn it at the stake" it's even more "my media did something I don't personally like" 

like there are POC saying it was a gut punch to see those designs. that’s fair. but there are also white people who I guess brainwiped themselves of the extremely common multicolored taakos in fandom? there are also people saying blue green skin is an antisemitic stereotype (there are traces of green skin being antisemitic, but... he's an elf... he's not jewish or coded as such... there are jewish people reacting with confusion to this in the search, I'm pretty sure this connection is tenuous at best)

there are valid things to say about promising less white designs and delivering the weakest attempt at fixing that of all time, things to say about made up skin colors being a dodge to avoid actual diversity, but half these sins are just kind of... made up or at least overblown 

I think it's really telling actually that all this discourse centers on taako, everybody's favorite effeminate gay boy, who also by the way has been depicted when depicted at all with bright green elf wizard skin from the very start. listen to me? these disavowers don't give a fuck that merle has dark skin in the new graphic novel designs, in the least... it's almost as if they only care that their precious baby specifically has a bad design, how about that

many of these these same people are also v i r u l e n t l y hating on barry/lup, a powerful and healthy canon romance story between a man and trans woman. these same people are reducing it to "gross hets". so fuck the fact that they might not even be het or that a lot of trans women appreciate seeing a healthy relationship depicted for them, I guess. also fuck bi people I guess. also there is complaining over the fact that lup is dead in canon, making it all kind of a bury your gays, but they’re honestly just bad at narrative. lup is almost certainly alive and coming back. so. 

many of these same people have been saying that a man who has arrogantly made the decision "let's all die now" for all life, everywhere, forever, is a sympathetic guy, and the mcelboys are problematic for demonizing depression by making him a villain. uh huh 

let's get this right here: yes, this is a fandom turning on its canon for not being ideologically pure. BUT

it’s not entirely that. these are people coming up with "problematic" excuses so they don't have to admit they don't like something. this is "I don't like it, so nobody else can" on a fandom-wide scale. people are looking for problems in taz where there aren't any, and blowing up small problems made of ignorance at worst into unforgivable sins. there are mistakes, but there was no enormous fuck up that I know some of you were waiting for. 

and i know some of you were waiting for it. "lolololol can't wait for people to turn on the mcelboys" honestly fuck you a little. I have seen death threats towards them over this bullshit and also think a lot of the violent reaction now comes from outsiders feeding into it. sit your smug ass down and stop bragging about how you knew it would all come crashing down in the end. you’re not only helping no one, but you’re missing the fact that hey, this fucking sucks for a lot of people. I was so excited for some barry/lup fanart after this most recent episode and all I found was half made up angry posts about how we should all hate this thing that happened that they don’t like.

stop bragging that you were smart enough to see it coming and clever enough to know the mcelboys were secretly huge homophobic racists or whatever the fuck, thanks, I’m glad you’re proud of yourself for telling me everything I love will betray me all the time

oh, and just my opinion, but yeah, the graphic novel designs just fucking suck lmao, wow they are just bad on every level