#and now I will sleep for a thousand years

[astral-multiverse]

"Actually Draco, that's a part of an adventure that happened years ago... We'll tell it to you later" Dreamy Luigi said

"But judging by Peach's anger, things didn't go so well?" Bella asked

"No, still as stubborn as a damn mule... Now he's just down there, sleeping away again..." Daisy said

"Hmm... I have an idea. Gather around guys" Dreamy Brandon said before he formed into the Brandonary Stack

"He won't escape from us much longer!" Dreamy Brandon said before the stack jumps and then perform a mighty ground pound to break the blocks below them

"Dreamy! Excellent job, Dreamy Brandon!" Dreambert said as the spirit glares at them

"Again?! Seriously?! And there's even more of you clowns now?! Can't you take a hint?!" The spirit snapped at them

"INSOLENCE!! You are the spirit of the almighty Dream Stone, yet you act like a spoiled brat! Thousands of people are in danger, especially one very close to our dear friend here!" Dreambert snapped at the spirit

"Oh, you mad? Did I hurt the wittle piwwo's feelings?" The spirit asked before he flew off, high up above

"That does it... Guys, hang on tight! Because this stack is about to become a rocket!" Dreamy Brandon said before the stack squashed down and all of the Brandonoids used a combined Rocket Boost to launch themselves up and whacked the Dream Stone spirit, causing him to fall into the ground

"You guys... are REALLY ANNOYING!!" The spirit snapped

Team Trinity and the Mario Brothers: The Ultimate Dream Team!

@astral-multiverse

For those in each world, nothing brings a long day of adventuring to a close like a good night's sleep. A way to escape from the dreary, yet exciting, real world and venture into a world of dreams...?

Sadly, there are those that would wish to harness the power of the World of Dreams, Such as Lord Wizeman the Wicked, the ruler of Nightmare....However, these particular plots would not be caused by them...instead, he would lend a hand to those that try, as long as he got what he wanted in return...

One such plot happened as we find Sonic and the rest of Team Trinity stretching, preparing to end the day they spent together.

"Phew...I'm beat..." Sonic said with a yawn

"Heh, I thought you were Sonic~." Rock chuckled as the Blue Hedgehog rolled his eyes.

[would-this-pokemon-be-a-friend]

could you do jirachi if you haven’t? one of my faves! happy new year!

Jirachi is, unfortunately, a flat “no,” but for a very specific reason and just that reason, hence the asterisk on the scorecard. By all means, Jirachi would make a great friend and perhaps even pet, if it were possible to adopt them as one at all.

Before I get ahead of myself, let’s look at the plus-es. For one, Jirachi is a pretty small pokémon, fitting in perfectly in any sized home. They have an adorable and friendly demeanor, and are known to get along well with humans. And, while Jirachi is certainly no pushover, they aren’t a particularly lethal threat. Powerful Psychic-Type moves like Psychic and Future Sight are counterbalanced in the score by self-healing moves like Life Dew, Healing Wish, and Rest. This pokémon has a keen sense of danger, and will protect themselves if threatened (Ruby), but so long as you don’t pose a threat to them you should be safe from an attack.

Now, I could go into more detail about risk of misinterpretation of threats, as I have in the past for other species, but really everything in the prior paragraph is rendered moot by one key detail: this pokémon is said to only be conscious for seven days out of every thousand years (Sapphire, FireRed/LeafGreen)! Now, unless you are an immortal being, this is going to pet the whole pet conversation to rest immediately. While asleep, Jirachi surrounds themself with a “tough, crystalline shell” (Emerald), so forming any sort of long-term bond with them just isn’t happening. I suppose you could take custody of their sleeping form and protect it, but that would be a multi-generational commitment that, quite frankly, isn’t very responsible.

If you do happen to be around when Jirachi wakes, that’s great! If you have left a wish written on a note and attached it to their head while they slept, its said that they will use their mysterious powers to make any of these wishes come true (Ruby, Sapphire). That sounds pretty awesome! Unfortunately, though, this blog isn’t about whether pokémon are awesome, it’s about whether they would make a good pet. Adopting Jirachi as a pet just isn’t worth the multi-generational headache.

[secondarysefikura]

can you write something about what would happen if jenova (which lets just say it's conscious and genuinely cares for sephiroth) spends most of the game saving energy to return to their original form which I imagine is something akin to an eldritch monster (since they are a literal space alien that lives by eating PLANETS) and instead of the final battle against safer sephiroth, the AVALACHE group just goes to sleep one day and when they wake up cloud is nowhere to be seen and a gigantic tentacle monster and sephiroth are inhalating the planet.

Meanwhile Cloud wakes up in one of jenova's tentacles just to be greeted by the Alien talking about how they are about to be done whit this planet and not to worry because "Cloud is their son's chosen mate", Cloud obviously tries to scape, to no avail because the G cells inside his body are making movement impossible, so he just sits there and is unable to do anything but listen to jenova while the the two destroy the world.(sephiroth and jenova win)

Jenova is just happy to be done with this god forsaken planet, but hey, at least they've got a son and his mate now, jenova just has to teach sephiroth the correct ways of mating for thir species.

This one is a doozy, haha

“Wake up little one, it would be a shame for you to miss your first planetary destruction.” 

Half awake and suffering from a pounding headache, Cloud barely registers the words spoken into his mind. Instead, he somewhat registers the odd sense of security he is feeling—almost as if he is being held securely in someone’s arms—and a strange inner peace he hasn’t felt for years. 

“Open your eyes little one, you do not want to miss this.” 

Once again coaxed by the voice in his mind, Cloud opens his eyes with a few sleepy blinks. Instantly, the feeling of security and peace are shattered by the sights around him. Rather than being in the bed he fell asleep the previous day, (or whenever he fell asleep. Who is to say it’s been only a day since he went to sleep?) he’s being held several thousand feet off the ground by a large tentacle thing. Everything is…

“Finally being destroyed.” The voice in his mind finishes, “It has taken a long while, but your little planet is finally fulfilling its purpose.” 

No, this is absolutely not the purpose of his planet. This planet was not designed to be destroyed and eaten by an alien and a wannabe god. Struggling to move, Cloud can just barely turn his head to look behind him at the massive creature behind him. Instinctively, he knows that this is Jenova’s true form. Once he heard someone talk about the concept of eldritch horror—the sort of thing that your mind cannot even begin to comprehend just due to the sheer size of it—and he realizes he never fully appreciated the concept until now.

Jenova is more than eldritch. Jenova is…hurting him to look at. With great struggle, Cloud manages to turn his head back towards the planet’s destruction. In the distance, he catches sight of what he thinks is—once was—Sephiroth. Even from afar, he can tell Sephiroth’s new form is just as massive as Jenova’s is. 

Seeing Sephiroth like this, Cloud can almost understand why Sephiroth thought Jenova to be his mother. Although he has wings where the alien has tentacles, the sheer size of both of them is enough to make them related. 

Just then, Sephiroth turns to them and waves almost shyly. Strands of the lifestream drip from his mouth like blood. 

“Ah, he’s a bit of a messy eater.” Jenova hums happily, still in Cloud’s head, “A violent one too. He has wonderful potential.” 

Cloud wants to throw up, or scream, or both, but he can’t seem to make his body do what he wants. Even as a large chunk of the planet collapses in on itself with a sound that should have Cloud cowering, he remains still and silent in Jenova’s grasp. 

Jenova pats his head with the top of one of her tentacles almost as if she is comforting him.

“You have nothing to fear, little one. You are my son’s chosen mate. In my grasp you will be more than safe from the destruction of what you once needed to live.”

“I-I-” 

“Oh, I see, you wish to be with him.” 

No, he absolutely does not wish to be with Sephiroth, but he can’t make himself protest. Instead he remains silent as Jenova makes her way over to Sephiroth in order to pass him off. 

Reaching Sephiroth, Cloud finds himself unceremoniously dropped in the mans(?) hands. Then Sephiroth lifts him so he’s directly in front of his giant face, all the while smiling like a predator who was never taught not to play with their food. 

“Cloud, isn’t this wonderful? I have fulfilled my birthright, and we can now be together forever.”

Using all his willpower, Cloud forces himself to speak. 

“Why would I want that?” 

Sephiroth’s grin falls at the same time Jenova laughs. 

“Pay him no mind my child, he’s merely restless. Once you properly mate him he will settle and be plenty happy.” 

Cloud doesn’t need a mirror to know he’s gone white as a sheet. 

[11queensupreme11]

Thou highest majesty of our own archives, I played my eyes upon your dutiful masterpiece nearing a year from today. Her highness Queen, I must add my admiration to your charismatic, most captivating, and thought capturing work. For I have never seen a piece of literature call out to me, like yours has done, may I speak of the story route, delightful. I was most pleased and impressed by the latest chapter, daddyseidon, was finally offered the fruit of his hard fought labor. The vultures around pecking on the fruits of his work, demanding their own sample. But he stood firm, his hand out held the might of time, but I fear it is now too late to turn back. For now, our lady Percilla, shall lock her mind to the tightest of Knox, may the fates be on his side. Precious Percy, what shall her husband and obsessive divorcee do next. I am anticipating a kidnapping, this one more grand and audacious, than all before. Now to speak of Ragnorok itself is blasphemy to Percy herself, but to understand and begin to undress the glory of your story one must speak of that dreaded tournament. May all of our suitors hold firm against death, I am also hoping for good news of the first man Adam’s fate.(Breaking character, please don’t kill daddy Adam, Percilla needs one father figure) Bug this one is losing hope day by day for Adam’s continued survival. I shall now attempt to surmise my passion for this series and my excitement for your reaction book, for I am sure the story will be as grand and exciting as all your other masterpieces. For as one of your loyal knights, I must pledge all loyalty towards thou, I, your holy knight pledge to stand by you, and your stories, for however long thou shall write. In short I bid the adieu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I loved the latest chapter, DADDYSEIDON may not have been the first husband but he was the first to hit that. At the end of the day he’s winning, there’s the husband who can’t see his wife, the ex divorcee single dad, a pretty loser with no Percy privilege, an emo suicidee who can’t get over grief after thousands if not millions of years, and a Percy freak who kidnaps her and slept with a horse. Percy is 18😍 atleast she can tell herself that she didn’t sleep with someone until she was 18, but losing it on you birthday😬 Now speaking about Ragnorok, honestly, screw most of the human fighters, but don’t take daddy Adam, we need one healthy father figure, that won’t try and sleep with Percy. But I am loving this series, chefs kiss, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for any updates on the beginning of you reaction fic, but this is Adieu

omg u calling anubis a divorcee just made me realize that PERCY is also a divorcee 😂 she got married twice and divorced once ALL AT AGE SEVENTEEN LMAO 😭😭😭😭

i won't say anything about the fates of the human fighters (or the fates of the yans hehe), but ADAM...... omggggg.... i just recently wrote a chapter about him and omggggg that's FATHER 😭💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

there's so much i wanna say about what i have written for percy and adam so far BUT I DON'T WANNA SPOIL ASDFSHG 😞😞

[gigantetian]

Old is a understatement of the century, or thousands of years. though the word was said, he is much older. One of the first beings in the world, though his state at the time was more then the current state of his being. One being seperated into three, the creator god of this world was ever potent in even dealing with something as strong as him. But Dagruel is ever duty bounded, invisible chains that bind him to duty, to wisdom that allow him to last far longer then most beings would. A million years is nothing to him, for he is demon lord Dagruel. King of the giants and everything that comes with it. his only consolation is that one part of him roams the land, enjoying freedom that he never could have.

"Once you become powerful enough, age becomes optional. Though I somewhat envy those who can, my concept is a being that can never age conceptually." Dagruel appeared in the world as if, no childhood, no mother no father. in truth he is ______

"The demons lords...had achieved nothing, but to show their grief. A importance existence was destroyed, tell me. Have you ever met the creator of your own world? I have. And he has created many static beings. But he died, and two of those beings ever decided to fight, one for grief. one for duty."

there were more beings, one such being within the palace itself. the fallen angel deeno, once name Lucifer but now... in any case it wasn't important enough to bring him up. Maybe he is sleeping somewhere else, lazing around as his very concept is to just watch. Unable to escape the fate of what their duty bounds them to.

"My duty, to the creator is this. To guard the gates of heaven itself which stands above us. And to guard the seal to prevent this world from becoming destroyed. Even now, the world itself could die should this seal break."

Duty is the chain that binds.

"Ah, I rambled too much. But I suppose its because you are a existence that can't do anything about it. that I could."

Importance  concerning  the  title  of  Demon  Lord  inside  the  location  he  was  would  be  an  notion  he  would  need  to  get  accoustumed  with.  Within  seconds  of  understanding  how  destroyed  that  place  has  been  because  of  magic,  an  intensive  interest  upon  current  circumstances  needed  to  be  holding  back  …  beyond  another  harmless  realization.  He  has  been  here  two  thousands  years  ago  !  What  he  was  explaning  to  him  has  been  something  he  has  been  living,  in  which  his  ridiculous  age  of  fifteen  must  have  seemed  horribly  small  and  insignificant  …  Mazokus  he  was  accoustumed  to  live  with  had  that  particularity  to  having  an  long  existence,  nevertheless,  an  number  touching  the  hundreds  of  years  was  still  something  he  needed  to  mentally  accept  …  hence  thousands  somewhere  else  ?  Attentive  ears  remained  unsure  about  what  he  could  expressing.  If  the  earth  suffered  an  alteration  of  mana  would  just  destroyed  the  ground,  maybe  influencing  it  differently  could  revive  this  ground  ?  ❝  It  has  been  consequence  of  battle  between  the  two  Demons  Lords,  this  land  ?!  ❞  There  has  been  an  immediate  interest  upon  the  energy  source.  However,  there  was  consciousness  his  magic  as  Demon  Lord  wasn't  same  thing  as  them.  Besides,  he  couldn't  pretend  having  studying  the  mana  in  an  scientific  way,  hence  any  attempts  to  playing  with  such  thing  would  bring  unexpected  results  …  However,  as  much  he  appreciated  the  water  he  was  drinking  at  the  moment,  dark  eyes  were  now  officially  concerned  by  where  he  was.  Intention  to  remain  an  casual  tourist  would  have  lasted  five  minutes  …  Nevertheless,  he  wasn't  Lelouch,  he  wasn't  Teito-san.  Lips  might  proposing  some  couple  of  solutions,  lips  might  wishing  to  be  involved  as  much  he  was  an  third  party,  he  wouldn't  inviting  himself.  Inside  an  similar  situation,  the  concerned  wouldn't  have  hesitated  to  simply  interfering,  offering  whatever  kind  of  experiences  they  have  for  doing  something.  He  wanted  to  act,  nevertheless,  needed  to  think  how  it  would  be  possible,  and  how  make  it  invisible.  ❝  An  seal  ?  There  is  an  seal  inside  that  ground  in  which  that  energy  act  like  an  black  hole  ?  ❞  Additional  reactions  were  hanging  on  his  expression.  ❝  You've  has  been  here  two  thousands  of  years  ago  witnessing  it  ?  Which  one  of  the  demon  lord  achieved  the  goal  in  the  end  ?  Which  one  of  them  gain  that  land  ?  How  that  seal  ever  happened  ?  It  has  been  an  explosion  of  power,  and  right  afterwards,  anchored  darkness  attached  to  that  land  ?  ❞

So  many  questions  was  attached  towards  revelation  offered  by  his  curiosity.  Two  thousands  years  living  with  that  burden  ---  he  didn't  even  want  to  imagine  how  it  looked  like  !  Feeling  guilty  already  for  couple  of  hours  was  an  horrible  torture,  and  he  cannot  perceiving  how  it  must  be  to  having  that  suffering  inscreased  by  thousands  of  years.  He  nodded  slowly.  Wasn't  going  to  be  an  problem  in  which  he  could  easily  solve  !  ❝  It's  quite  an  responsability  upon  your  shoudlers,  and  wish  you've  had  another  solution  than  been  forced  to  extricate  yourself  from  your  own  land.  ❞  He  wasn't  from  here,  so  concerning  their  leader,  he  was  no  right  to  commenting  something.  He  had  sensed  there  has  been  an  defeat  in  the  face  of  the  current  situation,  but  it  would  be  too  much  to  commit  to  wanting  to  prove  the  opposite,  or  to  want  to  intensely  want  a  difference  …  He  couldn't  promise  miracles.  ❝  So  in  the  end,  even  if  your  people  find  somewhere  else  to  live,  you'll  forced  to  remain  protector  of  his  place  for  avoid  another  disaster  ?  Isn't  that  cruel  since  you've  only  has  been  an  witness  thousands  of  years  ago,  just  supposed  to  ensure  everything  went  fine  ?  Isn't  that  cruel  to  locked  you  to  that  seal,  as  much  I  understand  the  importance  of  it  ?  ❞  There  was  understanding  nevertheless,  as  he  laughed  with  compassion  towards  his  last  remark.  ❝  I'm  just  an  visitor  after  all,  I  understand  you  don't  want  strangers  meddling  with  something  bigger  that  they  could  imagine.  Guess  my  habits  of  king  can't  help  to  betray  myself  once  I  see  a  problem.  ❞  He  laughed  at  the  end  of  his  sentences.  ❝  I'll  see  what  I  can  do  with  my  fiance  opinion.  Just  something  for  help,  as  little  it  can  be.  This  is  the  least  I  can  do  in  return.  ❞  There  was  another  playfulness  inside  his  features.  ❝  I  don't  know  if  I'll  live  that  long,  or  even  a  number  close  to  a  hundred  makes  me  shudder,  so  to  know  that  you've  lived  thousands  of  years…  you  must  be  a  mythical  being.  You  are  for  me  at  least.  ❞  Word  Shinigami  probably  doesn't  existed  here,  so  it  was  delicate  to  bring  that  notion  how  closest  beings  he  know  was  dead  people  …  Yes,  another  time,  he  would  casually  ignoring  he  has  been  perceiving  the  God  of  the  Underworld.

[sunnytheopossum]

THE LAST HALF BODY IS DONE! MY PART IS COMPLETE!!

I’m genuinely super proud of myself for this, guys! I’ve always been too nervous to participate in MAPs before now, but after forcing myself to apply and actually work on something like this for real, I’m really happy with the result, and I’m just glad that I was able to build up the confidence to try in the first place.

I’m gonna post Alex’s halfbody frame here by itself just for the sake of consistency with the other halfbodies I’ve posted, but in just a minute I’ll post my completed MAP part as well ^^

For this halfbody, I was originally going to surround him with trees like everyone else, but I ultimately decided to place him in the Rosswood Tunnel instead, mostly just because I think it’s a cool visual, but also because I think it’s a very “Alex” location. For the rest of his background elements, I gave him his gun, punched him in the face a whole lot and dragged him through the mud (bc he deserves it), splat some of Tunnel Guy’s blood on his shirt, and surrounded him with some of his own scribblings for that good good ✨visual intrigue✨. Also!!! His weirdo Jesus crown of thorns bleeding from the head thing from Entry #14! I had to include that, it’s my favorite Alexism.

[cashmoneyyysstuff]

♡ chronicle #1 : routine ♡

wc : 2544

somehow, you’ve gotten used to living with the dragon man.

the man, you later found out his name is bakugou (after some prying, the guy’s annoyingly stubborn) had been living with you for about three weeks now and has seemingly started warming up to you, you say seemingly because you’re still not so sure.

he adapts to the human lifestyle quite quickly. he ditched his tattered old clothes and you've offered him your biggest set of clothes for the time being until you’d go out shopping some other day.

you have to admit it’s entertaining to watch him interact with your household items, like your utensils, glasses, books and plants, even if they are fake.

he likes watching tv but acts like he doesn’t, claiming that human entertainment was beneath him. but you catch how he always seems to be laser focused on the tv whenever you have some kind of drama tv show on, despite him saying he’s only watching ‘to kill time.’ he’s gotten used to technology rather quickly though. he likes listening to music and choosing songs when you connect your phone to your little bluetooth speaker.

you also note he likes cooking, or he likes watching you cook. you wouldn’t have guessed by the way he pointedly glares at you but you notice he’s less focused on you than he is on the food your making. you’ve let him try using the knife more lately when you were sure he wouldn’t use it to kill you in your sleep. he’s good at cutting stuff up, (maybe from experience?) and you were pleasantly surprised to see he was actually a really good cook. pleasantly surprised, definitely not a little jealous of his ability to watch one cooking show and replicate the dish perfectly. not at all.

in a way, it’s like having a roommate..that just so happens to be a dragon.

except it’s not because he acts more like a big cat rather than a roommate or a fearsome dragon.

for some reason he’s decided to make his stay- until-he’s-fully-healed-deal insufferable for you.

he nabs your food from your plate whenever you order takeout, despite you letting him pick out what he wants from the menu every time. he growls and nips at your fingers whenever you try and reach back for your food and he snarls at you whenever you try to take your food away from his grubby grasp.

he still sticks to calling you human despite you having told him your name multiple times, all he does is stick his nose up and scoff at you. he’s also, despite his rather large presence and size, really good at sneaking around. meaning he sneaks up on you regularly and scares you shitless. he likes to pretend you’re overdramatic too, calling you a scaredy-cat for getting startled so easily though he makes no effort to hide that shit eating grin on his face whenever he’s spooked you.

he doesn’t seem to understand the concept of having job, making fun if you for 'submitting to another puny human'. you’ve tried to explain how the puny human in question is the reason you get payed and the reason he gets to eat that yakiniku he seems to love. he merely scoffs and claims he would’ve just beat the shit outta your boss. "have him know his place."

you find out through light coaxing that bakugou is a dragon shifter, they posses human forms but have the blood of great, ancient dragons coursing through their veins, is what he says. they seem quite incredible from what he’s told you and he himself seems pretty damn proud of his heritage. they age the same way humans do but their strength, stamina and quite literally everything else surpasses them greatly.

you were curious, how could you not be when a dragon man was in your house with answers to all of the fantasy questions you’d accepted would never be answered forever ago?! you ask and ask and bakugou answers, some of your questions have him scoffing offendedly ( like you asking if he uses his fire breathing as a barbecue tool, the answer is unfortunately no) some questions have him snorting and smirking to himself and some questions take a little while of thinking before he provides an answer. you notice his long, scaly red tail raises upwards the slightest little bit when you hum excitedly whenever he answers your questions, as much as he huffs about them. you decide not to comment on it.

“ what about your parents ? are they dragon shifters too ?" he stiffens at your question and you feel the vibe has changed from the one before, you don’t like it.

he lowers his head and his eyebrows furrow a little harder, you’re about to tell him he doesn’t have to divulge private information about himself but then he speaks up and claims it’s none of your business.

he’s right, it really isn’t, but you foolishly believed you’d get to know each other a bit better. you know you don’t technically need to, but you thought— you don’t really know what you thought. all you can say is that as annoying as he is, you can’t deny your intrigue of this man.

you decide to blame it on the fact that he’s a dragon for now and leave it at that.

you have more you want to ask him, but he doesn’t seem to want to talk about this subject anymore. you don’t want the conversation to end yet.

and then you remember.

“hey !” you suddenly start, causing him to raise an eyebrow at you “ how exactly did you end up blasting through my wall ? you were injured too, i never asked you about it, must’ve slipped my mind.” when he registers your question, it has him tightening his jaw in anger. fists clenched and veins popping “that fuckin’ bastard..” he growls.

“who ?”

he regains as much of his composure as he can but he still looks very pissed off.

“nothin’. it doesn’t matter.” he shrugs, looking away from you before deciding to step off your kitchen chair to flop onto the couch unceremoniously.

“wha- the reason you blasted through my wall doesn’t matter?!” you splutter, staring at him dumbfounded but he either doesn’t see you or doesn’t pay you any mind. he’s already scrolling through channels on your tv and replies with a simple “nope”.

and just like that, the conversation ends.

lately though, you’ve established somewhat of a routine with the dragon man.

he seems to enjoy binge watching tv shows rather than watching movies, you realized he was hooked on your favorite show when he growled and threatened you when you turned it off to head to bed. you didn’t mind watching your favorite show for the 50000th time and it’s always nice to see other people’s —dragons, in this case—reactions to your favorite moments.

despite his bravado, he’s ridiculously expressive. he glares and growls and groans whenever characters do something he deems stupid. he doesn’t say much when romantic moments happen, but he huffs proudly, almost like everything went according to his plan. frankly, you found it quite cute.

every time you come back from work, you chow down on some take out and watch your favorite show toghether, mixed with bakugou occasionally commenting every once in a while.

today though, you're back late.

today had been more grueling than usually, work seemed to drag on longer and it seemed that the clock in your office was frozen or broken. that, or you were stuck in some type of time vortex.

it's about 10pm when you step foot into your apartment. you instantly feel more at ease, it's warm and you smell the donburi leftovers that were confined to the fridge yesterday. you blink, then look up at your dragon roommate.

his head is perked up, the tip of his tail standing at attention, his eyes narrow into slits when he sees it's you and his shoulders sag. he huffs and a barely there pout forms on his lips.

"you're late." he grumbles. he takes another fierce bite of his donburi and shoves it in his mouth, as if to simulate biting you for the irreperable act you've commited. you hold back a snort at how ridiculous he looks trying to be intimidating with his cheeks all puffed out.

"yeah, sorry" you sigh "work ran till late" you kick off your shoes and you hear him scoffs, muttering something along the lines of why you don't just have your boss burnt to a crisp. "don't talk with your mouth full" you joke. you scold him like he's a child and he responds like one when he simply growls at you.

you're opening the frigde to grab your portion when he beats you to it " 'ts in the microwave ! " he calls loud enough for you to hear. and sure enough, you find you're bowl in the microwave waiting for you, you'd have to heat it up a bit, but not as long. you smile to yourself and turn to him, he glances at you then pointedly looks away, scoffing to himself. you're too far away to see how his ears prickle and burn as they turn a light shade of pink.

you plop yourself down next to him on the couch, food in hand,and start eating. bakugou jumps into motion. he snatches the remote without even giving you a chance to glance at it and switches to netflix like he's been living here forever. you find you don't really mind that, for some reason.

he mutters a "fuckin' finally" when he hears the iconic 'du-duummm" and the show starts where you left off yesterday. this is the episode you left off on yesterday. then it clicks.

you blink at him " you haven't watched episode 15 yet ?" you questioned. he rolls his eyes like you had asked him a stupid question "course not..." he sniffs. he wants to cut himself off but decides against it "you weren't back yet." his eyes are fixed to the tv.

you feel yourself flush involuntarily, it's such a miniscule, frankly stupid thing to be embarrassed about but you've learned to not take the dragon man's kindness (if you can call it that most of the time) for granted.

"oh" you gasp, he refuses to look at you. your eyes dart from him to the tv then back to him, and back to the tv to hide your embarrassement.

"you could've started without me, i wouldn't have minded." you whisper bashfully, you're quiet over the sound of the tv, but you know he hears you cus he scoffs at you.

"shut up." he grunts, his arm flexes where he has it draped on the back of your couch as he shuffles to sit more comfortably. " i can't do that." then, as if trying to save face, he splutters "you'd get all pissy about it..it's annoyin'".

"i wouldn't have gotten 'pissy' " you mocked hotly.

"ya did when i blasted your wall."

"that's because you blasted my wall ! "

"tch."

your banter ends there as you both quietly watch the show, you let out a few yawns and rub at your eyes, trying your hardest to fight off sleep but you feel like your losing. until bakugou speaks up again.

"you..." he starts. you lazily roll your head back from where it's propped up on the couch to blink at him sleepily, he meets your eye for a moment, only for a moment, then looks out towars your balcony window. you hum to try and coax him to continue speaking.

"you..wanted to know about my folks, right ?" he asks gruffly.

you're using the last of the strenght your sleep-riddled body has to sit up a little straighter and nod quickly, eyes slightly wider. he looks at you for a moment longer than before. a beat passes and neither of you say anything, finally he sighs for the umpteenth time today and speaks up.

“my ma’s a shifter, my old man’s a human." he confesses. you’re eyes widen, you sit up straighter “woah really ?!" you bleated. he grunts in response.

" wow, so you’re half human..?"

“all of us are, shitty human.”

" cut that out, i’ve told you my name a thousand times !"

he simply rolls his eyes at you.

"you're a human, a shitty one at that, that's all i need to know about you." he smirks when you lay down onto the couch just to kick him in the shoulder. he smiles wickedly and grabs your leg, shoving it back towards your torso. you yelp, kicking your other leg up but he's faster. he's got you in his grasp, like a hunter catching its prey. his sharp teeth on display with that nasty little grin he has on his stupidly handsome face, a mischievious glint shines in his eyes and it has your stomach tying itself into knots.

"c-cut it !" you whinge. he smiles wider at your complaints, leaning over you a little bit more until your socked feet are pressed to his chest, you try to push at him, but you stop when you feel like you'll damn near break your legs trying to cause any damage to that huge chiseled chest of his, your head spins. you resort to trying to push at him with your hands, but it feels like you're trying to push a fucking wall at this rate.

"you started it, shitty human" he cackles, pressing against you harder "gotta pay for it, now."

"y-you'll crush me, you b-big lizard !" you wheeze.

"big lizard, huh?" he guffaws, smirking down at you "got some guts talkin to me like that, human."

despite rapidly losing your breath, you find the strenght to glare up at him, puffing out your cheeks. he snickers and finally relents, pushing himself away so you can finally breathe "fine, fine" he concedes "you prey animals are all so weak, barely touched you and you almost died"

"you-!" you sit up quickly, sputtering as you catch your breath "you just tried to kill me ! how's that barely touching me?!" you shot. he simply rolls his eyes at you and you think this is the longest you've seen him with a smile on his face, albeit at the expense of your poor lungs.

" relax." he answers easily, you feel like strangling him "wasn't trying to kill ya," a dangerously mischievious glint glows in his deep carmine eyes again when he looks at you " if i was, you'd know." you can't help the chill running down your spine, you mask it with a cough and turn away from him to continue watching your neglected show, turning your nose up at him. you hear his deep chuckle in response, you want to punch him.

but there's a part of you that can't help but feel a little giddy, you've learned a little more about your dragon...co-habitant. even if it's just a little bit, you feel like he's opening up to you more, very, very slowly but surely. you smile softly to yourself.

somehow, you've gotten used to living with bakugou.

[justaz]

once merlin puts arthur to rest, the world around him disappears and he’s in ealdor staring at his mother’s back. his sobs from the lake grow worse at the sight of his mother and he wails like he’s a child again, calling repeatedly for his ma. she spins around and finds him, without asking any questions she dashes forward and pulls him into a hug, holding his weight as he falls apart in her grasp, choking out nonsensical words and soaking her dress with tears, snot, and drool, his overwhelming grief causing him to ignore any sense of shame he might’ve felt at such a scene.

he doesn’t remember explaining anything to her, frankly he doesn’t remember much beyond the cries he pressed into her shoulder, but she says he’s been in ealdor for a week. she’s clearly worried and asks, no, begs him to eat or drink but he doesn’t feel the need or desire to, and even if he did, he simply doesn’t have the energy to bring the sustenance to his mouth. she cradles his head in her lap and runs her finger through his hair like she did when he had a nightmare when he was younger. it’s almost enough to make the entire thing seem like a horrible, horrible dream. but theres blood on his tunic where he held arthur’s body to his own so he knows it’s not true.

his mother doesn’t ask any questions, the look in her eyes telling him that she knows anyway. perhaps his nonsensical babble created a clear enough image for her to understand. maybe she just saw the broken look in his eyes and came to the conclusion on her own. she doesn’t mention him. merlin isn’t sure if he’s relieved about that or not. in the end, he brings it up, he asks how she was able to go on after balinor left. he asks how she was able to pick herself back up on her own two feet and carry on life as normal after receiving his letter informing her of his passing. she says sometimes she can’t, sometimes she lays in bed and listens to the birds sing and can’t help but hate them. she says she lives on for him anyway. she pushes herself up and makes food and works in the fields even when she hate the world around her.

merlin tries to relate, tries to understand, tries to imagine himself getting up every morning and living on in his name. he can’t. his parents loved each other, he knows that, but they were their own people and were able to stand the years apart. merlin…merlin is arthur’s, even in death. everything he is, everything he’s done, has been for arthur. he is half of merlin’s soul, the center of merlin’s world. how can anyone expect him to move on as if he’s capable of being alone? how can anyone expect him to function as if half of his soul, half of himself, isn’t dead in a lake? merlin can’t do it, he can’t imagine living a life without arthur. he barely got through the week and that’s only because he was passed out for a majority of it. how could he make it a year, much less another fifty?

he can’t. he can’t do it. he can’t breathe, he’s in agony, the world around him doesn’t exist anymore. not without arthur.

he’s back at the lake now, tears still streaming down his face despite the pounding headache from dehydration yet it doesn’t matter, not anymore. none of it does. he stumbles into the lake and sends his magic into the water to tug excalibur from the depths. he can feel freya pulling the sword back, but his magic overpowers hers easily and the sword springs from the lake, gleaming in the afternoon sun. freya’s face appears in the ripples of the water next to him, her expression pleading and sorrowful. merlin whispers an apology before turning back to the sword, staring at the sharp point of the blade. he brings it closer to hover just over his heart, the metal pressing against his skin but not enough to draw blood just yet.

peace washes over him. the sun warms his skin and the water cools him to keep it from being unbearable. the birds sing in the trees as the wind whistles through the leaves. merlin stares up at the brilliant blue sky and pure white clouds roll by, images of bunnies and birds and crowns and horses staring down at him. he wonders if avalon will be this peaceful, if he and arthur could lay out in a field for eternity, basking in the sun and laughing as they point out misshapen clouds that supposedly look like the other.

he plunges the sword into his chest, right through his heart, and falls back into the water. bubbles trail out of his mouth up towards the surface, blood spills from his wound and mixes with the water. he closes his eyes as he sinks further and further. he knows when he opens them, he’ll be with arthur once more. it’ll all be okay. he doesn’t feel his body hit the bottom before blackness fills his mind.

arthur awakens from his fitful slumber in a bed that is not his own. he squints at the room, or rather hut, around him and finds an old man hunched over a book in the corner. arthur tries to speak but all that comes out is a squeak of air, his throat too dry to speak. the man hears and whirls around to begin treating him once more, prattling on and on about how he found arthur in the woods outside his village donning shiny clothes which he discarded bc of the blood staining them yet he couldn’t find a wound. arthur’s hand reaches up to his side but there’s no stab wound there, not anymore, though he does sport the scar. he remembers how he got it, he remembers stumbling away from the battlefield, he remembers being found by merlin- merlin.

he asks the man about him but he seems confused and denies ever knowing someone by that name. arthur climbs out of the bed (the flash of golden eyes) and hastily pulls on his armor (“i’m a sorcerer. i have magic.”). he’s out the door before the old man can protest. he’s in a village he doesn’t recognize, they must not be anywhere near camelot (“i’m still the same person.”). he turns to the old man hobbling out of the hut and demands directs to camelot. the man stares at him oddly and scratches his ear before informing him that he’s never heard of a camelot before (“you’re my friend and i don’t want to lose you.”).

he instead asks for directions to the woods where he was found and sets off in that direction, the old man shuffling after him (“me, i was born to serve you, arthur.”). it doesn’t take long to reach where he was found. if the old man had carried him home it couldn’t’ve been much of a hike (“and i’m proud of that.”). he steps into a clearing where the man panted that he found him here (“and i wouldn’t change a thing.”). it’s no where near the lake where merlin held him as he took his last breath, it’s no where near camelot. the man didn’t even recognize the name of his kingdom (“it’s not why i do it.”).

arthur sits in the grass as he thinks on his next move and the man who watched over him sits next to him (“i’m not going to change now.”). he speaks lowly of a prophecy about a man from a time long forgotten sent on a journey, a quest, to retrieve what has been lost. he says how the prophecy led many to a sword lodged in stone (“i’m not going to lose you.”) but no one could pull it free. he points out arthur’s armor and calls it odd, he mentions camelot, a kingdom of which he’s never heard, and gestures around the clearing where he found the mystery man. he concludes that perhaps the prophecy spoke of him (“i can’t lose him.”).

arthur, with no other options, follows the man’s directions to a lake. not exactly lake avalon but close enough. theres a small island in the center that seems more like a hill. the sword, his sword, excalibur is buried in a stone covered in moss, misshaping it’s actual form. arthur wades across the water and climbs the hill. he wraps his hands around the hilt of excalibur and closes his eyes. he imagines merlin confident and reassuring expression as they and all his men stood in the woods around this damn sword in a different stone however long ago it was. he breathes in and out (“he’s my friend.”) and pulls.

excalibur comes free just as it did before. arthur watches the metal pull free and as it does, the moss on the stone falls away revealing its form. it looks like a collapsed figure, excalibur having been lodged in it’s chest, right where it’s heart would be. arthur squints at what looks like the head and feels a flash of familiarity. the stone slowly fades away from the hole where excalibur was all the way to the hill. as the stone fades, it leaves behind skin and clothes and hair and…merlin.

arthur drops excalibur and falls to his knees to hold up merlin’s limp form. he feels warm, as if he didn’t just spend however long with a sword in his chest as a stone. he’s not breathing. why isn’t he breathing? arthur grasps around, shifting his clothes out of the way to find the wound where excalibur had once been. the skin is stitching itself together with tiny golden threads. arthur looks back up at merlin’s lax face as the wound fully closes. he inhales sharply as his eyes fly open, glowing gold, and all around him it seemed the world finally inhaled after suffocating for millennia.

merlin exhales and golden sparks shoot from his lips to flurry around in the air. the grass under them grows longer and curls around both his and merlin’s body where they rest against the ground. the water around their island clears from the murky brown to a blindingly clear blue. the air is crisp and clean, the sun brighter and warmer, and one soul finally whole again.

[thornybubbles]

All I Ever Wanted: Yandere Santana x Reader

Note: I used a different method for writing this story than I normally do. I used a picker wheel to randomly choose a prompt from a list of Yandere Prompts from Tumblr and a list of JoJo characters I haven’t written for yet. The winning character was Santana and the winning prompt was “Yandere saves Darling’s life”. I may use this method again in the future. 

Santana first encountered you when you snuck into the German base to aid Joseph in rescuing Speedwagon. He could not take his eyes off of you as you tended to the old man while Joseph tried to gain his attention with his buffoonery. Nothing the young Joestar said or did could pull Santana’s gaze from you as you spoke words of comfort to the frightened Speedwagon. The old man scolded you for tagging along with Joseph on such a dangerous mission, but he was relieved to have you there nonetheless. Watching you coddle the old man stirred something in Santana that he never felt before. Santana never considered humans to be especially attractive before, but there was something about you that lured him in. Maybe it was the gentle look in your eyes as you checked the old man over? Maybe it was the loving words you used as you spoke to him?

Santana found himself growing jealous over the attention the old man was getting from you. For him, affection was few and far between and usually limited to a half-hearted head pat from Kars or Esidesi whenever he did as he was told. As he got older though, they started to treat him less like kin and more like a pet. During training, he found himself unable to achieve the same kind of results that Wammu could, and Kars became increasingly frustrated with him. He once warned him that if he did not catch up with the rest of them, then he would be left behind. When he woke up thousands of years later and found himself alone, he knew that he’d been abandoned. 

He fully intended to take all of his grief and anger out on every single human he came across, but seeing you, he decided to make an exception. Though anger began to simmer in him as he watched you with the old man. You hadn’t even looked at him when you came in. Did you have any idea how stupid it was to blunder into enemy territory and not be on guard? He could have killed you a thousand times over before you even made eye contact with him! Why were you wasting time with that old man when you should be paying attention to him?! Santana side-stepped Joseph, who was incessantly tapping his nose and saying ridiculous things, and began to advance on you and Speedwagon.

Your back was turned to the Pillarman. You were too busy trying to release Speedwagon from his restraints to notice as Santana drew ever closer to you. He was strangely quiet for someone so large. It wasn’t until Speedwagon’s horrified gaze locked on something behind you did you turn around and find yourself face to face with the Pillarman. You gasped and instinctively put yourself between Santana and the old man, trying to shield Speedwagon from the brute. Santana just stared down at you with an unreadable expression while Speedwagon begged for you to get away. 

Slowly, Santana reached out for you, his massive hand looking like it was about to clamp down on your head. 

“Don’t ignore me, you prehistoric prick!” shouted Joseph. 

He placed a hand on Santana’s shoulder, trying to annoy the Pillarman enough that he would forget about whatever he was planning to do to you. When Santana didn’t react, Joseph sent a jolt of Ripple energy into the flesh of his shoulder to get the point across. It certainly worked because Santana’s eye twitched and the corner of his mouth turned up into a slight snarl. His shoulder sizzled from the attack but was already healing itself. Santana slowly turned to face Joseph who was bouncing from foot to foot holding his fists up as if he were in a boxing ring. 

“That’s what you get for treating me like I’m just a mosquito flying around your ear!” Joseph said, grinning obnoxiously. 

Santana was giving him a blank look but you could practically feel the rage boiling off of him. Before anything else could happen, though, the sound of several booted feet stomped up the corridor and a troop of German soldiers burst into the room. They lined up on either side of a very confused Joseph and took aim at Santana. Who the blazes were these guys? Reinforcements? From where? You thought Santana had killed all the soldiers in the base! You didn’t think much more about it because you realized that while the Germans had their guns locked on Santana, you and Speedwagon were right behind him. If they fired on the Pillarman, they would take you and the old man out, too! Joseph must have realized the same thing because he was already trying to wrestle the gun out of one of the soldiers hands. The others ignored Joseph’s antics  and you heard someone yell, “FIRE!” 

Thinking quickly you knocked Speedwagon out of the wheelchair and onto the floor where he would be out of range of the gunfire. Seconds later you found yourself swept up in a pair of muscular arms and held to an equally muscular chest. Thinking that it was Joseph that held you, you screamed as you felt the bullets tear into him. Over the racket you heard both Speedwagon and Joseph call your name. That’s when you realized that it wasn’t Joseph that had you in his grasp. You looked up and actually felt the blood drain from your face. Staring down at you with impassive red eyes was Santana. You felt your arms and legs draw up against your body in terror. You tried to speak, working your jaw and tongue to get words out, wanting to demand or even beg him not to kill you, but you could only manage to emit squeaks of fright. 

You became vaguely aware of the sound of JoJo fighting with the soldiers and more gunfire. He was angry with them for nearly killing you and Speedwagon. 

“What kind of morons just burst into a room and start shooting?!” He shouted as he kicked one of them in the back of the head, knocking off his helmet and sending the soldier to dreamland. It was only then that he spotted you in the arms of the Pillarman and froze, eyes widening in horror. 

“My God! Joseph! That monster has her!” Speedwagon spoke up. He, too, only just now realized what was happening. 

Seeing that JoJo had stopped attacking them, the soldiers returned their attention to Santana once more taking aim. You gasped and squinted your eyes closed, not wanting to see your demise coming. Joseph prepared to send a Hamon-fueled kick to the ground under the soldiers feet to knock them off balance but he never got the chance. Santana readjusted you so that he was cradling you with one arm. He raised his free arm upwards towards the soldiers, spreading his fingers at weird angles. Just like he had before, he used the bullets that had been absorbed into his body to return fire. Each bullet shot from his fingertips hit its mark, embedding itself into the heads of each of the soldiers. Not even the ones that Joseph knocked out were spared. Only Joseph remained unscathed. He looked around himself in confusion, wondering why he didn’t get shot, too. Santana lowered his arm, readjusting you in his hold once more. He glared at Joseph the entire time. He only spared him because he had unfinished business with the upstart primitive, but he could take care of that later. Joseph had gotten over his confusion and was now glaring back at Santana with equal ferocity. 

“Put my friend down right now!” He demanded, pointing a finger at the ground as if to show exactly where he wanted Santana to place you. 

The Pillarman’s lips pulled away from his teeth in a snarl and he made a noise that sounded like a cross between a snake’s hiss and a dog’s growl. Joseph had the audacity to growl back at him, an action that you would have thought funny if it weren’t for the situation you were in. Santana moved slightly and Joseph seemed to know immediately what he was planning. 

“Don’t you dare!” he warned the Pillarman. 

Santana hissed/growled at him again, before suddenly taking off down the corridor that the German troops had just come from. The action took Joseph off guard. He was expecting the Pillarman to try to harm you in some way, not run off with you! 

“JoJo! Stop him!” cried Speedwagon from where he still lay on the floor. 

That was all he needed to snap out of his shocked state and into action. He took off down the corridor at full speed, desperately trying to catch up with Santana. The Pillarman’s powerful legs let him run far faster than any human though, and he was constantly maneuvering out of Joseph’s grasp as he tried to snatch you away from him. Santana went so far as to run along the walls and at some point, you even found yourself upside down as Santana began running on the very ceiling. 

“Get down here, you cheater!” Joseph yelled up at him. 

Joseph’s vision was suddenly obstructed as a green cloth fluttered down on top of him. During his escape from the observation lab, Santana grabbed a shirt off of one of the dead soldiers. While he and Joseph were glaring each other down, Santana had spotted a map of the base among the scattered files and papers that littered the ground after his earlier rampage. He only needed to glance at it once in order to commit it to memory. When he knew that he was coming upon an intersection, he waited for just the right moment to drop the shirt down on Joseph, obscuring his view as he darted off down the corridor that he knew led to some maintenance tunnels. 

Joseph snatched the bloodstained shirt off of himself. He let out an angry shout when he realized that Santana had evaded him. That freak was a lot smarter than he seemed. There were three passages he could’ve taken: straight ahead, right, or left. He obviously didn’t keep going straight or Joseph would still be able to see him. So that left either the left or the right. Joseph debated on which way to go for a moment. In comics, the bad guys almost always take the left passage to get away from the good guys. Maybe that was the case in real life, too? He growled in frustration. He didn’t have anything else to go on, so left passage it was. He ran down the passage calling your name, hoping that the monster hadn’t hurt you. Unfortunately, real life isn’t like comic books and Santana had taken the right passage.  

You were grateful when Santana began running upright again. Being upside down for so long was starting to give you a headache. You lost sight of Joseph hours ago. You tried calling out for him once, but Santana gave you such a glare that the words died on your tongue from sheer fright. But you were beginning to wonder just how long this damned corridor was. And just how long could this guy run? He’d been running for a while now and wasn’t even breathing hard! 

Santana darted down a flight of stairs that seemed to lead to a basement and storage area. He slowed down to a normal walk and began searching for something. Finally he came to a set of chained up doors with a lot of writing around it. You couldn’t read German so you had no clue what it said. He pulled the doors open, snapping the chains as if they were made of paper. He then stepped inside of the room and closed the doors behind him. The lighting inside of the room was dim, but you could make out the shapes of a desk and some machines that you didn’t recognize. Santana walked to a corner of the room and plopped down on the ground, hiding in the shadows. He held you in his lap and stared at the doors, watching to see if JoJo would burst through them at any moment. After a moment, you felt him relax and he let out a quiet sigh. Then, he turned his gaze on you. 

The dim light made him look especially eerie and you noted that his red eyes seemed to have a bit of a glow to them. 

“Uh… hi…” you said awkwardly. 

“You did not thank me.” 

You blinked up at him. You had only heard him say one or two word sentences before, and usually he only seemed to repeat what others said to him. He may have said something to JoJo before, but you were too busy worrying about Speedwagon to pay much attention. 

“Thank me properly.” he said. His voice was quiet and calm, but you could definitely hear the demand in it when he said that. 

“I… what? W-what do you w-want me to d-do?” You stammered. “I don’t even know w-what I’m t-thanking you for.” 

Santana gave you an insulted look. 

“I saved your life.” he stated in a gruff, clipped tone. “The other humans would have killed you. I prevented it. Now thank me properly.” 

Oh well, now you’ve made him angry. 

“Thank you…?” You said lamely, not sure what he wanted. 

Santana huffed and rolled his eyes. You were unfortunately as thick-skulled at any other human, in spite of your kind, gentle nature. You would have to be trained apparently. He grabbed your hand, causing you to flinch. He then guided your hand to the top of his head and moved your hand around in a motion that made it seem like you were ruffling his hair. Once or twice your palm scraped against the two small horns that jutted from his skull causing you to wince. You were surprised at how soft his hair was though. For someone that came from a time when hair care products weren’t exactly readily available yet, it seemed very healthy. After a while, he let your hand go but made sure you kept rubbing his head. He closed his eyes and nuzzled into your hand. The action caused you to blush. 

Stop. Bad guys are not supposed to be cute. You mentally scolded yourself. 

After a few minutes of rubbing the top of his head, you were starting to feel a little awkward. 

“Okay… good Aztec Demi-God…” you said in a nervous tone and slowly pulled your hand away from his hair. When he didn’t immediately force you to start petting him again, you relaxed a little. 

“I guess it’s safe to assume that you aren’t going to kill me then?” you asked, feeling a little braver. 

Santana shook his head. 

“No.” he said, a sleepy look in his eyes. 

You glanced down at the floor longingly. 

“Any chance of you putting me down?” You asked, feeling brave enough to push your luck. 

Instantly, the sleepy look was gone from his eyes and he tightened his hold on you. 

“NO!” he all but roared. 

You cringed in his hold and didn’t say anything else. 

Well it was worth a shot. You really hoped JoJo found you soon, before this situation got any more uncomfortable.

[magentagalaxies]

creation of adam but it's this photo of me handing scott the martini before his buddy cole set in the KITH toronto show

[dizzybizz]

man,

[blood-mocha-latte]

IT'S DONE

[slimslamflimflam]

agender mikitaka

The creature of unknown origin

[crispycreambacon]

The Journey to Break Free • An Analysis of Malevolent's Themes

This is more like a ramble, but analysis sounds more professional y'know y'know-

Major Spoiler Warning for Episode 19

-

Episode 19 may be my favourite episode at least for Season 2 – bear in mind that as I type this, I haven't gone past Episode 19. Regardless, it is definitely a highlight of this podcast for me. It unpacked a lot about Arthur and John, and it explored many interesting themes. The strength of kindess and letting yourself be vulnerable, the reality that healing and becoming a better person isn't always a clean journey, the significance of the connections we make and the memories we carry from them...

The first one is subversive in how despite Arthur losing some of his morality in order to survive, he still retains some of it and uses it ro his advantage. It may be baffling to see Arthur still wanting to trust others and treat them kindly, as seen with Arthur wanting to offer water to the cana, because this world can turn on you so quickly. However, that may be the point. The fact that Arthur can still find it in himself to care about the beings in this world is a true testament to his resilience. The Dreamlands is unrelentlessly cruel and tests you, trying to mold you to become the monsters that roam this realm, and I think that is why Arthur won't succumb to this world's terrors like so many before him did.

It ties into the tone of the podcast and how it shifts. Arthur may need to be cruel at times, but that doesn't mean he needs to be a monster. Likewise, Malevolent may be a bleak story, but it is not one which needs to overly indulges in tragedy and darkness. Even within the episode itself, there are moments where Arthur and John laugh. There's an entire section in which Arthur interacts with a buopoth, and it's the most adorable thing ever. These moments provide a balance that help emphasize the impact of intense moments even more than if the entire story had just been trudged in grimdark.

(Putting the rest under a "Read More" section as to not make this post too long to scroll through)

As for the second theme, I particularly appreciate it as people who try to heal, typically victims of trauma, are often villanized for not being perfect, nice or behaving. Anyone who doesn't fit the mold of being sad and helpless via lashing out or express anger about their trauma get dogpiled with insults and accusations from those who refuse to understand them. Those who only want to imagine a narrative that recovery is always pretty and always going up with no relapses whatsoever. That narrative formed because society crafted it and enforced it with media tackling trauma victims in a shallow way at best. Because it's uncomfortable for society to face the truth that trauma is ugly, and those that went through it won't come out unscathed like people want them to.

The theme of names being significant is an uncommon but meaningful one. John Doe is a name to give the King in Yellow a new identity, a way to rebuild himself. Lilly is a name that meant a lot to John as the only form of human connection he had while Arthur was comatose and the catalyst to John becoming a better person. Faroe is a name that Arthur keeps recalling because he can't let go of his daughter and the trauma that came with it.

Even the name of the episode is important. I think "the Prison" truly is an apt title for this episode. Not only because this involves Arthur and John escaping the pit they're trapped it, but it's also a metaphor for Arthur's situation. His body is a prison for John that both want him to get out of, yet Arthur is the real prisoner as he loses control over everything from his body to his life. He is trapped in the past because he can never let go of Fareo. He can never forgive himself for causing her death through his neglect no matter how unintentional it was.

And he gave in at the end. He gave in to the past and went to the city to search for Faroe even though the cana instructed them to avoid the city. Even though so many signs point to it being yet another trap. Even though the chances of Fareo being there were next to none.

Yet John didn't protest. It really shows how much John has grown to emphathize with humanity. How he has grown from someone who is selfish and uses others to his whims, discarding them when they no longer serve him purpose to someone who may not fully understand humanity but can genuinely appreciate and care about it. He may not understand why Arthur still clings onto Faroe, but he understands Arthur deserves closure, so even if this may be a trap, he lets him walk in. We, the audience, may not fully understand either, but we understand this is a necessary step for Arthur even if it may be one that leads to his doom.

[vroomian]

Got home from the hospital only to find out immediately that my hot water was just randomly gone today! It was fine when I left. It was fine when my mom stopped by to clean up my house! But the second I want to wash the hospital and road off me? Gone.

So that’s how my July has been.

[irawhiti]

do you guys fucking hear yourselves i'm just wondering. like be fucking for real here. everyone who says that millionaires aren't rich or some other shit because of inflation and prices going up owes every homeless person who has to read this shit $3000. guess what, things are just as expensive for the filthy poors WITHOUT a million dollars, too! usually a hell of a lot more expensive in the long run, actually! the cost of living getting more expensive affects EVERYONE. a flat $1000 is almost nothing to a millionaire while being a fucking life changer for many people living in poverty! come on now.