#epic mountains ok. epic

[legokingfisher]

Don’t have much time to draw atm but I wanted to contribute to Sora worldwide trend even though my contribution is comparatively kinda lame (yalls art is so fucking epic)

Appalachian Sora… she drove up the blue ridge parkway to watch the sunrise and get away from her family and she is watching the mist flow in rivers through the valleys. Golden light pours over the ancient, rounded peaks at last and she thinks Arin would like it up here right now. They go to the same school but he lives like an hour and a half away because they are all in the middle of nowhere (Sora would have some serious small town blues)

She works at the singular auto shop within a 20 mile radius because she can’t stand the other nearby options (bussing tables at a diner or like. Retail)

Her other hobbies include:

- gossip with Arin while he’s fishing

- explore abandoned coal mine

[livvyofthelake]

fanfiction ending made me cry my eyes out like a little baby. that was like a cry i would have had in the gut wrenching trenches of middle school. that was a brutal one. anyway. redacted era officially over now... how crazy is that. of course it goes without saying that if you somehow still don't know what "redacted" is or what the fanfiction is, you're never going to find out and you missed a vital piece of my lore and you will never be able to learn it. heart. as a celebration of one of my worst eras that i still think was actually way better and healthier than at least half of my past eras (cobra kai, outer banks, and hell anything is better than stranger things), here is one final reaction gif compilation. sending off a real one <3

[1ovestay]

ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ☆

[gtinthepot]

MASTER LIST OF GIANT/TINY CONTENT

Disclaimer, I have not looked up everything on this list and most of it was suggested from others. I cannot promise the accuracy of the content. Suggestions for the list are more than welcome, leave a comment on the post for people to browse through after checking to see if its on the list already :)

I’ll be editing and adding to it here and there, so some reblogs of the post might be outdated. I suggest clicking on the source /main post to get the newest version. The old list can be found here.

7 deadly sins

A bug's life

Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (some episodes)

Adventure time

Alice in Wonderland

Alvin and the chipmunks

Amour de poshe (the girl in his pocket)

Animorphs: #24

Ant bully

Ant man (1 and 2)

Antz

Archies weird mysteries (one ep)

Army of darkness

Art Attack

Arthur and the Invisibles

Athena complex (webcomic)

Attack of the 50 foot cheerleader.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

Attack of the puppet people

Barbie and the nut cracker

barbie movies (look up specifics)

Barbie Thumbelina

Beastars

Beatle juice

Berserk

Big man japan

Bottle Fairy

Bramble the mountain king. (video game)

Brave little tailor (mickey mouse)

Bugs life?

Captain America: Civil War

Card captor sakura (one ep and some scenes)

Christmas Stories: The Tin Soldier is a good one.

Clifford the big red dog

Cuphead: Don’t deal with the Devil (mostly with certain bosses)

Darby o’gill and the little people

David the Gnome

Disenchantment

Dollman

Downsizing

Dr cyclops

Dr who (one ep: into the dalek)

Dragon ball

Dungeon meshi (a few chapters)

Ella Enchanted

Elusive people.(video game)

Epic

Ernest and Celestine (more of a mini-giant/doll-sized tiny size dynamic)

Fairytale: a true story (1997)

Fantastic Planet

Fantastic voyage

Ferngully

Final space episode 5

Frame arms girl.

Futurama (some episodes)

Gelias and the giant

Gen V

George shrinks

Gods of Egypt

Godzilla

Grandpa in my pocket

Gravity falls (one episode)

Grounded (video game)

Guardians of the Galaxy (vol. 2 more so than the first one)

Gulliver's Children (webtoon)

Gullivers travels (1939, 1977, 2010) as a well as a mini-tv series

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child: Aladdin

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child: Season 2, Episode 2 thumbelina

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child: The shoemaker and the elves

Helmecrons

Help I shrunk my friends

Help I shrunk my parents

Help I shrunk my teacher

Here come the littles

Hilda

Honey I blew up the kid

Honey I shrunk the audience ride at Disneyland

Honey I shrunk the kids

Hornby sets

How to Keep a Mummy ( Miira no Kaikata)

Inch high private eye

Innerspace

Invincible (Some episodes)

It takes two (game)

Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story

Jack the giant slayer

Jackie Chan Adventures (one episode)

Jaimes and the giant peach

Jitsu wa watashi wa (mostly the 4th episode)

Journey 2 The Mysterious Island

King kong

Kubo and the two strings

Land of the giants

Legoland

Lilo and Stitch the series (two episodes)

Little (Grrl) 

little nightmares 1 and 2 (game)

Littles

Lord of the rings

Macross sequel shows (-anime-)

Mars attacks!

Mickey and the bean stalk

Micro Machines

Micro Ventures

Militsioner (Video game)

Minami-Kun no Koibito (2015)

Minish cap (video game)

Moana

Modest Heroes Kanini and Kanino (Short film)

Monster (video game)

Monsters Vs Aliens

My hero Academia (some episodes)

My Little Lover

My Miniature Manual (webtoon)

My Monster Secret (specifically one character)

natsume yuujinchou

Nau-lmg

Night at the Museum

Nils holgersson

Ok Ko! lets be Heroes season 3 episode 9 Planet Vacation

One Punch Man (some episodes)

Onward (a few scenes)

Osmosis Jones

Ozzy and Drix

Pans labyrinth

Paper mario sticker star (Video game, two levels)

Peter pan

Pikmin 1, 2, and 3 (game)

Pinocchio

Pokemon sun/moon anime second season (one ep)

Ponyo

Rainbow Magic

Ratatouille

Rick n morty (one episode)

Robotech (-comic series; new ones-)

Robotech (season one/The Macross Saga) (-anime-)

Robotech Remix (-comic series-)

Super Danganronpa 2 (video game, final boss)

Shadow of the colossus (video game)

Shrunk the family (Onnelin ja Annelin talvi)

Small blessings (webcomic)

Small Lands Survive The Wilds (Video game)

Small soldiers (1998)

Smallfoot

Smurfs

Smurfs lost village

Snorks

Spirit of wonder: The shrinking of miss China

SpongeBob SquarePants (the wumbo episode)

Steven universe

Stormlight Archive (-book series; has tiny fae people-)

Strange days at blake holesy high (one episode)

Strange magic

Stuart Little

Sugar apple fairy tale.

Super giant robot brothers.

Tales to Astonish (comics)

Ted Hughes

Tentacular. (video game)

The 3 worlds of gulliver

The 7th voyage of sinbad

The amazing colossal man

The bee movie

The BFG

The bfg 1989

The borrowers (1973, 1993 1997, 2011)

The Borrowers (Arrietty)

The Borrowers exhibition at the Hancock Museum

The Boys (some episodes)

The dwarf and the giant 1901

The Fantastic Planet

The hobbit

The hulk

The incredible shrinking man

The incredible shrinking woman

The Indian in the cupboard

The iron giant

The iron man

The Journey.

The Last Guardian (video game)

The Last of the Huggermuggers by Christopher Pearse Cranch

The Little Bits

The littles

The magic school bus

The nut cracker

The owl house (one episode)

The phantom planet

The Rescuers

The return of the Borrowers 1992 and 1993 tv series

The Secret of Nimh

The secret world of Arrietty

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

The simsons (one episode)

The storyteller (one ep)

The Suspicion and #42

The Sword in the Stone

The tale of the princess kaguya

The ultimate avengers (1 & 2)

Thumbelina

Time loader. (video game)

Tinkerbell and The Great Fairy Rescue

Tinkerbell and The Pirate Fairy

Tinkerbell movies

Tinykin. (video game)

Tom and Jerry

Tomb thumb

Townsmen VR. (video game)

Toy story

Transformers

Transformers (old series)

Troll hunter

Troll in central park...??

Trolls

Trolls band together

Ultraman cosmos

Underdogs

Unravel. Porcelain tales. (video game)

Valkyrie Drive Mermaid (one episode.)

Village of the giants

Violet Goes to The Beach (webtoon)

VR Giants. (video game)

We’re Back! A dinosaur story

When the Dolls Woke (book)

Wild Kratts

Wild, wild planet

Wiplala

Wrath of the Titans (one scene)

Wreck it ralph

Yarn (video game)

Zootopia

[thatdeadaquarius]

Episode two of us teleported to genshin and we just play prank on everyone and causing havoc cuz y not <33

Secretly swapping venti and kaeya's vintage wine with the freshest grape juice *evil laugh*

Randomly singing niki minaj and megan thee stalion lyrics in random places <3

WE WOULD BUILD A TREE HOUSE NEAR WINDRISE AND LIVE TOGETHER YAYAYAY

Living that cottage core dream <3

YOU KNOW WE WOULD BITCH

i like to think we'd fufill every genshin fans chaotic dreams if we got yoinked to genshin lol

(obviously, seriously, sorry for replying way too late to this ;-; )

ur talking abt harmless pranks, and while yes we would need to do all of those, im talking abt figuring out how to trick Zhongli into running into Neuvillette LMAOO

ok but the Windrise idea is lowkey genius, i mean if Hilichurls can accomplish structures surely so can we, u know what i subscribe to tho? Treehouses/cool houses in every nation 👌

like cool mountain home for Liyue/inazuma could literally have a house for every island/sumeru would be yet another most epic treehouses/I WOULD LIKE TO HANG OUT/LIVE IN ONE OF THE PYRAMIDS!! not all of them have dead ppl in them i don't think (in teyvat not earth💀)

Im a personal favorite of not just singing nicki minaj songs/2000s party songs, but blasting them thruout Fontaine’s speakers 👍

OR EVEN BETTER-

blasting unhinged music thru the speakers of the CLOCKWORK MEKA, no matter where Fontainians go they can’t escape shit like, “REESES PUFFS REESES PUFFS EAT EM UP EAT EM UP EAT EM UP”

(i like to think our phones would come with/always be at 100% bc we’re “inside the video game” too)

i just posted ur other idea abt this, but telling the Akademiya/Fontaine vision users abt powerpoint nights, and just sitting back with popcorn/genshin food so we can watch the show lol

idk if u saw it for Lantern rite this year, but how mountain shaper and moon carver accidentally messed with cloud retainer by flying kites in her territory? i would give the adepti even more funny gifts so they'd unintentionally prank Each Other lmao

Giving unhinged novel ideas to Yae Miko would also be great, like the beef between Zhongli/Rex Lapis and Venti/Barbatos but enemies to lovers fanfic 💀

she’d print it too lol

(oh god i don't even wanna think abt how much more insane we’d seem if they thought we were their Creators/above the gods 😭 be gods of chaos more like lol)

tysm for all ur big brain ideas orah, 10/10 would love driving Teyvat crazy if we were both there irl

i hope u have a great week!! :D

Safe Travels,

💀♒

If you wanna join a taglist, DM me what for! "Pspspsss, please tag me for [All SAGAU posts, Only SAGAU Language AUs, diff fandom, etc.]!"

(If you ever wanna drop, just DM me! "No more taglists/[specifically this AU/fandom] please!")

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist / @thedevioussmirk / @the-dumber-scaramouche / @chocogi / @fallen-starr / @areaderofbooks / @devilangel657 / @esthelily / @justinsomniachild / @nanithefuck / @questionotmystopit / @chinuneko

@kiyomi-uchiha777

[deliciousangelfestival]

I have a cute one for you! Ok so Bucky’s fiancée (the reader) gives Bucky an early Christmas present when he comes home from a mission and the present is the reader’s way of telling Bucky that she’s pregnant with hers and Bucky’s first child

Take your time and have an amazing day/night!🩵

Thank you for the fluff request. I love it 😭💖💖💖. I hope you like it.🥰🎄🎄🎄🎁🎁🎁

****************

Unexpected Present, Unfolding Future

Character: Bucky x fiancee!Reader

Main Masterlist || buy me Ko-fi 🥹💓

Thank you to anyone who gave a like, reblog, and left a comment. It motivated me to write more. 

The wind howled like a banshee outside, whipping snowflakes against Bucky's face as he trudged up the porch steps. His shoulders hunched, mirroring the weight of the world on his weary soul. All he craved was a hot meal, a warm bed, and the sweet oblivion of sleep.

As he fumbled with his keys, the door swung open, revealing Y/N in a festive apron, a mischievous grin splitting her face. Like a siren song, the aroma of cinnamon and gingerbread cookies lured him inside.

"Merry Christmas, my hero!" she chimed, holding out a small, suspiciously lopsided box. "Early Christmas gift for the soldier who finally decided to grace us with his presence."

Bucky raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips twitching. "Early Christmas, huh? Didn't know the holiday came early for soldiers who can't tell a gingerbread man from a landmine."

Y/N gasped, mocking, clutching her pearls. "How dare you insult my culinary prowess! These cookies are works of art, even if they do resemble abstract reindeer."

Bucky chuckled, his exhaustion momentarily forgotten. He took the box, his fingers tracing the uneven wrapping job. Inside, nestled on a bed of red tissue paper, lay a pair of baby shoes knitted in the brightest blue yarn he'd ever seen. They looked like they were crafted by a squirrel with a crochet addiction.

Silence descended, broken only by the crackling fire. Then, Bucky's face broke into a grin that could rival the sun. He swept Y/N up in his arms, twirling her around until they were both dizzy and laughing.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" he teased, his voice filled with disbelief and pure joy.

Y/N grinned, her eyes sparkling like fairy lights. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Maybe I just really like tiny shoes."

Bucky stared at her, a slow smile spreading across his face. He felt a warmth bloom in his chest, a feeling unlike anything he'd ever known. He was going to be a father. A wave of protectiveness washed over him, so fierce and new it took his breath away.

He held Y/N close, his metal arm gently cradling her growing belly. The warmth of the fireplace, the aroma of questionable cookies, the sound of her laughter – it all felt like coming home.

"This is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for," Bucky whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "Even if the shoes look like a toddler yeti made them."

Y/N swatted him playfully. "Hey! I put a lot of effort into those abominations. And besides, who says our child can't have a unique fashion sense?"

Bucky chuckled, a true, heartfelt laugh that echoed through the room. "Of course, my love. If they want to wear mismatched socks and walk around like a tiny yeti, who am I to argue?"

The rest of the evening was a whirlwind of laughter, carols, and questionable hot cocoa that tasted suspiciously like gingerbread and burnt sugar. Bucky held the tiny baby shoes in his palm, staring at them with a reverence he didn't know he possessed.

He imagined the little feet that would fill them, the first steps, the first words. He imagined a future filled with bedtime stories, epic pillow fights, and late-night talks about everything and nothing.

As they drifted off to sleep that night, nestled together under a mountain of mismatched blankets, Bucky knew this was only the beginning of their greatest adventure.

The world outside might be cold and chaotic, but inside their little apartment, it was warm, safe, and with the promise of a future filled with love, laughter, and the occasional sartorial disaster.

As Bucky held Y/N close and felt the tiny life growing within her, he knew he would spend the rest of his life protecting them with all his heart and a healthy dose of humor. After all, a little laughter goes a long way, significantly when raising a future child together.

Author Note : Hey everyone! 🌟 Your input means the world to me.

If you've got any cool ideas or prompts, whether for this fluff series or any other series, feel free to share them with me!

Just drop them in my ASK/SEND REQUEST box.

Can't wait to hear your awesome suggestions! 🚀💬

[docterzerocare]

So ive been cooking up an epic the musical/life series au in my head for a bit and i want to share some of the thoughts - warning for epic spoilers n such

It started with imagining joel as odysseus (and naturally lizzie as penelope) and then i got the idea of him almost traveling through the different seasons of the life series but theyre all melting and blending together, and mayhaps the winners all have key rolls (i havent figured all of them out yet)

Going of this, grian is eurylochus and jimmy is polites - some bad boys crumbs but also polites death being jims canary curse (before it was broken) and eurylochus' mutiny could be visualized in a certain cactus ring

Another point for eury grian is i have scar as circe (charisma 100 fr) and hes the only one who didnt get lured (i hear a faint scar put your clothes back on in the distance)

More on scar, i picture circes island as a mix of magic mountain (with joel and scars connection with it), trader scars (being the front circe pulls to lure the crew in and adds to the winners being key characters with motifs of their season), and the jellie panda reserve (either as the nymphs he has to protect or turns men into pandas or maybe a mix of both) - i imagine in joel and scars confrontation here they look like the wizards (even tho they started as bad boy joel and secret life scar)

Next i matched up athena with gem because of the 2 fast 2 furious alliance and also yknow geminislay, listen i just had a vision of joel at his wits end stuck on calypsos island calling out to gem ok

I dont really have the other winners matched up concretely but i have seen someone pair scott with posideon which is funny and also works with his connection to water (and joels vendetta against him lmao) and i can see a connection with the vibes of posideon wanting revenge for his son and widow scott but idk still, posideon could also be martyn cause it thematically matches with the season he won in? - I also have pearl as potentially scylla, if nothing else because the visuals would slap, ive also thought about her as ares cause the parallels of gem being a more calculated warrior and (5am) pearl being more chaos and emotion also slaps

Speaking of ares i also had a really funny idea of tango being ares and skizz being aphrodite, mixing the heart foundation with tangos iconic rage (i probably wont go this route but lol imagine) - ive also pictured impulse as hephestus because of the line "trust is not given its forged" just gives me all the impulse (and that goddamn clock) thoughts frfr

Anyway this is getting long so ill leave it here, id love to here yalls thoughts and match ups btw

[collegeofwinterhold]

I think Oblivion’s quests tend to be a bit more memorable and fun to me because they often have these moments that just tell me that a developer thought it would be SO funny to add in. Skyrim, as a product of the time is much more concerned with you feeling Epic and Powerful than the goofier Oblivion but like almost twenty years later I think the humor really helps it

cus like you have moments where it’s like go help the lady with the rats in her basement. Surprise! Mountain lion. Ok now go back. Gotcha! ANOTHER mountain lion. Or like the Collector quest where instead of engaging in a boss battle if you use the wrong crown your boss just gets tried to a crisp and dies like that is So funny. Make TES goofy

[unionizedwizard]

hi i hope this is ok can i hear your tinfoil hat aeneid theory? <3

HI HELLO yes. so. i have this theory that g'raha is extremely aeneas-coded. where to begin.........

aeneas was raised on mt ida by nymphs for his own protection (keeping his demigod identity secret). notably, g'raha was taken to sharlayan (It Is A Mountain And They Do Revere The Nymphs There) when garlemald threatened to invade corvos, on account of the allagan eye, which would have put him and the entire tribe in danger if the empire had realized what it meant

selina (the allagan princess who bestowed the "blessing" (or curse) of the allagan eye to his ancestors) does fulfill a similar role as venus. both aeneas' fate (venus literally named him "bringer of suffering and misfortune" because she slept with a mortal man, while selina was allagan royalty and the miqo'te were their slaves) come as the consequence of a transgression, both come with a specific duty to carry, and a mixed heritage which is difficult to navigate. both aeneas and g'raha are put in a very precarious and isolated situation, which sometimes works to their advantage and sometimes burdens them further

also g'raha receives the full extent of The Curse specifically so that he can deal with The Horrors. he is frustrated and upset with unei and doga and their lies and the burden they force upon him in the same way as aeneas is towards venus when she appears to him disguised as a mortal woman

there are direct parallels between the fall of troy and what we know/see of the 8th umbral calamity (well. it's what calamities are like after all). though we don't know what became of sharlayan, we can assume it fell like the rest of the world's countless civilizations

notably, vergil describes himself as a historian; he is a poet who writes about ancient heroes and the epic of his city's founding. g'raha's first appearance during ARR is as a disembodied voice, taunting the wol and introducing himself as a historian who longs to write a hero's epic, and we learn a little while later that he's an authority on allagan history (eorzea's roman empire). g'raha is like if vergil had been forced to become and play the part of his own character. actually. so you can imagine the kind of stress (and impostor's syndrome) that he's under

the aeneid is very interesting to compare to homeric epics, because while it's the direct sequel to the iliad (what happened after the fall of troy, focusing on the opposite side) and therefore works as a foil to the odyssey, it was written approximately 3 centuries after the iliad was written, and it shows. this mirrors the centuries of slumber and then timetraveling that g'raha went through; at the time the wol arrives to the crystarium, their own epic fresh in their mind, as their present and immediate past, the exarch has the same temporal distance to The WoL Epic(tm) as vergil to the iliad. there is this monumental 3 centuries timeskip in both cases here, present vs history, lived experience vs epic poem, that's just very interesting to examine imo

aeneas is not your typical epic hero. he's a great warrior, but he fights sparingly. he remains very mysterious, and visibly suffers a great deal. he is driven by pietas, the absolute necessity to fulfill his duty, to accomplish his fate, and wants to protect his people; he doesn't even truly know what he is doing, or why, but the gods force him to keep going relentlessly. his main strengths are his willpower and dedication to his duty (he WILL do what he is meant to do), which can make him callous, ruthless, even manipulative (see: his secret departure from carthage leading to dido's suicide). he is also a very gentle soul, extremely diplomacy-inclined, who loves his people dearly, only fighting when necessary; he's burdened by his years and the trauma of the fall of troy and is visibly traumatized. founding rome after crossing the mediterranean (symbolically echoeing with g'raha crossing the rift to the first: there is no going back) is the only way to keep troy alive - he travels with his ancestor's gods. rome is not troy, nor does he consider it as such, but it was an inspiration, and ultimately it's the only thing that remains of troy, the only future for his people. see g'raha's observation that he took inspiration from sharlayan when the crystarium was founded;

is that not the exarch's entire character. for real.

aeneas very often compares himself (unfavorably) to Proper HeroesTM too, regretting he was tasked with this undertaking even though he is unworthy compared to them (even tho he DID manage to make it in the end), because he has a different approach and different qualities. this is extra interesting to point out considering the wol themselves is quite strongly odysseus-coded imo, on top of being The Ultimate Epic Hero In General

cities!! the aeneid is all about cities. troy as a ghost, a painful memory, every-present to aeneas' mind; rome as a promised future, also a ghost, but a tangible reality to vergil and his readers; carthage, where most of the memorable action happens, the only actual, living, prosperous, present city in the entire epic. in a similar way, shadowbringers as a narrative is built around three cities: the crystarium, eulmore, and amaurot. i have already talked about it before but since sharlayan was, thanks to hydaelyn, directly influenced by the ancient world (and thus amaurot), and the crystarium was inspired from sharlayan, we have a similar fallen-city-inspiration ratio between troy and rome and amaurot and the crystarium. (that emet-selch failed to identify this similarity on account of his own ideology directly caused his own demise. isnt that lovely). (oh and also emet-selch threw in his lot with eulmore, in the same way that juno threw in her lot with carthage. we know how it ended for the both of them) (okay, this is not a 1:1 parallel, but work with me here. i did say it was a tinfoil hat theory)

in both cases, the story is about history, looking up to the future in the wake of tragedy, preserving your memories and identity but not at the cost of having life run its natural course, trying to understand what the gods want you to do, and, of course, The Horrors(tm)

i also talked about this before but venus, as the pateon deity of rome, does share a few traits with venat (including having a similar name). i uhhhhh need to reread Lucretius' De rerum natura to make sure i'm not spouting nonsense here, but the general idea is that Lucretius (roman philosopher and poet) described the first (?) complete atomic theory, which i strongly suspect was an inspiration for aetherology - what Lucretius describes when he talks about the atoms is very similar to what we know about aether. AND the most influential part of De rerum natura is an Hymn to Venus, in which he describes her as the very embodiment of nature's flow (cough) and the very precept of life (once again. don't take my word for it because i havent read it since 2017). #hydaelyncore

full disclosure: i got the idea for this theory when i realized that the shadowbringers red mage artefact weapon was called Aeneas. i hadnt read the Aeneid before going through shadowbringers

tl;dr: "the future is where my destiny awaits (and i have to found a diverse city-state in a foreign land about it.)": g'raha "crystal exarch" tia 🤝 aeneas from my roman epics

also i am MOST LIKELY forgetting crucial elements here because i constantly think about it but have never formally written The Theory(tm) anywhere so forgive me if i keep rambling in the reblogs at some point

[vendettasfanfictioning]

The Nightmare of Zoldyck (Musical) was gay as fuck and here's why you should watch it.

Bingeing The Nightmare of Zoldyck reminds me just. Just how fucking gay it was??????? And this was made almost 11 years ago???? And it's just so insane and surreal to me?????? They could've added any sort of twist to the Zoldyck Arc and yet the twist they chose was 🌈🏳️‍🌈??? In all fairness, they did also add Hisoka so maybe that's just how it is lmao

Now you may think I'm joking or being delusional—but no I swear THEY MADE IT GAY AS FUCK OK. IT'S ACTUALLY AMAZING

First, we have the obvious; the adorable, blossoming friendship between Gon and Killua. The very reason this arc exists is because Gon refused to let Illumi's teachings corrupt Killua's self-esteem. It's so, so, so touching in the manga and both anime adaptations, but in the musical they just... The songs just made it come off more romantic?

I'm biased, I love the friends-to-lovers development these two undergo, but I swear, take the shipping goggles off and it's still has a subtle if not in-your-face obvious, romantic tone.

Why? First, the presentation. The Zoldycks are introduced by Milluki through song. They each get lines which are backed up by epic music and stage effects, come together for the iconic chant of, "Zoldyck," before ultimately gathering around and sitting down.

Kalluto, Kikyo, Illumi, Silva, Milluki, and Zeno have a family meeting while Killua's hung above them, representing where he is in the dungeon, and right off the bat, you get hit with "forbidden romance" vibes.

The family talks about what Killua did, what he said, while Killua sings about how he doesn't want to inherit his dad's position. HE ALSO SINGS THIS LINE WHICH IS SO?????

And he sings a little after Illumi visits him in the dungeon and, y'know, messes with his head even more. He writes a letter of sorts to Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio, telling them they should go to protect them from Illumi and he just sounds SO heartbroken...

Then we skip forward, this is after the gang has won Gotou's approval. Gon writes a letter, and it's so fucking sweet because it's basically him saying look. Look at Zebro, Gotou, Canary, these people who care for you, who love you. You're not alone, we understand your feelings, ok? AND THIS PANEL IN PARTICULAR IS SO RAPUNZEL SO ROMEO AND JULIET IDK

And that super serious discussion between Killua and Silva? He gushes about Gon a lot, and they really took some liberties with Silva because this man keeps grinning like he knows his son's got a crush.

And of course Gon's not gonna back down. Canary asks how their Young Master Killua was like, outside Kukuroo Mountain, and... just look.

I'm not gonna include every damn time they sing together but when they finally meet? They're so. so happy. I can't.

And there's this scene after the party (yes they have a goodbye party of sorts for Killua) where Killua thanks Gon for coming to get him and Gon says ofc we're friends and they play around and they're so happy together...

Look at them they ded

There's also this moment when it all goes to shit and THIS SONG SLAPS Gon metaphorically slaps Killua out of it too but just. Just listen to it, it made me cry

And since this happens right after the Hunter's Exam, Kurapika and Leorio are still a bit wary of Killua, so while Gon's ecstatic and unwavering about being Killua's friend, the other two sort of bond in the sidelines as well?

Take this shot of leopika dancing. It's short and sweet and they're so stupid but they're at least getting along!!!

I forgot they bickered a lot, especially during the Hunter's Exam, but now look at them. This isn't the gayest part though, because Leorio finds out there's a hot spring in the Zoldyck mansion... and... yeah... I'll let y'all watch this scene for yourselves but uh, stuff happens and I fucking screamed is all

LIKE LOOK THESE MFS END UP STAR GAZING TOO COME ON

They also share a bit in the end where Gon sniffs Zebro??? And he says that Zebro has a similar scent to Leorio??? And leopika turn to each other and go:

LIKE HELLO?? HELLOOOOO???

And of course, I saved the murder husbands for last. While the gang have their fun, we would sometimes cut to black and these two would be shown, scheming in the dark and talking about their own plans.

They be dropping some bomb ass dialogues tho

AND APPARENTLY ILLUMI GAVE HISOKA A TOUR LMAO

Mind you, there is no fucking explanation as to why Hisoka's there. His narrative purpose is ofc to sow chaos and stir trouble, look out for Gon or whatever, but why is he here specifically in the Zoldyck Estate is never stated. BUT he does refer to it as a vacation. Twice.

Like sure this is just him being a little shit but COME ON. If Illumi really didn't want him there, he'd have chased Hisoka out, swatting him with a broom while at it. But no. They scheme in the dark and Illumi shows him around and Hisoka says it's a vacation. Wonder who could've invited him.......

This interaction also happens. And I will only be thinking about this for the foreseeable future.

HISOKA CHASES AFTER HIM OFFSCREEN IT'S KINDA CUTE AND ALSO RUINING MY LIFE????

Insane that the killugon heart-to-heart, leopika hot spring moment, and hisoillu bickering happen back to back to back. They're all paired off. The way they switch the audience's perspective actually really satisfying. Each couple gets their alone time and it's like seeing the different stages of a relationship. INSANE and HELLA GAY

And, of course, the heart of the cards—easily one of the most iconic lines Hisoka's said, which is, coincidentally, the point of conflict of the entire musical

While Killua's fighting for his life, here's the magician who's basically getting everything he's ever wanted served on a silver platter. This mf is so happy he got to fight Illumi's family lmaoooo

AND HE SAYS IT TWICE!!!!

ONLY FOR MAMA ZOLDYCK TO MIC DROP WITH THIS IN THE END

I just. I love this musical so much. It used to be my comfort watch when I first got into HxH, and while I joke about how fucking gay it turned out to feel (I'm being serious about it though) I do think it's a great production.

The actors did amazing, the dance/fight sequences and the dialogue were so well done, and it just added so much depth to the Zoldycks, y'know? I do wish Alluka was here, but we all know why she's not... That would've been so fun though.

Anyways, if I've convinced you, then you can watch it here!!!

[loverhymeswith]

'Cause I'd Rather Feel Pain Than Nothing at All

Pairing: Rick Flag x GN!Reader

Summary: Inspired by the Three Days Grace song of the same name, this is an angsty little drabble that has been sitting in my drafts for a few months.

Word Count: 829

Warnings: Description of injury, angst

“It’s not as bad as it looks.”

Despite your clenched jaw, the lie slips out easily. Still, you avoid eye contact with Rick as he examines your bruised and swollen hand; his uncanny ability to read your emotions won’t serve you well right now. If he thinks for one minute that you’re badly injured, you’ll wind up on desk duty faster than you can say Bloodsport. That is, if either of you make it out of here alive.

“Really?” The word stretches out into the darkness, filling what little space there is between you. “Because it looks pretty damn bad to me.”

With so much cynicism lacing the colonel’s tone, your eyes involuntarily flicker upwards, landing on his familiar worry-worn face, illuminated as it is by the weak orange glow of your twin torches. Shadows dance across his battle-scarred features, eerily emphasising all his sharp curves and edges – a Picasso painting brought to life, albeit temporarily.

Thanks to the explosion rocking the building only minutes earlier, the two of you are trapped in what had once been the ground-floor comms-room, a mountain of rubble outside the door now separating you - somewhat ironically - from your squad of deadly prisoners. Those prisoners are undoubtedly enjoying their fleeting moment of freedom at your expense. If this situation doesn’t kill you, Amanda Waller surely will.

“Really. It’s probably just a sprain.” You tap the cracked GPS device somehow still strapped to your injured wrist and send out a silent prayer that Harley and the others will try to find you. And soon. Much like your ongoing attempt to convince Rick that you’re ok, the signal -- and your hope -- is weak.

The second lie draws Rick’s attention away from your hand, his hazel eyes finding you effortlessly even in the darkness. You quickly subvert your own gaze from the sweat beading across his filthy brow. It’s unfair that in such rotten conditions he still manages to look handsome.

“Let’s leave the diagnosis to the doctors, huh?” Calloused fingers brush across your knuckles. While it’s the ghost of a touch, you still find yourself gritting your teeth against the pain. Something is almost certainly fractured, but your hand is far from the only part of you that is wounded in Rick’s presence.

“If you say so.”

Spite tempts you to point out that hospitals and doctors seem like a distant fantasy when the pair of you might be lost down here forever. After all, any potential rescue attempt rides solely on Harley’s twisted moral compass. Between the two of you, have you shown her enough kindness? Perhaps she’ll leave you here to rot – and who could blame her?

But Rick is an optimist; he sees the good in people while you only see all the ways they can let you down. The colonel is no exception.

Careful not to jostle your hurting wrist, you snatch up one of the torches and aim the beam towards the door. The force of the fallen debris from the floors above has warped the metal in such a fashion that nothing short of another explosion is likely to free it from the frame. And you’re fresh out of nitro.

“Where was your head at?” Rick’s deep voice shatters the cloying silence descending over the room.

“Huh?” For the briefest of moments, you’d forgotten he was here. No easy feat considering his proximity, propped up beside you against the wall.

“Exactly. You’re somewhere else today. Distracted.”

He could be referring to any number of events: how you almost missed wheels-up because you couldn’t drag yourself out of bed; how you forget to check-out Harley’s weapons cache, leading to a meltdown of epic proportions from the princess of crime; how easily the guards got the drop on you.

Rick presses on. “You can talk to me, you know. If something is bothering you-”

 “I’m fine.” You cut him off decidedly, your tone leaving no room for argument.

Fine…

Has anyone ever said that four letter word and truly meant it?

From the flash of his eyes, it’s clear Rick doesn’t believe you.

You want to tell him the truth. You want to tell him that yes, your hand might be bad, but you’ve experienced far worse. That the pain you carry around with you every day has dulled your other senses, so much so that a knife to the gut would probably hurt less. But you don’t. Instead, ignoring the familiar and constant hurt throbbing deep in the cavern of your chest, you subtly shuffle away from him.

All things considered, the pain of your injury is a welcome relief, allowing you to focus on something other than the truth.

Because Rick Flag broke your heart without even knowing it. And now you’re stuck here beside him, waiting for almost inevitable death together in this dank, dark room.

Perhaps this was how it was always meant to be.

Joel Taglist: @a-reader-and-a-writer @yespolkadotkitty @babblydrabbly @heresathreebee @phoenixhalliwell @weallhaveadestiny @lavenderluna10 @immyownlittlebitch @katjnordstrom96 @kirsteng42 @littlefreakingfangirl @s-u-t @xoxabs88xox @lacontroller1991 @mayhem24-7forever

[instructionsnotincluded]

Story Links:

Outer Banks:

Audrey's Version:

Snow on the Beach (JJ Maybank x OC)

Part One | Complete | Over 250,000 Words | 18+

Summary:

Eighteen year old Audrey Routledge had everything going for her...until she didn't. With her dad lost at sea, suddenly the weight of the world is on Audrey's shoulders as she battles keeping her brother out of the system and the police out of her house--all while trying to hold down a full time job. As the bills pile up and hard decisions need to be made, Audrey's not sure life could get any harder. Enter Hurricane Agatha. With the hurricane comes clean ups, sleepless nights, stolen kisses, and a deadly treasure hunt they might not come back from.

State of Grace:

Part Two | Complete | Over 228,000 Words | 18+

Summary:

Just when she thought life couldn't get any harder, it does. It's been a month since her younger brother was declared lost at sea, and Audrey Routledge is not ok. Haunted by nightmares and dark thoughts, Audrey is stumbling through each day as she attempts to pick up the pieces of her broken life. Until she receives a phone call one random afternoon. With it come tears of hope, worried frustrations, passionate kisses, and the continuation of a treasure hunt they might not make it back from.

Into the Mist

Part Three | Work in Progress | 18+

Summary:

The last few months have been the hardest for eighteen year old Audrey Routledge, so when life presents her with a mountain of lemons after jumping from a container ship, Audrey is eager to make lemonade with her friends and family. However, their short lived paradise quickly becomes a nightmare as they encounter new characters, old faces, more mystery, and darker secrets that will shake the foundation of the life she’s created, bringing them closer and closer to their treasure hunt’s epic conclusion.

Deleted Scenes:

JJ and Audrey want to start a family

Logan's Version:

Wild Winds (Rafe Cameron x OC)

Part One | Work in Progress | 18+

Summary:

Wise men once said: "Wild winds are death to the candle.” A rose by any other name is a scandal.

Life on Kildare Island is harsh when you’re born into an abusive family on the Cut, and Logan Maybank has always seemed to get the short end of the stick in both life and love. She works tirelessly to keep her brother and herself alive, trying to fly under the radar of both the Kooks and the police in order to keep her job and remain afloat.

Until Rafe Cameron and his stupid blue eyes ruined all that; sending them both spiraling down the rabbit hole of love, loss, secrecy, and greed, with only each other to hold on to.

And she thought Hurricane Agatha was going to be the worst thing to happen this summer.

Read Requested Story Snippets Here

Misc:

JJ Maybank x Original Character Sneak Peek (Not Audrey's Version)

Masters of the Air:

True North:

Work in Progress | 18+

Summary:

Struggling to defy expectations during the height of WWII, Captain Stella Frank is determined to prove her worth as an Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot in the male-dominated world of aviation. As she navigates the skies with skill and determination, she encounters a diverse array of characters, each with their own struggles and triumphs. Among them is John "Bucky" Egan, whose charm, bravery, and dedication to his fellow pilots catch Frank's attention amidst the chaos of war. Can they navigate not only the treacherous skies but also the complexities of love and loyalty in a time of uncertainty and sacrifice? Or are they doomed to go down in flames like the world around them?

Delete Scenes:

Bucky’s letter to his mother

Frances' letter to her mother

[acotarfrustrations]

An ongoing list of acowar grievances I'm keeping track of while I read (because there's too many to make a post about all of them)

1) Feyre's constant edginess. It's such a bizarre and ham-fisted shift in the voice of the character from the previous book. Too much tell, not enough show

2) "that they thought Rhysand could ever force someone . . . I added that to the long list of things to repay them for.".........lol OK girl

3) Feyre all of a sudden knowing how to use every power she has despite her very limited "training"

4) constant mention of Lucien and Elain's mating bond. Not only do I not give a damn, I REALLY wish it wasn't a thing all together

5) CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MORTAL QUEENS TO ME? WHO TF EVEN ARE THEY?? It's so stupid that they don't get brought up until feyre is a fae like we have no clue the humans even have an overarching government until she's not human anymore. Why are they turning them Fae? What possible advantages can they grant the fae that they don't have already? How tf are there so many queens when the human territory is so small? For that matter, why tf is Hybern going to war over a tiny handful of humans? Why involve this convoluted plot with turning the mortal queens into Fae when it seems like the humans don't even know of their existence so they wouldn't listen to or follow them in the first place

6) this should be dual pov. I would LOVE tamlin's perspective or even lucien's

7) I need WAY more information about the cauldron because it makes no sense

8) this isn't a gripe but I just have to mention how bad I feel for lucien

9) somehow ianthe became 10x MORE boring as a villain. Like you could replace her woth Regina George and the book would be more interesting

10) WHY IS THERE SO MUCH SEXUAL ASSAULT, OH MY FUCKING GOD

11) this whole spying on the spring court thing is stupid, inefficient, and childish. The NC is risking the lives of all the courts doing this shit when they could easily just ACTUALLY TELL THE OTHER COURTS WHATS GOING ON TO GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO RALLY TOGEYHER AND DEFEND THEMSELVES, form an alliance, and reason with tamlin or attack him if he refuses to listen to reason. Most information they stand to gain from what they're doing is useless in light of how many fae and human lives stand to be lost or displaced

12) WE FUCKING GET IT FEYRE! THERE ARE TWO WOLVES INSIDE YOU! BENEATH YOUR SKIN YOU ARE A WOLF, A MOUNTAIN LION, A PANTHER, A COBRA, A TARANTULA, A BALD EAGLE, AND EVERY OTHER KIND OF PREDATOR UNDER THE SUN!!!!! JFC I GET SYMBOLISM BUT ITS GETTING CRINGE IN HERE

13) that entire ridiculous summer solstice scene in chapter 4

14) FEYRE COMPARING TAMLIN TO ARAMANTHA?! HELLO???????

15) the whole situation with using Lucien to make tamlin jealous is just....icky, idk

16) I almost regret wanting more political intrigue In these novels as it is by far Sarah Janet's weakest suit

17) framing jurian a villain is one of the dumbest decisions ever. Wish he had more screen time though

18) feyre's badass scene w/ the children of the blessed makes me wish that after she became fae, she returned to the human lands, killed/overthrew the mortal queens, said fuck you to tamlin and rhys, and just became queen of the mortal realms, having to earn her people's trust as a fae, protect and defend them, and come to terms w/ her loss of humanity. That would have been so EPIC

19) the entirety of chapter 8

20) the fact that acotar was written. If the series started w/ acomaf I would have a lot less problems. All the constant retconning and inconsistencies in canon and worldbuilding just keep pissing me off, idk I can't look past it

21) I'm losing count and I'm only on chapter 9 so I'm just going to keep reading for now. Might make a part 2 idk

[ezlo-x]

any skall headcanons? idk she’s very silly and i love her design!!!

WDYM HEADCANONS??? SHES MY OC 😭😭😭 I will give u epic factz abt her tho

Skall throughout her time living in the Hebra mountains and food being scarce. She adapted herself eating raw meat, raw fish is her favorite type of meat to eat in the Hebra mountains. Its been a long time since she’s eaten something that is cooked and tasty.

However the Hebra mountains were harsh towards her and she ultimately had to eat Lynel and other monster meat in order to survive.

Even if she was isolated for 10 years in that region, when returning back to the group she was more than happy to socialize. She missed that even though in her younger days she was kept to herself and was pretty quiet.

I guess I’ll also explain the reason why she banished to the Hebra mountains was due to her broken pride (and beak) on failing to get back control of Vah Medoh. It gave her an irrational fear, that if she were to return to Rito Village, she might be pushed to fight Vah Medoh again.

(Pre-calamity) Skall in her younger days had a hard time with the elders as being a Rito Warrior was exclusively a male Rito thing. But when Skall started to transition as a girl she was held back by the Rito Elder, however Revali helped her push through. Skall feels a little adamant as she feels Revali didn’t help her enough to be next Rito Warrior and Champion in line. Revali did push her back a bit, but mostly because Skall was hard headed that her teenage-self was better than the old man Revali. (Wow I wonder where she learned that from <3) Revali just wanted her to grow out of that phase.

(Ok back to Post-Calamity) Skall likes to pester Tarú. At best just make a few snarky comments and in return Tarú just grunts at her.

Skall does her best to protect Nabooru and especially Riju. Skall feels pretty guilty not being there for Nabooru when she gave birth to Riju as Skall promised to her to take care of her. But due to her incident with Vah Medoh she never left the mountains. 10 years later seeing how much Riju has grown she has sword to Nabooru to take care of both of them.

Skall loves that she’s now the mentor and is teaching the kids how to use the bow. Especially with Teba.

[storieschats]

I finally finished the second ACOTAR book!!

Note: Check out previous reactions here. Feel free to comment, reblog, like and talk to be about books whenever!

Book 2 Page 626 of 626

What's happened so far: ok... There's a meeting with the queens where they show them Velaris but they still refuse to give us the book, but one of the queens betrays the others and gives them the book. While we're waiting for the translation there's an attack because the queens have betrayed them and shown them where the city is (and killed the queen who helped us).Feyre helps to defend the city and they manage to defeat the invaders eventually. The translation is now complete and we know how to destroy the cauldron's powers. We infiltrate King Whatever's court and take the book there to do it. Unsurprisingly, the plan goes wrong, Jurian appears first and then the whole gang: Tamlin, Lucien, the human queens, King Whatever and finally Feyre’s sisters, Nesta and Elain. Apparently there were a lot of deals being made: Tamlin made a deal that if Feyre came back to him, he would let King Whatever's army station themselves at the Spring Court and the human queens would trust the king if he gave them immortality. And to prove it was safe, he used Nesta and Elain as guinea pigs. So they are transformed into fae... Fight...yada yada Feyre pretends to wake up from Rhysand's mind control to give Tamlin what he wants and they go back to the spring court where Feyre wants to be a spy. The end.

What I thought of the book: I think... I liked the first one better, oddly enough, but I think the first one had that Beauty and the Beast charm and had a plot that was easier to follow and therefore more intriguing, especially when you got under the mountain. This one, on the other hand, was more about the relationships between the characters and overcoming Feyre's trauma. I think it was ok but, as I think I've already said, this collection doesn't really appeal to me now that I've read two books. If I had been buying these books with my hard won cash I probably wouldn't read the next ones, but now that I have them all for free let's go (I borrowed them all from a friend). I was wondering why this series didn’t really amuse me as much as Fourth Wing and I think the reason is that, at times, the story takes itself quite seriously. I can see that the author wants me to take the world building and the story seriously but only... it's not a serious story, it's a story about a girl who is kidnapped by fairies who turn out to be ultra powerful and sexy men who never age and have magical powers. Like... come on. And the dissonance between the non-serious history that the author is trying to shove down my throat as if this was an epic fantasy and not a novel makes the experience strange. Fourth wing was more aware of itself, like more aware that it was a romance, and had more humour and romance because it knew that.

Negative points:

These people are so dumb... I swear I should be in these romantasies. The empty castle with the cauldron was so obviously a trap and these people are supposed to be over 500 years old and like no ... Also they were surprised by a ginormous army in the middle of the day... When they knew there was going to be a war.... And when they knew that they had revealed the location of the city for the first time in 1000 years. Please tell me I don't have to explain the concept of a patrol to these people.

Lucien is Elain's mmmaaat... You know the word. Ewww, *throws up* *shudders* and now we have the problem of two unknown people who are the shall not be named as I knew we would eventually. Why do this?! I hate it so much! I hate it I hate it I hate it.

Positive points:

Yeah immortal Nesta!

Jurian is cool... I know he's one of the baddies but still.

Stars:⭐⭐⭐(2.5)

Prediction: Jurian isn't bad, he's just pretending!

[unseelie-robynx]

'Personal Disciple' AU idea

So this is going under a read more because it's long but it's sort of a cracky highjinksy TripSun AU where TLDR: Sanzang grows up thinking that a 'personal disciple' is someone you have what is basically a romantic relationship in all but name He's a sheltered monk baby, I explain in full below and once he picks up SWK he figures that he now has a personal disciple and had better act accordingly.

ok, so I've been listening to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and now the Water Margin (Classical Chinese epics) and there's this kinda longstanding thing where people make jokes about monks being ah... promiscuous let's say. And then the Water Margin (which deals with more 'common' people than the nobility army politics of Three Kingdoms) has some literary examples, and I got hit with the idea that, once upon a time, a tiny baby monk heard... 'sounds' from another monks room and burst in, thinking they were in trouble or something, only to have an extremely impromptu lesson on... ah... PERSONAL DISCIPLES!!! That's it. And how certain... actions such as kissing, and bare skin contact served to 'strengthen bonds' and 'share spiritual energy' and... stuff. And that it was all TOTALLY normal and most definitely not something the tiny baby (think like, 5 or 6) monk should go tell the abbot about. Please.

And THEN we have a fast forward where said tiny baby monk, seeing as he loves to learn, finds this other monk the next day to ask more about how a relationship with a 'personal disciple' works, because he couldn't find any information on it at the library and wants to be prepared for when he's old enough to have a personal disciple, and the poor older monk is sort of stuck now, because he will be in trouble if he gets called out about this and so he has to actually BS a whole thing about this.

And that possible it's not an isolated incident, and baby (and then slowly less baby) monk accidentally walks in on other moments with 'personal disciples' but 'recognizes' them as such and says so when apologizing, so those monks have a built-in 'alibi' to try and use when tiny Sanzang inevitably shows up looking for more information.

And in this way Sanzang slowly grows this sort of 'understanding' of how to have a good functioning romantic relationship, but also totally not understanding that that's what it is (which, ngl, most of his 'instructors' had kiiiiinda been banking on him hitting puberty and like 'getting' it but nope, the ultimate monk to ever monk was asexual, go figure) because it never occurred to him that a monk might not want to be following their vows to the letter and would do something 'amiss'.

fast forward again, but this time AAAALL the way to a certain monk freeing a certain monkey from a certain mountain. whereupon said monkey tech. becomes his disciple. and this is like different from when Sanzang was just teaching and mentoring other monks, and the one thing Sanzang never really got answers on was how one gets a 'personal disciple' but he's pretty sure that this situation, you know, qualifies.

so one of the first things that Sanzang does, (after freaking out about the tiger that just got turned into a meat patty and then skinned), is to insist that he and SWK find a river, where he then proceeds to just... casually strip down and pull SWK into the water so he can begin working out all of the dirt and grime and blood, but he's trying really hard not to think about that from SWK's fur.

Because for Sanzang that seems like the correct thing to DO with his new personal disciple. Washing one another was one of the things that you just did with teacher and personal discipline, and the act of caring for one another was a way to strengthen connections so that ‘spiritual energy transfers’ went smoother. and, maybe also because SWK really was something of a mess after being under the mountain for so long, and if they were going to be sharing a tent and engaging in all of those bonding and teaching activities, then SWK would really rather his disciple be clean But for SWK, this is like, he’s suddenly getting groomed after almost 600 years of isolation. And it’s… a lot. But it also feels good and he doesn’t want it to stop either. So he just sort of… lets it happen, even if he’s really confused. And it makes him like this monk more, even if he won't admit it. Grooming is an important thing, and most monkies don’t clean themselves. It’s a symbol of acceptance and closeness, and Sanzang is accidentally ‘claiming’ SWK into his ‘troupe’ with this, even though he doesn’t realize the importance of it or see it as that sort of action. Because of this, they don’t get on the road again until the next day (because 500+ years of dirt take time to work out with just your fingers) and they get Sanzang’s small tent set up, and SWK is kinda grumbling about there not being one for him,, but also kinda not caring because, you know, Monkey, and sleeping outside isn’t a big deal, when Sanzang looks at him all confused and asks why he isn’t coming inside the tent with him. And at first SWK just thinks that maybe the monk is worried about being attacked at night or something, but Sanzng just, you know, strips again (because that skin contact thing and his accidental walk-ins on people didn’t exactly have them with clothes on in bed) and lays down and beckons for SWK to join him and… well… (Again, accidentally a monkey thing. Sleeping together for warmth is a thing and it’s odd to find a monkey alone at night. It’s another thing with acceptance and Sanzang is once again accidentally pulling SWK in) SWK eventually does (though Sanzang, remembering his ‘instructions’ and how things are meant to ‘build slowly’ and he’s nervous as all heck and on edge about HAVING a personal disciple and how to do this, so he’s MORE than willing to ‘take things slow really only just sort of cuddles with SWK that night) and Sanzang managed to get him to talk a little bit about himself, (gets some of the backstory early and such) Thus it’s not until the next day that they get assaulted by the five senses bandits, and SWK kills them and then the fight/SWK takes off and gets magic torture headband. Except, once Sanzang sees that this thing hurts SWK, he stops reciting and comes over and kisses SWK’s forehead for a moment and sort of trades off doing that and reciting until he’d finished. And then once he’s done, he kisses SWK properly.

Because one of his ‘instructors’ had…kinks personal preferences. About things. And so there was a hasty lesson about how ‘sometimes discipline is necessary’ but also how ‘affection after the punishment serves to help heal it and make it feel good into a positive and enriching experience’. And so now Sanzang’s got this all ‘worked out’ in his head with the idea of like, so he needs to discipline SWK to help him onto the correct path and to stop the murders and stuff, but he will comfort and share his chi/spiritual energies with Sanzang through the process to help make it more bearable and to show SWK that he does still believe in him, and then after he will share more to help sooth out the lingering pain and such.

(Granted, he’s not sure how well he did at sharing his energy, as he’d never done it before (it was both of their first kiss, fyi) but he remembers that that sort of thing is meant to become stronger and easier the longer a master and personal disciple spend together, and it has only been a day. They’ll both get better at it)

But poor SWK is over here like… the HELL is going on!?!?!

The book says it was like a couple of months before they ran into Ao Lie, so that’s plenty of time for SWK to sort of get answers on just what Sanzang thinks is going on out of him, usually in the evening when they’re cuddled up in bed and Sanzang is slowly starting to explore the whole ‘energy sharing through touch’ thing. So SWK learns about the whole ‘personal disciple’ thing, and unlike Sanzang does get what was actually going on (because Sanzang was a sheltered baby but SWK was not and did help with births every spring and whatnot) but he… well he likes the attention. Likes being close to someone at night, and the grooming/baths/whatever, and even if he argues with the stupid monk about being able to actually protect him like he’s supposedly meant to, Sanzang IS starting to respect and care for his monk (though if you ask him he will be adamant about how it is entirely against his will that this is happening).

So he doesn’t like, correct Sanzang about the whole ‘personal disciple’ thing, even if he’s fairly certain that it’s not actually a thing (And he justifies it with the fact that it’s not like He’s really a monk, or Buddhist, so maybe it is a thing. Who is he to say?) He does make Sanzang promise that SWK will be his only ‘personal disciple’ though, because he doesn't want anyone else taking advantage of his the monk, so there’s that.