#i honestly think that’s its greatest strength

[plague-of-insomnia]

Elementary has a lot of flaws, but I do think one thing they did right was showing how Watson and Holmes love one another—Holmes says it more than once—yet it’s not, nor is it ever forced to be (except as an inside joke with the novel series Joan’s stepfather writes) intended to be romantic.

It would have been easy to fall into that trap, too, since they wouldn’t have to worry about homophobia since they made Watson a woman. So I’m especially grateful.

I think, in some ways, it makes their relationship deeper and more profound but also it’s nice to see the closest to a QPR I’ve personally seen on a mainstream show (esp one that aired about 10 years ago).

[borathae]

“His touch is electric, making you sigh. “Relax, princess”, he whispers, running his hands along your body, “I’ll take the greatest care of you”. You close your eyes and fall into him. Falling is so goddamn easy when you know that it’s Yoongi’s hands which will catch you. And they will always catch you, no matter when or where he won’t ever let you collide. Alternatively: You ask Yoongi to take your anal virginity and he is more than willing to grand you this wish.”

Pairing: Vampire!Yoongi x Witch!Reader

Genre: established relationship!AU, Slice of Life Fluff, Smut

Warnings: soft Dom!Yoongi, sub!Reader, the tension in this makes me weak, they are so in love!!, first time anal sex, he is so gentle with her, lingerie, body worship, strength kink, a lil bit of thigh riding, praising & loving petnames, oral (f.receiving), rimming, he fucks her hole with his monster tongue help, gentle biting, anal fingering, use of a buttplug, hand holding, hair pulling (m.receiving), use of a vibrator, he fucks her gently at first then she wants it harder, gentle spanking, he cums too soon but keeps fucking her, creampies, using cum as lube, dirty talk, edging (f.receiving), multiple orgasms for both, squirting, belly bulging, his stroke game is insane, the most loving aftercare, honestly their connection should be illegal, I came outta this smut feeling like someone threw me against a wall, like hoLY FUCK Yoongi is gonna kill me, and the worst thing is that I actually think he’s like that irl, please help me

Wordcount: 9.1k

a/n: I need five business weeks to be able to talk to people again. This made me weak. And weak isn’t a strong enough word to describe the amount of weak it made me feel. It’s like my body felt the gravity twice as strong and I couldn’t get up. I’m talking shit rn, which is yet another indicator of how deeply this shit affected me. Be strong besties, you need that 🧡 

You haven’t been home in months. You counted the days. It’s been seventy eight days since you last saw your bedroom. Your plants are well taken care of by the others. You haven’t seen them either, except for phone calls and texts. You miss them, but you know it’s for the best. 

You are safe here, in good hands. You aren’t completely alone here. 

Yoongi is with you. He took you in one of the cars and is staying with you. Meredith called and offered the two of you her guest bedroom to stay, her library to study and her shed to practice. Of course you said yes. There aren’t many opportunities to practice with such skilled witches and it was an opportunity to go on a lovely summer holiday with your dearest love. 

The days are hot and sunny. It’s been summer ever since you came here and it will stay summer for a long time still. You love the weather here, while Yoongi whines about the bright sun on more occasions than one. 

Meredith offered you an opportunity to choose from all the different guest bedrooms, but you and Yoongi decided to take the one you had all those many months ago. Violet walls and mahogany furniture, with its window overlooking the garden and ocean. This room has seen so many of your most impactful memories and will therefore always feel like home to you. 

Yoongi agrees. He loves this room and on most mornings you have to be the one to wrestle him off of you in order to get out of bed. Truly, Yoongi is such a clingy kitten when it comes to morning cuddles. 

You love life here. You love knowing that you can wake up to the smell of the ocean and the sounds of the waves. You love knowing that your fellow witches will be downstairs with breakfast and that you can chat with them about the garden, magic and life here. You love their house because it felt like home and you love knowing that you can experience all of this with Yoongi. 

You spend a lot of time practicing your magic with him. Obviously as this was the main reason for this trip. Yoongi wanted to help you with learning perfect control and Meredith’s place was the perfect place to do so. Next to practicing, you also had a lot of free time with him which you spend doing the most amazing things imaginable. On Sundays the two of you take the car to the market to shop for next week’s dinners. He always insists on carrying the heavier bags while you are busy carrying flowers (he insists on paying for them and never takes no as an answer). Whenever you finished practice earlier and the witches were busy with coven duties, Yoongi took you to one of the many restaurants along the coastline. You shared so many lovely evenings in little restaurants, chatting over food for you and coffee for him. You have been getting to know each other even better because of it. Speaking of talking, you do that a lot. Whilst driving around, visiting the market, eating at restaurants or walking along the beach. Also in bed. Be it after a passion-filled night, a lazy evening or a cozy morning. You truly talk a lot and it’s never getting boring. 

Yoongi also spends a lot of time playing the guitar. It’s during those nights after practice and dinner and you agreed on healthy alone time, where you can watch him sit with his guitar by the beach or somewhere in the garden. Sometimes the wind blows just right and carries over his melodies while you relax on the patio with a good book. You like those nights as they are filled with tranquillity and somehow the cuddles you share afterwards feel a hundred times better. 

You also spend a lot of time swimming. Yoongi not so much, because he hates getting into the water, but you really enjoy it. You spend most of your late mornings swimming in the ocean and sometimes one of the witches will join you and you will chat over life there. 

Yoongi would either play the guitar sitting cross-legged on his towel or he would be somewhere inside, most definitely chatting with Jelena. 

You like Jelena. She is lovely and sweet and her very obvious interest in Yoongi is still topic of many teasing comments you throw at him. He always whines and pouts, which results in you giggling. He never acted on her interest. One night you dared to suggest that he was allowed to act on them if he wanted to, which resulted in Yoongi genuinely getting mad at you and staying out all night. You made up the next day and he made you promise him to never ever suggest something like that again. You never did again and hugged him for a good hour before you left bed.

Said night was already forgotten and forgiven these days and life has been great. Truly and genuinely great.

 You were in the shed. It was only an hour until sunset and the shed was flooded with golden light. The witches aren’t home today and won’t return until tomorrow. Coven duty somewhere in the mountains. A werewolf pack was attacked by werewolf hunters last night and the witches were called for aid. The hunters weren’t from the coast and still haven’t been located.

You and Yoongi stayed back. You for practicing and Yoongi for making sure the house stayed safe. The last time you saw him, he was in the kitchen with his lower arms covered in flour and his waist accentuated by an apron as he baked too many loaves of bread. That was a few hours ago.

A knock on the shed door makes you lift your head.

“How’s it going?” Yoongi asks. He is wearing a white button up and blue jeans. His arms are clean and the apron is shrugged off.

“Good. Did you finish the bread?”

“Yeah, they’re cooling down”, Yoongi says and walks to you. He sits down on the rattan chair next to you, resting his elbows on his knees. He reaches out, patting the top of your head, “show me what you got”, he says as he caresses the back of your head.

Yoongi gave you the task of practicing focus by painting flowers by using nothing but your magic.

You focus hard on lifting the brush and tipping it into the paints. You draw a small flower next to the one you practiced before he came inside. Then you end it with a heart in which you write his initials.

Yoongi chuckles fondly, rubbing the nape of your neck.

You place the brush back onto the ground, turning your head to beam up at him.

“And? That was really good, wasn’t it?”

“It was perfect, my love”, Yoongi praises.

You giggle, turning in your position so you were facing him. Like this, you are sitting on the ground in front him, cross-legged and with your eyes sparkling just for him.

“I’ll be an artist if I continue being that great, right?”

“Of course”, he smiles fondly, caressing your cheek, “you’ll be the greatest artist.”

“You’ll buy my art, won’t you?”

“Of course, my sweet princess.”

You wiggle your shoulders because he makes you feel good. He studies your face with love drunk eyes.

“Hey, Yoongs?” you ask.

“Yes, my love?”

“You know what we talked about on Sunday?”

“Of course. Why?”

“I thought about it and I think I want to do it tonight.”

Yoongi widens his eyes for just a second, before his fond warm gaze returns.

“Are you sure? You don’t have to do that for me, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m not doing it for you. I want to try it”, you say, reaching out to feel up his shin mindlessly, “when you put your fingers up there, it felt really good and you’re always so gentle. And the witches aren’t here tonight, which means we can be loud. Yeah”, you feel your cheeks heat up, “I wanna try it.”

He smiles gently, caressing your chin as he has it between his thumb and pointer finger. His head tilts to the side, his eyes lower fondly.

“Then we gotta do it”, he says, “princess’ orders, yeah?”

You laugh, nodding your head. Yoongi chuckles and places his hand on the back of your head to tilt it up and kiss your forehead.

“You’re so cute”, he says, guiding his kisses down along your nose until he can claim your lips in a kiss.

You sigh, hooking your arms behind his head and getting to your knees instantly. Yoongi’s body follows your movements instinctively and just seconds later, you are on his lap without the kiss ever turning awkward.

Yoongi runs his big hands up and down your body. He feels up your legs, butt, hips and back, he lingers on your cheeks and switches up between touching you and hugging you against his chest. It feels so good. He feels so good.

By the time, you break the kiss for the first time, your hips are squirming on his thigh and your breathing is quickened. Yoongi looks up at you warmly. His chest heaves up and down as well, his hands are on your hips.

“You got me so good”, you say and giggle.

“I know, princess love. I can smell it”, Yoongi says, smiling fondly.

“God, embarrassing”, you say, hiding away in the crook of his neck.

“Why?” Yoongi says and chuckles, patting your butt, “I like it. Why’s it embarrassing?”

“Because I can’t even be secretly horny with you.”

He laughs, “why you wanna be secret about it? Don’t hide that from me”, he says and grabs your butt just so he can tug you snug against him. You gasp because of it, writhing from the sudden pressure on your warmth, “I love that smell, don’t you dare tryna keep that from me”, he rasps, moving your hips back and forth.

“Yoongi”, you sigh, feeling deep tingles in your tummy.

“What’s wrong, love?”

“Feels good.”

“Mhm, I know”, he whispers and stops even if you whine in complaint.

“Don’t stop.”

“Mhm”, he hums, getting to his feet with you in his arms, “let’s get you inside. It’s getting too cold.”

You know what will come soon and it makes you press yourself closer to him.

“But you have to go somewhere else when I get cleaned. It’s embarrassing”, you tell him.

“I promise. You can have all the privacy you need.”

 Yoongi goes downstairs as you get cleaned. Of course he does, because when he promises something he actually means it. You don’t feel stressed or nervous about getting yourself ready for him, because you know that he will give you all the time you need.

You don’t bother to put on clothes once you are happy with the result. Instead, you pick out a set of lingerie with matching stockings and the necklace Yoongi got you. A droplet of his blood was infused into a blue gemstone and the purest gold frames it in a delicate heart shaped pendant. Knowing how much such a present meant with him makes you want to cry each time you put it on.

You feel really pretty, making your way downstairs with a skip in your steps.

You find Yoongi in the kitchen, humming to himself as he listens to music through his ear buds and washes the tomatoes he picked from the garden. He will make dinner with them later.

You close the distance between you and him, snaking your arms around him from behind.

“Mhm”, Yoongi lifts his head and presses back into you.

He dries his hands, takes out his ear buds and touches you.

“Don’t mind me”, you say.

He turns in your arms, showing off the smile he sports. It grows as his eyes land on your body.

“Oh, princess”, he says, picking you up just to lift you on the kitchen counter, “look at you. You shouldn’t have dressed up.”

“Why not?”

“Because”, he presses his hips against you, feeling up your lower back, “now I gotta rip this off of you. You are so beautiful, fucking shit look at you.”

You laugh, feeling your heart flutter.

“Do you like it?” you ask, posing for him.

“I love it”, he says, running his hands over the fabric of your panties and stockings, “where’d you hide that from me? It’s fucking beautiful on you.”

“In my suitcase.”

“Mhm princess”, he purrs, running his hands up your torso until he can trace your bra, “I should spank your cute butt for keeping this from me for so long.”

You draw closer, tangling your fingers in his long hair.

“Fuck it instead”, you whisper.

Yoongi’s eyes flit to your lips. His tongue darts out to wet his lips, a lopsided smirk tugs at the corner of them a second later.

“Deal?” you ask, gazing at his lips.

“You already know my answer, princess”, he rasps, drawing closer until his kiss is just a tilt of your head away. The tension twists your stomach addictively.

“I need to hear it”, you sigh.

“Fuck, don’t tease”, he rasps with heavy eyes. One more second without your kiss will kill him.

“I’m not. Say it”, you whisper, feeling dizzy from denial.

“Deal”, he breathes, placing his hand on the back of your head, “now fucking come here and let me seal it.”

You let him pull you in with a moan of his name and your legs closing around his waist instantly. He growls deeply, picking up from the counter to carry you with one arm. His hand never leaves your face, except for when he feels up your torso hungrily. 

He knows the way upstairs, using his senses to walk safely while his lips are lost in you.  

He nudges the door closed with his foot and carries you to bed. He doesn’t stop kissing you as he lays you down on it, claiming the emptiness between your legs for himself. Your legs are over his thighs, his knees are digging into the mattress. Like this, he can grind his clothed cock into you. The dent in his jeans is so unbearably noticeable to your sensitive pussy.

Yoongi breaks the kiss to instead dance his lips over your jawline and neck. His hands are feeling up your legs.

“You feel so good”, you sigh, writhing under him sensually. Your hands are on his chest, trying to open his shirt. 

“I can’t get enough of you, princess”, he whispers, changing sides of your neck, “my beautiful love, fucking look at you.”

His fingers play with the hem of your panties and slip inside. Not in the front but at the side of your hips, where your skin is so sensitive. He tugs slightly.

“Don’t rip them”, you say, squirming away, “I really like them.”

He smirks against your neck. 

“Fine”, he says and without warning picks you up just enough that your butt is off the mattress and he can pull down your panties.

You laugh, writhing in his hands with your eyes glued to his face. You get so giddy whenever he shows his strength. It’s so nice to know that you are in such strong and safe hands with him. 

Yoongi chuckles, “cute.”

“It’s so hot when you lift me.”

“I know princess, I can smell it”, he says and guides your panties to his nose to take in your scent. He growls playfully, flashing his eyes ruby, “so sweet”, he lulls, letting the panties disappear in his front pocket a second later. 

“Touch me”, you choke out, feeling lightheaded. There won’t ever go a day by where this shit doesn’t ruin you. 

“Patience. I gotta savour you”, he says, placing himself over you again. He lowers himself to your collarbones, touching your sides, “I’d be a fool if I didn’t”, he adds in a whisper before he runs his lips over your skin.

The touch is electric, making you sigh. You close your eyes and fall into him. Falling is so goddamn easy when you know that it’s Yoongi’s hands which will catch you. And they will always catch you, no matter when or where, he won’t ever let you collide. 

Yoongi lifts his lips when he is between your clothed breasts. He glances up at you, finding heaven in how blissed you look. 

“You’re so beautiful”, he says honestly and lowers his lips to your soft breasts to kiss them, “so fucking beautiful.”

“There…” you sigh, arching your chest into him. 

“There?” he whispers, sucking on the spot of before. The one which made you arch so cutely and which makes you arch even cuter right now.

“Yoongi”, you squeak in a giggle, writhing between his hands.

“Why? What’s wrong?” he asks in a smile, feeling up your sides. 

“It’s just…good.”

“Cute”, he says, changing the paths of his kiss to feel up your tummy instead. There is no other tummy on this earth which is as perfect as yours. Yoongi loves every single inch of it, memorising the paths of it with his eyes closed and his tongue tasting your skin hungrily. 

By the time he reaches your lower tummy, your skin isn’t the only thing wet. You already were before, but now you are soaked, filling Yoongi’s nose with the sweetest scent. 

“Your scent, holy fuck”, he murmurs into you as he buries his face in the softness of your inner thigh. 

You reach down and twist his hair, bucking your hips up. His eyes open, meeting your gaze. 

“Please”, you beg.

“Don’t rush it”, he whispers and switches legs, “relax princess, I’m getting there.”

“Oh god, I need it so bad”, you whine, tugging on his hair. 

“Mhm, me too. Need to taste you so bad”, he lulls, running his tongue down your thigh. The contact is wet and hot, leaving you to throb around nothing. 

He turns his head. 

“Ah”, you moan without needing to be touched. The aspect of it is already enough to turn you weak. 

“So fucking sweet”, he rasps, letting the words swirl over your pussy.

“Please”, you beg.

“Mhhm”, he purrs, drawing closer until you can feel his warmth radiate of his lips.

“Yoongi”, you moan, tugging on his hair.

“Cute”, he rasps, putting distance between you and your sweetest pleasure.

“No, back”, you beg, trying to push him down but he is stronger.

He chuckles, “you’re so cute”, he rasps, doing the unthinkable of sitting up.

Your fingers slip from his hair this way, gripping his belt loop instead.

“Please don’t”, you beg. 

“Patience. I’m just getting the toys.”

“I just wanna be touched, please”, you whine, knowing that it is fruitless to beg.

“You’re adorable”, he says as he is busy with retrieving the bag.

Waiting for him to get the toys from his suitcase and return to bed is torture. You need his touch so bad. 

Yoongi sits down next to you, opening the toy bag to look through it. Not that he has to do a lot of looking as he has all the toys sorted into their own compartments. He is organised like this. It’s so attractive that he is.

He opens the buttplug compartment and takes out the silicon toy. You eye it and gulp.

“You can stop this anytime you need to, yeah? I won’t be upset with you”, Yoongi says, who watches it happen.

“I don’t wanna stop. I’m just really excited.”

Yoongi smiles, “I’m excited too, my love”, he says shimmying down your body with the plug and lube equipped. 

You open your legs without needing to be told to, looking at him with a racing heart. 

The lube bottle opens with a click. Yoongi makes sure that he covers his fingers thoroughly.  

“Relax”, he says and connects his lubed up fingers with your hole. 

“Fuck. Yoongi”, you get out, closing your legs in reaction. They fall open again a second later, your hips squirm needily. 

“You’re so perfect, my princess”, he praises, rubbing slow circles. You whine in reaction and buck your hips up. Yoongi understands instantly. It’s time for him to take the next step. With a little bit of pressure, he lets his middle finger slip inside. 

You inhale sharply, releasing it as a shaky “oh god”, a second later. Your eyes fall closed and your nose scrunches up.

“There we go. All relaxed around me”, he praises, pumping his finger in and out slowly, “you’re doing so well.”

“It feels really good.”

“Yeah? It feels good for me too, princess. You’re so soft inside”, Yoongi says, curling his finger. 

“More?”

“Already?”

“Yeah, please. I’m horny”,  you giggled the last words, earning yourself a soft chuckle from him. 

“Gladly”, Yoongi says and pushes his ring finger inside. You tense up, whimpering softly. He places his hand on your lower tummy and rubs slow circles on it, “relax your muscles, you’re too tense.”

“Sorry, it surprised me”, you say and follow instantly, shuddering because of how good it feels to relax. His fingers are filling you out so well, giving you just enough of a stretch that you are experiencing a constant wave of warm tingles. 

“There we go, that’s so much better”, he praises and begins scissoring them carefully, “you’re doing such a good job, my lovely princess. Relax, my love, so good”, he talks you through the amazing sensation, switching his fond gaze between your wet pussy and glowing face.

“It’s so good”, you sigh, “I like it so much.”

“I love it too, princess”, he says and slips his thumb to your clit as a reward for being the most perfect.

And there you go, tensing up again. But this time for different reasons. You mewl, tilting your head back as your hips buck into his hand. All the teasing he did before left you feeling so sensitive that this simple touch is already too much.

“Relax for me, relax”, Yoongi says softly, rubbing your clit slowly. 

“It’s hard when, when you m-make me wanna cum”, you stutter, writhing on the sheets. 

“Cute”, Yoongi says, slipping his thumb from your clit even if that makes you whine for more.

“Edging noo, is…no”, you mumble, cracking him up. 

“Whiney baby”, he teases, slipping his fingers out. 

“Yoongi noo”, you whine, “I don’t have to cum, I lied.”

He laughs, “yeah sure. Relax princess, I’m getting the plug. Yeah?”

“Yeah”, you say, glancing down at it, “oh god, I’m so horny.”

“Me too, love.”

He rubs lube on it and connects it with your hole. He places his hands back on your tummy, sending you a comforting look. 

“This will stretch you more than my fingers, but I believe in you”, he says and smiles, “but you can stop whenever, don’t forget that.”

“Just push it inside, please”, you beg, opening your legs wider. 

Yoongi lets his eyes flit down to your middle. He applies pressure and after a second of struggle, the toy slips inside. 

“Oh? Oh yeah that hah”, you chuckle and drop your head in the pillow.

“Too much?”

“Don’t stop, I’m good. It’s new, but I’m good”, you say, pushing into him. The toy slips deeper into you, faltering again when you reach the thickest part.

“Just one more time”, he encourages you and pushes gently.

“Yoongi”, you get out and then you reach for his hand to hold. He intertwines his fingers with you, looking at your face with his brows furrowed in concentration. 

The plug slips inside, filling you out completely.

“Oh fuck”, you press out in a whisper, squeezing his hand. 

“It’s bigger than my fingers, isn’t it?”

“Yeah?” you get out and mewl.

“You’re doing so well taking it that easily. I can take it out if you want.”

“No just…let me get used to it.”

“Okay”, Yoongi says and places himself over you. Like this, his hands are on each side of your head dimpling the pillow and his black hair hangs into his face. “I’m so fucking proud of you, princess love.”

“Yoongi…kiss me”, you plead, feeling how deeply affected you are by his praise. You relax around the toy and your tummy tingles like crazy, “I’m, I’m serious if you don’t kiss me soon I’ll, I’ll start cry-”

Yoongi interrupts you by kissing you deeply. Your brain turns off, your body shudders in relief. You are kissing him. You are kissing your Yoongi. And it’s paradise. 

You reach for him with a whimper of his name, twisting the front of his shirt. Yoongi lowers himself to his elbows, bending his arm in a way which allows him to cradle your head and play with your hair. The kiss to your lips breaks, but he litters your face with kisses and that makes up for it. 

“Don’t cry, princess”, he whispers, “I’m right here”, he promises, nuzzling into your neck. Neck kisses feel like heaven on normal days, but he’s got you so charged that you could cry out for him right now.

“Yoongi”, you whimper, grabbing a bundle of his hair. 

“Keep me close, princess”, he sighs, kissing a path to your cheek, “you’re doing so well with everything, I’m so incredibly proud of you.”

You spill tears. They were happy tears. Yoongi doesn’t notice them, kissing a path to your lips. He claims them, swallowing the whimper you let out. His right hand smoothes over your hair while his left arm snakes under your back. With a small show of strength he lifts your upper body, pressing you against his chest. He uses enough pressure that you can feel how all those tight knots in your chest burst. You didn’t even know that you had them, but feeling his warmth on your chest in a gentle and constant pressure relieved you of stresses you had sitting deep inside you.  

“I love you”, you press out because this is all you get out. Yoongi smiles against your lips, kissing his way back to your neck.

“I love you too, princess.”

He lowers you back to the sheets and slips his left hand to your side instead. 

“I love you so much”, you press out and sob softly.

“I love you so much too, princess”, Yoongi says, kissing his way down to your tummy. 

You don’t like that he stops cradling you like this, but you can’t even complain because he is worshipping your tummy. His big hands are gliding over your waist, holding you safely, while his tongue and lips take the paths they already took before. But unlike before, it makes you twist the fucking pillow in desperation. 

“I’m gonna go insane, princess”, Yoongi lulls, “you smell so fucking sweet. You know that?”

“Please don’t pull away again”, you beg, writhing in his strong hands. He is mere inches away from your pussy, “if, if you pull away I-I’ll cry.”

He chuckles, “you’re so cute”, he says, “relax, my princess. I won’t pull away”, he whispers and buries his tongue between your folds. 

“Oh my god! Yoongi!” you squeak put, closing your legs around his head and grabbing his hair with both hands. 

Yoongi purrs, pushing your legs apart gently. He keeps his hands on your shaking thighs to rub them, purring around your clit as he sucks on her slowly.

“Yoongi!” you mewl, digging your head into the pillow as you arch your back. Your legs slip over his shoulders and kick his lower back. 

“Mhm”, he grunts, punishing you by burying himself deeper. 

“Yoongi please, holy fuck”, you sob, tugging at his hair to both push him closer and pull him away. You have no idea what you need more. A break or for him to never ever stop. And he barely even does anything. He merely purrs and sucks on your clit, includes the occasional lick and squeezes your thighs. Yoongi could eat your pussy differently. Trust, that he could be very different right now and yet this mere appetiser of what he could do is already enough to make you act like a pleasure dumb idiot. 

“Yoongi”, another mewl of his name comes easy to you. 

Yoongi answers you by breaking away from you and forcing that addictive fire in your pussy to die down again.

“Why?” you croak and sob, “Yoongi why?”

“You’re so cute, holy fuck I gotta fucking put you in my pocket, you cutest princess”, he babbles as he kisses a path down to your plugged hole. 

He wraps his fingers around the base of the toy and with a kiss to your buttocks pulls it out of you. It feels warm and makes you moan. The girthiest part doesn’t hurt at all and the sensation of your hole closing up in sync with the toy getting thinner is unfamiliar but fucking addicting. 

Yoongi wastes no unnecessary time. He is a smitten man on a mission. A mission to make his dream girl scream on his tongue. He dismisses the toy and grabs your hips. With just a little bit of his strength, he picks them up and tilts them so he can bury himself between your legs. 

Your hole is still relaxed enough that he takes the opportunity to slip his tongue inside. He lets it grow until it’s a little longer than the plug was and it fills you out so well that he can feel your muscles trying to fight him.

“Yoongi”, his name slips off your tongue again and Yoongi feels your walls pulsate around his tongue. Your taste is richer than that of your pussy. Yoongi has to hump the mattress because of it, growling into you as he fucks you with his tongue.

“Oh god, holy fuck”, you moan, panting like crazy.

This feels as if you are getting the wettest and hottest toy stuck into you. You thought that getting your pussy fucked with it feels intense, but this is on a whole other level. You are so stretched out like this. Even more than you were when he plugged you. It doesn’t hurt at all. The kisses and touches and sweet licks made you so incredibly relaxed for him, his praises did the rest. So having his big, long tongue fuck your hole doesn’t hurt and yet it still feels as if you can’t do it. You shouldn’t feel like this. You shouldn’t be allowed to feel so goddamn good. Your legs shake and try to close on him, but Yoongi shakes you off, burying himself deeper until the tip of his nose is buried in your pussy.

“Fucknmgn”, the curse is muffled by your body, but it still reaches your ears. Your scent is quite literally suffocating him and Yoongi lets you know just what this does to him by wiggling his tongue quickly and using his neck muscles to grind his nose all over your pussy.

“Why are you doing this?” you keen, throwing your arm over your eyes, “please stop, Yoongi. Please stop, please.”

“Hey”, he is off of you instantly, “hey, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”

“Please don’t do this, please just fuck me”, you beg, spilling tears, “I can’t take this anymore. Please just fuck me, please.”

Yoongi relaxes, slipping your legs from his shoulders to caress them instead.

“Don’t talk like this princess, I was so scared that I hurt you”, he whines, nudging you.

“It’s so good, I can’t breathe”, you whimper, sending him a blurry look, “I’m sorry, please don’t be mad.”

“Never”, he says, leaning down to kiss your tummy, “fuck, I just really fucked it for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“Now I know how you taste in both holes”, he chuckles deeply, “fuck baby, don’t expect me to be normal from now on. I’m gonna fucking live between your legs from now on.”

You mewl, “please fuck me. Please!”

“Are you sure?” he asks as he nibbles on your inner thigh. He is so close to your pussy that he brushes against you every now and then, “can’t I taste you more? Please?”

“I, I’ll cum if you do”, you stutter.

“Mhm, you’re torturing me”, he rasps and bites you just hard enough that you squeak.

“Please”, you giggle, twisting his hair.

He chuckles, kissing the sensitive spot, “fine, I’ll get ready.”

“Please.”

Yoongi breaks away from you to undress. Finally his tight jeans stop squishing his swollen cock. Yoongi throws them on the ground angrily. They were so painful to be stuck in. He steps out of his briefs and slips his shirt off. Then he runs his hands through his long hair. It falls prettily, framing his features.  

“Jeans are products of demons, no fucking joke”, he says, climbing back on bed, “I think I bruised my cock.”

You snicker, “oh no, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, just glad to be with you again”, he assures you, connecting himself with you by caressing your hip, “let me fix you, yeah?”

“Okay.”

Yoongi lifts you and places you onto the mattress with you resting on your side. He pushes the leg, which rests on top, up the mattress, making sure that it’s bent by the knee. He runs his hand along your stockings and then up to your ass at the back of your leg.

“There we go. That’s better, isn’t it?” he speaks softly.

“Yeah…” you croak, twisting the sheets. You need him so bad that it hurts. 

“Tell me when you need a pillow”, he says and breaks the touch for the sake of getting his cock ready. 

“I’m comfy”, you say. 

“That’s good. Fuck ___, I’m so fucking hard you have no idea”, he lulls his words and a wet squelching sound fills the air. He is definitely jerking himself off with the lube. The thought makes you leak.  

“You won’t grow, will you? I don’t think that I can handle this yet”, you ask shyly.

“No princess, I won’t grow. Don’t be scared”, he assures you.  

“Okay, thank you for telling me that”, you say and turn your head. He is close enough that you can reach behind yourself and touch his hip, “please don’t hold back anymore.”

He smiles and lets you tug him closer, placing his hand on your hip. 

“I love it when you’re acting this way”, he says, holding his cock by its base so he can guide it to your hole. He pushes at your hip, fixing your position gently. Like this, you are exposed to him. Yoongi stares at it with ruby eyes, rubbing his wet cockhead against your hole. 

“So pretty”, he lulls, licking his lips, “can’t believe I had my tongue in there. You’re so goddamn pretty.”

“Please”, you beg, arching into him. 

“Ready?” 

“Yes. Please.”

“Perfect. You’re fucking perfect", Yoongi says and pushes into you. 

The breach doesn’t hurt, but it’s unfamiliar. His cock is definitely bigger than any of the other amazing things you took up your ass tonight. His fingers were nice, the plug intense and his tongue maddening, but his cock is filling. The word isn’t the sexiest, but it’s the truth. You feel so whole now that he is slipping inside. Like a part missing has finally returned to you. You whimper and tense up, reaching for his hand instinctively.

“Hurts?” he asks.

You shake your head, giving him a pleading look to please keep going.

Yoongi smiles and squeezes your hand. His eyes flit back to where he disappears. 

“Relax. I’ve got you”, he says and pushes deeper. His tummy tenses, and his brows furrow, “fuck. Relax my love, yeah? Relax”, his voice is shaking just a little.

“Yoongi, I’m so stuffed”, you mewl, looking at him with teary eyes. You are so glad that Yoongi filled you with his tongue before he did it with his cock. You don’t think that you could have handled how it is to truly feel him if it wasn’t for his tongue giving you the most intense sneak peek of it.

“Breathe for me, love. B-breathe oh fuck”, he falls to his hands, letting out a shaky moan. His hair falls into his face, “breathe. You gotta, gotta b-breathe.”

You can’t stop staring. His brows are furrowed, his lips curled back as he shows his fangs in a grunt. Being filled up by him starts to feel a million times better instantly. Which means a lot, because it already felt like heaven before that. 

“Breathe baby, fucking breathe”, he gets out and moans, filling you with his last inch. “Mhngn”, he lets out, scrunching his nose up, “breathe”, he squeaks.

“Are you okay?” you ask. 

“Mhm yeah, I’m fine. You just have the tightest ass ever, I’m fine”, he says in a pitched voice, making you laugh.

“Oh god, this is so funny”, you say.

“Don’t laugh, holy fuck”, he croaks and moans, grabbing your hand just to slam it into the sheets and pin it down. He rolls his hips into you in an involuntary thrust, his throat produces a little whimper.

“I can’t help it. I’m taking your cock, I’m happy”, you say between giggles. 

“Fucking fuck, you’re gonna fucking kill me”, he presses out under his breath and somehow forces his eyes to open. He turns his head, looking down at you, “you’re such a fucking goddess. Holy fuck.”

You squirm, clenching around him. You try to reach for his face, but can’t as he pins you down. So you end up holding his wrist with your other hand, mewling his name as you tense around him again.

“Wanna move”, he lulls.

“Please move.”

Yoongi pulls out halfway so he can roll into you smoothly. The sensation feels electric, forcing an honest and loud moan out of you. 

“Yes princess, keep moaning for me. I fucking love it when you do”, he encourages you, ending it with a small whimper again, “I’m gonna fucking cry. You’re so tight, holy fuck”, he whispers under his breath, chasing you in deep rolls of his hips. 

In and out, in and out. Feeling each of those movements so quickly after the other is a whole other experience. When he played with your hole or stuffed it, you didn’t have this constant change. But now you do and it’s making you gasp for air. 

“That’s it, princess. Keep breathing”, his voice is hoarse from exhaustion, “I’m gonna have to fucking nut soon, but don’t mind me.”

“God, don’t tell me that, you’re making me laugh again”, you say, having to crack up.

“Yeah fuck, it’s happening”, he says and groans, letting his mouth fall open. His hand squeezes yours as his cock throbs deep inside you, “you’re so fucking mean”, he whines, shaking atop of you. 

“Yoongi”, you gasp and moan, “Yoongi, holy fuck. Are you actually?”

“Yeah…baby”, he purrs. 

It sticks to your insides warm and wet. He is actually cumming right now. Two minutes and he is a goner. The thought that it is your ass which broke him so soon, makes you dizzy. You chase him with rolls of your hips, tensing up at the feeling. You’re so tight and now you're spreading his cum all over his cock, getting messy in the process. He slips in and out of you so much better, filling your veins with ecstatic pleasure.

“Yeah, yah, mhm”, he lets out, lowering his head to kiss your cheek, “fuck”, he chuckles, “sorry for that, I’d have died if I didn’t let go.”

“It’s fine. Just…I want more.”

“Don’t worry, I’m good now. Fuck princess”, he straightens up, grabbing your leg to bend it and open you up for him, “imma fuck that bred, little hole until you’re screaming”, he rasps, finally moving his hips. He starts off in a slow, yet deep rhythm, spreading you open for him with a strong hand pushing down on your hip and therefore keeping it tilted just for him. It gives your muscles a gentle stretch and opens you up so well for him that you can feel how you move around him.

“Yoongi”, you mewl, tilting your head back as your mouth falls open. 

“Does it hurt? I can slow down”, he speaks with a deep rasp on his voice. You know that overstimulation is keeping his cock sensitive, but because you’re dating a literal maniac he uses the pain as motivation to get you off. 

“Don’t slow, please faster”, you beg.

He speeds up, putting a smooth roll of his hips into the movements. His fingers dimple your flesh, his naked thighs collide with the back of your legs and his cock shapes your creamed hole. Like this, his hair slaps into his face each time he moves, forcing him to keep his eyes closed in order not to the get it all in them. He grunts each time he bottoms out, giving you glimpses of his fangs whenever he pulls his lips back.

“More, I need more”, you beg.

“Yeah? Reach into the bag, there’s a vibe in there.”

He doesn’t have to tell you twice. You know exactly where to look. You used the toy on too many occasions to count. With trembling fingers you turn it on and press it to your clit. 

“Yoongi”, you mewl, writhing under him.

“That’s it, princess. Make yourself feel good. Fuck, you’re so fucking perfect”, he praises, using the grip he has on your thigh to pull you onto his cock. He meets his own movements in the middle, rolling his hips into you. 

“It’s a lot”, you mewl. 

“Yeah? I’ll slow down”, he assures you, but you start rutting back into him instantly, “fuck princess”, he is laughing lazily, “stop whining ‘bout it bein’ too much when you don’ mean it”, he lulls, connecting his hand with your buttock in a gentle spank, “so fuckin’ naughty.”

“More”, you beg, “you’re making me cum. More.”

Yoongi spanks you gently, gripping the flesh afterwards to part you and stuff you with his cock. His creamy cum is leaking out of you and covering his cock. The quick movements of his hips turned it all white and milky by now. Yoongi fucks it right back into you, covering your stretched rim with it and parts of his dark pubes. The view motivates him to fuck you deeper, harder, better.

“You’re so fucking perfect being all bred by me. My own perfect cum goddess”, he pants, slamming into you so hard that his balls slap your ass.

You mewl for more, clenching around him. And so Yoongi gives it to you. He spanks your ass, holding you open afterwards to watch his cock disappear inside your tight hole. 

“Now”, you croak and yelp up. 

“Yes fuck”, Yoongi growls, burying himself to the hilt and staying right there so he can feel you pulsate and throb, “you’re so fucking perfect, shit princess so perfect.”

“It feels so good”, you mewl, shaking like crazy as your body fills with warmth, “Yoongi, it feels so good.”

“I know baby, I know. Keep it right there, you’re not done yet”, he says and begins moving again. Slowly at first because he is aware that you never experienced cock up your ass so soon after your high. You are tight. So goddamn tight that if Yoongi hadn’t climaxed already, he would have done so right now. He grinds his teeth and growls deeply, dimpling your flesh from gripping you so tightly, “keep breathin’ baby, I’m not done. You gotta get fucked more, my perfect woman.”

“Yoongi”, his name leaves you like a prayer. You push back into him, thanking yourself for doing so as Yoongi uses the opportunity to tug you into another position. Resting on your tummy and with your hips held up by him. You use zero strength, shaking in his hands as Yoongi keeps pulling you onto his creamed cock. 

“Such a pretty princess, you’re made for my cock. It’s fucking insane how good you feel”, he praises and moans in a deep growl. His hips are angled differently this way. 

“What are you doing?” you mewl, kicking the sheets. You try to writhe away from him for the sole reason of being scared of how hard you are falling. You can feel his cock hit your g-spot this way. You know that he is still in your ass, as you feel stuffed to the brim, but he is still hitting your g-spot. He shouldn’t be able to do this to you and yet he is. You can’t handle it, it’s too good. You can’t handle it. “What are you doing?” you sob, barely holding onto the vibrator by now.

“Keep the vibe there, princess”, Yoongi orders you, eyes glued to your ass. He can’t believe how beautiful you look when he fucks you. 

“What are you doing? Yoongi please”, your voice is pitched in pleasure, your legs are shaking like crazy.

“You know what I’m doing. I’m giving it to you how you fucking deserve it. Feel how I give it to you?” he says, slamming his hips into you. Your ass is filled to the brim and your g-spot gets hit. 

You moan his name, arching into him. This is going to break you into a million pieces. 

“Yeah you do. You’re such a perfect, fucking woman, you deserve everything. Fucking everything. Fuck”, he growls the last word, throwing his head back as his body falls into the sensations. His hair tickles his shoulders this way, reflecting the deep shine of your bedside lamp. His lips part, glistening in the lights and looking especially pink.

Not that you can see any of this as you are falling right with him with your face buried in the pillow, moaning like crazy as he scrambles your insides in the best way possible. Night has been kissing the earth for way too many minutes to count and yet you haven’t noticed yet. He makes you see the brightest colours behind your closed lids. A warm summer rain has started to fall on the earth and even that you didn’t notice as all you can hear are Yoongi’s ecstatic grunts and your bodies connecting in sinful movements. Also the hum of the vibrator and it’s fucking taunting it. Your clit is going to burst if you keep pressing it on there and yet you don’t want to take it away. You rub a small circle, regretting instantly as you feel how this forces your body to fall even harder.

“You’re making me cum”, you mewl with your pussy throbbing around nothing and his cock drilling your ass so good it feels like he is rewriting your definition of pleasure.

“Don’t hold back, love. Fall into it, I’m right here. Fade into me, baby”, he encourages you, fucking his cock into you as deep as possible and hitting your g-spot exactly where you are the most sensitive.

“Yoongi!” you yelp, breaking around him. 

“Yes princess, that’s what I want from you”, Yoongi growls, picking you up even if you are shaking like crazy. He sits back onto his heels and bounces you on his lap. You are kneeling, barely holding your head up straight, “you perfect fucking goddess, cum for me”, he spits and presses his hand into your tummy with just enough pressure that you can physically feel how he is squeezing your g-spot against his cock. 

It feels like there is no barrier between him and your favourite spot. You scream up, dropping the vibrator. At least you try to as before it slips out of your fingers, Yoongi takes your hand and presses it back against your clit. He hugs your waist this way, slamming his hips into you so harshly the room fills with loud sounds of skin slapping against skin and the bedposts croaking for help.

“Don’t stop”, he growls, “you perfect woman are gonna keep that pressed there until you’re wetting my fucking thighs.”

“Yoongi, I can’t”, you sob, reaching behind yourself just so you can grip him. You manage to grab a bundle of his hair, twisting it painfully.

Yoongi moans against your neck, squeezing you closer by your tummy. The pressure in it grows, now it actually feels as if he was fucking you without any barriers. But you know that he is. You know because your stretched hole has been convulsing around his cock ever since he started drilling you this way. 

And you can’t take it anymore. The vibrator on your clit hurts so much, the pressure in your tummy is too much and his cock is ruining your ass. And there is this addictive feeling of having his naked, sweaty and hot body pressed against yours.

You break apart, screaming his name as you almost rip out his hair. And Yoongi growls like a fucking animal, fucking and squeezing and holding you hostage until you finally act how he wants you to act and you wet his thighs in harsh, strong spurts of warm pleasure. 

“Yes princess. Fuck, ___”, he moans and fills you with his cum. You smell so good and feel so tight around him, Yoongi just has to make sure that the last thing your hot walls feel is his creamy cum marking you as his’. They should remember who can stretch and fuck and drill them so good. Moaning and panting like crazy, he fucks you both through your highs, milking your bodies dry until they can’t give any more.

“No more, please. Actually stop”, you beg once the fire of pleasure turned into the painful burn of overstimulation and his cock feels painfully big in your tight ass.

“You’re already done”, Yoongi speaks gently, turning off the vibrator and throwing it to the side, “take a deep breath, I’m lifting you.”

You follow, releasing it in a loud gasp as he slides you off of him. His cum squirts out of you instantly, ruining even more of his lap. 

“Sorry, oh god”, you whimper, trying to clench.

“It’s okay, let it happen”, he soothes you, “you did so well, my love. Don’t worry about the mess, just relax”, he says and places you in the sheets as gently as possible. 

He drapes his arm over you, resting on his hand so he can nuzzle into the side of your face and kiss you.

“I’m so proud of you, you did amazing”, he praises.

“I’m, I’m”, you stutter, shivering like crazy. 

Yoongi presses himself closer, warming you with the naked skin on skin contact. 

“I’ll get something to clean you and then you can already slip under the sheets, yeah?”

You nod your head, looking up at him with teary eyes. He dries your cheeks, holding your face safely.

“Does anything hurt?” he asks. 

“No”, your voice is hoarse, “Yoongi?”

“Yes, my love?”

“I felt you against my g-spot.”

He smiles, “I know. Did you like it?”

“Yes”, you whisper and giggle. 

“I loved it too, my princess”, he says and kisses your forehead, “you did fucking amazing for your first time. You took me so, so well.”

“It was the best first time ever”, you say, wiggling happily, “you’re the best person ever, Yoongi Boongie.”

“Mhm”, he pecks your cheek, “no, you are. Now excuse me for a moment, I’ll clean us up, yeah?”

“Yeah. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Of course, my love.”

“I’m so happy with you.”

Yoongi feels his tummy flutter, “I’m so fucking happy too, you have no idea.”

He cleans your bodies, brings you water and changes the sheets. He talks about the experience with you in great detail as he does all those things, listening to your words with great interest and speaking his own with a warm sparkle in his eyes. You both come to the same conclusion that you really needed to do it again in the near future. Afterwards, he tucks you into bed and plays with your hair because you asked him if he could. And you feel so well taken care of that you could burst into the most colourful of fireworks.

The rain is loud on the roof above your heads, filling the room with a constant pitter patter. His face is mere inches away from yours as you share a pillow. Your heads are almost hidden under the blanket, looking out just enough that you can still breathe. He is still caressing your face and head. You are this close to falling asleep, but don’t want to close your eyes. You don’t want to miss out on his face. His hair is all messy, but in a pretty, breathtaking kind of way and his features are looking so pretty in the dim lights. He is truly the most beautiful person ever and your heart races like crazy when you think about the fact that he is yours.

“Should we buy a house here?” he breaks the comfortable silence in a soft spoken voice.

“What do you mean?” you answer him with your voice lowered as well.

“We could buy a house here. With a view of the ocean and a sun flooded kitchen overseeing the garden”, he says, “let’s buy one that needs renovating, so we can do it together. I have ideas for the living room. I’m thinking conversation pit with a huge sofa to cuddle on. Maybe mould it outta clay, paint it blue, but you’re better with colours so I need your advice on that. And I want a bathtub in the bathroom, a big one so we both fit.”

“You wanna buy a house with me?” you ask in a trembling voice.

“I’d buy a castle with you, but we already have one”, he says, making you giggle and sniffle at the same time. He chuckles, booping your nose with his pointer finger. 

“Yoongs, I don’t know what to say”, you get out, blinking rapidly.

“Yes, maybe?”

“You know my answer already, my beloved.”

“Please say it, it’ll feel so good.”

You smile, spilling tears, “yes Yoongs, let’s buy a fucking house here and get a goddamn conversation pit in the living room and a huge bathtub in the bathroom and, and let’s plant food in the garden and goddamn build a path to the beach. Goddamn it.”

Yoongi smiles, tearing up without ever spilling them.

“My love”, he whispers, cupping your cheek and running his thumb over your skin, “you’re my fucking everything.”

“You’re my fucking everything too, my love”, you say, closing the distance between you and him to kiss him. 

Yoongi wraps his arms around and rolls you to your back, getting lost in the kiss with you as happy giggles rumble in his chest.  

Days here at the coast are good. Great. Perfect. The days here are perfect.

[megamagimugi]

(M) 331 poster and sketches

I absolutely love this fanfic by Yoshi_with_hat on AO3 and personally consider it a masterpiece, one of the best this fandom has to offer. Might be my personal favorite if it's even possible to pick just one. So I decided to show my love for it in the best way I know how: by doing more fanart! I went with a poster this time.

I wanted to do more. This story deserves it. But eventually only made this poster and a few sketches and didn't really want to wait anymore to post them. Maybe I'll do more someday since I regularly reread this story, but for now I'm afraid that's it.

The sketches, however, contain major spoilers. Please, I beg of you, if you haven't read the story yet, skip the sketches. This fic's greatest strength, other than its well crafted characters, is without a doubt its plot with some brilliant twists you couldn't possibly predict. If you've already read it, feel free to take a look though. If you're curious, then please, read the story until the end first. I highly recommend it to any Mario fan, especially anyone who likes Mario 2D platformers.

Speaking of which, I think this is a perfect spot to put the link to the story:

Alright. So, as for the spoilery sketches.

Here they are:

72 wall jumping out of the pit, Bowser carrying 42 and Peach (with Kevin's wand) on his shoulders, and 304 telling Loggi what he did.

Now, after my fourth reread I must say one thing. This fic made me cry twice this time (honestly don't remember if it did on my previous reads, but maybe? probably?). I don't even cry at movies very often, let alone written word. It's so rare! And it's all because of 304. Yes, his thought process was flawed and eventually he did a horrible thing, but other than that I relate to him way too much, with him being rejected for no clear reason when he only wanted to be accepted and make some friends... Man. It just hits too close to home. When #1 cried for him, I could certainly relate :')

Alright. Dear Yoshi_with_hat, if you see this, I really hope you like it. And thank you for writing this amazing fanfic.

[holliday-is-holligay]

OKAY LORD OF THE RINGS HOT TAKE - I WISH THE MOVIES KEPT THE BARROW DOWNS

Art by: QuintusCassius

You don't have to keep Bombadil, they can find their own way out for the sake of pacing, but when I think about just how much this scene actually ties into the rest of the story's themes it becomes more and more of a shame it didn't make it in.

It introduces the idea of a land falling to shadow and establishes, in the most show-don't-tell way so far how intense the threat to the landscape itself the evil they're facing could be. This is a story about a war on the land as well, after all, and this land LOST. And it's NOT a far off land from their own home. Such shadowy devastation and evil and rot and despair is so close to their own home.

We learn these ruins belong to Arnor, an even greater kingdom of men than Gondor. Which, hey, is gonna become super relevant multiple times across the story - like when Boromir is pleading for help with Gondor's plight or talking about its strength, or when we see Minas Tirith under siege. And we KNOW that kingdoms of Men greater than it have fallen.

It establishes The Witch King really early and subtly. This doesn't even need to be mentioned at this point. It can be done the same way it's done in the movies RE Weathertop when Gandalf is explaining who The Witch King is. He can just explain it further. "He stabbed Frodo on Weathertop, and he laid low the Kingdom of Arnor." Flashback to Weathertop and the Barrowdowns.

This also makes it more significant, like it was in the books, that The Witch King is the one leading this army. He's destroyed a kingdom of men once before, he'll fucken do it again.

It makes Aragorn's defeat of him on Weathertop WAY more impactful! One of the Dunedain driving off The Witch King at the site of one of Arnor's greatest losses to The Witch King is a symbolic cue that though these are dark times, these are changing times.

And, of course, it sets up Merry's sword. Merry doesn't just have some random sword in the books. He takes a sword from the Barrow Downs, a sword of the Dunedain, and carries it through the ENTIRE STORY and that's what he stabs The Witch King with on Pelenor Fields. The books even have a paragraph briefly eulogising the sword and talking about the pride of the swordsmith who would never know that they made the weapon who undid their greatest enemy, wielded by a hobbit.

Like... Yeah, as a filmmaker and writer myself I FULLY understand that pacing is a vital thing to keep hold of. And The Fellowship of The Ring is perfectly paced. And deciding what to keep and what to cut is just... a nightmare that Peter Jackson and his team did better than anyone had any right to do.

But I think The Barrow Downs should honestly be talked about similarly to how we talk about The Scouring of The Shire. Its effects and thematic overtones are incredibly far reaching and important to the story and it's definitely one of those "it's a real shame it got cut" moments but I DO understand why they cut it.

[starlitvick]

The In-Universe Implications of What Odysseus Says in My Goodbye

Okay so during My Goodbye Odysseus says a lot but one thing that as of recent has started sticking out to me is him saying "at least I know what I'm fighting for while you're fighting to be known" and when you actually think more about that line it doesn't really make sense that Odysseus would say this to Athena because back in Ancient Greece Athena was one of the most well known and well respected goddesses, I mean she had a whole city named after her and any warrior/soldier with half a brain would pray to her for strength and wisdom in battle (ofc they'd also pray to Ares for strength but this post isn't about him). So it wasn't like Athena was disrespected (no gods really ever were because that's like a huge no no) or not largely recognized by people which honestly leaves a pretty big question: WHY did Odysseus say that? It wasn't him just saying stuff to say stuff because that combined with him saying how Athena was alone actually upset her. This is where God Games comes in, yeah, God Games.

In the original Odyssey for anyone who doesn't know, nothing anything like God Games happened. That was all Jorge adding new points to the story (and I absolutely love it) but for the sake of digging into this I'll be going a little into the original source material. In Greek Mythology in general Athena was said to have been Zeus' favorite or at the least one of his most favored children, so in The Odyssey when Athena asks him to free Odysseus he actually just kind does it with very little hassle, he kinda mentions how "hey yk kiddo Poseidon's still pretty pissed at the guy but I'll still let him go". No multi-step debate, no getting beaten by lightning. In EPIC however, Athena goes to Zeus and he decides to make a game out of freeing Odysseus and when Athena wins that game Zeus feels like she's shaming him and he strikes her with lightning. Which is actually crazy work tbh, but anyways, the entire existence of God Games and Zeus making the game up to begin with at surface level just seems like Zeus wanting to mess with Athena but if you think about it along with Odysseus saying Athena is "fighting to be known" it can kinda be read more as Zeus not really taking her seriously and not thinking she can do it. I mean he had at least three people he was probably pretty solid wouldn't agree with her: Aphrodite (her and Athena don't get along), Ares (Ares and Athena are often at odds in many interpretations of the gods due to them being on opposites of the aspect of warfare), and Hera (who is famous for being the biggest hater of like 90% of Zeus bastard children). Hephaestus and Apollo agreeing or disagreeing was probably a toss up, but in the end all five gods agreed to have Odysseus released and Zeus was left for some reason: angry. Now ik a lot of people think its just because of the jab about the whole faithfulness thing and I mean it could be, but that would only answer the "to make me feel shame" part. not the whole "you dare to defy me" and "nobody beats me, nobody wins my game". Overall it sounds more like Zeus didn't want Athena to win, but why? Because despite her importance: he doesn't take her seriously, and possibly neither does... well, anyone.

Go back to Warrior of The Mind and Athena talks about how her life has one mission: to create the greatest warrior. Why though? Why is this her life's ONE mission? Because she wants to be recognized by her fellow gods maybe?

Because remember during WOTM she also says "Maybe one day they'll follow me and we'll make a greater tomorrow" which if I'm on the right brain track here could possibly mean "maybe one day they'll take me seriously/respect me" like maybe if she makes the greatest warrior other gods will actually recognize her for who she is. Because Athena also switches to saying "we'll" and "cause WE are the warriors of the mind"

Basically to summarize: Possibly, in EPIC, Athena isn't as well respected as she is in mythology (because remember Jorge takes creative liberties when he wants to) and her whole thing her entire life has been trying to gain that respect and have people take her seriously, because even despite her being the goddess of wisdom and a crucial deity to have on your side during warfare, outside of that nobody really cares. She's only respected when she's needed but like anyone would she hates that and wants to be known and respected all the time, not only during wars when soldiers want her good will and at some point in time Athena may have actually opened up to Odysseus about this or talked about it and THATS why she got upset at the end of My Goodbye, because not only did Odysseus legit just call her lonely after calling her selfish, prideful, vain, and a plague; He used something she'd told him in most likely confidence and maybe even in a moment of weakness against her.

I don't know if this rant makes much sense but yeah, have me spitting words onto Tumblr about the fact that Odysseus saying that Athena is "fighting to be known" has some interesting in-universe implications.

[youhideastar]

WujiWatch: CQL Rewatch Episode 25

Something that I’d suspected on previous rewatches really became inescapable on this one: when Wei Wuxian leaves Baifeng Mountain, even before he meets Wen Qing, he has already made the decision to leave Yunmeng Jiang Sect.

He’s been staying for three reasons—for his brother, for his sister, and for the sect—and in this episode, each leg of the tripod is knocked out. “Staying for Jiang Cheng” was already tenuous from the previous episode: Wei Wuxian knows that he’s a constant disappointment to Jiang Cheng and doing a shit job as Jiang Cheng’s second-in-command. But Wei Wuxian goes into this episode believing that, by virtue of his power/skill, he’s still a huge asset to the sect, and that, as a brother, he has to stay for Jiang Yanli. By the end of the episode, he will come to believe the opposite: that both the sect and his sister are better off without him.

When it comes to Yunmeng Jiang Sect, Wei Wuxian learns in this episode (from Jin Zixuan) that people are saying the Yin Tiger Seal somehow harmed the cultivators who were there when he used it at Nightless City and so Wei Wuxian (and thus Yunmeng Jiang) owe them compensation. Wei Wuxian’s greatest strength is thus instantly transformed into a liability for his sect. The same thing happens, symbolically, at the crowd hunt, where Wei Wuxian uses his incredible power to draw 30% of the prey into Yunmeng Jiang’s nets—and instead of being impressed by Yunmeng Jiang’s strength, people say it’s cheating and reflects poorly on the sect, ultimately forcing Jiang Yanli to apologize on Wei Wuxian’s behalf, which Wei Wuxian clearly finds almost unendurable.

Speaking of which, when it comes to Jiang Yanli, as a fandom we tend to focus on her absolute ethering of Jin Zixun and how badass it is—which is fair! But that’s clearly not Wei Wuxian’s takeaway from that interaction. He looks extremely upset the whole time she’s defending him—I think in part because he hates the idea that she has to defend him. As far as he’s concerned, it’s his job to defend her, and this confrontation means he’s failed.

Then, when the dust has mostly settled on the Jin Zixun thing, two last straws: first, Jin Zixuan confesses his feelings for Jiang Yanli, meaning that she is now pretty much certain to marry him; and second, Jin-furen tells Jiang Yanli that she shouldn’t be alone with Wei Wuxian anymore because it will spark rumors that the two of them are sexually involved. The first honestly might have been enough on its own to make Wei Wuxian believe that he’s just dragging Jiang Yanli down – he tried over and over to protect her from Jin Zixuan, and now it’s clear all that effort was futile at best, and actively detrimental to her hopes at worst. (He could have figured this out a while ago, obviously! Jiang Cheng did! But here we are.)

But that second piece is really the nail in the coffin. Wei Wuxian may not like Jin-furen, but he has to recognize that she genuinely cares for Jiang Yanli and has her best interests at heart. When she says to Jiang Yanli, “Stay away from Wei Wuxian or your reputation will be ruined”—especially in a feudal setting where a woman’s reputation for sexual purity is everything—he has to take that seriously. And he does. Not instantly; he still grabs Jiang Yanli’s wrist and tries to pull her away again. But when she resists, he stops in his tracks. And that’s when it’s over.

That’s when he bows to Jin-furen and says, “Then I have to ask you to take care of Jiang Yanli for me”—confiding his sister to her care going forward. That’s when he tells Jiang Cheng, with a strange gentleness, “I might not be able to be there with you”—supposedly about the Flower Banquet, but it’s clear he’s not talking about just that. That’s when he gives Lan Wangji a “Farewell, Lan Zhan” that sounds way too final for someone who’s just heading out to walk around town. I don’t think Wei Wuxian necessarily has a plan for what he’s going to do next, as he walks off of Baifeng Mountain and through the Lanling streets. But I think he’s already made up his mind that he won’t be going back to Lotus Pier.

[middlenamesage]

What each sign teaches us plus some hard truths each might need to ask!

KEEP IN MIND we all have all the signs in our birth chart; whether those houses are “empty” or not, they still have influence. We also all experience transits through all the signs, and we even have progressed charts that account for the archetypes we get more into learning later on. So take WHATEVER resonates for you with any of this!

♈️🐏 Aries teaches us action and that action comes from us with the least resistance when we know and trust who we are as an individual.

Hard truth: Aries, have you been seeing yourself or living your life as though you’re a one-man island? You might think you’re stronger than others for your hyper-independence, but at times the greatest strength for YOU is recognizing and embracing what others have contributed to your life and to who you are. It could also behoove you to think of others or to think more carefully through potential outcomes before you act sometimes.

♉️🐂 Taurus teaches us personal peace by aligning our focus on what we need for material and psychological stability.

Hard truth: Taurus, have your values, personal preferences, or your attachment to possessions become overly rigid? While honoring our values and preferences and ensuring we have the necessary items for material security and comfort are an important part of the process in finding peace, total inflexibility about these things can end up sending you in the opposite direction of peace.

♊️🌬️ Gemini teaches us to gather objective information from the world around us, and how to communicate information.

Hard truth: Gemini, have you been looking down so many avenues of knowledge, that you haven’t allowed yourself the time and sustained focus to sort out your own philosophies, or go more into depth or meaning, around the subjects you’re learning? At times you should also strive to keep better track of what you’re communicating to people, and to focus on understanding the meaning you project with your words, not just the information provided by them.

♋️��� Cancer teaches us how to emotionally support ourselves and others (self nurturance is key for support of others to be most functionally helpful)

Hard truth: Cancer, have you become so focused on protecting yourself or others, that you’ve started to see danger where it doesn’t even exist? Careful, paranoia is not a good look for anyone, but especially not you. There’s a reason you have instincts to build walls around you, not unlike a crab retreating into its shell. 🦀 But if this becomes a default action and not just used when it’s actually needed to protect your space or safety, the function of your energy to support and nurture can not be as well realized.

♌️🦁 Leo teaches us confidence in authentic expression of self. Where the first fire sign teaches us confidence in establishing self, the next one teaches us how to implement authentic expression of oneself.

Hard truth: Leo, have you been going out of your way to seek input from others that your self expression is valid? Well cut that out if so, because that would defeat the entire purpose of practicing YOUR expression. YOU decide if it’s valid. I could also advise something like “be less self centered!”… but honestly that’ll just start to happen naturally once you’re actually authentically relying on your own validation only. 🦁

♍️🌾 Virgo teaches us how to take care of things in the practical realm. We wouldn’t have a functioning world around us in this physical plane if it weren’t for Virgoan energy assessing all the details of structures, systems, and routines… makes sense I’ve read from at least one source that Virgo is the most common Sun sign!

Hard truth: Virgo, have you gotten so up in your head, Mercury style, about the details of your routines or the tasks you need to do, that it’s become challenging to actually successfully or efficiently attend to them? When Virgo energy gets dysfunctional like this it could really take a cue from Mars/Aries. “Just do it!” Also, whenever you start to find yourself being especially critical of yourself or others, you could stand to remind yourself of the big picture dynamics, concepts, or goals you have in mind.

♎️⚖️ Libra teaches us interpersonal peace by putting the focus on compromise and balance.

Hard truth: Libra, if you’ve been going out of your way to appease others, you might need to ask yourself if this is because you truly care about what’s best for them, or if it’s a behavior more connected to lack of rootedness in YOURSELF that makes you averse to conflict? It’s important for you to try to get to know and exercise your authentic individuality. The South Node currently in Libra with the North Node in Aries can help anyone who wants to make progress here.

♏️🦂 Scorpio teaches us how to face our shadows and ultimately how to integrate them so that we may transform.

Hard truth: Scorpio, have you been so obsessed on analyzing your past for answers to why you are as you are, that you’ve forgotten to just focus on finding some personal peace in the moment? You could take a cue from your opposite/sister sign Taurus if you find yourself in this position. 🖤 Also, when it comes to your trust issues, two big things will ultimately help: 1.) Build your SELF trust through giving yourself the opportunities to make and carry out your own decisions (Scorpio is Mars too and needs to act!) and 2.) Use/cultivate your deep instincts about people to ensure it’s supportive people you have most around you, while doing whatever you can to keep the toxic ones out.

♐️🏹 Sagittarius teaches us how to form our beliefs and find meaning however it encourages you to expand.

Hard truth: Sagittarius, have you fallen into the trap of thinking the philosophies that give YOUR life meaning are the same beliefs that others need to adopt? WHOA back up there buckaroo! It’d behoove you to remember that Sagittarius is a fire sign, so it deals with some personal aspects of our individuality. Not everyone will find inspiration to expand from the same designations of meaning as you, and you need to learn to not try to push your worldviews on anyone who isn’t receptive.

♑️🐐 Capricorn teaches us how to build structure and commit to a long term goal/vision/plan.

Hard truth: Capricorn, have you become so blinded by your personal standards for quality or by what it is you’re trying to build to be a certain way, that anyone or anything that does not fit neatly into your structure appears as a threat or a reason to give up hope to you? At times you could stand to gain a little more flexibility and optimism. Setbacks do not mean the end, and if you could fast forward over your life you would see this, so if you’re having trouble seeing it now, try to see if you can regain a bit of the hopeful outlook from the sign that came just before you. I promise the capacity is within you. 😉

♒️🏺 Aquarius teaches us the ins and outs of society so that we may reflect on what we as an individual can bring to it or help liberate it.

Hard truth: Aquarius, have you been viewing yourself so much as an outsider, that it’s tempting to see yourself as separate from the rest of society? Well I have a hard truth for you: You’re not separate from it and not above it; no one is. And it’s especially dysfunctional for YOU to see yourself as a distinct and separate entity not influenced by society, or as too different from everyone else to be able to relate to them- society needs your insightful contribution!

♓️🐟 Pisces teaches us empathy and fosters our imagination through the understanding that everything is connected.

Hard truth: Pisces, have you been seeing yourself as the victim? You really need to hear that if you would just cut that out and start seeing yourself instead as an empowered dreamer with strong intuition you can continually cultivate, your ability to manifest* would be arguably the most insane of all the signs. (*Not that I support the idea that everything can be attained through manifestation alone.) Take it from a Pisces rising who learned the hard way and is feeling inspired to expand on this one: victimhood is The most detrimental trap for Pisces. Not only because it keeps your reality feeling like that of a victim, but also because Pisces energy is nearly functionally useless if it’s too self absorbed to ever see or act according to the Piscean message of interconnectedness. Learning the right amount to give compassionately of yourself, with the appropriate boundaries, is a crucial part of the Piscean journey!

Thanks for reading, and happy astrological evolution! 🌻

[topaz-mutiny]

I think the fans are underestimating how differently people can process things.

I am consistently seeing posts say "Ashton/Tal were repeatedly warned the shard was not for them/will 100% kill them", when this was absolutely not the case, and, more importantly, it is very likely for groups of people to completely misinterpret the warnings. Even if they've known each other and loved each other for a decade.

I certainly thought the warnings were not clear or frequent enough so I was shocked like lightning in the latest episode that they were meant to be absolute death flags.

Please note that I'll mostly refer to the fictional characters, I don't want to bring the people behind the characters too much into this.

First, I would like to point out, the show takes place over weeks and months with plenty of breaks and interruptions. That is plenty of time and opportunity for memories to get faded, muddled, crossed-over with other memories, etc.

The "warnings" happened two weeks to a month ago. And even when they were fresh on the cast's mind, here are the warnings verbatim (bold is my emphasis):

But be warned, holding the strength of the two in one vessel might sunder it. You bear the dormant strength of the empress. Find and bestow the might of the emperor.

- Evontra'vir, episode 74, aired October 5th. The conversations move on to unrelated things with no followup.

Ashton: He also said it might be dangerous for these two shards to intermingle. Or he didn't say dangerous, he said that-- it could destroy me. Orym: --A chance the vessel could break. Laudna: --The vessel <air quotes> could break. Fearne: Wasn't there something if you put them together with the right thing that it'll be okay? Ashton: It might come together and be okay, yeah. -- Dancer: Maybe if it were to meet one of its own ilk, it could awaken. Allura: What you said as a point of warning likely is true. To have both within a singular vessel, it's possible one could survive, but it's also highly possible that it would rend you into a thousand pieces. -- Allura: We're in a strange area of experimentation and unknown knowledge. -- (after finding out Ashton has a fascimile of a Luxon beacon in their brain) FCG: So he's got two things in him or them? Allura: It would seem, which is why I'm a bit--Well, you're either the greatest weapon we could hope for in this time, or will be our end. I couldn't tell you. Orym: Boy, maybe we don't add a third thing. Ashton: I was put together by bits and pieces. This was not an intentional thing and it, I honestly shouldn't have survived it. It was, literally, I was put together with junk. Allura: In an odd way, your fragmented nature might be what keeps all of this in check. ... Perhaps we don't put another powerful entity within your form.

- Various, episode 76, aired October 19th.

To me, these warnings were not clear in the slightest.

To me, these warnings were interspersed with so many words like "possible", "might", and "chance" that I completely misinterpreted the situation as "For Ashton it is dangerous but doable" instead of "The Game Master is telling you Ashton's character sheet will be ripped up."

This is the problem with using in-character voices and using descriptors that imply chance or flexibility. They can drastically weaken the meaning of a phrase such that people like me will mistake it for something else.

Because that's how my brain works. "May", "chance", "perhaps" suggest to me a reasonable set of odds for an action and does not come across as the grave warning a game master would want.

And as a reminder, these muddled warnings were weeks apart and weeks away, which can make remembering the meaning even worse if you've already misinterpreted them. That's why I was 100% on board with Ashton taking the shard. It seemed reasonable but dangerous, so when Matt said "I warned you." in that grave tone and with that grave look I was thrown for a loop. I went "oh no! those were serious warnings!?" and the panic started setting in.

Also a contributing factor was the pressure and lack of communication from Bells Hells.

Fearne did not want the shard, and finally stated that thought aloud to Ashton. For Fearne and Ashton, that meant the only choice left was Ashton, because, for one reason or another, the 5 other people in Bells Hells repeatedly assumed and pushed the shard onto Fearne and wrote themselves out of the equasion. FIVE characters absolved themselves of being active participants. Once the idea of Fearne came to mind and this Emperor Fearne/Empress Ashton/Callowmoore shipping dicotomy, Bells Hells just stopped talking about it and never once considered if any of them should take the shard should Fearne refuse.

So... yeah that's how my brain works.

[leesmustardgarden]

Gardener/Botanist Reader Headcanons

P x (gn) reader

A/N: Completely self indulgent. I love plants, flowers, mushrooms— any sort of flora mystical or otherwise. I think, considering how much was delegated to the puppets the need for gardeners would be less and less. That aside, people are stubborn when it comes to art and caring for such plants is, in my opinion, nothing short of art.

Warnings: Game spoilers just all around, P and Gemini are a little stupid in this one (I am very fond of them), Lots of bouncing around concepts, tell me if I need to add more

The art of gardening was dying amongst the people of Krat, despite its rich ecosystem and peculiar plants, as it had been delegated instead to the Puppets of the city

When the puppet frenzy set in, almost all of the knowledge gained from Krat’s flora died with its people and with its puppets

Except you had survived, taken in by Antonia in the hotel, and offered her your services as thanks for the safety and security the Hotel provided

You were close with Antonia, saw her almost as a peculiar aunt. In turn she was fond of you and loved to share any of Krat’s secrets during the few times she could muster the strength to visit the gardens or you took a break and stepped inside.

When P first came by and stopped at the inner gardens, you gave him a once over before bluntly telling him not to mess about the bushes. You weren’t otherwise perturbed by his presence.

One of the few things Antonia seemed to hesitate speaking about was Gepetto, and so you had your reservations about a puppet made by him. He seemed… nice, though. Polite. Definitely very sweet.

He had come to check out the puppet dummies Eugenié was talking about, and was intrigued by you.

You kept him coming back to the garden, but most times he’d make an excuse about wanting to try out a new weapon of sorts. Not that he needed to make one— as long as he didn’t out right hurt the plants you didn’t mind.

Honestly avoids touching the plants incase some complication arises and they die or something. Doesn’t want to disappoint you, the silly guy.

Every subsequent visit comes with his awkward (albeit endearing) attempt to get to know you, and what starts off as a tentative friendship blooms into mutual pining.

P is a quiet visitor when he’s in the gardens, content to ask a question and hear you ramble on for however long you want to.

That doesn’t mean he won’t indulge your questions.

He’ll spend just as long recounting his adventures in Krat if you ask for it, sheepish and sweet as he censors the more… unsavoury moments of his journey.

In game, your character gives a bit of exposition to the flora of Krat. You tell him the certain conditions some plants thrive in, talk about the weather conditions in relation to that, etc. but you also talk about the meanings of each one. It’s from you he learns to communicate through flora.

More than that though, when you mention something specific of certain flora, it becomes a little sidequest for him. He’ll take back a little piece of it to show you and you start trading him items every time he does.

Not wanting it to be a one-sided thing, you give him pressed flower charms, amulets, floral accessories, and even some shiny things you’d picked up like quartz.

The greatest reward is maybe like a little gardener costume. To match with you, you know.

And listen, whatever you give P, he treasures. If you gave him a spare gardening uniform he’d wear that the whole way throughout Krat he’m so silly.

There’s a lot of clumsy and endearing gestures from his end.

One time he accidentally misunderstands you and makes a bouquet asking for your hand in marriage and you about have a heart attack.

You explain both the message and meaning of the bouquet to him, and while he isn’t fussed or embarrassed at his mistake he makes note of it

As he progressively becomes more human, his expressions more lively and his voice more open, your relationship develops further.

His own interest in flora flourishes. He starts trying to record the plants he comes across somehow— either by learning how to draw or asking Venigni to make some sort of camera.

He often thinks of you when he finds a peculiar plant, wondering if it would be ok to take it to you. If he had the means to just take record of it instead he’d show that to you

Doesn’t mean he doesn’t get you flowers still though. He’ll pick out flowers while weighing in his mind if it’d disrupt the ecosystem too much, and once he has them he does his best to arrange them in a pretty manner.

Gemini actually helps him here, giving him ideas for things like the wrapping, telling him to do things like use newspapers or something of the like to bundle them up

At some point the two idiots genuinely consider breaking into an arts and crafts shop because Gemini thinks it might be a good idea, and P just doesn’t know enough to argue that it isn’t

“I mean, the shop is closed down right? Nobody would mind if we just stole a ribbon… or two! Nobody’s using them anyways!” — Gemini

When he regains Carlo’s memories, he feels a little embarrassed about that and refuses to ever mention it again. Gemini makes fun of both of them somehow without being ashamed

When even Gemini fails at figuring out how to decorate flowers, P goes to the other Hotel inhabitants

Sophia’s got such a lovely eye for them, and knows how to arrange a bouquet beautifully and loves to help, and Antonia finds the whole thing adorable and loves to tease P lightly but offers genuinely good advice

Polendina is the perfect butler of course, so he knows his bouquets and is happy to help with them, and while he’s seen metal more than he’s seen flowers at the factory, Pulcinella is just as good

God forbid he asks Eugenié or Venigni though. They might be great at what they do but they’ll put together the most foul colour arrangements known to man.

Eugenié finds out about one (1) poisonous plant and decides it’s a great idea to make a whole bouquet of them. Venigni just picks out the flowers he likes the most, or the ones that match with his outfit, without… really knowing how to match it to his outfit.

I don’t even want to bring up Geppetto. Man would probably sit P down and spend hours agonizing over the arrangement of the petals and pollen like the little control freak he is.

But it gives P a nice break from Krat’s troubles, and your joy at the bouquet makes it worth it every single time

By the end of it, the flowers spill into the hotel, spotting the place with life and colour that makes it feel like maybe the world isn’t as dead and gone as it might be

[inconspicious-random-thoughts]

How do you see the Vees ultimate downfall playing out?

Greetings my pal!

You come up with some great questions. I honestly never thought or consider the Vees having a downfall or anything they have plan next. Which I suppose is inevitable considering the sending off on season one is setting the stage for the Vees playing a large antagonist role for season two and we know they are not going to be the winners.

I guess it really depends on what their goal is. Vox goals is rather transparent as Vox only really comes alive if Alastor involve. So his personal goals would involve around Alastor. He will definitely try make himself feel more superior by trying to expose the footage of Alastor losing and weaken. If not that, and more likely this, force Alastor into a deal to keep it from going public in exchange for Alastor servitude or something similar. That latter may segue for the audience to see who truly holds the chains to Alastor collar as Alastor force to reveal he doesn't have procession of his own soul aymore to barter with which Vox would absolute lose his shit about.

I am sort of hoping yet unlikely, that Vox has even larger goals like controlling all of Hell. So he tries to make a deal that Alastor has to find a way to get rid of the royal family, Charlie, Lucifer. Just so there's more drama and Alastor angst. Because it just another agenda he has to work with while trying to hide his other agendas and contractors from knowing all the while fighting his own conflicting and struggling of emotions that he does, in fact, care about the Morningstar family. That he has multiple hidden agendas-one that brings him closer to his much desired freedom- that makes him actively work against (probably feeling remorse for the first time in doing so) the family while simultaneous appearing he working along them. It be delicious to watch him juggle (and hide and juggle well) while trying not to have a mental breakdown and more then likely trying to hide his injury and weaken state.

But the overall goal of the Vees? They seem to be more power and control hungry. Which seem flat and inspiring storyline but its what drives that group the most. I don't think they are out to control all of Hell or the pride ring. I think that's too overzealous even for them. That's just too much of an overreach and how are they going to maintain that strength to keep it?

So assuming that's their goal, trying to control most of the city... you have to look how they achieve what they already accomplished to guess how they going to go about it.

The overlords do seem to have actually have physical territory claim in different sections of the city. You can sort of guess who and where in the scene when Vox powered out the city.

Not only do the overlords have physical territory they have other claims and ways to extend their reach by providing some type of service.

Rosie I assume has claim on selling and serving particular dietary interest in her town. I imagine, its very scarce outside her town limits. So Rosie has claim on that service. Rosie demeanour probably helps as well that helps her take in souls

Carmilla service is more limited and only available to those tho afford it. But her service in weaponry helps extend her control past her boundaries.

Alastor has his broadcast. He doesn't really do it as a service but it reaches everyone. He not really providing anyone anything with it but just more amusement for himself and putting his name out there and a fear tactic. I do think he does have a station that plays jazz nearly 24/7, but overall, he only uses his broadcast to override all the stations momentary to announce something, feel like being a annoying little shit and disrupt all the other stations on his whims or to terrorize by the airwaves.

Zestail, Zeezi and unnamed overlord is a mystery to me.

But then you have the Vees who have the greatest reach of everyone in the city that's not directly tied to them by territory or contracts. They basically monopoly everything. Nearly everything in the pride ring that sells its from them. Clothing, entertainment, or any electrical thing, sex products, perfumes, tonics...etc. There's probably not one sinner or demon who doesn't own one thing that came from them. Thats there real power. They influence everyone, even people not under their control. That's what they will weaponize. That and their consumers trust with their motto "Trust us with...."

Whatever they are planing its probably something going be done by with an app on the hellphones. I have yet seen any fic call their cellphones Hellphones...I can't be the only one who thought this. Like....why am I not hearing this term coined in this universe??? It seem obvious? but anyways, their attempt at total control may be perfecting Vox hypnotism through an app and whatever (Probably Alastor radio waves) disrupts it, the Vees will lose their consumer trust in their products. Their consumer base and their influence is really the bulk of their power. If something interrupts that, that will bring them down several large notches.

So ultimately, their downfall will be themselves. They will overreach, grasp too much and won't be able to hold it. Its happens to most great empires in the history. They still be alive and around but much less of the powerhouse then they once were.

But I'm hoping there really isn't a downfall at all. That midway through the season, in which the Vees are being little shit terrors and things seemingly seem to work out for them then a bomb drop. Either it be Heaven/Lute realtation for Adam or Roo finally making themselves known, etc... The game change. That the Vee's will reluctantly team up with Alastor and the hotel and fights alongside of each other to survive. (and the other overlords! I want to see what they truly bring into a fight! I mean....we want to see Rosie being badass power fight!) It's a fight for Hell survival and all of the pride ring will take a stand to fight.

How fun would it see every overlord go full out. Throw out any reservations they had with each other and protect each other. Just watching Vox and Alastor be comrades, even if its temporary, would be satisfying. The look of pure shock when one saved the other, followed by an extend hand to help stand them back up into battle. They would be backhanded insults to each other on top of their usual petty banter. Alastor probably making a comment of "You do a better job protecting me and keeping me alive for someone who claims they want me dead, old pal." But Alastor said "old pal" more genuinely instead of the mocking term he use to do. Vox replying a little flabbergasted "Only, I get to kill you, not these fuckers!"

So I really, hope there is no "downfall". I hope the game change midway and everyone force to be on the same side and leaving feeling more respect for the other while they rebuild what's left.

Love to hear any answers or anything you have to your questions. :) Or anyone opinions really. I'm up for casual discussions

[mooifyourecows]

What do you think are Daichi and Sugawara’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

No weaknesses, they're perfect in every way 🥹💓

Honestly I love that they have so much in common but in different ways, you know? Like they both show insecurity in Haikyuu, but express it and tackle it differently. Suga is insecure about Kageyama being better than him and forcing him out of his role that he was ALREADY feeling insecure about because of the match against Datekou where Asahi was repeatedly blocked out. He tries to run away from it, going meek and skittish while putting on a smile. Whereas Daichi's insecurity is very much an internal struggle about failure that gives him silly nightmares and nerves. But he faces it by powering through and shaking it off. He overcomes it by just... doing it. Trying harder. Maintaining his conviction that he's doing what he WANTS to do.

BUT the constant is how they support each other. When Suga's insecurity is showing itself, Daichi tells him he better stop or else he's gonna think about smackin' him. When Daichi's insecurity shows itself, Suga doesn't even warn him and gives him the quick one-two, right in the gut. It's very "you better stop or ELSE" in the most loving way possible, with Daichi unable to bring himself to hit Suga but Suga having zero problems with hitting Daichi. With Suga being the only one ALLOWED to hit Daichi.

I love that dynamic. Daichi wanting to treat Suga gently, while Suga shows his love with aggression. Daichi can be a total scary hardass with everyone else but he holds himself back with Suga. That's romantic. That's beautiful. That's classy. And Suga is a gremlin who punches him like he's his own personal punching bag. That's ROMANTIC.

I love how they're depicted as a pair. Even though they are a trio with Asahi or a quartet with Kiyoko, Daichi and Suga have a special relationship, teaming up to gang up on Asahi in almost perfect synchronization. They're so much alike, two peas in a pod. An unstoppable force of teasing affection.

Suga starts off as this gentle senpai figure who blossoms into a chaotic monster as he grows more comfortable with himself and his place. Daichi is steady, stable. From day one to the end of the series, Daichi is Daichi and he doesn't change much. He doesn't need to change much. His changes are subtle, confidence growing more secure with their success as a team.

I really dig the dynamic of a steady, strong tree and the beautiful flowering vines growing up its trunk and around its branches and that's DaiSuga to me.

[followthebluebell]

Hello! At the end of the month, my mom is going to adopt a kitten. She's very, very allergic, so she thought she could never have a cat, but we found out she tolerates extremely well Norwegian Forest Cats, and we're buying her a kitten. I've never bought a pet as I am strictly pro-adoption, but in her case that was just not possible. Due to the high cost, she can only afford one kitten, but there's several family members, and I live next door to her with my own cat. Are there any ways we could avoid or minimize singleton syndrome in raising this kitten? Also, is there something I should know about Norwegian Forest Cats, to your knowledge? Thanks and have a great day!

Congrats to your family!

The kitten should be, at minimum, eight weeks old by the time it goes home. If your breeder is homing kittens before they are eight weeks old, immediately drop them; they are not a good breeder. Honestly, I think kittens shouldn't be homed before they are 12 weeks for a more full social development. Most kittens will have at least partial social skills by eight weeks. Breeder kittens in particular tend to be highly socialized compared to shelter kittens.

I think the most important thing to do is to avoid letting a kitten play with your hands. It's adorable when a 2 pound kitten thinks it's mauling your hand to death because it's using all of its strength to do so. It's a lot less cute when it's a 14+ pound cat who hasn't really figured out that it has a LOT more strength now but still uses all of its strength. Remember that the kitten you raise will be the cat you get, so setting down firm boundaries around what is acceptable during play and what isn't is very important.

Your greatest tool in training a kitten not to play with hands is your attention. That's REALLY what they want. So, once a kitten is being too rough, you immediately disengage from play, turn around, and ignore the kitten. If they continue to try to play, you leave the room. Kittens don't have much of an attention span, so there's no point in making the consequence too long--- five minutes is plenty of time. And then you come back, and just resume playing, ideally with a different toy besides hands. Reward the kitten heavily for engaging with the toy with lots of baby talk and playtime.

[honest-moth-of-silver-grove]

Hey, I'd love a matchup for Castlevania, if you're up for it (was not the person who wrote you those ask anons btw, although I appreciate them clearing things up).

I’m a heterosexual cis woman, although I’m starting to suspect I’m on the asexual spectrum. So, I'd prefer a male matchup. Also not super sure I'd be down with polygamy.

I'm a premed student (no time for irl dating unfortunately 😭). I also work as a volunteer EMS on weekends. Outside of my school and work my hobbies are singing (musical theatre and classical mostly), theatre (backstage work as well as performing), skiing (the only sport I’m any good at) and TTRPGs (was this close to getting my group to play a Castlevania campaign 😔).

I’m also a big nerd about history, American comics, and folklore. I’ll rant for hours about my special interests if nobody stops me. I’d describe myself as ambiverted. I'm socially awkward, but also very loud and expressive. I’m a bit oblivious, I’ll admit lol, but I do my best. My MBTI is ESTJ, and while I doubt MBTI's accuracy, I agree I’m very Type A. When it comes to the things I’m good at, I’m a major perfectionist, but I’m proud of how hard I work. I think my greatest weakness is probably thoughtlessness, but my greatest strength is humility.  My giving love language is acts of service, and my receiving love language is quality time. I'm verbally affectionate towards friends but I freeze like a deer in headlights if somebody flirts with me. Also: I know appearance isn’t super important, but I think it’s important to know I’m only around 5’0 tall. As my friends say, "headpat size."

A/N: Okay for you my PreMed Student Anon (that’s amazing, congratulations by the way!)I have two potential matches in mind. You said you’re heterosexual and would prefer male results, so I chose two from that gender because I honestly couldn’t decide which would please you best. For you, I’m thinking either Dracula or Alucard would be your perfect romantic matchups! (It really does just come down to which man you’d like better: father or son, lol.) 

Dracula (Vlad Tepes), as terrifying as he may be when he decides to enact justice on the human population, is a very reserved and intellectual man. He’s introverted and devoted much of his life to learning about anything and everything from medicine to history to poetry. 

In this instance let’s pretend he’s either never met Lisa or he did meet and fall in love with Lisa but she either lived a full life and died of natural causes, or Dracula was able to overcome the anger and blame he held for humanity following her murder.

Dracula is a patient man. Being immortal means he understands that you must dedicate much of your time to your studies and your volunteer work. So long as the few moments you do get to spend with him are uninterrupted and meaningful, I believe he’d be understanding, and even supportive of your academic endeavors. He was more than happy to aid Lisa in her quest to learn more about biology, so I have no doubt he’d do similarly for you. Any questions you have, he’d gladly answer them. Any resource he has in his castle, any book or scroll, any record of any kind is yours to inspect. He has no doubts that you’re going to make a very accomplished professional one day, and he has every intention of doing whatever it takes to help you get there.

Along with that patience comes an understanding that sex is not the end all be all in life. Sure, it has its place for either pleasure or reproduction but it doesn't need to dominate relationships. If sex is something you're hesitant about, or against having, it doesn't make much difference to him. Dracula would be fine without sleeping with you, so long as he can have you in other ways. Holding you close, holding your hand, sitting next to you in front of a warm fire- those things are what make him feel close to your heart. 

Dracula also enjoys how animated you get when you go on rants about your special interests. He’s very versed in history and folklore as well, although not American comics, so he would listen intently as you teach him all you know. 

As an ESTJ, you would be very grounding for him (an INTJ), while still having a great deal in common. The both of you value an intellectual connection in a relationship while your more empathetic, extroverted side would help push him to see the truth of humanity where he may previously have only seen things in shades of black and white. You both strive for the best, and that suits you just fine with your perfectionism, but do be warned, there may be times you don’t see eye to eye. What you hold as most important in an issue or debate may be different than what he holds. Remember to be patient. INTJs are prone to stubbornness, but being a Type A personality, I do not doubt that you’ll be able to handle any contrary moods of his just fine. 

Your thoughtlessness can also be a source of discourse within the relationship, as Dracula is bound to worry about you. You’re human, you're fragile and under so much pressure. He cares deeply for you and does not want to see you hurt. The one advantage you do have, however, is your humility. It keeps you from being both arrogant and thoughtless which is a much more dangerous combination. So long as you are aware enough of your limits, and keep your wits about you the best you can, Dracula promises to trust you enough to let you come and go as you need to, so long as you’re willing to admit when you need help. But with your best trait being your humility, that shouldn't be a problem. 

Dracula is so touched by your acts of service. Being such an ancient and scary vampire no one ever thought to make him tea or ask if he needed help with anything. He feels so fortunate to have a partner who does not see him solely as ‘Dracula’, Lord of Vampires, but as Vlad Tepes, a man at heart. 

Not to mention your size difference is too adorable for words. He’s so tall and you’re so tiny… He always kneels whenever you ask for a kiss, he’ll never ask you to step on a stool or climb a ladder to reach him. He’s more than happy to come to you. He loves you. You are his new light, his new reason to believe in humanity. 

Alucard (Adrian Tepes) could also be a good match for you! He’s an ambivert like you, although he may not admit it. He’s the son of a scholar and a doctor, so he’s very understanding when it comes to your education and career. And his empathetic nature makes him extremely compatible with your considerate one. 

As Alucard is a dhampir and immortal, this matchup could work in either medieval times or modern times. For the sake of this matchup, imagine whatever you might prefer. 

Alucard hasn’t always had the best experience when it comes to sex. Granted, you can’t judge every potential future experience based on one horrible one, but he’s not the kind of guy who jumps into bed easily. He has reservations and feels very insecure about the whole act. Should he ever engage in it, he’d need a partner who’s very understanding, or just as nervous as he is about the whole thing. In hindsight, I don’t think Alucard would mind not having all that much sex: for him, your continued company means more than any sexual endeavor could. 

Alucard is very impressed with your decision to go into pre med. He knows how much work that means you’re going to be undertaking, and he’ll do whatever he can to support you, either in your studies or in your personal life. He’s very well-read and rather educated on biology as his mother was a physician, so feel free to ask him any questions or have him quiz you before exams. He’s also a bit of an obsessive lover. When he decides he likes someone, he makes a point to memorize that person. (Recall the Trevor and Sypha dolls?) He wants to know what you think and why you think it. That way, he can anticipate your thoughts or needs. 

And he does quite enjoy it when you sing to him, especially if you sing him to sleep. Sleep hasn't always come easy to him, but with your presence and your lovely voice, it’s as if an angel is singing him a lullaby. I also believe Alucard would absolutely thrive playing TTRPG: he’s sarcastic, smart and strategic. I really think he’d dominate any campaign he set his mind to. Plus, it’d be great socialization for him besides you. 

As an ESTJ you’re fairly compatible with Alucard’s INFJ. You’re just extroverted enough to pull him out of his idealistic daydreams, but grounded and predictable enough not to shake his confidence or trust in you/your relationship. The only possible issue is that INFJs can sometimes get caught up in the fantastical destiny of it all: it’s about people and purpose. Whereas ESTJs tend to be a bit more practical- you value reality and stability a bit more than potential and daydreams. But I don’t envision this to be a huge problem, so long as you push communication with Alucard. He internalizes a lot. He’ll need to be reminded to share his inner feelings. So long as you do that, I don’t see any major discourse between you two. 

Alucard may be a little disappointed in your moments of thoughtlessness, but at the same time, he finds them endearing. You try so hard: you’re a perfectionist like he is, and even though you’re only human, you strive for the same greatness. It’s rather admirable. He likes that about you. 

Alucard would also be very touched by your acts of service, mainly because he often finds himself doing the service for others. It’s nice to be taken care of for a change. And he is very happy to spend quality time with you. He’d follow you everywhere if you let him. So long as he’s near you, he feels complete. He’s always leaning down to give you soft forehead kisses whenever you’re around. You’re so precious to him. 

[reverieblondie]

Writer Interview Game!

I was tagged by @savriea , sorry it took me so long to do this! I've been in a writing hole!

I will be tagging @dark-and-kawaii @vera-king-hrfl @lazyjellyfish300 @the-song-of-avernus and @dutifullylazybread. (sorry if you have already been tagged!)

When did you start writing?

I started writing for about one year now! Yay! My first fic I ever posted will have its anniversary September the 17th!

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I haven't done any angst yet but I will read it! Maybe one day I will write it but I love a happy ending.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

Honestly no clue! if anyone has ideas I am all ears!

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I write on my laptop and sometimes my Ipad, but I write in me and my boyfriends guest bedroom that has kind of turned into my office in a way.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

Daydreaming when I am meant to be working and listening to music! sometimes movies will inspire me but those are tricky because I don't want to copy anything too closely.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

I am unsure? If anyone has noticed anything let me know!

What is your reason for writing?

To get my daydreams out for others to enjoy and to do something creative to make me escape from the everyday. also to be horny about my fictional boyfriends.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I love all comments! I really look forward to getting them and reading them! they help keep my creative flame going! what can I say I have a people pleasing praise kink.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Hopefully they think I am trying my best and think I am nice, though maybe kinda goofy.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Uhhh... I am unsure? I want to say creative but you never know!

How do you feel about your own writing?

I write what I would want to read so I love to go back and reread my work though sometimes that leads to be reediting and changing some things.

[tobiasdrake]

Any love for the beginning of the anime, the Dragon Ball run? I just started and it's pretty charming honestly.

The original Dragon Ball hunt has its ups and downs. The biggest down, of course, being the uncomfortable handling of Bulma at times (as well as Chi-Chi's entire character design).

But setting that aside, it also serves as the foundation for the series to come. Dragon Ball wouldn't be what it is if it hadn't built on top of this goofy little Journey to the West parody that started it all.

When I think of iconic Dragon Ball relationships, Goku and Bulma's friendship is the number 1. Everything Dragon Ball is, has ever been, or will ever be, all started right here with a teenage girl shooting a little boy in the face with a gun.

Goku is unmistakably the main character of Dragon Ball. Characters come in and out of the series based on who is in his orbit at a given time. Even when the series tries to be about Gohan later on, it still winds up being about Goku. The universe revolves around him.

Bulma was the first to enter his orbit, and remains arguably the most important to this day. Characters compete over and over to be the other important Fighty Guy or Guys in a given scene, battle, or storyline. But there has never been another character like Bulma. In the Dragon Ball mythos, she is irreplaceable.

The strength of their lasting relationship is built on the foundations set up in this arc. Bulma is the driving force of the story, with much of its interesting character development coming from the growing dynamic between the self-absorbed and amoral Bulma, and this feral creature of a child she manipulated into accompanying her.

The later context that Bulma's a privileged heiress to a megacorporate fortune explains a lot and only makes things like Goku offering her centipede-flavored roast wolf even funnier.

Seriously, I know I'm harping on about this but I cannot stress enough how much the interplay between these two characters carries this arc.

But it's not just Bulma. This arc also sees the introduction of the Muten-Roshi, or "Old Heavenly Master of Martial Arts" - and the source of Sun Wukong's Somersault Cloud, Kintoun aka the Flying Nimbus in the dub.

Bulma laughs, but Greatest Heretic in the Universe fares little better when it's her turn.

Bulma, you're the best. But you are right this moment manipulating a naive and unassuming child to trick him out of a family heirloom. You have about as much chance of getting on that cloud as Tony Stark has of ever being worthy to lift Mjolnir.

...of course, in about a year's time, she'll have an answer for that. It wouldn't be Bulma if she wasn't using her genius super-intellect and irreverent science to bypass your mystical buddhist gunk. Bulma once managed to fly to God's Temple in Heaven in a plane. Fuck you.

It's hilarious that the character she's based on is a monk.

This arc also sees the introduction of Yamcha and, by association, our first real glimpse of the martial arts battles that the series would become known for.

Yamcha has the distinguished honor of being the first person to ever seriously threaten Goku in a fight.

Granted, it doesn't last long before Goku breaks him so hard he bounces Yamcha's face off of the fourth wall.

Though it's ultimately Bulma who vanquishes Yamcha.

Between the Muten-Roshi and Yamcha, everything that is the Tenkaichi Budokai and the martial arts crew grows out of these early introductions.

The mini-venture to Mt. Frypan sees the introduction of the fearsome barbarian Gyumao or the "Ox Demon King", terror of the realm, famous for looting and pillaging the surrounding territory.

It goes surprisingly well. We also get what may be the biggest and most far-reaching moment for Goku's future from this arc. He doesn't even know it at the time, but Goku takes a critical step at Mount Frypan in defining the course of the rest of his future. After this moment, his life will never be the same again.

He learns the Kamehameha. The biggest staple of his martial arts career, and something he will carry with him for years to come.

Also he gets engaged.

But that's less important. Goku doesn't even know what they're talking about. Some thirty or forty years later, I'm still not sure he truly understands what they agreed to here.

Sorry, Chi-Chi, but Goku is an ace. Despite Toei's best efforts to heteronormalize him in anime filler.

Toriyama had no real long-term plans for Dragon Ball when he was first writing all of this. But he laid the groundwork of so much that was to come. Mind you, not everything that happened on this journey would ultimately carry future weight.

This is just about the only time Oolong is ever relevant to the story. For the rest of the series, he winds up hanging out as an artifact of the first arc, but rarely amounts to much ever again.

Puar doesn't get off much better, but he does get a moment of relevancy at the Uranai Baba tournament so that's something, at least.

Though while his time in the spotilght is slim, Oolong does serve to give us a solid moment of characterization for the vastly more important Bulma.

That is, of course, when Bulma one-ups her previous manipulation of Goku by enslaving a sentient being. Holy shit.

It's easy to overlook this because Oolong's a little terror. He was a ten-year-old kid masquerading as some sort of ancient monster beast in order to kidnap village girls.

A story, I should note, that the dub does no favors to on account of Oolong being voice-acted like a forty-year-old man. One of the weirder consequences to come out of Z getting dubbed before the first anime. He is actually supposed to be younger than Goku.

So there's a punitive angle to Oolong being karmically forced to come with Goku and Bulma. But. Still. Y'know. Bulma.

The final mini-arc introduces us to the closest thing this arc has to a villain: The utterly ridiculous Pilaf-Daio or "Great King Pilaf", ruler of approximately two subjects.

Pilaf doesn't have a lot of staying power, but he does come back from time to time simply because... Well, he's Dragon Ball's most harmless villain. Pilaf is effectively a self-important child with delusions of grandeur. Aspiring to world domination via Shenron and yet surprisingly innocent and naive.

As an aside, I've always found it funny how much Mai sticks out like a sore thumb in their group. Pilaf is a weird little monster elf clown boy. Shu is a dog boy who is also a ninja. And then Mai is an utterly normal woman wearing a trenchcoat.

There's this thing in character design where male characters can be anything under the sun, any sort of eldritch or monstrous or cool or glamorous or wicked design under the sun, but then female characters are often just things like "Woman with hat" and "Woman in skirt" and "Woman in plate armor".

Like you'll have male orcs who are these huge beastly monsters with sharp tusks and grotesque bald heads with horns. And then female orcs who are female humans but green.

The Pilaf gang shine a bit of a spotlight on that dynamic, don't they? XD

But I digress. Point is, the Pilaf Gang are goofy fun. So much so that the anime tried to give the arc more connectivity by adding Mai and Shu to a lot of the preceding mini-ventures too - Although, since they were filler, they weren't able to influence the plot in any meaningful way.

These characters keep coming back because there's something that's just fun about a set of recurring troublemakers. They're the Team Rocket of Dragon Ball.

Of course, this opening arc also has one last piece of groundwork to unknowingly lay for the future: A major hint at what will become Goku's Saiyan heritage.

This is one of the biggest recurring plot points in Dragon Ball. If Goku looks at a full moon, he becomes the Oozaru; A horrifyingly powerful monster that killed his Grandpa Gohan.

Goku doesn't even know that the monster is him; That he, Goku, killed his beloved grampa is a piece of information that dangles over him like a Sword of Damocles as the series progresses.

Though there's also a really interesting implication here buried in the fact that Gohan warned Goku about this in the first place.

Gohan used to warn Goku against ever looking at the full moon. The implication being that one day, Goku messed up and saw it. Then he became the Oozaru, destroyed his home and the surrounding area, and killed Gohan.

But it's interesting that Gohan knew about the full moon and could warn Goku in the first place. The only way he could have known is if it had happened before. The day Goku killed Gohan must not have been the first time he saw the full moon and turned. Gohan had survived at least one Oozaru incident before the one that killed him.

I dunno, that's just interesting to think about.

When Goku does finally turn, this is the most serious the arc's ever been.

FURY OF THE MONKEY KING, THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING

The fight with the Oozaru is short-lived but will have far-reaching ramifications for Goku going forward. This is probably the biggest thing to be set up in the whole arc.

It's a goofy little tale through a silly little world, that unknowingly planted so many seeds and laid groundwork for so much of what Dragon Ball would become. The (failed and yet sort of succeeded) mission to get Bulma a magic dragon-granted boyfriend almost feels like a minor footnote compared to all the storylines that would follow in its wake. But Dragon Ball would never have become what it did without this opening act.

[the-last-thread-of-my-sanity]

I’ve been thinking for a while about the Colossal Titan and the toll it must take on its shifters.

Despite being slow and lumbering- I honestly feel like it’s one of the most difficult titans to master.

Firstly, you have the transformation itself- the large explosion it causes and being able to calibrate that. Bertholdt at just 10 or 11 years old was able to make his Colossal appear at will without an explosion, but was also able to use it to blow up Shiganshina. Armin’s explosion in Liberio was even more massive- even the one he ignites on the Founder created a crater so deep his titan had to climb out of it.

It also seems with the heat expulsion and steam aspect you can also make the Titan disappear at will- including the skeleton- if you are being optimistic that Eren facing off with Bertholdt in the Trost arc wasn’t a bit of a plot hole and was actually a planned ability for this Titan. (It would have been interesting to see Armin do this- but he also needed to stay in the nape in order to grapple onto the air ship so…)

This titan is so different from the others in that despite all of the shifters leaving some collateral damage when initially shifting, one slip up from a Colossal shifter could wipe out everything for miles. So much of its abilities are offensive and external as opposed to abilities like hardening which are difficult to master but are more defensive in nature- intended to protect the shifter.

So its an interesting symbolism that both Bertholdt and Armin end up wielding it. It could never belong in the hands of someone like Eren who is impulsive and passionate, or even someone like Annie or Pieck where mobility and cunning are their greatest strengths.

The shifter has to be both reliable and reluctant when using it. And there’s something so tragic in that.

Additionally- when talking about Armin specifically- we never see him actually injure himself in order to initiate his transformation. (If I’m wrong about this please sound off in the notes). The two times we witness it, he has already done it and waited out to transform at the opportune moment. In the boat, at least, we have no semblance of how he initiated it- we see his hands but they aren’t bleeding or bitten. In the finale, we can assume his injury in his leg is enough to trigger it.

But the stamina and wherewithal to be able to control it so well despite already triggering it (like we see Eren do, where it implies that this is impressive by shifter standards) makes me believe Armin may have even surpassed Bertholdt’s abilities- at the very least in this aspect.

Also the idea of perspective- the motif that the Colossal is almost god-like in scope and scale- but its shifters cannot ever fully use its power or have to use it so sparingly. The idea that using its power over and over again diminishes it and makes it vulnerable.

How it fits the personality of its wielders so well while also drawing them in contrast- Bertholdt, who used it sparingly and only when ordered because he was incapable of deciding things on his own, and Armin, who used it in the capacity of a person commanding others. He is the last line of defense, the last resort- the one who will take the fall.

I think it is important thematically that Mikasa ends up killing Eren in the end- but until he shifts again there is a solid ten minutes of screen time where we are led to believe that Armin WAS the cause of his demise, and I think that’s still important to talk about. Both of them had to make the choice to “kill” Eren in the end- it’s only that one of them was more successful.

I could talk for hours analyzing the titans and how their abilities mirror the flaws and strengths of their shifters- but the Colossal specifically just intrigues me so much.