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#because i can no longer brain
marmarthehatterverse · 3 months
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An excerpt from the first thousand words of my buddie fic, because maybe if I get enough positive reinforcement I'll actually finish it. This takes place during the covid era, btws
@steadfastsaturnsrings
“You sure are big for a guide.”
Buck slows for a moment, but returns to his brisk pace so quick it would be nigh unperceivable if you didn’t know him very well. His mask mostly obscures his reflexive smile as he continues to carry the little girl out of the crumbling building. She’s looking up at him with big green eyes filled with wonder.
“Well, what makes you so sure I’m a guide?” His voice is light, teasing.
The little girl’s eyebrows furrow, this was clearly not a possibility she had considered. In her defense, very few ever clock him for what he is. “But you’re making me feel so calm and safe. You must be a guide…?” 
Her head is cocked now, scrutinizing him the way only small children could. Buck glances down at her, still moving at a quick pace, trying to get away from the crumbling halls and to safety so she could be given a proper look over. “Maybe you feel so calm and safe because you’re no longer in a room collapsing around you?” He gestures to behind him with his head.
“No,” she wrinkles her nose at this, giving a decisive shake of her head, “I felt safe from the moment you grabbed me from my room. It should have been scary with all the walls shaking like that, but as soon as you grabbed me I knew I was going to be okay.”
The thing is, most people forget that sentinels, before anything else, are guardians. They exist to keep people safe, and those being saved by them can instinctively tell that the sentinel will do everything in their power to get them out as unharmed as they possibly can. People forget that sentinels changed first, and that guides, with their empathy and soothing existence, developed in response to the sentinels’ needs. 
Buck slows to a stop in front of the ambulance, and gives the little girl his undivided attention, “I am big for a guide,” her face starts to break into a grin of triumph, “But I’m only a little over average for a sentinel.” He winks at her gobsmacked face as he hands her over to Hen.
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sugarcoatednightshade · 6 months
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thinking about how Humans Are Space Orcs stories always talk about how indestructible humans are, our endurance, our ability to withstand common poisons, etc. and thats all well and good, its really fun to read, but it gets repetitive after a while because we aren't all like that.
And that got me thinking about why this trope is so common in the first place, and the conclusion I came to is actually kind of obvious if you think about it. Not everyone is allowed to go into space. This is true now, with the number of physical restrictions placed on astronauts (including height limits), but I imagine it's just as strict in some imaginary future where humans are first coming into contact with alien species. Because in that case there will definitely be military personnel alongside any possible diplomatic parties.
And I imagine that all interactions aliens have ever had up until this point have been with trained personnel. Even basic military troops conform to this standard, to some degree. So aliens meet us and they're shocked and horrified to discover that we have no obvious weaknesses, we're all either crazy smart or crazy strong (still always a little crazy, academia and war will do that to you), and not only that but we like, literally all the same height so there's no way to tell any of us apart.
And Humans Are Death Worlders stories spread throughout the galaxy. Years or decades or centuries of interspecies suspicion and hostilities preventing any alien from setting foot/claw/limb/appendage/etc. on Earth until slowly more beings are allowed to come through. And not just diplomats who keep to government buildings, but tourists. Exchange students. Temporary visitors granted permission to go wherever they please, so they go out in search of 'real terran culture' and what do they find?
Humans with innate heart defects that prevent them from drinking caffeine. Humans with chronic pain and chronic fatigue who lack the boundless endurance humans are supposedly famous for. Humans too tall or too short or too fat to be allowed into space. Humans who are so scared of the world they need to take pills just to function. Humans with IBS who can't stand spicy foods, capsaicin really is poison to them. Lactose intolerance and celiac disease, my god all the autoimmune disorders out there, humans who struggle to function because their own bodies fight them. Humans who bruise easily and take too long to heal. Humans who sustained one too many concussions and now struggle to talk and read and write. Humans who've had strokes. Humans who were born unable to talk or hear or speak, and humans who through some accident lost that ability later.
Aliens visit Earth, and do you know what they find? Humanity, in all its wholeness.
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thronealigned · 9 months
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no it's fine this mind flayer is totally my friend and 100% honest with me all the time it's ok it likes me everything's so normal
#bg3 spoilers#baldurs gate 3#baldur's gate 3#i love how raphael directly calls you out on this. 'if id have known you were so gullible i wouldve tricked you into selling your soul for#a bowl of beans when we first met'#and then just keeps insulting you more if you keep insisting emp's really your ally#oc: impulse#sure this'll go in their tag#everything about impulse's Thing with the emperor is so funny to me. and then deeply fucked up if you think about it long enough. and then#really funny again if you think about it even longer#one day i'll do their 2.0 playthrough so i can fully form all my thoughts. and get better screenshots and the ceremorphosis ending#i mean there's nothing stopping me from loading an impulse 1.0 save and going ceremorphosis from there but idk it'd feel wrong#impulse has more tadpoles in their brain than synapses by act 3 and it does really fundamentally change them as a person#tfw your chaotic neutral act-first-ask-questions-never no-impulse-control 17 CHA bestie becomes one of the most detached calculating people#you've ever met. all their old casual wit and humor is still there but they think before they speak now and that really shouldnt feel as#sinister as it does. they have this look in their eye and it feels like they view everyone around them as lesser beings#not because they view other people as subhuman or worse than they are but because they view themself as something *more*#if they have any raw unfiltered emotion left you haven't seen it in weeks. there's one person(?) who gets Unrestrained Feelings privileges#and it's the fucking illithid that lives in their mind and not any of their actual non-monster normal-ish-person friends. that human#connection is fading so fast now. when did they change so much? it happened so slowly in the moment but suddenly now they seem like they#were never the person you became friends with at all#and like impulse is a pretty selfish person from the start but they *did* genuinely like and care about the rest of the party. they were#friends. and by the end of act 3 that friendship should be the deepest and most meaningful it's ever been. but. it just isn't.#so on and so forth etc etc like that. All That Bullshit makes their relationship with lae'zel so interesting (and upsetting) too#they encourage her to side against vlaakith and then they never even try to free orpheus for her and her people's sake. they never even#think about it. they never consider it as an option. they just don't care. and then they EAT HIS BRAIN.#very possibly RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.#and she's just left adrift. a rebel with no rebellion to lead and very little hope#i'm unwell.#ok i'm done this is a silly meme post. but god i have so many thoughts i have barely been keeping contained
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galedekkarios · 3 months
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random thought but i was thinking of tara's comments about getting gale to eat and take care of himself and . well. i was just kind of warmed by the idea of gale and astarion having a particular... dehydrated and perhaps slightly unwell sickly look to them that is only exacerbated by their arduous journey, but then six months after that nightmare when they return to withers' party as husbands they look so much healthier!! they're softer and stronger and well-fed!! they actually look alive! and happy! because they are! and isn't that so wonderful!!
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orykorioart · 8 days
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Very excited for Ethersea Mermay stuff, so here’s a little WIP sneak peak + a silly sketch featuring a smol portable Zooxie.
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actual-changeling · 9 months
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no i am not done with the breakup scene yet. it haunts me during the day and it haunts my dreams, soon i will be able to replay it in my head on command. today's obsession: tell me you said no
firstly, i think it's important to point out just how deep the miscommunication runs here. aziraphale is excited, outright giddy about the news he is delivering, and he expects crowley to be just as happy about them.
after all, he thinks he is giving crowley what he has always wanted - they can go off together, he can be an angel again, which to zira equals being on the good side. the side of *light*. he remembers crowley's creation, remembers how in awe and happy he was with it, and thinks that is what he is offering.
aziraphale's expressions during this scene are probably gonna be their own post, but long story short he switches between excited and confused like a broken light switch, unable to decide which one to settle on.
crowley, well, crowley is angry. angry and confused and completely caught off guard because aziraphale is shaking the very foundation of what crowley currently thinks to be their relationship. the horror dawns on him pretty early, but he tries to fight it off, tries to convince himself that no, aziraphale wouldn't. he wouldn't agree to that, he KNOWS me. he knows i don't want to go back, he knows both sides are equally bad.
tell me you said no. tell me i wasn't wrong about you, about us. tell me i didn't misjudge our entire relationship. tell me the last millennia were worth something, anything.
tell me you said no.
if you rewatch the scene, you will notice that crowley never breaks eye contact, he stares aziraphale down the entire time. unless it was literally blink and you will miss it, i am pretty sure he does not even blink. not once. aziraphale on the other hand is looking everywhere but at him, his gaze flicks around just as much as his expression. crowley tries again, one last time. tells him you know they will both destroy this planet, humanity, us. it doesn't matter which side wins, the result will be the same. we KNOW that. we SAW that. we stopped it from happening.
aziraphale does not answer.
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he does not have to. crowley can read him well enough to know exactly what he responded, and even if he couldn't - he knew from the beginning. he just cannot believe the answer. he still can't.
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it's one of his fatal flaws, isn't it, believing in aziraphale and in them against every rule and threat the universe throws at them.
now to get to the part that breaks my heart.
crowley repeats himself again, not breaking eye contact while aziraphale tries to avoid his gaze.
tell me you said no.
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he still hopes. after that entire conversation, he still hopes.
when the silence stays unbroken he steps towards him, asking one. last. time.
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angel tell me you said no.
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this. this frame. this is when the realization hits him full force, the truth he has been trying to talk and rationalize his way out of. he has been begging aziraphale to tell him that he did not betray him, them.
everything he has been fighting for the last six thousand years, all the thoughts telling him he is worth less than aziraphale because he fell, because he is a demon, evil, on the wrong side. everything he has been unlearning, accepting that he can be kind, he can be good. accepting that aziraphale cares about him, fuck, maybe even loves him.
crowley thought aziraphale is the one being that sees him, truly sees him, which is why he offers himself without his glasses - his last layer of protection.
he betrayed us. he has never been with me, we have never been on our side, not when he chooses heaven over the fragile, peaceful existence they have carved out for themselves. he took care of the bookshop, allowed zira to take his bentley, cleaned up and tidied and prepared it for his return, for the both of them. just to get all of it thrown into his face, to have it degraded as not good enough. to have HIMSELF degraded as not good enough.
and after all that. after that realization, the pain, the break in what he thought was their reality.
after aziraphale telling him that he plans on leaving earth and wants crowley to be someone he is.
crowley swallows his tears and he steps back, keeps his glasses off and continues with his confession anyway. his voice breaks several times throughout it, he is on the verge of crying. i will probably make a separate post about all that but once again, tldr he suppresses tears throughout his entire speech.
i want to spend eternity with you and he cannot say it because he knows he would break on eternity and start crying. somehow, crowley still hopes that maybe this will change his mind, this will make him realize that he needs to stay here, stay with me.
crowley hopes and hopes and hopes and aziraphale finally meets his gaze and all he responds is nothing lasts forever.
no, i don't suppose it does.
still, what is left but to keep hoping that maybe one day, they will be an us, even if it isn't forever. even if it's just one day, one kiss, one second of being held and kissed back.
crowley keeps hoping and that, to me, is the most painful part of it all.
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brother-emperors · 2 months
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this is a scrapped scene from Trikaranos & originally it joined a standalone series of comics from Pompey’s point of view, but it got scrapped from THAT set too because I decided they both needed to be weirder and worse and this is kind of vanilla ngl. however I’m still kind of fond of it in some kind of way, and it’s been a second since I’ve posted a comic! also I wanted to draw it. so I did.
for context: Crassus cut his hand open helping Pompey out with something in a previous scene! for more context: the answer to Pompey’s question is a reliable (business/political) partner. that’s about it!
⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!
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hcdragonwrites · 10 months
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River (Jttw-Monkeybuisness)
Ok I wrote another thing for @jttw-monkeybusiness there art inspires me and makes my brain itch and honestly I love Sophie to death so here you go!
And yes I suck at naming things when they are snippets of stuff I just usually name it what it’s about.
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‘Getting water should be easy’ Sophie thought.
However it seemed that whatever gods were watching their trek today through China must have been bored and made this their entertainment for the evening.
Force the girl Buddha had plucked out of time to get water. Well it was unfair to assume it was the Buddha but whatever magical force actually had pulled her out of her time? Well that being was a massive dick. Sophie strained her arm, feeling the sway of the tree branch she clung to bobbed under her weight.
The banks of this river were steep as Trip and the group were making their way through mountains. The steep sides slide right into the dark water, rushing by in silent swirls of black- and offering no safe place for any traveler to easily reach it. The tree branch that Sophie now climbed upon, hung low enough off the steep riverbank, almost kissing the water with its bark. Moss had begun to grow from its limbs from the constant moisture. It offered Sophie a perfect opportunity.
She had both legs and arm hooked around the branch as it swayed, one free hand straining forward and dipping the water skins into the dark flow.
Jesus it’s freezing, she thought as her fingers dipped beneath the black current. Must be a runoff from a snow melt… If she fell into it she would be soaked and cold to the bone. Sophie shook herself, scattering that intrusive thought.
‘Only two more skins to go…’. She yanked the first one up, muscles burning. She lay flat, stomach hugging the branch and trying not to slip. Sophie wasn’t the most athletic person but she wasn’t a pushover either. Getting water was something she could do. Maybe she couldn’t fight Gods and humble the heavens like Wukong. Maybe she couldn’t breathe underwater and spear demons like Sandy.
Pigsy- well he was a fighter but mostly she had seen him run either away from a fight, pick a fight with Wukong, or fight to run towards women. Most of the time those women were demons in disguise that Wukong warned about. Sandy and her had a betting game going on silently between themselves as to which women were women and which were demons that wanted to devour Trip or herself. Mostly Trip but sometimes she would be mentioned.
So far the score was tipping in Sandy’s favor(who guessed mostly that the women they ran into were real women)- but only because the last village they had been in had been plagued by a child devouring rat demon. It was a morbid kind of way to make light of a situation that just kept recurring as Pisgy never learned.
Tripitaka even had his own abilities to commend, if some of those abilities didn’t translate over to combat. Staying still, meditating, being able to see the good in everyone - Sophie could hear Wukong now, thoroughly ripping into Trip for that belief- those were all traits that helped.
Sophie- a Girl out of time- was determined to have her own uses.
And if that was just doing minimal tasks then she would be GRAND at them!
She uncorked the last water skin and dipped it beneath the water as twilight began to descend into the gorge. The water turned black by the lack of light made Sophie’s stomach twist just a bit. There’s nothing in the water Sophie- nothing at all.
Her reassurances fell short. She had seen too much of demons and gods and magical mojo to really believe that nothing was staring up at her.
What happened next was a factor of several things. The first of those things we can lay blame at the feet of one Monkey King.
Sun Wukong had been given the task of collecting some fresh meat for the stew Trip was preparing and had sent Wukong to find some. The meat was mostly for Sophie and the rest but Trip would also partake. Being a Buddhist he usually kept to a strict vegetarian diet of noodles and soups. However, even he understood that on the road the pilgrims did not have much choice in diet.
So Wukong had gone, easily catching several rabbits and a large goose from further down the river. After his return and depositing them at Pigsys feet to be cleaned and prepped, Wukong was disappointed in the lack of praise. Usually bringing in a haul of food would give him some thanks- however the person that usually did the thanking was … missing.
“Where is the Reader?” Wukong demanded, arms crossing and tail lashing in annoyance.
Pigsy looked up at him from beneath bushy eyebrows. “Sophie,” Pigsy drawled, taking the first rabbit and cutting it clean of its pelt, “went to fill the water skins.”
“Alone? No one thought to go with her?” Wukong made a scoffing noise. Between her and the Monk there had been too many occasions where a demon had taken them as bait to lure out the infamous Monkey King. Didn’t she know by now that she couldn’t just wander off?
“She is not a Child, Brother.” Sandy interjected. The great water demon was sitting cross legged at the fire, stirring the pot. As Pigsy quickly and methodically cleaned the animals, Sandy was just as quick in adding them to the stew. The aroma was already becoming tantalizing. “She wanted a task and was given one. You know she does not like to be idle when there are things to do.”
“I wasn’t saying idleness was the correct answer.” Wukong picked at an invisible dust mote on his sleeve and flicked it away. He was feigning boredom when in reality he felt an itch under his fur. It was his responsibility to keep the mortals safe on this quest.
That included Trip and Sophie. The monk was easy to keep in one place, unless there were people that kept begging for help. Which - happened more than Wukong would care to admit.Sophie was … not so easily manageable.
That stupid women wanted to be as helpful as possible. Whether that be fetching supplies in town, carrying messages for the monk, or even tending to Yulong, she was always trying to keep busy. Which wouldn’t have been a problem for the Monkey King if it didn’t make his fur itch terribly so.
The itching would only go away after he knew she hadn’t gotten eaten by some wannabe river god.
“She needs to wait until I am back. Then she could have asked me for my help and I would have obliged.”
“I think the monkey likes Sophie.” Pigsy mock stage whispered, earning a murderous glare from Wukong. Pigsy flinched back, rubbing at the phantom pain on his head from the last time he had egged Wukong on a bit too much.
“She is only down by the river.” Sandy peacefully interjected before Wukong to react to Pigsys tone. “Just past the bend- I made sure she knew not to go farther.”
At least Sandy knew how danger inclined the mortals in their group were.
Wukong turned and left the camp, walking to the river not far off. The women wasn’t too far away to warrant an escort- she had learned from the last couple of times of almost being devoured or snatched up to not wander so far- but his fur wouldn’t lie flat on his shoulders. It itched terribly so. The sooner he could see her, the sooner the itching would go away.
As he came around the bend he saw her. Sophie was clinging to a tree that looked like it could be swept away into the river at any moment, legs hugging the branch as one hand dipped into the water. Her hair hung down, almost skimming the black surface. Wukongs fur stopped itching and he smoothed it down. Since no one but he was near Sophie to see, and she being too occupied by the river to even notice, he decided to indulge himself and stared openly.
When she had first joined their pilgrimage he had been pissed. Another human to take care of, to babysit, to feed was not what Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, had signed up for. If he was being honest with himself, none of this pilgrimage was what Wukong had voluntarily signed up for.
Sophie was strange to boot. Fair of skin, eyes and hair, she looked like a spirit from some heavenly court. However she did not act like any women in the Jade Emperor's Palace, because on one of the more ridiculous of their days where The monk had almost been married to a demon queen and Wukong had to break through and kill a little too much, Sophie had let loose a string of curses that were so foreign and colorful that the Monkey King had been momentarily shaken from his indifference at her to turn and inquire to what those phrases even meant.
It had been the start to something Wukong would never admit openly to. It had grown since that day as he learned that, while she may look pretty, she was no women in courtly garb or village outpost. She had a sharp mind, always asking questions and trying to figure out the why and the how of everything. Why did Wukong have a staff that could shrink and be tucked in his ear? Where had Wukong learned to shapeshifter? How had he been able to master duplicating himself with just a bit of fur and spit?
Sophie was open about questions of herself- where she had come from, what she had done before (something about being an artist) and why she looked the way she did (this last bit was rude on Wukongs part and had had the monk use the circlet around his brow as a reprimand. ‘We don’t ask why they look a certain way Wukong," he had said. The Monkey king had not meant it rudley- more or less he just wanted to know where in the world other people like her existed - that looked like her.)
She didn’t like blood so that was a bit of a downside. But an upside was she wasn’t afraid to go toe to toe when the Monk was being so incredibly and unreasonably unfair in his punishments. Wukong didn’t kill too much. Just enough.
Wukong hadn’t had anyone stick up for him like that.
So Sun Wukong decided to play- though no one else would see it as such. Tormenting and teasing and egging and goading were usually not considered human equivalencies of play. On Flower Fruit Mountain those had been the height of games and pastimes. Finding the little things that would itch someone’s skin, that could in turn get right beneath the armor of good words and embarrass the person enough to stumble out of their rehearsed facade and reveal the true self was a specialty of the Monkey Kings. He had done so with all the attendants in Heaven, with all the would-be demon conquerors that marched onto his doorstep. Dig at something long enough and you will find what makes them tick
So Wukong poked at Sophie’s person. He took things from her bag when bored and kept them away (it wasn’t hard and he didn’t have to even make himself bigger to do so). Wukong would try and goad her into playing pranks with him, sometimes even dragging her halfway through one before letting her know that it was a prank. He would answer her questions, insult her intelligence by calling her stupid women, and challenge her on her moral standings. He did everything in the monkey fashion that would be considered teasing and mildly bullying to figure out who she was.
He didn’t realize till it was too late that this had become more than a game to him. He was enjoying this.
Wukong didn’t get to watch her openly. Pigsy would think him infatuated with her and then he would become insufferable. That couldn’t happen. So Wukong would steal glimpses, brush shoulders, take hidden moments like when Sophie had turned to him, eyes shining and bright, and had begged to be lifted up so she could pet a few monkeys perched within a tree. Wukong could still feel the weight of her on his arm, the smell of her. She had been so enamored with the monkeys above that he didn’t have to worry. He could watch her without disguise.
Like he was now. Her face was screwed up in concentration, lip between her teeth as she corked the water skin and swung it onto the bank. She may be a weak mortal but she had good aim. Sophie placed the last one in the water, blue eyes glittering in the twilight. He would have to teach her how to properly hang. She was so limited in movement on that branch, clinging to it like a cat. It was improper and she could still easily slip into the water and be lost. It was a good thing Wukong was here then.
So it was, in part, the Monkey Kings fault for what happened next. And in part, Sophie’s mind is at fault. Wukong was as silent as a tiger, walking up and onto the tree without a sound. And as he was silent and watching, Sophie’s mind was loud and preoccupied.
She only had one more skin to fill but her mind wouldn’t let go of the thought of there being some beast or creature watching her. Waiting for her. It was just like the irrational fear children get when they swim into the deep part of a swimming pool- that somehow someway a shark would come from the clear cemented depths and devour them.
Only- this wasn’t a clear swimming pool. And this wasn’t some childhood fear anymore. Sophie had seen Tripataka almost go underwater from a river monsters grasping hands. If it hadn’t been for Sandy at that time, the monk would have drowned. She shivered. The sooner she got back to camp and away from the spooky dark water and the night, the better.
“There!” She felt the weight was sufficient enough and quickly corked the water skin. Sophie could get down now, off this tree and back into the warm and comforting light of the fire. Maybe she could ask Wukong for another of his stories- well histories as he called them. He was good at telling stories- if they were centered around himself. She went to throw the water skin, already calming down—
Eyes.
Glowing eyes watching her from above. Something human shaped in the foliage—
“Fucking shit!”
Panic set in and instinct. She flinched back, dropping the skin—
And slipping headfirst into the water. The cold shocked her body, screaming for her to get UP GET OUT DANGER- and she kicked back to the surface, spluttering. The current however was stronger than she thought and was already yanking her down to begin with. Her clothes were a weight that the water happily tugged down, mangling it with the current.
Something shot out and grabbed her around the middle and pulled.
OH GODS THERE IS A WATER DEMON THATS IN HERE! Sophie swung out, flailing wildly to get free. Her hands hit something but it was like hitting stone. She would not end up as someone’s meal or bride or servant or anything else. The thing that had a grip on her didn’t let go. But it didn’t haul her under- it hauled her up. As she breached the surface, she spat water from between her lips, her hair blocking her face.
She breathed in just enough air to start threatening.
“WHOEVER OR WHATEVER YOU ARE, JUST KNOW IF YOU EAT ME YOU WILL REGRET IT.” Sophie breathed in more air so she could get louder- if she was loud enough maybe Sandy or Pigsy would hear. If Wukong was back he would definitely hear her. She had to fight until she could get enough air in her lungs to holler louder. She swung again, connecting to what felt like a face- but it was like runing her hand into a brick wall. “I HAVE A FRIEND WHOS THE BEST MONKEY IN THE WHOLE WORLD WHO WILL SKIN YOU—“
Another hand caught her wrist, holding away. Sophie would just have to swing her free hand around and —
“Stop fucking flailing women you will bring the whole branch back into the river !” The person hissed and Sophie paused. She pulled the wet hair out of her face with her free hand.
“Wukong?”
The Monkey King was holding her close, one arm wrapped around her middle and the other holding one of her previously flailing wrists. His eyes were narrowed to angry yellow slits.
“You idiot who else would it be ?” His face was wet from where Sophie must have obviously punched him and splashed water at him.
“What are you doing out here- I thought-“
“I came to fetch you since you were taking so long and everyone was worrying about you.” He adjusted his grip, and hopped off the branch and back onto solid earth. “Then you had to go and dunk yourself into the river like a fool and I had to fish you out. I was also able to get the water skin you almost lost. ” He held up the skin, tossing it onto the bank.
“I didn’t dunk myself in the river !” Sophie pushed off of Wukong and he let her go, crossing his arms. “If you weren’t spookily hiding in the branches with your glowing eyes I wouldn’t have panicked and lost my grip!”
“I can’t believe you hit me…”
“Of course I would hit you! I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS YOU!” Sophie shouted.
“You should know me enough by now that I’m not like every other gripping demon out there!”
“Wukong how would I know when I’m half drowning in the water and I can’t see you?!” Sophie countered. He rolled his eyes, collecting the cast off water skins she had thrown onto the bank, grumbling about mortals and being blind.
“What were you doing?”
Wukong didn’t reply to her, his tail twitching agitatedly. Sophie looked down at herself. She was drenched from head to bare foot in water. Her skin was already starting to break out in goosebumps as the sun sank behind the mountains, casting the gorge into shadow.
“Why were you hiding in the branches?” Sophie pressed, collecting her shoes and holding them in hand. She would have to be careful walking back not to step on anything. Putting her shoes on now would only get them wet from her pant legs being sodden. Wet shoes were also not fun to walk in and they had a long trek tomorrow. Trip wanted to get to the next monastery and have as he liked to call it “an honest meal” which mostly consisted of mushrooms, noodles and broth. Trip was a vegetarian by nature but on the journey he did at times have to make sacrifices.
“Again I wasn’t hiding. The great Sun Wukong doesn’t hide.” Wukong replied, combing his wet fur back into place. “I was coming to fetch you and bring you back for supper. It’s not my fault you didn’t hear me.”
“Did you call out to me?”
“I was making enough noise a deaf and blind beggar could have heard me!” Wukong patted his pant leg where the majority of the water had gotten onto him. It wasn’t as bad as the full drenching Sophie had taken.
Sophie could smell the lie even as Wukong ignored her angry glower.
“Bull-bull s-shit!” She challenged but it came out between chattering teeth. Fuck it got cold fast.
Wukong paused in his own musings, hands pausing in inspecting himself and turned. He peered up into Sophie’s face, so close that he was almost nose to nose. The Monkey King looked at her eyes, down to her lips, then across the rest of her.
“Um… Wukong?”
“You're cold.” Wukong tapped his own lips, and pointed out the raised goose flesh on her arms. “Blue lips and bumps mean cold” His voice was much softer now. “Stupid women.”
He stepped back, hands crossing over his chest again. He looked her up and down then demanded “Take that off.”
“Excuse me?!”
“I’ll turn around, just take off your wet shirt!” Wukong shouted back. “You have those dry … er, shorts right?”
“Yes back in my bag.”
Wukong nodded once.
“Good. Take off your shirt.” He turned around, good to his word.
Sophie did so- shivering as the cold air clung to her skin. The cloth was heavy with water and she sighed. It wouldn’t be dry until well into tomorrow- she would be forced to wear her ‘otherworldly’ clothing. It was fine by her but if they stopped by a village it also meant she would have to wait outside. Sophie had learned the last time that walking into a village with odd clothes could be one of several different reactions, all mostly negative and involving the villagers calling her a demon or witch. Or throwing rocks at her. As she peeled herself free from the sodden clothing the night air kissed her skin and sent her teeth chattering harder. “D-done.”
Wukong hadn’t turned around but he had divested himself of his own robed shirt, holding it out and behind himself. Sophie tried not to stare at his back too long.
“Put it on.” It was kindness Sophie wasn’t expecting. Wukong, the last time he had given her his shirt to wear, had been an order from Tripataka. She had to wash her clothes after a heavy rainstorm had her falling in mud. Of course she had had no spare tops- they all needed to be washed from the travel smell and the dirt. So Trip had ordered Wukong to give up his shirt. It hadn’t been willing kindness but Sophie had still taken it as that.
But this? This was unexpected. Sophie opened her mouth to reply when Wukong continued, “I can’t believe I’m going to have to wash it again of your stink.”
Well so much for kindness. Sophie thought. First the monkey had scared her into the river. Then he had rescued her and blamed her for falling in? All because she couldn’t hear him? She didn’t believe that- not for a second. Great Sage Equal to Heaven Sun Wukong had not been walking loudly. He hadn’t even tried to call out to her to get her attention. What had he been doing when he was on the branch? How long had he been there?
Well, Sophie thought, I should be more aware of my surroundings- or at least not let my mind run away with the rest of my senses.
Though in all fairness if Wukong had wanted to sneak up on her, she would never have known. He was too quiet for his own good and it played into how well he could slip frogs into Pigsys blanket roll.
Sophie shrugged the shirt up and over her head, feeling the residual warmth from Wukong already transferring to her skin.
“At least you won’t get sick and worry the Monk.” Wukong said. Sophie tapped his shoulder and he turned. Without asking, he grabbed her sodden shirt and held it out in front of him.
He may have caused her to fall in. He may have been trying to scare her or something else. But he had pulled her out of the river. He had given her his shirt- free of an order. Sophie was beginning to read the guilt through his actions. Whatever Wukong had meant to do- he hadn’t meant to do that.
“…. Thank you Wukong.”
He grunted, holding Sophie’s shirt in one hand like someone would hold a gross bug.
“What would you do without me? You are completely incapable of keeping yourself safe. Too weak to fight, and too uncoordinated to even balance properly. What were you doing using only one arm for the water? You should have hooked your legs over the trunk instead. ” Wukong walked only a pace ahead of Sophie, slowing whenever she winced over the ground. At least the ground was only slightly rocky here.
“Maybe I wouldn’t fall in rivers because the person that is so worried about my safety didn’t just scare me half to death.” She shot and Wukong merely grinned wider.
“ It seems you forget how to say ‘You are Welcome Wukong’ ! It was just a dip in the water and I was right there to keep you from drowning.”
“Uh huh.”
“ It was needed.” He sniffed the drenched clothing and grimaced, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. “You did stink.”
“Oh hahaha let me laugh it up- not like there’s soap and a bathtub waiting at every spot we stop.” Sophie rubbed her arms, pulling her hair back from her face to tuck behind her ears. “You stink too when you come back from slaughtering half a hoard of demons ya know?”
“I take care of myself. Unlike you.”
“I thought you were some river monster coming to drown me and eat my bones you ass.” Sophie tilted her head and squeezed some water off the edges of her hair. She was going to need a brush, the bits of hair already curling and tangling together. “Lurking in the shadows above me is not a way to reassure a girl you aren’t there to devour them.”
“All the more reason,” Wukong crowed, “Not to go without an escort. If you are going to go anywhere, you have to take me with you. You are in a King's care after all. It reflects badly upon my own standing as King and guardian of this pilgrimage if you end up between the teeth of some demon. Mortals like you and the Monk should know this by now.”
“Sandy knew where I was.”
“And look at the good that did you.”
There was no popping Sun Wukongs bubble of pride- he had already wrapped this story up as a great rescue of some kind. He didn’t grin about it, but Sophie could see he was indifferent to the chaos he had caused her. She wished she could throw him sometimes. Maybe he would think twice about scaring her if she could dunk him in a river.
“…stupid monkey.”
Wukong turned at that, grinning now with all teeth. The game was afoot now in full force and he felt it.
“What we’re you saying as I pulled you up? Something like “A friend whos the best monkey in the world?’”
“If he really was the best he wouldn’t have half drowned me.” Sophie pointed out, sniffing. They were nearing the fire, and the smell of Sandy’s stew was enough to make her stomach give an audible gurgle.
“I didn’t.” Wukong corrected, helping her over a bit of prickly thorn bushes without being promoted. Maybe he did feel a smidge guilty then. He usually had to be begged to assist - or ordered by Trip. “ You slipped. It’s not my fault you can’t hear or see, stupid women.”
“Keep telling yourself that Wukong. Maybe you’ll make it true.”
As Sophie entered the camp she was bombarded from all sides by the concern of her fellow pilgrims. Sandy rose from the fire- a bowl of stew already being shoved in her hands. Pigsy threatened and yelled at Wukong enough that both of them started to get into a spat. Tripitaka had to stand, to command them to stop before it escalated from mere name calling to physical fighting. Trip then held out Sophie’s bag and she gratefully took it and dipped behind a bit of greenery several paces beyond to change out of her drenched pants and into the comfy pajama shorts and a comfy hoodie. When she came back Pigsy was still growling out threats while a disinterested Wukong cleaned his nails. He looked up briefly at her then away.
“When we reach the next village we will grab you a spare.” Tripitaka spoke around a bowl of noodles. He had opted just for noodles tonight, leaving the meat to the rest of the group. His smile was kind and apologetic. “Sophie you will probably have to wait outside the village till we can get you a replacement.”
She nodded. She could risk going into the village with her regular attire on but … being chastised and poked at by the villagers was not a pleasant experience. Once was enough for her.
“When you guys go into the village could you ask for some healing balm- or maybe a big hat?” Sophie looked to Sandy. “The sun is really starting to burn my skin and I only have so much left of my other world stuff.” Trying to describe the items in her bag at times left different reactions from the group- or more questions. Sophie didn’t want to answer those questions at the moment, hungry and cold.
Sandy nodded, passing a bowl to Wukong on her right. “I will ask for you, Sophie.”
As the group dug into their suppers and then settled for the night, Sophie was glad the fire was banked high. The chill was being chased from her bones and, even if the ground wasn’t comfortable, she looked on the bright side. She hadn’t been eaten. As Wukong took the first watch and Pigsy already was snoring, Sophie closed her eyes—
And woke to the stars still shining in her face as something bumped beside her head. She startled up, blinking out the sleep that clung.
“Hello-?”
“Shhh.” Wukong was crouched beside her, his tail being the culprit of what woke her up. His face looked tired with sleep, the scowl deeper and more furious. He shoved something into Sophie’s lap. She looked down. They were new clothes- a robbed top and pants.
“If you tell the Monk I stole it, I will give you a thorough washing in the river.” Wukong hissed, pulling at Sophie’s bag and rummaging through the contents. Well there he goes again, just digging through my stuff. It didn’t bother her anymore since Wukong rarely kept any of the items of hers he pocketed. He pulled out the coin string, taking some of the bronze rings. “I’m taking some of these so it looks like I bought them. Got it ?”
“So you are feeling guilty for startling me into the water.” Wukong opened his mouth, to argue, to plead his case that no he was not feeling guilty he was Sun Wukong and he did not feel guilt, when Sophie smiled up at him and laid back down.
“It’s ok. Your secret is safe with me-“ she grogely replied, laying back down and curling over the clothes. Sophie patted the ground beside her. “Your watch is over right?”
“Yes.” His head was cocked to the side, like a dog confused.
“Good. Get some sleep.” Sophie closed her eyes. She didn’t hear him move off but she knew he had settled just a bit away from her.
“And Wukong?”
A grunt from behind her- already settling into his spot, back to her.
“Thanks. I forgive you for almost drowning me.”
“I didn’t drown you.”
“I’ll take that as ‘your welcome’.”
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moeblob · 2 months
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So I didn't draw it today BUT I really need to focus on commissions so I'm counting that as my art of the day despite probably not finishing one day TO post. So you get this instead.
Deacon as stated before is basically paid to be intimidating but he truly can't help but light up for the lightning deity because "that's the friend of my boss!" so he properly greets her with a "Lady Fulj" as a formality and respect. While he does respect the deity he's sworn to, he just calls him boss. That's what he gets.
He doesn't have any magical powers but he's got a strong sense of energy regardless. He can pinpoint when Fulj arrives. He can sense in the room he guards to make sure Ymber is still there (though he doesn't teleport and that's the only exit. But when Fulj visits and he's still outside he senses both deities and it puts him at ease.
What impresses Ymber immensely is the split fire deities - he can personally sense that one is around but he doesn't know which. He simply recognizes their energy as "fire deity, be on high alert". Then one day as he's getting tense over it (the fire deities like to tease him), Deacon reassures him "hey it's the guy today! I noticed he is less brutal in his comments it will be fine C:" and Ymber is stunned that he can identify which one is there before seeing them.
Deacon can also sense spirits and in Ymber's temple can actually see and hear them. But he doesn't tell them or interact, he lets them be in peace. Until he laughs at something one says and the spirits realize he's heard them for the past multiple years which is ... embarrassing. In addition to that, he can usually sense a monster out of town. On his rare walks with Ymber he's able to guide them around the monsters easily so neither one has to fight (though he gladly would fight em and he knows Ymber could one shot any of them).
He wants to be well trusted by Ymber and figures it won't happen, Ymber is simply too closed off and reserved. That's fair. Deacon assumes it's his mortality at play and why entrust him with his past experiences when he's just going to die sooner than Ymber would bother with. Which then shocks him when Fulj gets upset about "he didn't even ask for consent" and gets angry at Ymber for not telling Deacon. So she guilts Ymber to tell Deacon "um, I apologize for not asking you but I have extended your life. By a few centuries. I'm sorry" expecting Deacon to get upset at having to leave behind any loved ones as he doesn't age or die anytime soon. But! Deacon as a dedicated follower aiming to only please his boss is delighted by the trust shown by wanting to keep him around longer and proceeds to take his job as guardian/bodyguard even more seriously (which is hard to do with how serious he was before).
Anyway I won't go into the details now since this is already an essay but I've been shoving suffering onto Ymber and Fulj and why they are both like they are - withdrawn (Ymber) and enamored by humans (Fulj). But not for happy reasons.
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egophiliac · 8 months
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I love the idea of teenage Malleus hating his new baby brother Silver but slowly falling for him
words cannot express how much I adore that Mal's reaction to seeing a human baby for the first time was "the fuck is this. why does it look like that. gross." (then he immediately got stuck on babysitting duty and the rest is history)
I am SUCH a sucker for that trope of "non-humans being fascinated by normal human behavior", so between that and all the delicious angst going on I was eating VERY well. >:) Malleus being so impressed that two-year-old Silver can walk, because it took him twenty years to stand on two legs! Lilia barging in on the Zigvolts at 2 AM being like "he won't stop crying what do I do"! Lilia trying to feed Silver rats and Malleus being like "...please just stick with what the books say to feed it"! it is all so. chef's kiss.
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sensitiveheartless · 8 months
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...K this is going to sound completely out of the blue, but this has been haunting me today —
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belligerentbagel · 2 years
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even Atlas has only two hands
vent art
#this one's for all the teachers out there#horror cw#hands cw#draws#after 2.5 years of caution and masking everywhere; i tested positive for covid on wednesday morning (first day of fall semester) 😔#at earliest; i can be back in the classroom on monday#wednesday itself was an absolutely horrible 24 hours (but admittedly the anatomist side of me has been going 'ah! physiological data!')#but thursday and friday were a grim indicator of how much capitalism has rotted my brain#because after getting through 24 hours of a MASSIVE illness with undetermined long-term effects; i felt compelled to return to the#6-hr-sleep 18-hr-waking cycle that i was accustomed to; out of GUILT for falling behind in work#(note: i was NOWHERE near 100% back on thursday. i could have charitably been put at 50% - still headaches & fatigue & productive coughs)#a friend had to very sternly tell me 'you cannot solve structural problems through constant 80-hour-week heroic measures'#'you especially cannot do this when you are recovering from a debilitating illness which has the potential to remain a -#- serious lingering problem if you overwork yourself'#like. gods. yeah. it's not my fault that my classrooms are stuffed to the student maximum that our union has valiantly maintained#it's not my fault that the district only gave us one pre-semester prep day; meaning that my room & plans were left unfinished before day one#and - even bigger; it's not my fault that public health in the US is careening into 'can we pretend hard enough like nothing's happening'#my students will have a milquetoast start this fall semester. that is fine.#their teacher might not be able to stand and talk for longer than ten minutes at a time#i will do what i can. i still care about them. i am reading their introduction emails and smiling a bunch.#but i refuse to allow myself to be consumed in order to keep this fire lit.
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felix being referred to more or less exclusively as "your soldier" in-game speaks to how little the writers put into his character beyond his noggin full of sith secrets & his relationship with the consular; still, i do find it kind of sweet and funny, in a way. he's not a republic soldier, not even your personal bodyguard; he's your soldier. the consular is a small nation-state in and of herself
#accurate.#felix iresso#swtor#jedi consular#open tags for My Rant:#going back through rishi and doing the cute little holocron quest got me brooding - as i often do - on my best boy felix#that the writers could not think to give him anything in KOTXX that wasn't Torture Angst is deeply shitty but a little understandable.#all the other consular comps kind of have a way forward that isn't consular-related when the consular goes away#nadia has the jedi. zenith has balmorra. tharan has his old illustrious career. qyzen has little baby clan and also his religious directive#meanwhile felix isn't involved with your order or a supergenius or a politician or even someone with a lifelong goal#he was a guy doing his best at a dead-end job that turned into a far more enjoyable but still lowkey dead-end job#i would argue they could (should) have sent him to ossus but i can see them balking because Doc was already there#that's a little narratively redundant especially bc Doc has an extremely useful set of non-martial skills you would want to center#when telling a story about survival and persistence against the odds like with ossus#(also he was in the group of companions second-closest in proximity to the emperor in base game)#HOWEVER.#because i am immensely sexy and cool and have a huge brain i think i've cracked it#the way to give felix a compelling story post-consular is to put him the fuck in charge.#no longer your soldier or anyone's. his own. maybe even in charge of a large group of people in need of someone to follow#considering he used to be really good at that#a group like...idk...maybe the rest of the people incarcerated on his prison colony?#much to think about.
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hatkuu · 5 months
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so like if you have a baby bailey tries to take them to the orphanage no matter what right? what do you think kylar is gonna do. how will he react when you have his baby and bailey tries to take it
screeches at the top of his lungs if he's there to see it. you know this man is holding your hand while you give birth (he definitely cries with you, does not look at the doctor when they're speaking to him, he's waaaayy too focused on you because this might just be the most important thing that has ever happened in his life.) so when that cranky old asshole snatches your baby from you he's fighting like a rabid dog—gets even worse if you try to soothe him or assure him that bailey means well—your precious baby shouldn't be tainted by the hands of that asshole!
idk. i really hope vrel can let the baby stay in kylar's manor like with alex on the farm. like. surely kylar's parents would love their first grandchild... lotta potential for an event where pc catches one of kylar's parents looming over the side of the manger cooing at their grandchild. like. CMON!!!! make the monster parents loveable pls. i want them to like me :( pls guys i literally want to marry your son :( pls like me even a little bit
but yeah. kylar would be furious. idk if he'd pull a knife in a hospital though, probably didn't bring it with him because even though he knows the doctor is just doing their job he does get a little jealous at their position between your thighs... yeah. he's THAT cringe.
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oohbuggypie · 2 months
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super long discussion abt my headcanons for Don's tattoo, as well as Carmen's and Bull's !
WARNING!! these r very headcanon heavy and probably reach-y ideas so if u prefer to stick to canon / r scared of mischaracterization maybe dont read 🩷 also this is SUPER long so im gonna go ahead and put all of this beneath a cut bcuz i don't wanna flood + this is centered around ship talk and i know some ppl don't care 4 that ✝️ pairs discussed are CarDon and BullDon, but emphasis on Carmen and Don bcuz they're mentioned more than once!!
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kay so i always talk abt Don having a tattoo but ive never clarified WHAT the tattoo is of / what it says . im usually stuck between not knowing what it would be;; a religious image or a religious quote ? a cross felt too basic, but an entire passage of text would just be way too much for Don in my opinion,, i don't think he'd ever want such a huge, obvious amount of black ink on his body forever. i came up with the idea that Don's tat in the Monster Hunter would be COLOSSIANS 3:2, and it felt very fitting ; it's small and fairly easy to hide, but it reflects a great amount of his world perception and his ideologies . and i think that the exact same style of tattoo would fit his regular universe character very well too !
so after some consideration and many MANY dumb questions, i have concluded: i think Don's tattoo would be JOHN 15:9 .
John 15:9 reads: "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love."
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so why that quote ??
Don is a very romantic man :: he holds a very deep love for Carmen and he expresses that in his actions , seeming to dedicate his fights to her and celebrating his victories in her name . not only that, but i think his loving attitude is expressed through his non-romantic actions as well; he shows a considerable amount of respect to his opponents, and he recognizes his own mistakes! he's romantic , respectful , and to an extent - humble . i think that that verse fits him so well because it connects to his romantic personality and religious upbringing. along with being raised religiously, i think Don's parents took extra time to truly teach Don the lesson that love is one of life's most valuable and prominent factors. not only did they teach him to show kindness and respect to his peers, but i think they integrated the idea of finding romance very early in his life. they wanted their son to fall in love with the "right person", and they wanted him to treat his lover with deep devotion and respect. so i think that those two factors ended up melding together as Don grew up; religion reflected love, and his love would reflect his religion. so upon the two merging, i think Don made the decision to get that specific quote as a tattoo as means to reflect his two deepest values, and as a promise to himself that he'd find his true partner one day. so when Don truly did fall in love, he felt an even deeper connection to the tattoo.
Don's canonical partner being Carmen is adorable to me, and this is where the second portion of my headcanon comes in: i think that throughout the course of their relationship, Carmen would recognize the true sentiment that religion holds in Don's life and get a similar tattoo as devotion to her lover ! much like Don, to me, she wouldn't want an obnoxious or obvious tattoo simply because it doesn't fit the way she presents herself. so as a way to match her partner, i think she'd get the exact same kind of tattoo but with a different passage.
i think Carmen would choose ROMANS 1:11 - 12, and the placement would be beneath her right breast.
Romans 1:11 - 12 reads: "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong - that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith."
i think the first part of the text ("I long to see you...") reflects the majority of Don's life where he waited to find his true partner, and how he and Carmen were bound to be together; she just hadn't met him yet. the second part of the quote ("...to make you strong...") is super fitting in the context of the idea that Carmen is Don's main motivation that drive his passions, like bullfighting and boxing. and the final part of the quote solidifies their love for each other - by sharing a tattoo, they share the love behind it and they serve as one another's guide of sorts.
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as for Don being in a relationship with Bull, i think Bull would have conflicted feelings about getting a tattoo. Don, by no means, thinks that Bull NEEDS to get a tattoo to encapsulate their love ,, it was never a "required" or expected action to be reciprocated and Don understands that very well! both of them have already given each other deeply valuable gifts as ways to express their devotion. however, if Bull were to get a tattoo, i think he'd prioritize it being very small and very private.
to me, Bull's tattoo would be of the Virgin Mary in colored ink, placed on his inner, left thigh.
this is solely my opinion and i def don't expect anyone to agree, but that one is soo special to me . i think Don would have a very strong admiration of the Virgin Mary as an entire concept, and Bull took note of that love. he decided to represent it by choosing an intimate place that practically nobody else would ever see. neither of them see it constantly, but when they do they're reminded of just how deep their love runs . 🥹
OKAY I THINK IM DONE OMGG . this could be worded so much better but it's past midnight and this was literally ripping my brain to shreds all day so i HAD to get it out immediately 😭✝️ thanks 2 anybody that read all this omg i didn't think i was gonna talk THAT much .. srry but Don and religion r just sooooo good paired i HAD to share 🩷 okay goodniiiiiight
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disc0bandit · 11 months
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