#she doesn't get flashbacks

[googleitlol]

There was more I wanted to add to this but I didn't have the time today. I'll just post it another day cuz I rlly wanted to at least get this part out so enjoy! This time partly from Sun Wukong's POV!

Dove Masterlist

TW: Gore

Fire

You turn over in bed and let out a heavy sigh. It took longer than you wanted to get away from that crowd, no thanks to that damn ape. You would have thought they'd show more interest in Tripitaka, but seeing as the monks have a hall named after Guan Yin herself, you can still see why they were so persistent in their questions and requests.

Still, using your gift so frequently in such a short amount of time can take a lot out of you. It doesn’t help that having so many people surrounding you like that is something you are unaccustomed to. Or maybe it’s just been a while since you’ve seen so many people all gather like that, it wasn’t a common occurrence in the celestial realm. Sun Wukong didn’t make it any better, flaunting your gift like it was his own.

At least you can finally get some rest and time away from the demon. Having your own room, even just for a night, is just what you’ve been missing. Even if you feel drained, at least you have the time now to keep to yourself for a long while and get some proper rest. Besides, you doubt the monks will be in your face as much tomorrow as they were today. You’ll feel better tomorrow.

~~~~

This night really was proving to be more entertaining than the Monkey King had hoped.

When his Master warned him not to show the old monk his cassock, he thought the man was just being paranoid. Never did he think the old man would be jealous enough to set fire to his own monastery! It’s actually hilarious.

After leading the two men away from the Dove drowning amidst those others that stayed in the monastery, the elder requested to keep the beautiful cassock in his own room for the night so he could properly admire it. Tripitaka was hesitant to agree to such a demand, so Monkey did on his behalf. How was he supposed to know their host had the potential to be an arsonist?

Luckily, Monkey King already has everything taken care of. Not needing sleep like the rest of his party, the Sage was already awake to overhear the elder ordering the other monks to set fire to the wing where their group was shown to their rooms. Monkey was quick to make sure his Master and his steed stayed safe, borrowing a cloak from a celestial friend to protect them from the fire. And with his master sleeping safe and sound, now he can have some… fun.

If these stupid people were so intent on setting everything ablaze, who would he be to stop them? In fact, why not help them?

The Great Sage hovers over the controlled fire, the bustling sound of feet thumping to and fro to feed it making him smirk. Pressing two of his fingers together, the demon begins to recite under his breath softly, his words cutting through the air swiftly before lifting his head to the fire. Taking a great inhale, Wukong blows out a great wind from his lungs, directly towards the fire. It took little time before he heard the screams, and he tries to stifle his laughter before outright bellowing as the flames spread to the rest of the monastery, growing out of control.

He falls back on his cloud, barking with laughter as monks run out of the building with blood curdling screams. Some have to be quickly put out, running with the fire catching their clothes. It’s too good! Did not one of them think this plot could backfire? It’ll certainly be the last time any of them ever try such a stunt with–

Oh, now this is interesting.

One figure runs back in, his companions shouting in protest as he ignores their calls. Does he not see that the monastery was now a lost cause? Is there something he left behind? Why else is he running back in?

Curious as to what could spawn such bravery, Sun Wukong follows the young monk back into the monastery, careful to keep back a few paces so as to not reveal himself. It wasn’t very difficult, the man seems laser-focused on whatever his goal may be.

It’s amusing to the King, the way the monk frantically ducks over collapsing wood and bounds over burning debris all while doing his best to cover his face to stop the smoke from breaching his lungs. Wukong strolls not too far behind, casually spinning his staff here and there as the man rushes around corners and weaves through the burning building. It’s a shame fire can be so harmful to those who aren’t immortal. Then again, it’s always fun to watch things burn.

The monk begins to slow, seemingly arriving at his destination. It only then makes Wukong realise he had been led to where the fire initially started, the wing his group was staying in. He ran like a madman to get here? But why would he… shit.

Sun Wukong forgot about the woman.

Her sleeping quarters aren’t protected by the cloak. The realisation strikes him just as the monk approaches her room. Just before he can open it, Wukong jumps into action, revealing himself as he grabs the man by his shoulder so he could turn the monk to face him. Before he can even make a sound, Sun Wukong lifts him by his shirt and holds him with one hand in the air. The young man yelps in surprise before screaming once he realises who the one holding him is. Seeing his face clearly now, the Sage also recognizes him as the monk who had first approached Dove before swarming her with the others. “Sneaking into the room of a woman this late at night?” Wukong raises an unimpressed brow as the man struggles to pry the demon’s hand off his garbs. “And they call me an animal.”

The man continues to squirm, clearly distressed. “You monster! Don’t you see we are all about to burn?!”

The King laughs. “Oh, I know you will. The woman? I’ve yet to decide.” He takes a moment to look back at the door, weighing his options in his mind.

The man stops in his feeble attempts at freedom for a moment to cast a look of shock on the demon. “Isn’t that your travelling companion?”

“Not by choice.” Seemingly unperturbed by his current predicament, the monk continues to pick at the King’s fingers. Wukong almost feels impressed by his persistence. “She did a kindness today, she doesn’t deserve to burn!”

“Seriously?! Then why do I deser– you know, actually, I don’t care.” Wukong mumbles to himself, glancing back at the room again. Why did he have to follow this stupid monk back to her door? If he managed to forget her, he’d have the wonderful gift of her absence in the morning. But if Master finds out he had the opportunity to help and chose not to, he may just recite that stupid spell until his head cracks open.

With a long and exaggerating sigh, the Sage sets the monk down. “How dare you remind me she was here. Now I have to stop her from burning.” His grumbles barely even reach the man before he kicks down the door to her room.

Stepping in, he takes a moment to take the sight of her sleeping form in again. Smoke fills the air, heat roasting the room with the flames just reaching her door frame, and she’s still asleep? Wukong didn’t expect her to be such a heavy sleeper.

Crouching down, Monkey King grabs her shoulders to shake her awake. “Hey, wake up.” He shakes her a few times only for the woman to slump back, unbothered. It’s like she’s practically dead. Is she? The King slaps her before quickly jumping back in preparation for her shock into consciousness, but it never comes. Huh. He gets back up to his feet to leave, Master can’t be upset if she just died in her sleep.

A loud snore stops his plan just as he goes to exit the room. Dammit. “Uuuuuggggggghhhhhhhh.” Sun Wukong groans, spinning back on his heel to go for the woman. When Guan Yin convinced him to help on this stupid journey, he didn’t plan on babysitting two incompetent humans. With a roll of his eyes, Wukong scoops the girl into his arms before exiting through the window. That other monk can find his own way out.

Now with the woman in his arms, Wukong finds a tree just far enough from the carnage to enjoy it. Letting the Dove down onto the ground, he sits back against the tree to watch in peace as hysteria infects those that still believe they can put out the flames. Their attempts are laughable, the King had missed watching such chaos unfold. During the years before his conflict with the Heavenly Court, there had been many villages he and his army terrorised, and watching fires burn buildings to the ground was always one of the best parts. There’s always such a heavy contrast between the screams of the damned and the melodic rhythm of the flames, dancing in every shade of orange and red.

Wukong supposes that now, the serene feeling in his chest comes from more than just a simple fire. He glances down at the woman lying next to him, her presence, while not as powerful as when she uses the gift, is no less welcome. The Monkey King could feel his heart steady, his mind quiet, and a sigh escape his chest as the feeling of relaxation encompasses him. Were it not for her snide comments and deathly glares– as well as the shackle on his head– Dove might be nice to have around. If she was always this passive, he’d actually enjoy her company. It would be a lie to say Wukong isn’t curious about the bird on this journey with them. Not a question he ever asks her can be given a straight answer. If it wasn’t for her hostile nature, he’d be more inclined to feed his curiosity and speak with her more, but that stupid circlet is already enough of a headache and he’d rather not add to it. He’ll give her points for cunning, it was admirable, if not for the fact that it was at his expense. Nonetheless, it’s nice to be in such a soothing presence without all the usual threats and jabs. Something rustles in some bushes only a few paces away, Monkey King sitting up immediately at the sound. His head snaps to the direction of the sound, his eyes meeting another’s, black and round, with barely any white visible. He looks to the small round ears barely visible in the dark cover of shrubbery and snout of a bear’s before frowning. Before he can investigate, the creature is gone, heavy footsteps lumbering into the forest.

A chase? This night keeps getting better. Sun Wukong jumps up to give chase before nearly falling onto his face, tripping. With a grunt, he lifts his head to look back for the source of his descent, finding the woman’s arms wrapped around his waist. His once excited expression drops, an almost silent growl rippling from his chest. “Even while unconscious, she thwarts my every move!”

Sitting back up, Wukong takes her arms in his hands before the girl tightens her hold, a small grunt escaping her form as she does. The King blinks, frowning for a moment at her twisted expression before looking back in the direction the creature had run. There was no sign of it anymore. With a heavy sigh, Wukong shifts to lay against the tree once more and continues watching the flames. It was probably just an animal running from the fire. After one last glance at the woman now holding him in a death grip, he turns his attention back to the burning building, occasionally looking over to the wing where his Master sleeps to make sure the area covered in that old cloak remains untouched by the fire.

~~~~

Yelling echoes through your ears. Children cry loudly, using the backs of their throats to let out blood curdling screams. Fire erupts from every house and shop, surrounding the village as a mass of bloody flames jump from building to building.

You trip, looking down only for your eyes to widen, the lifeless eyes of the little girl who lived in the house next to yours staring back, red coating her neck and pooling under her head. The sight nearly causes you to freeze in fear if not for the barely audible sound of metal colliding. The sound is a warning, and it's enough to get you to your feet.

The Eyes, they followed you. Golden and dull. They followed you home and they brought the demons with them. A rhythmic clink of metal makes your heart stop, each clash feels as though it shakes the ground, turning it from solid earth to sand. Turning, you see a shadowy figure, the Golden Eyes glowing as they approach.

As fast as humanly possible, you run, stumbling as you do. The clinking of metal follows, echoing through your ear drums, growing louder and louder. You clutch your ears and fall to your knees. It only grows louder. Eyes shut tight, you curl into the ground, tears staining your face as you weep. The Glowing Eyes sear into your mind as you beg it to stop.

Hands grab at your arms, not claws or talons, but hands. You just barely get back to your feet in time to be dragged along to find a way to safety. Another child, a boy, takes your hand. "Come on, we have to go!" At his words, you cry out, failing miserably to pry yourself away from his hands in a desperate attempt to get away. You’ve seen this part before, you can never unsee this part.

The boy pulls you along, looking around for anyone that could help. Someone who could—

"Jie!" You shout, your throat shreds as though the claws of the demon impaling the boy with his weapon tore into your neck instead. You stumble onto your back as a blade pierces through the boy. His eyes are pleading, his scream deafening as the blade quickly retracts, allowing blood to flow from the wound. You call out only to find your voice now gone, barely a strangled gasp. A hand grabs your arm, pulling you to your feet.

"Stop! Let go!" "Aagh! Son of a—"

Your eyes snap open to find the bright morning sun bringing about a new day. The smell of ash and cinders hang in the air heavily, as though traces of a distant memory linger in your waking life. It takes your eyes a moment to adjust to the outdoor lighting before you frown. Outside? But you went to your room before going to bed. When did you get outside?

“I pity your pillow.” A groan from under you makes your eyes bulge wide, the figure of the all too familiar Monkey King underneath you and rubbing his jaw and– why are you holding him in your arms?!

You shout, jumping back and up onto your feet as he remains nursing his jaw on the ground. “What are you… why– when did–” Your face flushes from embarrassment before your gaze lands on where the monastery was only a night ago. “What happened?!”

“Attacks me in her sleep and doesn’t even ask if I’m okay.” The demon grumbles, rising to his feet.

You feel your gaze harden. “What were you even doing? Why was I on top of you?!”

Monkey King stretches, walking past you and towards the remains of the monastery. “I was busy saving everyone last night. But don’t worry, I can just let you burn next time.”

This despicable little– wait. “Where’s Tripitaka?!”

“AAAAAAAAAAHHH–!”

“Sounds like he’s over there.” Oh, if only you had Guan Yin’s patience.

[fictionadventurer]

Pop culture image of Jane Eyre: This is a passionate, problematic love story about a woman falling in love with a guy who locked his wife in the attic.

Actual Jane Eyre: This is the story of a woman recovering from a childhood of horrific abuse.

[s-aint-elmo]

Falin has been nearsighted since she was little, and has a habit of squinting when she's looking at things. —Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible

she should have been at the optometrist's

(ID in alt text)

[bumblingbabooshka]

Every time I watch the cold open of Memorial and B'Elanna tells Tom about how she ASSEMBLED a 50's television set from SCRATCH just to surprise him (there's no reason beyond that - just an incredibly sweet and thoughtful gesture) and replicated popcorn for him to eat while he watches and Tom says "They didn't have remote controls in the 50's ♥ Also where's my beer?" I contemplate murder ESPECIALLY because B'Elanna responds cheerfully to it - GIRL!!! LEAVE HIM!!!!!! IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE CHARMING IN THIS SCENE????

[thenotoriousscuttlecliff]

Just had a crazy thought, but what if Sammael has been combined with Be'lal, and he shows up during the attack on Cold Rocks Hold really to have his big showdown with Rand only for Moiraine to burst in and instantly blast him into oblivion with Sakarnen.

[littlebittyhollowbugs]

Hornet headcanon!

'Hornet' is not Hornet's true name.

I'm still torn between different reasonings for her having the name either

A- It was given to her as an honorary title, by Queen Vespa, during her training within the hive (or bestowed upon her after having finished her training as a symbol of her accomplishments.)

Or B- She gave the name to herself, after the fall of the kingdom, as a way to separate her current self from her past while still honoring some part of her past. (The part that is easiest for her to look back on.)

As for her birth name my sisters and I have decided on Arachnè. (The name is from a Greek myth, where the protagonist Arachnè challenges Athena to a weaving contest, wins, and is afterwards transformed into a spider.)

[imminent-danger-came]

Imp, have you seen the Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want To Be A Magical Girl pilot? If you have, I’m curious to know your thoughts on it because I don’t really know what you’d think of it. I know you hate when stories mock its tropes, but I feel the pilot intends to use the jokes for theme, which I know you appreciate. It also has set-up for a main queer black couple as opposed to the in-universe one-sided ship between the blorbo-bait white guy as a bonus LOL. Hope you have a good day!

I have!

I think it's a super cute pilot—the voice direction and a lot of the comedy isn't for me (kinda reminds me of of SvTFOE or TOH, which the creator works at Disney so that checks out), but that's totally just preference rather than a fault of the show. I respect what they're trying to do, it definitely doesn't feel like it's "mocking" the magical girl genre at all! I think my real issue is when a piece of media lacks sincerity, which PPPIDWTBAMG (does. the fandom have a better acronym) has plenty of. It's a fine deconstruction, and that "magical girl de-transformation' is just smart.

Obviously love a main queer black couple, they're goofy and fun (and feel arospec to me), and I love that the white boy is chasing after the black girl. It's just nice to see

"Blorbo-bait white guy" is fucking KILLING me

[buttercupshands]

wait a minute

stop.

stop it.

[yeonban]

Woke up thinking about the Phantom Troupe & the Kurta massacre today and I'm still wondering what the motive for it was. Especially given the message left behind at the scene of the crime (similar to the elders' way of doing things back in MC) mentioning "don't ever take anything away from us" & the fact that Sheila (a childhood friend of the spiders, who met Kurapika and Pairo as kids & was hidden away in Lukso for a long time) was most certainly there when the spiders came

[meowsticmarvels]

i think i mightve talked abt this a bit in my longpost about how insane phi as a character is to me but yknow what i really wanna point out? all the nonary game shit she has to go through happens in really quick succession to her - she doesn't really get a proper "break" in between VLR and ZTD for her mentally. junpei and akane at least have about a year between the two, and sigma has 45 years (not that either of those situations were particularly good either though, looking at how sigma and junpei especially turned out, and sigma spent years WORKING on the AB game, just not participating in it). but for phi? she has a matter of DAYS in between the two. the time sigma spends she spends in cold sleep, so mentally to her, her consciousness goes from the events of VLR's phi end to DCOM almost instantly. dcom only ends up lasting for about 5 days, and even then the prologue states that phi/sigma/akane spent most of it worrying about radical-6 and the future + the flashback with diana shows phi is just so Tired after everything after just that. and then the decision game happens. my point is just that i cannot imagine being in a death game like that (not to mention everyone had radical-6, so she went from a body that Did have it to one that didn't, which i can imagine would probably a pretty weird experience considering one of its symptoms is messing up your perception of time. and also she was on the moon.), spending 5 days like god how did the apocalypse start i can't let it happen this time and then being in Another death game that is much more gruesome and violent. not to mention both of them in a way HAD to happen because of her (2074 nonary game bc it needed to train sigma and phi's SHIFTing abilities to a good enough degree and decision game one of the reasons was to ensure she and delta were born). in summary: i would fucking die at that point if i was phi dealing with that All At Once. in the span of a few days. and with the memories of my + others' deaths. what the fuck

[hey-heigo]

like how alluka is a trans girl and pakunoda is implied trans woman and killua is more or less transmasc and somehow a not insignificant portion of hxh fans will bend over backwards to say that it's just 'circumstantial' or 'reminiscient of japanese culture' etc...they'd drool over togashi's subversion of shounen tropes and write essays about the reflected and reversed parallels of humanity and good and evil between the protags and antags but god forbid that poor old japanese mangaka even try to formulate a trans person, he's just confused don't push your woke nonsense on his delicate eastern proclivities

[gu6chan]

took a fit pic yesterday bc it goes hard as hell only to die a little inside bc i don't want to brag on my insta and am hardly active there anyways but im hesitant to post it here bc i look like im 12 😭

[bloody-wonder]

why ambivalent? if u don't mind me asking, I know kevin is a fave of yours so I imagine that's nice?

(one book is a prequel to the og series and the other a book set after jeans final book I believe - in case u didn't know)

I'd guess the prequel shows a lot of kevjean (obvs) & ig the other book will likely be about his relationship with wymack? maybe becoming not an alcoholic? not sure tbh. maybe just more kevjean lol

well tbh after not liking tsc and tgr i'm pretty pessimistic about any potential new books in this series. generally speaking i think it's better to quit while you're ahead with any sort of creative project and in the case of aftg specifically i think nora made some bold but ultimately rewarding decisions in the og trilogy which she's now systematically undoing. one such decision was to end the story right after the final match - i mean they haven't even left the building so no wonder many people deem this ending quite abrupt but i think it works much better than if it had been drawn out to include extended falling action. another such decision was that, despite the fact that kevin seems like he should be the main character of this story, he isn't one - neil is. ik there have existed many drafts and neil didn't become the pov character until quite late in the writing process but i do believe this choice contributed crucially to the story's success. the mismatch between neil being the protagonist but the main villain (riko) being kevin's antagonist is the sort of experimental twist on storytelling structures i love selfpub books for. well now we do have extended falling action in the form of another trilogy and if you read my previous posts about it you know i think it brings nothing to the table. and now that we're going to get some books with kevin as a protag after all i struggle to imagine they might turn out any good either.

bc like,, what are they gonna be about? "kevin becomes not an alcoholic" does not a book make. besides, the way she's writing "jean becomes not brainwashed and traumatized" does not exactly inspire confidence. kevjean is a ship and a non canon one at that. not to sound like all those posts complaining about the tropification of literature but a ship alone does not a book make. the sequel needs a plot to weave kevin's relationships and character development into and idk if nora can (or indeed will want to) come up with one that works and isn't just ohhh nooo it's the mafia again. the prequel will likely end up rehashing a lot of material we're already familiar with - which i was totally fine with when it was done in short story format and later labeled as extra content. but when a good chunk of tsc turned out to be tkm scenes recycled from jean's pov it annoyed me a lot. i can't really pinpoint what the difference is but with the short stories it's really like you're getting these cool additional insights but with several books worth of that it starts feeling bloated like later mcu. is there something new to be said or are we just beating the dead horse?

so yeah kevin is indeed one of my faves and that's exactly the reason i'm concerned. i don't think he needs more books and i don't think he needs to be the main character (or even a pov character - he'll definitely lose a lot of his kevin day mystique if i'm constantly in his head). i really hope i will eat my own words tho bc i did like everything nora has written about the foxes recently so there's that

[ofswordsandpens]

I could see Katara recusing herself from the trial because of her personal connection to bloodbending. Is it fair that she serve as judge and jury on a trial for breaking a law that she wrote? But if that was the logic behind her exclusion, I would have appreciated a throwaway line to that effect. Otherwise it just looks like sexism…

Probably should have been more clear in my tags - I didn't want her to "lead" Yakone's trial in the sense that she's the judge and jury, but more in the sense that she's shown as a fellow figurehead... just like Sokka, Toph, and Aang were in the flashbacks. Toph actively hunted Yakone down and is present at the trial. Aang takes time away from his duties that he "typically wouldn't" to help Toph hunt him down and is present at the trial. Sokka is at the trial as a councilman and literally gives the verdict of the council.

Meanwhile Katara, the person who fought to get blood bending banned in the first place, the near single political recognition we're given of hers in TLOK, is just.... somewhere else? Had no interest in helping Toph track him down? And even if she wasn't present at the trial as a proponent or activist of some sorts, she could have been in the audience. Like you don't think she wouldn't have some bearing of interest in this case? On the outcome? Even if she hadn't said a single word, the animators could have literally just drawn her in the empty chair next to Aang in the court and that would have had far better mileage (not perfect, but better) than her simply being nonexistent in every one of those flashbacks imo.

But this is just one example. Katara's character (amongst the others) after the original series just... doesn't hit the mark for me. Sure, TLOK and other post-ATLA material will tell me she's a fighter, a healer, an activist as an adult etc but when it comes to actually showing it, such as how they did for Aang, Toph, and Sokka in TLOK... well, they don't. Katara simply doesn't get the same relevance as they did. And it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.

[simptasia]

jate is fate

[hewhobreathesfire]

I'm not afraid to admit I cried a little bit when I was laying on the sidewalk temporarily stunned. and I kept crying while speed walking to the bus stop a few blocks away. that shit hurt so bad, on top of an already miserable morning.