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imminent-danger-came · 10 months

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Sun Wukong Knew About MK the Whole Time: A Theory

I am currently hyped up on leftovers and iced coffee, so let's do this!

I've talked about this before, here and here, but I think it's finally time I wrote an official post. You can go and read those posts if you want to (I definitely hit the nail on the head with some of this stuff), but I will be compiling a lot of what I said on those posts here!

So. Let's get the Mr. Elephant out of the room first: The David Breen Tweets. (thread here).

I see this tweet mentioned a lot whenever I bring up SWK knowing about MK, and honestly, this is a far cry from the "it's been confirmed that SWK didn't know" definite answer everyone's been implying.

So let's break it down!

#1: "Monkey King ain't the father"/"Monkey King isn't his dad." Well of course! Being born from a stone means you don't have any parents. I see it like this: Wukong isn't MK's dad, but he's also not NOT MK's dad, it's a secret third thing (creator and creation). Or, perhaps Wukong didn't help create MK at all, but he at the very least was involved in the circumstances that lead to MK being created/being born from the stone. (Aka eldritch abomination MK theory. My Beloved. Okay sorry.)

#2: "Monkey King was ripping his way through memories looking for MK, but kept coming back to the stone. He doesn't know why." So, while Wukong was ripping through memories, he didn't know why the scroll kept spitting him out by the stone. This is not a confirmation that Wukong didn't know about MK and his origins. It also begs the question: how did Wukong know MK was in the scroll to begin with? There's also some speculation to be had about why Wukong was so desperate to find MK to begin with:

MK: "Monkey King did this?" Macaque: "It looks like he's been tearing his way through his past—trying to find his way to.." MK: "Me."

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

What was he so afraid of MK finding? Or, what was he afraid the scroll would force MK to experience? I think these are questions worth asking.

#3: "Wukong's trying real hard to leave the 'not being open with MK' days behind after s3. Problem is he's got lifetimes of info to catch them up on." Well, this one is a DOOZIE. One: we already know MK doesn't know everything about Wukong and his choices because he doesn't know Wukong killed Macaque (thank you 4x11). Two: "trying real hard" and "successfully doing" are very different things. And three: YOU DON'T JUST DROP INFO LIKE "Hey, did you know you're a Monkey Demon?" ON TOP OF SOMEONE RANDOMLY. Especially not MK. You have to prepare them for it.

Wukong is trying to do better and be better for everyone around him, but that still takes work. That still isn't easy. He's still going to make mistakes, which means he's not going to always go about being open with MK in the best way.

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?”

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

This scene—to me—feels like Wukong is trying prepare MK for his eventual "Hey did you know you're a Monkey Demon?" conversation he wants (and needs) to have down the line. Yes, SWK is trying to be more open with MK, but he's also just not going to be given that chance before the truth comes out.

MK: "Yeah right, if Monkey King really was my dad don't you think he would have said something by now?" Mei: "Yeah...because he's normally SOOOOO forth coming with information." MK: "Well uh, whatever—when we find Monkey King's stone, then we'll just ask him!"

(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

Notice how they never asked Monkey King that question? From a writing standpoint, why bring this up at all if it wasn't to imply that (even if Monkey King isn't MK's dad) he wasn't involved with MK's creation in some way?

ANYWAYS.

NOW THAT THE BREEN TWEET THAT HAS RUINED MY LIFE IS OUT OF THE WAY, let's get into the evidence given to us throughout the entirety of the show. Starting with this:

This isn't a scene that takes place during the "A Hero is Born" special, as I'm sure plenty of people have noticed before now. Of course, this could have just been Monkey King "scouting out a successor", but with everything we know now doesn't that...feel kinda weird?

We were told at the beginning of the show that Monkey King gave MK his powers, but now we know that's not true. MK has had his own powers this whole time—and that's something Wukong, at the very least, knew:

Sun Wukong: "Listen kid: You fought demons, and you didn't die, and you made it here! Not just anyone can lift my staff, but you did." (1x00 A Hero is Born)

MK: "This whole time, I thought my powers came from the staff! Sun Wukong: "The staff's just a big 'ol stick bud! It takes someone special to lift it." (3x03 Smartie Kid)

There's also 1x09 Macaque, which I have mentioned before:

Macaque: "Ohohoh no, can't you hold the magic staff anymore? Well, you know what that means—there really isn't anything special about you. You're just a kid with a heavy stick."

This scene is then followed by MK lifting the staff, which only happens because Wukong encourages him.

MK: "Ugh, I can't! I'm not strong enough." Sun Wukong: "Kid! We're definitely going to have words later, but it's time for the Hero Stuff!"

(1x09 Macaque)

Ultimately, Wukong knows MK can lift the staff again even after Macaque supposedly stole all of MK's powers. He knows MK can beat DBK (more on that later). He does something similar to all this in 3x14, being the one to let MK face the Lady Bone Demon, powered by the Samadhi fire, alone (even after Pigsy tries to stop MK):

Wukong want's to protect MK. That's why he went to face the Lady Bone Demon alone in the first place—but here, he let's MK stop the end of the world all by himself. Why would he let his beloved student face not only LBD, but a reality ending flame alone?

Because he knows how much power MK has. Because he knows MK is capable of doing it.

This all brings me to my main point: If before now we were supposed to believe that Monkey King gave MK his powers, and he so clearly didn't, how would Wukong not know he didn't give MK powers. And because he clearly knew he didn't give MK any powers, why would he not question where this kid's insane level of power came from? He had to have "chosen" MK to be his successor for a reason right?

ESPECIALLY because Wukong never planned on being a mentor in the first place:

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly, I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry MK. For all of it."

(3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

This was also alluded to in 3x05 Amnesia Rules:

Pigsy: "Of COURSE you don't remember the kid—one day you are going to grow up to be a terrible mentor!" Sun Wukong: "Ha! Zhu Bajie, can you imagine me teaching someone? HA!"

So, Wukong clearly didn't ever want to become a mentor, and this directly contradicts what Wukong says to MK in "A Hero is Born":

Sun Wukong: "You're perfect!" MK: "Perfect for what?" Sun Wukong: "To be...my successor!"

Honestly, think about it: has Wukong ever once actually needed a successor? When given the opportunity, he goes off and tries to handle things on his own anyways (Leaving in s2, wanting to go and reforge the Samadhi Fire on his own, going to stop LBD alone). It's the classic "we're being told one thing and shown another" trick.

Sun Wukong: "No no no- in case you forgot I'M retired, you're the one supposed to be taking care of the bad guys." (1x01 Bad Weather)

Even in 2x01 he's lying:

Sun Wukong: "Aw, come on bud! I promised myself that when I found a successor I'd go see some friends, take a tour of my old stomping grounds, just cut loose you know?" (2x01 Sleep bug)

It's proven in the next episode, and by the fact that all of his friends are dead/gone, that literally nothing he said here is true.

And, it's also note worthy to point out, that by this point Wukong had already disappeared for hundreds of years. Why step in again at all? Why put the effort into getting a successor you definitely were never prepared to have?

MK: "*sigh* You think Monkey King ever felt like this? Maybe that's why he stayed up on this mountain, just having a good time with you guys. You know cause- cause he knew he'd be out of the way where he couldn't hurt anyone he cared about." Macaque: "Or, he was doing his usual Wukong thing and being a lazy peach eating idiot. Ignoring all the worlds problems.

(4x09 Roast of the Monkie Kids)

So, I don't know about you, but I'm going to trust Macaque's insight on this. I'm not sure Wukong ever planned on coming back. Sealing DBK, he effectively cut off one of his last ties to the world (please go read wlw-wukong's thoughts, they are delightful), and he had already left the world alone for a long time. Why did he feel the need to train a successor now?

The simple answer is this: because he knew he needed to train MK and teach him to control his powers, and DBK's return was the perfect way to do it.

NOW. THE S4 MK VISIONS.

So, the visions MK see's all through out s4 (4x03, 4x04, 4x05, 4x06) are of Wukong ripping through the scroll and going to the stone—David Breen confirmed that himself in the above tweets.

Here's a list of what we see:

(4x03 The Great Tang Man)

(4x04 Pig Napped)

(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

These are what I would say are the visions of Sun Wukong trying to find MK in the scroll. Yet, they are distinctly different from what Subodhi presses MK to remember ("Tell me of your childhood, your parents." "You do not remember?" "And what else?"):

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

Look at that difference!

Every vision MK has includes the same scenes, except this one. That's why I think it's a memory; that and the way it's framed, with MK closing his eyes in focus. The other visions from 4x03, 4x04, and 4x05 all are unprompted, being forced upon MK. Why make this last "vision" so different from the others? Why show our mystery lady making the stone monkey? That would be because it's a memory—be it MK's, something from the scroll, or a mix of both.

There's also the matter of like, why Wukong going to the stone would trigger any sort of vision in MK to begin with. Overall, it just seems like there something more to those visions.

This would be how I imagine the general timeline playing out:

MK is created (through help of Sun Wukong), a beautiful baby boy pops out of the stone, and Sun Wukong "loses" that beautiful boy (if Wukong knew he was born to begin with) with MK finding his way to Pigsy's.

Then it's later Sun Wukong finds MK again, coming up with a plan to make MK his "successor" (still leaving MK with Pigsy, which I think was the right call lol). As Wukong says in 4x01, "You make ONE mistake, and no one ever let's you live it down! Looks like the ghosts of my past have finally caught up with me." That's what I think this parallel in particular is really trying to show off—in some way, MK is part of his past mistakes, just like Macaque is.

AND SO. I WILL CLOSE OFF THIS THEORY POST WITH EVERYTHING WE LEARNED IN THE SPECIAL.

Sun Wukong: "Heh, nothing gets under his skin more than a monkey. Leave Azure to MK and me."

(4x12 The Plan Man)

Sun Wukong: "Kinda embarrassing for the Jade Emperor to have two little cheeky monkeys running circles around him the first day on the job." MK: "Well, one monkey and one unconfirmed, but *laughs* yeah! I'd be embarrassed for sure!"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

Wukong sounds suspiciously confident that MK is a monkey.

Not even MK is sure what he is (which he's probably just in denial, but also "Until I know what I am, what my destiny is?" from 4x08 anyone?), but Sun Wukong is extremely certain about what MK is.

Sun Wukong: "We got this bud. Would have liked to give you some new training with your monkey form, but-" MK: "Oh yeah yeah yeah- uh um- about that— um. I- I was thinking, I've never really needed a scary new monkey form before, so, I just thought maybe I'd use it next time." Sun Wukong: "Next time? Kid, there might not be a next time! This is the time."

MK: "It's be fine! Mei and I have got this awesome new armor and everything! You know, when we look this good? Ain't nothing gonna beat us." Sun Wukong: "Kid. New armor isn't going to cut it! We have to hit Azure with everything we've got! You can't just ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

If the writers were trying to highlight the fact that Wukong didn't know, this scene would have gone very differently. Instead of "You can't just ignore this whole part of your power because it scares you!" I think it would have been more along the lines of "I know this is new for all of us, but you've got to accept this part of your power!".

Even this exchange at the end of the special raises some alarm bells for me:

Pigsy: "Heh, don't bother. I've been telling him that for years but he LITERALLY never listens." Sun Wukong: "Yep! That's how we roll."

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

That's how "we" roll? As in him and MK, as two monkeys? Again, Wukong is surprisingly chill and okay with this new form for someone whose first interaction with it was supposedly this:

MK, writhing on the ground in pain, completely destroying the world around him, and unable to control his powers.

Sun Wukong: "Yeah! Go MK, go! Just try not to totally wreck up my stuff would ya-"

(4x13 Rip and Tear)

Overall, it gives me the impression that Wukong already knew what MK was before 4x07. This new form didn't scare him because he always knew that's what MK was. MK, to Wukong, is MK! And MK has always been a Monkey Demon. He has unshakeable faith in his protege, and even while MK is absolutely tearing up the world around flower fruit mountain he can't help but cheer for him.

After all, Wukong knows MK is the only one who could defeat Azure:

MK: "Ne Zha's right—while Azure has the Jade Emperor's power and the scroll, there's NO way we could beat him head on!" Sun Wukong: "I mean, some of us could beat him! *ahem* One of us, specifically-" MK: "Nope! None of us at all."

(4x12 The Plan Man)

"But Imp!" I hear you say, "Wukong was talking about himself here!". To which I would reply, that's not true! This scene is right after Wukong has already said he only almost beat the Jade Emperor:

Sun Wukong: "But don't worry—I almost beat the Jade Emperor single handed once! Between both of us, Azure doesn't stand a chance." (4x12 The Plan Man)

Between this and Wukong's pre-fight convo with MK ("We have to hit Azure with everything we've got!"), he's clearly banking on MK using the full extent of his powers to win this fight. Wukong isn't banking on his own—if he were, he would never have left MK to go and collect the scroll pieces during their fight with Azure.

Conclusion

Sun Wukong knew MK was a monkey the whole time, lol—and fate has plans for MK. Great plans, or foul? Time will tell.

And Wukong has done his best to ensure that those plans are great.

#I am very open for having a discussion about this!#Prove me wrong!#But it is getting disheartening to see so many people just go ''Naw they confirmed he didn't know lol'' when they very much didn't.#Anyways!#This took a while to write asdfadsf #enjoy!#lmk theory #lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk MK #lmk SWK #lmk Sun Wukong

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sebastianwallows · 1 year

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Indecent

Ominis Gaunt x reader

Summary - Request for “Idk if this has been done already but I have this prompt where MC is changing and doesn't mind Ominis in the room (cause you know....blind). He hears the shuffling of clothes and asks "Ermmm MC ... What are you doing?". They reply " Changing, duh." MC is oblivious, doesn't see what's wrong with it and poor Ominis is there fumbling with his words, face red and lecturing MC even though he's blind they shouldn't do that.”

Word Count - 671

Warnings - none

A/N - short and too the point fluff

Ominis had just shown up to your room as planned since you were going out to Hogsmeade together today. You had been sitting on your bed with a book, distracted from the time and realized you forgot to get ready for the outing.

"Hey Ominis!" You greet him as if you had totally remembered he was showing up, hopping up you lead him over to have a seat on your bed.

"Y/N, are you excited to try out the new sweets today? I've heard they were imported." He flashed a bright smile at the thought.

You loved seeing him so animated, but that gave you all the more reason to hurry and get changed so you could head out.

"I am, I hope they have some of those cinnamon crumblies I've heard Natsai mention before," your voice was muffled as you struggled to tug your shirt over your head, the buttons only half undone.

Ominis cleared his throat in confusion. He could hear what sounded like clothes hitting in the floor and you stomping around the room in a rush.

"Y/N? What on earth are you doing?"

You froze on the spot, your shirt lay in the floor as you had been searching for your another in your drawers. You looked back at him and his gaze was fixed on you even though he wasn't actually witnessing you being half dressed.

"Um. I'm changing?"

You had time to take in his expression of shock before you continued your rummaging, not the least bit concerned about his presence.

"What?!" He closed his eyes for your sake, his face as red as beets.

"You — if you weren't ready you didn't have to let me in."

You shrugged pulling on your sweater and tugging off the bottom of your uniform as well. You laughed when you looked back at him, the color extending all the way to the tips of his ears.

"I can't really be indecent if you can't see it, can I?"

He tripped over his words, trying to come up with a reasonable reply, swiping his hand over his face.

"I still know what you're doing. I don't ever see anything, but I — that doesn't mean I can control my thoughts now that I know."

His thoughts were definitely going wild in his head, imaging what you had taken on or off at a given time. Had you been missing clothes when you led him through the door?

"It's not appropriate to not at least warn me," he concluded with a huff, crossing his arms.

You tried to take him seriously, but the anger he was trying to portray didn't lend itself to the embarrassment he already had written all over him. You finished putting on the rest of your clothes before you walked over to him, standing in front of where he perched on your bed.

You placed your hands on his shoulders and sighed, "I'm sorry, Ominis. I didn't mean to be rude."

He opened his mouth to reply, but you cut him off before he had the chance to speak, "Next time, I'll tell you every time I'm taking something off."

He let his mouth fall open at your words, pushing you back from him to stand up.

"Next time?! There shouldn't be a next time. I mean, not that I — I —" You had officially rendered him speechless, he felt he was talking himself into the ground and nothing he could say to redeem the situation and get the lecture through your head.

"You're a bad influence, Y/N." He leaned his head up against a post of your bed in defeat, "Are you at least finished now?"

"Yes, Ominis." You grabbed for your robes off of the wall, "I am completely decent and ready to go treat your sweet tooth."

He turned around, attempting to recover the situation and return his focus to the candy, he smiled once more. You pinched his cheek before he swatted your hand away and hurried you out the door.

#ominis #ominis gaunt #ominis gaunt x reader #ominis x reader #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy x reader #ominis smut #ominis gaunt smut #hogwarts legacy smut

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love-3-crimes · 3 months

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Hey cj fandom! It's currently the 29th of January, which means that yesterday was the last day of the week long strike for Palestine. I apologize for not making a more official post for this earlier. I just wanted to come on here to try to sort of give ideas for what you can do to support Palestinians that should either not require money or just a small amount, and that I have personally done before.

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For boycotting, there is an app called "No Thanks" (Here's a link to my original post) that tells you whether something is on the boycott list just by scanning the barcode. Very easy to use and it should be available on most phones.

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For more information on propaganda and anti-Palestine talking points, I recommend reading Advocating for Palestine. It's a very short booklet, about 16 pages, and it comes in English, Arabic, German, French, Spanish, and Mandarin.

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One way to get your voice heard is by contacting your representatives. Emailing, calling, anything to get their attention! The way to contact them will depend on which country you live in. For Americans, if you don't know who your representative is, use the congress find-your-member website, put your city/state, and a list of members will pop up with their info!

For the Australian representatives, use this website for the list of members, and for Europe there is a website called Voices in Europe for Peace that helps you get in touch with officials from your country. (It also has template you can copy and paste which is pretty cool!)

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Now for E-SIMS! I'll be honest about this one, I don't know much about how these work exactly, but!!! I was given a link to this tweet that has a pretty good step-by-step of how to get E-SIMS to people in Gaza who need them! Though from what I've seen, they take about a month to activate and be used, so just a warning.

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And, of course, the once-a-day click to help the UNRWA, who have been helping Palestinian refugees for many, many years. This one is especially important right now, as many countries have cut funding to them (more on this post)

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One of the most important things you can do right now is listen and learn. Listen to Palestinian voices, uplift them, read their poems and stories and look at their art. Remember that they are human too. They are still alive! Don't forget about them, please.

#chonny jash #free palestine #i tried to put options that dont require money #since i know that there are a lot of younger folk in this fandom #remember that you can make a difference!#dont let the old people make you think your voices dont matter!

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 1 month

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WIBTA if I reported my manager for being inappropriate with me?

(🍰🍓✨️ to find this easier later)

I (24NB, AFAB only because I feel like it matters here) work an overnight stocking job, where all of my coworkers are cis men. I've never had a problem with it - they're all fairly nice to me and don't treat me any differently than they treat one another.

All of them except my overnight supervisor, who I'll refer to as M. From the moment I started working there, I've felt like he looks down on me for being the only AFAB person working with him. He's always nitpicked everything I do, especially when it comes to detailing (pulling product up to the front) shelves at the end of our shift.

In the beginning, I could understand it. I was new, and had never worked a job like this before, so I assumed M was just laying down expectations of how our work needed to be done. But now, I've been working there for nearly two years, and he still acts this way with me. He still talks down to me like I have no idea what I'm doing, when I've proven to be better at detailing shelves the way he likes than the other men I work with.

Now we get to the point of this whole post - being inappropriate with me. To clarify beforehand, I'm fairly certain I have GI issues and need to use the bathroom more often than most people. It's been an issue in past jobs, and I can remember it being an issue when I was a child as well. However, medical neglect has left me with no clear official diagnosis, unfortunately.

M approached me one night after leaving the bathroom and preparing to take out a pallet. He asks me, almost verbatim, "Why do you use the bathroom so much?" I was confused at first. Nobody had ever outright asked me that, so I responded, "What do you mean?"

M went on to say that he noticed I was using the bathroom more frequently than he would have liked, I guess? And made a point to say that I would "take 10 to 15 minutes in there every time" (not true at all, as an aside; I try not to take more than 10 minutes at the most), which made me incredibly uncomfortable. Why was he taking note of every bathroom break I was taking, and why was he timing me?

Feeling the need to defend myself, I explained that I frequently have "stomach issues", to which M responded, "Every day though?" I was flabbergasted. I told him I suspect I might have IBS and left it at that before getting back on with my work.

On some level, if my frequent bathroom breaks were causing me to slack off in my work, I would understand being concerned. For all he knew, I could just be hiding in the bathroom to use my phone or something. But the thing is, I would often do a great deal more work than he would. By the time M would have two pallets of stock done, I would have four. And he knows I use my phone while I'm working, too! We don't have a job that cares that much about phone usage, as long as the job gets done.

I don't get it. I'm a good employee otherwise, I was given employee of the month and my other managers don't ever have an issue with my work. Would I be the asshole if I told one of the higher ups about this situation? I don't want to get him in trouble, and I honestly don't know if I would be justified in saying anything. I feel like I'm overreacting, but everyone I've talked to about this agrees that it was inappropriate.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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lurkingshan · 3 months

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Japanese QL Corner

ICYMI: There are so many Japanese qls airing weekly, so I’m going to start posting this little round up at the end of each week. All but one of these are on Gaga and I highly recommend watching!

Chaser Game W

Fuyu got a personality transplant this week and I have officially given up on this show being what I hoped it was. Enjoy the mess and the humiliation kink and don't look for consistent writing, logical plot, or deeper themes and you will find some things to enjoy. Like these two beautiful ladies making out a bunch!

Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yara ka

I love this show so much, y'all. This week we got the return of Sakae's selfish chaos ex, Mizuki, and because this is a show by and for adults, this resulted in our leads engaging in some proper communication, clarifying their feelings for each other, and sharing their first kiss by the end of the episode. I loved seeing more of Sakae and Mizuki's dynamic, and I just know if Soga wasn't in the picture Mizuki would already be in with Sakae again. Sakae is a soft touch and Mizuki clearly knows how to play him. But thankfully, Soga has already wormed his way into Sakae's loyal heart, so he was not tempted to waver. And for Soga, who is experiencing a queer awakening via his relationship with Sakae, Mizuki's presence was a much needed jolt to sort out his own feelings and decide he wants to try a relationship despite his concerns about not staying in Osaka long-term. I also loved the way their friends rallied around them to push Sakae and Soga to figure their shit out, and the sauna scenes will never get old.

Perfect Propose

It's official, I have adopted Kai as my child and will be forming a protection squad. This show is striking a good tonal balance of being fairly downbeat and serious, between Kai's past and Hiro's current work/life balance issues, but also uplifting in how their relationship builds. I like that they talk to each other so honestly about what they're feeling for each other, and Kai's quiet confidence that Hiro returns his feelings and just needs to come to terms with it is both hilarious and correct. My favorite thing that happened in this episode was Kai confidently noting all the ways Hiro’s body was responding to him and asking him to “be conscious of it.” Kai wants Hiro to be conscious of Kai’s feelings but also of his own responses, and he’s asking him not to look away from it and pretend he doesn’t know there’s something between them. I love the confidence of that.

And I sympathize with Hiro, as well, because it's not just that he's never considered being with a man before--he also just doesn't feel he has anything to offer to a partner right now given his brutal work situation. His guilt and shame for missing the festival after inviting Kai to go together was real, and you can see that he just can’t fathom having anything to give with the situation he’s in at work right now. The trick will be trusting that Kai can accept those limitations until he’s able to find a better balance, and then actually taking steps to pay attention to what he needs and wants, both in this relationship and in his career. Hiro has not been taking care of himself and it's catching up to him.

Ossan's Love Returns

A downbeat week for this show, and an episode that did not entirely work for me. I liked some of the themes they were exploring in this one, but it was all missing the humor that I've come to rely on and I don't feel that all the story threads pulled together as tightly as they normally do. In particular, my head is inquisitively tilted at the show's decision to make Maki and Haruta's wedding episode feel like such a misery slog, to focus primarily on the tension and strife leading up to the event rather than the joy it should inspire, and then to stay in the melancholy after a small moment of catharsis for our couple (and some season 1 flashbacks) by focusing on the sadness their marriage inspired in their various lonely suitors rather than their own wedded bliss. Seeing a wedding in jbl is a practically unheard of occurrence; a bit more queer joy was in order IMO and its absence was notable. I also thought the swing from Kurosawa beginning to accept a new role in Haruta’s life to suddenly going back to being lovelorn felt abrupt and poorly constructed. It's not that I think these ideas are unfounded given the show's focus on older male characters who feel past their prime for romance, but the execution was not quite right. And of course I am not too keen on the death flagging we got at the end for Kurosawa; I really hope the show will not take this story in a tragic direction for him.

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna 2

I have still only seen the first four episodes of this; sadly, the next batch is not yet available to me. But soon! In the meantime, let's revisit Nomoto sobbing over a lesbian film. She's just like me fr.

Next week we'll be continuing all of these plus adding My Strawberry Film, the final Drama Shower (go here for an explanation on what that is from @bengiyo) show for the season! I continue to be delighted by this embarrassment of jql riches.

#chaser game w #sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka #perfect propose #ossan's love returns #tsukuritai onna to tabetai onna #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #japanese bl #japanese gl #japanese ql corner #shan shouts into the void

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tsutsumi-kurose · 4 months

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this panel has quickly become a contender for my favorite of the series so far

large tsukasa bias heads up for this post lol, but mostly marvelling at the narrative and evocative power one panel can have because like. god. this panel is SO good. it's so simple!! and yet!!!! even my first time through it made me pause because there's such a palpable energy to it--which, having finished the chapter like 7 times over now haha, i can now say is very strong calm before the storm energy.

i love how this panel functions as like, a thesis statement for tsukasa. he's so perfectly centered, looking head on, his koku joudais on either side of him, the panel cut off right under his stab wound. this panel reads like a portrait.

and the feelings this one single expression evokes!! he's so at ease, and it makes the audience so not at ease.

because we know what "tsukasa" means. we know what tsukasa can do. and the panel immediately proceeding this tells us: akane and the clock keepers don't know what "tsukasa" means. this panel is like a stinger score in a horror movie as a character heads straight into a threat they can't see, while the audience sees the threat plainly but is helpless to warn them.

i especially love this panel coming off of all the chapters we've just gotten. we've seen so many shades and states of tsukasa in the past few chapters, including a very new state:

i've been puzzling over these panels all month, trying to figure out what felt so... distinct? about them, and 109 gave such good context for them. 108 tsukasa feels new because he is a tsukasa we hadn't seen before! this is a tsukasa who lost. but the energy in these 108 panels is really illuminated by the above panel from 109. this is not only a tsukasa who lost, but a sore loser! yet, not actually too deeply bothered; honestly, the best term i can think of here is butt hurt lmao. like. he's not actually scared, he's just sulking. 108 tsukasa looks like he lost a board game, or like he came up against a video game boss he's having trouble defeating--and in this panel from 109, he looks like he just figured out how to win. he's been puzzling over how to get out of this situation, huffy over not getting it immediately when normally he blows through challenges like this, and now he sees his checkmate.

in fact, i think there's a comparison to be made between this 109 panel, and this 92 panel:

the same symmetry, the same smile. centered in the frame, looking head on, undaunted, his koku joudai on either side of him. in his element. putting all his puzzle pieces together, and having fun with it.

i love the line "tsukasa. my name is tsukasa." coming right after such an out of character loss, and right before his return to how we first meet him, how he's been this whole time.

and one last panel comparison, just for the sake of breaking my own heart:

by himself, just tsukasa. not yugi tsukasa, no official title of yorishiro given to himself like the other three get, just tsukasa. this is not the first cage he's had to break himself out of, and he knows he'll find a way out of this like he found his way out of hanako's boundary, even if he has to figure it out himself, just tsukasa.

and he does!--because, like he says: he's tsukasa.

#barely restraining myself from making 45 different posts about this panel alone lmao #like !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#tbhk 109 #tbhk spoilers #tbhk #tsukasa yugi #yugi tsukasa #jshk 109 #jshk spoilers

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rouiyan · 9 months

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𝘞𝘌’𝘙𝘌 𝘕𝘖𝘛 𝘙𝘌𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘙𝘚 ; 𝘛𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘙 [ 𝘭.𝘮𝘬 ]

⧏ RELEASED — READ FULL FIC HERE ⧐

marks manages to land himself in a forty-two hour drive across the country with his archaeology major ex-girlfriend in the passenger seat. but for the duration of the whole ride, the only thing he can think about is that one twitter meme that states that “a majority of archeologists are women due to their natural ability to dig up the past.”

✧ photographer!mark lee x (fem.) archaeology major!reader ✧ exes to lovers, road trip au, referenced college au ✧ fluff/angst, hurt/comfort

✧ full fic w/c : 25.2k ✧ teaser w/c : 828 ✧ teaser disclaimers : food tw, knife tw, profanity

author's note — uhh.. well this is kinda awkward. i know i haven't posted content in a long ass time... sadly, this is by no means an official return to writing, but instead a piece that i've written on and off for over two years! now that i've been given a window of unoccupied time to finish it to my liking, i hope you look forward to it! i've missed you all btw

「 DAY 00, 01:42 PM 」— CUPID DABBLES IN BURNT TOAST

"oh, come on. i thought you were nicer than that!"

it's at times like these where mark is led to think that haechan only considers him as his very best friend for three things. his toaster, his car, and then of course, how easy it is to torment him.

he’s experienced enough to know that the guilt he feels is really only a direct result of haechan's guilt-tripping antics. and so he responds sarcastically, "yeah, nice enough to save a girl from a week of being in close proximity to the person she hates most in the world."

the toaster dings and haechan catches the two pieces of toast in their flight. he sticks one in his mouth, breaking off a bite, whilst turning to toss the other onto his friend's plate. chewing roughly, he leans back onto the counter opposite of mark, watching in contempt as the latter spreads jam across the burnt slice of bread.

haechan points a finger and juts it in his direction, offhandedly commenting, "i'm starting to think that it's you who hates her," a fact that both friends know isn't true. and because of that, mark doesn't make a big deal of denying it. "i don't hate her. i'm just..." he trails off and haechan takes the opportunity to craftily stage his intervention.

"not trying to make her uncomfortable?"

"yeah, i guess."

"not wanting her to hate you more?"

"there's that too."

"not over her?"

"hey, not cool."

a passage of silence elapses as mark sets the butter knife aside in exchange for his orange juice. gulping it down, he gets through two thirds of the glass before haechan perks up again. "actually, i think she still has a thing for you."

mark sputters, barely swallowing his drink before it could hurl out his disbelieving mouth. trying to smooth over his show of defiance, mark recovers a nonchalant expression as he deadpans, "there's no way. you know better than i do that she fucking hates me."

haechan takes another bite, aware but indifferent at how the crumbs have been gathering at his feet. his eyes trail absentmindedly to the clock on the wall behind mark, but only briefly for the hands are far past where he'd expected them to be. shoving the last of the toast into his mouth, he rushes to gather his belongings whilst uttering to his bewildered company, "shit, i'm gonna be late. pack it up."

obediently downing the rest of his orange juice, mark grabs his half-eaten, jam-slathered, burnt-to-a-crisp toast in one hand as the other reaches for his car keys on the way out. the unbearably hot sun of an early summer afternoon only hurries mark further along to his car, his wishes that he had worn shorts instead of jeans already too late to come true. but once both car doors have been shut and seat belts have been strapped, haechan carries on with his agenda without missing a beat.

"just give her the ride, mark. she'll keep you company and, i don't know, make sure you're not falling asleep at the wheel. and plus, she said she'll split the toll and gas fees."

mark shoves the last bite of toast into his mouth, the charred-ness of it procuring a nice crunch. even after he swallows, it takes him a second to respond. and though his answer is still far from budging, it sounds more like a justification, as if he needs convincing of his own opinion. "tell her it's cheaper to just catch a flight. and faster too."

exasperated, haechan retorts under his breath, "that's the same thing i told you," to which mark gives a raised brow, not catching what he said. instead of repeating, haechan only says, "just take her. you guys need to make up anyways."

that renders mark quiet for the rest of the ride as he tosses the thought over in his head. it's a thought that he knows he's been pushing away for far too long, hoping one day it'll become redundant enough to simply forget about. unknowingly, mark begins to speed a little, his turns become a little tighter, and when the traffic light signals red, the nose of his car is pulled daringly close to the car in front.

mark parallel parks shoddily in front of the archeology department building four minutes earlier than google maps had estimated. his best friend looks over at him expectantly and that in itself is enough to squeeze the reluctant words right out of him. "fine, i'll think about it."

haechan's face lights with a satisfied glow as he swings his backpack over his shoulder, making his way out of the car as quickly as he can. and just before mark can think to wish him good luck on his last exam of the spring semester, haechan blurts out the one crucial detail he had neglected to bring up until now.

"thank god, because i already told her you said yes."

#nct x reader #mark lee x reader #mark lee #nct mark #mark x reader #mark lee scenarios #nct scenarios #nct fics #mark lee fluff

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rosefinch07 · 2 months

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Ok so post-blue beetle movie jaime

He's grieving his dad, bc closure doesn't erase grief

He gets approached by the justice league

He's warring with himself bc on one hand he just wants to be a normal guy, one who really thinks he should be working so he can help support his family

On the other hand he already has khaji and while khaji and him see eye to eye, there's still some things that are going to come out of left feild. There's still fear and confusion surrounding khaji and jaime's dynamic as AI and host

ALSO

On an individual level, superman is the most likely to try and recruit him first, given how he can just pop on down from kansas on a weekend trip seeing his parents

Just,, Clark in civvies (but who literally says "hi im here from the justice league) showing up at the reyes house with some homecooked food or something like "Please hear me out"

Rudy just shuts the door before Jaime wakes up from a dead asleep "nap" that's khaji getting more and more attatched to jaime's body

Flash gets to be on the other end of Jaime Finding Out He Has Hella Toothies Now And Khaji Likes Biting When Startled

Which, not fun

Batman almost gets shanked by a blade popping out jaime's arm in the same motion where you try and stab someone behind you when you have something vaguely stabby in your hand when someone sneaks up on you when he tries to speak to Jaime bc "Jaime you never said we could not use lethal force we just agreed that we weren't killers"

Jaime hearing a tap at the window

He looks up

It's fucking nightwing

He groans, buries his head in his hands as the suit wraps around him all sluggishly and vaguely the texture of molasses, looks back up with a glare and some limbs rising out of his back to be stiff and imposing as a sign of danger, and goes "What. Do. You. Want." Bc he is Sick and Tired

Why did this turn into Jaime having body shenanigans im not usually into body shenanigans

Nope you know what I'm rolling with this consider this ramble officially SIDETRACKED

One thing I've written about before is khaji being able to take over control of the suit specifically when jaime's in the blue beetle suit, and it's not controlling jaime, it's controlling the suit

Theres a difference

One is internal and the other is external (note that internal can still happen it's just not exactly Ideal)

I need Jaime to get knocked back in a fight and he loses hold of a little of his humanity between sliding on the floor and making claw marks in like concrete or something, literally BARES HIS TEETH, and his tibial spurs extend and also make marks in the concrete and he gets up, stretches in a way that is a product of fucky bones, and gets back in the fight

I have,,, such brainrot for this character istg

#jaime reyes #khaji da #rose finch fic rambles

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redthefortuneteller · 2 months

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Chapter 209

Chapter 209 was… well I think it provided a lot more questions than one would expect.

So, first off, my theory of Snake being originally a snake was proven wrong by the mention of a human mother. However the experimental facility held by someone akin to a dr Moreau having made Snake the was he is, still stands. As I'd already mentioned on this post, it's been officially confirmed that he did stay and eavesdrop on their conversation. And it's also been confirmed he'd been suspicious when they said they'd leave on that morning when he said "going out again?" and finally he was indeed flip flopping between believing our Ciel and being against him, which was one of the points I made in the dr. Moreau's theory post. He says he always felt suspicious. I believe either from intuition or because Sebastian right from the get go tried sneaking into the first tier side by pretending to be lost, before he even became a member of the circus.

As a small side-note to this @abybweisse's post, Snake didn't know Smile was the earl Phantomhive. He followed the scent of their circus clothes and it led him to the town house. Once there, he was confronted by Agni and Soma, he asked if a small lad and a man dressed all in black lived there. But until then we're led to believe that he didn't know of their identity. It's been so long, I too don't remember all the details about every single thing! Also, I believe he delayed reporting to Joker because he knew Doll knew Smile was in the first tier side and did nothing. So he didn't know if he should take it into his own hands to report to Joker if Doll, who is one of his superiors in a sense, already knew of this and was keeping quiet. I spoke of this more in depth here if anyone's interested. It's the same link as the one I linked in the begining.

Right, then we have a whole rewash of things that had already been known for years, with perhaps the exception of him being taught mathematics. We'd already known that he had been taught how to read. All of this in quite a fleeting, vague way. Nothing even close to the flashbacks Baldroy got. And Baldroy didn't die so, with all humbleness, I don't think he needed so much put in about him because he shall still have time to "talk" about it. In comparison, that is. Of course it's interesting know Baldroy's backstory and know more about his time with the Phantomhives. I simply feel Snake should be rightfully owed much more in comparison, since his time is now over... I will post more of my feelings on this later. Finally, we get information about a human mother, which of course confirms my theory about his origins is not to be! At least not in it's main point which is him being a snake originally. He could still have been in a experimental facility of the sort, of course.

Now, the information we were left with is simply these three points which weren't touched on or explained in any way before he died:

he was at some point in an orphanage (but was illiterate)

he was in a cage since he can remember

he and the snakes came from somewhere far away

his mother was an actress by the name of Sarah Kemble

he not only has snake attributes like snake skin, slit pupils and a split tongue, he also understands what they say and talks to them

I've been thinking hard and am having a little bit of a hard time trying to tie these three things together in a flowing, graceful manner that would fit the story and not sound like a very twisted pretzel of a backstory. Haha! Of course given more time I hope to conjure something of sense up! I'm looking forward to reading everyone's ideas on this! Everything that I was going to say about Sarah Siddons (born, Sarah Kemble) was already said by @abybweisse on this post which is quite aptly named, given that the woman that brought Snake into the world, brought out of her womb a personified epitome of tragedy, which is him.

I'd only like to add that she was born in Wales. Although Wales doesn't really count as a place far away, I just feel like mentioning this as it could become relevant later on, or someone might think of something that might add to the story. It's hard to know exactly how much Yana intends to keep in the manga of the real Sarah Kemble and how much is made up for the story. So, how much we can stretch what we know for theories is limited. We could for example say Sarah went to one of the British colonies, gave birth to her bastard child (Snake) there and left him.

Now the orphanage and the cage are a little hard to put together for me, but alas… also him not knowing how to read is odd as he was in an orphanage. Of course, we should consider too, the possibility that he could've been living there at a time when he was very little and still unfit to learn such skills. Then some organization got him and experimented on him?

Or Was he given away in England to an orphanage and later picked up by an organization that was using "free" orphaned children to experiment on them and thus taken to somewhere far away? And that's when he was introduced to the all snakes? And then they all came together back to England again? You see how it quickly becomes a little messy? But he did say that since when he can remember he was always in a cage… was he in a cage in the orphanage? That's very peculiar. Unless, the orphanage was the experimenting facility, as in my theory (minus him being originally a snake, of course).

Could he have been born as he is of some sort of socialite demonic ritual and the mother was a sacrifice? I mean, I suppose I had already thought of this hypothesis but it just sounded so inorganic that I didn't further consider it… That's simply my opinion of course, maybe with a few little details added, it could become more palatable!

That's it for now! Thank you for reading!

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #snake #black butler snake #kuroshitsuji snake #island of dr moreau theory #kuro chapter 209 #black butler 209

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bonzos-number-1-fan · 17 days

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TMAGP 11 Thoughts: Anchors Aweigh

We're finally back. Not much to say up top except it was a long wait.

Spoilers for episode 11, and light spoilers for TMA season 5, below the cut.

A very strong cold open to welcome us back. Celia doesn't just wake up in a strange location, she's got no memory of getting there, it's not her first time doing it, and she's looking for a character we've not yet been introduced to. Honestly there are a load of things this could be. If she's TMA's Celia it could be after effects of her time in the domain that stole her name. Or it's not after effects but the same effects now being re-triggered if she's in a universe with the same entity that did it. Or it's a side-effect of crossing between universes. Or the way she crossed between universes isn't how Anya Villette did it and she's actually occupying TMP's Lynne Hammond's body but not entirely suppressing Lynne in the process. Or Lynne has taken on Celia's memories and Celia never truly left TMA's universe at all. Lots of ways I can see that playing out.

The first office section is a bit of a recap of last episode with some banter more than it is anything substantive. However, Alice does think she's being followed which is probably something that'll come up later. I think the obvious thing to jump at here is that it's [Error]. It's not the first time we've seen someone dig through the Institute's soggy ruins only to come away with some paranoia though. It doesn't seem to be hitting her quite as hard as RedCanary but it certainly mirrors their reaction. Either way I think this could easily be a RedHerring and [Error] has nothing to do with it and it's just TMI magic.

For a small thing during that interaction there is another "lie detector" audio distortion. I'm not sure I've been mentioning all of these in these posts but when Alice says "Hm? Nah, it’s nothing." there is a distortion afterwards. Likely because such distortions signify lies. This exactly a new observation but I can't remember if I'm making an effort to note when they happen.

So for the first case back it's a pretty chill one all in all. Some spooky happenings where nothing major really happens but does contain a good bit of world building.

So for some general musings in order. First off Alison Leshi's email address is G.Leshi instead of A.Leshi. It's not likely important as there isn't a Leshi in CHDB (see masterdoc link below), so it's probably nothing. Could just be some subtle trans rep but I figure it could somehow come up later and so is worth a mention.l

Next up we've got our second mention of ink5oul. The "big snake tattoo" on their arm is pretty clearly the same as the "gorgeous floral serpent design" Daria mentions in episode 2. Daria also explains that ink5oul is a popular influencer and like most of those they try and throw that weight around here. They're a very big deal online don't you know. Something that I think is interesting, but maybe not intended, is that ink5oul's Instagram account is flagged with the alchemic symbol for salt and this case is deeply tied to the sea. That account might not be official but it's a nice connection if it is.

There are a couple of name drops that will likely prove pretty important. Oscar Jarrett is likely a character we'll meet later and as of right now the name is all we have. Sutherland Macdonald, on the other hand, is a very real person and given how TMA likes to use historic characters I have a feeling they'll be quite important. Macdonald was Britain's first professional tattoo artist. Insofar as he had a public business in which he tattooed people as his work. He was exceptionally talented, very popular, and highly sought-after. More than that though of his documented works serpent-motifs, both snakes and dragons, are very common. Given ink5oul's own, well, ink I'm pretty sure that's not a coincidence. Sutherland Macdonald could very well be another figure like Smirke. A real historic person with embellished and occult history for the show. Oscar Jarrett could be a protégé or rival of Sutherland, and tattoos might end up being the new Leitners.

There isn't much to dig in to beyond that but I will say I really enjoyed this episode. Excited to see where this all goes.

Back in the office we've got Gwen trauma, Celia trauma, and Lena being Lena. Which is all great stuff. Bonzo is likely hunting Klaus given that conversation too. That's the only figure Gwen has any real knowledge of and Lena obviously has some unresolved business there. The transcript sheds some additional light on the interactions here too as both times external is mentioned it's capitalised. Which does seem to imply it's an official position at the OIAR rather than something euphemistic. Mr. Bonzo getting more detail here is also great. It's another reinforcement that whatever he now is very much isn't how he started. "Green custard" getting a shout out is also very welcome. That's not so much a Mr. Blobby thing but people getting slimed was a big fixture of that era of children's TV in Britain.

Sam finally looking to cross reference these things is great to hear as well. I crave more data. Speaking of data, now it's time for the nerd shit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet

DPHW Theory: 5246 is pretty unremarkable and so I don't think I've got much to explain there. 4 is a little lower than I was expecting but not off by so much that I think something is wrong.

CAT# Theory: CAT23 sure is a category. I was hoping to have something solid by the time the break was over. There are enough outliers in every theory I've seen to pretty confidently think no one is on the right track with this or some people are but the data we have is faulty. Which to be fair we know is the case. It's just about which parts of the data should we be ignoring.

R# Theory: C fits in perfectly with my theory. Not much to say on that one.

Header talk: Tattoo (corpse) -/- compulsion is mostly interesting because of how it creates problems with Daria's case. If Tattoo is a section that would strongly imply that Daria's case should have been Tattoo rather than Transformation. But that one did also show up on Klaus which implies that it's correct. Just a weird section in general. The subsection is about the sort of mess you'd expect at this point. The crosslink is also just a crosslink.

#the magnus protocol #tmagp #tmagp theory #tmagp speculation #klaus = kl4-u5

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ultraericthered · 4 months

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King Magnifico: Reimagining A Good Baddie Into Disney Villain Excellence.

I did not plan on doing another post about King Magnifico but dammit, the man just compells me. Since I recently drafted a revision treatment for the story of Wish, dubbed The Fully Fulfilled Edition, and it got me thinking more about Magnifico and the iteration of the character that I envisioned for my version of Disney's sentimental centennial tale. I've covered the troubles with the finalized official Disney character enough times already; I feel like the handling of his character and execution of his role as the story's villain was like a basketball wobbling along the rim before falling through the basket rather than a straight slam dunk. He's easily the most well-realized, enticing, entertaining, and developed character of the whole picture, the only one who comes close to being three-dimensional. But even he could've been better. If all the kinks were to have been ironed out in him, what might that actually end up looking like in practice?

Note that for this undertaking, I did not want to super drastically alter Magnifico's character to the point where he'd become completely divorced from what we got in the film and just be Magnifico in name only. I make just enough expansions, alterations, and fixes necessary to turn what I find good enough into what I'd consider truly great.

For starters, his tragic origin story being told to us upfront right out the gate helps to clear the air early into the picture, when we've not yet met King Magnifico but are given the background information of the man who became King Magnifico, wed Queen Amaya, and built the kingdom of Rosas. In my take on the backstory, the young would be-King Magnifico's family lived in a harbor town, working slavishly on what's implied to be export and trade. It's said that one day the young man, wanting his family to be happier and have more time for him, made a wish upon a totem for his family's burdens to be lifted. Well, that ended up being a vague wish that in a way did come true, as the town was soon attacked by a band of greedy marauders. In the storybook images the town would be shown going up in green flames as young Magnifico takes a boat to survival. Unfortunately, the boat ended up getting wrecked landing on a desert island, and the story would tell us that the youth lost everything he had in the wreck...even though he'd clearly be holding onto something in the accompanying picture. It is then said that Magnifico understood well the value and the danger a wish can hold, which inspired him to learn the arts of sorcery and magic that can extract a heart's deepest and most precious wish as a tangible substance held within a magic orb. Eventually he and the loyal wife he'd married built a great kingdom on that very island Magnifico had landed on, the kingdom of Rosas, where the citizens wishes are given, protected, and granted in the benign rule of Magnifico and Amaya, the "long lived" king and queen.

With that backstory and the reasons for why Magnifico founded Rosas and created the wish giving system established, the first in-universe look at the king we're given is in statues, in murals, in his face painted in various locations, even in the cookies Dahlia bakes. The face looks very kind, dignified, wisened, majestic, and above all gorgeously handsome. His presence is also subtly felt in what we'd be shown of the average Rosas citizens - some who are overly happy and enthused in a very cult-like manner and some who are only half-awake and half-heartedly trying to stay into it. This is heavily implicit as being a result of the system and society in Rosas, where the happier people are the ones who've had their wishes granted or have such good standing with the royals that they feel they're likely to have their wishes granted in the near future, while the lethargic ones are those who've given their wishes away, cannot remember what they even were to start with, and have been tirelessly waiting for when the time comes for Magnifico to grant them in a wish ceremony.

So then when we’re properly introduced to King Magnifico after all the build-up, it'd be immediately striking how the appearance of the man himself doesn't quite measure up to what we'd seen depicted in the kingdom's arts and crafts. We were told he's beloved by all, yet the man we meet here would come off very...Stephen Strange-ish. He'd be very smarmy, disgrunted, and patronizing towards Asha, visibly or verbally condescending to her and treating her like a silly, hapless child who he doesn’t believe will attain the apprenticeship. However, he is coming off of another interview that ended poorly, so we think maybe he's just in a mood and we shouldn't immediately assume too badly of him. If we hold onto hope for his better nature to win out, it seems to pay off when he appears to empathize with Asha after she's told him of her deceased father and all the ways in which he'd inspired her to dream big and to love Rosas; it's almost like the king sees some of his younger self in Asha, and through that, he recognizes that she could be a good fit for the job of working for him as his apprentice, someone he can shape into being more like him and following his ways. He'd do the "I too suffered great loss at a young age due to the selfish wishes and actions of greedy thieves and built Rosas as a place where that would not happen" thing like in the movie, but not only do we understand that more due to having been given the whole backstory, it'd also be more noticeable just how...calculated it feels. Like, Magnifico might as well say "I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Y'know, my late son, Beau..."., y'know those shows of pseudo-empathy that political leaders love to do.

Once Asha has the job and returns to the castle for her first day of apprenticeship, King Magnifico would show us that oh, this guy might actually be worse than we'd thought he was before. He's now in full Handsome Jack from Borderlands mode, acting more giddy and animated because he just loves his apprentice's first days where he can "dazzle them with all his splendor, and win over their love and devotion and appreciation for all his royal duties." And he just acts completely unkind and insensitive to Asha, making her do all sort of minor chores the way Lady Tremaine would do to Cinderella. He lets Asha into his sanctum of wishes, where he holds, throws, balances and caresses some of the various wishes in a way that seems unsettlingly possessive, much akin to how Mother Gothel stroked Rapunzel’s golden hair, and as he does he sings these words:

If happiness was a tangible thing, it would be you If you'd have told me the feeling you'd bring, I'd think it untrue And people search for a wonder like you all of their lives You still amaze me after all this time You pull me in like some kind of wind Mesmerized by the hold I'm in Leave you here, I don't wanna I wanna promise as one does I, I will protect you at all costs Keep you safe here in my arms I, I will protect you at all costs At all costs

Then the shoe drops. Magnifico reveals that he doesn't just collect these wishes to safeguard them and grant them in ceremonies: he uses the magical blessings cast upon the wishes as means of keeping his own magic powers charged every day, and it's also how he has sustained such slow aging and long living for himself and his wife. Yes, the royals feed off of the souls of their own subjects in order to keep their lifespan going, with the wishes extracted from the beautiful innermost part of those souls serving as convenient battery power for them. Unnerved as this makes poor Asha feel, the subject of a long life span naturally calls her almost 100 year old grandfather to mind, and she makes the dreaded "nepotism favor" request that the king consider granting Sabino’s wish at the ceremony. Magnifico, disappointed but not surprised, declines this request, rationalizing the wish could be too vague and might pose a threat to the kingdom. Asha then realizes Magnifico intends to never grant most of these wishes yet refuses to return the ungrantable wishes to their owners. She openly questions the king, telling him it's unreasonable of him to keep the most beautiful part of his subjects very selves from them if he truly has no inclination to grant them with his magic, and he should return those wishes to their owners so that they'll remember them and gain the drive to at least try to work towards fulfilling them themselves. Magnifico lashes out at her in fury ("I decide what everyone deserves!") and as consequence we get the ceremony where Magnifico pulls the spiteful fake-out with the wish granting just to shame and humiliate Asha, and let her know that her family's wishes will be kept by him forever, never to be granted. Also just barely noticable in the same scene would be that Magnifico reveals the wish of the person he grants it to and how it had been worded, but what he gives is notably a distorted alteration of the original wish. For all his high horsing about "be careful what you wish for, wishes worded too vaguely might go wrong when granted and that's too much of a danger risk", he himself exploits vaguely phrased wishes in order to twist them into something with benefits to the kingdom, his rule, and his image. For years, he's really only been using this system of wishes to make his own wishes come true, and has been routinely dishonest and hypocritical about it as he defrauds his people, committing theft by deception. What a self-obsessed bastard.

After Asha's made her wish to the stars and called Star down to Rosas, Magnifico and Amaya, having witnessed the wave of magic it brought, fear an unknown magic source that might threaten their kingdom and the hold they have on all the magic and wishes, but they find no answers in their books and scrolls to what this strange light might be. Magnifico starts acting furiously paranoid, remarking about how much he hates craven thieves and traitors. Due to how things went over with Asha, she is his primary suspect who he fears is now out to usurp his power and might not even be acting alone. As he starts to be overcome by desperation, Magnifico turns to his tome of forbidden dark magic and goes to unseal it. Fortunately for him, Amaya remains level-headed and is able to talk him out of it, to which he gives a very transparently half-hearted "thanks", followed by the "I am a handsome king" bit when Amaya tells him that, as they cannot baselessly accuse and arrest Asha for treason, they use the people’s love of him as their monarch to get them to reach the truth for them.

Of course, during the briefing with the public, people start asking how and why their wishes might now be in danger, which leads to questions about why Magnifico established the system the way that he did, which leads to deeper questioning such as why everything in Rosas is so tailored towards the king despite his role being to protect and provide for the people - like, why does the king need to have his handsome face plastered everywhere? When everyone feels the next wave of magic from Star’s evolution, it proves definitively what Magnifico told them: that this magic didn’t come from him, and that only creates a sense of disillusionment among the people. A furious Magnifico warns of a traitor within the kingdom conspiring to use this magic to steal all wishes and topple the monarchy, who must be found and punished, and then he shuts the doors back into his castle, frantically pacing about and looking to see if the magic came from somewhere within. Visibly aggitated, Amaya tries to soothe her petulant husband urging him to calm his mind and cheer himself up by gazing at his reflection in the mirrored walls. Which leads to....

"This Is The Thanks I Get" (Revised version)!

In between the second chorus and the bridge, Magnifico walks in front of the forbidden magic tome and vocalizes that in his years long reign, he has been far too soft on his people, spoiling them into becoming greedy, entitled ingrates who are all no better than thieves, so he needs to harden his heart and exercise more power “for their own good”, to tighten his grip over Rosas and preserve his power. So he unseals the book, opens it up, and gains power from its corruptive influence. And he made sure to do this when his wife wasn't around to stop him from doing so. This was his choice. He wanted this. In his desperation to not let his power over Rosas slip from him, he turned to what he knew as wrong primarily for the convenience of it enabling him to shed anything within himself that was restraining him before, and grant to him more destructive, awesome power to squash all dissent with. This is what takes him from "big jerk" to "true villain."

After being told by Simon that Asha was indeed responsible for Star's summoning and has been plotting against him, Magnifico goes to Asha's family's home and assaulted Sabino and Sakina with magic that’s holding them down when Asha and Star return. Declaring he must arrest the whole family for both high treason and harboring a criminal, Magnifico also takes time to relish some cruelty towards Asha, not only stepping on Sabino's already broken lute in front of her but bringing out Sakina’s wish and using his new dark power to shatter it in his grip, making Sakina reel in agony as the energy from her wish, a sacred part of her soul, gets absorbed into Magnifico’s black magic. Realizing how much power he can claims from wishes delights the vainglorious monarch, who says had he known this, he would've broken wishes ages ago! So now Magnifico has a singular goal: to absorb the magic of both Star and all of Rosas’ wishes in order to become an all-powerful tyrant, motivated purely by pride, spite, desire for retribution and control, and the power high he's on.

Forging his new dark magic scepter, Magnifico addresses the public once more, revealing the traitor to be Asha and Simon to be the one to sell her out under the promise of having his wish granted. But be careful what you wish for, Simon! Magnifico twists the wish once again ("to be one of Rosas' greatest knights"), this time using his new dark magic to bewitch and brainwash him into a magitech knight. He then puts out the reward of another wish granting ceremony for the wish of whichever of his subjects helps the knights capture Asha, with the added threat that the longer it takes for Asha to be captured, the more wishes he will break, which makes the masses errupt into carnage and division between the fearful but still adoring loyalists to the king, and those who see this is not right and want no part in it. To quell this disorder, Magnifico unleashes more magic, desecrating the area and putting lives at risk, prompting Amaya to suggest he reign himself in better. To her surprise, Magnifico points his staff at her, telling her to never again second-guess him or give him orders. So it's pretty clear by now that Magnifico is far gone, and this time the needless "looking for a way to save Magnifico from the thrall of the dark magic only to learn it can't be done" plot point is omitted, as this Amaya knows from the get-go that once you open the book and read from it once, your addiction to the power it grants is unbreakable.

At the climax of the story, King Magnifico ascends the castle’s tower, sucks the life out from every wish that has been released into the night sky through his sanctum's open ceiling, and absorbs it all, sending droves of people in the kingdom into agonizing pain, anguish and despair. With no wishes to charge himself with, he gleefully traps Star in his scepter to act as the new living magical battery for his power. He thanks Star and Asha for how they've challenged his rule, because if they hadn't, he'd not have learned how much more gratifying it was to take all that he wants rather than "pretend to care and lightly snack on the magic of those wishes only in desperate moments". Asha's attempts to stop him are easily overpowered, as he uses his dark magic to block out the sky so that the citizens never again may wish upon stars, then KO's his wife with a magic blast for her betrayal, then creates magical chains from out of the ground that bind all the citizens in place, and when the knights rush to stop their mad king, he not only chains them too, but unleashes waves of dark magic that set Rosas ablaze with green fire, madly declaring that he will oppress the disspirited masses forevermore: "No more hope, no more dreams, no escape, no chance to rise up, no one to tell any tales, and no one to challenge me ever again! And I would gladly much rather see my great kingdom burn and physically crumble to Rosas' soil than give up this awesome power I so majestically wield!"

What happens next...well, you all probably know that by now.

So that's Magnifico's progression as the villain in my revision of Wish, but there's one last tiny yet hugely significant touch I'd add to fully bring his character together. A little before the big climax, Amaya would make reference to the fact that sealing the forbidden black magic inside “that heirloom” was among the first fundamental cornerstones of Rosas, but Magnifico has now totally backtracked on that and betrayed his oath to his people and their wishes. Hearing the book called an "heirloom" and then looking back at the storybook images of Magnifico's origin story at the start of the film makes the two pieces click together. That tome of forbidden magic belonged to Magnifico's family, the marauders sought it out and opened it up, which is what actually set the town ablaze, Magnifico took it with him as he fled to the boat, and it was the only thing he had that survived the boat's wreckage onto the shores of what would become Rosas. Throughout the story, Magnifico would have lines expressing his disdain for "thieves", "traitors", "cowards", "ingrates", and "weaklings". ...But this did not really come from just his trauma with the thieves. It's because he felt as though he himself, as a youth, was all of those things. He was a thief who stole his family's book, he was a traitor for making that vague wish that brought the marauders there, he was a coward and an ingrate for fleeing and leaving his family to burn, and he was a weakling for lacking the power to stop any of that from occurring and get things under control. To us on the outside looking in, it's easy to see how irrational it is for Magnifico to blame himself like that and have such self-loathing for boyhood mistakes and things beyond his control that were not really his fault. But tragically, no one ever told him this, not even Amaya. So what drove Magnifico forward in life was a pathological need to change his self image, to become someone greater and more powerful than that thieving little coward, to assert himself as the height of perfection, someone who could be loved and who could love himself in turn. He needed to be a king, for back in the day, a king was considered the only flesh and blood mortal human on Earth close to or secondary in power to the divinity of God Himself, for they had "the divine right to rule", the mandate of Heaven. So not only could Magnifico be that, but his magical power, the extension of his life via the wishes, and the system for taking the secret hopes, dreams, and prayers of the commonfolk to protect and decide which among them to grant, could put him that much closer to being a god among men. That is the core of what King Magnifico wanted; to feel like he was God, so as to erase his own inner pain over the fallability of being human. He was for years perpetually feeding his own power and ego, and yet it was never going to be enough. And he became so enthralled in his own God-and-Savior Complex, in playing at being the highest power in all the land, that he became a greedy, immoral, disruptive and destabilizing individual who brings suffering to the lives and wishes of others, like he'd once been the victim of; he became the very threat to Rosas that he’d been so wary of. And so, he got rewarded as such a threat deserves.

Dammit, now I'm low-key pissed at Disney! Say the line, Peridot!

#Disney #Wish #disney villains #King Magnifico #analysis #fixer upper #what could have been #they wasted a perfectly good character

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linagram · 13 days

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[ linagram season 3 albums info ]

this post includes season 3 album covers, original song titles, s3 voice drama titles, cover songs, album, character and song trailer voicelines and song previews! so yeah, very long post! but i feel like it's probably better to have everything in one place..

i've planned to go with a completely original concept for season 3 album covers but.. drawing all that would take too long.. and drawing the designs alone was already too much work for me, so i went with season 1-like album covers bc i actually haven't made these before! i've still tried to make them more. "linacore" and instead of a black background, i tried to make them more colorful. i think they came out too colorful.. apologies if they look too eyestrain-y..

(also i really tried to make them more hd but my editing apps kept ruining the quality. so sorry.. maybe that will make analyzing them more interesting in some way..)

[ TRACK LIST ]

Miyagawa Akio.

01. [ Original song ] Experiment: Failed

02. [ Cover song ] Mosquito (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Unfriendly Hater (Original by Meddmia)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] All-knowing All-agony

05. [ Voice drama ] The Right-Hand Man's Betrayal

[ Creator's comments ]

IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO COME UP WITH A TITLE FOR HIS SONG I'VE LITERALLY TRIED EVERYTHING BUT ALL OF THEM SOUNDED TOO BORING.. i really wanted to have more fun with the song titles this time, so hopefully this one sounds cool.. okay, so his covers! literally all of them are about his relationship with arata, haha. COME ON UNFRIENDLY HATER IS LITERALLY THEM BEFORE THEY STARTED DATING. (or. "dating" as akio likes to say) mosquito is a much more angsty AND realistic take on their relationship ("in any case, in any case, you're the only one getting high", "the more we pursue one another, the more unsavory you become", "i'll die if i stop sucking from you, 'cause i'm a mosquito", "i wonder why it was so beautiful despite being so warped"). meanwhile akaa is like, the saddest one out of them all since in this case it's basically akio begging arata to stay with him, continue to praise him and call him a genius no matter what. i wish i could've given him something that could tell more about his relationship with chise too..

Hanasaki Aimi.

01. [ Original song ] Blooming Connection

02. [ Cover song ] Starlight Girl (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] XxX Cat (Original by Kikuo)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] Deep Cover

05. [ Voice drama ] The End of All Friendships

[ Creator's comments ]

i think aimi's mv theme will be obvious, hehe. you won't have to think much about flower language and stuff like that tho, so don't worry. i really don't think i have to explain why i gave xxx cat to her, like. i think it's obvious jdkslsls (i also thought of maybe giving her bacterial contamination, but i changed my mind since even though the lyrics sound a lot like her, the aesthetic is.. not very aimicore). starlight girl was mostly given to her bc i thought it'd sound cute, but some lyrics do remind me of her and her relationship with her victim ("whispering that sweet lie, you disappeared", "but i still haven't been able to fill up this hole you left inside me"). was deep cover assigned to her only bc of the aimi (kotoko's va) pun?.. maybe. but no, no, i really do have a deeper reason for that! but for now, all i can say is. her relationship with miki and all other prisoners at the moment.

Ishizu Shun.

01. [ Original song ] ???

02. [ Cover song ] Zombies (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Aishiteitanoni (Original by MARETU)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] MeMe

05. [ Voice drama ] Loving Too Much, Remembering Too Little

[ Creator's comments ]

i honestly gave up while trying to think of a title for his song, so i think "???" perfectly describes shun's character and how tired i felt. if you need to know how it's supposed to be pronounced, i imagine it being something like "uhh..", showing how shun is confused 24/7. AND FINALLY HE'S OFFICIALLY GETTING A ZOMBIES COVER.. the reason why i went with zombies is bc shun just.. feels like a zombie to me. like the way he talks, how i imagine him moving, his color palette.. and also the imagery of his victims' dead bodies. like aww, he's drinking tea and eating cake while both his "ex-gf" and her new bf are dead <3 how cute.. i think his character trailer voiceline will really show how much the lines like "your body is cold even when we hug", "i love you, half-decomposed isn't bad", etc, fit him.. about aishiteitanoni, I DON'T THINK I HAVE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING, IT'S PERFECT FOR HIM, I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW IT SHOW UP IN MY NOTIFS HSHAHSHSJS. meme is. meme. that's what a guilty verdict does to a guy. and yes, his vd's title is supposed to be a reference to his t1 vd :)

Chiba Naomi.

01. [ Original song ] Like An Adult

02. [ Cover song ] Miraise (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] It's Just Life (Original by nulut)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] Double

05. [ Voice drama ] A Grown Up Child's Tantrum

[ Creator's comments ]

oh naomi.. if only it was easier to come up with song titles for you.. i was giggling while typing her vd's title tho LIKE YES NAOMI EMBRACE THE FACT THAT YOU WERE NEVER ABLE TO TRULY GROW UP!! her miraise cover is really up to interpretation, it can be both about her relationship with her mother and her trying to express her true feelings and make her mother listen, but it also can be about her relationship with tao ("you went before me, didn't you?", "how long do i have to wait? how long do i have to cry?", "i'm singing to the you that will be born after tomorrow") i felt like "it's just life" really fits her and her cover would sound very pretty and it's also just. sad. like naomi really is a smart and talented woman, she could have a bright future, she could have lots of friends, but.. she has way too many issues. and she can't accept that. HER DOUBLE COVER WOULD BE SO GOOD. THE INSTRUMENTAL WOULD MOSTLY BE THE SAME BUT HER VOICE WOULD STILL SOUND SOFT AND REALLY ANNOYED AT THE SAME TIME.. i get chills while thinking about her version of the scene where mikoto calls his mom..

Sanada Kei.

01. [ Original song ] Love=Pain

02. [ Cover song ] Rabbit Hole (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Bad Honey Hunt (Original by Vell)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] This Is How To Be In Love With You

05. [ Voice drama ] Rose-Tinted Misery

[ Creator's comments ]

his song title was originally supposed to be a pun on the theme of his mv, but it sounded kinda meh to me, so i just went with his main philosophy instead sjskslsl. (the reference to that pun is still there on the cover though) also nO I'VE DECIDED THAT RABBIT HOLE IS VERY KEICORE A LONG TIME AGO EVEN BEFORE THAT ANIMATION SIT DOWN I'M POINTING MY GUN AT YOU SIT DOWN!!!! thank you now i didn't just go with rabbit hole bc "haha funny horny song", it actually does fit kei's aesthetic very well and the lyrics sound a lot like him because rabbit hole always sounded very.. childish to me? like yes, it's supposed to sound all silly and playful, but kei's whole thing is that even though he claims he's so cool and mature and gets all the bitches, this guy still feels like he's younger than eiji (who is six years younger than him), unconsciously regresses to cope with whatever life throws at him and rarely takes dark, scary and tragic stuff seriously. it does reveal some stuff about his crime and his relationship with the victims too! ("you want me to repent? what can i say?", "little miss devotion, the exit's over there, oh, so not going home after all?") as for his other covers, BAD HONEY HUNT FITS HIM SO WELL. LOOK AT THE THUMBNAIL. COME ON THAT'S SO HIM. and the lyrics sound a lot like him as well! about him getting tihtbilwy.. that's him taking his rose-colored glasses on again and singing about how he sees his relationship with ruka :')

Yoshioka Eiko.

01. [ Original song ] Miss Grave Robber

02. [ Cover song ] Parasite (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Getcha (Original by Giga and Kira)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] Cat

05. [ Voice drama ] Funeral For The Alive

[ Creator's comments ]

EIKO IS OVER HERE GOING FULL SLAY MODE!!! i originally wanted the title to be smth like "grave robber-chan/san", since i prefer to use jp honorifics in my writing, but i felt like no honorifics would fit the song's vibe, so i went with good old "miss" instead. parasite fits eiko so well.. it describes her relationship with her victim perfectly.. the reason why i gave her cat is. well first of all IT WOULD SOUND REALLY COOL, but also, i actually don't see it as eiko singing about herself, i like to think that she's singing about takeru instead, making fun of him for lying to her and manipulating her ("lie until it gets better, follow the king of the masquerade", "victim and perpetrator, let's keep it simple", "i just wanted to ask, so it's out in the open, i just got a little greedy"). MY BRAIN EXPLODED WHEN I REALIZED HER COVER CAN BE INTERPRETED IN THAT WAY LIKE IMAGINE HER SINGING ABOUT HOW MUCH HE SUCKS WHILE STILL HAVING THE ORIGINAL INSTRUMENTAL. (also considering what he did to her, "let's take a breather" sounds very... sad) about her getting getcha. let's just. let her have her girlboss moment one last time.

Yano Asahi.

01. [ Original song ] Caterpillar's Cries

02. [ Cover song ] Hitojichi Koukan (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Givuṛta (Original by Vell)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] Umbilical

05. [ Voice drama ] The Taste of Abandonment

[ Creator's comments ]

we're getting another insect themed mv!! (though spider isn't really an insect but kei's t2 mv also had butterfly motifs so...) the caterpillar motif won't be that strong in asahi's mv description, but it will be there. i think i should draw him in his t3 mv outfit to show it better.. i think his hitojichi koukan cover would sound very cute and sad and the lyrics describe his relationship with satsuki so well.. ("no matter how much you love me, all i do is get itchy", "i can't drag you along so let's say goodbye", "after all, i want to make you my servant") YES ANOTHER VELL SONG I LOVE VELL'S SONGS OKAY they're so short but so catchy.. i feel like the voice that i imagine asahi to have would fit perfectly, like it'd sound so cute, but so punchable, like this kid goes "noooo, relationships are more important than money!!" and then literally the next lyrics are "money and personal connections make the world go round" 😭😭 but also, to be more serious, the lyrics are very asahicore!! ("naturally i always put myself first", "it's boring that people's desires never end", "in a nutshell i do that because it's funny to me", "that's a trust relationship! if it's not enough, you should buy it") about his umbilical cover... well. first of all, again, it'd sound cute! but also, um. considering the way his biological mom died, i thought that him getting this song would be very. ironic.

Maruyama Yurika.

01. [ Original song ] Secret Ingredient

02. [ Cover song ] Salamander (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Binomi (Original by MARETU)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] I Love You

05. [ Voice drama ] A Killer by Moonlight, A Maid by Daylight

[ Creator's comments ]

her voice drama's title is a sailor moon reference and her original song's title can be seen as a spongebob reference. i cannot take this woman seriously. but i actually like her mv's aesthetic a lot! i should definitely draw her in her t3 mv outfit one day.. (i say that even though i still haven't drawn her as that monster from her t2 mv. so sorry yurikers..) I HAD TO GIVE HER SALAMANDER OKAY!! I HAD TO!! it's literally perfect for one of the hunger prisoners, it's very yurikacore and the lyrics remind me a lot of her relationship with takame and just her personality in general. ("i surrender, i'm already hooked, i can't function without you anymore", "can i get seconds? one more time", "i'm already obsessed, is it doing super great?") love me some toxic spicy ramen yuri <3 binomi came out VERY recently and before that i was thinking of giving her eye by kanaria simply bc of the vibes, but maretu saved me once again 🙏 the hunger theme is so strong.. yurika deserves to cover all the cannibalism songs ever.. (fun fact yurika actually WAS supposed to be a cannibal but then i changed her crime. i think her current crime fits her better but still. we could've had a cannibal prisoner everyone) and again, i went with "i love you" bc 1) her relationship with takame and 2) i think there's something beautiful and horrifying about the concept of yurika feeding takame rats that she sees as a cake while also going "why can't i just do it right", considering the huge power imbalance they had with takame being older and being her boss and giving yurika literally everything she could've asked for and making yurika feel like she owes her in the process..

Kuroki Riku.

01. [ Original song ] Sun Sets, Games End

02. [ Cover song ] Undead Alice (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Shinitagari (Original by Nashimoto-P)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] It's Not My Fault

05. [ Voice drama ] Have a Breakdown, Call It a Show

[ Creator's comments ]

OH RIKU..... and also nope, riku's mv won't exactly have a video game theme, that's shun's thing, but the lyrics will reference them a few times. riku's mv is actually one of my favorites so hopefully you guys like it too.. he's my special little boy he always gets the best mvs.. (/j i don't have any faves sjsklssl but riku definitely always gets my creative juices going) i originally wanted undead alice to be his t2 cover but chimera is just so rikucore and i thought it'd go with his t2 mv really well, so i changed it though i still think that maybe chimera would be better as his t3 cover bc of the guilty verdict vibes chimera has.. so anyway undead alice is literally yueriku ("live by feeding on me, since you can’t go out like you want to", "i'm starting to hate the butterflies in my stomach, so please die before i kill you", "let’s bury this cowardly love here, let’s stop and forget all this, it’s better to hate since it's easier that way" AND BASICALLY THE WHOLE SONG). about shinitagari, i actually was planning to assign it to riku as a cover back when i first came up with him and riku's character even was kinda inspired by it! except shinitagari has a more positive meaning meanwhile riku took "wanna die? go ahead and die then" a bit too literally.. also yeah, he's the one who gets inmf this time. i imagine him making a rock cover of it too.. he surely took his guilty verdict well <3

Himura Reina.

01. [ Original song ] (Un) Forgivable

02. [ Cover song ] Fake Actor (Original by DECO*27)

03. [ Cover song ] Hello Dystopia (Original by Mafumafu)

04. [ MILGRAM Cover song ] Triage

05. [ Voice drama ] Accepting The Innocence (For Now)

[ Creator's comments ]

reina's album cover doesn't really have much to show but i think it actually fits her character a lot. also idk if it's that noticeable, but i tried to make her album cover more glitchy than the others. when it comes to her deco cover, i mostly went with it bc of her name meaning, but some lyrics are very reinacore (+ they remind me a lot of her relationship with her brother)! ("so please, shut up before i feel too embarrassed to speak to you again", "because no matter how many times you fool me with "i'm going to change," it'll just end all over again", "so let’s play the "whose fault is it game," the rules are rather hard, even for the winners") hello dystopia reminds me a lot of her character in general and i also just think she deserves to get at least one cover where she goes absolutely wild. fake actor and triage are just her being all sad but in hello dystopia she can go a little insane!! a little crazy even!!

[ Album Trailer Voicelines ]

Akio: "He continued to try to get the rope off his neck."

Aimi: "I'm just glad he's dead."

Shun: "Do I have to jog your memory, Guard 002-san?"

Naomi: "End my suffering, just like I've ended Tao's."

Kei: "Someone is planning to kill Eiji?"

Eiko: "He told me it wasn't even a big deal."

Asahi: "And after that, something.. changed."

Yurika: "Haha. You got me. Congrats."

Riku: "Come on, I was just.. bullying him a little."

Reina: "That stupid kid was obsessed with "saving" me."

[ Song Trailer Voicelines ]

Akio: "You don't have to be a genius like me to put all these things together."

Aimi: "You see me as a victim. A perfect and fragile victim."

Shun: "Are you implying that we never were a couple?"

Naomi: "Why would I be jealous of that brat?"

Kei: "The truth is kinda lame, honestly."

Eiko: "I will take good care of Shun, Kei and Yurika for you."

Asahi: "What did you just call me, Miki-nee?"

Yurika: "I-it's like.. s-she really.. loved me.."

Riku: "He's just another source of attention to me."

Reina: "I guess you could say this was my plan all along."

[ Song Previews ]

Akio:

"Solve the problem! You know the answer! Good job! I love you, love you, you can do it!

I can't concentrate with those words playing in my head!

Well, whatever, I know I'll get the best grade in loving you anyway

So keep looking at me, keep saying I'm a genius, please praise me once more"

Aimi:

"Come on, accept my gift, tell me you're grateful, tell me how thoughtful I am

Did I do great? Am I a good friend? I know I am, I know I am

"This flower reminds me of you" I'm the sweetest person you've ever met, right?

"Sorry, but I gotta go" Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Shun:

"It's a crime for me to be in love, so I'll play it safe

No more heartbreaks, no more lying to myself

I'm ready to live a happy loveless life

So please, just forgive me already!"

Naomi:

"Your looks, your posture, your voice, your face

Everything about you is not mature enough

Don't laugh, don't cry, look them right in the eyes but not for too long

Go on, look at me, be honest with me, don't feel sorry for me, just like an adult would"

Kei:

"My love means nothing, if it doesn't make you cry

I don't want the kind of love that doesn't hurt me

"Play it safe"? Nah, that's not for me

Now can I get praised for being everyone's PERFECT lover?"

Eiko:

"Our love is dead, oh no, let us sing our prayers

Your lies were the only thing that kept me alive

Except I don't see your name on our grave, oh no, don't just leave me like this

Let's get buried next to each other, rotting together doesn't sound so bad"

Asahi:

""Stop, that's enough!" But it will never be enough

Sweet or sour, I don't care, I want everything I could never have

Even if it's rotten, even if it's broken, I just want to have something

Do you understand now? I live like I can die at any moment"

Yurika:

"What do you two think you're doing? Hey, hey, don't you know it's dangerous here?

Well, it's your fault now, shouldn't have taken a walk in the woods when it's this dark

What should we do with you? Should we tie you up? Should we cut off your limbs?

I bet you two taste like fear and betrayal, let me take a bite!"

Riku:

"Let's play until the sun goes down, let's play until we see the sky turn purple

That's what they want us to do anyway

Hey, are you having fun? Aren't you tired? Don't you wanna go home already?

"Nope, I'm just getting started!" Well, let me end everything here"

Reina:

"All of them? So guilty, guilty!

"You are innocent" Haha, no, I am innocence itself!

This kind of behavior is unforgivable?

Then why did you still forgive me?"

[ Character Trailer Voicelines ]

Akio: "Uh.. Good morning, I guess.. No, it doesn't hurt as much as before, thankfully.. Hey. Why did you.. I mean.. Of course, I'm glad you've finally realized I'm innocent, but.. How could you just.. change your mind like that? What did you see in my video? Did you.. feel bad for me?"

".. Arata. Arata, I don't think he's supposed to- ARATA, WHY IS HE STILL ALIVE?!"

Aimi: "Hello, Miki-chan!~.. Hm? What? I mean, we're friends, so it's only right for me to call you that, right? Ehehe, you're like, my only friend here.. Ah, Akio-kun.. He's good too, I guess. But he's not really struggling anymore, so.. I don't think he will continue to rely on me anymore. I don't think he.. still likes me."

"It's okay.. It's okay, Nii-san couldn't be wrong.. They deserve it. All of them."

Shun: "LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP- DID MY PARENTS SEND YOU TO ME?! I SWEAR, IF YOU EVEN LOOK AT MY... Huh? Where.. am I? Where's Hina?.. And where's Jouhei?.. O-oh, it's you.. No, no, it's okay, I remember now. Even though I really.. don't want to remember."

"Ehehe, I've slept well.. Hey, what do you two want for breakfast? Come on, don't be shy~"

Naomi: "I'M SORRY! I SAID I'M SORRY! PLEASE, MOM, I WILL DO ANYTHING, JUST DON'T.. Ah. It's you, Miki-san.. Hold on, where's Eiji-san?.. Well, I don't really care. So.. Guilty, huh.." *laughs* "I know I've said I'll be okay with any verdict, but.. How could you change your decision so quickly? Did you just remember how young my victim was?"

"When.. When will I finally be enough for her? Wait, is that.. Ah, whatever."

Kei: "Oh, Miki, it's you. And.. you're Hinode, right? Haha, I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together~.. Hey, is Eiji doing okay? This place doesn't have any doctors, so.. No, no, stop saying I'm kind. I'm just mad that I wasn't the one who has caused him so much pain. It's like someone stole a chance to show him more love from me.. Are you expecting me to thank you for saving me? Haha.. Dear, I know you're just playing with our lives as if we were your toys."

*crying* "Ruka.. I don't know why I did it.. It just.. It hurts so much.. C-can you hug me, please?"

Eiko: "Takeru.. Takeru, please.. Did I do something wrong- O-oh, it's you, Miki-chan. And.. Woah, this new guy sure is handsome!.. But I still miss Eiji-kun. Hey, he's gonna come back, right? He will be okay, right?.." *in a lower voice* "It was her, right?.. I'll have to make her pay for this."

"Thanks for helping, I guess. Wow, it's like you have a lot of experience with this stuff.. Hey. What do you guys even do?"

Asahi: "A-ah, it's you, Miki-nee.. A-and who are you? Ugh, I just hope that he treats you better than Eiji-nii did.. Oh, I'm doing great! I mean, you forgave me again and all. Um.. I kinda miss Eiji-nii's cooking though. There's no point in trying to steal the guilty guys' food now.. Hm? S-shut up, I'm not fucking scared of them!"

"I'M SORRY! I JUST- I WAS SO AFRAID, I THOUGHT SHE- I THOUGHT SHE DOESN'T LOVE ME ANYMORE! PLEASE, LET ME STAY!"

Yurika: ".. I'm going to kill you. All three of you. And all the prisoners here. I hate you all. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU SO-.. Oh, it's you. What do you want from me? I know the third trial is starting, you don't have to tell me anything. Just leave already. Stop looking at me like that! If you don't leave, I will do what I promised to do to those two."

"We're finally done.. I won't have to deal with them anymore, I'm so happy.. U-uh, you're not mad at me, right?"

Riku: ".. What do you want? Ugh, I still feel sick.. I don't want to talk to you. And you, especially.. Hey, do you feel proud of yourself, Miki? Didn't you say that "your forgiveness has its limits"? You're sooooo cool for voting me guilty. That was sooooo unexpected. You may have used that thing on me, but I still remember what you said. And I'm still mad."

"Come on. You knew it was me." *laughs* "Now.. Won't you do all of us a favor and die already?"

Reina: "Well, well, well. I got voted innocent. Again. What a surprise." *sighs* "When will this end, Miki? When will it end? It feels like my own personal hell at this point. And I agree that I should be punished, but.. Not like this. Come on. Would you want to be forgiven for killing your own little brother? If that's so, then you are truly heartless-"

"Please, leave. I don't want to talk about it. It was my fault. My fault, my fault, my fault, my fault, my f-"

#👑prisoner 001: miyagawa akio👑#🌸prisoner 002: hanasaki aimi🌸#💔prisoner 003: ishizu shun 💔#🌿prisoner 004: chiba naomi🌿#🍓prisoner 005: sanada kei 🍓#💎prisoner 006: yoshioka eiko💎#🍬prisoner 007: yano asahi 🍬#🎀prisoner 008: maruyama yurika 🎀#🎸prisoner 009: kuroki riku 🎸#🎭prisoner 010: himura reina🎭#milgram #milgram oc #milgram project #ocgram

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rhube · 4 months

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Controversial opinion: I don't mind this casting.

I am saying this as a non-binary person.

Should you try to cast non-binary people in non-binary roles? Yes, of course!

Is Alexander Skarsgard non-binary?

I have no idea and neither do you.

Listen: I have known people who have had to out themselves because they were criticised for working on LGBTQ+ things when people assumed they were cis and het.

I've also had the unpleasant experience of being possibly the only out non-binary person in a business, meaning that the business refused to report on salary equality for non-binary people because the sample sizes were so small that it would be possible to identify the people involved from the comparison. Given that it was me who forced HR to have non-binary as an option, I am fairly sure I was the first non-binary person to be recorded. I also knew several non-binary or questioning people on staff who were definitely not out and certainly hadn't talked to HR about it.

There are faaaaar more non-binary people than you think, and my experience has been than most of us aren't out.

To my knowledge, Alexander Skasgard publically presents as a cis man*. But he works in an industry where that works massively to his advantage - especially because it means he gets to be a leading man. There's no Oscars category for best NB actor.

Sure, he has strong paradigmatically male biological characteristics - he's very tall, broad-shouldered, and square-jawed - and I'm sure a lot of people were hoping for a more androgynous look. But I am agender and I could not possibly have more paradigmatically female biological characteristics. It does not mean I am feminine. It just means I'm short, have huge boobs, an hour-glass figure, small shoulders, a vadge, and a soft face.

If you only ever have androgynous-looking actors play non-binary characters on TV, it means I'll never be represented.

True, Murderbot is described as being 'generic human' in appearance, not clearly gendered in any way, but it's also a fighting machine and personally I imagine it being fairly tall.

I recently saw a Mastodon poll asking people if they imagined Murderbot's voice as 'male' or 'female', and it made me so angry! Voices AREN'T male or female. They are high or low or middling. There was no option for middling. You could even phrase it as baritone, tenor, alto, or soprano, but they didn't.

I have a high soprano voice, by the way. Several times I have been in choirs where I had to sing alone because I was the only one who could reach the notes.

Still agender.

Would it be great for Murderbot to be played by an out non-binary actor? Sure! Name one! No Googling!

[This is rhetorical, please don't reblog this post with names; I know they exist, the point is about numbers and general visibility.]

And yeah, there are almost certainly great non-binary actors out there - I used to act! I was in the National Youth Theatre! I think I was pretty good.

You wouldn't cast me as Murderbot, though. Regrettably, no one is ever gonna mistake me for a killing machine.

So, what is the pool of actors you have to draw on if you limit yourself to casting from out non-binary people? Even supposing you're open to complete unknowns.

It's pretty small.

Probably equivalent to the percentage of people who were willing to tell HR they were non-binary at my work.

And almost all of them probably put down a gender on forms for agents and casting directors because that is how you get work as an actor - there is Far More Pressure for that in acting than almost any other field I can think of.

I don't know how they did the casting call and it may be that they could have done it better than they did (or they may have tried very hard to find an NB actor who was right and failed - I don't know!). But that doesn't mean Alexander Skasgard is wrong for the role.

It definitely doesn't mean he should be hounded about it, so do not fucking do that, OK?

There is a very high chance that you know a lot of people who are non-binary that you don't know are non-binary. Especially among people in their 30s and 40s who are therefore old enough to have had an established acting career. As I've mentioned many, many times, most people in my age group were deliberately barred from knowing non-binary was an option until they were already adults and reasonably settled in how they'd decided to handle the gender nonsense that was the background radiation of their lives.

I'm happy Murderbot is getting a TV series. Alexander Skasgard is a great actor that I can see being pretty well-suited to the role in terms of acting range.

I have no reason to think he is secretly non-binary, but I also have no reason to think that he isn't. Always question what illicit gender stereotypes you're drawing on when you assume you can 'tell'.

Point is: this 'shame people until only those who are out as having that exact identity can have those roles' game is a dangerous one that hurts real people.

And also I don't want people shaming ME for thinking it's cool an actor I admire will be portraying my identity.

WE DON'T HAVE TO BE A BUMMER ABOUT FINALLY GETTING SOME PROMINENT NB REPRESENTATION.

See also: non-binary people are not where binary trans people are in terms of representation. We're more like where trans women were in the 80s and 90s. You know, back when getting a big male star to play a trans woman was actually a big risk and a show of support for the actor. Thankfully, there are now quite a few prominent trans women actors. It's still not easy, but if you wanted a big actor who was also an out trans woman, you would have far more options than you do for out non-binary actors.

Also, I don't think there is an exact equivalent to Murderbot's gender identity out there in the human world. I reckon agender is pretty close, being a complete lack of gender, but I do not have the same feels about the relationship between my body and my lack of gender that Murderbot does. My body was not manufactured and it has (as mentioned) pretty clear sexual characteristics that Murderbot lacks.

You will not find anyone who can authentically present Murderbot's experience as their own. And as a non-binary person the equation of my identity with non-humans and robots is pretty uncomfortable anyway.

I sure do hope they have SOME non-binary actors among the human cast, though. Given quite how many human non-binary people there are in the books, there is a broad opportunity to at least try to do acting calls that are open to non-binary people. Characters who are sketched much more loosely in the books than Murderbot.

Like, maybe it will turn out to be a complete cluster fuck, but we don't know enough about the production to say that it will be yet. I want to feel happy about this. I don't want to feel shamed because I think 'actually, I think he could be pretty good'.

And above all, the culture of shaming people until they prove their LGBTQ+ creds has to stop.

*And we should respect that. This post should NOT be read as speculating on his gender identity. Entirely the reverse!

#murderbot #non-binary #agender #alexsander skasgard

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b-ritney · 1 year

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MY FAVS LIST PT.2

for some reason every time I try to add a new fic to my original favs list it says there is an "Error processing my post" *rolling my eyes* I have so many fics to add to the list tho, get ready to add some new HEAT to your TBR :)

PART 1 You DO NOT want to miss these

mostly Stranger Things and Avatar lmao

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

Sleepy and Needy in Steves Lap by @lunarzstarz SMUT

Oh my f'ing GAWD, this is *chef's kiss* this writer is SO talented.

she's gonna save me by @newlips Fluff

Bestie im on my knees. You killed that fr, mechanic Eddie never disappoints. :) THIS IS A 2 PaRt SeriES so far!!

as long as you need by @lilacletter SMUT

As promised I was FINALLY able to add this to the list! :) I love the kindness and attentiveness the writer portrayed in Eddie it's so PerFecT, this writer is sooo talented! Get ready to MELT like a popsicle in JULY.

You Give Love A Bad Name by @cinemaquinn SMUT SMUT SMUT

Also as promised I was finally able to add this to the list :) come get ya'll JUICE!!! I am LIVING for the breaks in his dominant demeanor. Like even though he's a dick he still wants her to feel good and be comfortable. BUT THE ENDING TORE MY ASS UPPPPP girllllll it's soooo good!

Ok i had to come back and add more to this bc i've now read it 3 times.

You know when you're looking for that perfect dynamic in a fic that is the sexiest to you? This is that for me. Like you can tell that even though he is cocky and has the rockstar persona when it gets down to it you can tell he genuinely cares that she is comfortable and enjoying herself. and the CHECKING IN had me giggling and kicking my feet like... he is giving me whiplash in the best way... its like a fatal attraction, he draws you in with the bad boy persona and then switches up and is all sweet and caring and then goes right back to the bad boy. I'm so excited to see how the next part goes.

Lets Go Dont Wait by @carolmunson spicy Fluff

Girl... you've once again blessed me with a masterpiece, I'm officially dubbing it a New York Times best-seller

Check out @pandorxx and @tiredmamaissy for some KILLER avatar smut... I mean both of these writers are so talented... and the content they serve is *bitting my knuckles* SO PeRfecT.... if you love ten-foot-tall, blue, SHREDDED cat people then they've got you covered fr fr <3

Satiate me by @zujime SMUT

hehehehehe this is.. hehehe sensational... we love a tired, hazy dick down... at least I do. *cries in virgin* Listen... The casual dominance had me at attention like YES SIRRRRR when he goes, “Open up for me, yeah?” and “Tongue out, baby, come on.” I was GONE. seriously fabulous work <3

Just call me Mr.Munson by @bimbobaggins69 SMUT

Listen the idea of sucking dick has never been appealing to me.. only just recently have I discovered this itty bitty part of me that might like it a little... but THIS, this has given me a whole new perspective lmao consider my horizons broadened, and the idea not completely off the table LMFAO <3 awesome fic

Eddie Shotgunning blurb by @wndalovebot SpICy <3

Doing this with someone is in my top 3 fantasies lmao you should have heard the scream I scrumpt lmao I am a fucking fool for this. You know what I would do if this ever happened to me.... I honestly don't know... but my knees are weak just thinking about it. Sooo Good! <3

Steddie Tattooing blurb by @idkmanijustwannawrite SMUT

Y'all already know this was being added immediately, lmao this first time I got a tat was a religious experience bc I discovered so much about myself lmaooo I was like "you know what would be good with this???" ...Head... all these thoughts were internal. Don't worry I have some semblance of decency lmao then I found out that there is a whole community of people who think the same thing on here lmao all jokes aside, this is so so so good go give it a read, show the author some love, you will not be disappointed. <3

Mafia Eddie by @oneforthemunny

This shit has me giggling like a fool, I can not talk enough about how talented this writer is, I am on my knees fr queen. It's the type of writing you read over and over and NEVER get tired of. <3 Mafia Eddie does something to me frrrrr.

Jake Sully x Bimbo gf by @coffeeandbookskeepmealive SMUT

This keeps me up at night lmao I'll be so for real I'm in between finals rn and I read this before taking my next test... I can't tell you how many times I've read it already.... I'm not normally into the lil housewife type thing but BRUH this had me crossing my legs and giggling fr. What I like about this is that it fits the prompt but Jake doesn't dehumanize her for being lil slut for him. He still treats her nice and wants her to feel good and that makes me FERAL. Go show this writer some love! <3

The Truest Statement by @newlips 18+

I know this isn't necessarily fan fiction lmao but this is going to live in my head forever... lmfao 'big stretch' bruh i'm gone I blacked out.

Something Extra by @luveline SMUT

This was in my first favs list but the damn link broke at some point so I wanted to put it here again because it is sooo good and deserves proper recognition!!! putting my old comments below :)

It's the way he so sexily explains what he's gonna do to the reader and asks if it's ok and everything, we love a respectful man UGH actually though it is so so so so good.

I Need Something By @hellfiremunsonn SMUT

This is the first time I've seen an author (yes an AUTHOR you are so talented <3) mention a lil panic moment after sex which is more common than people might think, there are so many emotions flooding your system at once. and HOLY F this was just all-around amazing... when he "hey hey hey baby you're okay." My cheeks got HOT fr. <3

The "yes" Policy by @pinkrelish Fluff EVENTUAL SMUT

I have mentioned this before but I am just now on the last part and I want to tell the author with all honesty... your writing style blows my mind I was enthralled in every sentence and I could read this over and over and over... you are beyond incredibly talented.. this is the type of story that could EASILY become a brilliant movie and YOU did that! I really hope you are proud of yourself bc all jokes aside this series is a masterpiece. EVERYONE should read this.

Rabbit Food by @oneforthemunny SMUT

The truth is that I need to go through and write a commentary on all your master lists bc everything you write is gold but for some reason this week DILF Eddie has me in a fucking chock hold. Also, new kink unlocked... thank you. LMAO This is another author I can't recommend enough! <3

us versus them by @myosotisa SMUT

You should know I will be back to read this over and over and if I could leave 1000 hearts I would bc GOOD GAWD this did something to me fr fr. This part in particular:

"Did so good for me, sweetheart.

So pretty, so perfect.

Come back to me, baby. Nice and easy."

yeah, I died a little. As in I blushed so hard I had to get up and walk away to cool down. Take a bow bc you DID THAT!!

Phone Sex Operator Eddie by @bimbobaggins69 SMUT

pt. 2

Lord have mercy. Let me start with, this is relatable af bc not only can I not talk to men in person but I can barely make phone calls LMFAO. This is a 2 part series so far y'all come get you some this is such a cute idea.

Sort of similar... I got a phone call from a military recruiter that is always trying to get me and my friends to join the Marines and his voice was so sexy I just ended up flirting with him the whole time (respectfully). Then we found out it's the same marine that we see in person at the mall all the time lmao so I've met this dude in person bahaha (once again respectfully.)

I fr was like "oh haha I wish you could see who you're talking too, the military wouldn't want me." BAHAHA my ass was FISHING for compliments BAHAHA

TBC... <3

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