#child miranjo

[animehouse-moe]

Ranking of Kings Season 2 Episode 9: Miranjo and The Demon | The Prince And His Treasures

I need to get my soap box and megaphone out so I can tell the world about how much I love this season. Maybe it's because I knew what we were in for before it came here, or maybe it's because Wit has been working animation magic these last few years. But this season of side stories for Ousama Ranking has been so amazing. Absolutely zero shortage of heartwarming and important and creative moments.

Starting with Miranjo's story as a child, where she finds the wish granting demon child in the forest. I think it's a really incredible story about duality. She finds herself lost in a deeper part of the forest after hitching a ride on some deer, only to spot the young demon feasting on a wild animal of some sort.

Right away, that dichotomy appears as Miranjo is peaceful and accepted by the wildlife, while the demon boy is shunned by it. You can say that they're also hostile and violent towards it, but that's a complete misinterpretation of the scene. They have to eat to survive, so they're unable to create that peaceful bond like Miranjo has, which I think is a rather impactful statement. And those comparisons and differences continue, with Miranjo always being in light and the demon boy remaining in the shadows.

But, the story turns on its head pretty quickly, as the demon child flees from Miranjo, and she chases after him before leaving him alone, and huffing and puffing on her way home before she gets lost. I think it's a really great pairing of pieces, as the foliage covers overhead of Miranjo in both scenes, dulling them in comparison to when the demon boy helps Miranjo find her way back home. It's incredibly cute because the light that Miranjo brought into the forest is the same light that the boy returns to her to help her home. The cramped forest that appeared around the demon boy, and that Miranjo poked through, is the same forest that the boy returns to so that they can find Miranjo. It's a circular story, reciprocative, as Miranjo brings happiness and light into the boy's life, and he returns the favor and in turn begins their friendship.

It's just so wonderful. The colors are amazing, the art style is incredibly precious, the direction is perfectly fitting for a fairy tale style, and I love how they use the forest to frame the various scenes. Using trees and foliage to create a suffocating and encroaching feeling before opening it up to allow for freedom and brightness later on. Such a wonderful story of how Miranjo and the demon boy came to be friends.

And quick side note, I really like that little backstory we got for the boy. Not cause it shows there's a whole town or whatever of demons, but how the story views adults and those seeking power as inherently evil and repulsive.

Anyways, on to part 2!

What a cute and endearing second half. Far less a cohesive story as it is the culmination of memories and experiences as Bojji runs all around the castle to deliver his treasures to the people whom they were discovered with. A lot of similar stuff, so I just want to highlight the importance/significance of the items.

First, we've got Bebin with the snake skin from a young Matsumata. Of course, it can signify his growth and the changes he underwent to get to where he is, but I'd also like to think it's a testament to how caring Bebin is inside that outer shell.

Next up, we've got Apeas (who was sporting some really awesome combat animation in his training), to whom he gives what looks like a piece of obsidian in the shape of a spear. I think it's an equally rewarding gift that commends Apea's honing of his abilities, and is in a way, Bojji recognizing the strength and power of Apeas, whom struggled greatly with that concept through the end of the first season.

Following Apeas, we have a double feature with Domas and Hokuro, who share the same gift of the shell of a cicada. I think this is a really precious one that does great at symbolizing how both of these characters have broken out of their shells and grown. Plus, over-emotional Domas is incredibly fun and endearing.

We've got another duo after this pair, with Hiling and Dorshe. Hiling sports a feather from some sort of bird, while Dorshe is given a fang. You'll have to forgive me, but I can't think of any symbolism or prior event for Bojji to give Hiling a feather for. Dorshe on the other hand? His gift of a fang makes perfect sense as a reward and treasure for how fiercely he defended Bojji's mother.

And last but not least is Daida's acorn. I think it's a really cute one that's equal parts innocuous and important. There's the whole idea of growth and strength associated with it, but more than that I feel its importance stems from the shared memory that Daida wants to cultivate with Bojji, by turning the acorn into a tree within the castle.

Now, there's a bit more to cover before I get to the end, so I just wanted to share some of the outstanding layouts from this episode. The use space and slightly warped perspectives through most of them is really creative and gives a refreshing twist on what can sometimes be typical layouts for "good" series.

This scene with Bojji giving Miranjo a crystal ball though has to be the best of the episode. Such a creative idea with incredible execution.

And then we get to the end, where they use the song from the first OP for the anime. Need I say much more? Incredibly endearing and precious, it's the perfect way to approach the end of such a nostalgic and memorable episode.

[kidron]

Headcanons for Prince Daida from Ousama Ranking please?

☆Daida headcanons

He hates Domas since the begining, that's why he yelled at him the moment he got the crown, he always saw him as someone with zero loyality who cares for nothing but himself and not his duty or the people he's supposed to protect, however his hate towrads him became less now than before.

Daida took it as his responsiblity to carry everyone's hopes and be the "golden child", at first he saw that protecting his brother comes first at this responsiblity but as the time passes he was exhausted and all what he heard about Boji made him look down to him.

Miranjo of course rejected marrying him, however he still want to protect and make her happy, as that she was the only friend he had for years.

When he had troubles with sleeping or nightmares, mirror Miranjo would listen to him and keep him company. As that she's back to her normal form she still come to his room everyday to check on him.

He was scared/disguseted of Bebin's snakes, he got used to them, he got more used to them now

When he eats a food that he likes he would do a similiar face Boji did when he made the breakfast to Kage and Dispa, this face / v \.

He once made Miranjo a flower crown, Miranjo stood in silent relizing it has been years since someone made her a flower crown, most likley the last time was when she used to play with her friends at their village and girls would gift eachothers crown, she appreciate it from the deepist point of her heart.

His favorite food is sweet potatoes, once Bebin mentioned that he looks like a sweet potatoe because of his colors, as much as he was mad and loud about it he can't unsee it now, 100% Bebins fault.

──────────────────────── Ooh thank you for requesting ! I got exited since this is my first request, make another request whenever you like :]

[bojjiphrog]

Sean Osama: Sean is Daida and Miranjo's second child. He is basically comedic relief. I tried very hard to give him a trauma arc, and sort of did. But he's not mysterious or angsty, he's just a silly little guy.

[unfortunatelyuncreative]

Ousama Ranking Episode 22 Analysis PART 2

2. Daida and Miranjo's dynamic (& the question of marriage)

2A.Now let's get into something a little more meaty. Before that through, I want to establish something very simple, very clearly. Remember when I said that a relationship between a 10 year old and a 13 to 15 year old was still Really Weird but that I'd get back to it? Well, I'm back to it.

DAIDA AND MIRANJO ARE NOT IN LOVE

THIER RELATIONSHIP IS IN NO WAY ROMANTIC

DAIDA DID NOT PROPOSE OUT OF ROMANTIC FEELINGS AND HE DOES NOT THINK HE'S IN LOVE WITH MIRANJO

MIRANJO DOES NOT THINK THAT DAIDA IS IN LOVE WITH HER EITHER

Now, with that out of the way, let's dig in.

Medieval marriages, at least Royal marriages, were not matters of romance but usually purely political. Daida asked Miranjo to become his wife as an act of political sanctuary.

In the one fan translation I found of the manga chapters episode 22 was adapted from (which have since sadly been taken down), there seem to have been a few lines that were taken out of the anime. At least that was my impression. It was a pretty poor translation to be honest, but my interpretation at least was that Daida, in claiming Miranjo as his fiance, saves himself from a big political mess. The Captain of the Underworld was about ready to lob her block off the second she was revived. With an Axe. If Daida had refused to hand over a random fugitive, it would would have been seen as outrageous and completely irrational. As his intended bride however, Miranjo would have valid ties to the kingdom that would legitimate a refusal to hand her over or kill her. As it is, even this would barely be enough to protect her. My impression of the translation was (I'm really sorry I don't have any proof, you'll just have to take my word here) that the captain insisted that even still a war would likely break out, and everyone around is immediately like, "oh crap, we'd totally loose." Even Despa is expecting his brother to declare war, and is extremely shocked when he doesn't. Thankfully Despa smooths things over, but the point is that Daida proposed as a way of taking care of Miranjo like his father wanted.

Furthermore on the issue of love, while it's true that Daida did say "Miranjo, you were someone I . . . " (from here I think it's safe to fill in the blank with 'love'), in that moment he was recognizing that despite Miranjo betraying him, she had always been important to him. This isn't a romantic confession but rather a begrudging admittance that the person he wants to hate most, he can't. Sure MAYBE Daida might have the first traces of a crush on her or something. But those wouldn't develop for a good long while.

Going back to the idea of a medieval marriage, political betrothals in the middle ages could last for years or even decades. And there's no reason to think that even if Daida and Miranjo did "get married" relatively soon, that they would be expected to actually act as husband and wife for a Long, Long time. All the touchy-feely stuff is completely off in the distance and not relevant to the significant parts of their relationship.

2B. Now to the really tricky part. Is Daida just experiencing Stockholm syndrome and continuing to be a victim of grooming? I mean, we've already established that the boy's not in love, but has he just been manipulated into forgiving his abuser?

Now, whatever else he is, I truly don't think Bosse was being manipulative by showing Daida his memories. He never makes himself out to be a virtuous person, going so far as to show Daida how he killed everyone around Miranjo's mutilated body, even an innocent child. Daida in turn, is visibly horrified by this, much as he is when he learns of how Bosse is responsible for Bojji's curse. Daida knows his father is pretty awful in certain respects.

Now it is possible that Bosse just wants to paint Miranjo in a more positive light than she deserves. But he also shows Daida Miranjo's involvement with the demon as well, and as for the rest of Miranjo's crimes, it'd be kinda hard for Bosse to show Daida memories of things that he wasn't physically present for. I do think that Bosse's perspective is colored by bias, but he's not actively trying to deceive his son.

That being said, even if Daida isn't being tricked into it, he's still forgiving Miranjo for some pretty heinous stuff and I do think it happened too quickly. I think it does help to consider Daida's character though. Aside from just being young, Daida also values loyalty above almost anything else, a lesson well instilled by Bebin. Because of what Bosse showed him, he comes to see Miranjo as someone who used and betrayed him yes, but also as someone who did so out of an overabundance of twisted loyalty to his father.

2C. Daida vs Bosse

I think it also helps to compare Diada's relationship with Miranjo to Bosse's relationship with Miranjo. Bosse, however much he felt he "saw what people were really like underneath," was not someone who knew how to raise a small traumatized child. He was never even really a good person. Also, just fyi,

MIRANJO & BOSSE'S RELATIONSHIP WAS NEVER ROMANTIC EITHER

IT WASNT THE SAME AS MIRANJO'S DYNAMIC WITH DAIDA BUT IT WASNT ROMANTIC EITHER

THE MAN EVEN SAYS THAT MIRANJO . . .

NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS ROMANTIC

OK. Now that that's over.

Bosse cared for Miranjo, but he was never able to see her the way she needed to be seen. (And again, I don't mean romantically here.)

Think about it. Bosse sees Miranjo as someone totally weak and a perpetual victim. Therefore, he treats her like he's a stepfather who's trying to get a kid to like him. He gives her whatever she wants to try and make her happy, but he never connects with her as her own separate person. By seeing her as someone completely dependent on him, he relegates her to such in both of their minds, which really screws up their relationship.

Miranjo says she'll be happy when Bosse is happy, so he doesn't question it & becomes the strongest man. Miranjo is ashamed of herself because of her face and distrusts people, so he builds her a giant basement for her to do weird magic stuff in and be alone.

Now to his credit, I don't think Bosse knew for certain that Miranjo killed his first wife, but he definitely suspected her. He figures out that she's become this twisted person because of him, but still doesn't know how to address it. So he gives Hiling his best soldier as a bodyguard to prevent it from happening again, but if Miranjo decides she wants another journey, and Hiling and Daida have to die for it to happen, he'll go along with it. He wants Miranjo to return to her old, compassionate self, but he won't step in and save his family unless she decides she's conflicted about killing them.

Daida on the other hand, while being "the most like Bosse," still has a lot of his mother in him. In fact the first good decision he makes in the show, refusing the elixer Miranjo gave him, is arguably due to her influence. Daida will call bull out when he sees it, and he will draw a line he won't cross. He's not like Bosse who hangs around for a while out of guilt but eventually wanders off when he's needed most. When Miranjo moves to shuffle off into the darkness again (when they're both trapped together in Daida's body) he immediately asks her not to leave. And not only does he stay by her side the whole time, but the first chance he gets, he makes sure Miranjo will be a part of his family, instead of Bosse who simply gave her the title of Lady.

I would like to interpret all of this as proof that Daida is not enabling Miranjo to use him again, that he isn't going to listen to her just because she flatters him, that he'll rely more on people like Bebin and his mother. But I honestly don't feel like I know enough about things like abuse and grooming to argue whether becoming better people together is likely for them any more than I already have.

3. Daida & Miranjo's growth

I do think however that I can argue pretty well that Daida has grown a lot as a character. By being trapped in the darkness with Miranjo, he doesn't see her as he once would, as he once saw Bojji. He doesn't think of her just as a victim as Bosse saw her, because she becomes his one comfort, a friend and equal who shares in his suffering. (There's a love your enemy joke that could be made here but I won't stoop that low) Once Daida felt that to live with some impediment or some unfixible mistake was worse than death, but by saving Miranjo (and being saved by Bojji as well) he decides that life is worth living even if you've screwed it up horribly or suffered continuously. That's the fulfillment of his arc.

Miranjo by contrast, went from someone willing to be used, to someone willing to use others, and then into some sort of middle ground. While living with Bosse, she wanted to serve him no matter the cost to her own soul. I think it's worth noting that despite knowing where the demon lives, (or I guess, the demon knowing where she lives) Miranjo never wishes for her own body to be returned to how it once was. Even Killing Bosse's Own Wife, was in her mind, a choice made for Bosse's sake, to save his life. Of course, this really wasn't a selfless decision, although it takes Miranjo another 10 years to figure that one out. And even though after this choice (and coincidentally making her second deal with the demon at the same time), Miranjo still feels she has a selfless cause, her appetite dramatically increases. She doesn't just want Bosse to live, she wants the days of old back where it was just them together. She wants Hiling dead and the kingdom in ruins. (I think it's also fair to imply here that on a subconscious level Miranjo was also taking some resentment against her own mother out on Hiling.) It is only by being offered Daida's empathy and seeing Bojji's true selflessness in action that she comes to her senses and remembers what it really means to love someone. Her first act of repenting, of turning away from her path is to heal Kage, but this puts her face to face with her own past. A past she feels that has led her down a path she cannot break free from.

Now in this part of the story, Ouken is still on a rampage, but I think it's ok to assume that Miranjo is not only in inner turmoil but is very low on magical reserves, so she probably couldn't do much to stop him. Then Bosse, her constant protector comes, but for once he fails when facing Bojji. And Miranjo gives up. It's too late for her; Daida being set free by her death is the best thing that could happen. Lucky for her, Bojji and Daida didn't give up on her.

From Miranjo's perspective, being saved is totally unfair, and I think the audience is supposed to agree too. (I mean, I do think that the author thinks Miranjo is way more likeable and sympathetic than she really is, but that's another can of worms I don't need to open.) She's made the first step towards fixing her mistakes, as insurmountable a task it may be, but still has a long way to go.

3. Now just one more issue remains. Why does everyone else forgive Miranjo so fast??? I mean, we the audience might feel she deserves a second chance at life, even if she's still wholly unworthy of all the good things happening to her. But why should the other characters?

Bojji, and Despa have literally experienced her entire life, and I don't think it's too hard to imagine that Kage would be OK with forgiving anybody Bojji wants to forgive. Apeas of course already wanted Miranjo to be saved, so he's dancing for joy.

That just leaves Hokuro, Domas, the Captain, Bebin, Dorshe, Anne, and Hiling. Now Hokuro too I think might be OK with forgiving Miranjo under Bojji's direction pretty easily. Domas has little room to talk when it comes to guilt. The captain, we've seen, is pretty rightly pissed as hell, but if the prince tells you to stand down, you stand down. Bebin is not only very loyal to Daida, but keeps his cards close to his chest. Even if he felt Miranjo should be punished, I doubt he'd argue with Daida publicly, especially after they day they've all had, and the threat of war only narrowly being avoided.

Now the next three give me the most trouble. With Dorshe, I suppose you could say that he knows Hiling cares most about her sons being OK, and as long as that's the case, he'll just wait & go with whatever she decides. Anne is a soldier too so it's not her place to debate all these kings & princes. But she did ya'know. Get her throat slit. :/

With Hiling too, it's def hard to see her forgiving Miranjo anytime soon, even if she's learned to be less judgemental after almost killing Hokuro.

That being said, the truth is some things just got resolved too quickly. And it sucks, but as viewers we can either decide the show isn't worth our time (which is always a valid option), ignore the flaws, or be like me and type disgustingly long metas trying to rationalize an anime. Or you can write fanfiction too!

Anyways I'm done now. If anyone actually reads this horrible behemoth of a post, thank you so much, I spent half the night working on it 😅.

[bootlickerhawks]

Me watching Daida ask to marry Miranjo

[wtf-is-going-on-in-this-shit]

Ranking of Kings was so good but the ending with Miranjo was such a load of bullshit, like fuck off.

It could have been such a good closure if they just hadn’t tried to push the Rule of Obligatory Romance to such a ridiculous fucking degree. Miranjo was raised by Bosse since a child, then she develops a fucking Freudian-like lifelong crush on him, makes a deal with a demon for him (that only she paid through mind you), then fucks up the entire damn kingdom and everyone around it in a scheme that lasted several years, kills, maims or attempts to kill basically everyone in Bojji and Daida’s life.

And THEN, after all that shit show and realizing that she fucked up, be saved from the consequences of her own actions by Daida, the pubescent boy she mentored for years since childhood and then betrayed, by him making a deal with the devil -the very thing that started all this bullshit, and will probably have some serious consequences to him - and out of nowhere he want to marry her??? And she accepts it??? And everyone just gotta deal with it???

I known that with the show’s whole central bit about kindness and forgiveness, she would be saved and probably have a happy ending one way or another, and I wanted Miranjo to have a chance to heal, but did they have to be so fucking messed up about it??? What the fuck?! They managed to run into the horrible cliches for female characters and antagonists in the worst way.

Miranjo relationship to Bosse is very ambiguous in tone, it could be much more in a “he saved me and took care of me, so I need to repay him somehow by helping him”, that is a feeling that could pair very well with her only superficially explored Survivor’s Guilt. And in Daida and Bojji’s case she could simply taken a role of an adviser or an older sister (since, yknow, THEY WERE RAISED BY THE SAME GUY)

The anime was still overall a really good experience, but fuck if that storyline’s ending wasn’t unsatisfactory and messy as fuck. It felt like trying to pull Happy Ever After and character development with duct tape, and not even Miranjo’s but Daida’s. Daida who didn’t even need this bullshit to make his character likable mind you, he got his by trauma and self reflection time in the shadow realm. Miranjo’s bad writing wasn’t even for her, she was completely damseled and this pisses me off so much. God I’m so frustrated, this was such a great story and production with awesome characters, but this stands out like a sore spot even in this fairytale setting. They both deserved so much better.

Anyway, this was just a rant. Hope I can still see the show on a good light moving own despite it

[batplushies]

Miranjo is SO interesting as a character. her voice acting here is so genuine. and the way it hard cuts to her phantom child being comforted by Daida! and how Kages sheer love for his friend makes present Miranjo have flashbacks to HER childhood moments of love! UUUGGHHH

[the-dormant-ocean]

What Miranjo went through is horrible but, in the end, I just can’t bring myself to feel bad for her after all the things she has done to everyone. She hurt so many people when it wasn’t even necessary! I mean, she killed Bojji’s mom in front of him just because female giants can’t bare more than one child and Miranjo wanted Bosse to become stronger and for that he needed to have another child! To me, every terrible thing that she does just ends up feeling gratuitous. Even if she repents, I don’t think I would be able to get over all the things she did. I mean, it only makes sense, after all I will never forgive Domas and what she did was way worse.

[voidnoidoid]

My (very late) 3AM thoughts on the final episode of Ousama Ranking (pt 1)

I had decently high hopes for episode 23, I really did. And it (mostly) delivered! Except for one part.

To get the part I didn't like out of the way... you guys probably know what I'm talking about... I'm unhappy about the way Miranjo's redemption was carried out. Daida just goes "I know you've committed a lot of crime, heinous crime. Literal war crimes. Like straight up ordering the murder of Queen Sheena, my brother's mother, for the sake of your selfish goals. And I accept your crimes, because you suffered a lot too." Daida, bless his 12-year old heart, forgave Miranjo for her many misdeeds because of all the pain and suffering she had gone through... by choosing to MARRY her.

Whaaaaat???

There are multiple reasons why this is really weird. First of all, their previous relationship dynamic as well as their age gap. Daida is around the age of 11-14, and Miranjo is a full grown woman, possibly in her mid twenties to thirties. While Miranjo existed as the magic mirror, it was clearly established that she took on the role of a mentor, or perhaps even a maternal figure. She offered advice and counsel to Daida, and thus manipulated him into doing what she wanted according to her plan to use his body as a vessel for Bosse. She was a mentor revealed to be a manipulative traitor. Afterwards, when Daida was trapped in the unfeeling void prison of his father's mind scape, Miranjo's heart, represented by a version of herself when she was a very young child, shows herself to Daida. Daida then proceeds to care for and comfort the young Miranjo much like an older brother. There's a bit of a role reversal here. The cared for became the carer, the guided became the guide. I can somewhat understand Daida when he said to Miranjo, "You were my light in the darkness" because she influenced almost all his actions as Prince, and kept him company and prevented him from going insane in the void. However that line comes off as needlessly dramatic and is over exaggerating Miranjo's role in keeping Daida sane.

Then suddenly, their relationship is framed in a romantic context. Daida goes "im gonna marry miranjo yeah" and even princess carries her and comforts her like... DUDE she manipulated you and hurt you and everyone you love and MADE YOU DRINK YOUR DEAD DAD. How the hell did he come to the conclusion that marrying the one who singlehandedly threw his entire kingdom into chaos was the right choice??? And the worst part? All the adults in the show are okay with this. Yes, they are surprised but in the end... The big 4 are fine with it if Daida's okay. Despa gives some random speech I dont remember but is ultimately fine with the choice. Bojji is surprisingly okay with this?? And finally, Queen Hiling, who had the most violent objection to this, accepts it too. At least her reaction made the most sense. Miranjo just knelt there and cried or whatever. She's grateful yes, but she's totally ok with marrying a kid? She's not gonna like... refuse? yeah ok makes SenSE

This brings me to my second point, Miranjo is/was a shitty person who hurt many people including Daida himself. I'm not gonna list all the bad things she's done because if you're reading this, you've either finished the whole anime or making the silly choice of spoiling yourself. For the entire show, Miranjo has been built up as the big bad main antagonist. To the manga and anime's credit, they've done a great job humanising her and showing off the more sympathetic side of her character. Nevertheless it does not excuse the atrocities she committed for the sake of her selfish love for Bosse. I went from hating her completely to feeling sorry for her and liking her a little more. But does this mean that because Miranjo went through many horrible things in her childhood, that it should excuse the bad things she's done? HELL NO. The story tries to touch on this point, it acknowledges that Miranjo has done Bad Stuff, and even throws in a consequence to her actions. As payback for everything she's done, Miranjo gets the well deserved fate of having her soul ripped apart, consumed, barfed out and fixed only to have the cycle repeat for ALL ETERNITY in a blazing hell within the demon she betrayed. Not gonna lie that scene was INTENSE. And I felt bad for her, but you reap what you sow.

My main issue here, is that there is no lasting consequence for Miranjo's crimes. She is locked in that hellscape for like 15 minutes before being saved by Bojji and Daida, who straight up STOLE Despa's wish to save Ouken. Asshole move but okay. And the moment she's out everyone just forgives her at the drop of a hat and she gets her happily ever after. But to be fair she does agree to atone for the horrible things she's done and work towards making the kingdom happy instead of focusing on what she wants.

Now for my third and final point, it all feels like bad writing. The author is a great writer, but sometimes the best of us make mistakes. Sosuke Toka wanted a happy fairy tale ending for the main characters, and there's nothing wrong with that at all! I myself love happy endings. But the way he went about writing it was just wrong. He wrote a good end point but the journey there felt rushed and hamfisted in so that he could get his happy ending regardless of how nonsensical it would seem in the story. In the first place, Daida shouldn't have and probably logically would not have proposed to Miranjo that easily. He does not harbour romantic feelings to her at all, and frankly the romantic undertones of the last episode and the one before that felt wildly inappropriate in my opinion. What he still would have done is save her from her cruel fate at the hands of the demon.

I envision a scene that would go like this: After Miranjo is saved, instead of the proposal and "light in my darkness" shit, Daida goes: "Miranjo. You have hurt me, my family and put my entire country in danger. You have committed countless atrocities in the name of love for my father, the late King Bosse. But despite everything, I think you should have a second chance. Nobody deserves to go through such immense suffering. Now don't misunderstand me, I haven't forgiven you. Not yet. I want you to use this opportunity to right the wrongs you have committed, and maybe... you can find your own happiness. For yourself, and no one else." Honestly if anyone were to forgive Miranjo so early on it would probably be Bojji? That kid has too big of a heart for his own good. Daida would probably come around to it some time after his brother. The adults (excluding apeas lol) would take way longer and some may not ever forgive Miranjo at all. But hey, I prefer this ending rather than the proposal one.

Even if the proposal did happen, I would expect the adults to freak out more and object crazy hard. like "Your majesty king daida I know you are the king but YOU CANT MARRY HER WHAT IN THE FUCK MAN". Daida would not react well to that lol. How I personally would rewrite the story from here is that Hiling would come in and talk to both daida and miranjo, how she does not approve of them marrying each other, and give a similar speech like I wrote for daida earlier. Then, I would give Miranjo agency to make the choice whether to accept the proposal or not. In the anime and manga, Miranjo never really said a concrete yes or no, she just cried. But judging by her final statement it was probably a "yes". Obviously in this case I would write her to say "No." Miranjo would say something like "King Daida, I am most grateful but I do not want to marry you. I am deeply indebted to you your Highness, but please understand, I do not see you that way. I am much too old for you, it would not be right. Thank you so much for giving me a second chance. I promise you that I will devote my life to atoning for my sins, and bring happiness to the kingdom." Hiling and the others would be more accepting of this outcome imo.

Then BOOM. happy fairytale ending woohooooo. Same end, different journey, no weirdness. I don't have a problem with forgiving Miranjo, it's just that it should come later and in a more natural way.

pt 2 is gonna be about what I liked about the ending!

[mizumiii]

Welcome - Part VII

King Desha x Fem!Reader

First part - Previous Part - Table of contents

Credit : Oreskis

Hello! Today it's a bit more fluffy (or not ~) :3

“Are you sure it is a good idea ?” 

Desha was in his room getting ready with Despa’s help.

“It’s a bit too late to change your mind now.” His brother answered with a smug smile. “And we have already talked a lot about it. After that attack targeting you, you need to show Boji’s kingdom that what you have to offer is worth the alliance.”

“I do not need them”, Desha scoffed before stopping in front of Despa’s look. “I know. The food. The space.”

“Exactly. So now stop whining like an old lady and let me finish what I am doing !”

How long has it been since Desha had spent such a carefree moment with his younger brother? He wanted to make fun of him to draw him away, however, he was also so delighted to have him taking care of him as if nothing had happened. Maybe for a couple of hours, he could also behave as if nothing had happened. Just this once. Just this one time. 

“You don’t look half bad.” Despa finally stated looking pretty satisfied with himself. 

He had sweated a bit in front of such efforts (making his brother look presentable was no simple task), but it looked worth the trouble. He was amazed by his own skills ! Anyway, what he had to do to help his older brother was just insane. He hoped that it would at least bear some fruits. Even if with that thick head of his, it was not an easy win. 

“I look ridiculous,” Desha replied, glaring at his reflection in the mirror held by Despa.

The more he stared at his reflection, the more distinct the dark forms in the background were becoming. He quickly averted his gaze, not wanting to delve now into a painful introspection. This evening, he was to hold a reception for Boji’s people and his, on Despa’s advice. So he needed to keep his composure no matter what. 

“It’s not up to you to decide”, the blond man finally stated. “We’ll see what others think about it.”

He deliberately accentuated the other, with someone very specific in mind, and by the expression on his brother’s face, he knew that they were both thinking about the same person. Desha sighed, will he get any compliments from you ? 

“I’ll see you there !” And like that, Despa fled the room.

Desha scratched his neck, he felt ridiculous in this. Was it too late to switch to his usual attire? He thought about all the hard work of his brother and finally decided to follow his lead. The reception’s beginning was drawing closer. If he were to arrive late, it would really have been all for nought, so he put himself together and went to the throne hall. Before getting there, he stopped at Ouken’s door, still half surprised that his brother would now come out each time he knocked. The young man had also put on nice clothes, but all Desha saw was a little boy.

“You are looking great big brother !” Ouken complimented him.

“Don’t be an idiot”, he scoffed while ruffling his brother's hair. 

“I’m serious”, he pouted. 

Desha kept bothering him until they reached their destination, which put him in a good mood. The room had been redecorated for the occasion, under Despa's guidance. Even Ouken had taken part in it, having a total blast while hanging on the banners and all.

They arrived right on time, the door just opened and people began to come in. Those from Boji’s side had taken the portal to travel, and most of them had never come here. However, it was not them that Desha was looking for. He still had to welcome them, since he was the king and all, but his mind was wandering around. The only thing he noticed was that Boji had still not grown, keeping a little child’s size, and that shadow was still following him everywhere, but both had put a bow on, looking a bit chicer. There were also Daida, Boji's younger brother; Miranjo, his wife to be; Hilling their mother, and a couple of others that Desha decided were not important enough for him to bother remembering. 

To his side, there were his two brothers, Captain and a couple of guards, and mainly those in charge of dealing with politics with him. For the occasion, even some more common people had the opportunity to come and enjoy the free meals. A good sign of the abundance to come thanks to their alliance. 

Some music began to play, Despa was leading the whole thing with skills, and Desha totally let him in charge. It was already a bother to talk and listen to everybody while holding on to his growing annoyance. Meanwhile, he saw that someone was missing. When he finally decided to send someone else to look for them, they appeared. 

You came through the door, looking a bit bothered. Your maids had insisted that you dressed up for the occasion. And you had avoided having make-up only by agreeing to be totally groomed.  So now  here you were wearing a long and tight blue dress with a naked back and the tights free. You totally did not feel at your place in that reception, and those clothes made you even more uncomfortable. However, you could not ditch your king, and had to attend to his reception. Especially since you were the emissary and it was like in the job’s description to be the bound between the two kingdoms. You just hoped that seeing your old friends would not be too hard, and that you would not make a fool of yourself. 

Desha looked directly at you and your gazes met. He thought about what his brothers had said, would you be pleased by his appearance ? Would he earn another compliment from you ? He was eager to know. But when he took a step in your direction, you suddenly turned your back at him and flew in the crowd, quickly disappearing from his sight. 

You reached one of the balconies on the outside of the castle. It was night so the cavern’s lights were less bright and bluer, making you feel a bit more at ease. Your cheeks were still red from running and something else, while your heart was pounding way too fast. 

Desha was furious. He felt even more foolish now. He should have guessed what would happen. It had not been long since the portal incident, and he had not seen you since. So it was no wonder that you would want to have nothing to do with him. Even after the crap you had promised him. Right now he just wanted to take his frustration out on something, anything, but he was trapped by that fucking reception. So he went straight for a balcony, hoping to catch some air and cool himself.

You turned to the door when hearing someone coming behind you. You saw Desha coming, undoing the first buttons of his white chemise, he looked really angry but totally froze when he saw you. Instantly, your throat became really dry, and your blood was pumping in your head making it hard to think clearly. 

“Fuck”, Desha mumbled before trying to turn back.

“Wait !” You succeeded in saying half yelling. 

He turned his angry eyes at you, but you were at a loss of words.

“Don’t bother looking for excuses”, Desha smirked. “I’m used to it.”

“What are you talking about ?” You asked, breathing with difficulty. “I’m just looking for my words, nothing unusual.” You finally explained.

Desha just frowned, waiting impatiently for your explanations. He felt dejected, and just wanted to quickly get over it. 

“You’re the one who said I should not embarrass you in front of the people”, you justified yourself. “And when I saw you… I knew I could not hold back…”

“There’s nobody here.” He answered automatically, a bit at a loss.

He looked at you, your cheeks were so red that it was even hard to distinguish your burn. You lowered your head, looking shy for the first time he had met you. You took a couple of steps towards him, then stopped just in front of him, almost touching his chest. You were keeping your head lowered, and he had to lower his own to keep looking at you. 

“You’re…” You began feeling too self-conscious. 

“I am ?” He repeated smirking.

“You’re so handsome Desha…” 

You raised your head and took advantage of his position to kiss him on his lips. You saw his eyes widen while his cheeks became as red as yours. You stayed both like this for a couple of seconds before Desha came back to his senses. He quickly backed off, looking at you as if you were insane.

“What are you doing ?!”

The accusation in his voice made you feel wrong. What have you done indeed ? Since the portal incident you had realized that your feelings for the king were not just friendly or out of respect. But working on them had never been on your agenda. Still when you had seen him, looking so gorgeous in his outfit, you just could not hold yourself back. You had tried to flee ! But the result was there. Now he was looking strangely at you, certainly disappointed. 

“I-I…” You tried to organize your words but as usual when you were the most troubled you could not utter the right words.

“You can not do that”, he insisted, looking almost afraid. 

“I’m sorry !”

You rushed beside him, right to the hall, disappearing again in the crowd. Desha stayed frozen on the balcony, unable to move on to what had just happened. Everything had gone from one extreme to another, without letting him the time to co-opt in between.

Desha ?

He heard Despa trying to reach him.

Desha !

Yes ?! He answered back angrily.

You’re a big, idiot oaf !

I do not need you to say it.

He was so furious that he abruptly cut the communication with his brother. He was rational enough to know that he had done something wrong but everything in him was holding him back from trying to accept what you had offered him. He just kept seeing your expression, looking pained, betrayed… Because of him. 

He had to do something. Even if his demons were trying to hold him back, he did not want to lose that precious relationship he had with you, whatever it could be.

He finally came back also in the hall, trying to find you again. There were a lot of people, everyone was dancing and loudly chatting with the music still going on. However, thanks to his height, he easily spotted you close to the exit. He hurried, wanting to catch up with you before you could disappear for good. 

But when he came closer, he saw you talking with another man. He was tall and thin, he had seen him coming with Boji, but had not retained his name. You both looked pretty close, and before he could decide what to do, you both left the hall together. 

Desha was dejected, but succeeded in feeling relieved. It was better like this. He was not sure what had almost happened on the balcony, but he was sure that it was not a good idea. You had already been hurt because of him, and he knew very well that it was only the beginning. Someday you would have even understood what monster he was and left him anyway, or live unhappily with him like his mother with Satun. 

Yes, it was for the best. He smirked, ignoring the burn in his chest. It was not hard, he had already done it for so long.

Yeah it's gonna be hard for Reader but we believe in her ! x'D

Next part

[otakureaper16]

The last two episodes of ranking of kings were terrible. Miranjo and Bosse can't be redeemed. It makes no sense how there's no good or evil in this series. If there's a season two, I don't think I can't watch it. Everything before that was great but what was the author thinking??? Is their moral compass that out of whack?? And Daida marrying Miranjo who's at least 30??? First she wanted his dad now she wants him after grooming him since he was a child??🤢🤢

[bojjiphrog]

Olivia Osama: Olivia is Daida and Miranjo's first child. She's very silly but has many traumas, like many teenagers on this site. She's my stronkest character, she will fight five grown-ass men at once and beat their asses.

[unfortunatelyuncreative]

In light of episode 22 of Ousama Ranking, I wanted to discuss some of the things that happened therein and try to recontextualize them.

Now, to clarify, this isn't a "Miranjo defense post" or something like that, nor am I trying to say that the author nessesarily intended all of the things I'm going to imply. I'm also not saying, "Oh, it makes sense if you Really think about it & are smart like me." Like no, just no.

These aren't definitively correct or canon ideas or interpretations. This is just my way of rationalizing and recontectualizing what happened in canon so that I can comfortably move forward with the story.

Anyway, this is going to be divided up into several sections, and 2 separate posts.

Spoilers below! (Also FYI, this is going to be long as HELL, so Keep Reading at your own risk.

1. Daida x Miranjo

Alright, let's get the elephant out of the room. This was weird. Really weird.

I am NOT saying that this would be OK in real life or that it's totally normal and you shouldn't bat an eye at it. And just because there's no real life equivalent for something, that doesn't mean it's automatically all a-ok. But there's absolutely nothing sexual or even inherently romantic about this development so I see no reason to interpret it in the worst way possible if I can help it. Therefore I do feel justified in arguing that A. We have no reason (as far as I am aware) to believe that Miranjo was an adult before being placed in the mirror. And B. Since there's nothing in the real world that even really comes close to possessing a mirror and then being resurrected, it can't conclusively be said that Miranjo "aged" while she was in the mirror. Furthermore, I'm going to explain why their marriage wasn't romantic in the second half of this post (yeah, in retrospect, I should have put that part first but I wanted to get my speculative math out of the way).

First of all, let's address how old Miranjo was to begin with. I suck at math, so I may scew up here, but everything is going to be approximate anyway. Please keep in mind that I am intentionally trying to assume she's as young as possible in all these cases.

When her & Bosse are on the island, I'd place her at about 8 or 9. She's still very young looking and definitely a child.

By the time she and Bosse visit the demon, I would say she would be around 10 or 11.

I'm inclined to say she's still at this age when Bosse encounters Sheena. Travel wouldn't take long for him, and there's no reason why he would waste any time trying to find and woo the wife he needs to bear a child. Similarly, I don't think he & Sheena would have waited very long before having a kid. They both seem like Very straightforward people, and considering they were both warriors at this point, who "never planned to live very long" I doubt Bosse ever had to insist on having a child quickly.

So by this logic, Miranjo would have been about 10 or 11 by the time Bojji was born.

A few years pass, and in that time, she builds a giant creepy basement, a war with some shreks begins, and Miranjo also decides to tutor Apeas. Now, we know that this happened before Miranjo possessed the mirror because of the manga. In the manga, the Miranjo-shaped puppet she uses to escape the mirror every once in a while is drawn with a line across a neck to show she's made of plastic or wood or whatever.

When Miranjo's flashbacks with Apeas are shown, no such line is present. So ironically, her line about her body being "mostly fabricated" was less accurate then than it became later.

Now, this might seem to imply that Miranjo was around for a very long time before getting put in the mirror. However, there's pretty definitive evidence against this. We know that Bosse's kingdom was founded on the day of Bojji's birth. And we also know that Miranjo died at the same time as the Queen.

I can't imagine it being contested that Bojji was only about 3 or 4 at this point. He wouldn't have many memories of his mother later on, or even nessecarily a crystal clear idea of what happened, but an event like this would be enough for him to feel it's impact years down the road.

This means that Miranjo is about 13-15 years old when she is killed and her body is preserved in ice.

Considering that this would make Daida about 10 years old in the current events of the story, it's still a really weird matchup to have them together, but it's in no way a grown adult being in a relationship with a child. I'll come back to this in more detail later however.

1B. Now to address the issue of mirror time. Miranjo was clearly in the mirror for a good long while, I'm not going to bother with the exact amount. The problem is that while Miranjo's body wasn't aging, it's not clear if we can say her mind was.

The only things I can think to compare Miranjo's situation to are either a ghost possessing some cursed object, or being in a coma. In the first instance, we obviously don't say that a ghost is aging just because the object they are bound to exists in real time. Ghosts stay frozen in or around the age they were when they died (At least in all the stories I've heard, unless we're talking Ghost of Christmas Past). However, could you say that if a ghost was self-aware enough to gain new experiences, couldn't the ghost possibly mature over time? I'm not sure to be honest.

Similarly, there's no recorded case that I can find of a person entering a coma as a child or tween and coming out of it as an adult. The consensus seems to be that such a person would definitely not have matured and would at least on some level still have the mentality of a child, but there's no way to know for sure. (I mean if you're a neuroscientist and want to claim otherwise go ahead, but I'm not gonna try.)

Now you may be wondering why I would compare Miranjo's situation to being in a coma when comatose people aren't conscious, and Miranjo definitely was self-aware. The thing is, over the span of 10 years or so, she may not have been conscious very often at all.

For comparison, I want to bring up the character of Alphonse Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. (Spoilers for both Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood after this FYI)

Alphonse lost his body and is a soul bound to a suit of armor. There are 2 series based upon this initial premise. In the first, his original nody was dissolved into energy. When he regains a body, it is the biologically at the same age he lost his original body at AND he loses all memories of his years in the armor. In the second series, Brotherhood, Alphonse's body has been preserved at a place called The Gate, and when he gets it back, he has grown physically and retains his memories. Now in both these cases, the retaining of memories depended on the fate and aging of the body, but Miranjo's did not.

(FMA Spoilers Over)

Now the real comparison I want to draw here though, is that Alphonse Cannot sleep. He often cites it as being the worst part of having a metal body. He is ALWAYS conscious, and his mind is ALWAYS active and taking in new information. If Miranjo was the same way, I would say she certainly would have aged mentally at least. But I don't think that's the case. We know the mirror has an "off" button so to speak; she isn't always in it. Now sure it's possible that she only does this to trick people into thinking the mirror isn't possessed. But in all seriousness I think if Miranjo had been conscious for 10 years straight with no dormant period, she would have gone WAY crazier than she did in canon. To not even be able to move around on her own, or go anywhere except the basement, or eat, or breathe, or smell? Girl would've gone bananas & I couldn't blame her. Like, yes she's kinda nuts in canon but she's not As Nuts as anyone who went through that would be.

The main thing I want to posit here is that Miranjo was probably downright in hibernation for most of the time she was in the mirror. What else was there for her to do? She wasn't seeing Apeas anymore, she wasn't ever in public either. Maybe Bosse struck up a chat with her once in a while just to make sure she was still in there, but the only other thing for her to do was Maybe wander around the basement with her hockeymask lackeys and set up the giant blender and shadow-corpse portal. No matter how you slice it, that isn't going to take 10 years.

Now, Daida looks to be about 5 or so when Bosse gives the mirror to him. I'm honestly inclined to guess even older. Hiling sniffed that mirror out like a bloodhound before, so the only reason she would be OK with it in her son's room is if she didn't even go in there often enough to see it. This means that for five years or so Miranjo was doting on Daida and setting him up. This was probably the period where she was conscious for the longest stretches of time, and considering that Daida was a very ambitious and involved prince, they may have spent no more that 10 solid minutes together on any given day.

All of this isn't to say of course that these years count for no time at all, but I do think people should keep in mind when discussing Miranjo's age how little she may have been "awake" at all.

CONTINUED IN PART 2

[buzzykrueger]

Daida is taking care of Miranjo in different ways huh, with both his body and soul apart from each other. Soul protecting memories of a child, body protecting what’s left...

(this is a safe space for Daida appreciators btw I just know he can be kind and caring.)

[muninnhuginn]

So we actually have a bit more of the timeline behind Miranjo now. I’m not quite sure at what point the human vs mirror/doll thing happened, but for now I’m going to have a guess based on the way that projecting into the doll takes a toll that she wasn’t yet a ‘doll’ until we first see the mirror.

Disclaimer that this is off the top of my head so I may be misremembering pieces but as of episode 13, I think this is the current timeline.

Spoilers below cut

- Child Miranjo (something with the villagers that turned them against her)

- At some point she meets Bosse and he does something to inspire her loyalty(?)

- Bosse makes his deal, has Bojji, and Miranjo begs him to have another child so that he can survive (potentially planning the Daida puppet thing already?). His argument against this isn’t that his wife is dead but that giant women can only have one child so that means that his first wife is still alive at this point

- At some point between this and Hiling moving in it seems like Miranjo ends up in the mirror? That actually narrows things down a lot as it means it has to happen within the span of a few months/years to fit with Bojji growing up

- Hiling moves in and is weirded out by the mirror. It’s not guaranteed Miranjo was in it at this point necessarily, but the fact that Hiling detects it to be “evil” along with the entire thing about the villagers also judging Miranjo to be evil has me leaning that way.

- Bosse himself communicated with Miranjo through the mirror and at some point when Daida was growing up handed off the mirror to him. Bebin was aware of this, but Hiling was not.

(There’s a rumour that Miranjo had Bojji’s wife killed. I wouldn’t want to take this at face value but I think it’s worth mentioning given the timing. We know from previous episodes that Hiling wanted to parent Bojji when she first moved in which would imply that by the time she moves in, Bojji’s bio mum was already dead. In other words, in the period of a few months/years, between Miranjo begging Bosse to have another child and Hiling moving in, Bojji’s mum died and Miranjo ended up in the mirror.)

(Unable to place when the Apeas and Miranjo scenes took place beyond that they were after Miranjo was in the mirror)

(Also, I’ve been presuming that Bojji grows at a normal pace, but honestly? Given what we know of giant’s lifespans and the fact that Bojji looks younger than Daida who is only half giant, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bojji actually grows up at a much slower pace and that’s not part of the demon deal. Still, Hiling doesn’t seem to change much over the flashbacks we have of her so I may be overthinking this.)

[rabbityshen]

been thinking since the last ep "hmm i wonder how daida is doing" so i hope next ep we get an update since it's been a little while.

also i rewatched the second opening and noticed the red demon as a child with miranjo for the first time.

v excited to get the deeply sad and tragic flashbacks to explain why miranjo does all of that incredibly fucked up shit. maybe it will be tied in w/ daida!