#i think the lion king stuff was my favorite

[qveenpoppy]

i should have given learnmore more votes, that set was great

[moon--draws]

waker of the winds

[docjayfeather]

All of the Ren Lore i’ve compiled from his single player series and old streams

Favorite meal is roast lamb and roast potatoes

Has an ex-girlfriend

Hates One Direction

Was on a boating team in high school

His mother’s first cat’s name was Ebony

His single player world started in 1.2

Ren’s favorite language is Spanish

Ren has been to Spain several times

His brother had a dog named Rorschach

Ren’s favorite armor set in the original Diablo was the Moon set

Ren and his brother used to have to shower/bath together, then dry off infront of an electric fireplace. Through a series of events, young Ren got his butt stuck to the glass pane of the electric fireplace, and has had a scar on his butt since.

Ren has said “I always think about [Ren’s brother’s username] when I think about my butt”

Ren knows how to do a cats cradle

Ren used to have frosted tips

Ren’s favorite commander deck is Kraum/Tymna

Ren got kicked in the literal butthole by a horse

Ren likes burning things

Ren created a rigged marble slot machine in high school

Went on an introspection journey, visiting all the places he lived and all his jobs pre-YouTube

Did the insane thing of asking the lady who was now living in his first house if he could go inside and check out his old room

Ren had a patreon tier where he’d sent his patrons a “Ren Crate”, a lootcrate full of stuff

Ren doesn’t drink (anymore)

Officially has OCD

Ren loves apple juice

Ren loves driving games

Event manager for The Deftones once

Plays MtG on Sundays

Ren wants to retire with Doc

Ren’s wants his spirit animal to be a shark

Ren’s favorite book series is LotR

Ren is “below-average hairy”

Ren’s favorite season is Autumn

Ren’s birthday is October 11th

Ren is a slut for tiramisu and ice cream

Ren wants to open an LGS/tabletop cafe

Ren is not a religious person

Ren worked in a seedy pool bar

Ren almost got an upper back tattoo

Ren loves green tea

Ren is Left Handed

Ren was at one point a vegetarian for several years

Ren has lost his wallet multiple times, once leaving it on a train

Ren eats a whole lemon every day, and drinks lemon juice straight from the lemon

Ren got in trouble at boarding school for “trying to summon demons”. He was just playing MtG.

Ren has had a pair of lucky underwear since he was 18

Ren’s favorite ice cream is strawberry

Ren loved getting aggressively physical in rugby

Ren loves cinnamon buns

Ren used to have super long butt-length hair

Ren really liked playing with fireworks when he was younger. They’d bury huge ones in the sand near their house to make craters.

Ren loves Love Island

Ren can only sleep on his arm

Wears exclusively Star Wars socks and has matching pajamas

Beat Gabriel Nasif in a Magic Grand Prix

Ren hates Oysters

Ren’s favorite dog breed is a chihuahua??

Ren’s favorite dnd class is bard

Ren enjoys cleaning the bathroom the most out of any room

Ren’s favorite musical is Les Miserables

Ren has a favorite kitchen knife, and used to cook a lot.

Ren’s favorite tool is the hoe (of course)

Ren and Iskall used to play League

Never farts irl

born in the same city as J R R Tolkien

Ren named his first car Maximus

Ren is a bath person

Natural Mace Race runner

Ren really likes pet rats

Ren has a very consistent shopping day of tuesday

Ren has an extremely strict sleep schedule

Ren has 7 pairs of the same pajamas to wear 24/7

Ren has a BA in English

Ren does 100 push-ups a day

Ren does a 15k bike ride every day

Ren had a max weight of 110 kilos, is now down to 80

Ren uses youtube in light mode

Ren has seen Metallica live

Ren wore fake glasses in college

Ren has 20/20 vision

Ren has been in plays during school, and blinded the lead with glitter accidentally during one of them, trying to spice up his one line.

Ren has a “black book” of atleast 9 board game ideas

Ren gets pretty motion sick

Ren enjoys mosh pits

Ren really likes competitive monopoly and risk

Ren burned his eyebrows off with a bunson burner once

Ren still cries at The Lion King

Ren plays Ornn, Urgot, and Tristana in League

Ren was allegedly born in 1982

Ren drunk-puked into his shirt in a german taxi the night he met Doc infront of the people sponsoring them

Ren drives stick shift and loves it

Ren thinks he might have a gluten allergy

Ren puts butter in his coffee

Ren tried to write a YA fantasy novel, got 80k words in before scrapping it

Ren would like to live with Keralis hypothetically out of any of the hermits

Ren’s favorite superhero is wolverine

[thewritetofreespeech]

A Whole New World

pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Reader

summary: in the wake of all the rats abandoning ship, you ask Aemond to leave King's Landing with you as well. [sort of in the vein of my tv show series?? mostly because I want to keep it seperate from the rest of my HOTD stuff that is more book related. part -X XX XXX]

-------------------------------⚔️--------------------------------

“Let’s leave this place.”

Aemond looked up at you from his table. Maps and plans littering the surface. There were not enough hours in the day to make headway on a plan to attack or thwart Rhaenyra, so they had moved into your bedroom. “We will leave for Harrenhall in a few days’ time.” He told you. “We will be off soon enough.”

“No, I mean leave this place.” You told him. “Leave Westeros.”

Your husband looked shocked at your suggestion. Understandably. “You would have me leave Westeros. Leave my birthright.”

“It is not yours Aemond.” It was a bitter truth, but a truth none the less, and you were the only one that could tell him that without threat of death.

None of this was supposed to be theirs. Aegon nor Aemond. Deep down they all knew that. Knew that Viserys had not wavered in his final moments on who his favorite child was. Who his first and only was. Alicent could have given the former king 100 sons, and it would not have made up for the one he lost with his first wife. “Rhaenyra now has 7 dragons to our 1 with her dragon mongrels taking flight. Besides which her armies.”

“I have Vhagar!” Aemond shouted in anger. Rising to his feet. “The oldest, strongest, largest dragon in all Seven Kingdoms.”

“And a pack of wild dogs can take down a lion if their numbers are great. I am not trying to upset you Aemond, I’m simply following the maths.”

The prince took a deep breath though his nose and turned from you. Annoyed that you were right, but clearly didn’t want to admit it. “You want me to abandon the city, ney? Run away and hide like the rest of those cowards!”

Aegon had left the city, for his own protection. To where, you could not be sure. That may have been by design as many whispered about how Aemond would kill him in his bed if given the chance. You knew he wouldn’t do that; if for nothing else than the simple fact that it would be dishonorable to murder a cripple in their bed unarmed. His mother had been missing for days at a time now. Uninterested in the war efforts since her dismissal from the council. Such was her right, but the fact that she wouldn’t look you in the eye these days did not grant you comfort on what the former Queen was thinking. The rest seemed to slip out under the cover of darkness. Less and less people seemed to be in the castle. The rats saw that the ship was sinking and were abandoning it quickly.

“I don’t want you to ‘run away’ Aemond. I want you to live.”

Aemond huffed and turned from you again. “Better to die in battle then wither in obscurity.”

“And if you die, and Rhaenyra takes the city, what of me then? Die an honorable suicide like the Queens of old? Be a political prisoner here until the Queen forces me to marry one of her bastard heirs as a good will gesture?”

That got Aemond’s attention. The idea that you could die not nearly as infuriating as the thought that one of Rhaenyra’s “strong boys”, or even her Targaryen brood, would touch you. “That would never happen.”

“You’re right. It wouldn’t. Rhaenyra would have to kill me. If not for the simple fact that I would not bend the knee, but also for the fact that I am a charge to her claim.”

Your hand came to rest at your stomach. Still the same, but not for long. Aemond’s eye followed your hand, and his expression turned to shock before you raised his face to look at you with your other hand. “There are more world out there, my love. Across the Narrow Sea. Beyond. We could take Vhagar and make a new kingdom like your ancestors. We don’t have to stay here and fight over this one. We could have so much more.”

Aemond’s gaze dropped from your hold, but he took your hand at his cheek and held it. “You would have me abandon my family? Turn my back on them?”

“Have they not turned their back on you?” They blamed Aemond for everything. As if he put Aegon up on that stage and gave him a crown. You weren’t naïve enough to think your husband was blameless in his actions during this war, but they were looking for a scapegoat at this point and Aemond was the convenient target. “We are each other’s family now. We are all that matters.”

“Daeron….”

“He can come with us.” You felt maddened to the point of tears. You were fond of Daeron, the few times you had met. A sweet boy who was free of this place. Though you would honestly say anything to Aemond at this point to get him to come. “Helaena too, if you wish. We will fly to some far away place like Aegon and his sisters. Just please….please…let us leave this place.”

Aemond seemed to think about it for a long moment, before he gave you his answer and that was the end of it.

In the morning, Vhagar took flight over the city. Whether she went to Harrenhall with her rider or parts unknown, no one could know then. What was sure, as the histories tell us, was that it would be the last time the great dragon, her rider, or his wife ever came back to the city.

[navree]

#its the reading equivalent of having your entire media diet consist exclusively of children's cartoons

the amount of people doing the "you guys are Making Fun Of Children for like children's books/ya" is insane when that entire article was spawned by full grown college students in college saying that they're favorite book is fifth grade level

[bookishdaze]

Noa and Mae as Romeo and Juliet in the Next Planet of the Apes Movie?

Here's why a potential "love story" between Mae and Noa, whether explicit or simply implied, may not be such a terrible idea.

Why? Because Shakespeare told me so, that's why.

"When in doubt, it's from Shakespeare....or the Bible." At least according to a book I had to read for high school, lol.

The biblical references in Caesar's trilogy have been pointed out multiple times already, and these movies have also been described as Shakespearean tragedies. So I thought, 'ok, what kind of Shakespearean tragedy will we have this time around?'

I'm first gonna start off with Hamlet in the Caesar trilogy. I'm also gonna mention other popular movies that are based on Shakespeare's plays. Not necessarily because it's concrete proof that this is what will happen in future POTA movies. This is me simply picking up certain storytelling beats and patterns I've noticed in some of my favorite movies.

It's not 100% the same, but there are some similarities. Also, this isn't anything new. Many have pointed this out before, but I love talking about this stuff!

The Lion King, Black Panther, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are loosely based on Hamlet. A king or rightful heir is killed. Usually by an evil uncle, cousin, or family member. For some reason this always results in them falling off a very high cliff.

Everyone thinks they're dead, the evil relative takes power, and everything kinda sucks. There is not enough food in the Pride Lands under Scar's rule. Killmonger burns the heart-shaped herbs. Koba leads the apes to war against the humans.

The rightful ruler spends time in exile, recovering from their wounds and trauma. They might even get a visit or have a recollection of their dead father.

Then the rightful ruler comes back from the dead, challenges the usurper, and regains their rightful place upon the throne.

Now lets take a look at their sequels.

The Lion King 2 and Wakanda Forever share some similarities. They both follow another one of Shakespeare's popular plays, Romeo and Juliet.

Like the Montagues and Capulets, we have two rival kingdoms in both movies. We got the Pridelanders and the Outsiders. We also got the Wakandans and Talokanils.

The two heirs/rulers from both kingdoms meet. They hate and don't trust each other at first, but then they start to have compassion for the other. In Kiara and Kovu's case, they fall in love. Namor and Shuri don't fall in love, but after Namor shows her his underwater kingdom and what he has to protect, she softens and begins to understand him more. (They even got the whole Hades and Persephone thing going on, who are a couple in Greek mythology, by the way).

There are losses on both sides. Kovu's brother was killed while going after Simba. One of Namor's people was killed when Shuri was rescued by Nakia, and Shuri's mother, Queen Ramonda, died after Namor's attack on Wakanda. (Starts nervously eyeing Anaya here...)

These losses make things worse, by the way.

In the end, both pairs are able to bring the fighting between their people to a stop. The Outsiders are welcomed into Simba's pride. The Wakandans and Talokanils stop fighting after seeing their leaders return together.

In the end, they realize that they're the same. That they can't let hate and fear of the other side cloud their judgement.

Kiara tells her father, "A wise king once told me we are one....Look at them. They are us. What differences do you see?"

Shuri tells Namor while she spares his life, "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."

And I think this goes well with one of the core themes of these POTA movies. The apes are a mirror to humanity. We the audience are seeing us through them, and the characters in the movies themselves must come to the realization that they're the same.

Like when Caesar tells his son, "I always think ape better than human. I see now how much like them we are."

Maybe something similar like this will happen with Noa and Mae and whatever fight will happen between apes and humans. While I'm all for a good romance, it may end up being more like Namor and Shuri's case. There's something there. The tropes are present, but they don't fall in love. (At least not yet. Please Ryan Coogler, give me Nashuri endgame in Black Panther 3, hehe).

This is just a theory, by the way. This doesn't have to happen, but I just think it'd be neat. There would be differences though. What those differences would be, idk, but whatever happens in the next one, I can't wait!

"But but.... aren't you forgetting something?"

What's that?

"Don't they...ya know...both die at the end?"

Besides, they don't have to die. Things can be a little more hopeful for our two heroes 🙈

[thenamesblurrito]

so. Transformers ONE was a good movie

i HIGHLY recommend going in blind, i do think it's incredibly effective with as few spoilers as possible beforehand! seeing it on the big screen is really really nice too, i encourage you to watch it in theaters without reading up on it first if you can!

long full-spoiler review and dissection of elements below (i reached the text block limit a couple times oops):

general stuff:

gorgeous. just genuinely visually gorgeous. so many details, colors, textures, everything was so beautiful. the stylization itself may not be my favorite but it was executed so well that i ended up loving it. their optics! their colors! their movement! the way the visuals serve the lore and the story is extremely well done too, i felt like everything i was seeing was deliberate, relevant, and a treat for the audience instead of just "ooo visual noise look at how powerful our cgi rendering is" (which is how i felt about the "live action" Lion King prequel(????) ad they showed before). all the little cameos and repaints and everything in the background? mwah. GORGEOUS MUSIC TOO AAAA THE WAY THAT TFP'S MOTIF IS IN THERE AAAA

the visual effects and action, the way they USED their roboticness/transformation sequences/vehicle modes in fighting and moving and emoting, it was VERY GOOD. Orion grabs a Death Tracker and RIPS THEM INTO PIECES BY TRANSFORMING AROUND THEM AND FORCING THEIR FRAME TO SHATTER. insanity

this is ABSOLUTELY the origin story movie the fandom has wanted. even if it wasn't your preferred origin story, this movie SHONE with love and respect for the franchise and drew on so many influences to craft a powerful version of the beginning we all wanted to see

in some ways i wish we had more, i think it would've been extremely effective to see things expanded upon, especially D-16's emotional descent and maybe some more Quints. actually looking at the content and pacing of the movie though, and the audience it's aimed at, i don't think there's anything they should've cut in favor of other stuff. i understand why it wasn't dwelt on more, but hooooo i would've liked to see Dee breaking apart a little more thru the middle of the film. apparently the novelization has more scenes of this and i would love to read it

i had so much fun watching this movie. it was a rollercoaster. it was a TREAT. i was sitting there enjoying every second both times i saw it because it was a good film that rewarded me greatly for being a Transformers fan, giving me so many easter eggs and injokes, while also being perfectly understandable and fun for a complete newbie. excellently balanced appeal to old and new fans alike

there was no wink to the audience about how stupid and childish a movie about robots is, there was no lampshading of how silly sci fi is, there was no betrayal of the emotional tone of the film. so many stories now kneecap themselves by mocking their very concept, and the audience watching them, in a very cinema sins-style irony poisoned way. this movie never does that. its humor is fitting, its drama is real, its emotion is all SINCERE and i love how i was never mocked by any part of the movie for engaging with it sincerely

this movie loved being a Transformers movie

anyways. specific stuff:

love how Wheeljack managed to explode everything despite not even being a scientist. he's just THAT good

THE INJOKES AND REFERENCES. "you don't have the touch OR the power." calling them Gobots. the corny More Than Meets The Eye bits. "don't be a glitch" is a headcanon swear i've been using for years now and they canonized it!! "High Guard, eject". "paging doctor Ratchet." the new take on "all are one". the really interesting way that the term Transformers is an actual significant in-universe name, and how Orion and Dee ARE NOT Transformers at first!

the sheer number of cameos is ASTOUNDING. what an excellent mix of masc/fem designs too, they really made it normal on this Cybertron which i appreciate! apparently Blurr exists here, his name was on the leaderboard!!!!!! good job Chromia i am so proud of you for winning. and the shots of the bots getting cogs at the end was aaAAA!!! <<33 my HEART! Jazz's little smile looking at his new doorwings!!

I GOT ALL MY SILLY OLD DEMIGOD FAVES I GOT THE THIRTEEN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM AAAAAA ALPHA TRION MY GRANDPA god i'm so sorry you're dead but i can't believe you showed up on the big screen <<333 you and your rockin rhino unicorn lion alt mode. and your superpowers. god you're so cool. "old timer" NUH UH HE'S STILL BETTER THAN YOU!!!!! using Zeta for the thirteenth was an interesting choice! i did think he was Overlord for a hot second. it's the lips. Solus wasn't fridged by virtue of everyone else died too yippee!! ALSO MEGATRONUS THE COOLEST ONE WOOOO HES NOT JUST A FIERY EVIL GUY!!!!

the way Dee himself was, in a way, the Fallen of this continuity.... 😭

the way Sentinel was handcrafting his downfall with each touch of the blowtorch. carving the sigil of the Decepticons into the one who will kill him. dooming Cybertron in a moment of petty mockery. AND HE DOESN'T EVEN DRAW IT WELL IT'S LIKE A MESSY CRAYON DRAWING CMON

planetformer Primus in a blockbuster movie? CANONICAL EXPLICITLY STATED PLANETARY ROBO MPREG BIRTH IN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES???? THEY USE THE WORD BIRTH. BORN. we are never escaping the reproductive insanity in this franchise

Shockwave you whiny tantrum throwing wuss. let Elita beat him up more. it's good for him. also love how that could be construed as a ref to her G1 resistance force

CASUAL MIND READER SOUNDWAVE???????

Elita was perfect, no notes. i would not like her if i met her but i respect her so much. she really is better in every way and down to business. Best First indeed

so much cool implications and fascinating timeline confusion. 50 cycles since the Primes were slaughtered? the way Sentinel leveraged their reputation to make himself beloved, casting himself as their peer? the way he didn't choose to villainize them, the way he apparently openly admitted to the loss of the Matrix and how it impacted the planet? when did cog theft start, and how old is Orion since in the novelization it states his entire generation is cogless? who remembers the og Primes? who is in the know about it all?? hoooghhghhh fascinating.

the implication that the High Guard worked with the og Primes?? the possibility STARSCREAM was a loyal guard for Cybertron's DEMIGODS????

okay i was not expecting a backstory for STARSCREAM'S VOICE in this movie but holy. god. the shippers will be going insane over this one. hoogh holy fit. what is wrong with you. the utter contradiction of being both an instigator and a coward when he gets in over his head and immediately backpedals

also obviously this is the I Love Divorce movie and megop shippers will be having a field day but i DEEPLY appreciate just how solid a friendship Dee and Orion have and how badly they fall apart, even thru a strictly platonic lens. i also appreciate how there was no forced comphet attraction/romance!! i was dreading the possibility of it, i mean Oplita was RIGHT THERE but they didn't force it at all thank youuuuuu. i would rather have this dynamic with its zero intended romance than awkward, OOC attraction shoehorned in to detract from the plot

Bee was actually good! like yeah he's def the kid appeal character and i prefer it when he's in a younger gen and not OP's peer, but he was wayyyyy less annoying than i was expecting! i think he fit the movie and did his job in it well, and i absolutely laughed at him multiple times. "i get to work for the GOVERNMENT! :DDDD" bee. please. the fact that he's been going insane and desperate after isolation for so long really helps make his character work instead of being just irritating

Airachnid you are so cool. you are TOO COOL. PLEASE TONE DOWN YOUR COOLNESS. i adore how she is not good at facial expressions thank you evil autism moments. love how her signature move is stabbystabbystabbystabbystabbystabby

Sentinel. god. Sentinel. SENTINEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i need to draw him getting ripped in half. it's like they distilled the worst parts of every single iteration and combined them into a SuperBad version. horrifically realistic kind of guy. i love to hate him. real Metro Man from Megamind energy. and megachurch pastor energy. the IRONY that Orion and Dee were probably actually helping him, that he was probably being genuine in the medbay when he said he loved what they did by racing, that he may have been honest when he said he was gonna have them fixed up in his own facilities and had them tour the mines! because them racing increased energon production by 150% and Sentinel needed that!!! he needed that for the Quintessons!!! i think he was being genuine when he first met Dee and Orion and then Darkwing ruined everything!!!

Darkwing is the curly straw of this continuity

the Quintessons were hoooooooooooooooo. whoooooooooogh. hoohhhhhhhhhhhh. the biomechanical. the shapes. the textures. eugh. icky. creepy. excellent. the way their ships looked like the Nemesis. the way they're STILL a looming threat. i wanted to see more of them but i get why the movie wasn't about them. i hope we see more in the future

the way Orion is the kind of guy who, in an attempt to be selfless, keeps making selfish or thoughtless decisions was SO INTERESTING. it set up the dynamic of his and Dee's friendship very well, with Orion always wanting the best for his buddy but ultimately overwriting or ignoring what Dee says!! the way Dee clings to the social contract of protocol for safety because that's all he knows and his ANGER when it's broken, even when it's Orion breaking it, because that's not SAFE it's an UNKNOWN it has CONSEQUENCES WHEN YOU DEVIATE. and then it's revealed that the social norms have been a lie the whole time and Sentinel has "broken protocol" more than ever and Dee has no safety left because it was always broken. Orion wanted to be more, he could feel there was more. Dee just wanted security

Dee spent so much of the movie complaining and arguing and it was very funny and good characterization but it was also a hint at how much bitterness was under there the whole time. so much of his complaints were threats of violence. he always had Orion's back and then when he learns the truth he abruptly. stops. do you notice he doesn't really have Orion's back after this? he's no longer by his side? he's there, but he's not... there. he was the first to shoot an enemy and took joy in it. all of his emotions were so justified and then what he does with them is what makes it a tragedy. he didn't have to do this. augh

i really, really like the fact that they managed to pull off the ending without it fully turning into a "boohoo if we do anything violent we're as bad as the bad guys waaaa". the specific phrasing of "rebuilding cannot start with an execution" went HARD. and it's demonstrated in their actions too like, Dee was out for REVENGE and it was PERSONAL, Orion was fighting for JUSTICE and it was UNIVERSAL. Sentinel was beaten, everyone knew the truth. it was over. but Dee in his (very justified!) anger and broken trust was too overcome to back down. they were given the power to change their worlds, but Dee was thinking only of his world. Orion was thinking of everyone

ironic that as soon as Orion starts thinking of other people and considering what they need instead of forging ahead, Dee decides to center his own feelings and actions to the point of murder. even after Sentinel was dead, he just kept shooting, he did NOT AT ALL care that some of those shots were clearly hurting innocent civilians/going wide and shooting out into the city/damaging actual important infrastructure and not just Sentinel statues. i believe it's Bee who said "he's gonna kill everyone" and he proves it by attacking Elita and saying "I won't stop until every last one of his followers is dead". THE FACT THAT HE FELL SO FAR AS TO SEE ELITA, HIS PEER AND FELLOW FREEDOM FIGHTER WHO WAS THERE WORKING AGAINST SENTINEL WITH HIM FROM THE START OF THIS QUEST, AS ONE OF SENTINEL'S FOLLOWERS.... by the end of it, Dee really was nothing but blind anger

and the way kneeling was a common thread!!!!! aaaaaaa. Sentinel betrayed the world by kneeling to the enemy. Dee won respect by refusing to kneel. Orion gained followers by willingly kneeling to his peers. hooghh

Orion jumping and stumbling and falling this whole movie because he just THROWS himself into things because he BELIEVES in things, he's the one to take leaps of faith, to take that step out into the unknown! and Dee refusing to save him as one final nail in the coffin, so clearly feeling like Orion jumping in front of the blast was yet ANOTHER way Orion is forcing his hand, corralling him into doing something he thinks is best but did not consult him on, finally FINALLY saying NO and leaning in to the tragedy!! and in the exact same way Sentinel handcrafted his enemy in Dee, Dee has now handcrafted his enemy in Orion!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and now that Orion took that last leap of faith and fell, now is when he RISES. ONE SHALL FALL AND ONE SHALL RISE. god. it reminds me of Spiderverse, the way they use falling and rising

the way the tragedy is worse for how well everyone was working together.... for one shining moment, the miners and the High Guard, the rescue mission, it was going so well. they were doing it. they were winning. it didn't have to turn to slaughter. if there was to be an execution it should've been by trial, by the voice of the people, not Dee deciding for Cybertron as Sentinel decided what truth was. augh.

in an abruptly different note, the way they have characters move and fly is so cool. i love the jetpacks. i love how flight is not "flyer" exclusive. it's fascinating and i think really fitting for the general city of Iacon itself. all those towers going up and down

THE TRAINS!! THE MOVING ROADS!! HOW COOL IS THAT!! LOOK AT THAT WORLDBUILDING IM OBSESSED WITH THIS CYBERTRON HOOGH. this movie was VERY good at building a rich, functional world of detail and making it very alien in a way i want to chew on forever. the moving mountains and greebled energon mines. the living planet. the deer!!! ooghghh. PRIMUS LOOKS LIKE A STAR

i do like this Primus actually, yeah it was a deus ex machina but that's the POINT. Optimus himself is an act of god and his presence heralds miracles. Dee couldn't bring justice to Cybertron because justice is restoration. justice is healing what was hurt and doing right by the wronged. yes that often means consequences upon the perpetrator but that's NOT what Dee was doing, he wasn't even THINKING of anyone else!! would killing Sentinel get ppl out of the mines? would it restore their cogs? would it bring equality to a clearly oppressive society? like he LIVED this (cogless bots with limited options, the talk of tiers as if they are social castes you can be demoted from, lower city levels where ppl can be banished, etc) but it was Orion who ultimately addressed this. i'm sorry if it feels like insult to injury to rub his Primacy in your face, Megatron, but stealing a cog just like Sentinel and declaring the age of Primes over, when it was the age of Primes ending that made you cogless and oppressed in the first place, is only an extension of your trauma, anger, and violence, and is not solving the problem!

a cog stolen from him at birth! and then he steals it from Sentinel in symbolic revenge, stolen again, but even that wasn't Sentinel's, it was stolen too! the way he discards the cog from Onyx, willingly gifted to him, to continue the trend of desecrating the dead! man. MAN. the name he took, the cog he took, the symbol he took, all from his hero, the one he looked up to, the coolest Prime, and THEN DECLARED THE AGE OF PRIMES OVER

the gilded pompous showmanship of it all was so gross, the way Sentinel's face was everywhere, the way he had instant access to everyone in Iacon via announcements that took over the media. but this was clearly derived from the previous Primes!! we see their statues, we see their stately tower, and unless Sentinel had all that built in "mourning" (which is totally plausible imho) he was really just setting himself up as an inheritor of that hyperwealthy standard! we don't know anything about the rule of the og Primes beyond that they're favorably remembered and loved (possibly because of propaganda but i think it was also genuine) and that they may have been losing the Quint war (considering that info was from jerkwad supreme i find it suspect) but just by comparison to Sentinel i think they HAD to be better rulers. there weren't cogless bots forced to mine for 20 shifts in a row back then!!! Sentinel is stealing their aesthetic as if that gets him the same power and acclaim. he's trying to steal their legitimacy. he paints himself across the face of Iacon to hide the fact the planet itself went into a coma because of him. he has ALWAYS been rejected. i call him a megachurch pastor but really symbolically i could say he's a fallen angel, and his visual design really fits too

i'm coming back to the deus ex machina thing bc i know it may be considered weak in a plot construction sense but i want to engage with it as literal. like, there is a literal in-universe god in the machine. they know it. they worship it, at least a little bit. i would consider this story to be analogous to Prince of Egypt, in that the deific is a real and tangible character with impact on the plot, and not a meta excuse to save the day. Orion made his choice, and as a result Primus made HIS choice. it's not necessarily a happy ending but if even Megatron acknowledges that GOD mandated this guy to be a Prime and the planet itself responds by COMING BACK TO LIFE.... i keep thinking of it like a cityspeaker, how they're the ones who commune with Titans to know their needs and tell them what needs to be done. is a Prime just the cityspeaker of Cybertron, able to help it remain healthy and functional?

the divine right to rule is REAL on Cybertron. you can like it or not but you have to contend with that when discussing fair leadership, political accountability, and representation of the masses re: Cybertronian government and Primacy

god i'm still so obsessed with the Thirteen i need to see them better i need to look at them. i love them. insane. i really need to invest in a chewtoy

also i know it may be a throwaway line but i'm very curious why Primus had to transform and sacrifice himself to save the universe. Unicron, maybe???

also how did Alpha Trion narrate the archival stuff telling the fake story of how the Primes died and the Matrix was lost. did Sentinel get a deepfake of his voice?? is that part of how he made the transition to power?? AUGH THE DISRESPECT KEEPS COMPOUNDING

Alpha Trion. my blorbo. my old man. holding you so tight. like an ancient rescue dog. im gonna groom you and give you treats and buy the biggest plushest dog bed from costco for you

anyways

good movie, guys

[justastraymoa]

ADVENTURES WITH CHEESE PT 2 EXTENDED EDITION

It has been two weeks since I got back from my business trip.  The boys had been over once to visit Cheese.  Unannounced and loaded with every ramen under the sun.

“We were in the neighborhood.”  Bin shrugged holding out the bag of noodles like a peace offering.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.  “You are lucky I was even home.”  I snatched the bag and walked to the kitchen, leaving them to take their shoes off and shut the door.

“Like you have anywhere to be.  It’s a Friday night.”  Lino scoffed not so subtly looking around.

I threw a packet of ramen at him in retaliation.  “What if I had a date?  I am young and relatively good looking, I could date!”  I snapped.  I wasn’t going to mention that I hadn’t been on a date in years and had no intention of dating anytime soon either.  It wasn’t in my scope.  I had better things to do with my life.

Lino gave me a doubtful look as he tossed the ramen back to me.

“Fine, I didn’t have a date with anyone but Cheese tonight.  Friday is cat movie night.”  I relented.  I pointed Lino to the couch where Cheese was already waiting wrapped up in his favorite blanket with a small pile of cat treats to snack on while we watched the movie.

Lino made a small noise in his throat before taking out his phone and snapping a picture.  I chuckled at him, understanding the noises of cuteness like it was a second language.

Chan came into the kitchen and started to help with the bags.  “Sorry for showing up unannounced.  I wanted to text but they insisted on surprising you and Cheese.”

“Its no problem, you guys can stay for movie night if you want.”  I offered handing Chan the stuff to start making the noodles.

Hyune skipped over to the living room.  “What are you watching?”

“The Lion King.  Hyune, Bin, the closet is down the hall, grab some pillows and blankets.  Lino, move the coffee table.  We can make a nest in front of the tv for all of us.”

“What is Channie going to do?  Not fair!”  Hyune pouted even as he moved to the hall to grab the stuff.

“Channie is helping me make noodles.  Do you want to switch you big baby?”

There was silence from the hall and I nodded to myself.  I didn’t think so.

Cheese mewed as the coffee table was moved off to the side and his living room was covered in pillows and blankets.  He unfurled from the nest of blanket he was currently in, stretched lazily, and hopped down to the floor to inspect the much bigger nest currently being made.

He sniffed at a pillow before rubbing on it and moved on to a blanket, which apparently needed to be moved.  He pawed at it until it was in the correct spot before he laid down and looked up to me to see if I was going to come join him and start the movie already.

I smiled at him.  “Give me a few minutes, babe, I’m making some snacks before we start the movie.”  In answer Cheese merely yawned and started kneading the pillow within his reach.

Lino and Bin started a small pillow fight that was quickly becoming aggressive.  Bin got Lino square in the side of the head before Lino hit him back so hard he actually fell sideways onto the couch.

“Enough.  You are going to break something.  And that something might be you.  Lay down and get everything situated.  Someone turn the tv on and get the movie loaded up.”  I ordered as Chan and I moved around each other in the kitchen like we had been doing this for years.  Oddly enough, he seemed to know where everything pretty much was with minimal looking.  Not like my kitchen was that big, but still.  He seemed natural and comfortable.

“You are good with them, you know.”  He commented as we set up 5 bowls on one of my serving trays and 5 drinks on another.

I shrugged one shoulder.  “Its natural I guess.  Its not like they are hard to deal with or anything.”

He laughed shortly once.  “Y/n, I live with them.  I know exactly how hard they can be to deal with.  And you just seem to roll with their craziness.”

“I like their craziness.  Its somehow comforting, warm.  I don’t know, its hard to describe.”

“Feels like family?”  he suggested quietly with a small secret smile.

I blushed and didn’t answer.  I didn’t need too; we both knew it was true.  Even in the very short time I had known these 4 men, they felt like family.  We felt like family.

I laughed at the antics of my boys.  All 5 of them including Cheese.  Two months ago it was just me and Cheese and now I have a whole slew more.

In the beginning I was worried that we would slowly and naturally start to drift apart now that I had Cheese back, but it ended up being the complete opposite.  The Chan Clan came over to visit at least once a week, sometimes together, sometimes one or two of them would come alone.  And Cheese has spent several weekends over at their apartment.  He truly has stolen their hearts.  Even turning dog person Hyune into a cat person!

Now I was scrolling through my old albums feeling nostalgic and just a little depressed.  Cheese was so tiny and cute!  Not that he wasn’t cute now, but he would never let me wrap him up in a burrito like he did when he was a teeny tiny thing.

And while he was still clumsy there was nothing like watching a kitten learn to walk and run and jump.  Watching them fail and stumble around, running into things and misjudging distances.  Just watching them learn the big world around them.

A harsh knock came unexpectedly early one afternoon as Cheese and I were lounging on the couch doom scrolling.

“One moment!”  I called as I slipped a sweater over my frankly a little too revealing for company tank top.

I opened the door to see the building supervisor.

“We are evacuating the building for a week.  One of your neighbors informed us he has an infestation of bed bugs that he has not been able to take care of on his own.”  He informed me after the initial niceties were over.

I could feel myself make a disgusted face.  Bed bugs!  Gross!  “How long do we have before we have to get out?  I need to pack and find a place to go.”  I looked behind me already mentally packing things.

“Fifteen minutes.”

I turned back to the man shocked.  Fifteen minutes!  How was I supposed to get all that done in that short of a time frame!

True to his word, almost exactly fifteen minutes after we parted ways there was another knock on my door and someone yelling it was time to go.

I sighed heavily and scooped Cheese into a little sling I made out of a sheet so I could have enough hands to carry the two bags I managed to pack. One for me, one for Cheese. He wriggled in the sheet confused for a second before settling down and popping his head out a hole he found to see what was going on.

I piled us all into my compact car and pulled my phone out of my bag to look for a place to stay nearby that was within my budget. The problem was hotels and motels were not cheap within the city and I was right in the middle of my pay period, which means I am broke af.

Wriggling annoyed out of the sling Cheese started inspecting the car, I'm sure getting into things he should not be getting into. I made sure to keep one eye on him to make sure he didn't eat anything he shouldn't.

They could say whatever they wanted. I would cook, clean, and do any other chores I damn well wanted to thank them while I was there. I felt my face pout petulantly as I started to drive towards the Chan Clan apartment. Cheese settled on my lap as I drove.

I was feeling very weird about staying with them, not because I was uncomfortable around them, but because I was not accustomed to being the one being taken care of. I know what I am. I am and have always been a mother figure. I tend to mother everyone. People have told me that it can get annoying. It has been something that bothers me about myself, but I also can't stop being who I am.

That being said, I was worried that I would annoy the boys, and they would stop talking to me. I really enjoy our friendship, and I would be devastated to lose it now.

I knocked on the door ten minutes after they texted, bottom lip between my teeth. Hyune opened the door and gave me an odd look.

"Did you forget your key?" He reached to take the bags from me and let me in.

Truthfully, I was so nervous about staying with them and so thrown off by the whole situation I forgot I even had a key to their place. They gave it to me a couple weeks ago.

"Who is it, Hyune?" Bin shouted from somewhere inside the apartment.

There was music playing form the kitchen as well. I assumed it was Lino cooking. And I could see the tv playing from the doorway, but no one was in the living room to watch it at the moment.

Hyune set my bags on the couch and reached out to give me a hug and Cheese a scritch behind the ear. "It's y/n!" He shouted. I flinched away as he was still close to my ear. He grimaced in apology.

There was a couple bangs and a crash before 3 sets of footsteps started toward us. "Hey you two! I was just setting up the room for you." Chan greeted giving me a hug and peck on the cheek. I handed Cheese over to Lino, who took him happily and rubbed his face on Cheeses head.

"Room? Uh, no? You only have 4 rooms, and I am not stealing someone's room." I responded.

"Too late. I already moved in with Bin." Hyune answered.

"Well move back! I am just fine sleeping on the floor or on the couch!"

"No!" all three almost shouted. I blinked at them kind of shocked by the vehement statement.

Fine, I could compromise. I already know I was going to do chores for them while I was here, so i would let the room thing go.

The next few days were shockingly fun. The five of us worked well together, even if there was only 3 rooms and one bathroom. Our schedules seemed to complement each other well and we didn't really get in each other's way.

And between Lino and I meals were always ready on time and semi healthy. There was only one or two times when we got takeout instead, and it was planned on in advance.

They even incorporated some of my weekly routines that they knew about like friday night cat movie night and lazy saturday morning. They did it without even seeming to think about it. It was a surprise to come into the living room and find a nest of pillows and blankets already ready to go and the smurfs queued up and ready to be played. I almost teared up knowing that they were going so far out of their way to make me feel comfortable.

Chan tried to get me to stop helping with chores for the first few days, but soon gave in when he discovered how stubborn I could really be. Instead he settled on helping me with the chores. We did them together.

I was really enjoying my time in the Chan Clan apartment with them. I was only a tiny bit upset when I got the call from my buildings supervisor that the fumigation was taking longer than expected and it would be at least another week before I could get back into my place.

And Cheese was completely in his element. He had a whole really make his own now that he was here for longer than a weekend. And there was always someone to cuddle with and pet him or play with him.

He was the king he was always meant to be.

It was an impossible thought. Not only because of the living with 4 men which was frowned upon in society even if none of us were really dating, but because I couldn't steal Hyunes room forever. He and Bin had been very generous for the entire time Cheese, and I had to stay here, but that wouldn't last forever. Or at least it shouldn't.

It just couldn't happen. Even if the thought of leaving my boys hurt my heart and made my eyes sting with unshed tears. My chest squeezed uncomfortably, and my breathing stuttered painfully. But i shook it off. There was nothing to be done about it.

I had a perfectly good apartment, that yeah was now possibly covered in bed bug carcasses and just the thought of bed bugs made my skin crawl. But it was livable and within my budget. It served me well.

A/N: welcome back. As always thank you for reading and interacting. Even if you only read I still thank you.

I hope you enjoyed this extended edition of Adventures with Cheese.

Masterlist

Skz + pets masterlist

[vaulthistorian]

The more dialogue tidbits I get between Nick Valentine and John Hancock really lines them up well for me. I didn't expect to fall into it because Nick is basically my virtual dad lmao.

But I guess it just makes sense to me that even if they aren't official they've had a thing. Y'know? Like they aren't in a relationship now but I know, I feel it in my soul, they've done stuff in the past.

There's so much I could say but baseline, they've been in the same place for a while before, they clearly know each other when you bring Nick to Goodneighbor. They're both "older" in human terms, Nick moreso than Hancock.

Hancock is much smarter than I think people will credit him for. And considering he took on a double life and renamed himself after John Hancock, it may make Nick feel like he can trust Hancock with his thoughts.

Because in a way, they're both taking on identities as different people. Hancock adopted an identity, and Nick is trying to forge his own path out of the identity he had no choice in living with.

Nick is one of the people who doesn't at all judge Hancock for his ghoulish features. Especially since I think they knew each other before the incident. Hancock is still clever and witty, and enjoys playing detective with his favorite synth.

Also, Nick is a big man. He's at least 6'2 I'm thinking. Synths were originally made to be fighters and bodyguards so even though he's an older model I don't think they skipped out on trying to bring strong/intimidating qualities to his framework.

And I agree with everyone else, Hancock gives short king vibes. He's like 5'6/7 at the most. And who doesn't love a 6'2 man holding his gremlin spawn 5'6 friend with benefits like in the lion king??

[howwnowbrowncoww]

Been working on this for a few months now but I finally got it done! I've seen a few Yakuza/Like a Dragon x Animal Crossing crossovers and really wanted to do one too, and I'm super happy with how it turned out:) Seeing all of the Dondoko Island comparisons to AC right before I finished this was HILARIOUS though😂 Gonna put some loose notes under a read more if you want behind the scenes stuff. Let me know who your favorite design is if you want:)

Adding what animal everyone is (just in case it's hard to tell and because I want to talk about why I made some of them certain animals)

Ichiban: Lion (he has a very loud personality and very loud hair)

Adachi: Bear (I will restrain myself from making any bear jokes but he does look like he'd give great bear hugs)

Nanba: Koala (okay, weird reason, but my sister used to have this webkinz koala named Snoozer (he was the mayor of our imaginary town but that's not important) and he was obvs always sleepy, and Nanba is the KING of convenient naps in battle)

Saeko: Deer (i really just thought she'd love to paint her hooves)

Joon-gi: Wolf (typical lone-wolf-type with white hair who is dragged into the found family). He also gets the bar bg because he never got his own karaoke song and he deserves to have fun:)

Zhao: Tiger (i specifically remember him having a tiger in his restaurant that kicked my ass, and I also wanted to base him off of one of his martial arts moves. Since Snake and Mantis aren't AC types, and Crane was already being used, I thought Tiger was fitting. Also his shirt was a pain to make!! I couldn't replicate the actual pattern, so I went with ginkgo leaves for something that was still gold and sort of ornate)

Eri: Crane (inspired by her move (called 'Flying Crane' or something like that; i'm too lazy to boot up the game and check lol) Plus I think birds would really enjoy the crackers her company sells:)

[yuurei20]

Strange question but!! Yk how the villains are treated as heroes? How on earth did the heroes stories work if they, uh, yk, dont have the villains? Like i briefly remember TWST!Jafar hijacking Aladdin’s plan to fake being a prince, so theres not rlly any more “aladdin” story, but im curious how other stories went if u know! Are the OG heroes still treated as heroes, etc etc, that fun stuff

Hello hello! Thank you so much for this question!!

The different interpretations of history that seem exist in Twst are fascinating, and one of my favorite things is the part in Book 6 where Lilia seems to insinuate that the Disney stories that we know might not actually be what really happened, because history is written by the victors:

These "classic" stories--were they, too, twisted to suit an agenda? Is the truth closer to what is taught as history in Twst, or is it somewhere in the middle? It is so interesting to think about!

For the most part it seems that the heroes from the stories we know are not turned into villains in Twst, and the deeds that are attributed to them were actually done by multiple characters from different folklore:

For example, Harveston has stories about miners and customs based on "a young lady who made a wish at a well," a "traveler" who cleaned a stranger's home and then a tale about "some princess who wished to fall in love right away," as if the young lady, princess and traveler are three separate people.

While basing their traditions on the miners, the lady and traveler, they also deify the Fairest Queen, as if they are all independent individuals with no overlap.

One of the more interesting parts of the Fairest Queen's history, in particular, is that there is actually a "dastardly villain" in Harveston folklore that stalks a woman who is then saved by forest creatures.

The huntsman is--just like the queen--not a villain in the Twst universe. Who was who, and what really happened? 👀

For the Scalding Sands, it seems that the unnamed princess and the sultan from local stories are just as revered as the Sorcerer of the Sands himself, with the sultan known to be the person who named the Sorcerer as his vizier and retaining their connection from the story we know.

Much like in Harveston, the history of the Scalding Sands seems to attribute what we believe to be the history of just one character to multiple individuals: Kalim talks about the Sorcerer saving his country from a street rat, who was a swindler/charlatan/usurper who tried to trick the sultan and princess, in a rare case of a "hero" being vilified.

But they also have folklore about "a poor but kind-hearted young man" who shared his food with children, and whose marriage to the beautiful princess they celebrate every year with a festival.

Whereas the Disney movies make the charlatan and the kind man into one person, in Twst's history it seems they were two different people.

Diasomnia is very big on the Thorn Fairy, and they also talk about the human king who feared her, the princess whose birthday she was not invited to (Silver: "Was their king raised in a barn?") and the three presents that the princess received.

Lilia talks about a trio of fairies that were not able to break the Thorn Fairy's curses and also put an entire kingdom to sleep, while Silver comments on how Lilia is consciously, intentionally emulating the three fairies from that tale with his cooking.

Silver and Malleus discuss "some faeries" raising a child for 16 years without magic, but they do not seem to know why they did so, and it is unclear if they believe that those faeries and the three faeries that put the kingdom to sleep are the same or different people.

Heartslabyul seems to separate Alice into two different characters as well, referring to a 1-km-tall giant that the Queen of Hearts tried in court and a child that got lost in the castle as if they were two people.

The only reference we get of the "heroes" of the Lion King tale are Jack referring to the King of Beast's "rascal of a nephew" and Leona mentioning that he deposed his brother "to build a better, wiser kingdom."

While the characters seem similar to the stories we know it's possible that the timelines are slightly different, with the rebirth of the pridelands being attributed to the King of Beasts himself rather than his nephew.

The history of the Sea Witch in Twst might be the most fascinating: the characters reference the Sea Witch taking someone's voice for a contract and making a shapeshifting potion to facilitate love between a mermaid and a human, but also turning herself into a human and being proposed to by a prince the next day, with no acknowledgement that the human from the first tale and the prince from the second might have been the same person.

They also talk about the eels flipping over a boat and a mermaid princess who had trouble walking on land, but there is no mention of the princess being in the boat in the eel story.

Octavinelle even acknowledges that the Sea Witch once made herself huge and sunk a ship with a whirlpool and "some even labeled her a monster," saying that she was later lauded as a compassionate figure after turning over a new leaf. (While the less-than-pleasant deeds done by the Sorcerer, the Fairest Queen and the King of Beasts in the stories that we know are never mentioned.)

Silver's tale from Halloween seems to be an exception to this rule. Everything done by the "hero" in the tale we know is still attributed to the hero in the story that Silver knows, and the enemy army is still the enemy army.

To the initial question: it seems that the heroes from the histories that we know are still being regarded as heroes in Twst (though they tend to get separated into multiple people), while the characters that we know as villains are also highly regarded. This sometimes includes their pasts (in the case of the Sea Witch and the Queen of Hearts), being separated from their pasts (in the case of the Hunter) or with no mention of their pasts (the King of Beasts, the Sorcerer of the Sands, the Fairest Queen, the Thorn Fairy).

(Not a lot of information about the King of the Underworld when compared to the others! Idia mostly just talks about how charismatic he was. Ortho suggests something about "the truth" about him being closer to Idia's own situation than they have been taught, but Idia is not convinced.)

Also: there is a reference to a hero rescuing his ladylove from the Underworld in Book 6, so it seems the hero in that tale remains a hero in Twst as well!

[quitealotofsodapop]

One thing I don't think is mentioned enough is the fact that during the journey, a lot of Celestials took the opportunity to just... outright FUCK around with Wukong. Like, they'd send all sorts of demons their way intentionally just to intervene and say "Oh hey! You found my favorite pet!" Even Guanyin hadn't been innocent of this considering she had this huge fit over her pet goldfish. And if they weren't using their pets they were finding other methods to delay or otherwise force the Pilgrims off the beaten path and into danger out of some sort of test, spite, or pettiness.

Now, think about how in the both JTTW and Slow Boiled au Wukond actually was pregnant or not during the journey, and in Century au, the Heavenly Court BELIEVE he was pregnant. So imagine how those guys feel after they decided to fuck with Wukong put of spite and found out they unknowingly were stressing a pregnant monkey out!?

Yeah! Characters like Gold Star hide their identities to aid the main characters, while some are just... doing it for fun? Are they LARP-ing? And Monkey has Gold-Vision; why does he always not recognise these people even from his Celestial days?

Guanyin set up a whole honey trap knowing that half the squad ain't into it, and dropped the gang on their way home cus they missed 1 story event. The abbey with the Ginseng tree were pretty rude af. The Buddha's own servants tried to fleece the gang of the scriptures. Multiple kingdoms suffered cus King Who-Care shot somebody's bird-cousin, or knocked over a table of offerings. And the 28 Lunar Mansions took almost 13 years to realise that the Wood Wolf was missing.

Lao Tzu's lab assisants literally run off with his stuff and become demon lords for lulz (or they were the assisants that let the Rhino King/Buffalo out and were scared that they'd get in trouble). And lets not forget RHINO KING. Bruh, you somehow lost track of a gotdang celestial Bull-Rhino!?

Guanyin's not immune from this; TWO of her pets became horrific demons (Goldfish and Sai Taisui) and are arguably the most irredeemable of all the villains faced.

Lady Earth Flow/Albino Rat/Bat spirit is even described as Li Jing's adoptive daughter - how the f that happen?? How did he lose track of a whole kid so bad that she became a vampire-esque demon?

Manjusri let their cat (Azure Lion) out TWICE. And they cursed the Wuji kingdom for tossing them in a sewer for preeching.

After a point, I'd imagine Wukong in the stone egg aus would just throw his hands up and start yelling at the gods directly. He's even bolder in the Jttw Stone Egged au given that he has Macaque as back-up.

You know that chapter where Rhino King steals all of the Heavenly Army's powers and weapons, and the immortals are all infighting so hard that Wukong has to be the voice of reason?

Imagine a tiny hormonal monkey just going nuts at these gods. He's screaming in their faces. He's demanding Nezha lift him up so he can look General Li Jing in the eye. He's telling them what good are they as fighters if they only feel safe with their weapons and powers? Wukong has a *damn* good reason he ain't taking on Rhino King in a 1-v-1 rn, whats all these gods excuse?!

The gods are too surprised and intimidated to argue back. And you better believe a certain alchemist is getting a smack for letting a whole animal loose from his lab.

[justanotherfanfolks]

JP Book 7 Spoiler Warning!

You know, I've been deeply curious about what Ruggie's dream is going to be, and I think I have an idea.

Buckle up, I'm back at it again with my giant text posts:

Ah, Ruggie! A fan favorite! At least, I hope he is. I love this little dude! Who doesn't love our hyena kleptomaniac that's worked hundreds of jobs?

So ever since Part 2 of Book 7, I've been dying to see everyone's dreams. Therefore, I SCREAMED when Book 7 actually ended up taking that route! Of course, I've been speculating for months as to what their dreams could be! I mean, it's really, like REALLY, hard to predict where the TWST story goes, they always throw you a curveball and keep you super engaged. I don't think I've ever correctly guessed something for TWST. But I'm not gonna let that stop me from guessing Ruggie's dream!

From what I can tell, Ruggie is the type of person who wants to work for what he gets. He's definitely a fan of free things, absolutely no way this dude would turn down free food! But my guy is not a fan of those high and rich in society acting above everyone and walking all over the lower class. He knows you should get in with the rich, but 90% of those people aren't going to give him the time of day. He definitely knows that. The only rich people out here giving him the time of day are Leona and Kalim, which makes them pretty interesting cases and this is entirely due to their childhoods. Anyway, in Wish Upon a Star, Ruggie's wish is for a high-paying job. Not for straight cash, not for everything he could ever want, a job. Doesn't even humor the idea of just wishing for what money could buy. So I don't think Ruggie's dream is going to be him sitting on a giant mountain of gold and lounging around. On a surface level, someone could think that would be his dream, but that doesn't sound like Ruggie. Ruggie "Eat the Rich" Bucchi would NEVER. I mean, it'd be hilarious and iconic, but the story doesn't use Ruggie's character in that way. He can get intense stuff. Besides, TWST is anything but surface level. Therefore, I think his dream is going to pull from character traits from all the way back in Book 2.

It's interesting that Ruggie doesn't think he stands a chance at getting a high paying job. Like, my guy probably had the thickest resume known to man, and he doesn't think he's gonna get one of these jobs because of how competitive they are. He calls out the interview and testing process, is it too far fetched to assume his background may be of concern to him as a hurdle? If I may pull from Savanaclaw Novel my beloved, hyena's are heavily discriminated against in Twisted Wonderland (Lion King plot points go brrrrrrrr). Ruggie's a hyena from the slums, a place where no mages are expected to be and no one is expected to make anything of themself. He's a pride of the town, he's got his whole neighborhood rooting for him! This makes him ambitious. And this gives him his motive for success.

Ruggie wants a better life than the one dealt to him. But the thing is, Ruggie doesn't JUST want to be able to live a comfortable life. He wants to make a name for himself. That's why he believed so much in Leona's plan. He wants to flip the world on its head, he wants to prove himself, he wants to be seen, he wants to show the world a hyena can rise above. He's a mage, he's going to NRC, he's a star player on the Spelldrive team at school. He's already breaking barriers for himself, but that's only at school. Life is so much crueler to him out there. He's ready to fight against the world that wants to push him back down. He had goals in life, but some he speaks louder than others.

So what do I think Ruggie's dream is going to be?

He gets recruited by professional Spelldrive team.

This is his most far fetched dream in his eyes. That dream he's almost afraid to utter out loud with full sincerity. When he brings it up in the line I started with, he just backtracks like he was crazy to even consider it. Back in Book 2, the only time he felt like he could say it was when he believed so much in Leona's plan that he actually considered it possible. That's why it hurt him so much when Leona crushed that hope right in front of his eyes.

Spelldrive is clearly special to Ruggie. He uses every part of him in Spelldrive: his size, his magic, his trickery. He's made a name for himself on his team at school, even making it on TV broadcasts and being known by incoming freshmen. This is something he's good at and perfect captures multiple aspects of who he is. But what's the big thing with Spelldrive? It's a famous sports thousands of people tune into. What better way to make a name for yourself than as a famous athlete. A famous athlete with a background that said he'd never make it there. A little hyena that proved everyone that said he'd be nothing wrong. THAT'S what Ruggie wants. Spelldrive is the perfect way for Ruggie to go "Here I am! This is me! And you're all going to see me as I rise above." And that would make his wake up call extra cruel.

I only really have like, one thing that makes me think this may not be the case: The origin of that image I put at the beginning of this post.

I'm under the impression Ruggie is getting a Book 7 Card. Jack has the least in the dorm (one? ONE?!), so it should be him, but I think it'd be kind of weird to give the not Ortho/Sebek freshmen cards considering Epel didn't get one. If they want to give Jack a card, heck yeah free that boy from R jail! But let's assume for a moment it's Ruggie. If in Ruggie's dream he's a professional Spelldrive player, uh, Ruggie already has a Spelldrive card. It'd be really redundant unless either that card is just that swanky or he's not in uniform. But if they do this, how could they not give us any visuals?

It's just- I really feel like this should be it!

Ok, watch me eat my words when the Savanaclaw Chapter comes out-

[anti-homophobia-cheese]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better:

Thank you for the tag lovelies @thighzp @royal-chandler @na-dineee

3 Ships I like: firstprince, narlie, ody3

First Ship Ever: rwrb is my first ever fandom but uh, I remember being OBSESSED with Simba and Nala from Lion King as a kid. That counts as shipping right?

Last Song You Heard: Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel

Favorite Childhood Book: my grandmum used to read me this book called Tuntunir Boi (Tuntuni's Book) by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury. I still have a tattered copy of the book that's far older than I am. I loved the story and never tired of hearing it. But now I realise it's probably because I heard it from my dibhai. She was the best storyteller in the world.

But I started reading on my own with a lot of Enid Blyton and I loved the Five Find-Outers series

Currently Reading: The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer (and I'm making my reading experience everybody's problem).

Currently Watching: Doctor Odyssey, RWRB (I'm rewatching it after 5 months I think), Demon Slayer, Shogun, HIMYM (during mealtimes)

Currently Consuming: it's suddenly very chilly here so I'm sipping on some warm water

Currently Craving: well I just had dinner but I'm always craving a tzp casting announcement or three 🙂‍↕️ (come through Deadline!)

Tags for 9 people: @amnesiaa-on-ice @myteavsricochet @mossy-fae @almightaylor

@potato-jem @elliss-stuff @glitteroctopus72 @fairflowered @lfg1986-2

[youunravelme]

“What do you want to watch?” tatgylb. i imagine mat getting home from a game after mama bear puts ella to bed. mama bear sitting on the couch not doing much and when mat gets home they decide to watch a tv series (right after she moves in)

perfect! i loved this request (i love writing scenes for tatgylb, especially when i'm procrastinating on part 6 lol). and what a soft moment i never ever thought about! thank you for your creativity!!

here it is!

it had been a long day. ella didn't sleep well during the night, and was cranky all day until her afternoon nap (she hardly slept during her morning nap too). when she woke up, she was an angel, but by that point you were dead on your feet.

so you sat her down in her play pin while got her dinner ready. things moved pretty quickly after that, with ella eating dinner and then taking a bath before you put her down to sleep.

you immediately fell into the couch and turned on mat's game while the sound of ella's sound machine reverberated through the baby monitor on the coffee table.

truth be told, you weren't super into hockey before you met mat. you picked up a few things from just the amount of highlight videos you've watched to get a feel for what's impressive and what's not allowed.

but you were still kinda lost without mat there to explain things. you supposed you could text sydney, but she was probably at the game.

so google was your only option. you found yourself googling calls the refs were making at different points in the game.

it wasn't long before the third period ended with the isles losing 4-2.

you were scrolling on your phone when mat came home. he dropped his stuff down at the entry way and mumbled a hello to you before heading back to his room. you thought that was the end of it until he came out in basketball shorts and a seattle thunderbirds tee shirt.

"what're we watching?"

you shrugged, too exhausted to have an opinion. "what do you wanna watch?" you held the remote out towards him and he took it albeit hesitantly.

"anything but espn, i don't think i can take another highlight reel or analytics of my shitty performance tonight." he scrolled through the channels before exiting out and going to disney plus.

he stopped over the animated movies and hesitated. "what's your favorite disney movie? and don't say the lion king, i can't take more sadness."

you shrugged. "maybe you should pick tonight, after all it seems like you've had a shitty day."

"you're slouching and you look dead inside, i think it's safe to say you also didn't have a great day today either."

"we could watch mulan?" mat nodded and pressed play on the movie.

when the music of the intro started playing, you could see him look at your from the corner of your eye.

you hesitated but looked at him anyway. "are you okay?"

he nodded. "in case i don't say it enough, thanks for helping with ella. it means the world to me."

you smiled back, a genuine one that almost hurt your cheeks. "it means the world to me too, mat."

[ambrosiagourmet]

I notice no one has asked yet so for the character thing: laios! Or if you want to go for a less common one: the winged lion

Laios!!!!!!

First impression

Honestly its hard to even limit this within the confines of starting the actual manga. I genuinely think I'd have to say my real first impression of Laios was the "autism be damned, my boy can work a grill" joke that gets passed around a lot 😭

Impression now

Older brother.

Loves his friends and family so much. Let him infodump!!!!! A guy that can character arc so hard he becomes a king because its the only way to deal with the things he can no longer let himself look away from. A guy who wants to eat a good meal. A guy who wants everyone to eat a good meal.

A guy who can be all that and still kind of pettily complain that he doesn't get to hang out with monsters anymore & can mope about it soooo annoyingly. A guy who decided to eat the concept of all-consuming hunger because it was the only way to deal with the problem so he might as well try. A guy who can completely change his life by deciding to share his special interest. A guy who can imitate a dog really well.

Favorite moment

Don't make me choooose... okay I'm gonna do three:

1. Assembling Falin's bones with Marcille

The humor. The patience. The slow realization that, despite how absurd of a task it is, it is actually all possible. The moments of admiration for the way skeletons work, the love of the details, the care of assembling all three skeletons just to make sure they get Falin right. Iconic scene.

2. Killing Falin

"Unable to make myself accept. Unable to make myself resist" lives in my soul now idk what else to say. Life is so vibrant and horrifying and raw and beautiful and to let yourself fully be a part of it you must take up space. You must consume. You must fight. You must take and be taken from. Ourgh

3. Talking Marcille down

I love that he looks so goofy on his way up to her. I love the context of how much he refuses to give up on her leading up to this, and how he refuses to give up on her now. I love how everyone is part of this scene, but he's the first one to cross the threshold. I love how she almost blows him up but can't do it (fun fact: this exact situation/post was how she killed Mithrun a couple of chapters ago. It was close).

I love the way he appeals to her mostly just with messy honesty, and I love the silly three rules callback. It's such a sweet chapter.

Also honorary mention for the final page of the story, which gets me every time.

Idea for a story

I'm actually currently fiddling with a longer story concept dealing with the question of Laios needing an heir. Dungeon Meshi is grounded enough in politics that it genuinely feels like a question that the characters will have to grapple with at some point. At the same time, there's no way that like arranged marriage and even having kids in general are not messy topics for Laios and I don't think anyone involved would want to force him to be miserable.

(I also don't personally like the idea of Falin as his heir ftr, bc I think forcing Falin into that role sucks and I don't think anyone would go for it)

So how DO they deal with the issue? Idk! I might write a long meandering story about it! Maybe! I want to, at least.

Unpopular opinion

Ughhhh I don't realllly want to poke this with a stick but yeah I definitely think my most generic (apparently????) Unpopular Opinion with Laios is just that his relationship with Marcille is meaningful and loving. I personally don't view it as romantic and they mean a lot to me as a platonic-life-partners kind of thing, but I also think that dividing relationships in general into Ships TM and Definitely Not Ships isn't really appealing to me personally. I just care them.

(at the same time I really do worry about trying to write about them and it being taken as romantic despite me very intentionally not framing it as such. idk, navigating this stuff is complicated.)

Favorite relationship

UGHHHH LIKE. It is probably him and Marcille. But it's so hard to rank that against him and Falin. Both relationships mean a lot to me and I love them and I love to think about them.

Because him and Marcille have more on the page interactions to dig into and because I don't see them discussed as much, I do tend to gravitate to Marcille & Laios stuff above all else. But like.... don't make me actually commit to picking.

Favorite headcanon

I can't think of a strong answer for this so I'm going to make one up on the spot: I think he giggled to himself soooo much when he included the winged lion in his king outfit but made it so that it looks like the wolf head is eating it. I think he continues to giggle about it years later. I think he gets dressed in the morning and puts on his cloak and goes "get ate, idiot" as he fastens it around his shoulders.

Oh actually for a more genuine headcanon related to the story thing I mentioned above: I think Laios is really good with kids but would be scared of having any of his own. I think he'd have trouble with the classic "I don't want to mess them up the way my dad messed me up" abused kid struggle.