#that's it. everyone else doesn't exist. the bubble works

[withleeknow]

wow i really am a hater at my core

[simonbrain]

Hey author!

Could u write something about bodyguard simon x celeb reader pls?

Ps: u are amazing, i absolutely love ur writing!! 💖

no one ever sees the bright, bubbly singer without her guard dog. where you're lovely and charming, adorned with pretty colours and the cutest outfits, simon's mean and gruff, his personality contrasting yours in every aspect.

people whisper about there being something more between the two of you. your manager can deny it all they want, but everyone sees the longing glances exchanged, the gentle way simon treats you compared to everyone else, the way you get protective when people say awful things about your bodyguard, even if it doesn't bother him. the only reason he isn't marching over there to shut them up himself is because he loves the way your usual sweetness vanishes and you get worked up defending him.

it's like everyone can see it but you two.

(simon still remembers the first time your eyebrows furrowed and the fury raised in your eyes before you curtly told a few impatient fans off for spouting nonsense at him. it was an unnatural look on your face, the sour expression settling over your features, but you still looked breathtaking as always. even more so, in his opinion.

your relationship with him hadn't been the best at this point in time, but simon was grateful. he had gently patted your back, murmured an annoyed ignore the twats, and ushered you into the truck.)

he indulges you even when he doesn't have to. he'll rate your costume outfits, go on cute dates with you at the local cafe, sit on the couch with you and watch terrible movies, your body snuggled up under an arm as you giggle at his corny jokes regarding the film. he scares off any overbearing fans and unwanted attention when you're not feeling your best, and he treats you as if you're made out of glass, like you'll shatter if he's not by your side every second of the day.

simon really wanted to dislike you when he first started working for you—hate you, even. he wanted to believe you were a spoilt brat who had not worked a day in her life and leeched off the people around her, but you never came off like that. no, you're courteous, hard-working, honest, and genuine. maybe a bit too kind to those arseholes who simon really wants to pummel into the ground, but you hate when he gets violent, and he'd rather deal with the wrath of your crazy fanbase than ever have to face an upset you ever again.

he loves the moments he has you alone, away from the cameras and prying eyes. these moments feel so intimate, like you're all that exists, and he can't help but hope that maybe you see him as something more than your bodyguard.

[loulovingho]

The Only Exception

Had to write a little fic from Tommy's perspective based off of The Only Exception by Paramore. Read below or on ao3!

For so long, love felt to Tommy like wearing a turtleneck on a summer day. It was uncomfortable. Itchy, sweaty, and no matter how much you tugged it away from your neck it came right back to choke you again.

That was the type of love he'd grown up with. A love that was never truly love at all.

A father who failed more often than he succeeded. Who cheated and lied and spewed words of hatred. Who treated him like gum on the bottom of his shoe. Who treated his mom even worse.

And his mom would get sick of it. She'd say she was done. She'd cry and yell and pack her bags- only her bags- and she'd look Tommy straight in the eyes and tell him, “This is what love looks like, Thomas, this is all it is.”

During those times, Tommy's dad would beg and plead for her to stay. He couldn't make it through life without her, he didn't know what he'd do if she left, he was nothing without her, she was nothing without him.

He'd wipe away her tears and take her suitcase from her hand and lead her back to the bedroom. Tommy would make himself a bowl of cereal, sit on the couch, watch cartoons until after the sun had set, then he'd tuck himself into bed.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

When he got older and left for the army, there wasn't really time for love. There was time for quickies in secret hookup spots around base. There was time to learn more about himself than he dared speak about. There was time to get close to a guy who laughed in his face when Tommy told him that maybe one day they could leave the military and get a place together.

You're living in a fantasy world, Kinard, so here's some reality. Guys like us weren't made to be loved.

He was young and naive then.

He learned to grow up quickly.

He tried love after he first became a firefighter. But love was closing his eyes and imagining someone else when he was intimate with her. It was taking extra shifts at work so he had an excuse not to invite her over. It was telling her he had to sleep alone because he had nightmares.

It was unfair to them both.

It wasn't love.

Because love doesn't exist.

Tommy learned to be comfortable with being alone. Learned to keep himself busy with hobbies so he was content when he walked into his empty house.

Learned to enjoy another man's touch for a night, and be gone long before the sun rose.

Learned to fake girlfriends at work, be the guy who has someone new every other month. Let everyone call him a player because that was better than any other word they'd use if they knew the truth.

Love doesn't exist. Not for someone like me.

Even at Harbor, once he decided to be honest with himself and the people around him, love felt like an illusion.

There was the guy who was still deep in the closet, who didn't even want to look at Tommy when they were in bed together.

Then the guy who paraded him around and let everyone, including his ex-boyfriend, know he was with a firefighter.

The guy who in the end said he only asked him out because Tommy saved his life and he felt he owed him that much.

Just stop trying.

That's what he did. He stayed in his bubble of work, hobbies, home.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Every day the same.

Then he got a phone call from someone he hadn't heard from in a while.

And he literally owed his life to this guy, so of course he said yes to the most insane plan he'd ever heard.

Then suddenly he was meeting two new guys that had joined the 118 after he left. He was reconnecting with Hen, he was getting texts from Howie, he was gaining a new friend in Eddie, and he had plans to teach this Evan how to fly.

Evan with a beautiful smile and a hot body and the most adorable personality he'd ever seen.

He needed to keep his distance, because he didn't know Evan very well and he could be reading this all wrong.

Which, apparently he was, because Evan seemed to hate him and the last thing he needed was for this overall sweet guy with beautiful eyes to hate him.

He needed to do something to fix it. Needed to make things right so he didn't lose this friendship that hadn't even had a chance to begin.

So, he went to Evan's place and...

Oh.

It's funny how a person can really change your perspective of things.

Maybe the only time love doesn't last is when it's not meant to. Maybe there are exceptions. And maybe it'll find you when you least expect it. Maybe it'll find you in the loft of an apartment you've never been in before. Or during a messy first date that could've ended better on both ends.

Maybe love is an attempt to get your coffee order right when you've never even discussed whether or not you like coffee.

Or it's an insane ask to be a date to a wedding, because even though you barely know each other his family wants to meet you. He's talked about you to them.

It's found in a hug at a bachelor party, or in a “be safe” when you're going into work.

Maybe love is a kiss at the entrance of a hospital. So unexpected you can't help but vocalize your surprise.

Maybe it's not caring if you have evidence of a make-out session all over your face because you like this guy and you don't care who knows it.

Or maybe it's being there when someone from your past pops up and you can't quite vocalize how you feel.

Love is a late night dinner after a bad day where you can express your worries and discuss parental trauma. Love is knowing when to turn the conversation on its heels and flirt because life's been too serious lately and sometimes you need a reason to smile.

Love is found in the person you lean on when you're upset or angry. It's who you go to with your tears, whether they're from sadness or rage.

It's learning each other's flaws and not running away. It's learning to love their mess, all of their imperfections, and sticking it out because they're worth it.

It's a heated argument that no one wins and you forget what started it in the first place. It's in not giving a reason to pack your bags and threaten to leave, but in hashing it out because the person is worth staying for.

It's in honesty and thinking before you speak and being faithful.

It's in a hospital room after an injury that almost takes your life. It's when you open your eyes and your person is seated beside you looking worse than you do because they haven't slept in three days.

Love is cooking dinner together, and laughing so hard that soda shoots out your nose because only one of you knows how to follow a recipe.

Love is running to you when you show up at their station unannounced because they forgot their lunch in your fridge.

It's a kiss in the middle of a station that once held your biggest insecurities hostage. It's a hand on your back leading you up the stairs because everyone will want to see you.

Love is a gasp and a plead for more. A whisper that it's never felt like this before. It's strong arms gripping your back, wanting to feel you, wanting to kiss you, wanting to see you.

Love is holding you close until you fall asleep, until the sun rises, and even long after that.

Love is breaking through every rule you've made for yourself without even realizing it. Breaking down each and every barrier you've put in your own way and doing it with such grace and care that it brings tears to your eyes if you think about it too much.

Love is the person lying beside you right now, snoring so loudly you can't sleep, but you don't even care. You watch them, place a hand over their chest to feel their heartbeat because sometimes you wonder if they truly exist.

Love is curling into your touch, smacking their lips as they tug you closer and resume snoring right in your ear.

Love is here.

Love is present.

Love is real.

Love is Evan.

[appleblueberry-pie]

I need a guy that isn’t “I almost lose my mind when I’m with you” but actually does. Like get lost in the sauce of our love fr fr. Go crazy go stupid. On GOD I need a pet boyfriend 😔 a devoted, all worshipful, loyal servant. Like please bae glare at everyone.

Anyway- can we have some feral obsessed hcs for Yuuta, Gojo, and Geto? I have an actual obsession problem with uninterested reader so that’s the plot. Just a couple of besties with one who wants to not just be besties 🫶😔

ok lightwork.

Yuuta

Everyone you're close with gets in the crossfire.

He doesn't give a damn. If they know you, he knows about them with or without their consent. It's uncomfortable, the amount of information he knows about every single person that you know. If you have enough knowledge to remember at least one significant thing about them, he will find a way to find out who they are, where they life, how they know you and other important things. Like age, sex, where they work and live.

Will fight people. Just not in front of you because you don't deserve to see that. When you're not there, he will not be seen by anyone in the public eye. People that hit on him get ignored completely or told off in a very rude way.

When you give him attention? He's soaking up every single piece of it and even tries to pull so much more out of you. Worships your body, every single action you take, every word that leaves your lips and even just loves when you're just being. You being present is enough to send him over the edge. Period.

Gojo

No one else matters but you. Only you and him exist in his universe. Where you live, what you've done in your life and what you two plan to do together later in life are the only things that matter to him. Don't ever mention hypothetical scenarios where you and him break up because it will never ever fucking happen, don't even try it.

When someone breaks the space between the two of you, he will not hesitate to intimidate him. That american type of angry. Stare them down, size them up, back them into a corner type of pissed. Won't give a fuck. If he has to eradicate someone in front of everyone, so be it.

Loves to stare at you. You're all he sees. If you're mad at someone, don't worry. They'll be gone by the time you wake up tomorrow. Everything revolves around what you want, what you need, and what can become possible with him at your side.

Geto

Him and Yuuta are the most similar at what type of worship they bring to the table. Please. He will give you all of his body, time, soul, every damn thing. Just take it. He doesn't care. Have eeeevery piece of him.

Wake up and he's there asking what you need, and he's there at night cradling you to sleep. Hates taking you outside because of those monkeys surrounding you, ruining your personal bubble and stinking the air. It's so easy for you to calm him down when he gets riled up. Just the thought of you being taken away from him by a monkey just pisses him off to no end.

He loves seeing you with his girls. It really makes his heart light and his stomach bubble with happiness. You are everything he's ever hoped for. So strong, so smart, so caring and selfless. You deserve the sun and moon being put in your arms just to keep you happy.

You deserve everything. He'll find a way to get you everything you deserve and more. Just give him a little time to do so.

[robogalaxies]

☎️ - The Unneeded But Happily Researched Crumbs Of Everything We Know About The Commissioner

“If anything happens… I’ll deny I ever knew you.”

The Commissioner is, as we all know, a mystery, and I hope it stays that way, but I put it upon myself to wrangle every little tidbit of information we have on him outside of giving cases! I do this solely because of three things:

I have nothing better to do

I find myself strangely endeared to his character (i.e. I do a gay little "favorite character" clap every time I hear him mentioned)

I want to share all my random knowledge with you all because I go digging for it in every S&M media there is

I'll be dividing this up into 4 sections for ease of access: comics lore, games lore (HtR, Telltale, TTIV), cartoon lore, and misc. lore. Some things MAY be assumptions based on other characters' reactions to what he MIGHT be saying or say about him, sure, but I will source all information on where to find it & provide images when they can be easily provided!~ If anything new comes up or I have forgotten something, I'll update. Until then... hope you love both hyperlinks and "at least I laughed at it" style commentary! ☎️

Comics Lore

The introduction of The Commissioner, as with everyone else! Small tidbits of his quite understated character outside of being The Phone are here, obviously, including:

the Commissioner's one and only speech bubble! (Bad Day on The Moon)

the beginnings of the implied "I love you" statements towards Sam & Max with an "XOXO" on a postcard (Bad Day on The Moon)

he shows SOME disdain towards Sam & Max's attitudes towards achieving their goals, being the one specifically to tell them to go on a road trip (On the Road #1, "Prisoners of The Casbah")

Games Lore

Hit the Road

The Commissioner is barely a character in this game (big surprise, right?) and you do not get much information on him minus the bare minimum of "he is Sam & Max's boss," so there's not much to be said here. In fact, I don't know why I mentioned it. Great game, though, go play it! Now! I'll wait until you get back :)

Save The World

Welcome back! There're only minor silly tidbits here, but they're needed for this comprehensive list. Everything is worth mentioning about a character with nothing to his name but "The Commissioner." I mean, you're reading this post, right?

wears bifocals! 👓 ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

was once in contact with & worked with Harry Moleman, as he sent him to be the mole for the Toy Mafia. Crossover of the century... I wonder if he knows how far poor Harry has fallen ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

Takes Sam & Max out for dinner sometimes, apparently, if they do well enough on their cases! Squirrel Garden sounds disgusting, but I'd be jazzed too if they also had the free breadsticks ("The Mole, The Mob, and The Meatball")

likely just a quick jab, so I don't really know why I'm putting it here other than humor, but Max apparently doesn't trust him! I hope that gets solved; Commissioner is sorta signing his meager paychecks ("Bright Side of The Moon")

Beyond Time and Space

The middle child of the Telltale trilogy, this game has barely anything in terms of tidbits given that he really only assigns the beginning cases in 1 out of 5 episodes, and even then, that doesn't give a single thing away. Despite this, there's gotta be one or two tidbits we should learn, right? Sure!

is aware of Sam's insistence on answering the phone & seemingly asks straight up why he didn't answer (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

Can confirm an "I love you" towards Max... d'aww! (What's Up, Beelzebub?)

The Devil's Playhouse

The Commissioner barely shows up or is referenced in this game, mainly due to the story existing outside of the common framing of "assigning cases," but we learn two small yet revealing tidbits:

British Columbian! 🇨🇦 (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

Has provided books on cultural and racial sensitivity for Sam & Max because they kept "reducing people to obvious stereotypes." (The City That Dares Not Sleep)

This Time, It's Virtual!

The phone exists yet again... but in your VR HEADSET! Some fairly funny Commissioner lore in this one even if you, like almost everyone I've seen in this fandom, dislike or even hate this game:

His family is in hiding, and I'm assuming Witness Protection?! Must come with the territory (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Can confirm an "I love you" of some sort said to Sam ... d'aww! (phone call after completing first three Freelance Training segments in-game)

Signs off even official, legal wanted posters with "The Commissioner," asking people to seek the help of Freelance Police & associates himself as PART of the Freelance Police!

signs your certificate at the end of the game, which mentions the Illuminati in conjunction with his name for some reason! What kind of policing are we running here....??

Cartoon Lore

Truly, the 90s cartoon is where most Commissioner lore lies if we take into consideration all of these happen within the same universe, which we likely shouldn't. This being said, the cartoon provides us with the only picture we have of the guy (see post photo above the cut). Alongside this, we also get a LOT more information than any other media:

before we even start the information in the ACTUAL cartoon, Sam & Max say within the show's initial Bible believe he's out to kill them, in some way, saying they're the "troubled, ungrateful sons he never had." That's so sweet ... in a way. As well, there's a very small section dedicated to the Commissioner as a character, though not much is said that we don't already know (Sam & Max Cartoon Series Bible)

has Geek's number, or at least a number to the Sub-Basment of Solitude, as he calls it more than once over the course of the series, which makes me wonder how well he may or may not know Geek! Like a grandniece or something (episodes 1, "The Thing That Wouldn't Stop It" & 3b, "They Came from Down There")

cried over the story of Sam & Max having to get rid of John, their beloved alligator son... must be a shared parental instinct (episode 6a, "That Darn Gator")

apparently sends sticker books in case briefings on a semi-regular basis, as Sam comments that he "loves when the Commissioner does that" as if it has happened before - how whimsical! (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

confirms the Commissioner as a legitimate police commissioner alongside being Sam & Max's boss (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

seemingly very fussy if not given his private bathroom and honor bar. Fancy stuff, Commissioner, & he apparently allows Sam and Max up there! Or not, they just sorta bust in. Whatever! Sharing is caring (episode 6b, "We Drop at Dawn")

the Commissioner has a DAUGHTER! and somehow, Sam & Max got invited to her WEDDING! I think she's beautiful and I hope she doesn't resent her special day getting ruined (episode 11a, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang")

that iconic, signed, chest only photo given with the solemn, loving, promise of "If anything ever happens, I'll deny I ever knew you," followed by Max crying that it's "It's just... so him." - what a loving, tender and slightly bordering on oddly familial relationship he has with Sam and Max... stop, I'll start crying! (episode 13, "The Final Episode")

Misc. Lore

These are lore tidbits that are present in mediums either outside of the media itself, belong in a game that is not technically part of the larger S&M canon, or has to do with out of media context, but should be included anyway because why not!

gifts Sam & Max a new floaty pen from a different United State every Christmas ... but not really anything else! (Poker Night 2)

Sam & Max discuss the Commissioner's power in response to doubt about his existence, claiming "Don’t you know he’s everywhere? He knows we’re talking about him right now!" - which is sort of scary, but I'll let it slide because it implies that the Commissioner's surveillance is of a much higher caliber than we initially thought and that is BANGER (in-character interview for Telltale, found here on Steve Purcell's Sam & Max FB page)

He's affectionate yet surly & I'm sure all those "I love you" statements contribute to that! D'aww... (Skunkape Origin Video)

Voiced by a member of Bay Area Sound, Julian Kwasneski, in the Telltale trilogy! Talked about and even has a LINE recited in this specific developer commentary! We love a mysterious boss who sounds like an adult in Peanuts.

God bless the guy, he had a rash! Does this matter? No. Will it ever matter? Likely not, as it was from the sadly cancelled Sam & Max: Freelance Police trailer. Sighs. At this point, you can tell I'm just adding whatever mentions we get of the guy. Makes me giggle, though.

Conclusion...?

In the end, the Commissioner is a mystery, and always WILL be a mystery. Hell, I sort of never want to know as it will ruin every single thing I have worked so hard to archive, but it is fun to comb through the different canons! Of course, it is likely any of this can be tossed out or considered non-canon in the blink of an eye because Sam & Max always loves to give a middle finger to character details if they don't affect the main plot & likely a lot of these are mere gags. The Commissioner is phone, and always will be only phone. However, it's always in my best interest to try to find ANYTHING to push back the curtain even the tiniest inch, and I hope my efforts were worth it. Now, to sign off, just press that phone! You got it, you got it! ☎️

[skele-bunny]

NOO THE POLL IS WRONG PLEASE POST THE ZEPHRIT PLEASEE :((!!!! PLEASE PLEASE

OH MY GOSH OKAY 😭 THERES LIKE.. SO MANY OF YOU IN MY INBOX RN. AND MY DMS. AND WKKWKSJ???!!! (Small tag for @sister-nyx , @everybodyshusband , @hypnoneghoul , and @artificialmoth I know y'all were also interested) is this impractical? Ye. But it's fun to me

College AU — Zephrit

Warning: It's professor/student in this but everyone is consenting adults

Cw: Internalized Homophobia, Pet Play, Master/Pet dynamic, Power Imbalance

Ifrit at college on a sports scholarship, but he's recommended to have extra credits to keep his GPA up, so he takes a German language class. Mr. Zephyr Luft, this cold, no nonsense professor who has a reputation for kicking people out even for little things. So take Ifrit who's now suddenly the bane of their existence.

Snarky comments, not doing any work always with the excuse of "This is only extra. I don't need this course." And he's gotten so many academic write ups, even to the point of Mr. Luft talking to the sports director. Nothing. So, they take it into their own hands. Requesting Ifrit to stay after class one day, and he obviously automatically assumes he'll be getting "the talk" of why it's important to do work and that he'll be getting another deduction.

Zephyr waits until the final student closes their door before beckoning Ifrit near, getting up and walking around with their cane as they do, indeed, babble about how Ifrit will be getting a deduction. But also...

"I can tell you were never properly raised, Gör. Such a nasty tongue you own."

"Whatever you say, old man."

There's a sigh before Ifrit can only gasp as a hard wack goes to his ass, turning around and seeing Zeph slowly put their cane back and stare.

"Did you just—?!"

"Well, obviously. Do you feel like speaking with manners yet?"

Ifrit just scoffs, "I'll have your job you fucking pervert."

A simple shrug. "Then I guess I need to make my worthwhile."

Now, Ifrit's strong. Works out a lot. He's taller than them! So he doesn't understand how this older, shorter person that relies on mobility aids had the ability to slam him back over the desk and keep him pinned while caning his ass more and more.

Finally had enough and letting Ifrit drop, face a dark red, fists clenched. Zephyr is just as calm as ever, not even paying attention to Ifrit anymore as they return to their desk and mumble that administration is in a different building upstairs. Ifrit sniffles a bit before quickly getting up, grabbing his bag, and high tailing it out of there.

He's so fucking humiliated! He's a grown ass man who could've overpowered them! His own damn professor!! Who do they think they are?! Slams out of the building and to his car, wincing as he sits down and stares at the admin building Zephyr mentioned. He has all reason to go there. To report what was done to him... But... That would mean they'd have to see. They'd have to know that Ifrit was too weak and too much of a pussy to defend himself from some old guy. Swallows his shame and instead, just goes home early. Looking at his bruised ass in the mirror, cane welts very obvious.

It's in the shower where he massages the pain, his dick slowly getting hard and he just chalks it up to the water. Nothing else. Nothing else is in his mind as he released down the shower drain. Don't realize the pattern as every time he has Mr. Luft's class the rest of the week how he'll massage and jerk off again. And again. The memories of being bent over and used and... And... And that cold stare that he starts imagining watching him, demanding perfect satisfaction as Ifrit masturbates in front of them. Then slowly changing to that cane dragging between his thighs and making him rut against it.

He feels sick the first time he imagines one of his one-night stands as that same old asshole.

Staring at himself in the mirror, turmoil bubbling. He's not gay. He's never been gay. He loves women and pussy and tits, and so much. This must be his nerves, is all. Some kinda trauma thing maybe? But even still, he notices how his attraction has slowly shifted. They must be the exception. Attracted to a single amab body, that's it. That's all it is. But he craves it. Wants to feel that helpless again. Wants to feel his body pinned down and where he's not the one in control...

And Mr. Luft can do that.

Packs so slowly one day after class, waits until it's just them when he approaches their desk. Zephyr humming and asking if Ifrit's reported them yet.

"No... I just, uh," There's shame and embarrassment Zephyr instantly picks up on. "Would you... Would you do that again? To me?"

"Spank you?"

"Yeah..."

They stare at each other before Zephyr just laughs a bit, worsening Ifrit's shame. But, "You poor thing. Just a stray dog looking for warmth, aren't you?"

He just nods, keeping his eyes down but can see Zephyr lean back in their chair. "No need to whine, hund. I can take you home with me if you'd like. Give you what you want."

Ifrit nods, and the rest is history.

Given directions to Zephyr's home after classes are finished, Ifrit knocking with hesitation. Brought in and led to the bathroom, listening to Zephyr make demands of how Ifrit is to shower, to attempt to finger himself for the first time, and lay on Zeph's bed nude. He does as he's told, albeit questioning himself more and more. This is some freaky shit he's getting into, isn't it?

But oh... Oh it's worth it. Explained how it's not Mr. Luft in the bedroom, only Zephyr or even Master. That he must say thank you to everything given to him, even punishments. He didn't realize how much he missed that cane against his ass now with hands as well once they start. Who gets his ass eaten for the first time and cums from it. Sucks cock and fingers Zeph for them to ride him. The degradation and that sharpness on their tongue like always. Sometimes speaking it in German, Ifrit can't understand, but he can feel the tone and just whines from it.

He stays over, tucked into Zephyr's arm as they come down from their bliss. More internalized hatred bubbling in his mind but it always seems to mute when he focuses on Zephyr's heartbeat. How he hates having to leave, but Zeph assures that all Ifrit has to do is ask and their home is open to stray dogs.

Ifrit takes that offer.

Finding himself on his knees just about every other day for them, listening to commands and being dominated. Taking on his role of a dog, desperate for that love and care in the form of heavy hands and instructions. Finally, a simple collar around his neck. So many new things he's exposed to and he loves each and every one of them. How German lessons follow into the home, Ifrit bent over and spanked with either a ruler or their cane for every thing he mispronounces.

Finds himself with no interest in the opposite gender as he's come to terms of what he's attracted to, just how much Zephyr has opened his mind and what he enjoys. Learning so much about himself in the process. Not only does his grade drastically improve, but so does his mental health. Finds more confidence, a new release as he doesn't have to think with Zephyr. Just has to be a good dog and listen to what he's told to do. What's he's trained to do.

Always lingering in their classroom, spending lunches with them and his free time. Their relationship developing so much they officially start dating privately, and to the point Ifrit moves in with them out of his dingy apartment. They keep everything quiet, out of respect for each other and also Zephyr's job. Everyone thinks they finally had a meet God moment, as they've become different people basically. Even Zeph watching some of Ifrit's games and practices, that cold stare no longer being of distain but craving.

Just a loyal dog as ever.

[ladyazurith]

You mentioned in one post that you think one problem with the game is that it twists itself into pretzels to fit the various different narratives, even when it doesn't make sense for the characters. Can you talk more about that? (Because I totally agree.)

Very much so! It's really bothersome. The first thing is in the individual chapters they tend to act like the students don't know each other well outside their own dorms, almost like they're practical strangers who have never interacted before. When everything else points to the opposite. Take Chapter 5 for example. They try to act like Ace and Deuce have no idea who Epel is, yet in Ace's CR story, he clearly meets Epel during their sorting. Never mind how they behave during events. And in chapter 2 when Cater is with Yuu and the others scoping out possible targets, it's presented like he doesn't know most of them well, when he clearly knows *everyone*.

Then from there, it's how the characters act in their individual chapters. Chapter 1 is mostly okay in this regard. Events with Riddle happen quickly enough that him having a major change of heart and acting "normal" in material from then on isn't too jarring.

But moving on from there it's a trainwreck. The chapter's overblot victims/ antagonists can get a little bit of a pass, but even then it stretches things.

Like Ruggie for instance, he is very shrewd and isn't above taking advantage of a situation. But he's not evil, he very clearly cares a lot about his home, his grandmother, and the other kids who live in the area with him. The idea that the character we see in every other situation would cause serious harm to someone else over a game is kind of ludicrous. He could have very easily risked expulsion if things had gone too far, and then he wouldn't be in a position to help *anyone*. Leona is even kind of iffy to me. While Leona tends to go out of his way to appear uncaring/unmotivated/lazy, he's actually an incredibly good dorm leader who cares about his students. Most of his real issues are internal, and harming innocent people who aren't even part of his beef with Malleus just seems out of character to me. Never mind what he does to Ruggie. Some of it can be explained by the build up of blot but not all of it.

And then Chapter 3, Azul, Jade, and Floyd. For the most part, I can see the tweels going along with everything because they both thrive on chaos. But Azul's plan is just...stupid coming from someone who's a professional businessman. First off he has no shortage of workers for the lounge. Ruggie frequently takes shifts there, and Cater while not a waiter also does a lot of work with them. But the whole sea anemone thing was just gross. And apparently, there was nothing in the contract about not disparaging their employer. It might have caused a spike in business at first just because people want to see what's going on for themselves, but overall, he'd ultimately hurt his business and drive customers *away*. Never mind the whole bullying backstory comes out of NOWHERE. Like I do have sympathy for Azul and what he went through and he is one of my favorite characters, but Ch 3 suffered from poor writing in my opinion. Narratively the whole thing was a mess.

Chapter 4 is handled better in my opinion. For the most part, I have the least amount of complaints about what goes on here. My biggest one though is what I mentioned before, Characters tend to exist in a bubble during their chapter events. You can not tell me that Cater nor Lilia wouldn't have tried to figure out what the hell was going on with Kalim. Or Silver for that matter. Never mind how Kalim had the authority to keep his entire dorm at school over a holiday when it's shut down?!!? I get his family is rich and powerful but, that still seems like a stretch idk.

Jamil I think was a least handled well otherwise, his actions and motivations seemed consistent with his character. In the end, he didn't really want to harm anyone, he just wanted his freedom and was desperate. The only real question is what did he think was going to happen next? Even if Kalim got kicked out of NRC then he would have only had about a year and a half of 'freedom' it wouldn't have solved any of his problems. And if Kalim had turned up dead, there would have still been severe repercussions for him and his family. IDK for someone who is supposed to be good at planning and scheming there definitely were parts that weren't well thought-out.

Chapter 5 and Rook is where this conversation started I think but I'll touch on it again. His actions at the end of chapter 5 are COMPLETELY out of character for what we know about him otherwise. Hiding his obsession with Neige from Vil, and then revealing it IN FRONT OF him while he's still licking his wounds from his overblot is just...if this was the only context we had for Rook, no one would be calling them friends. He had no real reason to reveal he was the one that cost them the competition.

The reception to this was so bad that's why we have the start of chapter 6 where Vil gives his speech about professionalism and why he's okay with Rook and what he did. I don't believe the narrative that Vil wasn't hurt at all, not with how he's shown to be so insecure especially where Neige is concerned. Sure I might buy the part about Rook voting for NRC not hurting him, but not the rest of it.

Never mind otherwise Rook isn't cruel. Especially not to Vil, and his actions were just that.

This is also biased, but the fact that Cater was cut from the team, and the reasons why rub me the wrong way. I know that they just wanted Jamil and Kalim because they were the previous chapter's focal point and Ace and Deuce because they're tied to pretty much everything because of Yuu and the story. But Vil keeps talking about being a professional, admitted straight up that Cater's audition was *perfect* but brushed him off and passed him over anyway. (Also Ironic because Cater's VA actually is a musician/singer/ensemble group member and not a traditional VA) but that's off course of the question lol

Also, I will never not be salty that RSA won with their song/performance. All for the narrative. And THEN they gave us a shot at seeing some kind of revenge or at least a win over them after the VDC with Epel's hometown event and yet again WE STILL LOST. I don't understand that one either. It's just frustrating for the players to be put in that situation again needlessly. There was no real narrative/story reason we had to lose.

Chapter 6 we finally get away from the narrative that the characters can't know who each other are in the main story at least -_-;. overall I don't have too many issues with Chapter 6. (other than the mini games -_-) Idia's character is kept consistent. We get some fun moments from the cast, and for the most part its in line with what we know of them and their characters. Azul and Riddle are gold, Jamil needed to hear what Leona told them. (tho it was a little pot kettle but then again that meant that Leona knew what he was talking about). And over all things don't seem AS forced. Had hoped things were gonna get better.

Then Chapter 7 rolled around and they murdered Lilia's character. The character we knew would NEVER treat his family like that. He even gives Malleus a speech in Cater's Halloween SSR about how he'll always be there when he needs him. He's consistently been shown to value his family and connections. It was just such a drastic change I am still baffled. I understand why he would be leaving, but to not really talk to those around him or explain what's going on and make an effort to keep in touch and stay in their lives? It's absurd. Of course Silver and Malleus broke down, if in high school my dad basically told me he was dying and that he was going far away and I'd never see him again, I'd have lost it too, and I'm not nearly as close to my dad as they were to Lilia.

I know they needed something to trigger Malleus's overblot but again this just seems like poor writing to me. The idea of Lilia loosing his powers and possibly dying I think would have been enough if they'd framed it right to push Malleus over the edge. That's difficult /emotional enough and they wouldn't have had to completely destroy Lilia's characterization to make it work. They could have even had the scene with Silver and Malleus when SIlver breaks down crying in front of him after trying to stay strong in front of Lilia so as not to worry him.

I'm trying to reserve too much judgment until we see the entirety of chapter 7 but unless there is some unknown reason for Lilia to have chosen this method of leaving, I don't know how to really justify it.

I get sometimes characters have to make difficult choices it is what helps make a story interesting, but if those choices arise from conflict that's not framed well or meaningful, it loses its potency. It comes across like us as the players and the characters themselves being cheated.

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

While I think your theory about Hexcore rejecting Mel's magic sounds very plausible, I'm not sure if Mel actually knows what she can do with it or even about its existence. To me it felt like she what she did was more of a reflex, and subconsciously protected Jayce too. I also think she might've managed to shield more people if she knew what she was doing - but this is more of a speculation.

Hello anon!

I think your theories make a ton of sense! I love it whenever anybody investigates what Mel's thoughts and situation are like in the show. Arcane is endlessly fun because it rewards us for not taking what we see at face value.

We just don't get much of Mel's dialogue about the attack, so I can totally see it happening where Mel was told her gold parts are one thing, when they're actually another, and she doesn't know that they are Arcane objects that can create a shield. In that case, then yes, it makes perfect sense as well that she would run to Jayce out of sheer instinct.

I really love the idea that Mel could have shielded more people if she knew how to control her armor better, or at all. Mel is really burying her thoughts and emotions down deep this season, and I think she has some guilt that she's burying as well, while Jayce's feelings of guilt bubble to the surface immediately because he wears his heart on his sleeve. So she prefers to take care of Jayce rather than experience catharsis herself.

I've also played around with the idea that, if her magic really does clash with Viktor's, she could've protected everybody if Viktor had not been there for his magic to interrupt hers. I'm an angst fan, so I like the thought of Mel needing to contend with her desire to protect people and her failure to do so (whether it was ever in her control or not) - this is a desire and a failure that Jayce and Viktor share, by the way, so Mel struggling with that desire as well while not being a fighter or inventor herself would be fitting and an interesting twist on her character.

Personally, I am very interested in a situation where Mel does know that she has a shield, she knows it has limitations, and she has only a split second to make a critical decision: stay where she is and save a couple of her fellow Councilors (including Cassandra btw...) and probably Jayce, or run to Jayce and guarantee his safety while risking the others' lives? It says a lot about the depth of her feelings that she chose Jayce in this scenario. This makes Mel similar to Jayce - her emotions push her to make a choice that is best for her personally, but might hurt others around her, because her desire to protect what she loves is so strong in a crisis.

I do absolutely agree that Mel's shield works automatically. I don't think she controls whether it deploys or not. (The only point against that is that it seems like the armor warns her right before an attack - why do that unless it's Mel's job to activate the shield herself? We'll see) Given how tired she was at the start of ep1 though, it seems like it takes a lot out of her when it is used. Either the shield is single-use, or it takes a long time to "recharge," or it only works when Mel's life is actually in danger, which is why it didn't deploy when she was pistol-whipped at the memorial. This could also explain why Ambessa was comfortable with putting Mel in danger at the memorial - if something went wrong and someone did try to kill Mel, maybe the shield would have deployed after all. But we won't know that for sure until Mel is attacked again.

I personally think Mel is simply hiding the shield from everyone. So far from what we've seen, no one else in Piltover works with magic in any way unless they're a techmaturgist/engineer like Viktor or Jayce. Magic - non-Hextech magic - still appears to be taboo in Piltover society. I also think it's telling that in Mel's scene with Lest, there was a play going on about Demacia next to them, a place that hates and mistreats mages. This hints to me that Mel has reasons for hiding any Arcane objects or abilities she may have.

[corviiids]

THANKS @kimdokjafan you are so kind and generous. ok im cashing in the first of three blank checks to talk about faith trust and pixie dust (most recent chatfic) because the last two directors commentaries were too serious so let's do a silly one.

some p5r spoilers, and this is mostly about sumire, and it's long again. do i need to keep disclaiming that these are long? you should know me by now.

i had this written for a while before i started formatting it because i wasn't really sure if i should post it? i feel like silly chatfic is something people go to for predominantly lighthearted nonsense so i was like, maybe there's too much plot and dramatic misunderstanding and i should just keep this one for myself. but then i was like well nothing matters and maybe someone will have fun with it. it's kind of terrible how much fully or mostly completed fic there is my docs that just doesn't see the light of day lol. write for yourself etc but i like sharing! too bad it comes with the mortifying ordeal etc. anyway that was a tangent

potato counter is a neopets game. there's no deep lore i just like neopets. i guess in this universe ryuji doesn't play neopets? or maybe he's just never played potato counter specifically. i also have a different fic where ryuji DOES play neopets. it's about neopets and ryuji and goro talking on neopets.

i think this might literally be the first time ive written sumi in a fic because i haven't actually written that much fic for royal, like, now that im looking, literally almost none? and none that had a group dynamic. so it was kind of fun to find her voice for the first time in a silly groupchat like this. i was worried people would find her exclamation marks annoying but i personally thought it was endearing so i added it in there.

every time i do a gag where a character corrects their own typo i have to code more stupid little bubbles to make it happen but i think it's worth it. all the effort that goes into making tgis look as much like a real chat as possible

this obviously doesnt take place in the canon p5/r universe, but im imagining sort of a postcanon sumi personality where she's more comfortable being herself and isn't borrowing kasumi's brand of confidence, but she's visibly a really anxious person without that kasumi veneer. i also think in this universe sumire is a fairly recent addition to the friend group, and while everyone likes her a lot and she really likes them, i kind of wanted to emphasise that feeling of being in a friend group where everyone's established and you're sort of a plus-one? you don't really fit yet. part of that is her being new, part of it is her anxiety, part of it is just the kind of person sumi is where she's so polite and self-conscious she ends up taking herself out of things with her own good intentions. stuff like her interrupting the flow of an existing conversation by greeting everyone instead of jumping straight in because she doesn't feel comfortable inserting herself, which means everyone else stops to greet her even though that doesn't normally happen in a friend group, or making a point of thanking everyone for being invited to events while the others take it as a given.

idk i love that she feels a bit out of place with the phantom thieves in p5r. and part of that is a natural consequence of being a new addition in royal who can't be naturally integrated with an existing dynamic but i honestly feel like the writing team realised that and acknowledged it, and really leaned into it, and that made it work incredibly well for me. like, it's part of her character that she's sort of an outsider. it's not like p4g's incredibly clumsy integration of marie and subsequent attempt to shove her down everyone's throat as the canon love interest in p4ga (knife). sumi has that outsider vibe on purpose and it makes me really like her dynamic with the thieves as an individual

goro also feels slightly out of place in these chats, but his conversational style blends more naturally with the other thieves at this point and he even uses their codenames sometimes. i keep saying my chatfic series isn't a real Series because the lore keeps changing, but if we accept that they're all kind of following a General Continuity, assume this takes place some time after the last fic in which ren added goro to the groupchat and they made an effort to integrate him into their friend group. he's kind of there now and has settled into being the weird boyfriend. that's his role.

every time goro says something like "ren and i" assume it's the text equivalent of him talking to the group with his arm around ren's waist.

ok i got really fond of this silly running joke where sumi brings up the weather when she's feeling uncomfortable. she's so polite. i like this thread because setting it up meant i got to tie it off like this:

this just made me happy lol i liked writing this. i tried to use it to demonstrate that despite goro's abrasiveness he obviously knows sumire pretty well, he's attuned to her quirks and knows how to tell when she's having a bad time with her anxiety, so he uses her little weather habit to ground her.

i honestly dont think goro and sumire could be considered close in p5r and as much as i like the "royal trio" in canon they're not really... like... friends? with each other? they're both attached to ren, so it' more a V shape than anything else. but that said, i really LIKE goro and sumi's canon dynamic. he takes a really grouchy but politely attentive supervisory role to her during their few forays into the palace as a trio where he doesn't really know her well but clearly identifies her as a harmless little tryhard who needs some guidance and steps into that role grudgingly, and she immediately looks up to him despite being very wrong footed by his ruthlessness, which i find incredibly charming. i think given time they could be good friends, they just didn't get much chance to know each other very well in canon. so i tried to kinda do that here.

once goro stops being evil and joins the group they all kind of tiredly accept that his role is to occasionally push a cup off a bench while smirking and refuse to clean it up. emotionally, i mean.

wait i need to backtrack chronologically to talk about akeshu.

in this scene they're in the same room lol talking and snickering while typing. im trying to get at that vibe of the annoying couple who is flirting with each other, via you. you know? like ostensibly they're talking to you (sumire) but everything they say to you is part of their stupid game. sumi is incidental to goro and ren teasing each other about flirting with someone else, goro is reporting everything ren says because his boyfriend is so eye-rollingly foolish in a cute way. they're very tickled by how amusing and charming they are. gross. disgusting. sumire im so sorry for putting you through this

anyway here are too many of my favourite jokes from the fic

[aihoshiino]

chapter 136 thoughts

before i get into the sad stuff i need to say that ai eating ice cream with her head empty no thoughts expression blasted ten hundred million billion tons of dopamine directly into my brain. thank you.

This chapter is interesting for a lot of reasons but I will say up front that I'm really glad the story is taking the time to humanize Nino and to flesh out the absolute mess that are her feelings towards Ai. I was really excited when she entered the story because I had always wanted to know more about the 45510 narrator (which this chapter basically unambiguously confirms even more strongly than before — we get the 45510 drop again!) but I was worried after meeting the real Nino that she would be painted as a black and white villain. Through Kana's empathy for her and the movie's portrayal of her though, we get to see her as just a normal person.

Because like… I'm gonna be honest, I feel so deeply sorry for Nino! Like, Jesus Christ, don't forget that she was anywhere between twelve and sixteen when all this was happening. She was just a kid being brainpoisoned by the entertainment industry and held to impossible standards. She had no power and the few things she felt she had any control over were being ripped out of her grasp. Is it any wonder she reached a breaking point?

Not just that but… man, B-Komachi gen 1 just seemed like it was an utterly dogshit experience for everybody but especially anyone who wasn't Ai. Both Nino and Kyun have said it explicitly: they did not feel like valued members of the group. Saitou pushed and favoured Ai to the extent that everyone else in B-Komachi felt like backup dancers who were just there to make Ai shine brighter. We see this pattern repeated in B-Komachi gen 2, as well! I've already talked about how in a very real sense, the group only exists for Ruby's sake and Kana and Memcho really are just there as her accessories but Miyako herself is favouring and pushing Ruby for work to the extent that even Ichigo points out that she needs to give the other girls more jobs. No wonder Kana empathizes with Nino so deeply.

Something else really interesting about this chapter is getting to see what dealing with Ai is like from someone else's POV. Understand that I'm saying this as the Internet's Foremost Ai Wife Guy but oh my god!!! I think this is the first time we've gotten a really good understanding for how deeply, deeply frustrating Ai really must have been to deal with as a person only allowed to see the perfect 'Ai of B-Komachi' mask. Nino is all but breaking down in front of someone she considers a friend, begging her for the slightest bit of honesty and authenticity, for Ai to just show that she cares about Nino in the least… and Ai just gives her a bunch of blithe, noncommittal answers. Even knowing Ai as well as I do, I could almost feel a ghost of Nino's desperation and frustration pass over me as I read that exchange.

With that in mind, Nino's outburst at the end of the scene here doesn't feel like pure nastiness - it feels like desperation. It feels like her lashing out with the worst possible thing she can think to say because if she hurts Ai, if Ai actually shows that Nino's words reach her at all, if Ai's human enough for Nino to hurt then…

But, well. We already know how this all turned out. Even so, like Kana said… Ai's smile is suffocating.

Speaking of Kana, this was a damn good chapter for her. A lot of people seem to have interpreted her as getting 'lost' in the role of Nino but going by this chapter's portrayal, Kana seems to have a much healthier distance from her than Ruby does to Ai right now (BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT….), being literally portrayed as viewing the scene as if from a distance. I do think her empathizing with Nino is allowing her to examine and get out some of the hurt and resentment that's been bubbling away since Black Hoshigan Ruby but things are being so infinitely more complicated by everything else going on around this split.

Speaking of which… whoooooooof, Ruby. Her levelling up her understanding of Ai was uh, not quite as good for her as I'd previously thought. It's important to note that this is pretty clearly Ruby's feelings that she is projecting onto Ai: in 45510, Ai herself explicitly says that she never hated the B-Komachi girls and Ruby blurting this out here feels like a very pointed contrast to that. It's pretty clear to me that we're coming back around to something established during the preproduction phase: that this material is quite literally triggering for Ruby and it's damaging for her to be engaging with it.

… which is why it's so, so scummy for Gotanda to be pushing this. I'm holding back on really going into what I'm thinking of Gotanda right now because I want to see if/how the manga addresses this but I'll just say that I'm coming away from this part of the story feeling much more sour about him than I think I'm intended to. It's possible that this is just because I'm fresh off hearing Jeanette McCurdy's horrific account of how damaging this kind of acting was to her as a child but… I find it really hard to like and get behind a director who is purposely letting his actors endure intense psychological suffering for the sake of His Vision lol

After all, like… for all that he talks about wanting to film 'the true Ai', this Ruby freakout is not that! That's Ruby, snapping under the strain of the pressure put on her. Even if you want to argue Ai felt similar strain… is her restraint and her grace and patience in not giving out under it not also 'real'? Why does authenticity necessitate turning Ai's ugly feelings into a spectacle? Why does Gotanda think he has the right to make calls on what is 'authentic' here?

I'd say "who died and made him king" but that's the point, isn't it? Ai died. She's not here anymore to make calls about her identity and the people who are here and who are in a position to do so aren't actually doing it with care and consideration or proper respect for her memory. This movie has been touched by so many people who have their own agendas, who did not know anything about Ai and quite frankly have no right to be making calls about who she really was and what she really felt. 15 Year Lie is an utterly ghoulish production and nobody is coming out of it clean.

[phoenixtakaramono]

I believe Cheating Men must die is a great story

It adds wonderful twists in existing tropes and genres. The protag isn't perfect but she's great, she likes eliminating assholes, which is valid

It's also interesting how Su Luxia doesn't have an identity issue since she lives under so many identities but I guess she's hardened for the job

For everyone who hasn't read Cheating Men Must Die (comic "Wan Zha Chao Huang" (万渣朝凰) by Shi Dai Man Wang (时代漫王)), this is an open invitation for y'all to read it. Genre: quick transmigration, revenge story. Basically your ex-cannon fodder MC, Su Luxia, is a System agent who transmigrates (isekais/ world hops) into the bodies of women of each world who are wronged by the Male Lead, Female Lead, another canon fodder, author, etc and changes their fate. I forgot how many chapters of the manhua there are presently but I believe the freshest ones that are still being updated in Mandarin Chinese are over 700+ chapters of art. (The MTL offers English translation, but y'all can also peep at other sites for ENG fantranslations.)

There are a couple of different summaries but I love this summary the best:

Don't you think that all cheating sc*m need to die? Su Luxia, an intern pro working in a transmigration agency, doesn't believe in that. For her, all cheating bastards need to rot in hell before they die. Or else they won't suffer the taste of their own medicine! Using elaborate means, she beats up countless cheating bastards and b*tches. Su Luxia sneers... "People take everything they get for granted. The more they get, the more they don't strive for it. An unrequited love is an example. There is always a sc*m who takes advantage. Since they brought this upon themselves..." She studies her face in the mirror and smirks, "... let them have a taste of their own medicine." System: "You're making that scary face again!" Follow our female main lead, Su Lüxia, who is bound to the Female Lead Counterattack System and transmigrates to several small worlds beating up countless sc*m.

Art bait for y'all who are still hesitating (and some of my favorite arcs, and those that'd surprised me like the arc where she transmigrated into the Second Male Lead):

RE: I have to agree! Ty for the Ask, @bernkastel11! I had a response ready for ya the day I saw this in my inbox and literally typed a long essay with links, but lo and behold tumblr ate it. 😭 But finally I have the motivation for a take 2. Honestly the manhua is a guilty pleasure of mine. The art's great (we definitely see the artist improve over time with each arc...even with the obviously borrowed assets and sometimes janky perspective, hahaha) and I love how Su Luxia is a badass femme fatale (white lotus & green tea b*tch), as well as her friendship with her cute talking hamster System. I also love how the artist is giving variety; it's not all just kicking butt, chewing bubble gum, finding romance. She's become an empress, made a friendship with the exorcist Female Lead, become a mother, led revolutions, survived a death game, became a guy, made a Male Lead yandere and obsess over her to the point of trying to hunt her down in whichever world it is, has some...questionable sapphic overtones, transmigrated into a BL novel, revisited some worlds with reoccurring characters, etc. They satirize a lot of preexisting tropes, and I love it when artists and writers have fun with the meta. I also like how they're slowly expanding on the lore of her interest with previous System agent Zero (the whole reason why Su Luxia became a System agent).

"It's also interesting how Su Luxia doesn't have an identity issue since she lives under so many identities but I guess she's hardened for the job"

The thing about QTs in general is the artist or author usually don't put much emphasis on the consequences of transmigrating so many times into other people's bodies. It's just a staple of the genre (because they're usually portrayed as badass, cunning, and OP, what have you with a strong willpower to assume all these identities, overcome challenges, and not experience dysphoria). So far I think the only writer I can think of off the top of my head that addresses it is: The Exhausting Reality of Novel Transmigration (novel / manhwa). I highly rec it. So far it is one of the few works where they explore that concept of how mentally exhausting it is adopting another person's identity as well as the consequences of "the characters" finding out (it's not your usual "oh, you hopped into my dead daughter's body and assumed her identity? Well la de dah, guess you're my daughter now." No, we're talking about the mother suspecting, finding out, being horrified, and having a mental breakdown trying to exorcise "the evil spirit" who's taken possession of her daughter's body). It also touches on the danger of an ordinary woman transmigrating into the body of a Female Lead in an R18+ novel where the Male Lead is a yandere.

Since you'd mentioned CMMD, I can give you several other links:

Cheating Men Must Die animated audio version of the first few arcs (King of the Phoenix), comes with ENG subs

Mission in Parallel 2022 Chinese short drama (it's the late 1910s socialite arc where she transmigrates as the overweight nightclub owner & wife of the abusive husband who gets seduced by a singer who's also a transmigrator), comes with ENG subs

Cheating Men Must Die (2022)(it's the arc where she transmigrates into the world where she's the villainess and the CEO Male Lead is self-aware, and the author has signed with the evil System trying to kill off Su Luxia so that she herself can transmigrate into the body of her own FL), comes with ENG subs

[homestuckreplay]

Gamer Grandma Gits Gud!

(page 419-421)

7/30/2009 Wheel Spin: Captchalogue Lore Verdict: INCORRECT

7/31/2009 Wheel Spin: Parent Bad :( Verdict: EXTREMELY INCORRECT - true answer: Grandparent Good :)

There's an absolutely overwhelming amount of stuff in only three pages and LOADS to say, so I'm going to bullet point this to keep this as brief as possible because I try to write these posts within the timeframe of a single Mountain Goats album.

Rose + Dave

Those notification bubbles above the computer really exist, in Sburb at the very least! Rose knows that Dave is wearing those stupid shades confirmed.

The command is 'Rose: Pester John.' and Rose only half obeys this - she pesters, but it isn't John. Always cool to see characters push against commands, and to have expectations subverted for the reader.

Dave acknowledges that his bro might be taking puppet irony too far, and it's Rose he chooses to tell this to, explicitly saying 'don't tell John.'

Dave's bro's ventriloquist rap doll haunts him in his dreams?? This is definitely a normal sibling dynamic and definitely not something that's going to end up being super important given the general theme of the characters having dolls in their house.

What are Dave's bro's websites and are they anything like Dave's? Does Rose think Dave's bro is cooler than he is? Is this a sticking point in their friendship?

'I suspect he is preoccupied with the fact that he just had a bucket of water dumped on his head by the ghost of his dead grandmother, who also happens to be dressed like a clown.' Fucking insane thing for Rose to say. No wonder Dave has no idea what to make of it.

John + Nanna

Nannasprite is the coolest ever. Lots of her wisdom clearly comes from being a game NPC, but she dispenses it in such a grandmotherly fashion.

Nannasprite is also the most powerful character because she never has to retrieve her arms. She has one all the time, while everyone else is sometimes drawn without them.

Very interesting dynamic that John doesn't remember his nan from before she died, and is essentially getting to know her for the first time in gamesprite form.

Absolutely hilarious bit that Nannasprite pretends not to know what a computer is.

Dad + Imps

The imps on p.421 are both clown themed and have the same bodies, but different color schemes. One is a shale imp exactly like the one John thought - the other could be a different flavor of imp who drops different loot?

John is 'a fine young man just like [his] father' according to Nanna. I sure would love to know what Dad was like when he was young.

With the new knowledge of the strife portfolio, can we assume Dad uses both cakekind and broomkind? Possibly other fatherly household objects too?

Dad was kidnapped by 'the forces of darkness,' which doesn't sound very good. The imps seem like really low level enemies though, and not deserving of this title. Who do they work for? In D&D, imps are very low level fiends who serve devils and archdevils, and I believe this comes from Christian mythology. But imps aren't typically evil in and of themselves, just mischievous lackeys, so something bigger is happening.

The Lore!!!!

The Medium - makes me think of an artistic medium, as in a type/category of art or the material used to create art, or of a medium/middle between light and darkness or good and evil.

The Incipisphere - from incipient, 'beginning to happen or develop' + sphere, a uniform three-dimensional round shape. This is interesting, because the place is 'untouched by the flow of time' but also has just come into being with the beta release of Sburb and also 'somewhat paradoxically, almost has' existed apart from it. This works because I too have had older relatives tell me confusing stories that don't make logical sense.

John is not inside a computer or digital space, the computer served as a portal to a different physical space (which is also a ring of pure void). Computer (or fiction in general) as portal to another world is a common metaphor that is being made literal here.

Sburb probably dictates how much gamesprites know and how much they're allowed to tell the player. To what extent is Nannasprite 'pre-programmed' and to what extent is she making her own decisions? Is the lore she gives John completely reliable?

[fandomfluffandfuck]

oughhh that sharper gifset u reblogged.... yknow i love that both seb and chris have characters that are mommy kink coded 🥴 max burnett and ransom drysdale anyone? now i'm thinking of both of them on their knees, one bratty baby and one subby baby (it's probably obvious who is which lol) getting edged by their shared mommy while they whine and whimper 🥵 who breaks first? who refuses to beg? these are the important questions everyone should be asking themselves 😏

(thank u mr s for having a space to entertain these horny thots 🙈)

related to this

Two things--

This fucking song

2. I have not actually seen Sharper or Knives Out, so if this is out of character or weird... that's why. I have seen enough of Ransom on Tumblr to approximate his character for my needs (👀) but I haven't seen much love for Max, so he's more of an unknown to me.

And in my quest for this answer, I have to say, I checked the Wiki for Sharper and literally had to shut my laptop for a moment after reading, "[i]t is later revealed that Madeline and Max are not mother and son, but lovers who are targeting Richard." You can't make this shit up. Max has a mommy kink the size of fucking Texas. Like. Shut up!! Fuck him!!

Max x Ransom x fem!reader under the cut. Lots of subbiness and Mommy kink, too, lol

Who's bratty? Who's just subby?

You mentioned this is obvious and it fucking is, but I still want to expand on it because Ransom is a goddamn brat, and Max--once he's trusting and has faith he's not facing another con artist who will eat him up like ice cream to a hot spoon--is the mushiest sub to ever sub.

Ransom has gotten everything he's ever wanted his entire life just be virtue of being born to wealthy parents. He has always existed in the bubble of the very upper class, enjoying generational wealth as a well of pleasure that will never run dry. So, of course, when Mommy comes into his life and he wants, it's totally new to him to have her not fold to his every desire...

And when he figures out that she won't spoil him--different from everyone else he's ever met in the most entrancing kind of way that he can't have enough of, greedy as always--he huffs and puffs, pouts and grumbles, and just generally doesn't fucking understand. He brats.

He waits hours, even days to call or text back. He turns his cheek when Mommy asks if he likes what she's wearing, huffing that it's alright. He won't admit where he wants to go on dates and doesn't know what to do with himself when she tells him to pay, jaw-dropping. He gets off with her and doesn't offer to return the favor, instead, rolling over and falling asleep (or even just pretending to fall asleep) as if he has reason to be exhausted when she does all of the work. He's so bratty he's rude but Mommy doesn't excuse his behavior. She holds him accountable. She takes his phone when they meet up, has him unlock it, and sets her messages to priority notifications so he has no excuse and she knows when he's being obtuse. She grabs his chin and makes him look at her, locking their eyes together, then dragging his chin down and up to appreciate her. She snaps at him when he can't come up with a compliment fast enough, telling him sweetly, dangerously, "you can do better, honey," when he stutters out simply, "p-pretty." She adores pushing him to blush and stagger. She chooses where they go on dates, taking Ransom places he would never choose to prove her point. You answer when Mommy asks you a question. She makes him pay and tip more than a generationally wealthy brat like him would ever dream of. She decides if she's not going to cum when they hook up because Ransom makes her, he won't either, he'll just have to hold out until he figures out how to make her orgasm or until he begs to be shown how Mommy likes to be touched.

Her dominating insistence works, and Ransom folds under pressure, but he doesn't stop bratting in the first place. He just waits until it's too much to keep going, his brain melting because he loves it but he's not going to tell that to Mommy, that will just make her all more difficult, resisting his every whim and want, and he doesn't like difficult. He likes easy. He likes being spoiled. He... conversely, really likes being made to work for it with Mommy. He has to repeat to himself before he sees her, I like to be spoiled. I like to be spoiled. I, I, I like to be spoiled, dammit! having a mini tantrum in front of his vanity mirror.

Max, as mentioned, needs some time to warm up, he knows the cards he holds up his own sleeve at all times, but he doesn't know that of others always. He's a pretty decent card counter, but he's learned the hard way that there are people who are better at it than him, and not everyone is playing with the same set of cards or abiding by the same rules. So he's careful. He has to be, he can't be collared with his head in the hands of every beautiful, strong woman he meets (as much as he might like to be).

The minute he warms up from a block of ice, he's melting into a puddle...

He will do anything for Mommy.

Any ask she could possibly have.

His favorite thing, though, if he had to pick himself, is being ordered around like a personal servant. When Mommy snaps and points at the floor, waiting expectantly until his knees hit the floor and he hurriedly starts the process of undoing her shoes, slipping them off her feet and kissing his way from the tops of her feet up her legs, shins, knees, thighs, inner thighs, pus-- God, he leaves his body, shuddering under the weight of his lust. He loves being useful for Mommy. He will eagerly fetch Mommy's more comfortable clothes so she can slip out of her work clothes, letting her sit, reclined on the bench of Mommy's house's entryway while he skitters away. He will watch Mommy sigh as she pulls off her bra, and moan when she flicks it over toward him, tossing it over his face, and allowing him the luxury of touching her undergarments. He will learn her favorite cocktails and liquors, mixing her drinks at her request. He will be her mirror, adjusting her hair or telling her when her makeup has smeared or worn off or being a sturdy pillar to hold while she slips into heels or literally fucking anything. He will be anything. He just wants to be hers.

He wants to be good for Mommy more than he wants oxygen.

And Mommy, of course, uses him up. Who would she be to deny him, such a sweet little submissive?

Before Ransom and Max meet each other and learn how to get along, Mommy's favorite days are spent bouncing between them. The contrast is so satisfying. She spent the previous night with Max, getting off so many times that her legs turn to jello and she physically can't cum anymore with his wicked, thoroughly servicing mouth and cock and hands, has a slow morning with her precious, desperately good boy, letting him cook for her and allowing him to assist her in getting dressed. Then, she has him leave and she goes out to find Ransom. Max is an immediate hit; Ransom is an exercise in patience. Mommy wears him down throughout lunch and into dinner. By the time the dessert course comes, Ransom is whimpering under his breath, needy and broken open.

Who breaks first?

You would think it would be Max. But actually, I don't think Max breaks first simply for the fact that he doesn't actually break in a scene unless you count the moment his eyes roll back in pleasure when Mommy finally decides he can have an orgasm. The thing is, really, that Max is already broken going in. That's how fucking soft and subby he is. He doesn't need to be broken. He gives in, easily without any rigidity, so there's nothing to put tension into and snap.

All Mommy does is tell him his place, reminding him of it oh-so softly, and he's already done for.

Ransom, however, holds more than enough rigidity to store up the tension until he breaks. He doesn't just break, though. He doesn't even snap. When he breaks, he shatters. Scattering into a million tiny pieces that beg to be mocked and dominated in a way only Mommy can provide.

So, Max doesn't break. He doesn't have a bone in his body to fracture, he's already just a puddle. But Ransom does.

Ransom breaks much, much later than before the beginning of a scene. It takes him well into the scene, probably even more than halfway through on a typical day.

But...

At some point, he gets worn down, affected not only by the mouth-watering rough, unforgiving treatment Mommy gives him but also so deeply aroused seeing how good Max is getting it. Max is an example--when all three of them are together or when blackmail-worthy pictures, voice notes/voicemails, or videos are shared between them--of perfect obedience. Max is good. And Max is rewarded for not pushing back, only being pushed in the direction Mommy wants him to go. He folds. He bends over backwards. He does anything. No matter how embarrassing or confidence-building. Simple or complex. Sexual or not.

Watching the way Max moves, the way he shudders, the way he obeys... Ransom understands what Mommy sees in him and in Max. He understands the urge to dom, suddenly. He's a brat but he has no real compulsion to dom in the bedroom--he thought he did, maybe once, but faced with a real dom like Mommy?

God.

He doesn't want it.

He wants what Max has.

What Max gets for being a good boy.

He wants to shatter apart, whining, whimpering, and getting rewarded.

He wants the same treatment. He wants Mommy to be nice to him. He wants to deserve it. What can he do to make it up to Mommy? He needs to know! And that's the moment he breaks, his eyes opening wide from their challenging squint to get big, watery, and begging.

Who refuses to beg?

With relation to all of that-? ^ You know what I'm about to say.

Ransom.

The brat won't beg until he's damn well ready to. He's a stubborn little bitch until he's not. When he isn't, though, the floodgates open and he begs to the point that he doesn't even know what he's begging for. Predictably, his begging does always, always, always start with begging for forgiveness. And by the end, he just might be begging for mercy... it depends on what Mommy has in store for him and how far she wants to push him once she has him in her grasp.

But, also, he conveniently always seems to forget, in moments when he's not broken--shattered into submissive pieces of a fine, expensive porcelain vase that was dropped on the floor--that he does beg. He prances around like he's too proud to beg and has remained that way as if he's never been ground down to a puddle next to Max, just the same spilled, boneless shape. Max is ice that's melted, easy and common, but still so divine and exciting, while Ransom is rock, needing higher heat and pressure before succumbing to his true nature.

So, most of the time when Ransom does start begging... it ends up on film. And whenever he starts to feel too proud, Mommy sends him a little text. Audio or video of him moaning, "pleasepleasepleaspleasepleaseplease, Mommy, mommyyyy, please!" Hardly taking a breath to gasp, all urgent and thoughtless.

Mommy also uses those same clips to torture Max, though. Don't worry. He's not left out.

Max will absolutely beg if Mommy requests, he'll beg for the most embarrassing of things just because she says so--beg to be allowed to go to the bathroom, beg to be allowed to smell her panties after she's ruined them with wetness, beg to be allowed to move, etc.--but usually he doesn't say much of anything. When he's floating high or swimming deep in subspace, he tends to go super spacy and nonverbal. The best he can do is moan, gasp, or whimper. Words get too hard. And he's too easy and simple.

He's so easy and simple just a little clip of Ransom at his most desperate will send him into a spiral, the sound playing loud and clear through his Airpods, leaving him slouching wherever he stands, knees weak, eyes glazing over, and skin blushing the cutest pink.

Yeahhh...

Mommy's boys.

(Okay, okay, okay, one last song, this one is a little harsher and probably much more of Ransom's vibe than Max's but it still fucks)

(Fine, okay, I'm actually done now)

[highfantasy-soul]

maybe I'm just projecting my own stuff onto The Acolyte, but it's kinda frustrating seeing people take Qimir's "I don't wanna follow the jedi's rules" and see that his interpretation is "I can do whatever I want even if it hurts people" and stop there. Safe and comfortable in their bubble of "so that means anyone against the jedi are like him and the jedi, once again, are prefect and above reproach!"

Qimir is the person who chafes against the Jedi's rules that we see - because those without power or strength have already been crushed underfoot.

It's similar to the whole idea of "Why are all the gays so angry and mean? Because you killed all the nice ones, so us angry mean ones are all that's left"

Just because what Qimir is doing is wrong, doesn't make what the Jedi do right. There's nuance here. There's ethnic cleansing here. There's re-education and generational trauma here.

We NEVER see the witches do anything remotely evil. Yet the Jedi chased them out of the galaxy and forbade them from teaching their culture to children. Do you know what that's called? Ethnic cleansing. It happened to indigenous children all over the world, and you can see it specifically in boarding schools for native american children. Tribal cultures were squashed - their children stolen and re-educated to fit the white standard and forbidden from speaking their native language, wearing their hair in their indigenous ways, and worshiping they way they had for generations. (Notable here is the fact that due to WHITE people's over-hunting of bison and whales, indigenous people were legally barred from hunting them as well - something that was very integral to their practices. White people caused the problem and indigenous people's cultures suffered all the while white people get to act all holy and 'eco-friendly' about it)

To place your culture above that of others and force everyone else to either adhere to your ways or do their thing quietly in the dark where no one can see them - and no children can exist - is BAD. The point is to remove a culture from existence as no new members can be taught traditional ways. That is a part of ethnic cleansing. (Stealing indigenous babies from their families and placing them with white, christian families where they'll never see people from their birth culture again is a whole ass thing)

This also causes a lot of generational harm where those who have been 're-educated' from a culture sometimes look down on their native family and see them as 'less civilized, savage, backward, and less-than' the white culture they were indoctrinated in as children. That's the point of getting children so young - they're malleable and raise them with enough propaganda, and you can get them to look their own family in the face and denounce them.

Many will not have the power to fight back, so they'll have to abide by the new rules and everyone will say "see? they're still alive! That means we're not oppressive!" But others will speak truth to power and try to stand in defiance of those rules - many peacefully, just by embracing their native traditions. Did the witches attack the Jedi? No. They removed themselves from the Republic sphere of influence and bore children. Yet the Jedi still came and told them they weren't allowed and forced them to 'present' their children for Jedi judgment.

Does that mean every aspect of a culture that's not the majority is automatically going to be good? No. But NO culture is 100% good. Why do the Jedi get to work towards being better while no one else gets that opportunity? Why are minority cultures held to an impossible standard of perfection while the majority gets to skate by training child soldiers, stealing toddlers, and enforcing their religion on the whole galaxy?

When you push other cultures down, the ones who rise up in violent opposition aren't going to be nice about it. But note how even though Qimir's actions are awful, he only ever has killed enemy combatants. The Jedi are soldiers, cops, invaders. They are able to perform state-sanctioned violence against anyone they choose (not sure if it was intentional, but look how they treated those arrested for crimes in episode 1 - none of those people had gotten trials yet, none had been proven guilty, but they were treated as guilty without a second thought).

We understand Frank Castle's motivations even if we don't condone them - because he's fighting back against incredible systems of power that hurt people and he doesn't see another way to hold them accountable. To me, Qimir (and Mae and the witches) fall closer to that category than Vader or Palpatine.

Look at how quick people were to scream that the witches were brainwashing Osha, yet ignore how the Jedi do practically the same. Now imagine if the witches went around to children only 4 years old throughout the galaxy and tried to get them to come join the coven - never to see their families again. It'd be horrifying. Yet the Jedi do the same, but because it's the 'majority', it's 'the norm', we assume it must be right because "Hey, the Jedi are the good guys!"

Idk, I think the Acolyte is doing a wonderful job of 'not taking sides' and just presenting each side's arguments without judgment rather than saying 'so they're right and you should side with them'. To me, NO side is 'right', they're all just people and the situations are messy. Qimir might be wrong, but so are the jedi - just because Qimir is wrong, doesn't mean that the jedi are automatically right and above reproach.

There are others suffering under jedi rule that have long been snuffed out or subjugated so fully that it will take the rise of the empire in order for them to have the space to stand up again. And I think dismissing those people because 'Qimir is worse' is a disservice to the message and discussions the acolyte is trying to promote.

[hypexion]

Dot and Bubble turned out to be much more than what the trailer offered, yet still I will post my list of words next to dots.

First up, in spite of it all, the episode is not escaping the "social media bad" allegations. More on that later

The core concept of the Doctor having to remotely guide someone out of a situation is excellent. Very Blink, but in real-time

The idea of being surrounded by a danger you're unaware of until someone reveals it is also pretty rad. And slightly terrifying

Like the scene where Lindy de-bubbles outside and loads of people are being eaten is messed up

Sadly I think it goes a little too far in having Lindy being unable to walk in a straight line without the bubble. I'm pretty sure that's not even how walking works

You could force the re-bubbling just by making it so she doesn't know the way out of the building. Then in the Plaza 55 scene just have her freak out and freeze because she's surrounded by scary monsters

The problem is that suddenly Lindy is capable of basic motor skills after a few minutes anyway so what was even the point

Also the Dots wanting to kill everyone felt kind of stupid to me for complex meta reasons. Social media might not have your best interests in mind, but the way it which it does so is not homicidal. It in fact needs you alive

The first big twist was pretty brutal. Surprise! The perky idiot was in fact evil!

This actually also clashes with Lindy previously being incapable of all thought since her plan requires fairly decent critical thinking skills to combine several pieces of information and to predict how revealing Ricky September's previous name might save her

This theoretically serves as the final hint of the other twist unless you already worked it out: The Finetimers are all racist. So much so that they walk off into the wilderness to die horribly

wow Ncuti Gatwa puts his all into that Doctor Speech

but there's a but

While it is good that the topic was not avoided, flattening all racist down into a vauge "wow look at those stupid racists" is not an amazing way to handle it?

There are smart bigots of all kinds and they are often the most dangerous ones

It also sort of glosses over how exactly Finetime is benefitting from whatever inequitable society they have

The audience reaction here is also not particularly inspiring here even on the things that aren't Fridge Horror

Some people are saying "woah the Finetimers didn't deserve to be saved" which is essentially not just missing the text of this episode but the entirety of Doctor Who. The Doctor's ethos is that everyone deserves to be saved. If the Daleks get mercy so does everyone else

Also what's going in this episode is genocide

And it gets worse. The episode shows us a very specific slice of the Finetimer's culture. They are directly stated to be the children of the rich upperclass.

The concept of a rich privileged elite only makes sense if the is an underclass from which the elite are distinct

Lindy is reflexively dismissive of the Doctor, and acts as if he should be obligated to help her, but she isn't surpised to see him. So whatever group Lindy thinks the Doctor is part of still existed when she moved to Finetime.

Therefore, I think it's incredibly likely that in addition to the rich racists, the Dots also murdered the entirety of Homeworld's underclass, for the "crime" of being that underclass.

So did the Dots turn against their creators for principled reasons, or did they simply absorb the values of the culture that created them, with the only difference being that they put themselves at the top of the hierarchy?

anyhow I think it would have been more messed up if Lindy realised "yeah we aren't going to make it" and abandoned the other Finetimers, while still being exactly as evil, bigoted and self-centered as she was before. Hell have her lie to the others that she's going to wait for more survivors then turn around and say "so what are we waiting for lets gooooo" in her airhead voice

[glorianas]

its actually so maddening seeing how feminism has degenerated on this site which is supposedly the sjw cesspool. even the most lukewarm takes of women in power, women who don't need men, women who are confident etc are immediately dismissed with "girlboss feminism" "media hates feminine women" "why are you implying men might have faults what are you a terf?" its maddening.

its called libfem its called white feminism which just waters those very real terms down. okay so we dont like lukewarm feminism. what feminism do we like? a harder feminism? oh thats radfem thats terf. speaking of men as a class is terfy. speaking of patriarchy as systemic is misandry. its maddening!!!!!

its horrific in leftist circles. its like they learned of class and marxist materialism and decided "oh, so class is the REAL problem and every other discourse is just idpol" gender is idpol, race is idpol. are you all brain dead? what happened to intersectionality? have any of you even interacted with feminism beyond picking it apart?? sorry for the tirade but holy shit. MADDENING!

it is actually driving me to madness, like i genuinely feel jokerfied over the past seven years or so, it's people who learned half of social theory and just ran away with it even though it makes no sense, like it is honestly very, very much a result of people On Here who live in certain bubbles and if they can't see it it doesn't exist, like oh you live a life where you've never seriously encountered misogyny? well that's great it is very very much not the case for large parts of the world

YEAH that's absolutely the problem here, if everyone rejects "liberal feminism" then what's the next step? everything else is considered evil terf ideology, so then we just come to the result of no feminism allowed, and it's particularly wild to see people think they just magically arrived at this idea as if we haven't been dealing with extreme misogynistic hate group that have very far reaching influence and it may have affected them too

it is SO funny how class focused people have just decided that is a default way to be, yeah working class white men don't have kind of identity politics you're SO right that is so true, that's exactly how a group of those people would behave, they are all committed communists actually, they'd never put the social power their race and gender gives them over the idea of class unity that's why we achieved a perfect classless society hundreds of years ag-oh wait