#though I've been giving it a lot of thought

[reasonsforhope]

There's a saying my dad taught me, that I've found is very true in life:

The antidote to anxiety is action.

If you're like me, you're probably anxious right now. And scared. And quite probably angry. About climate change, about the Palestinian genocide, about Donald fucking Trump.

That only makes sense. It hurts to find out that people aren't as good as you thought, or hoped. It hurts to know how much better we could be doing, and then see all the ways in which we aren't doing that. It hurts to know that people are going to die.

This is something I've been grappling with myself since the US election. I had hopes that were higher than this, and I had reasons for those hopes, but in several spheres, those hopes have been disappointed.

That's not a reason to give up, though. It's not a reason to give up on the world, on yourself, on your life, or on hope.

The antidote to anxiety is action.

(Nobody is allowed to interpret this statement as being about/against psych meds btw. Meds are great and help a lot of people. But this isn't about them.)

Fear and anxiety exist for a reason: to warn us when there is a threat. And to motivate us to do something about that threat.

That's why, the more you push anxiety down down down, the worse it tends to get.

Your brain - your self - is telling you that something is wrong, and that you need to do something about it.

So listen. And find something you can do to help. Anything.

It will make you feel better, I promise. Maybe not right away, but it will.

And the more you do to help, the more you'll see the difference it can make. The more you're surrounded by people who are also helping, who also care. The more you'll see more and more ways to help.

Look up organizations near you - especially organizations that help protect the groups that are most vulnerable right now: undocumented people, immigrants, trans people, BIPOC, queer people, Muslims, Jewish people, disabled people, unhoused people.

Find someone who is helping, and find a way to help them.

The more we do to help each other, the more we organize, the more we resist fascism and work to beat climate change and make those fuckers pay for every. last. fucking. inch...

The more we will change. The more people we will protect and save.

We're stronger together. So find something you can do. And do it.

[taffywabbit]

I've been thinking about this song a lot again since yesterday, and if you'll indulge me in being overly wordy and a bit sentimental, I kinda wanna share some of my thoughts here:

so I alluded to this a bit while rambling on bluesky earlier, but early in the process of composing this song I REALLY wanted it to have lyrics. I tried writing some, and having looked at them again this morning, frankly they're kinda garbage and I stand by my decision to scrap them and let the music just speak for itself. but I only really wanted to write lyrics in the first place because I got ONE specific line (and subsequently a chorus, or at least one version of it) stuck in my head and wanted the rest of the song to kinda revolve around it.

the scrapped verses were sorta loosely about how, when you're younger, you tend to have a very straightforward and simple sense of optimism and justice - kids generally believe that things WILL just work out somehow, and often have surprisingly obvious and on-point responses when they learn about societal issues, but adults will often talk down to them and tell them they just don't understand how the real world works yet. and as you get older, that optimism gets conflated heavily with childlike naivety and kinda gets metaphorically beaten out of a lot of people over time, until they're just kinda consigned to the status quo and thinking of societal problems being too large/permanent for them to fix or influence.

this song was meant to embody a sense of rebellious optimism - a stubborn belief that we have a say in the kind of world we live in, and furthermore that our inner child would never forgive us for shrugging and giving up now that we're finally Adults and Adults are supposed to be the ones with the power to actually Fix Things. it was meant to evoke some nostalgia too, sure - thus the title "Grass Stains", which came from the scrapped first verse about childhood, and also just the general musical style being reminiscent of pop punk music I really liked as a kid and still tend to associate with summertime and old video games from that era. but more than that, I wanted to convey the idea that, sooner or later, we have to stop waiting for the Adults to decide how to fix things and get a hand on the ball ourselves; the idea that growing up should empower us, not make us cynical and detached and too tired to care anymore.

anyways, I will spare you most of the unfinished lyrics because I really do promise they're not interesting or good at all, but here's the chorus part and the specific last line that I was really fixated on back then and (for reasons that are probably not hard to imagine) thinking a lot about again now:

you keep pacing

so sullenly facing

away from the task left to you

why can't you see it?

if you want hope, then be it

those gears aren't just going to move

you gotta change the world, before it changes you

so yeah. shit's rough out there right now. shit's been rough for a while and it's gonna continue being rough for the foreseeable future. like I mentioned in the original caption, i wrote this song when I was feeling pretty awful (both mentally and physically, actually - I'm pretty sure I had covid for the second time when I made this lol) and needed something to perk up my mood, and it... kinda worked honestly? and now when I listen to it again I still kinda get a boost from it, especially if I let myself think back to the original message I was trying to imbue it with. it's hard for me to feel totally hopeless or unmotivated while I'm listening to it, and I hope that energy sorta comes through for other people too (though I would obviously be just as happy that people like the music I made anyways, without deeper context or ideas attached to it).

I guess i just wanna say this: remember that the world's gonna change one way or another, but your contributions to it are never meaningless, and their absence would be felt. and you also have the power to embolden and support those around you to become a stronger force for good together. the only real way to fail in all of this is to give up and lay down and let whatever happens wash over you, to believe them when they treat you like you're too small to be a threat or a challenge. and even if you don't believe your efforts matter to anyone else, let them matter to you. if you want hope, then be it. strive to be a force for good in spite of all opposition, and that goodness will in turn continue to propel you forwards.

ok I think that's about as sappy I can stand to be, I'm going to bed lol

hey i finished a new song!! check it out!!

my prompt for starting this was essentially "i'm in a bad mood and i want to make music that'll fix that". apparently what that translated to was whatever genre "music that would make 9-year-old me think they could do a backflip off the swings at the park" is, but like... it DID cheer me up? so, mission accomplished? i hope you enjoy it too!

♫ made with OpenMPT! ✎ cover art by me!

[yoru-exe]

PHAINON ۫ ꣑ৎ woe of a hero

"we were just about to leave marmoreal market when the big bad guys blocked our path. they were everywhere!", the boy recounted his story with so much vigor. thankfully, your young patient didn't move too much for you to attend to his sprained ankle.

under your makeshift medical tent, the wounded were resting as they waited for the heirs to provide their needed assistance managing the damage left by nikador's titankins. a lot of building and materialistic goods were affected, but so far, you've only observed minor injuries.

"but then mr. chartonus came and helped us! i wanted to go back but now that my ankle is sprained..".

"chartonus is in a good state, you have nothing to fear", phainon suddenly appeared behind you, and the boy's eyes widened with delight.

"lord phainon!".

you kept your composure but truth be told, you're as delighted as he was, if not more. you've been waiting all day for your lover to stop by with no avail. part of you were happy that perhaps he's not in any urgent need for your care. another part of you were worried sick if something had happened to him.

the boy and his mother excused themselves right after you completed your treatment to find their savior to thank him. now that you had your attention undivided on phainon, you moved to inspect him. but before you get to do anything, phainon grabbed your face by the chin and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips.

"i wanted to come by sooner. but the market was in a bad shape and i can't just turn a blind eye. tribbie told me you're unharm, but still, i apologise for making you wait".

your legs felt weak. if it wasn't for his strong arms wrapped around your body, you would have fallen. but you managed to shake your head, "i'm glad you're alright".

when you caught what you just said, your attention was pulled back to his state, "did you sustain any injury?". the hero chuckled. he loved how attentive you were to your responsibility even though you could've just bask in each others' presence and forget about the world for a moment.

"i received a few, although nothing too serious. i've patched them up, but it'd be great if you could have a look at the ones on my back. i can't quite reach them by myself". you nodded and rushed to gather a fresh supply of medical equipments. when you returned, your lover was halfway stripping the top part of his clothes, making you jump.

he tilted his head with an unspoken question, and you mentally kicked yourself to recenter your focus on the task at hand.

as you fell into the rhythm of your work, you noticed how phainon had been uncharacteristically quiet. you decided to give him a moment. after all, the holy city that ought to be the safest haven just received a heavy attack. he must be shaken to an extent.

your worry resurfaced when his silence persisted even after you finished. he didn't even notice you've moved yourself to stand in front of him.

gently, you cupped his face in your palms, caressing his skin, careful not to startled him.

"o-oh, hey".

"hey yourself. is everything alright?".

he forced a smile, trying to reassure you that it wasn't concerning enough for you to worry about, but knowing you, you'd probably see pass his deception. he looked away, sighing, "just a few things on my mind".

he stopped himself there, and you took it as a sign that he's not ready to open his worry up to you, yet. it's something you've grown to respect. you couldn't begin to imagine the burden he carries as the prophesised saviour of the world. the least you could do was comfort him, even if just a little bit.

you closed the gaps between the two of you, embracing him close to your heart. "you can confine in me when you're ready. i'll always be here".

he was unresponsive for a moment, letting your words sink in. then, he wrapped his arms around your body. the tightness didn't hurt in any manner, but it's apparent how desperate he was, as if trying not to drown in his own dark thoughts with you as his anchor.

there were a thousand things he could say in reply. he could even began to sing an ode to your love or recite a romantic poem or two (you know by experience he would), but he simply said, "thank you", pressing his face deeper into your embrace. you could feel his lips stretching to form a smile, a peaceful one this time.

your slowly swayed with him still in your hold. relief filled your system to the sound of his laughter which made you smile yourself.

"do you know how much i love you?"

"do enlighten me, if you'd be so kind", you leaned down to meet his lips halfway. this time, he took his time to savour it with only you in his mind.

"i wish i could just stay here", he exhaled. "do you think aglaea will be mad if i'm not out there playing hero?".

"oh i think she'll lose her mind". to that, the both of you shared a laughter.

he excused himself when an elderly women seek your medical assistance, but not before he promised to stop by again later. you watched his wide back, the hero so strong-bodied, yet his heart was so tender. silently, you sent him a prayer for a safe return.

✿ AUTHOR'S NOTE ✿

boy oh boy, this man sure YAPS. anywho, i only managed to watch bits and pieces of the playthrough as of now so please forgive me for any canon details that i missed. i also would like to note that i do not think our beloved snowy is tired of being a hero, just a little overwhelmed at times, so please don't take this too seriously

[eshithepetty]

So. It's been said before that Mob has this compulsive thing where he looks at his hand when he's thinking about his powers. But I've wanted for a While now to compile exactly when and how much he does this, so!! Here's exactly a post for that ^^

Starting with the very 1st episode of Season 1, here he looks at his hand while Reigen's spiel about him not using his powers to use against others plays in his head. At this point in the story, we don't really understand the full gravity of these words, and what they mean to Mob - really, they sound more like the obvious usual advice that a psychic mentor would give. But from Mob's percentage rising (tho most people won't know what the percentage means at this point in the story), as well as him generally sitting on this advice, we can tell that a nerve has been struck.

Then comes season 1 episode 3. This is technically the same exact shot, but I still decided to include it both because it's still technically a different instance, and also, because of the new information we learn in this episode, we can look at this shot with a different context. Namely, that we now know what Mob's percentage means, and that his powers are connected to his emotions, which is why he stifles both in fear of hurting people as Reigen warned him of. It turns from impersonal advice to a Very personal and real concern. Though the biggest reason for why he fears his powers is still unknown at this point... (though we are made aware of the other reason - fear of social ostracization).

Ough... here comes season 1 episode 5. The shot of him looking at his hand, the one that makes it abundantly clear exactly what he is imagining and thinking back to when he does this. He's remembering the literal blood on his hands... fuck me.

Then are these shots from the same episode. The hands are covered by a towel, so this one is less obvious, but by his sight line and the conversation that he just had with Ritsu - about the incident, and what he did to him - it's obvious that's where his eyes are set. And now compared to episode 3, we know exactly why he hates and fears his powers so much. Why he thinks these hands are dangerous...

Season 1 episode 10, another repeat shot - this time from the psychically induced flashback he suffers at the hands of Muto. I still think the 100% rejection scene is so underrated - imagine being forced to relive the most traumatic event of your life, especially considering he usually avoids thinking about it.. god, the way he just screams and sobs is so upsetting.. though I do wonder what exactly Muto saw when Mob reversed the illusion on him.

This one's from season 1 episode 11, and it's a lot more innocuous than the rest - he's just checking that his psychic powers indeed don't work in this cursed room. But it's still him looking at his hand and thinking about his powers, so I decided to include it. (though I will say, there is a fanfic opportunity somewhere in here about combining the fact that, apparently, there exist curses that can surpress psychic powers, and Mob's desire to do just that... maybe one day I will get to it)

Now we jump to season 2! Episode 3. God, this is still one of the most intriguing scenes of this show to me... here, along with the fear of potentially having to hurt his clients, Mob is thinking a lot of things - among them, for the first time considering not only that he can hurt innocent people with these hands, but also innocent spirits. And the fact that he had been exorcising spirits, essentially killing these beings that are as close to him as living humans are, for years... I just love this episode. And as one commenter on Youtube pointed out, in season 2 episode 1, he made a promise to himself to consider his feelings more - and his feelings are innately tied to his powers. Thus, opening his eyes to his feelings also made him open his mind to the ethics of how he is using his powers, and whether following Reigen along on all these jobs without thought is truly what he should be doing. This is a big part of why I fully support him deciding to not work for Reigen post-finale - he needs to figure out how he feels about his powers without using them as tools to get profit (well. Not so much profit for him, and there's certainly value he gained from this job besides that - such as being able to at least use and express his powers somewhat, along with the relationship he gained with Reigen - but point still stands. It's healthy for him to be able to think these things through without that). Plus, I personally like to imagine he grows more sympathetic to spirits as he grows up and isn't anymore too keen on him destroying them being his job. But ramble aside...

Here comes mogami arc! Season 2 episode 5. As the subtitles say, in contrast to all other times he's been agonising over being too powerful, here, he's regretful over not being strong enough (plus, I like how Mogami has basically redefined what strength means for Mob in this fabricated world. Where in the real one, strength for Mob means sticking it to your morals and being able to resolve things peacefully, here it's... kinda the opposite..). Also, what's interesting here is that he still looks to his hand here, despite having all his memories of his powers and the incident erased from his mind. I guess it's just that deep-seated...

Same episode. This one is kind of debatable, but he certainly looks like he's rising his hand to look at it. Thus, I'm including it. Plus, it has thematic relevance to the incident. As he is saying here, in this world, he truly hasn't done anything malicious or dangerous that could warrant people treating him as the enemy, yet here they are. I could imagine, that, somewhere in the back of his mind, he is feeling like he's forgetting something...

Season 2 episode 10. Here he just woke up and immediately whooped ass with his powers. Also more innocuous, he's just confused, but still looking at his hand, so. Here it remains.

Season 2 episode 12 - this one's also kind of a oddball, since for once, he's not really thinking about his powers, but rather Serizawa's, and what they reveal about the man's feelings- but I thought it was close enough at him looking at his hand. Besides, I think it's sweet that this is one of the first times he uses his powers to empathise, to connect with someone (we see him do so again while trying to take in Toichiro's powers, as well as in the Alien arc, notably), so I'm including it for its thematic relevance.

Now onto season 3 episode 1! There's a really good post explaining this one (as well as the ghost family scene instance) here, but to summarise, here, Mob is thinking back to his powers and instances of him hurting people - making mistakes - and how he never learns. Never changes. Not enough... just like with the 100% sadness scene, it's just so sad that he thinks this one instance of his powers getting the best of him has ruined him for life. That he can't afford to make mistakes... buddy, you're 14 years old. A child. Making mistakes is part of growing up, part of being human :( But I'm guesing he doesn't always see himself as fully human does he ...

And then. Season 3 episode 10. Ough... This is just all his worst fears becoming reality. He's hurt Hanazawa, again. He's hurting his loved ones, again. He's monstrous and dangerous, again... All these years of repression have just led him back to square one and below - to bloodied hands once more. But this was inevitable. He couldn't have continued looking at those hands and fearing them.. he needed to face himself. Look that trauma in the eyes. And say: that's not all I am. I did that, those hands are mine, I am capable of hurting, but it's not all I am. I am capable of changing.... and he does!! Reverting once doesn't erase all the good he has achieved and all the growth he has experienced. But fact remains, that before you heal the wound you heal the wound, you need to clean it first. And it will hurt... but he gets there. He gets there.

So to finish on a lighter note! The ending of season 3!! This one makes me so happy, because, as opposed to all these other scenes where he's looking to his hand with turmoil and anguish in his heart, here, it's the opposite! He's smiling!! He's confident!! He's becoming surer of himself every day!!! He no longer sees his powers as a curse!!!! It's a promise, that eventually, he manages to deal with all the trauma and achieve a happy ending. It's just his hand, and his hands can hold instead of harm. It's just so sweet. I love him and his character development so, so much.... <3

In conclusion: he looks at his hand a total of 14 times - 12, if we exclude repeat shots. And I just think it's fascinating, how we can follow his development throughout these instances. So I hope that this was interesting for you to read as well, and that you all have good days out there <3 Toodles :)

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I haven't seen the London special—and I don't want to—but I've read the plot and something just occurred to me.

Why did Bunnyx need Ladybug's help? Why couldn't Bunnyx have figured things out and fixed the timeline herself? I know only the 14-year-old Bunnyx was left, but that gives her ample time to do SOMETHING.

According to Marinette, she believes that the Rabbit Miraculous is actually the most powerful of all the miraculouses. That means a whole lot of responsibility, which she gave to Alix when she let her keep the Rabbit Miraculous PERMANENTLY.

So, why didn't Alix just fix the timelines herself? She was the Present Alix, which means nothing has happened to her at the moment. She could've brainstormed her way into figuring out what happened, who it is, and stopped them herself.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like if you give someone a miraculous that YOU YOURSELF BELIEVE IS THE MOST POWERFUL MIRACULOUS, YOU'D GIVE IT TO SOMEONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY WORK BY THEMSELVES???

And it's not like I'm saying Alix can't ask for help, but it just feels like her first thought was: "I gotta get Ladybug!" And not "Oh my God, the timelines are changing, I have to figure out who it is!"

If Alix is going to run to Ladybug every time the timeline changes, why give her the responsibility of making sure nothing happens to the timeline in the first place??? If it's going to be like that, Ladybug might as well have just kept the Rabbit Miraculous herself, since it seems like she'll be the one shouldering the job anyway.

The show's obsession with making Marinette do everything herself has created massive flaws in the narrative and makes a ton of characters look bad - or at least poorly suited to their hero role - because they generally default to only doing what Marinette tells them to do. The show will even go out of its way to punish characters when they take initiative. If your name isn't Marinette, then initiative is always, always punished. And if your name is Marinette? Then it depends on the writers' mercurial whims and not anything even remotely resembling logic.

Alya suffers the the initiative = bad curse all the time like in Optigami where she decides to take the turtle to the day's fight even though she was only told to take the fox and the bee:

Rena Rouge: Mirage! (an illusion of Ladybug is created) And voila! A cool little Ladybug illusion to keep Style Queen busy while I'll… (Rena Rouge looks at the Turtle Miraculous container on the Miracle Box and takes the Miraculous) Longg: Did the guardian ask you to do that? Rena Rouge: Just a precaution.

This should have been Alya's moment to shine. A moment where she took initiative and it paid off, showing Marinette that she could trust others to make their own calls. Instead, this choice is painted as Alya being blinded by her love for Nino and leads to Shadow Moth almost getting the turtle because he just so happened to make a perfect clone of Nino and Alya unknowingly gave the clone the turtle. (Why does this show love evil twins so much? This is basically a the same plot as the season four final. Get a new gimmick! This one is just dumb.)

Even more annoyingly, the one who unmasks sentiNino isn't his girlfriend, it's Ladybug even though the thing that exposes sentiNino is something unique to Nino and Alya:

Ladybug: I guess it was only here to help repair everything. (looks confused when she sees her compact mirror) (Sentinino gives Alya a simple hi-five) (Ladybug remembers Alya and Nino's special hi-five in a flashback) Ladybug: (looks at both of them with curious look) We're gonna have to be a lot more careful now. Shadow Moth knows the identities of some of the people I have given a miraculous and apparently he's decided to use this information. (looks at Sentinino) Isn't that right, Shadow Moth? (Alya becomes shocked, and Sentinino panicks as he got exposed) Ladybug: I'm sorry Alya, you better move away from him. This isn't Nino, it's a Sentimonster. Alya: Huh? (gasps)

It's Alya and Nino's special handshake!!! Alya should be the one to figure it out, not Ladybug!!! Writers, stop this! Let Marinette have competent allies! She's not suddenly less cool if other people are useful! Also, stop making love a bad thing! Alya and Marinette both suffer every time they're open with their love interest and I hate it. Whatever happened to romantic love being a good thing?

Anyway, all of the Optigami nonsense leads to an ending that makes zero sense:

Alya: Shadow Moth almost unmasked you because of me. I should have never taken the Turtle Miraculous. Marinette: It's true, you did make a mistake, and that's why I'm gonna have to make a difficult decision. The most important thing is to learn from our mistakes. And today, I learned that I need an ally who can replace me in case something happens to me one day. (hands Alya the Fox Miraculous) From now on, you will keep the Miraculous of the Fox with you, and I'm gonna tell you everything I know.

This ending does not fit the episode in the slightest. Why does Alya's failure make her promotion material? How was the turtle even a failure when it would have been fine if that was really Nino? How was anyone supposed to tell that wasn't Nino when the peacock is so stupidly overpowered? It's so dumb!

This episode should have been Alya earning her promotion by being awesome, taking initiative, and noticing things Marinette didn't. What is the point of having a reporter who never notices things? Why does Marinette decide to give Alya secret knowledge and a full-time miraculous in an episode that was all about Shadow Moth almost winning because he knows the temp heroes' identities? Why does nothing about this show make sense? Writers, what are you doing???

The saddest thing about this Marinette-first approach is that it's not even making Marinette look good. This goes beyond the asinine "Marinette must always be wrong" rule. The problem here is that the narrative has made many of the secondary characters feel incredibly important. As a result, the audience naturally expects those characters to have important roles. When those character are then denied the roles that they should have, the audience gets angry and the anger usually gets directed at Marinette. For many viewers, it feels like she's hogging the spotlight and denying herself help even thought those things are poorly thought-out choices made by the writers and not intentional flaws that are meant to be part of Marinette's character.

I know one person whose favorite character is Alix, Alya is one of mine, and a huge portion of the fandom loves Adrien. All characters who should have been allowed to shine, but who got shoved to the side in favor of Marinette. The casual watcher is not going to blame the writing for that. They're going to get mad at Marinette because she's basically the avatar of the bad writing, forced to do the most asinine things so that she maintains the spotlight even if it's slowly killing her character while making every other character look pathetic and/or ineffectual.

[infiniteglitterfall]

crib sheet for those not in the know:

the subtext of these twitter comments is that any mention of Israel, of places in Israel, or of going to Israel, is "Zionist propaganda"

Therefore, calling a Jewish-Indian household "Jaipur-Aviv" is Bad because it mentions Tel Aviv, a city built entirely from unoccupied desert land purchased by Jews.

this comes from the idea that acting as if Israel exists is immoral (i.e. that tolerating Israel's existence is violent colonialism)

There's no other country on earth that anyone considers it immoral or violent to mention

There isn't a movement against acknowledging or having visited the United States, Canada, England, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.

Zio is a KKK dogwhistle popularized by David Duke forty years ago. Using it makes it more difficult for others to recognize and avoid white supremacists -- and often means that you're not recognizing and avoiding white supremacists.

I've watched every episode of Friends ten times at a minimum. I am not exaggerating. I feel pretty safe in stating point-blank that nobody at any point even utters the word "Israel" on that show.

Also, Rachel is not Jewish. I am kinda dying to know what the fuck that person thought the "Zionist connotations" in their relationship were.

WAIT A MINUTE STOP THE PRESSES. RACHEL IS JEWISH!??!!!

lmao this is killing me, I used to be so sure she was Jewish and then I googled it and people said she wasn't!

The nose job subplot read as an intentionally Jewish regional reference; Rachel refers to her grandma as her bubbe; the show's creators have said she's Jewish; she had been going to marry Barry Farber, who is "definitely Jewish;" her last name is Green, "a common 'Americanized' Jewish name;" she apparently wears a star of David I've never spotted in episode 3; and also, her name is Rachel.

Okay well, thanks to the borderline Nazis up there for teaching me that Rachel actually IS Jewish! I knew I needed to rewatch the series!

Bonus: they don't say Israel, but they DO say Israeli once.

The Big Bang Theory apparently had an episode called The Jerusalem Duality, in which "Sheldon applies himself to winning the Nobel Peace Prize for solving the Middle East crisis by creating a second wailing wall (also called the 'Western Wall') in the Mexican desert. Dr. Gablehauser and Dennis Kim stop by. Sheldon explains his concept to them; convinced that, like the baseball movie 'build it and they will come', adding that he plans to lure the Jewish people by 'making it nice...we'll put out a spread'."

The only real references Big Bang Theory makes to Israel are, again, in the "acknowledging it exists and being willing to go there" genre:

The Nanny had a lot of topical political jokes. In one episode, Fran Drescher says, "Yasser Arafat? ...He could use a facial, or better yet a chemical peel. We're already giving him the Gaza Strip, would it kill him to take a shave?"

Weirdly, this was 8 years before Israel did unilaterally pull out of the Gaza Strip and destroy all its settlements there.

Regardless, this is more a joke about her character being overly focused on appearances and fashion. Especially given that she simultaneously gets corrected on the fact that Arafat wore a burnous, not a turban.

There's also a 1995 episode in which Maxwell wants to get his teenage daughter "away from boys" by sending her to a convent over the winter holidays. Fran strongly disagrees about the convent, but does think a trip would be good for Maggie, like her own teenage trip to a kibbutz had been. The whole family ends up going to a kibbutz, which I can only imagine the people in that thread would consider to be pure "hasbara."

Seinfeld, though, is by far the best reference they make here. Because this is a quote from the 1992 episode "The Limo":

This is the only "Zionist" reference I can find in Seinfeld. So it's the most likely thing these folks are objecting to as "Zionism" in Seinfeld episodes.

ZOG, or Zionist Occupied Government, is another huge white supremacist term that has made its way into the extreme part of the pro-palestine movement. The founder of Students for Justice in Palestine has also publicly stated that "Congress is an Israeli occupied territory."

Wow. I learned a lot more than I expected to there.

according to the replies on this tweet literally every tv show has Zionist Propaganda™️ so i guess the hamasniks are just going to have to twiddle their thumbs for entertainment

edit: some of the nonsense from the replies

do not call yourself progressive or inclusive or revolutionary or anticolonial or whatever other fucking “I’m A Good Person” label de jour you’ve chosen if you say shit like this. you cannot talk like a Nazi and then insist you’re just an antizionist.

[angelofthenight01]

A first step to believe

Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Hey, guys! So, I'm new here and I've decided to start posting some short stories I wrote of characters I like. I hope you enjoy!

genre: fluff || warnings: none

You had always been a quiet observer in the background, preferring to stay out of the limelight, especially with someone as powerful and captivating as Wanda Maximoff around. You worked with her on several occasions in the Avengers compound—whether it was helping with strategy or assisting in the tech department—but you never quite felt like you belonged in her world.

She was magic and mystery incarnate. Her powers, her strength, her vulnerability... all tangled up in that red aura that surrounded her. You, on the other hand, were just... you. A normal human with a special skill set, not even close to the god-like powers Wanda wielded.

But something had changed over the last few weeks. You’d caught her eyes a few times—just for a brief moment—and there was something there. Something soft. Something that hinted at a longing you couldn’t quite interpret.

It started on one particularly quiet evening in the compound. The rest of the team had scattered for some downtime, and you found yourself in the kitchen, making tea to unwind. Your hands trembled slightly from the long day of troubleshooting tech issues, and you were looking forward to a peaceful moment alone.

But as you poured the hot water into your mug, the door creaked open.

“Mind if I join you?” Wanda’s voice was soft, a lilting accent tinged with something that made your heart skip a beat.

“Of course,” you said, offering a small smile. “I was just about to make some tea.”

She stepped into the room, a flicker of hesitation passing over her features. Her eyes—those impossibly deep, captivating eyes—met yours. You could see the exhaustion in her posture, the weight of the past few missions still lingering on her.

“You look like you could use a moment,” you added, hoping she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

She hesitated, and for a second, you thought she might decline and retreat to the solitude she so often sought. Instead, she gave you a small smile and nodded. “I could use the company.”

You poured her a cup and passed it over, your fingers brushing for a brief moment. Wanda’s gaze lingered on your hand, and then she met your eyes again, her smile softening just a bit. There was an unspoken connection between you, something that had only grown stronger with time.

The silence between you two was comfortable, not awkward. You both sipped your tea, and you found yourself slowly relaxing in her presence.

“I’ve been thinking,” Wanda said suddenly, her voice low. “About... about everything. All the things I’ve done. The things I can do.”

You swallowed, trying to keep the nervous flutter in your chest from taking over. You knew exactly what she meant. Her powers, her trauma, her inner turmoil. It had been a lot for her to bear, especially after everything she had gone through with the Mind Stone, and the aftermath of everything that happened with Vision.

“You’ve been through a lot,” you said gently, meeting her gaze. “But that doesn’t define you, Wanda. You’re so much more than the pain and the power.”

Wanda’s lips parted as though she were about to say something, but she stopped herself. Her gaze drifted away for a moment before returning to you, this time with a look that was almost unreadable.

“I’m not sure I can believe that,” she whispered.

You set your cup down and took a step closer. “You don’t have to believe it all at once. But I do.”

Her breath caught in her throat. The air between you was thick with something unspoken, something that both of you seemed afraid to give voice to. It was like a thread, fragile and delicate, waiting to be pulled. You could feel her uncertainty, but you also felt the quiet yearning in her eyes.

Slowly, you reached out, your hand resting lightly on her arm. She tensed at the touch, but you didn’t pull away. Instead, you gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m here for you,” you said, voice steady, but soft. “Whatever you need.”

Wanda’s eyes softened as she looked at you, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. The world outside the compound, with all its dangers and distractions, faded away. It was just the two of you, standing in the quiet kitchen, surrounded by the warmth of the tea and the gentle hum of the compound around you.

“I don’t know what I’m doing anymore,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.

You stepped even closer, your heart hammering now. “You don’t have to have it all figured out. We can figure it out together.”

Wanda looked at you, really looked at you, as though seeing you for the first time. And in that moment, you knew something had shifted between you both.

The tension in the air seemed to crackle with possibility. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she leaned in. Your breath caught in your throat as her lips brushed lightly against yours.

It was soft. Simple. Tentative, even. But it was enough to send a shock of warmth through your entire body.

When she pulled away, her eyes were full of wonder and uncertainty. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

You cupped her face gently in your hands, your thumb brushing across her cheekbone. “I’m sure.”

And for the first time in a long while, Wanda allowed herself to believe it, too.

[bogor-o]

i don't think I've ever heard you talk about aym and baal in your mother au, do they exist? if so what's their relationship with ovidia and narinder?

OOOH im actually so glad you asked bc i have drafts on drafts of thoughts of the brothers,,, because i actually feel like theyd very present around!! sorry if this seems really fragmented im kind of mentally patching them together

i feel like i also have to explain the relationship between Mother and the mystic seller a little bit, once they meet Mother almost idolizes them and is excited to take their words to heart, and as theyre working towards recruiting the bishops theyre "rewarded" for their progress, they see it as a blessing, to mm it's the way of things

they receive baals necklace first, and shortly after leshys got, the ritual to bring baal back is successful and hes incredibly skeptical about everything thats going on because he cant fathom narinder being a mortal buthe takes it better than his brother who holds hard onto the belief that this is all unfair far longer than his brother does

theres a LOT of things that happen between baals resurrection and ayms, during which baal learns about what it is to be a person and individual, but he'll still struggle with this feeling of being loyal to narinder, possibly even more so now that he sees him as an equal with flaws

he has to help his brother adjust and learn but it takes aym tattling to narinder that forces nari to tell him that by that point (its probably been a couple years) that hes grown fond of their insistence to follow him around even now so loyally, that he considers them equals(his way of saying friends without actually acknowledging it in words yet)

he of course tells him he can never repeat this to his brother(bc baal and narinder are kind of on the same page and it can be left unsaid)

they both have their own ways of adjusting and they are reunited with forneus(tho it takes a while). they do stick around the cult because while they've learned more about themselves and each other, following narinder has been all theyve known, and this brings up a lot of complicated emotions the three will eventually touch on whether they want to or not, it will reach a point it has to be talked about

as far as their relationship with ovidia/mother goes? as Mother, they show a very genuine(and skewed) form of love to their followers and its extended to them without question and without judgement, and its initially what eventually gets baal to even allow them to speak with him and convince him to place enough trust in them(thats how they got him to forneus in the first place) and thru that, aym would come to. not trust. but at least respect them enough not to cause trouble or give Mothers followers a reason to doubt them(even if he will always believe their power belongs to narinder) they are gifted necklaces because in a selfish way, Mother wants them around for narinders sake(his only friends)

as ovidia? it becomes very complicated again, because ovidia still does things as Mother, but their actions dont feel like they come from a genuine place more than "its what i have to do because only i can do this" and after the brothers have had a long life to develop on their own and together, its upsetting. even after ovidia and narinder get together their feelings about ovidia stay complicated but they think it will work itself out, its not as though they can do anything about it!

:^)

anyway heres a doodle of the boys i did on my new years stream

[gretagerwigsmuse]

One thing I absolutely love about Bradley and Smart Aleck is how whenever she rides his thigh, he bounces her a little, and that just makes her lose it 🫠

Like, I can see Smart Aleck sitting on his lap while in front of his friends, and him just randomly bouncing his lap and she has to take a moment before saying or doing anything. She would be a mess by the end of the night.

Also, in your Christmas party fic, Bradley mentioned using the Theragun as a vibrator. Imagine him bringing it out and just surprising Smart Aleck with it (I've never used a Theragun, I have only seen it online so I'm not sure if this is completely correct)

this took me a minute to reply to because i wanted to actually write something for you! i was actually in a meeting at work when i first saw the message preview on my lock screen and i stg i was blushinggg so hard 🤭 because my god what a delicious thought!

yes! he’d bounce her just a little, like just enough to get a reaction out of her and get a little whimper out of her. to your point i could picture them in the hard deck and it’s a big deal that she came out with them? more below!

but also the theragun would actually hurt which is something bradley would realize the second he turned his on to even the lowest setting haha. though i do think that he’d randomly be like ‘gun me’ and have her do his back/shoulders 🤭

—————-

“well, look who decided to grace us with her presence this fine evening.”

jake looked even more smarmy than usual as you and bradley approached the group of pilots and partners holding court at a corner table. at the comment, bradley’s hands tightened where they were on your shoulders. it was a bit of a crush in the bar tonight, but he had guided you over without issue.

you completely ignored jake’s comment and his follow up about slumming it that night and greeted everyone - bob, callie, and natasha, as well as sarah costigan, whom jake had presumably dragged along. sarah even tossed you a kind smile in return. granted, she was still annoying and slightly condescending, but she wasn’t that bad. at least she didn’t head off to the jukebox and queue up hall & oates’ rich girl like jake did.

you let bradley slide into the circular booth before you and then sat on the end. being mr protective, bradley normally wouldn’t like having you sit at the end of the booth, but he knew you liked the space and ease of a quick getaway with a lot of people.

and it wasn’t that you didn’t like going to the hard deck. you just didn’t like how crowded and loud it could get on fridays and saturdays, which was when bradley’s friends tended to go. normally, the group would get together at the beach or go for a hike or even to another bar or someone’s house to hang out - and you always tried to attend - but their old standby was the hard deck and those were the nights you typically skipped.

you had been there about an hour when everything took a different turn. everyone was chatting and the music wasn’t too loud yet, and you were in a good mood, which was probably helped by the fact that you were on your third cosmo and bradley his fourth beer.

but then mickey and his girlfriend, cielo, showed up, which meant there were even more people crammed into the already crowded circular booth. you got up to give both cielo and mickey a hug and then the two of them sat down on the other side of the booth. which in turn meant everyone scooted down further towards your side.

scratch that - your side was gone.

all that was left was a sliver of space for maybe one of your bare thighs to find itself plastered against the warm vinyl upholstery. bradley quickly noticed your distress and pulled you half onto his lap. he barely broke his stride, so focused was he on his conversation with bob and callie. or so you thought.

the way he had manhandled you onto his lap was done with little consideration to your pink dress - the same pink dress from your first date some eighteen months ago - and it bunched up between your ass and bradley’s jeans. you sucked in a breath.

oh.

you were still covered, still safe from any risk of indecent exposure, but oh it felt nice having your bare skin brush against bradley’s jeans. the jeans that were stretched across his big, strong, broad thighs. did he realize? did he know?

it was nice sitting on his lap; you were content, happy, warm. safe. it wasn’t something you’d ever done in front of other people before; normally, neither of you were this bold, but you weren’t yourself, it was too loud, too warm, too overwhelming in the hard deck. and bradley knew that. he knew you were fussy. he always knew when you needed to get out of your head.

a few minutes went by and you tuned into various conversations and groups, but you eventually focused back on your little group at the end of the booth with bradley, bob, and callie. they were talking about one of the the college football games on earlier because bob was a big sec fan. at one point, the boys got so animated and bradley got so into gesturing with his hands that you slipped a little in his lap. and then -

and then bradley bounced you.

oh.

he bounced you on his thigh and tightened his arms around you to keep a better hold on you.

“sorry, kid,” he muttered in your ear and then went back to his conversation, completely unaware of the whimper you let out.

oh.

that felt nice. that felt good.

you loved when he bounced you on his thighs.

you loved when he let you ride his thighs.

see bradley liked when you’d have to work hard to get yourself off. sometimes, he made it a punishment. it was torture - he wouldn’t touch you and you’d have to work for your orgasm. you’d get so frustrated.

and once you’d finally reach your peak and your cum would streak across his thigh, he’d sink his fingers - his big, strong fingers - inside your cunt and you’d ride them for another round until you’d get rewarded with his cock.

this time the whimper you let out was a little louder, but still for bradley’s ears only.

“you okay, kid?” he bounced you again.

this time your legs spread a little wider under the table and you shifted in his lap. you were getting flustered, warm. surely the sweat was building at the back of your neck, between your thighs -

“mmhmm, just slipped.” you took a huge sip of your cosmo, hoping to cool yourself down. god, this was so embarrassing. why were you getting like this? it was just a bounce. he hadn’t even meant to do it.

please don’t let him find out.

“yeah?” bradley bounced you again and your breath caught. “can’t have that - here.”

his thumbs dug into the tender flesh by your hips, anchoring you to him. you tried to shift, tried to squirm, but he wouldn’t budge.

“th-thanks.”

you took another sip of your cosmo. it was almost done, that had to be why you were reacting this way. three drinks normally made you tipsy, but not drunk, so it had to explain your flustered state and your heightened sense of arousal.

he knew. he had to know. he had to know how wet you were. how your pussy was clenching on nothing. how you wanted him to take you out of here and let you ride him in the car. maybe he’d finger you against the bronco like he did that night all those months ago?

bradley turned back to the group. “hey, why don’t you tell bob and callie about that project you’re kicking off at work?”

“oh. it’s not - it’s not really that exciting -”

“she’s lying,” bradley squeezed your hip, “come on, tell them about the projecting you’re presenting in london.”

callie gasped. “london? again? oh, i’m so jealous! how long are you going to be gone?”

“just a - a couple days. they’re scaling this project i did in the US for the EMEA market. just a - a presentation.”

somehow, when bob asked where you were staying and if you were doing anything fun while you were there, you managed to give an almost coherent answer. almost coherent.

but then you turned the tables back on the two of them and asked if they were excited for their trip to see callie’s parents in bryn mawr. you didn’t know much about the area baring the fact that mary once went out there to interview for a teaching position, but that wouldn’t have mattered anyway since you could barely focus on the last minute details for callie’s sister’s wedding because of bradley’s stupid hands.

the first time he did it, you didn’t think much of it. okay so he took a sip of his beer and fiddled with the glass before he put his hand on your thigh. it was cold, no big deal.

but then he did it again when callie mentioned the gorgeous bridesmaids’ dresses. and again when bob praised callie’s speech draft. and again when they mentioned the welcome party on thursday was scheduled around the eagles’ game.

it was cold and you could feel your nipples hardening and your breath coming in faster and god - could everyone tell? did they notice? you didn’t want them to notice, you just wanted bradley to notice.

feeling bold, you tried to trap his cold hands between your thighs, but when bradley yanked his hand away, you almost lost your balance. and what else was he supposed to do but bounce you and get you settled back on his lap. he growled a warning in your ear.

oh god. you wanted it louder, you wanted it just for you. you weren’t wearing a bra, could anyone tell? you hoped bradley could tell.

you hoped bradley bradley knew.

(you hoped daddy knew.)

the promise of what was to come was getting to be too much. you could have blamed it on the cosmos, the noise, the heat, the number of people, but it really was just one thing - bradley.

bob and callie were talking to natasha now, so it was just you and bradley at your end of the table.

“bubs?” you looked over your shoulder to meet bradley’s eyes and knew he was just as wrecked for you as you were him. “please?”

he cocked an eyebrow, looking entirely too smug. “aww sweetheart, why didn’t you just say you wanted to leave?” all the condescension did was make you want him more.

before you could respond, before you could try and say something clever, he cleared his throat and directed his next words to the entire table.

“‘think the kid and i are gonna head out.”

it only took a few moments to say your goodbyes - hugs from those who were easily able, waves to those who were not - and then you and bradley started meandering your way to the bar.

once again, after he paid your tab, bradley guided you out of the bar with a his hands on your shoulders and a broad presence at your back. you whimpered at the thought of him inside you, your big, broad, beautiful boyfriend inside you, telling you that you were a good girl for him. such a good slut for him. for daddy.

it had been a couple months since you’d first said it - said daddy - but it still made your pussy clench and your heart beat wildly.

the moment you were out in the cool parking lot, you sighed back against his chest. the pulsating music that once felt too loud was not a calming presence away from the chaos.

“atta girl, you did such a good job with my teasing.” his arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you close so you could feel how much he wanted you. “you ready for your reward?”

“yes, daddy.”

———————

half an hour later, on their way way out, bob, callie, and natasha didn’t even notice that bradley’s car was still in the parking lot even after the two of you supposedly left.

they also didn’t notice that the windows were fogged up. or that one of your sandals was on the ground by the driver’s seat door. 🤭

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

Onyx Storm Predictions!!

I wanted to do a full theory post but the clock is TICKING and I decided to get sick last week before I could write one up, so this will have to do!

Predictions below the cut! I'm going to re-blog and re-spoiler tag with extra info from the apple books preview, so no onyx storm spoilers on THIS post.

I'm going to start off with my most controversial prediction and say that I don't think Xaden is leaving! The bond is still in place (re: end of IF) and Sgaeyl evidently still gives a fuck about him (again, re: end of IF) and so I don't think she's going to break the bond! I DO think he might try and leave, but I think Violet will stop him.

This is probably the second most controversial (at least to me) but I do think Violet might be part/half venin. I think Lilith turned when she was pregnant with Violet. I don't fully know how being part venin would even work, but we know next to nothing about how being FULL venin would work, so I'm not gonna sweat it. There's a huge theme (motif?) of being two things at once in these books (violet's hair, her eyes, her two dragons, her two signets, scribe/rider, Xaden's two signets, etc.) Further, you have Lilith's cure-investigation, and also the matter of the extreme amount of parallels between Lilith and Xaden. I think they both turned to protect Violet.

The subsect of that prediction/theory/whatever is that I don't think Xaden can drain her! If you read the fight with JFB in FW wherein Vi is "shaken by an internal force (she doesn't) understand, as though he's forcing his own power into my body, shocking me with a thousand stings of vibrating energy" while he has his hands holding her face. A couple paragraphs later, it's confirmed his eyes are red-rimmed. (Fourth Wing pages 294-295). I think this is JFB draining her to a certain degree. It HURTS Violet, he gets power, but no hand prints! I actually really wanted Xaden to leave sexy handprints on her, but in the last like 4 days I've changed my mind. I foresee a sort of vampire-esque power drinking thing!

I keep calling myself controversial but I'm going to keep doing it. My NEXT controversial take is that I don't think they're going to the isles yet! I think Vi may WANT to go to the isles, but I think she'll have to go to Poromiel first, then head to the barrens!

I think Vi's second signet is one of two things: the type of mirroring signet I used in Teach Me, or a straight up inntinnsic. Both of these are used in the throne scene, as I spelled out in that fic! I don't mind Vi being an inntinnsic*, especially since all the men in her life have a direct line into her head. I really think it's only fair if she can get back at them, IDK.

I don't think we're meeting Xaden's mom this book! I think that's book 4. But while we're talking about her, I think she has a second kid Xaden doesn't know about, and I think they'll meet this secret sibling first and it will be a moment of tenuous trust between riorgail (in that Violet will have to grapple with the possibility of him keeping secrets from her AGAIN, only to find out her isn't)

I'm saving my thoughts on who dies for the spoilery part!

I don't think Xaden is getting "Cured". I'm not entirely sure there will be a cure on a person-to-person basis, because I frankly think that defeats the purpose of the metaphor.

This MAY be a book 4 thing, but I'm going to add it here anyway! My IRL bestie and I talk a lot about how the story of the 3 brothers here is the Deathly Hallows reborn, and we've been joking about how Violet must gather said hallows to defeat Voldemort etc. However, we joked about it a little too much, and now I'm convinced: at some point, Vi will be the dragon rider, the gryphon flier, and the venin

OR: Mira is the gryphon rider* and Brennan's the venin.

This is wishful thinking actually but the quest squad somehow ends up being just x, vi and the dragons!

This is more of a theme prediction, but every book thus far (all 2!) have been about unpacking a level of propaganda. FW is Navarre's propaganda about war, and IF is Navarre's propaganda about Poromiel. Therefore, we have at least 2 more forms of propaganda to unpack: whatever the fuck is going on with the dragons, and the idea that venin are inherently evil. I think we tackle one of these book 3 and one book 4! Or perhaps both together, because they are intertwined.

Crack Pot Theories

Papa Sorrengail's first name is Adam.

I don't think Halden is Violet's ex. I think it's literally two random ass infantry guys. Also Xaden gets to kill Halden :)

I think Brennan killed Naolin! I also think they were gay. I think it’s a mirror to a different way to handle someone turning venin for you than what Vi and X will do

I may edit this and add more. Why am I blanking on every thought I've ever had about onyx storm in my life.

[ishigamisenku]

This is why I love Dr.STONE so much. Because, not only does it give us an incredible story, but it presents us with questions that go far beyond the end of the story. An anime about science and rebuilding society offers us some incredible opportunities to ask questions and discuss some pretty philosophical topics; i.e. the morality of human beings, how well we'd handle a disaster such as this occurring, what we'd do about it, etc. We're met with moral dilemma early on with Tsukasa, and his opinion that they should NOT revive everyone and live in a world where we don't encounter the corporate greed and selfishness that has been alive and well for generations. He's seen the corruption this causes, and he wants to start anew. Give humanity a clean slate. Senku, a character that is presented as someone who leads with logic and reasoning over feeling and emotions, is of the opinion that they should revive EVERYONE regardless of age, race, social status, etc. He thinks everyone should have the chance to advance and move forward within this new world they've been given. The idea to him, as we all know, is very exciting. However, Senku also acknowledges that if they revive people too quickly, their resources will deplete fast, and they don't have what they need to sustain large populations of people...yet. So he agrees they need to be choosy on who they revive for now. It's only logical. Both offer really good points, and regardless of who you side with, there are some incredibly interesting aspects of both sides to explore.

SPOILERS below the cut. If you are not caught up in the manga and you don't like spoilers, please do not go past the cut. And buckle in friends, this accidentally became a long post.

The questions OP raises in this post are things I've thought a lot about as well. Do we just go along assuming that since Senku spearheaded this whole thing, he's the one that's essentially in charge? How much power does he hold? We know enough about Senku to know that while he is obviously a leader-type character, he surely wouldn't want to concern himself with leadership on a large scale such as being a head of state or government. Senku's got one thing on his mind, and it's science. He wants to be able to have time to work on his scientific endeavors, and continue to contribute towards the advancement of science. Buuuut he's also not alone in his leadership, since we know he has the four other "Wise Commanders." We DO see Gen kinda working as an ambassador of sorts, though. A Diplomat. So, seems that they put his yapping (affectionate) to good use. For what happens to the petrification device...At the end of the series, we discover the origin of the Medusa device, and their motivation is explained. (Albeit a rather lame motivation and the way this is handled story-wise is not my favorite, but I'll do a deep dive on my opinions on the Medusa origin on my own time.)

While the rest of the Medusa/Why-Men decide to leave and find some other intelligent life to leech off of, one of them stays behind. From this point on, this Medusa is primarily only seen with Senku, and we can assume he is the Why-Man Keeper. We can also infer this from the fact that when see him in Ch. 232, he is quite literally wearing the vacuum tube they keep Why-Man in on his body:

We also get this exchange in Ch. 3 of 4D Science:

Sooo my guess is Why-Man sticks with Senku. There never seems to be much issue with anyone else in the main cast interacting with it, but they do seem to have it guarded when Senku doesn't have it with him. They are definitely aware of the fact that if in the wrong hands, Why-Man can be used as a weapon, and they acknowledge that. The concept of using Why-Man for eternal life is also acknowledged, and they stay quiet about that because they don't want anyone trying to get their hands on it for that reason as well. This is also explored in the 4D science chapters through interactions between Chrome and Kaseki. But this brings us to the question of mothers being revived to see their children grown- Due to the petrification, any biological being petrified doesn't seem to physically age. Chronologically, technically, yes, but not physically. This was quite literally Why-Man's "gift" to humanity, as stated by Why-Man itself. As long as people remain petrified and their statues are kept safe from weathering or breakage, they'd be fine up until they are ready to be revived. We know this pretty early on. This is sort of best-case scenario given the issue of resources not being plentiful enough to sustain large populations, as mentioned earlier in this post. They can revive more people as they go along once they feel they can be properly sustained. But the unfortunate fact there is... anyone revived DOES go on to age. So that could absolutely lead to someone's child being revived before them, and once they are revived, they have to experience the shock of their child having aged while they seemingly didn't themselves. And that's a lot to process in a scenario where they already have to attempt to process the fact that they've been encased in stone for over 3,700 years. It's all just such an interesting scenario overall. Again, this is why I adore this story so much. Yes, it gets you really excited about humanity's ability to persevere, adapt, evolve, and overcome. But it also raises some really interesting scenarios for us to stop, sit, and think about. Buuuuut... maybe I just really like getting deep, philosophical, and existential. I know that's not everyone's vibe. If you read through all of my crazed rambling, thanks! And thank you for this post, OP. You raise some super great questions.

Thinking about how the world will never go back to “normal” after Senku brings everyone back. Given how nature has fully recovered cities, it’s going to take probable years to go back to the massive carrying capacity we had. How many will have to leave behind loved ones to be revived later down the line because they can’t sustain that many people? How many mothers will wake up with their children fully grown and older than them? And how will world politics regard Senku? What will happen to the petrifaction weapon? It’s so interesting and intriguing and the thing I think abt the most when Dr. STONE is mentioned. What happens when everyone is revived?

[b4by-bee]

Your Pacifier and You

Hello, all! Whether you call them pacifiers, pacis, binkies, dummies, suckees, or anything else, a lot of regressors use them, and I know that sometimes, it's hard to find information about them and how to take care of them, disassemble them, etc etc. Most of the information I've found has been from confused people asking questions. So I thought, since I've had to learn this all by myself, I'd make a comprehensive guide to help out regressors and caregivers alike! Hopefully, someone finds this helpful!

What makes up a pacifier?

Let's start with the basics! A standard adult pacifier is made up of 4 parts; a shield, a button, a ring/handle, and a teat/nipple.

There's some unique designs out there, of course, but this is the typical one you'll find for sale.

The teat is the part that, since it goes into your mouth, will be worn out the fastest, so it's worth learning about it, in case you need to replace it. The one pictured here is a latex Nuk 5 (my mouth is a little smaller). TYPICALLY, you will receive a silicone Nuk 6. They come in many different sizes, and you can get some REALLY big ones! Between the two, silicone is more durable and lasts much longer, but latex is a bit softer, so neither is better, it's up to personal preference and what's available in the size you want! Obviously also be wary of latex allergies.

Where do I find one?

Unfortunately, these aren't usually something you'll find in a store. But fortunately, you'll find lots of places online selling them! My personal favorites are Etsy (all kinds of small business with something unique), My Inner Baby (good variety and actually has Nuk 5s for sale), and Pacifier Addict (good variety and almost exclusively pacifiers), but there's tons more websites online! Though, I always recommend to look at them when you aren't regressed, or getting someone else bigger to look for you if you can, because sometimes they have NSFW things, too. Always be careful! Most will have discreet shipping, but it's always worth a quick message or email to check if you're not sure!

I have my pacifier now! How do I take care of it?

Pacifiers are something that, to a regressor who uses them, are very special. And it's always good to take care of something you care about! The best ways (besides being careful with any paint or decorations) to take care of it are cleaning it, and storing it.

Ideally, you should clean it before you use it every time. Buuuuuut that's not always possible, and sometimes just tedious and boring. So, I would recommend getting some pacifier wipes, or even just baby wipes (just make sure they are fragrance free, and ideally without any lotions), giving it a quick wipe, and then using it, and just taking it apart to clean once a week or so, or if you drop it or notice it's really dirty. As long as you do that, and store it well when you aren't using it, you should be a-OK!

Alternatively, as long as there's no decorations held in place by glue, you CAN boil it. But that's not really necessary, just warm water and dish soap is enough!

How should I store it?

Storing a pacifier is important to keeping it safe when you aren't using it! There's lots of ways to do it, but I'll just share a few, as well as what's good and bad about them all!

1: Denture case. These are usually cheap and easy to find (I got mine at Walmart), and come with a little dunker that can make for easy cleaning! You can also paint them to look however you want, like I have here! (just make sure it's non-toxic paint and has some sort of clear coat to seal it if it'll get wet). The downside is that it's bulkier and less discreet, but can still be passed off as something to hold small trinkets

2. A commercial pacifier holder. You'll find this in the baby section of stores. This is helpful to clip on the outside of a bag. This one says it holds 2 pacifiers, and is juuuust big enough to hold 1 adult sized one. The downsides are that it'll bend the teat, making it wear out quicker, and isn't a great seal, so dust might still get in

3. Folding sunglasses case. I found this at Dollar Tree, and it's the perfect size! It zips completely closed, so no dust will get in. You will have to bend the teat, though, which wears it out faster.

4. Secret pocket in a stuffed animal. By far the cutest option, I've got Koibito-chan here modeling this option! This can be a fun way to hide one, and most people don't think to look in a stuffed animal, so it's the sneakiest! And you can make the pocket as big or small as you like, so no worries about bending anything! But you may need to use a mesh bag or something to prevent fibers and hairs from getting all over the teat, and it can be stressful to do surgery on a stuffed animal. But if this one appeals to you, I'll link a tutorial. I used velcro for the pocket on mine. Just be careful when sewing!

There's lots more ways to store them, but hopefully, this gives you a good idea of what to look for in a storage space. Some Etsy stores even offer to include a storage box with one!

I want to clean it/the teat deflated/I need to replace the teat, etc! How do I take it apart?

This is the one I've seen the most confusion on, but don't worry! It's got a trick to it, but once you know the trick, it's really easy to do! Generally, you'll only need to take it apart to clean or if the teat deflates (which happens sometimes!)

Step 1: Pull on where the ring connects to the button on one side, until it pulls free. BE GENTLE, there are very tiny plastic parts that can snap if you aren't

Step 2: Move it away from the hole, and now pull the OTHER side. BE GENTLE AGAIN, those little plastic tabs can snap, and they hold the whole thing together!

Step 3: Once the ring is free, pull on the button, and it should come right out.

Step 4: Pull the teat off the button. And now it's completely apart!

To reassemble, just follow the steps backwards! Putting the teat back on the button might give you a little trouble until you're used to it, but just use a long fingernail or a thin, blunt tool to push it into place, as long as it isn't sharp!

How to know when something needs to be replaced

Generally, the plastic parts of your pacifier should last you forever! Only replace those if something is broken on them. The teat, however, gets a LOT of use, especially if you use your pacifier often. If you use it every day, it's not a bad idea to plan to replace the teat every year. But regardless of timing, make sure to replace the teat if:

-You notice any discoloration

-There's a weird smell

-There's a weird taste

-There's a weird texture

-The shape doesn't seem right

For example, these are 3 of mine. The left is brand new latex, just came in today and hasn't even been used. Some are already cloudy, and some are clear, so just keep in mind what's normal for yours. The middle one is one I've had for a bit, so it's a little cloudy, but it's still fine, it just needs to be replaced soon, in the next month or two. And the right is an older latex one. It's a lot cloudier, and feels rough when I suck on it, so it needs to be replaced before I should use it again.

Anything else to keep in mind?

-If you fall asleep with yours, or drop it a lot, look into a pacifier clip! It'll keep it from falling on the ground and getting too dirty, and it looks cute!

-Be careful with any materials you use to decorate it, and then be careful with the decorations! Make sure it's non-toxic since it'll be close to your mouth, and don't use too much heat when cleaning it if there's glue!

-You can have as many or as few as you like. If you only want one (or none!), that's okay! If you want a new one every day, that's okay, too! There's no rules about it. Just make sure you take care of yourself before worrying about getting one! You don't wanna buy one and then not have enough money for yummy snacks!

-Be careful if you live with family, roommates, or anyone else who wouldn't approve or you just don't want to know. Make sure it's well hidden if you need to, or skip out on one until you live somewhere else if it wouldn't be safe. Worry about your safety first and foremost!

-You CAN use ones for actual babies, but it can hurt your teeth if you do, so I still recommend getting an adult sized one, or at least one you can swap the teat with.

That's all I have on a guide! Hope this was helpful, and I hope you have a good day today!

[ruporas]

Hi there, this might be stupid but I don't have anyone else to spew this to so I suppose you just have to endure my self-indulgent ramblings. Sorry in advance!! I've been thinking a lot about, like, Wolfwood with wings? Not like, an AU where he's been a Plant all along but where something happened that forced them out of him, maybe something with the tincture/vials or being in the proximity of one of Vash's sisters when he takes one or perhaps even something the Eye of Michael did right at the beginning that was lying dormant until they felt the ned to active it, I don't know- this probably sounds so stupid. I'm just imagining this painful, confusing, otherworldly thing happening to Wolfwood that he doesn't understand, seeing the black feathers crawling across his skin and sprouting from his shoulders, thinking himself more of a monster than he already is because he obviously isn't human, he isn't Plant, he isn't even like Vash, so what is he other than another kind of monster, more fucked up than he used to think that Vash was?? And Vash just looking at Wolfwood with his sharp claws and his fangs and his glowing eyes and the feathers sprouting from his arms and face and chest, at the big black wings that extended from his back to stretch around him like a funeral shroud, understanding the pain and the fear and the feral instability of something unthinkable happening that he couldn't comprehend, knowing that Wolfwood was thinking about himself as a monster just like Vash did, and being in the unique position of being able to help him through it, helping him understand what was happening to him and aiding in dissipating the feathers and fangs and claws and helping him recover in the aftermath. I don't know, this might be stupid and crazy but. I can't stop thinking about it. Thank you for coming to my ridiculous self-indulgent TED talk, thank you for everything you do.

hello! omg, getting this was such a lovely surprise, i love seeing the passion in this au. i love the concept of wolfwood with wings too (specifically a huge #fan of guardian angel wolfwood or some sort of angel with smaller wings than vash).

wolfwood is such a meant to be human, made to be human character that it always makes me a little sad to dip him into the creature zone because the confusion and distress he'd inevitably experience hurts me afgmskgmsd but Regardess, it's always a good angsty concept. piling on top of the way he views himself already, it's as though those thoughts physically manifest themselves and air it out for everybody to see. unable to deny what he has become when it's presented in such a blatant way.

from the way it's described, i'm imagining this to be like… mid way through the story, close to vol 7 :3 i think something like this happening after vash got his big scare with his powers becoming open to the world, a monster now openly claimed and known, he'd be scared, wracked with guilt, and struggle to navigate his own vulernabilities to properly help wolfwood. at the same, wolfwood is understanding vash better, acknowledging the person he is despite his other worldliness and thinking of the impending doom on humanity if vash doesn't get to knives, i think amidst his own self loathing, it's touched by fretting over vash and wanting to not hold them both down with this abrupt transformation. he'd likely push down his own fear to try and find a direct solution to stop the height of the transformation, to which vash would likely shred a sliver of vulnerability to give objective advice/assistance.

i like the idea of them settling down later and both of them being in the "what the fuck do we do now" phase and having no answer but can only discover the answer by navigating it slowly. having something like this happen would forcibly open a conversation of their experiences, i think, especially for wolfwood who might have to talk a bit about his EoM experience to give an inkling on how something like that could've happened. it's both kind of sweet and depressing how they'd get the chance to communicate more of their life to each other through this :'] an almost parallel experience… and i think vash would have to think about what could define a monster, he'd certainly view himself as one but not wolfwood.

i wish i had more creative fuel to churn your vision out into a drawing but i couldn't come up with anything cool enough to match the descriptions…

i'm not sure if you've seen it from me yet, but i did do a plant-related thing that follows a similar horrified discovery for wolfwood / being changed into a half-human half-plant sometime ago, in case you might want to see more feathery woowoo! it has trimax spoilers (post trimax) so heed warning, but here's the asks:

thank you for sharing this with me! it's fun to think about it, always a joy to wolfwood in Situations… just constantly experiencing the horrors, but at least he isn't alone..!

[kunikukitty]

⛸️ WALTZ ON THIN ICE

04. Say what?! ◁ II ▷

Your gaze lingered on the dark clouds that adorned the night sky through the thick windowpane of the airplane.

You are on deep thought and your phone on your hand goes unnoticed along with Heizou's messages displayed on your screen that you're now unable to reply to due to the lack of signal on the air.

You breathed a sigh of exhaustion and decided to look over the photos of ice skates you saved on your phone. There is a competition you will be attending with Heizou, and you two were preparing for it for a long time. Although the choreo is not yet complete, it's looking amazing so far. This preparation was postponed for a awhile because if your trip to Sumeru, and now you're excited to carry it on.

Since your current skates are losing ankle support and additionally wanting to reward yourself for all the effort you've put on the upcoming event, you're planning to buy a new pair of skates.

You're staring at the photos. Which one should you get? There are many types of skates and each supports different techniques. You twirl more than jump, so that's one thing to consider.

Though right now, you feel a little off. What's wrong with Heizou? He wasn't like this when you left for Sumeru. Should you have asked him to tag along?

There was a series of questions that bothers your mind. But well! You could just ask him later. But you cant help but get upset with the tweet he made. Was he disappointed that you're going home earlier than planned? But you wanted to prepare for the huge event.

You've always wanted to skate at Tenshukaku Palace, the hugest and prettiest ice rink in the entire inazuma. In your long years of skating, you've only just gotten the chance to skate there. You were able to visit it once, but only as part of the audience.

This is a big dream come true for both you and Heizou. This will also give you more exposure. Heck, this event is your ticket to Snezhnaya. If you did well here, you can get a Snezhnayan coach— claiming that you are excited would be an understatement.

Of course, you're not saying Coach Ayato is bad! He's great, and he helped you a lot. But Snezhnayan Coaches are different. They are much more fierce, intimidating, and can get you to the highest peaks of your career.

Snezhnayan skaters are simply the masters of ice skating.

Your cheeks were tainted pink as you daydream about your choreo with heizou. This piece will be marked as your most mature-themed choreo with him, and will be performed in Tenshukaku of all places.

Luckily, you're both so comfortable with each other that this theme is no longer an issue. You could only giggle at the memory wherein Heizou was a little hesitant to touch you when you just met him.

So when the pilot announced that the airplane will land soon, your excitement grew tenfold.

It doesn't matter if Heizou has a fault on you, you could just ask him for an ice cream and you'd forgive him. What's important right now is the preparation!

You're holding your luggage and a handheld bag on your other hand as you descend from the airstair.

Your eyes looked at every corner, neck twisted on this side and that side, trying to catch a glimpse of a certain redhead.

You're beginning to feel restless when you can't find him, so you decided to walk more, only to abruptly stop when you felt something cold on your cheek.

"I've been calling your name since earlier. Didn't you hear me?"

This is wrong. The voice is deeper, the tone lacks the usual touch of playfulness— this isn't Heizou. You shifted your head to confirm who it is after he moved whatever he's holding out of the way.

"Xiao!" You exclaimed, shocked. "What? Why, where's Heizou?"

"What the. Why when I finally decided to use the restroom, your plane landed."

Not Heizou either. It's Xingqui, and he's walking alone. Where's Heizou???

Xingqui took the handle of your luggage from your hand to pull it to his side and asked how's your flight. But you can't seem to hear anything right now. A hand waved in front of you, you don't know who it belongs to, but it aint from the man you're looking for.

Is he actually... not looking forward to your arrival?

"That asshole!" You heard Xingqui complain, "I thought he told you beforehand. I'm sorry, [Name], but for whatever circumstances, he cannot fetch you right now."

Oh! So maybe he said "uh oh" because of this? He can't fetch you himself? But why, and why he didn't just tell you?

"Here. He asked us to give this to you."

You looked at Xiao and realized that the cold thing is a drink and on his other hand is a box. And from the appearance of the box, you know exactly what it is.

"A cake!" you exclaimed excitedly— he really knows how to win you over with sweet stuffs. You took the box and the drink from Xiao's hand and said thank you before they led you to his car.

Taglist. @sketcheeee @urlocalheizousimp @sayakaskokofish @toastedfailure @swivi @glowmary @thewindandthestars @solstice-throne @lily-lmao @dxrling-xing @lalalaloveallmydays @zuhahearts @crimxeorcremeexistspeacefully @3lectraheart @woofwoofwolf @eternallykira-143 @scaraenthusiast1 @v4lerixxq @euphoraia

Note. i made a mistake on their conversation on the previous chapter. but to avoid confusion, i decided to just insert the 'fixed' convo on this chapter rather than creating a new separate chap 03.

Note. i used usernames from the taglist! i hope yall dont mind. but if you do, pls tell me and ill remove it immediately.

[kuroosatoru]

let me love you - ceo!toji x fem!reader p.2

based on let me love you by ari ft. lil wayne // wc: 1.1k

icymi: part 1

cw: nsfw, angst, megumi kinda sucks, steamy daydream, power imbalance hinted at, size kink (kinda), alcohol consumption, semi-proof read

you had slowly started to settle into your new routine. toji sent out a car every weekday morning to pick you up at 5:30 on the dot; you started to relish in the hour of alone time you had before spending the day getting teased by mr. fushiguro. he had started to enjoy having you around, which was new for him.

today the air's chill followed directly behind you, nipping at the bare skin on your legs as you walk into your job. to be honest, you still weren't used to the climb the elevator made to drop you off even though you had been there for about a month now. as you walk to your desk and set your things down, toji summons you into his office.

"y/n. please sit." he says, motioning towards the seat next to him. he notices the way your dress perfectly cuts off at the middle of your thigh and his mouth gets dry as the thought of bending you over his desk crossed his mind, he didn't need to start thinking about you in this way. not when you were so good at the job you already had, "i wanted to call you in here to give you a small welcome gift, seeing as how you've been here a month," he continues, his green eyes meeting yours as he reaches for the small bag in front of him. he hands it to you, looking anxious as you eagerly open it. you pull out a dainty watch that perfectly fits your pre-established wardrobe, he's taken the time to pay attention to the things you wear. not that he could stop himself from looking if he wanted to.

you had been catching his eye a lot more as of late, and the smell of your perfume had begun to fill his office; toji would be remiss if he denied it turned him on. his mind constantly wandering to the one place it should shouldn't be, to that heavenly daydream he kept having:

- you walk into his office towards the end of the day, your blouse perfectly accentuating your breasts. toji's eyes rush to meet yours as he tries to ignore the twitch of his dick getting hard, "y/n? to what do i owe the pleasure?" he asks you, a smirk sneakily creeping its way onto his face. you ignore it, "i was just coming in to let you know i've scheduled all of your appointments for the next two weeks and that you don't have another meeting until your lunch with mr. noritami," you pause, now oblivious to toji's eyes exploring your body.

'this feels wrong' he thinks to himself as he steps towards you, placing his large hand on your shoulder. you can feel your thighs clench at his sudden contact, "thank you, you're such a big help, things have been so.." he pauses, letting his grasp on your shoulder fall as his eyes look down at your chest, "..easy since you've started working for me." toji says, clearing his throat as you notice how he's looking at you. you give him a sly smile, "i can make it a lot easier on you." you reply, your hand reaching for his dick as it grew harder.

toji gets pulled back to reality by his phone ringing, his face flush as he moves his hands to cover his raging hard-on, praying you didn't notice. "i'll be seeing you around, y/n," he says, dismissing you as he answers the call. you close the door behind you and get started on your work for the day.

you start to wonder what had come over mr. fushiguro as megumi approaches you, handing you a hefty stack of papers, "here. do these for me, yeah? i gotta meet up with some friends," megumi deadpans, his eyes lowered in disinterest. "i mean, if you really need to go that bad..." you trail off. megumi gives you a short nod and walks away. you scoff in disbelief as you decide to say something to toji.

-

it's now dark outside as you wrap up your work for the day, megumi's added papers did absoluely nothing to help your steadily increasing workload. you could barely handle your work as is.

"staying late, y/n? i dont even do that and i own the place." toji chuckles, his face dropping wen he sees you're not as into the jokes the two of you usualy share tonight. your eyes suddenly start to tear up and toji places a hand on your face, as if his body and mind were no longer agreeing with what was proper.

"hey, whats up?' he asks, concern lacing his sultry voice. you gain your composure, "it's nothing. i'm just a bit stressed out and i'm adjusting. i swear i can handle the job but-"

"but megs is being an ass? he does that to everyone. let me see what he gave you." toji cuts you off, holding his hand out and taking the stack that remained. thumbing through it, he sighs, "i've lost one too many people to him being an ass. don't worry. i'll do something about it.

and boy, did he do something. the next day, you walk to your desk to hear him yelling, his voice booming through the seemingly empty hallway, "you cannot keep doing this! it's not right and if i wanted her to do the work, i would've given it to her myself! you either start doing your own shit or i find someone else to take your spot, or better yet, she can have it!" he yells, and you decide to not stick around for the impending confrontation megumi had in store for you. you just barely make it into the womens restroom as you hear toji's door slam.

after waiting for what felt like forever, you make your way back to your desk, the threat of megumi gone. toji's office is still closed, but this time it's silent. you decide to push your luck and check on him, knocking on the door. "come in." he says as you open the door in response. he looks rough, the argument with megumi still heavy on his mind. his hair was unkempt, having ran his hands through it while contemplating his choices that had led him to this point. the choices that had led him to you.

he takes out two glasses, "do you drink whiskey?" he asked pointedly, "it's just jameson. i keep my good shit at the house," he says with a laugh.

"sir, we're not even halfway through the day, i couldn't possibly-"

"i insist. if you truly don't want any it's fine, but im still going to have some." he says, not allowing you to finish your sentence as he pours a glass and offers it to you.

"ah, why not?" you shrug, taking the glass and waiting for him to pour his own. "cheers." he grumbles, his demeanor changing as he was done keeping up appearances for you.

notes: okay i never said how much longer part two would be, but here you go :) have a great day!

-

taglist: @cajunfootrub

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted AU: Sakina and Tomás 👗🖋

Now this is one bio I've been wanting to get to for a long time, Asha's parents! Sabino's will come of course, but for now I finally can talk about these two. And more about Tomás is revealed in the story itself when Asha reads his journal. There will even be a bonus story showing what actually happened to Tomás leading to his death. Since there usually isn't a whole lot on either of them in certain rewrites (for various reasons) Its a good opportunity to give it a try and write info about them in my AU.

So lets start with Tomás. His design is this particular concept art above. And I'm just gonna come out say it, he's kind of handsome. The fact we don't even see his face in the actual movie is atrocious... I'll of course draw him in my style later, but at least he can be featured in some WG art now.

• Tomás was born in Spain, but both of his parents were Jewish.(keeping inline with canon this time. I only found this out from reading the book) They immigrated to Rosas when he was a child.

• He became a philosopher at 25 and has read the works Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. They inspired him to reevaluate life and the existence of the universe. He's more of a softspoken man, and his personality is based on Pacha from Emperor's New Groove.

• He met Sakina in Rosas after she made an off hand about looking at the stars all time seemed to be a waste of time. The two eventually fell in love.

• Sabino didn't quite understand what is son was seeing in the stars, but as he grew older, he at least appreciated and listen to him explain his theories.

• Since most philosophers attempt to explain human existence and theorize their behavior, Tomás wanted to try something different. So he began to look at the stars for guidance. Even though they were only described as hot balls of gas, he thought they could be more.

• Given that people use the stars to navigate the world, connect them to create constellations and even foretell a person's future, he started to ponder if there was a connection to stars and humans.

• He theorized that since the stars were as numerous as the people on Earth and varied in size, shape, color and glow, they had to be created to be as unique as humans. Therefore, they had the power to change the things around them, just as humans do. He's even credited the stars for giving him the strength and inspiration for his studies.

• Tomás later began some tests to ask something from the stars to see if he would get something in return. While he had no vocal answer, he could see certain things come fruition. Like the birth of his daughter, Asha.

• He gifted her an empty journal and a hand made pencil as his final gift to her, when he was closer to his passing. He wanted her to keep going for her passion to draw.

• He was the closest thing to a friend Magnifico had, as he shared a sort of fascination with the stars.

• He kept a journal of every new discovery he made about the stars and the result of asking upon one. Since Magnifico came up with the idea of wishes becoming physical, Tomás wondered if there wasn't a physical requirement to get them granted. He also felt a but stronger and optimistic in their presence.

•The man shared this information with Magnifico and Amaya in hopes of helping make the kingdom more prosperous and help the citizens as well.

• Tomás hear rumors of a Hamlet from a certain citizen, and that some people don't trust the royals and secretly created a haven to hide their wishes from them. This is when he started to get suspicious of the king and queen and attempted to get his wish back. Unfortunately, he wasn't more cautious of Sabor lurking around...

•Tomás died in his late 30's by an unknown illness. It wasn't natural causes.

And now for Sakina! (her WG design will come later, so take this concept art for now) It didn't sit well with me that Asha's family was barely in the film and had no impact in the story. Sabino was already robbed of his song, but her mother was barely memorable. Considering they were both used as hostages by Magnifico originally, clearly they had more of a role before. So for Wish Granted, I wanted to at least flesh her out as well as Tomás.

• Sakina was born in Rosas, but both her parents were African. (Once again, keeping in line with canon)

• Her wish is to become the best seamstress and create clothing so beautiful that even royalty would want to wear it. This is actually canon as well according to the art book, but her wish wasn't technically seen in the film. It actually went to some other background character.

• When Tomás fell ill, she went go to the king and queen for their help. Sakina hoped they could use their magic to heal him. Magnifico told her he'd find a cure for him through one of Amaya's spells. She didn't find out until later that they never made a cure.

• She did have plans for having the Rosas citizens have better attire (they're outfits looked a bit bland, and almost like they weren't meant to stand out at all) So she asked Asha to design an example outfit that would bring a bit more culture and style. (the pic below shows what she originally wanted to dress herself in)

• Sakina did become a bit bitter and resentful after her family and life was affected by the royals. Sabino convinced her not to lose herself for the sake of Asha.

• While she and Sabino sometimes argue, it's usually over something small, or not wanting the old man to get into trouble with the other residents. That or he might hurt himself exploring the forest. (Asha seems to enjoy going with him, though)

• Since her original wish was taken, Sakina settled on making clothes for the people of the Hamlet. She also made blankets, sweaters, quilts and much more with the help of three older women. Although the two of them can never agree on some of the clothes being blue or pink.

• Sakina also created Valentino's little sweater!

• She taught Asha and a few other residents how to sow as well. This is the closest she's gotten to her wish, so there's some comfort in that. Now the animals want to help make some outfits after they were given the ability to talk. She doesn't know how to feel about that...😅

• While she's not arrogant, she does have some sass to her, which is where Asha got it from. 😂 Her personality is based off of Chicha from Emperor's New Groove.

• She doesn't pressure Asha to date, but much like Sabino she does want to her find someone special like how she had Tomás. Both Sakina and Sabino hoped that she was interested in Flazino, but nothing happened. She does see him as family though.

• One fact has to be hidden until the end of the story. The only hint I can give is that she's always wanted a son.

And that wraps another bio up! I haven't really seen many of these for her parents in other rewrites, so I wanted to flesh them out some more here! I know Tomás is gone here, but his death is really important here for later chapters. As well as another bonus story showing what caused his death. I just wanted to make sure that they feel like characters and not just extras.

I'll make some more new/updated bios later, but for now, I hope you liked this! Now I'm going to start working on the next chapter and continue making the teaser poster!

@your-ne1ghbor @tumblingdownthefoxden @chillwildwave @jojo-ker06 @snackara @oh-shtars @natsuki208 @spectator-zee @starss-artss @thesafireartist @ishadow246 @pinkninja0708