#and she was silent for Too Long

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

You're lucky I <3 you and am not fully taking advantage of your ask game.

I <3 u too beloved

[good-beans]

this is so stupid but i always have fun imagining the milgram characters watching their own/others mvs and seeing their reactions, especially for MeMe

That’s not stupid at all, thank you so much for the ask!! It’s sooo interesting to think about! I planned on just posting this drabble, but the more I thought about it, the more I started jotting down headcanons for everyone 👀 Of course there’s the initial disbelief and shock that Milgram can really do what it claims, but once they accept that, they’d have a lot of interesting reactions…

Es gets to watch the video first, then the prisoners are free to watch their own in the privacy of the courtroom/extraction room/wherever. Other prisoners can watch them only with explicit permission from the video’s singer. No one is allowed to watch Undercover except for Es. At first they spend hours looking at those final frames of themself flinching from the camera, hoping to jog any sort of memories, but eventually they give up on it. While actually watching it, they don’t mind the murder silhouettes. While sleeping, however, it has triggered more than one nightmare.

Haruka: He thinks Weakness is very pretty – he’s amazed seeing himself on the screen and hearing his voice, knowing he’s not that good of a singer. Even before his innocent verdict, it gives him a huge surge of confidence. Once he gets to know the others better, he gives them mv permissions, then stares intently at their faces to see their reactions as they watch it. AKAA scares him a bit, seeing his own intense emotions on screen, and he only gives Muu permission to see it. When he’s alone, Haruka pauses the shots of his mother, just to stare for a while.

Yuno: Laughs at the symbolism her mind used in Umbilical. She’s never shied away from sexual words/thoughts, so it's funny the video was as tame as it was. She thinks the song is fun, and isn’t afraid to show the others and sing snippets of it around the prison. Some days it’s too emotional for her to get into it, but most of the time she tries to display a confident attitude about it. After Tear Drop, she’s satisfied with her anger and more overtly sexual images. If anything, she feels too exposed by the shots of herself looking more vulnerable/sad. 

Fuuta: He experiences a solid mix of embarrassment at the gaming theme in Bring it On and feeling a surge of pride that he looks badass in the knight’s armor. He’s worried the warden won’t take him seriously with the video game obsession, but he absolutely loves the song and thinks it portrays his toughness and ideals well. He’s less thrilled with Backdraft, everything about it unsettles and embarasses him. He’s thrown by the shot of crossing out his own silhouette – he’d had self-harming thoughts, but wasn’t quite ready to confront them so blatantly yet. Like Haruka, he can be caught pausing the arcade shot just for a moment before turning the whole thing off and storming away.

Muu: She has mixed emotions towards After Pain. She hates seeing herself look so weak and pathetic, but it gives her a lot of hope that her story will be understood. She misses her friends, and seeing them again is bittersweet. She closes her eyes at the moment of the stabbing – she’s only gotten the courage to watch it through her fingers once. She watches INMF once, then refuses to look at it again from shame/horror. Despite Haruka’s begging, she doesn’t let him watch it, either. 

Shidou: He asks Es what they saw in Throw Down. Upon finding out his family wasn’t in it, he chooses not to watch it. He believes he already knows all about his emotions and crime, so there’s no need to go through that pain again. He’s tempted to watch it when he’s confused about Es’ verdict, but still holds off. He does watch Triage when informed his family is in it. He spends hours in front of the screen by himself. Only after seeing that one does he watch Throw Down, though he’s still left confused about Es’ decisions.

Mahiru: Absolutely loves TIHTBILWY. She thinks it perfectly describes her situation, and that the song is very cute. She lets others watch it, and unlike Yuno, feels like singing it 24/7. It reminds her of her bf, and she thinks that’s very romantic. Similar to Shidou, she spends a lot of time watching I Love You just to look at her boyfriend. She shows it to everyone, just to show him off and talk about him, even if she does skip over the beginning and end each time.

Kazui: He is very similar to Shidou; he refuses to watch his videos until T2, assuming it would be too painful to watch something he already knows and wishes to avoid. Unlike Shidou, seeing Hinako is far too painful, and he regrets watching it and seeing her so happy on their wedding day. Though maybe he’s still waiting, and hasn’t seen any of the videos yet…

Amane: Magic makes her worry more than anything. She fears she’s poisoned by unnecessary vainness since so much of her video involves cute things, colors, outfits, animals, and is set up like a tv show. She’s also worried that Es and the others will really see her as a child because of how cute the whole thing is. She prevents herself from watching it too many times, but buried under all her fears, it gives her a surge of pride seeing herself so talented and pretty and the star of the show. Purge March only reaffirms her confidence in her crime – the video brings up some awful memories, but it shows her as a leader, a warrior, a hero! It brings her comfort and confidence more than anything.

Mikoto/John: The videos are distressing to both of them, and they spend all their time studying the others’ screentime. Mikoto watches in horror as John does things that line up with his spotty memories, and John panics seeing that his actions distress Mikoto more than they’ve reassured/saved him. John does end up watching his own scenes a few times – it feels incredibly good to appear in a way that Mikoto may finally notice him. He feels seen. Now, logically I think that MeMe would be the final tipping point in which Mikoto finally accepts the situation and his DID, but if I must stick to his canon denial, then I’d say he goes on a whole rant about movie magic andt the crazy things you can do with editing nowadays. He doesn’t have a good explanation on how Milgram found his home and knew so much about him, but he explains everything away as cgi or camera effects. Double manages to sway him a bit more, as he hears John speak so plainly to him. Just as the audience had some debate on who was apologizing at the end of Double, Mikoto and John wonder who is apologizing to whom. Though they both come to the conclusion it’s their own apology, they decide that if it was the others’, they’d accept it and forgive them.

Kotoko: She’s very pleased with Harrow, and is unashamed to show it to the others. Though she’d been able to watch a few of the previous prisoners’ videos, it still shakes her a bit when she realizes that Milgram really does have the tech to look deep inside her. She watches it just a few times – not obsessing over it, but not afraid either. Deep Cover, however, is a once-and-done sort of deal. She claims she’s not letting the others watch it because “they couldn’t handle such harsh but true criticisms about themselves,” but she doesn’t end up watching it anymore herself, either.

[arabela25]

Carpe Diem, Joker Out | Slovenia, Eurovision Song Contest 2023

[stretchydyke]

what they don't tell u about is that when in the kamabakka kingdom sanji eventually stops running away from the ladies and he starts cooking and learning new recipes with them. and as they cook together sanji chats away and randomly opens up about his childhood and how he was always punished for his femininity but it'll always be an important part of him and all the kamabakka cooks just listen and nod along to him talking about his trans feelings. sometimes they share a side eye with each other when sanji gets too oblivious about being trans

[leiascully]

Rewatching Pilot and realizing how red Karen Swenson's hair is and something something Karen-Billy-Theresa/Scully-Mulder-Samantha parallels. It's not a fully formed thought. But there's something.

[silenthillbunni]

☃️

[tonariofjananda]

I think about this moment a lot.

Like. It feels really rude that Fushi’s just brushing Tonari off like this, jerking his hand away as if he’s annoyed she even tried to touch him in the first place. The fact that we don’t even see his expression when he does this makes it feel extra brutal. But I think a lot of people see this scene as if Fushi rejecting Tonari’s ‘advances,’ so to speak, and I’m not convinced that’s what’s happening here.

Like, yeah we see that big love bubble at the corner of the panel while she’s telling Fushi how important he is to her, but Tonari’s just reflected on how she feels about him and ultimately rejected her own feelings. Romantic love is not something she wants to feel for Fushi. So I don’t think she was working her way up to a confession. At least, not intentionally (it’s not her fault Fushi’s an empath)!

Instead I think this scene is supposed to be a parallel of the moment that happens between Gugu and Rean.

Gugu doesn’t tear his hand away from Rean’s because he doesn’t want to hear her confession. He isn’t running away because he doesn’t love her back. Gugu pulls away from Rean because he’s rejecting the concern she has for him and his safety. He realizes there’s something greater that he needs to focus on, something he feels only he‘s strong enough to take care of. And he wants to take care of it to keep her and the people he loves safe. Gugu loves her, it’s just not the right time for him to indulge in it.

In my opinion Fushi feels similarly to Gugu (not the reciprocation part though). He appreciates Tonari’s concern and love for him- that’s why he smiles a little and thanks her- but it’s not the right time for him to indulge in that. He‘s still trying to prove that the world is at peace (something he’s doing because of her, for her), he doesn’t need or want her getting involved in his fight against the nokkers.

I wanna reemphasize that I’m not trying to argue that Fushi secretly reciprocates Tonari’s romantic feelings- he’s already said he’s never felt that way about anyone before. I just don’t think he’s outright rejecting them either.

I think the hands in this scene are also what get people thinking this scene is a little more romantic than it is. It’s a standard cliche where one character stops another from leaving after all lmao. But this to me is what solidifies this as a scene that’s not inherently romantic.

Them grabbing at each other like this is a much older, a much deeper thing for them. Back when they were on Jananda, they’d often grab at each other’s wrists because they could never quite see eye to eye. Tonari specifically would grab at Fushi’s wrists a lot when trying to impose her will on him and drag him along. Once they start understanding each other, however, their hands actually touch (ex. Tonari pressing Oopa’s blow dart to the back of Fushi’s hand).

This scene is a little mix of the two. Tonari’s grabbing Fushi’s wrist to stop him from leaving (imposing her will on him) but her hand overlaps with his palm a little (trying to understand him). Tonari doesn’t know what’s happening completely, but she knows enough to know something’s wrong. In a way, Tonari grabbing for his hand is her appealing to Fushi to open up, to let her in, follow through on this connection that’s always been theirs.

But he doesn’t. Fushi rejects it.

I think the chapter image shows it all pretty well too. They’re both reaching out for each other. But while Tonari’s solid in her attempts to reach him, Fushi's all fuzzy. It's as if these are his emotions. Like, subconsciously he wants to reach out, but he can't. So close, yet so far…

[musubiki]

lime "You can't just CRY every time you wanna get your way!" vs mochi "I'm not CRYING to get my way, I'm CRYING because I don't like being YELLED AT!!!!!!!"

[monty-glasses-roxy]

Taking a moment from the strike to say I'm changing the pinned post back to the Francine comic in light of recent issues with an apparent increase in transphobia. This is your reminder that this blog loves and supports transfolk of all kinds and any transphobes here can get fucking lost.

[tankgotstuckinthecircusgate]

like im sorry but sofia who hid her cruelty behind softness? sofia who used charity not out of pure motives but as an actual pr campaign to create a positive image? sofia who inflated the license story into a real increase in crime and total disaster just to put oswald in jail and take his place? and yet all the while maintaining an image of being innocent (the victim, even) of what's going on? she was amazing

[tev-the-random]

Behold: the dumbest joke I've ever made.

[hella1975]

holy shit manbaby pussy boss if you even entertain the thought of flicking at me again even as a little haha jokey joke i will BREAK your fingers i will chew them off your hands and add them to the menu under goujons

[silenthillbunni]

...📓🖊🧸💘💭

[there-will-be-a-way]

Thinking about who I really want to be in my life - and who makes an effort to keep me in theirs. Thinking about how, during our Sunday evening family gathering, no one asked me how I've been. Maybe they're just tired of my bullshit, is what I thought. But if someone close to me came back from detox, I would ask them how they're doing. No matter how many times it's been. Because I care.

Thinking about how during the last three months, it's always been me to ask my sister to hang out. Maybe this week I won't ask and see what happens. Thinking about how during the time I lived in a different city, it was always me who drove the long way (and payed a shit ton for the bus tickets even though I'm piss poor) to visit my family. Thinking about how when I invited my parents over for cake and coffee, they forgot and I stood there with the cake I baked and no one but my aunt and me to eat it.

Thinking about how people who have known me for a couple of weeks have a better idea of who I am than the ones who've known me my whole life.

Future roommate takes moving to a different state into consideration. If it weren't for the good friends I have here (and my professional support system), I would fuck off.

I'm tired.

[cosmicrhetoric]

NO HE FUCKING DIDNT..........AUUUGH

[feietouhuo]

informal headcanon, but i don’t think the reason mu qing doesn’t consider himself friends with xie lian during book 2 a thing about xie lian not understanding class/power difference. it’s very obvious xie lian knows they stand in entirely different places in life & even mentions that consequences against mu qing, a servant, are vastly different than the consequences against xie lian, the crown prince.

it’s definitely something mu qing strays away from himself. while he wants to be close with xie lian, he distances himself from that possibility as much as possible during book 2. during his first ever visit to the palace & the first ever time he met royalty, he got a) qi rong throwing a tea cup at him & soaking his clothes in front of the queen, b) got told the king’s decree that servants were still inferior, no matter how the relationship may change, and c) bullied by other disciples just for picking cherries for people below mount taicang. but the only thing mu qing ever says about it is for xie lian to not get involved & to not show or bring it up. because it’ll ruin whatever friendship he could have with others.

so, in the end, mu qing longed to become his friend, but knew that it would come at the cost of everyone’s vehement opposition. he just really didn’t want to be a bother to xie lian & have him make others mad for his sake. after all, the first time they met, it was mu qing’s fault for people talking behind xie lian’s back since he stole the golden leaf foil. he just never realized xie lian wouldn’t care & only saw feng xin & mu qing in good light.

it was always for xie lian’s sake.