#unity the hivemind

[18plusrick]

welcome rickfucker class of 2024

elephant in the room: this blog isn't exactly the most tumblr friendly so i gotta be careful about stuff but you know what we're doing here. this is exactly what it says on the tin, block if you're not interested.

so heyyy if you know any other blogs or twitter pages that post/repost spicy rick content without including r1ck0rty and the like, please let me know about em.

no underage or incest shit here. unless you count rickcest or jerrick as incest

right now im tagging for ships, different ricks, and trans rick but if there's anything you want me to tag just ask

ships and content warning under the cut

~content~

solo ricks, rickcest, prickcest, stanchez, jerrick, birdrick, rick x unity, rick x reader (x viewer? i mostly reblog pictures, not fanfic, but whatever). there's also the occasional oc, self insert, or random alien.

tentacles, omorashi, blood including both bleeding wounds and menstrual blood, drugs alcohol and cigarettes, needles, bdsm (maybe? idrk what counts but there's pain stuff and like binds and leather), probably spoilers

[riccidraws]

Okay

I'm crazy but I've been sitting on my own headcanon/theory that they officially thought of too now it seems

Tdlr for those who wouldn't read it without knowing what about:

So it's a theory going on into how HIVE minds and UNITY are a specific type of fungus, it daps into CORDYCEPS and in one of the newer episodes where there are fungi and they affect animals there is a hint that it calls the affected as a HIVE and the "COLLECTIVE"

additional info for better understanding- underground system that fungi has is mycelium (above structure is just a fruit)

Mycelium- kinda like a root but connected between fruits

Imma start fuckin headcanoning that unity evolved from mushrooms

CAUSE HOLY DAMN

But mushrooms do create intricate structures underground that can go for meters if not kilometers (I haven't really checked YET)

And since they're kinda one organism by that mycelium while having the part that we eat (just casual mushroom 🍄🍄‍🟫) look like they're not connected ABOVE the ground it does look similar to how Unity works

(connection between fruits isn't visible to us above the ground.)

I mean I could go to shit like 5th dimension that connects the minds that we simply don't see (just like with mycelium vs fruit of the shrooms)

And to us it looks like their separate while they're LITERALLY connected

ADD TO THAT CORDYCEPS???

And then it could BE a fungi that takes over "MINDS" (MORE LIKE just control of the body cause the people after they are released are fine and their brains seem intact)

SO with all that written. I'm headcanoning Unity being some sort of fungi plus my Rick since he made himself a hive mind is attracted to all fungi plus flora (fungi use flora or fauna to survive and while some are parasitic they are mostly symbiotic and in a way help plants)

I just had to dump it THAHAHA

Pic kinda showing ho mycelium might look in 5th dimension on hive mind and compared to normal fungus and it's mycelium.

So I'm just going crazy cause my theory has been thought on by the writers

Animal affected by the fungus started saying literally:

"I can feel them... The hive...", "now the collective is calling me..."

It's just so fuckin cool to me I can't lie-

It does not help much with the idea that UNITY has evolved from fungus BUT it does show that this idea exists in canon.

It still is my headcanon for my own Rick (50-RΔ-35)'s hive mind (originally unity) is a fungus that he stole from une connecting it to his own mind making himself into a hive mind.

So anyway that was my theory

I've been debating on how to post it here before the episode too but now I just HAD TO

[ifyourereadingthisblinktwice]

i’ve been thinking. i think the events of blood in the bayou jrwi would be corruption ritual attempt. i think there could be some flesh in there, but the whole hive mind thing. that’s so corruption

[sadiewritingco]

R&M Fanfiction - Silence

@onemorefromthemultiverse’s Rick and Morty au and ocs really inspired me to make a zombie au! So I highly recommend checking out some of their posts :)

Relationships - Rick Sanchez & Morty Smith, Morty smith & Summer smith, Rick Sanchez & Unity, Morty Smith & Unity

Characters - Morty smith, Unity, Summer Smith, Rick Sanchez

Tags & warnings - graphic depictions of violence, zombie apocalypse, alternate universe - zombie apocalypse, amnesia, angst, whump, possible character death, dissociation, memory loss, missing persons, Morty smith needs a hug, depressed Morty smith, hurt Morty smith

Summary - Morty doesn't know how long it's been since the Hosting happened. He doesn't know where the rest of his family is, if they're even alive. He doesn't really know why he doesn't remember things anymore. He doesn't know what made him go back to his old home, to that garage that held so many different ways for him to remember. All he knows is that he needs to survive, that he needs to find his family, and that he needs to find a way to escape this dimension.

he told himself that he'd be cautious, he trained it into himself after so long being alone in a dead world. But sometimes caution has to be disregarded, to survive.

(I changed the fic name from “caution” to “silence” btw)

Chapters - 3/?

Current word count - 8,623

Link -

[icedsodapop]

Thoughts on Sinners (2025):

I would like to thank god and Wunmi Mosaku's titties

Me when I saw Bo Chow:

This is probably Ryan Coogler's horniest film to date, and I love that

Holy shit, the sound mixing 🙌🏻

After hating on the White Americans, the French and the Spaniards in the Black Panther films, Ryan Coogler really turned to the Irish and said, "don't worry, I didn't forget about yall too!!"

3 words - Choctaw. Vampire. Hunters. Ryan Coogler, I demand a prequel

No but the Choctaw Vampire Hunters were hilarious. They can't be bothered to put in the labour to help the kkk couple. They really went, "you invited it, you deal with it. Godspeed." And peaced the fuck out ✌🏻 good for them

And the scene of the kkk couple inviting the Remmick the Irish vampire into their home while holding guns to the Choctaw pple even tho the Choctaw pple were trying to warn them? Perfect symbolism for how White pple would rather shoot themselves in the foot than listen to people of colour

Jayme Lawson's married ass getting her pussy eaten out by the male ingenue character, I support women's rights and women's wrongs 🫡

Me when the White music kinda slapped:

When Cornbread started going on about love and unity when he returned from peeing in the trees, I nearly yelled, "oh my god he's in the sunken place!!"

When the Irish vampire started river dancing during a tense moment:

The contrast between Sammie's music bringing pple/spirits of different times and cultures together while Remmick's is front and center in his ghoulish dance scene

Also the vampires only singing Remmick's songs but not songs from their respective communities even tho he preached about love and unity. Remmick speaking Cantonese only to threaten the Chinese shop owner.

The vampire hivemind being a metaphor for how White supremacy erases the uniqueness of different cultures to create the singular culture of whiteness

Remmick the victim of forced anglicisation of Ireland, Remmick the settler on Indigenous American land, Remmick who violently attempts to exploit a Black man's music to hear his (white) Irish kin again. Ryan Coogler, your mind

Sammie's music 🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 Annie's hoodoo religion being a bridge to the ancestors and the homeland. But while Sammie's music invites danger becos it can be exploited, Annie's spiritual beliefs helps them in contrast to how hoodoo has been demonised and dismissed

When the credits started rolling:

[msookyspooky]

plzzz tell me youve watched sinners!!

I DID THIS LAST SATURDAY!!! Ya know I'm a damn sucker for Western/Midwestern/Southern/Appalachian Vampires! (All the great sybolism for assimilation, racism, appropriation etc; I LOVE THE EYES SO MUCH IT'S LIKE A REFLECTIVE CAT EYE FOR NIGHT VISION AND SO MUCH BETTER THAN RED CONTACTS; FUCKIN GENUIS-)

And now, yall are getting Remmick and maybe some Stack content in ur future whether u like it or not.... Especially Remmick. I see a tragic unhinged vampire that looks similar to Bo Sinclair or Severen Van Sickle and I simp ♡ Like, I have A TYPE now! They got that face and lore and personality? I'm done for lol (I dont rlly crave Smoke and Sammie in a non PG way; they aren't my type. I like my messy loser boys and dangerously reckless charming men)

My Remmick HC:

To start...

- This is our man's energy he brings to the function

Yall have to accept this about him.

Spoilers ahead!!

- He thinks he's the funniest person ever. He just says shit to make himself giggle atp. The type to laugh at his own jokes before anyone else does

- More a hc of the vamps in general; like Near Dark vampires that after feeding they're euphoric. It's why he acts so unhinged everytime he just bit someone or is about to; It's not as much 'his true self' as much as 'that boy is high/drunk' and its so often it might as well be his real self lmfao

- Also thinks he's so suave, charming and cool like CLEARLY why WOULDN'T the Juke Joint catch his vibe and let him in? 😒🤔 (Pretty Fly for a White Guy ass vampire) He's the embodiment of a dorky cool loser in the best way because he's so bad it looks good.

- Wipes out all the time when he's landing from flying especially near sunrise. He just makes it look like it was 'on purpose' like 'Oh, I rolled because that looks neat'...No. He missed.

- Has a really old, dark, sadistic fucked up sense of humor

- My hc is he's Fae. Fae and vampires are actually pretty damn similar in a lot of folklore and so many Fae rules were in this movie! (Don't take gold, don't tell them your name, don't dance in a fairy ring/circle they create are just a few of the rules I saw broken in the film)...And that means he can't lie! Now, idk if this is Canon or just fun HC bc I highly highly doubt the Choctaw killed his wife (Unless he was truly being vague and if you pressed he'd have to admit 'English' rather than 'Choctaw' like he's trying to manipulate with...Like he's not lying just being so vague it is a lie.)

- If there ever WAS a wife with that ring he wears while human; he did love her and wears that ring to remember not only her but their heritage ♡ Might even have immense guilt over how she died.

- His most 'true' songs that are HIS were *Rocky Road to Dublin* and *Will ye go, Lassie go?*

- Hot-take: He did not want Sammie as solely a tool like I've seen so many say. He wanted Sammie as a forced friend with benefits to ancestor connection after so much loneliness. He wanted forced kinship both with his ancestors and other vampires. He says "I want your stories, I want your songs...And you gonna have mine." That's a union of two people even if it's toxic, power imbalanced, etc It's like a friend that's also using you while being friends. Man wanted VIP access to the spirit world/his ancestors and Sammie was the cool rockstar he wanted to be friends with.

- He doesn't do this for power. His whole shtick is he's lonely even if he goes about it wrong. For roughly 1300 years he's been utterly alone and separated from his heritage, culture, people and modern Irish don't count as we see with the 1911 ship incident. He did NOT create the Hivemind vampires for power. He truly wanted 'family' and failed over and over from the ship in 1911 with Irish Immigrants to God knows how many more times before and after.

- He is/was Pagan and they really do believe, especially during times of druids, in nature and spirits and love and unity. So again, he TRULY THINKS the hivemind is natural and all 'one love'...He says "They told stories of a God above and a devil below, and lies of a dominion of man over beast and Earth. We are Earth and beast of God. We are woman and man. We are connected, you and I, to everything."....Why? Because he's saying people and animals and nature are connected and no one race of man rules all. That man and woman are connected and all people are as well. He genuinely believes that his 'gift' is a way to bring people together how they 'should be'. That wasn't a lie. When a hivemind Mary says 'we're gon' kill every last one of you'...Well yes, because to die is to become them. It wasn't a threat but a fact. And Remmick even calls it 'sweet merciful death' or something along those lines....He's not killing them for fun or power even if it does come off that way. He's killing them to offer his 'gift' and to have a better world (He literally says this and I truly do not think he's lying there) even if that better world is just HIS world and he has a damn God Complex.

- His spit is toxic. It's thick af and venomous and probably will kill you, subdue you, or is part of the turning process (Bc there was no reason for it to be that goopey; I gagged lol)

- He code switches to get whatever he wants. Aka the fake Southern accent and using whatever words or stories will get him in (Switching from the Tribes proper name to the slur of the time bc he realized it's what that couple wanted to hear)....Not necessarily lies but definitely switching word useage or tone. We see him switch up to what he knew would gain sympathy from racist. (I mean it was that or be killed out in the sun lol)

-  Hot-Takeish: He's so old, from a time period where heritage was discriminated as much or more than skintone, that he is ignorant and gets mistaken for outright racist especially in the area and time he's in. Even by a modern lens take, when he really is not. Probably first learned American segregation and racism through skintone from the Klans couples minds as well as Smoke and them at the Juke Joint. Because he was in Europe UNTIL 1911: That's canon. So he wasn't here during Civil War era or the Height of Slavery and who knows how present he even was for over a millennia in Europe. That "Oh, because we're ✋🏻" while pointing to his skin was genuine; like a relic learning a modern take that probably dumbfounds him for a hot minute. (Then he sings his lil appropriated song and Smoke stops him before the slurs and now I'm wondering if he rolled with it so they'd come out to beat his ass bc he knew it would be irksome OR if he was just going by what the Couples minds knew and used it without context?)

- He HATES Christianity with a passion even if he reluctantly memorized verses!!! He might even be violent if he met an Irishman who was Catholic, or even worse, Protestant because for him it's like seeing the damage the opressors did and seeing your own ppl erase themselves. Would go into a passionate angry rant about Christianity like Lestat did at Louis house in IWTV. Eyes glowing, fangs lengthening, accent coming out-

- Drools easily. Like, maybe when his teeth lengthen it hurts the gums and he can't help it but...Turned on? Drool. Hungry? Drool. Angry? Drool. Excited? Drool. He's like a wet mouth dog istg

- He is the embodiment of nothing else to lose AND hurt people, hurt people. He feels lonely, rejected, isolated, for CENTURIES...Centuries. He hears Sammie play and he is one track minded and messy to get to see his ancestors/people no matter who it hurts

- Is 100% faking that southern accent and can fake most accents but his Irish brogue comes out at times

- Used Cantonese and the Travelin' song JUST to freak the living out bc he knew they'd know 'Hey, I'm so powerful I used Bo amd Stack's memory so you might as well join me'.

- His true form is similar to the bat form of Dracula's in the 1992 film...Some ppl swear they hear wings flapping in the final scene AND we see his ears pointing a tad, nails lengthening, teeth sharpening and as old and powerful as he is ESPECIALLY if he's based on Abhartach;....Oh yeah, that creature is grotesque under his boyish human face and we ALMOST saw it when Sammie hits him with the guitar

- Remmick shows he is musically inclined himself and it's my HC he himself was a Filídh as a human. Turned by being tricked by the Fae, turned by losing hope/being consumed with grief or turned by being bitten. And that Sammie, as a Griot, would've turned into a Remmick and not part of the hivemind OR one step above them somehow had he been bit.

- Can control who is part of the hivemind and who isn't. Joan and Bert? He had complete control with how much they had to put their prejudice aside to be near Black ppl. Oh yep, he had those two on one helluva tight leash. Bo? Pretty much complete or close to it control to lure Grace. Mary? Controlled but not completely because she still picked Stack on her own as her first victim (...Was that Remmick in Mary's mind riding Stack- 😦👀) Stack? I actually think he was the least controlled and that being turned really is like euphoria/drug that clouds the mind and he saw 'vision' / opportunity to use vampirism to their advantage. No different than opportunities they took in Chicago. And we saw Mary lost the hivemind over Annie's death so either he ONLY has control when they're freshly turned/young and weak willed against the venom in their veins OR he picks and chooses based on who bucks him the most.

- Can read minds, read moods, smell fear, smell death, smell disease, smell sex/horniness (FUCK...I would've died.) sees spirits, sees the thinning viel, see the past, might even see the future (Even if he missed ya know getting killed by the sun lol)

- Speaking of, he might sleep normal like Near Dark vampires, might burrow underground...Or he might sleep like The Lost Boy vampires by his batfeets from a ceiling 🦇

Romantic + Some NSFW HC:

- Wants to merge with you. Wants to be you and you him. Wants to become one soul to fuse and be chained to walk the Earth together forever. To move through the world as each others other halves...THERE IS NO HALF-ASSED COURTSHIP! Nope, if he truly wants you, he WILL move with conviction

- He is HORNY. Idc his offer to Grace was outta pocket lmfao he is down bad. He'd probably shudder violently and moan if you jerked him by the hair or slapped him

- Codependency and possessiveness soooo bad in a relationship...ANY RELATIONSHIP! Even platonic he seems like he'd be the 'we gotta do everything together' type

- He only dominates at first when you're still hesitant with him or if you want him to but at his darkened rotten heart he is obedient for his loves

- He is needy and clingy and desperate to please. He may act on top of things but if he thought someone he shared a connection with was mad or upset with him? Que the big blue (Red?) puppy eyes and doing anything to change their mind

- Would be a toxic ass and use his hivemind abilities on a vampiric partner to 'persuade them' to not be in a mood/angry/hurt. Just for minor annoyances/them ignoring him... Almost cheeky in a way even if his partner/mate glares afterwards similar to Jasper in New Moon with Bella in the hallway

- If you asked him not to control you? Done. I'm so serious, he really is not some egomaniac in my HC he's just so damn weird and use to rejection he forces things to be loved. Like, his ego is he thinks he's helping not that he's above anyone. He is so lonely and he'd be like a Gomez Addams to a partner. Just express discomfort with the idea of him controlling your mind before turning (or after maybe?) and he won't.

- Praise kink. Has dog energy like you tell him he's 'good' and his preening (might drool) like some dumb happy dog you just called a 'good boy'. Tell him he's good during sex and he moans loudly. Eager to please.

- Is a switch with a sub lean. If he doesn't love you; he'll dom you. He'll push your legs back, mock you, pound into you. If he adores you though it's over for that creature. He will let you do just about whatever you please so long as you love him

- Traditional old-fashioned courting. Even after you turn; flowers, poems, serenading you, getting you meals/blood.

- FREAK. Drooling freak that would lowkey get off on pain and most kinks.

- Nuzzling. Nuzzles more than he kisses; almost like a creature (Technically is one)

- Idk how he sleeps but you gotta be wrapped up in his arms.

- Is so protective of you it's borderline possessive and controlling in a mother-hen way. You're his only true person, hivemind or not, and he CANNOT live without you. If something happened to you he'd be devastated and he cannot lose his people twice. He just can't.

- Sings Gaeilge to you all the time. Letting your head rest in his lap after a long night. Running his clawed fingertips over your scalp after a feeding and sings a song only he knows in his old mother's tongue that brings you both comfort

- Your pleasure is his pleasure. He could give you sexual/physical pleasure and get nothing in return and still be satisfied seeing you unravel beneath him from oral to a massage; as long as your sated

- Purrs (It's more like a growling groan that vibrates his chest) when you run your fingers through his hair, scratch his back or massage his shoulders.

- Picks you up to fly short distances with you; even if sometimes that's grabbing you by the shirt or arm in an emergency and him complaining you're deadweight in that position (He made you hit multiple branches on the way lol)

- If you're turned, he shields you from the sun with his own body out of pure instinct. You're the first one he grabs and tries to find shelter for; his own hide be damned.

- Gives you humans to drink with a proud look of a provider and predator.

- If you're human, you won't be for long lets be real. But if you are? He's extremely careful with you. Going easy on you and drooling at how damn good you smell to him. (Might graze his fangs teasingly over your flesh as a 'things to come' type of gesture)

[see-arcane]

One thing that I really liked is how the Juke's spiritual dance scene was so vibrant and diverse, not a single person was dancing the same, different ancestors from different cultures and different music styles yet so clear that the meaning of the music evolved despite being severed by colonialism, even the chinese spirits were opera actors! The fire burning through the physical dimension of the wood, representing unity and freedom powered by Sammie... then the irish vampire dance comes, and it's just so so flat.

No one is irish, not a single person (except Remmick) there knows what the rocky road to Dublin means culturally yet they sing it in a shrill tone, he is the only one dancing in the middle of the circle, and suddenly everyone forcibly moves in a hivemind around him to worship HIS culture. There are no dancers, no different music rhythms, and certainly no ancestors nor future people.

While Sammie brought both alive and dead with his voice and music in harmony to celebrate past present and future in a space of true community, Remmick could only imitate it in a desperate attempt for community while gleefully colonizing black and brown people just like how the english colonized his.

1000% this.

Sammie's gift manifests what community actually is, weaving together a collection of multiple identities with a shared culture, history, and heart at its roots. It's celebratory and a revel of everything past, present, and future. Identity, but not identical.

Remmick's imitation is only a showcase of himself and the warped vestiges of his own culture and past, leaving room for nothing else, all of it forced onto unwilling participants to play along in what amounts to a puppet show performance to make Remmick alone feel better. We see proof in the end credits with Stack and Mary that, while still monstrous, vampirism here is not a thing that innately causes you to colonize on impulse. They were only themselves, independent as a simple duo.

The full colonizing/conscripting route comes strictly from Remmick. He is the one choosing to actively violate and force his will onto trapped souls the way you'd playact with dolls, all the while willfully blind to how he's repeating the same evil that the English forced on him and his long-dead community.

I honestly wonder what would have happened if Remmick had got hold of Sammie in the end. Either forced him to turn or wrung some pity-performance out of him, calling up Remmick's ancestors and descendants...only for those spirits not to dance and commune with him the way the spirits reveled in the juke joint.

The spirits Sammie conjured with talent, love, and joy were there to celebrate among their people. And Remmick's community, if they deigned to appear, what could they possibly have to celebrate in that bloodstained night, seeing what this member of their kin has done? This distorted funhouse mirror version of the same bastards who stole their land and their culture and their lives, making those sins worse twice over with an existential undead hell of souls enslaved to his hive mind will? No. They wouldn't dance. They wouldn't revel.

Remmick's lucky he died before he could drag Sammie into his hell and coerce a summoning song out of him. The stake and sun took him before he had to see exactly what kind of reception his dead and future community would think of his work on earth. (Though I imagine all that is waiting for him still, wherever he's gone.)

[dami-anne-damn]

Spoilers Ahead for Cookie Run Kingdom!!

(All images below belong to and are credited to Devsisters, the developers of Cookie Run Kingdom.)

So I’ve been reading through all of the transcripts from the official leaks shown in the Carnival of Shadows and I think that it gave us an interesting little look into Silent Salt Cookie (and others but I really wanna focus on Silent Salt for a moment—) and what to expect from their update! I’ve gotta tell you guys, I’m thrilled to bits!

As we saw from their concept art, The Beast Cookies we know now were once supposed to be bug themed (very Hollow Knight core, but I digress—)! This was sorta kept in mind for a couple of them moving forward, for example Mystic Flour’s ‘cocooning’ (since her beta design was based off of an empty silk cocoon). Now, I have a pet theory for how this could potentially affect Silent Salt’s portrayal and how their Soul Jam might affect the cookies around them.

Looking into Silent Salt Cookie’s beta design we can see that they are based on an ant and their followers an ant colony. I think this ties in very well with what Silent Salt used to represent, Solidarity (Solidarity being defined as “Collective unity or agreement among individuals” and what is more unified than a literal colony! I think it’s very clever on Devsister’s part to think about going this direction~!)

Taking a look at what stayed and what went when Devsisters finalized their design, I think we could make some pretty good educated guesses on how they are going to be characterized in their episode.

In the translation it states that their original inspiration was a mix between a “Black Knight” and a “Funeral Veil”, something we can see clearly influencing both designs very heavily (and wonderfully might I add).

In specifics, a ‘Black Knight’ is a character archetype used within literature to describe a figure (usually a villain) who hides their intentions and identity behind their armor. This is done intentionally as to not reveal any of their motivates to their enemies. (They also take note to hide whom they serve.)

Where the ‘Black Knight’ is more of an archetype, the ‘Funeral Veil’ is definitely meant to be more symbolic. More specifically, used to symbolize the act of veiling one’s emotions of deep grief.

With those definitions in mind, I am willing to make the assumption that Silent Salt Cookie is going to be a silent griever. Someone who regrets the past and cannot let go of their pain, perhaps they had kept a secret for years, a terrible and dreadful memory that caused not only their downfall but also, their friends downfall.

(Sound familiar? Eh? Eh? Parallels anyone?!)

But moving on, reading the translation further it is revealed to say the following “An ant burrow is full of servants. They take care of the burrow and do various tasks. It’s a lot of people, but they are connected by a silent spirit.” This one line was the catalyst to this entire post, and I truly think this line of text reveals so much characterization and context for Silent Salt’s powers it’s unbelievable.

I am going to make the inference (based on the lines above) that Silent Salt Cookie will possess some form of telepathic implantation and hypnotic sway over their followers, and will control them much in the same way a queen ant would her colony (but with less pheromones and more mind control~!) and will be terrifying~!

Each person under their control will still be alive in a sense, but they will no longer be an individual. They will become part of a hivemind, servants tending to the will of the silent spirit that guides their very thoughts and feelings. They would all be silent, for they have no thoughts of their own to share anymore. No differing opinions, no fighting, no fear, it’s the textbook definition of complete and total Solidarity…

Except it can’t be…this ‘Solidarity’ lacks its sister, Freedom. So it can only be described as one thing…Silence.

Anyways, that’s all. Thanks for listening to my rambling. I shall now take my leave! Until next time!

(Bows and exits through a closet.)

(Also, this image is awesome. And you needed to see it!)

[glitteringcrab]

Waiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

When I saw those scenes I thought it was just Birdperson being dramatic and turning his own memories into monstrosities as he died.

But...

THAT'S CLEARLY A MEMORY.

Those red shiny eyes and sudden bloodlust are real!!

Was Birdperson's planet taken over by an evil hivemind???

Was this hivemind Unity, tainted by Rick Prime somehow???

Or was the hivemind Unity, controlled by a Federation brainalyzer or something???

Did Rick free Unity???

Is this how they met???

[febuwhump]

FEBUWHUMP COMMENT MARATHON RESULTS

over the 8th and 9th of march, our lovely febuwhump community took part in the first annual comment marathon to show some support for the febuwhump works made in the last month! while some members undoubtedly did not report their participation and numbers (as is always the case), 20 participants did, so below will list our overall numbers plus a fic rec list of some of the marathoners' (and the febuwhump mod's) favourite fics from the weekend!

TOTAL COMMENTS MADE: 769 (!!!!!!!)

TOP COMMENTER: with 150 comments over the weekend: @circus-complex - truly an insane number, thank you for taking part!!

FEBUWHUMP FIC RECS

day 28 - recovery by @creativeflowers87

1.5k | Original Work

summary: Emery pays a visit, Nyxie thinks about their past, and Calixto burns the remains thereof.

comment: it made me invested in a handful of characters I have literally never seen nor heard of before in just a short space of time. creativeflowers is a trooper for posting originals on AO3 and deserves way more attention.

You Don't Miss a Thing by @natk2002

400 | Chicago Med

summary: Will goes to work injured

comment: I just loved it so much. It was about my favorite character, as well as my favorite prompt (concealing an injury)

Try, Try Again by osculatrix

3.6k | Teen Wolf

summary: To Stiles, the world ended years ago. To everyone else, it's only been a week of hard living, of narrow escapes and near deaths.

One day, thousands of do-overs and thousands of deaths he couldn't prevent later, he's not sure when the clock will stop jumping back—if it ever will—but it doesn't matter.

He'll keep going.

comment: a teen wolf zombie apocalypse time loop fic that i will be thinking about for the rest of my life

alive (and pretty much sober) by @cimmeria-writes

1.3k | Jujutsu Kaisen

summary: “I killed Satoru Gojo.” That sentence, that arrangement of words, replays over and over and over in Suguru’s head no matter how hard he tries to get it to stop.

In which Gojo's reverse cursed technique works a little bit slower the first time.

comment: cut me deeply and did a fantastic job with using "recovery" as a whump prompt, in a very double-edged-sword way. The imagery was also immaculate. (And I am biased towards Gojo Satoru whump, I shall admit.)

The Power of Unity by @chrysochroma

500 | The Owl House

summary: what if the day of unity had actually been a little more united?

comment: a really good take on the hivemind prompt and in general just a really interesting concept around the day of unity

Outrun the Loss by @ghostintheclawmachine

2.8k | Arcane: League of Legends

summary:

Maybe in another universe, there was someone waiting for the right words. He would save his voice for her.

Unable to accept the finality of Jinx’s death, Ekko uses what little of the anomaly’s energy remains to travel between worlds and find a version of the woman he loves that he can save.

comment: so good! I love 100-word drabbles, they always deserve more appreciation, especially when someone like this writer packs so much visceral description and emotion into each one! They use every word to its fullest potential and weave each drabble into the next so well. I'll definitely be rereading often.

Do Not Stand At My Grave and Cry by @sometimesraven

1.3k | Quantum Leap

summary: “I am not there. I did not die.”

Ian knows Jenn is alive. Ian also knows Jenn died to make that possible. Reconciling those two things is proving a problem.

comment: I know nothing about this fandom but this one made me really emotional. The characters are dealing with a death that didn't really happen, and hold a makeshift funeral full of personal touches and someone getting to hear their own gorgeous eulogy, something that is usually said too late for them to hear. The silly, human things in this fic really stuck out to me and made it that much more meaningful <3

everyone is a curse, or something worse by @hanniopeia

1.4k | Men's Hockey RPF

summary: Petya looks up from his leg. “What now?”

“Now,” Andrei starts slowly, “you should find painkillers, for me. And vodka, to share. And then we’ll go out and I’ll take shots on you.”

comment: This one haunted me. The characters' fate is inevitable, and we get to watch their last night together, cherishing their time before succumbing. my heart brOke

covered in the colors by @flightsofwonder

800 | Arcane: League of Legends

summary: Vi never thought that death would be this colorful.

comment: I thought it was very well written and I loved the style, plus the themes were right up my alley, it struck an emotional chord with me AND I do just love CaitVi

My scars have overrun my skin by @damejudyhench

3.8k | The Legend of Vox Machina

summary: Sometimes when he was in the dungeon he would tell himself it was a bad dream, that he would wake up and go to the great hall and they would all be there. He would tell himself so hard that he could almost smell his father’s coffee, taste the butter and the malted bread.

Percy is hit by a strange spell and begins to relive the horrible experiences of his youth. Can the rest of the team convince him of what’s real, or will his mind be trapped forever in the laboratory beneath Whitestone Castle?

comment: I thought the characterization was really spot on, there were many little details and nods back to canon that delighted me, and the movement of the story was excellent.

sanctuary by @miisakee

1.4k | One Piece

summary: Robin finds herself struck down by a sudden bout of the flu. Her crew takes care of her.

comment: it is a great sickfic that really builds the atmosphere with the character's internal dialogue. + could've been us by osculatrix: it is very well written and left pit in my stomach for the sake of the alternate selves.

FEBUWHUMP MOD'S FAVOURITE

Scream by @chrysochroma

1.3k | Jujutsu Kaisen

summary: About a block away, through a tunnel of rubble and broken glass, Yuji saw a figure. The person turned to face him, his hands casually in his pockets. He was wearing a Jujutsu High uniform, the front completely covered in blood. He was too short to be Gojo, Yuji realized. His vision became just clear enough for him to make out Sukuna’s markings across his face, along with something else—Snake Eyes.

comment: obsessed with the concept, with the potential of the idea, and haven't really stopped thinking about it since. the repetition of sukuna's commands, the devastation in yuji - such a great take on the moment after sukuna leaves yuji and i really loved it!!

[chronicler-of-narrative]

So, On-Lyne, huh?

Let's be honest here, they're actually an incredibly cool system. If there's one thing I like about DE is how they spice up stale systems. Like how Poe and Fortuna paved the way for Deimos and Duviri, the technocyte Coda seem to be doing the same for the lich system (especially considering how they dont seem to have any weapons).

While lightly disappointing because they have set identities unlike the very oc-friendly randomness of liches and sisters, its still basically the most hype part of the 1999 update for me.

However, praise aside, I also wanted to do some light speculatuon on their story and personalities, and specifically, why I think they weren't always infested.

Now, look, ik they look weird conceptually, being likened to fortnite skins by some, but I think that is mostly just foreshadowing. To me, they look like digital avatars, which considering their name is quite literally On-Lyne and all of the internet imagery in the 1999 promotional videos and ads seems to support this. Now, this is actually really important because if they are digital avatars of real people (as I suspect), then that sets up the main theme of their story: Appearances.

This is why I think they're not some infested psyop but rather started out normally, before being overtaken. Because at the end of the day, Warframe's stories are deep in the most batshit way possible. DE aren't afraid to use the mighty Allegory for their stories, and I think this is what they're doing here. The infestation is On-Lyne's Monkey Paw, being either a wish-come-true or a punishment, or both.

This, imo, is most evident with Zeke. After all, we literally hear him talking about how "if management gives him one more passive aggressive comment, he's gonna snap", which to me tells me that Zeke probably isn't able to endure the price of being famous. This, combined with a transcription of the infested writing on their fanpage I received from a friend, tells us what the Infestation has done for Zeke. "Zeke hungers to unmake himself" and calling him "Fleshskin" to me sound like Zeke seeking to become acceptable to the band at the cost of himself. As in, to literally martyr himself, to become the band's skin and remove the part of himseld that can't stand the pressure, becoming in the proccess an empty shell, a skin-suit, if you will.

For the others, we know a little less, so imma just summarize my theories on them :

-Hardrive's the one who spreads the infestation, the infection mechanism. But by the...unflattering language the hivemind uses to describe him unlike the others, what i get is hes trying to escape the infestation, escape the life of fame, but in doing so is only falling deeper into the very thing he's trying to get away from.

-Packet's the tactician of the group. Different from Drillbit in the fact that hes directly responsible for unity within the group. I mean, "Soothes the dissident voices" doesnt get more explicit than that. Its weird how hes the most "fresh". To me it sounds like he may have had a hand in unleashing the infestation on the group in some attempt to keep them from having a falling out, and is now in charge of keeping the whole hivemind together after being the last one to be consumed.

-Drillbit is the guide of the group. Especially with the brain and larynx lines, sounds to me like he was the second-in-command to Zeke who always wanted to be the face of the band but couldn't with Zeke in the way.

-Dj RoM is a little hard to figure out, but to me he sounds like the group hedonist. He doesn't question whats going on, hes just there to have a good time and might even be the most accepting of the infestation. Especially considering how it directly mentions how his 'palpatations reverberate' while the band is 'digesting' which may imply hes actually enjoying it.

So yea, these basically it. If im wrong, feel more than free to share your ideas. After all, this is just speculation, but to me it seems very fitting from a narrative perspective.

[ricksdirtyarchive]

Unity 📸

Smut- Master List

Kinks: creampie, daddy kink, brief hair pulling

You sat in the passenger seat with your legs stretched across onto Rick's lap. Summer and Morty sitting in the back seat as you all sang about boob world, wearing the matching hats you guys bought.

"I can't wait to go to boob world" Morty said excitedly shaking your seat.

"*burps* yeah Morty!! N-now we have t-two-two girls so I think we get %75 off drinks too" Rick adds.

"(Y/n), wa-wait till you see the-the-the beach" Morty says. A moment later Rick was serving off to an abandoned ship.

"Rick! What the fuck?!" Summer and Morty said.

"Abandoned ship, we can loot then go to boob world" Rick states as he dropped the car onto the spaceship. You all followed as Rick casually walked through the ship.

"H-h-hey Rick?" Morty whispered. "I I I I I I think there's someone here"

"Muh-muh-Morty, there's *burps* no one here" Rick said certainly as he grabbed a bunch of crystals from the ship. "Stop being such a pussy"

"No. Grandpa, there's definitely someone here" Summer whispered. I turned my head to see shadows of people.

"Hello Rick" the aliens said in unison. Hivemind you thought. His eyes scanned each of them.

"U-u-unity?" He exclaimed. "What the fuck?"

"Hello Rick, it's nice to see you again"

"Oh god" Morty said feebly. "Ruh-ruh-ruh- Rick, please te-tell me we aren't gonna go see her"

"We're *burps* we're not, Morty." He assured him. "Boob world here we coooooooooommmmmeeeee" his voice rasped excitedly.

"Rick, don't you want to come see me?" Unity asked. "Come party with a big planet." It added seductively.

"Actually Un, I'm seeing someone" Rick told it. He grabbed your waist and pulled you close to him. "This-this is (y/n)"

"Hi Unity?" You say shyly. It eyes you carefully. All 16 pairs of eyes searching your body.

"Hello, (y/n)" Unity said finally. "I see you managed to tie Rick down."

"Yeah" you chuckle looking up at Rick.

"Well I will leave you guys to your looting. Take anything" Unity says as the aliens walk away. Rick smiled happily before looking at you.

"Wanna- wanna *burps* wanna do it in the hatch com-com-compartment?" Rick asked, a salacious grin spread on his face.

"Ew Grandpa!" Summer exclaimed. "I'm gonna go steal some shit from these ugly fucking aliens"

"Y-yeah I'm go-gonna go loot some stuff" Morty said as he followed Summer. Rick's arms were wrapped around your waist. His lips attached to yours.

"A-ac-actually, let's do it here" Rick says pushing you up against the wall. "I won't make it to the hatch compartment."

He kissed you deeply, pushing himself against you, his hand found its way under your shirt to play with your boobs.

"H-how do you feel a-a-about quickies?" He whispers.

"I love them" you say. With that Rick's pants were pulled down, his cock pressed against you as you pulled up your skirt. He spun you around and pushed your head against the cold wall, pushing his dick into your wet core.

"O-oh yeah baby" he groans. "You're so tight" he says. He thrusted into you again, this time at a faster pace. You moaned loudly, to Rick, your moans were you worshipping his cock. "Yeah that's right *burps* worship daddy's cock"

"Oh my god Rick" you whimpered. You couldn't keep it together anymore, your pussy was wrapping around him viciously. You could feel your knot building up.

"Oh b-baby, I'm gonna cum" he tells you. "You *burps* gonna cum for me?" He pulls your hair, arching your back so your head was close enough for him to kiss.

"Yes daddy" you moan loudly. "I'm gonna cum for you" you groan.

"Then fucking do it" he whispers. Making you cum instantly on his cock, a second later, as your pussy throbbed around him, you felt Rick's cum deep in your womb. You whimpered feebly as you rode out the waves of your orgasm. Rick's cock still inside you.

"Oh my god" you moan as he pulled himself from you. Spinning you back around to face him.

"Yeah baby" he chuckled. "I am God" he kissed you firmly before pulling your skirt down.

"C-c-c-can we go to Boob world now?" Morty whined from the door, making you laugh.

"Yeah, come on Fuck faces" Summer says.

"Boob world here we cooooooommmeeeeee" Rick exclaims again as you all walked to the car.

[class1akids]

How would you rate the Class dynamic in the series? By the end of the story, do you think Horikoshi did a good job portraying the character dynamics

I think the class dynamic that was really interesting in the beginning and a big draw of the series became kind of flat after the cultural festival arc.

I definitely feel like it desperately needed some care and conflict after the PLF war with students reacting differently to trauma and having some differences of opinion.

Putting the conflict / resolution on Class A vs OFA created too early a class unity (which on top of it felt a bit unearned as everyone else's experience was dismissed or neglected to put everyone's focus on Deku) which then led to the hivemind Traitor arc and resulted also in no hype for the final war. Hori basically lost interest in Class A by the end.

Btw, he also lost interest in the LoV after the PLF war arc. Both big fan favorite group dynamics were shafted in the end.

[thesoftboiledegg]

"Auto Erotic Assimilation" from season two is one of my least favorite episodes because it takes one of the queerest concepts in the series and makes it aggressively heterosexual. Aside from a blink-and-you'll-miss-it scene with one male alien and a joke about Rick possibly contracting STDs from coal miners, most of the episode is a straight male power fantasy.

"Look at all the hot women with big boobs throwing themselves at Rick! He's the man! Unity's avatar is another alien lady with big boobs! Don't worry, folks--even if Rick talks to a man, he's really talking to HER! Don't you wish you were him, straight male viewer? Sexy alien orgies everywhere!"

The episode does have poignant moments and famously culminates with Rick's suicide attempt after reading Unity's final message, but a third of the plot is just a goofy teenage boy's fantasy. I watch it when I rewatch the entire series, but that's the only time I expose myself to that one.

When I saw screenshots from this episode that featured Unity, I thought "Oh God, not this again." Just let it stay in season two!

Admittedly, "Air Force Wong" handled Unity with more maturity. If this episode aired in season two or three, a bunch of sexy women probably would've mobbed Rick as soon as he stepped foot in Virginia. Here, the writers focused solely on the characters' relationships--not just Rick and Unity but Rick, President Curtis and Dr. Wong and their web of interactions.

I liked how Rick referred to Unity as "them," although he starts using "she" pronouns when she disconnects from the hivemind. This highlights one of my issues from the original episode: Unity is a hivemind, but she's also a hot, sexy alien babe who controls everybody, which are two opposing concepts. This seems like a backdoor way to make Rick's interactions Certified Hetero (which is probably what it was, to be honest.)

I also thought the resolution was unsatisfying. Unity's note at the end of "Auto Erotic Assimilation" makes it clear that she and Rick just make each other worse, but "Air Force Wong" implies that they should have stayed in touch. I was hoping Rick would get closure by ending it for good, but it seems like they're maintaining their distant but toxic connection.

I did like how the end of "Air Force Wong" parallels "Auto Erotic Assimilation." Rick heads back to the garage to drink, but instead of attempting suicide again, he decides to visit the president and put aside some of their differences. Like Dr. Wong says: it's a slow process, but he's changing!

Aside from that, I loved this episode. President Curtis was hilarious ("Civil war, baby!" is already one of my favorite season seven lines), and he's as petty as ever. In fact, he's so petty that he was willing to enslave the entire Earth just for a 100% approval rating. He makes Rick look calm and responsible!

As usual, Dr. Wong was the voice of reason. She could've been just a crowd-pleasing cameo, but she guided Rick through his interactions and helped him remain stable in the face of emotional turmoil. While she flirted with the president, she didn't lose herself in some unprofessional whirlwind romance.

After watching "Pickle Rick" in 2017, who would have thought that Rick would not only willingly see Dr. Wong every week but try to punch the president to protect her honor? I wondered if he had a crush on her, but nothing he said implied romantic feelings, so I think he just feels protective over her because he distrusts the president.

Likewise, we're getting glimpses of how Rick treats his family: apologizing to Summer, sticking up for Morty when President Curtis insults him (I half-expected Rick to ruin that by giving Morty shit, but he didn't.) Morty sticking up for himself was nice, although man, the writers are underusing him. I think the president had more lines in "Air Force Wong" than Morty's had in these entire three episodes. And Morty's name is in the title!

Otherwise, setting up Prime's return was great. We're probably going to have a slow drip as season seven builds to their next confrontation. It seems like most of the trailer scenes are from the first four episodes and maybe "Wet Kuat Amortican Summer," so who knows what's in store for the other five.

And I mean--the Unity scenes weren't bad. Most of my issues are holdovers from 2015, which the writers can't change now. I'd prefer not to revisit it again, though. That's like taking another trip to Gazorpazorp.

Then again, later seasons have been correcting earlier issues (Summer saying "Sorry, Rick, but your opinion means very little to me" is one of my favorites), so revisiting "Raising Gazorpazorp" with a feminist lens could be another middle finger to the dudebros who are crying for Roiland's return and howling as Ian Cardoni outpaces him.

[grimalkinmessor]

Rewatching Rick and Morty (C137cest for the WIN Summer understands me) and yeah I know it's not that deep but I really think that Rick was kinder to Morty in the earliest days because he fucking adored the wide-eyed innocence that Morty displayed then, the open admiration, the simple worldview, because despite what he claims Rick envies early Morty's naivety—he then proceeds to ruin it because his intellect tells him that his partner needs to be at least somewhat learned if he wants Morty to stay alive, and Rick proceeds to ruin that naivety with what he sees as nonchalant relish but in reality he knows is just a natural consequence of being around Rick Sanchez. He's like poison gas and everything good and pure and happy rots and wilts into cynicism and violence if he hangs around it long enough, because Unity was right; Rick is better at shaping people into his own mold than a literal hivemind could ever be. And even as Morty grows jaded and he loses that precious ignorance Rick is still dependent on him because Morty has now been molded so perfectly to be at Rick's side that he's become another limb, one that Rick both sees as a nuisance and also knows that he can't bear to be without even as they hurt each other and abandon each other only to circle right the hell back into the same cycle of codependence they've been rocking since Rick first dragged Morty by his ankle into a spaceship. Rick treats Morty like shit more and more as time goes on because he knows he can take it, and Rick hates Morty for succumbing to a Rick-centric worldview almost as much as he hates himself for forcing it on him.

[racefortheironthrone]

fantasy sometimes doesn't afford itself the ability to fantasize about a better world with many of the same problems of real life. thankfully ive found fantasy thatfantasize about things like gender roles, orientations, social status, etc. being more accepting, and the world kinder more often than not. question is, as hard as it is to find solid urban fantasy, are there anyworks you know of that use itself to imagine a optimal city for us urban nerds? magic public works, free dragon transit?

So there is a real problem in the fantasy and sci-fi genres that they often have a failure of revolutionary imagination, as I’ve termed it. We’re so used to not just the world as it is but also the public historical imagination of how change happens, that even in art that’s supposed to be about radically reimagining our world or new worlds, we often revert back to the familiar. (I find this tic particularly annoying in alternate history, which is supposed to be about imagining how the world could have evolved differently, but often reverts back to a retelling of (often bad) history with the numbers filed off.)

(A sadly rare counter-example.)

You raise a fascinating question about the potential for urbanist fantasy. This is often quite rare in urban fantasy, because often out of a desire to maintain the verisimilitude of urban life, they default to a masquerade scenario which renders it impossible to explore the impact of magic on transit, housing, and other aspects of urbanism because the central conceit is that people with magic are trying to hide and thus have no impact on the mundane world.

However, it does crop up sometimes in Magitech settings, because their central conceit is all about how magic would function in place of science and lead to new ways of organizing societies, urban and otherwise. For a popular example, look at how Arcane examines the social impacts of Hextech and Shimmer. My personal favorite example of urbanist fantasy is the plane of Ravnica from Magic the Gathering.

Ravnica is a ecumenopolis, a city-state that covers the whole planet. The city is governed by a guild council, each of whom are responsible for an aspect of the city’s physical and social infrastructure:

The Azorius Senate is responsible for running the courts and the legal system, and sometimes they run the police as well (although they have a jurisdictional dispute with the Boros Legion on that front).

House Dimir are couriers, messengers, journalists, private investigators, spies, assassins, thieves, and librarians, as well as the city’s clandestine intelligence service - if it deals with information in any way, the Dimir have a hand in it…or do they?

The Cult of Rakdos run the city’s entertainment, food service, retail, and labor recruitment (lots of shanghaing and press ganging goes on in Ravnica) - and they’re also a crazed juggalo bdsm blood cult who are responsible for keeping an ancient arch-demon entertained so he doesn’t try to destroy the city, again.

The Gruul Clans are an anarchist collective responsible for the planet’s wilderness areas, which they try to maximize by violent raids that tear down developed areas any chance they get - which also makes them Ravnica’s main demolition industry. The Boros Legion spends a lot of time defending built-up areas from Gruul rampages.

The Selesnya Conclave are a hippie nature cult commune who manage the city’s parks and other green spaces, as well as providing basic welfare services (food, “shelter,” clothing, etc.) to the city’s poor. They also use magic to do weird hivemind brainwashing in the name of harmony and unity, and they can raise giant Ent-Kaiju to defend the city in times of need.

The Orzhov Syndicate are a vampire banker mafia, and also one of the city’s biggest religions. They believe in debt on a spiritual level, and their religion fully embraces indulgences to their logical conclusion. The Orzhov preach that you can literally buy your way into heaven, and that debts to the (Catholic by way of Prosperity Gospel Evangelical) Church or its many front organizations and legitimate businesses will carry over into the next life; the Orzhov practice debt slavery on both living people and ghosts. And lest you think it’s all a cover for profit-making, they can summon dark angels to conduct rituals, lead services, and make war on their enemies. Something above is answering their prayers…

My personal favorite is the Izzet League, an institute of mad scientists and engineers and elementalist wizards who combine science and magic to research, build, and maintain the city’s infrastructure (as well as funding all tech R&D and theoretical and experimental research in physics, chemistry, and engineering) - the power grid, water and sewer systems, heating and gas lines, as well as the city’s mass transit and transportation/freight system, are all powered by their steam and fire and lightning and Magitech gadgets and robots and cyborgs made out of a magic metal named mizzium. Yes, a lot of their devices explode, and yes their golems and robots and elementals have a tendency to go rogue, but that’s the price of progress!

The Golgari Swarm are a subterranean necromantic cabal who run the city’s waste disposal, burial services, and do the bulk of the agricultural production for Ravnica’s hungry masses. All of Ravnica’s citizens are entitled to a food dole provided by the Golgari’s fungi farms as a form of basic income. Just don’t think too hard about what went into the compost heaps or what your rations might be made of…

The Boros Legion is Ravnica’s main police and military, led by a literal host of warrior angels. Imagine the combination of a police force entirely made up of noir detectives and loose cannon Dirty Harry-esque cops and an army with flying fortresses led by fiery angels who are all deeply dramatic lesbians. True believers one and all, the Boros are here to mete out justice and divine wroth upon evildoers wherever they hide. If they had their way, the Orzhov would all be in prison along with the Gruul and the Rakdos, but the damn bureaucrats in the Azorius Senate keep trying them up in knots with paperwork.

The Simic Combine are responsible for the city’s environmental quality, ensuring biodiversity and sustainability in a global metropolis; they are also the city’s universal health care providers. All Ravnicans have access to free health care, as long as they consent to the Combine’s biomantic research. See, the Simic are the other group of mad scientists/mages in the city, except they went into genetics, environmental science, and (marine) biology and they believe in individual and societal evolution through the use of augmentation, cloning, and splicing. After all, why stop at curing someone’s respiratory illness when you could also give them gills? Or giant crab claws? Or tentacles?

I love the world-building and the attention to urban systems and infrastructure in Ravnica. More than most, they’ve thought about what urban life needs to function and made it magical.