#I'm starting to feel like that Massive Monster doesn't know what they're doing

[spidey-555]

UNHOLY ALLIANCE SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

I have never been more enraged by a sentence in my entire life.

They aren't unique. At all.

They all follow the same formula of: bishop feels homesick so they ask the Lamb to take them to their domains -> they become a demon to accompany you on your crusade -> you get to their temple -> you give them their relic back (or don't, I know know what happens if you do that) -> they drop some lore, most of which was already figured out by the fanbase -> they ask to take them back to the cult.

And speaking of those lore drops, they aren't that good, imo

Literally the only bishop who even mentioned the genocide was Kallamar, and he didn't even mention it by name. (He said something like "when Shamura stated what we had to do to survive, I also didn't want to listen")

The fandom already figured out that Narinder's sin was resurrection, so I guess Shamura was here just to confirm that.

I already forgot what Heket said other than "There is no justice in these lands" or something like that. (Which again, most of the fanbase already figured out that the lands of the old faith sucked to live in)

Leshy said something about preferring chaos to planning and schemes and that he didn't know the extent of Narinder's or his siblings plans.

I will say, I do like how these quests give us some info on the mindsets of the bishops (the aforementioned bit about Leshy preferring chaos to planning, Heket calling herself and her family monsters, Kallamar being self aware of his cowardice, and Shamura's whole line about "death must be the end, if not, what use do mortals have for gods")

Now you may be saying "well, this probably isn't the end for the bishops, Jojo probably has more stuff planned for them!" And to that, I say that if that were the case, I wouldn't be making this post.

So let's look at the patch notes, shall we?

How lovely, there was clearly a lot in this update!

Wait, what's that 7th bullet point?

Unfortunately, you read that right

This is the final quest line we're getting for the bishops

This is probably the last time we will see any of them get dialogue

This is the last time the devs are going to do anything with the bishops

And this is how they send them off

Such wasted opportunity, in my opinion.

EDIT: So I recently got the little conclusion that Narinder and his family has. And I liked it... at first.

He essentially just says "I'm not going to go on a speech who's fault it was. The world will go on." Or something like that, and it honestly feels less like Jojo was trying to write a good conclusion, and more like they were hastily trying to get Narinder and the bishops out of the way so that they can focus on their ✨️precious and flawless Lamb✨️

I don't really know what else to say without the entire fanbase hating me more than it already does.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Weird Strange Warmth, Thailand

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Sept 2024 Week 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 1 of 12 - Oh it’s fucking great. What a fantastic start! It’s a fun cast too. I adore seeing all of the familiar faces. This is a lot more fun than Kidnap (sorry GMMTV, do better). I mean both shows are serving the same kind of concept but with completely different energy. I love that War is playing phi in this series. I think it suits him much better. In fact. I really like these rolls for this pair. I think they’re gonna knock it outta the park. I am so happy this is good. I wanted it to be good. And it’s good!

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 8 of 12 - Oh no! He read the journal. No snooping! Well I guess they needed to get some tension for these 2 from somewhere, otherwise they are too good to each other. Meanwhile, I’m not sure about the sides in this particular series. I don’t hate them. The laundry jealousy moment was pretty well done. But I'm not sold, either.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 5 of 10 - I forgot that we were already on the ICONIC kidnapping section of the narrative. I miss Gu Hai's OBEY sweatshirt from the original. (Someday I will own that sweatshirt.) Hero should at least be wearing an OBEY T-shirt. Frankly I miss the harshness of the original too. Johnny Huang was just so massive, August doesn't have the physicality to carry this scene off. Nor does Thailand have the guts to push it into the creepy obsessive territory that made the first version so thrilling to watch.

The thing about the original kidnapping bit was we could feel Gu Hai's vibrating need to possess overriding everything else (including his sense of humor and frustration with himself). Gu Hai KNOWS kidnapping was an over reaction, he KNOWS he is being absurd, he just doesn't care. Because he doesn't just want to fuck Bai Luo Yin he wants to consume him.

We didn't get any of that from Hero. Hero, as a character, just isn't edgy enough to carry off a kidnapping, he's been softened too much in this new Thai form.

And then... An around the back of head not-kiss? Interesting choice. (Checks to see if BoomPeak are hanging out nearby.) Is that because the actor is under age? We in that head space for this whole show? (Pun intended.) Not sure how I feel about any of it.

It’s a much milder confession this time around, because it’s Thailand, but it’s still warped. So I’m still here for the weird strange warmth of this damn show. I did laugh a lot during this episode. 

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - Oh I am very much enjoying this.

"You’re the worst kidnapper I ever ever met" is an apt accusation.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 7 of 12 - I kinda enjoyed the little side romance story (wealthy writer intellectual + poor local salt-of-the-earth boy = Love Seaing all over my damn screen). It came outta nowhere but... okay.

I honestly have no idea what’s going on with this show. But the kisses are nice. And I pretty much like all of the couples. It’s wild how disjointed it is but simultaneously how pretty. It’s like Star Hunter got hold of Mame’s budget and aesthetic. 

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 12 - Boyfriend era to the max. Production is still ignoring the whole "dreaming the future" POINT OF THIS SHOW.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 11 of 12 - Jane is VERY COOL. Like tay-style cool… as it were. I like their dynamic when they're given one to play with. It’s the rest of this show I don’t enjoy. 

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 2 of 5 - It cute. Bit odd but cute. I like the language play, of course. It’s an interesting pair to watch flirt because it’s all language play so that's fun but otherwise, I'm not convinced.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 7-8 of 12 - This BL doesn’t drink from the water bottle to show off its neck. It quietly hands you the water bottle and expects you to understand that is not an act of generosity but of polite distancing. It's about the delicacy of the messaging, and the way themes are conveyed with such nuance.

This story is entirely about the two of them figuring out about each other, and then trying to be what the other person needs based on that information. It means they (and therefore we) are on this journey of discovering affection together. It's brilliant.

I must talk about the physical acting of these two for a second. That scene where they’re fighting over the book and then fall into the pool. That was one take. That’s amazing. These two are really fucking stellar not only at acting but hitting their marks. And let's be clear, that is NOT the same thing. I bet they both have stage training.

Define irony: watching two abandoned kids counsel their respective parents through abandonment issues.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 6 of 10 - It is stupid cute and utterly charming. They are total boyfriends. It’s just that one of them wants to be and one of them assumes they already are. Actually, nevermind boyfriends, they’re married.

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 12fin - It made me whimper a lot because they’re both hurting so much. But in the end it was... fine.

Summation

The compassionate story of a college kid going deaf and the one boy he can hear. I love this manga and was let down by the first adaptation (Silhouette of Your Voice), so I was expecting a lot from this BL. I expected the soundscapes in this one to be fantastic, and the were, but I didn’t expect the filming to be something special too. But it really is. The acting is great too. But the story? It was just fine. They spent far too much time on the build to a relationship, then wallowed in their separation and a problematic girl character, when they should have been showcasing Taichi's character arc and his capacity for connection. Perhaps Japan should pass this one off to Thailand, It's a soft story centering on "food as love" so they might do better with it. I am, yet again, disappointed. 8/10 but I want to give it a 7/10

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - It’s fine. it’s cute. I enjoyed getting some backstory. More of the sides, please.

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 7 - Honestly, why don’t they just call this entire series The Cheating Diaries and have done with it? I’m only watching it because there’s basically nothing else from Korea right now. But I’m generally mad about it. Including the fact that everybody is so pretty and the acting is so good in the series, but the stories are so terrible.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. DNF 

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever (Korea iQIYI & Viki) 6 eps - Side couple from Unintentional Love Story, HoTae & DongHee, return for a spin off backstory show.

It started out fantastic. And it was a relief to have a good Korean BL finally back on my screen, even a high angst one. But I did spend a lot of time trying trying to figure out whether they’re going to rehash or reboot from the previous series. Are we in Between Us territory or Don't Say No or (heaven forbid) To My Star 2?

None of the above, it turns out.

This was a pure prequel about lost first love. As such, it has no real finale beyond what we got in ULS. Which, for this pair, wasn't satisfying. Putting my disappointment over this aspect aside, it is enjoyable on the strength of the characters, actors, and chemistry (if not story). Yes I said chemistry, the kissing is fantastic, sometimes KBL can do that. This one featured the "teach me to kiss trope"!!!! Plus language play. Both favorites of mine. It is all angst, ache, repression, and miles of subtext. It did fudge the ending by not skipping forward and over the events in ULS to depict what happened next (what, no year long time jump when we actually need it, Korea?) It's a worthy companion piece, but should be watched BEFORE ULS for maximum satisfaction, and even then you're going to be left feeling like HoTae & DongHee's relationship was never adequately discussed or depicted in order to achieve resolution.

The little cameo of my baby in ep 5 was much appreciated. But the motorcycle should’ve been set up a little bit more. Of course I wanted it to be about them getting together after the events in the first series. But this was all backstory from start to finish. And while it was good backstory, it wasn’t ultimately satisfying for these characters. Still it’s a good little series. 8/10 

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. It's just taking me some time. This isn't really a bingable show, not for me anyway. It's A LOT to take all at once. No new one this week.

4 Minutes (Gaga) Ended - Spies reported in to say the ending was not-exactly-unhappy and mostly lackluster. I'm torn over whether to watch. My natural disinclination to binge, meets my dissatisfaction with wishy-washy, is going up against my love for fabulous high heat and pretty pretty men.

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke finished and it’s reported to be solid. Age gap treated with respect. I'm curious, so I'll check it out. Not doing very well on binging and catching up but it's on the docket...

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Sept 2024:

9/15 Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) 15 eps - Remake of the original. I'm scared too.

9/15 Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) 10 eps - Assistant to a player boss who is in love with that boss decides to quit to save himself. The boss then makes a move. (A gay What's up with Secretary Kim?)

9/17 Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 10 eps - Lawyer and a con artist meet at a bar, pair up, fall in love.

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Love a teach me to kiss, teach me to fuck, whatever moment. (I Saw You In My Dreams sides)

Not gonna lie. I laughed. Addicted.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[llamagoddessofficial]

I'm on my knees for any more crumbs with prison AU therapist Mc and Sans 🙏 the more equal(?) dynamic is just so good And to the anon that brought it up—I love you

I'll do you one better. Here's some crumbs for ALL of them

Since she's not a nurse, this Mc doesn't have a very strong stomach. Stories of Skull's crimes sometimes make her physically ill.

Generally, Sans and Mc's 'sessions' can be quite pleasant. They talk about current events, how things are going. It's only once she starts trying to explore his feelings that he starts toying with her.

... Red teases her a lot. She tries not to react to it, it's unprofessional, but he can always tell when he's flustering her. He gets this infuriating smug grin.

Since Red is a high risk prisoner, he has to have one hand cuffed to a table during therapy. He often complains that he wishes he could be cuffed alone in a room with her in different circumstances. What Mc doesn't realise is that, considering his strength, the cuffs are basically for decoration- Red just pretends he can't break out of them so she feels more comfortable alone in a room with a massive skeleton monster who openly displays interest in her.

Sans doesn't require cuffs in his sessions. And the only time he was cuffed, he snapped them 'accidentally' to make a point. It just makes it all the more nervewracking for Mc.

Skull doesn't know she's his therapist. He thinks she just really cares about him. That's why she keeps coming back to see him, right?

Red isn't the only flirt. Sans is a lot more forward in this AU, considering she knows the truth about his nature. Granted, Sans being 'clear' about something is still incredibly cryptic, but he enjoys the shock in her eyes whenever he calmly flirts with her.

Red's flirting is warm, sincere, and never crosses the line... it leaves her flushed and (though she'd never admit it) flattered. Sans' flirting is nervewracking. It makes her feel like she's a mouse, and Sans is a cat playfully batting at her, capable of clawing her to death at any moment.

Skull gains bits and pieces of speech back a lot faster with her. Unfortunately, that means he's learning how to terrify the guards. It used to be that Skull would just scream or snarl, but now he likes to say broken ominous sentences to guards he doesn't like to see them shit their pants.

He's also figured out that, when he's really upset and angry, if he screams her name enough someone will send her. It's not a great lesson to learn... but it's better than him deciding to attack people.

Whenever Mc tries to get Skull to do therapeutic art with her, he just draws the same thing over and over. The art is scribbly thanks to his tremor, but it always looks like three people; a tall skeleton, a shorter skeleton, and a human. He draws them in various positions- standing together, sitting around a table, sitting on a couch. She suspects one skeleton is him and the human could be her, but she doesn't know who the tall skeleton is.

(It's him, her, and Papyrus. His family)

Sans, for all his power and control, gets ratty and jealous when she treats other people. The first time he hears her laugh is when she realises that was why he's being moody.

She'd never seen him so delighted before.

Sans likes when she dodges his conversational traps. He'll try to lure her into talking about herself, revealing information to him, but she won't fall for it and always turns it back on him. There's not much he's been able to glean from her. It's always so fun, to play with someone who knows what they're doing.

Again, she'll never admit it. But Mc is fascinated by Sans. Most serial killers are delusional and kinda pathetic, but Sans is as if all the stereotypes of the 'genius mastermind serial killer' were true. She gets to be up close and personal, see how he works; she gets to watch his mask rise and fall in real time.

Of course, he knows she's fascinated. He uses it to keep her coming back. He's fascinated with her, too~

[coricomile]

I think Mos and Bank have good chemistry. And I do feel for Bank, who openly cried on a livestream because of the poor reception of Sunset x Vibes until Mos pulled him away. I'm sure his manager wasn't thrilled, and I can only imagine how hard he's going to be hit when this show gets eaten alive in final reviews, because it's bad.

They put their all into it, but no one could make this work.

The wardrobe and accessories in a show that is focusing on accessories are hideous. Bank is pretty, but not pretty enough to fix a bad script, bland relationship dynamics, and truly hideous styling.

We got endless montages of Sun being objectively bad in his brand new role as president of a failing company by taking his boyfriend out to scenic locations. Lin is also a rich boy heir, and it was mentioned once and never again, but "oh no this is so expensive" first date and the lying about being rich boys are just.... there. And Sun was rewarded for being a supremely bad boss while Chan did everything in his stead.

Sam and Yoh had potential to actually do the poor boy/rich boy dynamic promised from Lin and Sun, but that also fell flat because there wasn't enough time given. Why do they even like each other? Who knows. Sam just looks extra hot with a half updo and no glasses.

The Prim/Pim relationship with "I secretly loved you from afar, so I was a bitch" and Pim apparently having 0 experience with even kissing after coming out of a long term relationship (didn't want to have sex, got it, but I'm pretty sure she made out with her boyfriend at some point) gave nothing at all to the story other than filler.

The Naga fantasy plot was convoluted and made no sense because instead of spending time developing the lore and creating connections, there were 10 minute scenes of fucking on a pool table/gratuitous white paint splashing in the least subtle replacement for a cumshot/weirdly graphic blowjob sounds while focusing on Mos' back right before a massively important show.

I am here for the horny. It is my favorite. But if you're dedicating precious screen time to sex scenes, they should do something to advance either character development or the plot.

Vegas eats Pete out after torturing him and Pete likes it. Vegas wants to hurt him, but also wants to pleasure him. Pete breaks because of the contrast and starts to see Vegas as something other than just a monster. Using Bible again because dude does sex scenes right- Great and Thyme have cute, goofy sex in one timeline because they're high on adrenaline and budding feelings, and in the other timeline Thyme is cold and calculating and fucks Great in a specific way to (attempt to) humiliate him. Both scenes drive the plot forward. The sex is part of the development. Without those scenes, we lose incredibly important dynamics.

Sunset x Vibes just has pretty boys dry humping prettily. It doesn't develop the relationships or the plot and actually take away from what the story could be of given the proper room to breathe. And using Dancing With the Devil as background music makes 0 sense outside of giving a call back to Big Dragon. What devil? They just won a world award. This is a victory fuck.

Sunset x Vibes had the bones of an interesting story and plenty of time to explore it, but failed spectacularly on all counts.

[kaihuntrr]

The Sea Prince: Prince Chromia and Prince Pearl.

THEY'RE HERE! The two prominent princes, the rest are a kept secret. They've been redesigned to fit their human forms. Closeups and lore under the cut. I hope you love these designs as much as I do, and I hope you enjoy the lore tucked away ;)

GOD. THESE TWO. They were so much fun to redesign and live up to their names now. If you're new, I think you can notice who these two resemble, and I'm just making it obvious hehe!

Let's talk a bit about the princes before we get started. These guys are embedded deep in the hunters' myths and stories. Gigantic, powerful beasts made by the sea gods to reign over the oceans. They say they bleed gold and silver, and they rule over the watery graves, leading hunters to their demise. Due to how much fear is built into these beings over the years, people chalk it up to stories to scare children with; making current generations of humans fear the oceans and its beasts.

In this world, rain is dangerous. Rain is a sign of the sea gods, calling upon their monsters to come on land and wreak havoc. Hunters claim they hear unknown wailing during thunderstorms, and fleets of ships disappearing in minutes with no survivors. This couldn't come from any beast, they had to be from the Sea Princes.

But they weren't real. They can't be. They can't be that good at hiding. They're massive creatures, they had to be spotted at some point, right?

Something those stories have never told the humans was the hidden ability all princes have; the ability to shift into a human form.

Who knows if there was a prince listening to those stories, even adding to them to strike more fear? What if this was all one big game to them?

It doesn't look like the princes see the humans as anything other than pests, so they could be acting out of pure boredom. No one knows for sure, as no one knows anything about the princes other than their brute force and being larger than any other sea monster there ever was.

Prince Chromia.

The second out of his generation to ascend to the throne, Chromia feels a great weight on his shoulders. He balances his duties as a prince and his identity as 'Scott Major' and is interested in the life of humans, studying them and observing them closely. When his eyes are set on a specific hunter, he starts to question everything around him. Much like other princes, he doesn't think highly of humans. They're small, fragile, and annoying. His conflicting feelings for the blonde shake his stance on things, and he must learn what comes from it.

Both his human and his true form retain his playful, sassy nature. He likes toying with his food and gets quite upset if he gets hungry.

He's currently distant from the other princes, but if anyone were to be close to him, it would be his best friend, Pearl. Though, they aren't in the most... amicable relationship as of now.

Prince Pearl.

An outgoing, boastful prince. She loves to stir chaos and wrecks any ship that passes her domain. She doesn't care for human attention, using her true name as her human one instead of picking something different. She gets odd looks as she introduces herself as 'Pearl Moone', but that's a perfectly viable name. A specific hunter group catches her attention as Chromia seems to be interested in them. What was so interesting about them? All she saw were nuisances. It would be a fun chase, she was sure of it.

Her human and true form has her energetic personality, but her human form has the ability to talk down on hunters with a smirk on her face. It was better to scare them, but it didn't hurt to talk back. It's not like they'd hurt an 'innocent human' for speaking her mind.

She sees other princes, but she's closest to Chromia. She wants to reconnect with him again. There seems to be a problem there, but she'll fix it. It shouldn't be that bad.

Aaand there they are! absolutely wonderful designs all touched up and ready for the story. I took a lot of inspiration from their skins to make it work, and I think I nailed it. Both of them have similar traits to their human designs and with each other! I wanted them to remain connected in a way as their relationship is very important for the storyline.

What do you guys think about these new designs? Are you excited to see where this all goes? I sure am!

[ohquail]

SBG Voltron AU - Part 3!

Chapter 1 <- Here Chapter 2 <- Here

Before this chapter starts I have some things to day about some of the names and the plot. Okay first. I skipped episodes 2-3 because I think they're boring and nothing much happens, but I did recap them. Second, there's a very very minor character in SBG that Charlie talks to, his name is Hudson.

Hudson is Haxus, Sendak's right hand.

Continue for Chapter 3:

The newly-formed Voltron paladins, Tyler, Aiden, Taylor, Logan, and Ben were able to defeat Charlie, the galran commander that attacked planet Arus.

A few days later, after intense training to be able to form Voltron again, while some of the team was getting to know the local arusians and Tyler and Logan were trying to locate Logan’s grandfather on the wrecked ship, the team was attacked by a Robeast. This Robeast was a massive version of a monster that Tyler had fought during his time in Maverick’s prisons. Thanks to the Tyler’s knowledge, the team was able to take down the Robeast with no casualties. ——— “The monster fell from the sky! It was an epic battle, but Voltron was victorious!” The king of the arusians cheered. The arusians that were supposed to represent Voltron fell over. “No. I said, Voltron was victorious!” The crowd cheered as the actors quickly fixed their mistake. “Thank you, Your Majesty, for that… wonderful production.” Ashlyn smiled, holding a small device in her hands. She turned to the crowd. “It saddens me that we must leave tomorrow, but we must continue our battle with Maverick and spread peace throughout the universe.”

The red head turned back to the King Arusian. “Your Highness please accept this gift.” Ashlyn held out the small device in her hand for the arusian. “This will allow you to contact us anytime you need help. Arus will be the first planet in the Voltron Alliance!”

The Arusian king turned to the crowd, “Hoorah!” He exclaimed holding up the device in his hand. The crowd cheered. “You know we need something like that,” Aiden suggested to Ben and Logan. “What?” Logan asked. “You know, like, a cheer,” Aiden smirked, “Like, a team cheer that we do.” he elaborated, his eyes bright with mischief.

Ben nodded while Logan looked suspicious. “Example?” Logan crossed his arms.

Aiden looked up at the ceiling for a moment before a light bulb went off in his head. “How about, uh “I say Vol” and you say “Tron.” Vol!” “Voltron?” Logan responded, his voice laced with skepticism. “No. No. No. The instructions are in the cheer,” Aiden shook his head. “I say Vol, you say Tron. Vol!” “Voltron,” Logan responded again, this time with less skepticism but more confusion.

Aiden sighed in disbelief. “We’ll work on it,” He told Logan before taking a sip of his drink. It was extremely bitter and gross. It sent a jolt through Aiden’s body. He groaned before turning to Alex near by. “Alex, what is this?”

“Oh, this is Nunvill, the nectar of the gods.” Alex explained.

“It tastes like hot dog water and feet,” Aiden frowned, looking down into the cup. Alex nodded, before dipping his fingers in his glass and tossing it towards his hair. “Yeah, makes a wonderful hair tonic as well,” Aiden bent over and threw up at that. Alex chuckled before walking up to Tyler who was standing guard at the entrance to the castle. “Not feeling well? Try some Nunvill. Settles the stomach and brightens your smile,”Alex humorously offered, holding out his glass.

Tyler furrowed his brows and shook his head, “I'm not sure we should be letting everyone wander in and out of the castle like this,” He looked off into the distance. “It doesn't seem safe,”

“Oh, these Arusians won't hurt anything much,” Alex winced as a plate shattered behind them. “Besides, it's only fair to let them see the inside of a castle that's been sitting on their planet for so long,”

“But who knows when Maverick will attack again? I'm going to do a perimeter check, just in case,” Tyler said, adjusting his armor before walking off. ——— Taylor walked up to Princess Ashlyn, “Hello Princess,” She greeted before jointing the red head leaning against the banister. Ashlyn looked over at the hispanic girl, “Is something on your mind Taylor?” “No,” Taylor shook her head, “Just…” She pointed down at the boys being idiots, “…didn’t want to hangout with them,” “Fair,” Ashlyn chuckled, “They are a bit rowdy and loud,” Taylor looked down at the dance floor for Logan. “He was just with Ben and Aiden,” Ashlyn looked down, “Who? Logan?”

Taylor nodded, her gaze scanning the crowd. "Yeah, he was with them but, now I can't find him." Ashlyn squinted her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of Logan in the bustling crowd.

"There," Ashlyn pointed towards a corner of the hall where Logan was dumping food into his book bag. “What is he doing?”

“Let’s go find out,” Taylor suggested before starting to make his decent down the stairs.

As Taylor and Ashlyn approached Logan, they watched him hastily stuffing what looked to be an entire feast into his bag. He didn't notice them until Taylor cleared her throat, causing him to jump.

"Logan, what are you doing?" Ashlyn asked, her brows furrowing. Logan looked down at the ground for a moment before turning to the others, “I got some information from the galra cruiser that crash landed on Arus. About where my grandfather and friend might be,” “What?” Taylor asked, “Are you saying you’re leaving?” Logan looked down again, ashamed, “Yeah,” “But you can’t!” Ashlyn’s face turned hot red. “Logan, you’re one of five paladins, you have a sacred trust to defend the universe.”

"I know," Logan replied, his voice barely louder than a whisper. "But I have to find them. My grandfather, my friend...they're out there somewhere, and I can't just abandon them." He zipped up his bag, now bulging with food supplies, and slung it over his shoulder. “I should go tell everyone else,” He decided, leaving Taylor and Ashlyn stunned as he walked off to outside.

Outside, Logan walked up to Tyler, “Hey Tyler, there’s something I need to tell you,” ——— “Logan, no.” Tyler shook his head. “The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start my search,” Logan explained to their small group that had gathered outside. “I have a pod all ready to go.” “You can't leave,” Aiden frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You can't tell me what to do!” “If you leave, we can't form Voltron,” Tyler pointed out, “And that means we can't defend the universe against Maverick,” “You're not the only one with a family,” Aiden added, “All these Arusians have families. Everyone in the universe has families,” “Yeah, I have a family,” Ben interrupted, his phone speaking for him “They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that, like, a thing that can happen?” “You want to leave too?” Ashlyn asked, shocked.

Ben shrugged, before turning back to his phone, typing out his response. “Of course I do! Look, Voltron is super-cool, don't get me wrong, but I never signed up for a lifetime in space, fighting aliens.”

Aiden clenched his hands, before turning to Logan. “You're putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone else in the entire galaxy!” He angrily shouted. “Aiden, that's not how a team works!” Taylor stepped in just as Aiden was about to grab Logan. “People have to want to be on it,” “They can't be forced,” Tyler agreed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look. Logan, if you want to leave, we won't try to stop you. But really think about what you’re putting at stake here,” Everyone fell quiet for a moment. “I'm sorry. You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the Green Lion,” Logan decided, before walking off. Phantom, the little robot, whirled before following him.

“I can't believe it,” Ashlyn sighed, putting her hand on her forehead. “This team is already falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?” ——— Alex walked onto the bridge. “Mind if I join you?” Alex asked Logan who was searching the computer for coordinations, “Heard you’re leaving the team?” “Yeah. I just need to get the coordinates for my destination,” Logan told him, “I have a pod ready to go and the bay door is open I just need the correct coordinates to start my journey,” Alex watched the green paladin for a few more minutes before Logan pulled a thumb drive of out the altean computer and started walking away.

Alex followed Logan out of the room, passing Phantom going towards the Castle’s crystal. “Hello Phantom,” Logan half continuously greeted before realizing he left his bot in the pod bay. “ALEX! LOOK OUT!” Logan pulled the Altean out of the way before the fake Phantom blew up. ——— The lights around the castle flickered off. “What’s happening?” Taylor asked Ashlyn.

“I'm not sure,” Ashlyn started to run off towards the bridge, “But I have an idea!” The paladins looked at each other before chasing after her. They all entered the bridge, coughing and waving their hands around to clear the dust. “Alex!” Ashlyn cried as the man struggled to get up. Ben and Tyler rushed forwards and helped him up. “The crystal!” Taylor pointed out. The dust cleared more, revealing a unconscious Logan. “Logan!” Aiden rushed forwards with Taylor to check on the green paladin, “Logan?” The unconscious boy groaned as Aiden turned him over, Logan! We need to get Logan to the infirmary,” Aiden told Ashlyn. “Without the crystal, the Castle has no power,” Ashlyn looked scared. “He doesn't look good,” Taylor frowned.

The King of the arusians ran into the bridge, “Lion warriors, our village is under attack! We need help!” “Let's get to the lions,” Tyler shifted all of Alex’s weight over to Ben.

“You can't,” Ashlyn stopped him, “They're sealed in their hangars. There's no way to get them out,” “We're defenseless,” Alex coughed.

“Will you not help us?” The King Arusian asked. “We'll help you. We just…” Tyler told him, Logan groaned. “This is bad,” “We have to get a new crystal to get the Castle working again.” Ashlyn put her fist into her palm. “But, to get a new crystal, we need a ship,” Ashlyn furrowed her brows.

“The pod Logan was loading, we can use that! He told me that he left the bay door open.” Alex’s eyes light up like a light bulb, “I can use the scanner in the pod to see if there's a Balmera nearby. Ben, you come with me,” Alex pulled away from the yellow paladin’s support. “I'll need someone big to help me carry the crystal,” “A Balmera?” Taylor asked, taking in Ben’s confused look.

“It's where the crystals come from. I'll tell you about it on the way! Come along!” Alex and Ben took off down the hallway, Taylor furrowed her brows before chasing after them to make sure they got in the pod safely. “Aiden and I will head down to make sure the Arusians are okay and take care of the threat,” Ashlyn decided. “And I’ll stay here with Logan and make sure he’s okay,” Tyler offered. Ashlyn and Aiden nodded before running off down the hall to get to the village.

——— “It's our first bit of luck.” Alex said, pointing at the scanner on the pod, “There's a source not too far. We won't need a wormhole to get there, thankfully,” “Looks like Logan made some modifications to the pod,” Taylor pointed inside. “This one looks like cloaking device. This one looks like tank of booster fuel,” She pointed at both of the modifications Logan added. “Using that mid-flight would turn the whole pod into a bomb!” Alex turned to Taylor, offended. Ben gave Taylor a silent worried look. “Okay then… maybe don’t use that one?” Taylor chuckled to lighten the mood. “Be safe you two,” Taylor looked worried as she stepped away from the pod. “And good luck.” “We will. And thank you, Taylor,” Alex assured her before the pod took off. Taylor sighed before walking off to the bridge again. Phantom looked at her and whirled before following. ——— Tyler walked down the main hallway, “Hang on, buddy.” He told Logan, who was slung over his shoulder. “Help is on the way,”

Tyler pressed on, his grip firm around Logan's limp body. Every step echoed through the metallic corridor, a stark reminder of the dire circumstances they found themselves in. He glanced down at Logan, his face pale and slick with sweat.

"Stay with me, Logan," Tyler murmured, his voice barely a whisper in the tall hallway. He stopped in his tracks as a figure appeared in the doorway. “Charlie,” He growled at the Galran solider who entered with what was left with his crew. “Stand aside,” Charlie demanded. Tyler laid Logan down on the ground gently before making sure he was out of the way. “No. You're not getting in,” “Yes. I am,” Charlie assured Tyler before flinging himself at the paladin to fight.

Tyler braced himself for the impact, muscles tense and ready. He dodged the first swipe, retaliating with a powerful punch that caught the Galran solider off guard. They grappled fiercely, their violent dance sending echoes down the hollow corridor.

As soon as Tyler got the upper hand, a voice rang out. “Let him go or your friend won't make it!” Charlie’s second in command, Hudson called out, two centuries pointed their guns at Logan’s unconscious face. Tyler faltered for a moment and gave Charlie the opportunity to knock him out. ——— Ashlyn and Aiden ran up to the arusian village, “What's happening?” Ashlyn asked the king. “Look! Attackers!” The king pointed at the middle of the village where some centuries were standing around. “I'll go in for a closer look.” Aiden said, sliding down the bank into the center of the village “Stay here with them,” He instructed Ashlyn. “Aiden!” She called after him. “Don’t worry I’m durable!” Aiden told her before jumping down into the village. He carefully approached the village homes and took a peak at the centuries. One tipped over and crashed. “What?” It was a trick. “Oh, no,” Aiden’s eyes widen before turning on his helmet. “They tricked us!” He told Ashlyn over the comms, “It was just a diversion to separate us and thin the Castle defenses!” He ran back to her and the two immediately started to book it back to the castle. But just as they were starting to get close, the particle barrier started to activate and go down. They started to run fast but they were too late. Both of them slammed their bodies into the particle barrier. “We're too late.” Aiden banged his forehead into the barrier in frustration. "Damn it," he hissed under his breath, pounding a gloved fist against the solid energy field.

“No! They have control of the Castle. They're taking Voltron!” Ashlyn sobbed, hitting the particle barrier repeatedly.

“Can we break through the barrier?” Aiden asked, looking around at the barrier. “No.” Ashlyn shook her head, “And whoever has taken the Castle has a crystal, which means they'll be able to fly the ship. We have to stop them,” “Uh… how are we going to do that?” “Aiden, can you hear me?” Taylor called through the comms.

“Taylor, is that you? Where are you?” “I'm inside the Castle. Charlie has taken over and he's preparing for launch,” Taylor explained, bitting her lip. “He's got Logan and Tyler.” “Taylor, listen.” Ashlyn interrupted, “If they've started the launch sequence, then we don't have much time before liftoff to stop it.” “What do I have to do?” Taylor asked, her voice barely a whisper. She reached up and pulled Phantom down as it started to float towards the bridge where Logan and Tyler were being held.

“You have to get down to the main engine control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the central energy chamber.” Ashlyn instructed, “If you can do that, Charlie will have to reset the whole system. That might give us enough time to find a way to stop them,” “On it,” Taylor whispered before quietly running down the hallway with Phantom on her trail. ——— Alex and Ben approached the Balmera, “Is this the Balmera planet with the crystals?” Ben’s phone asked.

“It's not a planet. Balmera are ancient animals. Petrified, but still alive.” Alex explained, “Their bodies naturally create the crystals that help power mini Altean ships. I often accompanied my grandfather to visit these majestic creatures when he was building the Castle of Lions. I'll never forget the first time I saw the sparkling surface of a Balmera. You're in for quite a treat.” They broke the atmosphere of the Balmera only to see if covered in Galra mining equipment. “Oh, no. This is horrifying. The Galra have turned this into a mining colony! They're completely destroying it! They have no regard for the poor creature!” Alex frowned, just as they were spotted by a galran fighter ship.

“Hailing unidentified craft. State your ship ID, entry code, and landing destination,” The galran solider instructed. Ben gave Alex a panicked look.

“Just stay calm.” Alex hushed before turning on the radio. “We don't really need to land. Uh, we're just looking around, if that's okay,” “Unidentified craft, land immediately and prepare to be boarded.” The galran solider instructed.

“Okay. Thank you. See you down below,” Alex turned off the radio before kicking up the pod’s gas and flying it into one of the many deep caverns of the Balmera.

The ship shuddered as it entered the cavern, lights flickering. Ben's hands tightened around his phone as he braced himself against the sides of his seat. His fingers flew across his phone screen, a soft robotic voice echoing his typed words, “Alex?” “Not done yet. Hang on!” Alex prompted before pressing the controls forwards and shooting down the Balmera cavern more.

The pod wing crashed into a piece of the galran mining equipment and sent a shower of sparks into the air, illuminating the darkness of the cavern. A deafening sound filled the tight space, reverberating off the stone walls. “Hold on!” Alex shouted over the noise as he wrestled with the controls, attempting to stabilize their rapid descent.

As soon as they landed, Ben turned to glowing eyes in the nearest cave. He quickly typed out something on his phone, “Alex, what lives at the bottom of these mines?” ——— Taylor grunted as she pulled open the doors of the turbine. Phantom floated in before she jumped inside. “Okay, Ashlyn, I'm near the turbine.” She glanced up at it. “I think it's started.” “Then you'll have to hurry. Cross the catwalk to the main column in the center,” Ashlyn instructed.

“Okay,” Taylor said, her voice echoing through the turbine chamber. She turned her jetpack on and flew over to the control panel. “Now, open the hatch. Find the central computer control hub and enter the following sequence,” Ashlyn continued, her voice echoing through the radio with a steady pace that belied the urgency of their situation. “Wait, wait, wait, wait! Which one is it? All the labels are in Altean!” Taylor groaned, “I can't tell which one it is! Ashlyn? Ashlyn? Uh…” Meanwhile outside, “Taylor? Taylor!” Ashlyn turned to Aiden, “I've lost connection with Taylor!” The ship started to rumble. “Oh, no! It's taking off!” Taylor looked at the wires in the control panel. She summoned her bayard and looked in between the wires and the weapon. “Welp, whatever.” Taylor shrugged before slamming her bayard into the mass of wires. The control panel lit up like a Christmas tree, an array of colors flashing as alarms blared before the turbine shut off. ——— Tyler groaned as the Galran soldiers started to panic around him. “The main engine just shorted out!” Hudson exclaimed, “We have a saboteur.” “Find him and take him out.” Charlie demanded, two centuries turned and ran out of the room. “Commander Charlie, I've received a transmission generating from somewhere inside,” Hudson played the audio.

“There's not much time before they get the ship running again. You must shut off the particle barrier so we can get in.” Ashlyn’s voice rang out through the bridge. Tyler grunted slightly at the sound of her voice. Taylor’s voice rang out, “You got it. Tell me what to do,” Ashlyn continued, “The particle barrier generator is beneath the main hull.”

“She's telling the intruder how to take down our defenses!” Hudson told Charlie.

Charlie smirked, “Yes, but she's also giving away his location.” He turned to the last two centuries, “Find that room. Kill the paladin. Repair the engine. Emperor Maverick has commanded us to bring him Voltron.” He turned back to Hudson, “This ship will rise before day's end,”

[smokestarrules]

May I ask about the Star Vs downspiral? I remember seeing commercials about that show but that's the extent of what I know. But I'm curious now.

Well, honestly there was a Lot that contributed to its fall from grace, but here are some of the lowlights.

(It's been a very long time since I watched this show so I may be forgetting some details; this is how I remember it).

A) Four prominent characters are drawn into a horrible, horrible love square. Star herself, Marco, who is the other main character whose family she stays with while on Earth, her ex-boyfriend Tom, and another character who we meet later, Kelly. I'm sure some people always shipped Star and Marco, whatever, but a significant amount of the fandom including myself were beyond content with their relationship staying platonic---romance was not a factor that needed to be brought in to make us care about their dynamic. In fact, romance just about killed any enjoyment for them at all because it was so poorly written.

Marco and Star go back and forth between taking that romantic step and subsequently rejecting each other for various reasons. At some point Star gets back with her ex, Tom, who seems to have turned over a new leaf. Marco and Tom even have episodes where they hang out together too. Then Marco starts dating Kelly at the same time Star and Tom start to fall out again.

Now that I'm writing this I've realized I actually forgot another entire character who was wrapped up in this; Jackie Lynn, who Marco has a crush on in the early season(s?). She and Marco are together at some point until she leaves him because he's clearly not into her anymore. There are five characters who get stuck in this terrible plotline.

It's just... so needlessly dramatic and completely unnecessary. Star and Marco end up together, of course, but in doing so they completely screw over those two other characters, and by that time, their relationship just leaves a bad taste in fans' mouths.

B) Star VS as a show initially started out as pretty episodic and pivoted to a more narrative-driven storyline later on, which isn't at all necessarily bad, but a lot of what I personally liked about the show ended up being pushed to the wayside because of the bigger emphasis on the plot, and it was disappointing. Not everything needs to have a massive earth-shattering narrative to be good.

The early episodes were character-driven, full of incredibly interesting worldbuilding, and just fun to watch. All of those things were shoved away to make room for something more dramatic and serious.

C) The main bad guys are also pretty much an entire species which is never a good idea because it breeds so many uncomfortable writing decisions. They're "monsters" and they are The Bad Guys, who the Regular People need to stay away from. The narrative kinda tries to challenge this concept, but in the end it's really just not important whatsoever.

Honorable mention) When the show was still good, Marco had a couple episodes in which really interesting things were happening with his gender; he crossdressed as part of Plot and then seemed as as if he was confused about how it made him feel? But later on that plotline turned into more of a joke than it already was and went nowhere. Just weird.

D) How the show ended was one of the absolute worst I've ever seen. I truly cannot explain to you just how--bizarre it is; anticlimactic, rushed, unexpected in the worst way. To stop people from fighting, Star makes the incredibly quick decision to just. destroy magic.

So she does.

The aftermath shows that the two dimensions (Earth and Star's original home, Mewni) are now merged together in some sort of 'happy' fusion, magic is completely not a thing anymore, and entire species that have before been shown to canonically need magic to survive are dead because of it, though the show doesn't think to provide a better explanation for that at all.

And it ends.

[doublejango]

Stolitz, post-Mastermind...

Some monster asked me to dive in to my thoughts on the future of Stolitz after Mastermind, and let me just tell you--I hope I'm wrong. I really hope that I am wrong, because damn it, I ship these two hard and just want them to have a happily ever after.

I just... can see how it would make for a very organic flow to the story if they don't stay together.

Where we've left off with them seems like a ridiculously difficult place for them to be. They're both in love with the other, but haven't really had the chance to say it. Sure, maybe if they weren't such precious dummies they would infer it. Blitz probably understands now just how much Stolas values him, since Stolas came and offered his life in Blitz's place. Having just done the same move himself, putting the focus of punishment on himself instead of the people he loves, Blitz has to recognize on some level that Stolas really does love him, that he cares... But Blitz may need to hear it, in simple words, to believe it.

And Stolas may not be ready to deal with that right now.

It might be too much for him--and you know what? That's fair. Banished like Romeo, he lost everything he has, everything he knew, everything that defined his life. Stolas is going to be in for a rough time. He's brilliant and adaptable, but those traits don't make him immune from trauma or harm. And what happened to him? It's got to be traumatic. The energy that tore through him as Satan severed his powers, the way Stolas so bonelessly collapsed afterwards? That didn't look like a walk in the park. Aside from the emotional trauma of the ordeal, we don't know yet just how physically traumatic that may have been for him.

Blitz and Stolas are where they are right now because of their love for each other, for better and for worse. Cohabitating, able to really look after each other, to be affectionate whenever they want to--they might have each dreamed of some version of this at one time or another, but I doubt it was like this.

This has to be terrifying--for both of them.

Blitz probably doesn't want to let Stolas down, and Stolas probably doesn't want to overburden Blitz.

But it would be so easy for each of them to do just that.

Stolas has to learn a new way of living, a new way of being himself. He has to learn who he even is now, who he wants to be. And doing that while in the essentially forced proximity of his ex, no matter how much that ex may be doting on him, may be a little bit stifling. Not intentionally, not out of any malice on Blitz's part, but just because they have this whole massive issue still hanging over them: all of the words unsaid, all of the ways they hurt each other, all of the conversations they desperately need to have. There's so much they need to deal with in order to just figure out who they are to each other, that it is probably going to feel like one hell of a pressure. Because if they don't even know who they are to each other, how is it going to work for them to be holding each other up after the trial, after everything that has happened? It seems like it might be easy, tempting, for them to just pretend away the complications and focus on positivity and on being there for each other, keeping up bright smiles--

But fuck, that has been something they've both had to force at different times in their lives, and it hasn't been good for either of them. Just like it isn't good for most of us.

And in a way, one might look at it as... their first love has run its course. The undefined, awkward, messy love, but undeniably love, may have come to an end. They've had goofy moments, they've had a purely physical connection, they've kept secrets from each other, they've had each other's backs whenever they could, and now Stolas has saved Blitz from certain death, sacrificing himself in the process.

Where else is left for them to go?

What kind of love is meant to survive that unchanged?

I think they need a new start--but that they can't force themselves into it. They may need to be apart for a while, maybe even a long while, if Stolas especially is going to figure out who he wants to be and how he wants to get there. Which is... hard. Really hard, for so many reasons, among them being that they may be in very different stages of their development in that regard. Stolas, after all, has just had his entire life upended. He's starting anew. Yes, Blitz is at a point where he accepted death and now is suddenly still here, but he didn't suffer the blow to his identity in the same way Stolas did. Not this time. So while I can actually see Blitz being ready relatively soon to really be together, to have a serious, mutual relationship with this man, to commit to him...

I wonder if Stolas might need more time.

If they rush this, they could smother themselves and end up with nothing, painfully and slowly and with all of the best intentions. But if they do take time apart, once Stolas feels able to be on his own, there's always the risk that their story has ended, and they move on in enough small ways that it just never becomes natural to move back together.

Not that I overthink this.

Not that I think about them way too much.

Not that I adore these characters more than any other fictional couple.

Ha!

Haaa... haha.... fuck.

It would be a tragedy for their love story to be over before it truly had the chance to begin. I can see it going that way, see a lot of fights born out of hope and frustration, and I want to be wrong. Damn it, just let these two idiots be happy and have everything and never ever ever be sad again, or feel unwanted again, and just. Yep. It's fine. Everything is fine.

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Would Childe and Zhongli ever go outside of Liyue? Like. I’m sure they’re not like, unable to leave, but would they get the chance to often? Would Childe be a lot more free to explore and set up his network, or would it be slowly, over time, starting with people who came to Liyue and him excitedly talking to them about it? Would he go to Enkanomiya to see what it was like when it wasn’t just ruins?

(On the Enkanomiya note- I’m just picturing someone asking him about it and him casually talking about all the lore he remembers. Like the sun children, the vishaps, the blood coral experiments- and then realizing haha oh right that’s kind of horrifying I’m glad we’re opening that barrier a lot sooner-)

i feel like between the two of them, childe would definitely travel far more. either on his own or with an assortment of other people, but he'd be a relatively frequent traveler – like if he doesn't leave for too long he'll sometimes be like "yeah i'm going to mondstadt for a bit i'll be back by dinner" at least once a month? but for the longer trips i imagine he'd do those like three times a year or something. occasionally morax would go with him, mainly on short-to-long trips if he's curious about where he's going or if he's feeling particularly clingy. i don't think morax would necessarily travel all that much on his own, i feel like he's pretty content just staying in liyue n looking over the people. and yeah childe would travel all over teyvat for tourism. you won't catch him leaving a single inch of the map unexplored.

i think the network would be set overtime for sure. like every other trip childe would chat with someone n end the convo all happy like 'do let me know if you hear anything!'. like all very casual. like- i think the reason why it would grow so large and so unseen for so long is bc it's hyper-casual, nobody in it really feels like they're in any sort of massive spy network even though they kind of are. like they all know their gossip gets back to childe, but they don't see it as a major information network. it's just childe! and it's just random useless gossip!

but thousands-of-people-all-across-teyvat worth of random useless gossip isn't a trifling matter anymore lmao

also yes the first time childe comes back from enka with the skirks and sits down for dinner with guizhong and morax and older skirk he'd be like- "it's so much neater than i expected it would be! everything looks so much better lit up and straight-up. i'm so glad we didn't have to go tredging through the dark and the monsters and stuff. also very relieved about our timing, i don't think they started killing kids yet" and guizhong particularly would sit there like: "what-"

[zmediaoutlet]

Oh Z go OFF why don't you ship Sam/John?

ahaha, anon starting off the friday night wine party by choosing violence <3

how don't I ship Sam/John? Let me count the ways --

first of all have you seen the sam/john content out there? I'm negatively interested in shitbird lolita sam with his crystal heart-shaped buttplug and the overemphasis on his pink lips and his mewling or whatever. like the puss becomes the sahara. I need a Great Wall of No between whatever's going on with that particular kink and the actual character. As always, a division: 'this is so hawttt omg' is good and fine, but please can we have a little moat between that and character-based canon-feeling stuff.

so all that stuff aside, on a plot level, John's Quest is based around protecting Sam, and like... way to not do it, bud. That is if you believe that John is ultimately flawed but kinda trying, which I do because 'pure monster' and 'hero daddy' takes are equally boring. Sam is left behind, is overprotected, is taught some hunting stuff but comparatively coddled -- in the wee!era, I see absolutely no way that John would go there on any kind of purpose, especially given the fact that Dean's also always there and it would be very embarrassing for your devoted older sonwife to stab you in the brain. (Caveat: I guess there are those times when John would "send Dean away" for disobeying, so that opens a window. But honestly, Sam was probably just abandoned in a motel room alone while John got on with work. I don't think it was a secret fuck-cation.)

on a sadness level: John wants something better for Sam. Dean's a lost cause, although John does super vaguely gesture at like 'eh he could have a house maybe' -- despite the college fight, Sam's untouchable in a way because John has this mad idea that maybe they'll actually win somehow, and Sam can have a future. That doesn't jive with bouncing him on the Dad D. And, again, if John's not purely insane, then--?

on just a vibes level: once Sam gets older, he and John are just way too much alike, and that's why they piss each other off so much. They're the thing of two magnets of the same polarity bouncing apart. Now there are ships where that can be fun, in the kind of slap-slap-kiss model, but in the specific (characterful) case of these two... no. I can see Sam losing his shit and throwing a punch; I aaaaabsolutely don't see him following it up with like, passion. Though I am literally loling here at my computer thinking about it. I'm doing my absolute best here not to compare to other ship options, but like -- this is not the son who'd fold and be like, aw daddy let me take care of you, you know what I'm saying?

on a taste level: like... can you see Sam actually wanting to? Any emotional/physical weirdness he has I feel like would get automatically turned to a different member of the three-part family unit. Non-con is blah, sex pollen is too easy (although with that said, I imagine a no-romance sex pollen f-o-d would be a good way to crack open those dynamics and see how they operated). Part of the massive issue here is that Sam has an oedipus complex, not an elektra complex -- he wants to fight his dad, not fuck him. He has daddy issues but they're of the tough masc black sheep son who goes off and has to get heroes' journeyed back into the fold; it's not 'oh daddy please say you're proud of me please let me be a good son,' unlike Some People We Could Name. It just doesn't have any entré into the kind of tangled up fuckery that makes vertical incest interesting for me. So...

That's probably enough, lol. That said, again: if you love to jill to babby Sammy slurping on daddy John's big meaty dadcock, go on with your bad self. Especially if Sam's inexplicably femme. But like. I'm good.

[opal-kitty333]

Okay, drawing is hard and I'm horrible at drawing full body references. The face is the most important part and I've decided y'all can imagine his feet on your own. Anyway...

I was going to do biblically accurate Sans for How to Make an Artificial Companion, but have changed my mind. Rough sketch is rough, but you get the idea. Ramblings about it under cut

So, Undertale as a game (or monsters in general) don't exist in universe. They're all AI designed by humans or in a few rare instances (*cough*Mettaton*cough*) other AI. While they should all be recognizable as who they are by a real world viewer, there are some notable differences on their designs because they weren't originally pixel art but instead 3d models and there are some signature details depending on who made them, when, why, and where they pulled references from. Sans (and Papyrus later) are made by a character who 3d prints chibi models and sells them online. Reader asks them to make a skeleton, something realisticish because reader is going to be staring whatever they make in the face and something that's one third a head would be weird, but not too realistic because talking to a Skyrim skeleton would also not be ideal. The artist is going WAY out of their comfort zone so the model is a little odd but loved dearly by everyone. This is why he's especially cartoon-y, and his anatomy is simplified, and has massive eyes compared to og Sans. I don't know if anyone else has looked up skeleton characters, but Sans also has a really fucking unique face shape. He is not made for being 3d with an opening mouth in mind, so while I was tempted to keep the shape, I ultimately changed it. He still has a massive smile, thick blocky teeth, and a roundish skull (especially compared to Papyrus) so hopefully he still reads as Sans-like. This is an au, so I feel altering everyone's appearance is acceptable anyway.

Lil details. His sternum is purposefully shaped to look like a tie because sternums are kinda shaped like that and I think it's silly. He's very much made to look cute and avoid uncanny valley while still being a personable and expressive. He is able to control his eyelight size or make them disappear, and later do specific expressions kinda like a V-tuber (so you get comical heart eyes or sweat drops kinda thing, but he doesn't use those unless it's for a gag and even then it's rare). The reader also makes him shorter than them. He starts the same height when he's a slim target mannequins, but once they're messing with his form they make the top of his head reach about heart level so he isn't as spooky. He starts off naked since they don't have monster costumes and his body is not considered sexual in the slightest, but eventually they do a dress up thing with him and this is when he picks up his signature outfit (after submitting many bug reports because wow this form is sand in the gears for everything this headset was made for). He actually prefers to stay dressed after this because he can make himself look chubbier which he thinks make him more friendly and approachable. He likes the form he was finally given, but the focus on the iterations before the final and just what he looks like in general gives him some self image issues and a fixation on keeping up appearances. Of course, with this fixation, he keeps it pretty down low which makes it hard to spot so you wouldn't really guess.

[lewis-winters]

would love to hear more about the skinny/speirs confrontation 👀 (I'm sure other would too so feel free to answer publicly)

Ok I did not actually anticipate ppl being interested HAHAHAH but since ya'll asked nicely (@ep6bastogne and @hellofanidea mWAH to you too), here it is under the cut.

Ok so like. Understandably, people are more focused on Web and Lieb when it comes to the mountain top scene and that's perfectly fine. They're the ones I first thought about too. But then the more I watched that scene, the more I nyoomed in on two details: 1) It is implied that Speirs personally gave the order for Liebgott to go up there and deal with the officer, and 2) Skinny is the one who ends up pulling the trigger.

Which brings me to like. This fic I started planning in my head but couldn't quite write down because I am. Lazy. Anyway, it follows several plot points:

1) This is piggyback riding off my meta that Ron had ulterior motives to sending Liebgott up the mountain, which I have outlined in this post. TL;DR Ron used Lieb's anger (and to some extent, Web's too-- in my head, he heard about the incident with the baker in ep9, and he wanted to exploit that, not anticipating that Web's own self-preservation (of both his own person and morals) would get in the way) to do his dirty work, knowing that he wouldn't be questioned because of his position and because of said anger blindsiding all logic Lieb might have.

2) Skinny somehow knows this. He's more intuitive that people give him credit for. If Ron handpicked Lieb and Web because he knew, at least to some extent, that their anger would push them to do what he wants, then what the hell was Skinny doing there?

3) That question will haunt Skinny for awhile. Because why did Ron know, somehow, that Skinny would pull the trigger when either Lieb or Web could not? What anger and violence did Ron see in Skinny that made him think: "ah, yes, him; that's my killer of killers"? And most importantly, why did Skinny prove him right?

This is very much informed by how irl Skinny's PTSD was very much centered on the people he killed as a soldier (as opposed to people he lost). He's constantly cited in his writings and his letters that he felt unforgivable. So it isn't a massive leap for me to go yeah!! that boy killed an unarmed man (albeit a nazi, but I don't think even that could help him justify this) and then was later present when Web says "war's over, anyone would run" which no doubt would add to his already guilty conscience.

Add all of that together, and you have a recipe for a very traumatized lost boy wondering if maybe he's carrying a monster inside of him, and if maybe Ron could see it.

4) the answer, in the end, is that Ron couldn't see it. This was the dialogue I wrote first, and it has had me by the balls ever since:

"So why me? What did you see in me that was so twisted and cruel that you decided I should be up there, huh? Tell me!"

"... Nothing. I just needed a third man."

5) anyway. Ronald does, finally, admit to having used Lieb and Web to get what he wants. But Skinny doesn't care, because all he hears is that he's collateral damage. And that's not quite as comforting as Ron thinks it is.

soooooo. yeah.

**another plot point I have listed but couldn't really put anywhere in this weird ass list: there's also some cognitive dissonance sprinkled in there-- Skinny could justify Lieb and Web's reactions. He'd say Lieb has the right to do it. He'd also say Web's attempt at perserving himself as wise. it's important to note that Skinny went into this with the mindset that he was already unforgivable from the beginning. this just exacerbated it, but also gave him somebody who could probably answer his questions (i.e. am I really unforgivable? am I rreally a monster? am I a murderer? etc etc).

[probsnothawkeye]

Well we've reached public release of the @souloperatorpod mid-season finale and I'm still unwell about it so it's spoiler thread time let's go!

Tessa leaving felt impossible when she decided to leave after episode 9. Episode 10 proved that it was, in fact, impossible. Introducing a literal creature, clearly massive and monstrous, making you think that *that's* going to be the threat of the episode only to have Tessa step on a fucking bear trap?? Absolutely evil and so fucking well done on Tot's part. It's such good writing that I can't even be mad but I'm still screaming internally. I know Tot well enough to know this was the same bear trap that was sent to Tessa. There's no way it wasn't. It's a brilliant bit of foreshadowing because you truly do not know why a bear trap would've been sent until you hear them screaming as their leg is crushed. Tot is too good at screaming and crying in pain in podcasts, I will never emotionally recover. Like it HURT to hear, she's that good.

Tessa sending away Lucy, trying to get this loyal dog to leave so she doesn't get got by the monster broke my heart. They're so content to die and it hurts me so bad. And then Tot brings Dean into it? When I heard Dean I lost my mind I wanted him to be alive but he wasn't. There's no bringing him back, but he's still trying to save Tessa anyway. "It wasn't your fault. Tell my brother it wasn't his fault either" Tot what if I sob? What if I scream and cry and throw up?

And somehow this wasn't even the part that hurt me most! No THAT honor is reserved for when Nate gets there, trying his best to save Tessa. "I want to die." "I won't let you." It's been a week and I'm still unwell over this I mean seriously Tot how could you do this to me? And then to have Nate actually listen to Tessa and realize that she wasn't the cause of Dean's death while she's bleeding out in his arms? Now he feels responsible for both his brother AND his friend's death! And while I doubt Tessa is dead, Nate doesn't know that right now and I'm going to lose my mind over it I mean Tot. Tot. You didn't have to do that.

This episode perfectly punctuates the end of an incredible first half of the season. It asks more questions than it answers but in the best possible way. Tot's writing is masterful and is brought to life so well by them and their cast, I could, have, and will weep from it. Soul Operator is going on a hiatus after this to finish up the rest of season 1. There has never been a better time to listen to this show and everything it has to offer. I'm so incredibly proud of @totcoc0a and everything she's accomplished with the first half of the season

Tot not only are you an incredibly talented writer and voice actor, you're also a marvelous friend and I feel so lucky to know you every day of my life. The first half of the season destroyed me in the best way and I can't wait to see how you continue to break me

This concludes our last Soul Operator thread for a while! If you're not listening to Soul Operator nows the time to start. And if you ARE listening to Soul Operator, please come scream about it with me I love it so much

[kitkatopinions]

The writing of V9 kind of feels like... When you go to someone and tell them "hey the thing you did was a mistake just to let you know" and they respond by being like "well I'm sorry, I'm sorry if I supposedly ruined everything! What do you want me to do, throw myself onto the ground sobbing? Just give up? Kill myself? Is that what you want from me? You know, people make mistakes, but I'm a good person, alright? I'm not perfect, but stop acting like I'm a monster!" And then like, two hours later you see that they made a post on Facebook that's like 'there's too much judgement in the world today and it's so sad. I just want everyone to know that no matter what other people say, you are perfectly imperfect and you've got this, super star. And the people that try to make you feel small and take away from your joy never really deserved you in the first place. This is a lesson I'm learning every day as I navigate trying to deal with people who seem to like to take their problems out on me. But I know I can stand by my choices and need to keep being me."

To clarify, it doesn't feel like Ruby specifically is like that - Despite the major flaws in her writing, she's the least bad of her friend group right now and I'm very sympathetic to her. But it feels more like the writers saw people going "these characters aren't perfect and are making mistakes and need to grow and learn" and they started being like

They were really ambiguous with what mistakes the characters made as if they themselves didn't think they actually had made mistakes, they went way more over the top than they had to so it feels like they were punishing Ruby the character to also punish the critics. And then it feels like they had their whole narrative about how Jaune and Ruby and Weiss all realize that their ambiguous and no big deal 'mistakes' aren't something they should grow from and learn from and decide to change for the better over, they're just things that happen and it doesn't mean you need to grow and change, it just means you aren't all powerful. The message really felt like 'so what if bad things sometimes happen around the main rwby characters? Everyone should stop expecting them to grow because they don't need to because we keep saying they're good people, and good people are fine, so everyone needs to stop being overly dramatic about the supposed mistakes."

It really does feel like the rwby writers put out this season in which change for the better and growth and learning are completely dismissed (beyond 'making your body better' by killing yourself, which is a whole different can of worms,) and the actual 'message' behind the season felt like it was "stop complaining, the rwby mains are good people, they don't need to grow and learn and change for the better, so shut up." And tbh, this message coming right after the massive controversies of Rooster Teeth is very not promising and it's hard for me to read it in any sort of good light. Like...

'People Make Mistakes Sometimes But They Don't Need to Grow Or Change Their Ways Because They're Good People Underneath, So Anyone Who Tries To Bother Them About Their Mistakes Is In The Wrong' feels very not super great after the whole company of Rooster Teeth seemed to put up a 'Nevermind about all that' banner and still hasn't paid their staff and Miles Luna still hasn't apologized for his horrible past behavior as far as I know and they're all begging fans to keep watching Rwby and selling bees merch through the company without paying their trans VA properly.

I'd find it much more meaningful - both personally and coming from the writers and for the characters - if V9 involved acknowledging how the mains messed up and what their flaws were, had the girls act regretfully over mistakes, had change and becoming better be the focus instead of staying the same and not doing anything differently... Etc. It looks really bad that the only lesson the writers seemed to want their characters to learn was 'sometimes letting people hurt themselves is good because they might get a better body.'

[hyenasrcute]

Watching him live my life feels the same as watching him be given raunchy CPR by my boyfriend. Disturbing. Distressing. Devastating. It's been a whopping three months since Chucky took over my body and Devon and Lexy still haven't noticed that it wasn't me living with them. I try not to resent them for it.

   Those three words come to mind again: disturbing, distressing, devastating. I clench my fists, pacing the rough carpet as Chucky wraps an arm around Devon. The two of them are lounging on a sofa facing a TV screen. Technically I'm blocking the TV but only Chucky can choose to see me and so far all I've recieved is radio silence.

    Funnily enough, the other Chuckys seem to have gone the same route. It's been nothing but peaceful, agonizing silence. 

   They're planning something, I know they are. It feels like the quiet serenity before a massive hurricane. I know something is about to happen but theres nothing I can do, and nobody seems to care. Devon has his head on my shoulder (because it is mine, not his, mine). I can't help the sorrow that bleeds into my rage seeing him curled up with that doll. It's a disturbing sight. There's bile rising in my throat that I think must be psychosomatic because disembodied souls can't puke right?

    Devon laughs at something in the movie. Chucky hacks out a plastic imitation of my laugh. Devon- knowing me as much he does- sideeyes him curiously but doesn't voice it. Him and Lexy have been doing that alot since my possession. The doll says something weird, they look at me funny before looking at eachother before just going about their days as usual. I'm beginning to suspect they think I have that brain damage Timmy was talking about. 

   I feel sick just thinking about his name. I remember feeling drowned at for a while, like being underwater, then resurfacing to a terrified Timmy standing in front of me. He was shaking like a leaf, his big eyes darting around the abysmal perimeter of the spirit realm. 

   His eyes landed on me for a second before he walked away, his footfalls reminiscent of a zombies. He didn't need to say anything for me to know what I've done. That look in his eyes said everything. 

   The movie continues in silence for a while until Chucky starts to massage Devon's shoulder with my hand. I didn't realize my eyebrows could furrow any further. "What the hell..." It's weird but I don't think too much of it at first. Maybe Chucky is finally putting a little effort into imitating me. Then I see the doll dip it's head into my boyfriend's neck, laying a kiss.

    I don't feel my body moving, it's automatic. I'm screaming and gesticulating. Grasping at Chucky as Devon returns the kiss. I feel nauseous, I wanna puke but I have no throat. "Devon! Devon no, that's not me!" His caramel hands wrap around the dolls cherubic neck. Images barrage my head of me grabbing Devon's face and pulling his curls to deepen the kiss. It's a vile, aggressive clashing of tongues. I'm biting his lip, lapping at the blood that drips down, swallowing it.   

  Devon tries to pull away and my heart shatters as I see myself drag his head back by his hair and grabbing both sides of his face so hard I know it must hurt.

   There's blood and saliva being swapped between our mouths now, and Devons hands our clawing at mine. I feel myself- Chucky laugh. "Feisty, are we?" He chuckles. "You son of a bitch!" I'm crying now, my voice is cracked. I feel ununderwater again. Actually scratch that, I'm fucking drowning. Chucky laughs again, and this one sounds like me. I can't tell if it's from Devons struggling or my sobs. Either way my hatred has never been so visceral. 

   Chucky, me. Me, Chucky. I feel melded to him. One in the same. A horrific cronenburg monster in the body of a seventeen year old. We're horizontal now, our right hand keeping his still at the top of his head while the left keeps a bruising grip on his face. "Jake please, what the hell!?" He manages. I feel like there's nothing left of my heart to break. One piece is with Dad, one with Junior, Aunt Bree, Logan. Another couple with Timmy, Ms. Fairchild. 

   Each one just chipping away at Jake Wheeler until the boy fused with a demon in his own head is nothing but a hollowed out shell of himself. We're laughing that high-pitched, absolutely insane laugh and swallowing Devons tongue in a way that can't even be considered a kiss. Devon looks heartbroken, tears streaking his face as a look of recognition overtakes it. I feel our mouth start to speak. 

   "Starting to connect the dots now doll?" Our voice is a cocktail between Jake and Chucky's. His and mine lapped over eachother. "Chucky." He sounds mortified. He fights against our hold, pulling his face away from our grip. "You and Blondie really aren't the sharpest tools in the box are ya?"

  I think Devon is trying to go for intimidating but with the blood-saliva cocktail seeping from his mouth and his arms being restrained by ours, not to mention the complete and utter terror in his eyes- he's doing an admittedly shit job. 

   "You've been here this entire time." He drawls, the tears don't stop. We nod and lean down, planting a wet kiss on the corner of his mouth and licking at the cut we made. "Right under your noses." Our tongue slips back into Devon's mouth, swishing around and subduing his before we bite down again even harder than before. Devon shouts profanely, cursing us out. We dont answer, just laughing into his blood-drenched mouth.

    We can't tell when the fighting stops and the sobs begin but both only serve to ignite the heat swirling in our crotch. Our tongue dances across his face, leaving a trail of blood on his cheek. Devon shrinks back. We laugh, moving our mouth to his ear. "Don't worry doll, I don't bite." We whisper, before gnawing at his earlobe hard enough to invite a stream of blood. We slurp it up and whisper again, "Unless you want me to." 

  I feel us getting hard as we grind against Devons groin. Devon mutters something, we pull away slightly and I just know that our face looks like a lions after dinner, blood staining the chin. "What was that doll? I didn't get that." As we hover above my- our boyfriend, looking at the way the blood stains his face and the cuts I made that will inevitably scar. The fear and heartbreak that permeates his expression.

He looks gorgeous. 

   That's the only word for it. Gorgeous. Bordering on dollesque. A macabre masterpiece. Its now that we realize what the most pure expression of love is: sadism. All those deaths. Junior, Lucas, Logan, Bree. All the gore and the organs and the beautiful, addictive blood, all of it serving as an aphrodisiac. We lick our lips, savoring the taste of it. His blood. "What's wrong darling?" We buck against his torso, making a breath of air escape him that can't be mistaken for anything else a moan. 

    "Cat got your tongue?" Devon looks anywhere except into our eyes, which dance with glee. "Jake...please..." We lean in, grinning. Our mouth is above his, our eyes looking into his as our left hand is forcing him not to look away. For a moment all that can be heard is shallow breaths and his heartbeat. "We're in here dollface. Both of us." And none of us. The absolute horror that wracks his face is beautiful. We laugh louder than ever, louder than Timmy.

    Our hold on him tightens as we kiss him through the screams, biting him more and savoring the blood that results. The kiss is wet and savage, ruby fluid being swapped between our mouths with us occasionally licking the tears from his face or biting his ear again. "Hey dollface?" We don't expect a response and we don't get one, just more staring and crying. "Not feeling talkative? That's okay. What do you say we commemorate this precious memory?" 

    We snake our tongue into his mouth, tasting ever blood-soaked crevice of his tongue before pulling away with a trail of slimy blood between our mouths. We reach into our jean pocket, delightthe trepidous fear that fills Devons eyes. It overflows when we pull our a Swiss army knife. He shakes his head as much as he can through our grip. "Please Jake no, you're better than this." His voice sounds the best when it cracks like that. When the fear of death envelopes it.

  We switch open the blade and pull back until we're just straddling his waist. We keep his hands in one of ours and grind ourselves against him, harder than ever at the thought of what we're about to do. Pouting at his lack of an erection we smirk. "Aw, not getting off doll? Maybe we can remedy that." Our smirk widens at his screams as we pull his cardigan up. 

  "Jake no!" He shouts. "Stop!" We shake our head amusedly and switch out the blade, bringing it to his chest. "Don't worry dollface, this'll only hurt for a second." We drag the blade across his chest slowly and steadily, relishing his beautiful moans of agony. The most pleasurable sound one can make. 

   After a second we lean back to look at our masterpiece. A large, jagged J signed on his chest in a spectacular ruby color. Devon is wracked by sobs, his lips move but nothing comes out. "Having fun yet love?" He whines. "Yes? Great." We start the tip of the J before rising again to kiss him. This feels euphoric, better than sex. Being the proprietor of his pain is a trillion times more sensual than that of his pleasure. It's with this that I carve an A into his chest. 

   We lick the entire letter and let into Devons mouth in a kiss hindered slightly by our massive smile. "Halfway there doll." Devon gives me a look of unadulterated fear and "hate" that only serves to make him more stunning. 

   "Hey don't look so hurt dollface, this is a gift." We start carving the K as we keep our gaze on his. We drag the knife down his torso sharply, making him flinch. Our cock twitches against him and he looks at me with a rage and disgust that he knows isn't remotely intimidating. "You're so damn adorable when you're mad." We take stop for a moment to lay a kiss on his nose before continuing, utterly lost in the sounds of his pain. His love. 

   Five minutes go by that feel like complete heaven. We carve a letter into his chest, lap up the blood, kiss him then keep going. By the time we're done Devon's shouts have quieted. He just stares at us, his magnificent face decorated with tears and blood. We smile at him. "Isn't it beautiful, doll?" We look at our handiwork with a prideful smirk. Our name is carved across his chest jaggedly, little ruby pearls leaking down his chest.

   Beautiful. Perfection. The perfect symbol of their love. An immaculate way to show the world just who Devon Evans belongs to. Our lips consume his, blood and saliva mixing once more as we undo our belt. I'n not drowning anymore. I don't even feel like Jake anymore. Atleast not only him. The doll is there too. An amalgamation born out of blood and ecstasy. Love and violence. 

    We're a cronenburg. 

[welcometololaland]

I'm so sorry you feel like ATLA isn't doing well, because it's honestly one of the best things I've read in a very long time. Each detail is so well thought out, every interconnection considered to the point where it feels effortless. It's truly phenomenal, and I wish more people were engaging with it.

But, if I can be selfish for a hot minute (why I'm on anonymous right now): reading your concerns was really validating for me as a writer. There's definitely more of an audience for quick 1-2 chapter reads, the "in and out" reading style. And, as someone who likes writing longer, more intensive things, there is certainly a massive difference in comments, kudos, etc. between my oneshots and my monster AUs. So, I'm a little glad that you -- someone who I respect as a writer and adore as a presence in fandom, online, etc. -- also has the same worries about the things they create. Who worries about the payoff of a story in conjunction with how much time you sunk into writing it.

All this to say: I'm sorry you're feeling down about it, and I wish you weren't, but know you're not alone in your feelings. And, hopefully, people will turn a corner on it and see what a fantastic work it is.

Truly, truly, fantastic work. And they're all bloody well missing out 💜

Jumped on this one so quick because I really appreciate your perspective here! I kinda do understand the time poor nature of reading one shots because they're less intimidating maybe? But at the same time, long fic is what I prefer writing, so it's a little bit of a double edged sword hehe.

You can be selfish whenever you want! I love engaging with other writers! I think it's important to share our perspectives because I think the perception sometimes is that, as a creator, you should put up and be grateful for any kind of interaction. But if you pour months of your time and energy into something and it doesn't meet your expectations, I think it's kinda normal to be disappointed? Like not in other people per se, but in yourself. I'm not sure if that's how you feel, but it's how I feel! I think maybe as a perfectionist I have big expectations for myself, and when I don't meet them, I kinda beat myself up and think what was the point? I enjoy writing for me, but I also enjoy the interactive part of writing so much...and I'm not sure if there's anything wrong with that (it's also why I've been procrastinating starting my original work for so long LOL).

I love your use of "monster AU" by the way. I adore that. And thank you for chiming in, I definitely do feel less alone from this and I hope you do too <3