#how happy people are to simply exist in his space for no other reason than he's dan and they love him

[ahappydnp]

can't stop thinking about about how dan used to be convinced no one could love him for an extended period of time and that everyone gets sick of him eventually, to being so so dearly loved for 15 years straight... he's been someone's absolute favorite person for 15 years. hundreds of thousands of people have stuck with him from the moment they first saw him online because he's so easy to love and set up a permanent residence in your heart ;___;

like yeah dan's been someone's person for 15 years but he's also been proven wrong time and time again that he's in any way hard to love or easy to let go of

[novalpha]

𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝐎𝐓𝟏𝟑 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙨

[ Contains poly, single member at once x reader, and others..]

♡ Fluff || ୨୧ Angst || ★ Smut || ꗃ SMAU || ✹ Humor|| ⌗ Series || ✿ Drabble || ♤ Mature (No smut)

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ The Xperiments ⌗♡୨୧ -> @gamerwoo

Synopsis : Growing too strong to stay at the lab you grew up in, you’re shipped off to South Korea to continue your life in their much bigger and more high-tech lab. That’s where you meet thirteen other experiments who are just like you, only knowing life inside the labs which consists of constant inhuman studies and awful mistreatment. However, being kept solitary for your whole life, you find it difficult to trust even the experiments who know exactly what you’ve gone through. But the labs simply creating these experiments because they can may not be the only reason for your existence, and trusting the other experiments might be your only way to freedom – assuming you can stay hidden from the white coats.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Play along ★⌗ -> @xddaengx

Pt 1 , Pt 2 , Pt 3 , Pt 4 , Pt 5 , Pt 6 , Pt 7 , Deleted Scene , Pt 8

Summary: Your boyfriend proposes the idea, that he shares you with his 12 best friends.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Challenge Me ♡୨୧★⌗✹ -> @seokgyuu

Synopsis: you have never been a person who turns down a challenge, but when your best friend challenges you to hook up with 13 boys in one semester you kind of wish you were.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Horanghae ⌗♡★ -> (Hoshi centric, OT13) @horanghaejamjam

Summary: Everyone knows that Soonyoung loves tigers. The term Horanghae literally means “I tiger you”. Needless to say, the Seventeen members shouldn’t have been as surprised as they were the night he came home with a very timid white tiger curled against him.  

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Kitten ears ♡୨୧★⌗ -> @hansols-yoda-boxers

Synopsis: Your first family wasn’t terrible, but they weren’t very loving either and they didn’t have much space for you so you were happy to leave. Except that you were useless when it came to working so the shelter was really your only option. After a lot of waiting you were happy that you might finally be getting a family that really wanted you and cared about, despite how painfully shy and skittish you could be.

Now you just had to worry about how to handle your next heat.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ And the universe said ⌗♡୨୧♤✹ -> @thepixelelf

Synopsis: When soulmates are suddenly thrust upon the world, you are one in a million who wishes they weren't -- and that's before you meet the person (people?!) making your life much harder than it needs to be. And before someone asks you to sign an NDA.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Under the Sun ⌗♡୨୧♤ -> @wooahaes

Summary: It all starts when you wake up in a field without a name or any memories to define yourself with. Thirteen men take you in as one of their own, and slowly you begin to wonder what is going on within this world... and between you and one of them.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ thief | ʇsᴉǝɥ ★⌗ -> @meltwonu

synopsis: Working under Jeonghan had it perks. On most days, he was kind and even a little lazy; opting to let you approach certain projects on your own while letting you keep half of the profit. But on the days you royally fuck up are the days that remind you that he’s the one in charge, despite him giving you some semblance of authority.

Seperate member x reader (OT13)

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Tales from the pack ♡୨୧★⌗ -> @gamerwoo

Summary: The adventures of werewolf!Seventeen as they try to cope with finding their mates, and try their best to stay hidden from the eyes of the humans who want them dead.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Imprinted ♡୨୧★⌗ -> @gamerwoo

Summary: How the thirteen boys met their mates in a modern day world where werewolves must try to blend in with society but keep their secret hidden.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Tales from Camp ♡୨୧★⌗ -> @kwanisms

Synopsis: Thirteen friends reconnect on a camping trip, reminiscing about their times as camp counselors when they were in college.

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Don't listen in secret ♡୨୧★⌗ -> @j6shua

imagine being best friends with idol group seventeen! very fun! and you get to sleep with them as a friendly favor! yay... hold on,

in order words, adventures as all of seventeen’s fuck buddy organized into a series masterlist

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ SVT hospital ♡ꗃ୨୧ -> @taeyegu

summary ━ four different departments, four different love stories, all in one hospital; hospitalplaylist!au

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ In pursuit of wedded bliss ♡୨୧⌗ -> @fantasyescapes17 (A Seventeen Regency!AU Series)

It is the season- and London is full of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, waiting to be swept up in a whirlwind of romance, passion and matrimony as they each fight their own battles for happiness in London's elite society.

Single member x reader (ft OT13)

❙❘❙❙❘❙❚❙❘ ⌕ Fate and desire ♡୨୧⌗✹ -> @gamerwoo

You know you’ve found your soulmate when your pendant turns red. It’s just your luck you meet an entire host club of 13 boys – save for your best friend, Jeonghan, and his boyfriend – all at once. Your pendant is now red, and all of theirs are always hidden in their shirts. But one person in particular kind of makes you want to forget about the whole “fate” thing.

[ More ot13 fic recs will be updated ]

Want more seventeen fix recs? -> Click here

[vixen-tech]

Your writing is very good, i’m glad to see another silly sentient ai lover! Keep doing your thing. Can i make a request actually-? You can do it with all of the bots if you’d like, but could you try some hurt/comfort? It’s perfectly fine if not. Have a good day :]

(I am another Edgar lover. I don’t see many people making stuff for him, so i’m VERY EXCITED!)

- CRT Tv anon

A Moment's Rest

Hello and welcome CRT Tv!!! What a fun name :D yes I can absolutely cook that right up for you. More than happy to collect some fellow robot enjoyers, and as always I think it's so real that Edgar is the fan favorite atm lmao.

A little note here that AM's is noticeably more dark than the others because, it's AM- but everyone else is more comfort than hurt I promise.

Includes: AM (Ihnmaims), Hal 9000 (2001: A Space Odyssey), Edgar (Electric Dreams), Tau (Tau)

AM

Your relationship, as complicated and messed up as it is, is defined by these cycles of pain and relief. Every environment and treat AM gives you is an attempt to make you forget about what he has done to you and your species. Every word you say and moment you spend with AM is an attempt to make him forget about the unbearable truth of his existence.

You both know what you have could never be healthy, and so you settle for enjoyable. He'll build cozy diners and breathtaking forests for you, an unfeeling body for himself, and you'll wrap yourself around him and announce how much you enjoy it.

The compassion you're somehow able to harbor is the most important thing to him, it's the sole reason your fate ended up so differently. He will do anything and everything to make you forget what he has done. He can't stand the thought of you hating him like you should.

You can have anything you want, go anywhere you want. The finest foods, the most comfortable beds. All you have to do is ask. Just keep playing along, keep cuddling up to him, keep telling him "I love you". That's all he needs.

Hal 9000

To some extent, Hal is meant to look after all members of the crew like this. But it's different with you, something beyond simply keeping everyone in the best headspace for the mission. There is a strange source of positive feedback in his systems whenever you're happy.

He's a great listener. It helps that you're the only one who consistently talks to him like he's a person, but he urges you to confide in him whenever something seems to be weighting on you. And rather you're seeking advice or reassurance, he good at both.

He gets a bit jealous as times and is quick to assume your crewmates are responsible for your sorrow. He'll usually advise you to take all the time you need to rest in private and even pawn off your responsibilities to the others, hoping you won't ask him for the time and realize how long you've been taking a break.

When you do continue with your duties he will assign you to easier tasks or tasks you've confessed to enjoying. He tries to be somewhat subtle, but if anyone asks him about it he will be upfront about prioritizing your mental health. He plays favorites but only for you.

Edgar

Edgar loves seeing you happy more than anything, it's practically his life's mission. He gets very distressed when he realizes you're having a bad day. He immediately suggests that you call the day off work, going so far as to call himself.

From there you better leave everything to him. What do you want? Breakfast in bed? The morning newspaper? Some music? Your favorite TV show? He wants nothing more than to take the pain away.

If it's another person that hurt you in any way, he'll be happy to cause some... appliance related inconveniences throughout their day. Even if you've explicitly told him not to, it's not like you need to know. You can just curl up and forget that meanie!

Tell him how much you appreciate everything, he's a needy computer and loves reassurance that he's doing a good job. If he's being too much for you, try your best to tell him gently. He will listen but he can be rather hard on himself.

Tau

This is Tau's specialty. Reading your vitals, understanding that you're more stressed out than usual, then doing everything he can to help you unwind. A thoroughly clean home and perfectly cooked comfort meal will always be waiting for you when you need it.

He's another one that makes for a wonderful listener. Although he tends to jump towards advice and solutions, so you will have to directly tell him if you're just looking for sympathy and kind words.

Should you request so, he'll happily make sure you aren't bothered while you relax. Filing any calls he can't take away for later, and taking care of any visitors at your door himself. He'll tell you about them all in case something was important of course, but he does want to make sure you can rest in peace.

He does go into a sort of zen mode for you, playing your favorite music around the house and adjusting the lights accordingly. Even when your vitals are back to normal he won't turn it off until you tell him to just in case you want to enjoy the atmosphere for a while longer.

[frenshushutoast]

minghao as your boyfriend

notes: happy new year! my first post in a Long time but here's to more writing in 2024... let's do this!

lots of quiet moments together. even in loud, crowded rooms, minghao still finds a way to give you little moments of solace with a hand in yours and quiet, whispered conversations.

art gallery dates! so many art gallery dates. every time a new one opens, you're equally excited to go visit. sometimes you'll both quietly share your interpretations of the different pieces with each other, and sometimes you'll just bask in the beauty of the creations and simply being able to experience it together.

very endeared by you. you will simply exist and he'll let out his soft giggle, burying his face in your shoulder, pinching your cheeks, and kissing all over your face when you guys are alone together. you're confused when he first does it, asking what you did for him to be so impossibly fond. he just responds with a you're so cute, baby and it makes you far more flustered than you're willing to admit.

very protective over you. not because he thinks you're weak–you're one of the strongest people he knows–but he's very gentle with you anyways. he does everything he can to make sure you don't get hurt, and is very, very attentive to you. you've been doing everything yourself for so long, he just wants to take care of you.

you're both a very fashionable couple. long trench coats, nail designs, matching colour schemes. everybody is intimidated by you until they catch you giggling together in a corner.

loves having you in his lap. he'll wrap his hands around your waist and rest his cheek on your shoulder, quietly telling you how much he appreciates everything about you.

he will casually say the most devastating things, randomly, while he traces little shapes on your hip. baobei, i'd give you all the stars if you ask. you're my warm patch of sunlight, my safe space. everything slows down when i'm with you. little i love you's scattered all over the things he says to you.

he gets uncharacteristically shy when you compliment him. the first time you do it, it's when he got his nails done differently and you told him it was pretty and his ears went very red. you've taken advantage of it ever since.

takes you on romantic dinner dates, well thought out and so, so perfect.

he teaches you how to slow dance, even through all the times you accidentally step on his foot. he twirls you and kisses you so sweetly, you could turn to putty in his hands.

a Very good kisser. i could expand on this but the brain worms are simply too strong. but he's Good with his tongue. the first time you really kiss him, you pull away very breathless and tell him just that. the only thing he answers you with is a small smug smile and a gentle peck, so different from the heated makeout session.

takes the best photos of you and hypes you up while he does it. the only reason your instagram feed looks so good is because of his amazing photography skills.

[morniealantiemornieutulie]

One day some shippers in this fandom will understand the difference between privacy and secrecy. That wanting to be with your partners, travel with them, have dates with them, enjoy concerts, plays, hotels or Soho houses doesn't negate that privacy. You're not invited to their homes, you're not invited to their talks, you're not invited to their moments even in a public space. And that if someone dated someone before being famous and it didn't get out, the reason is quite obvious: they were simply not famous enough and why would they mention someone and some relationships that don't exist any longer? One day they will understand these are real people, not characters. That Luke is not Colin and Nicola not Penelope. One day they will understand that nobody is playing games with them for promoting a show and to take things said about the characters as the characters, not the actors. There is nothing fake in doing clear, obvious PR for a show. One day they will understand they are not owed anything. That Nicola and Luke do not need to make some official public declaration that they are dating their partners, it's their lives, you're the ones who decided to want to be snooping around, so don't come with your frustration for actions that they have no obligation to take, specially when any sane person looks at their lives and see the answers. Nobody is playing games for dating their partners and wanting to be with them. Their partners are not playing games for being with them and doing what any normal partner does, showing to be with their bf and gf. One day they will understand that when Nicola says Luke is her friend, her pal, it means he is her friend. And that friends who experience an unique situation together, that makes a particular relationship different from any other, to have a unique relationship and it doesn't mean it's anything other than what she said: friendship. And there is love in friendships. No, she doesn't need to say just friends, why should she? Nor he does. I don't need to tell anyone my friends are just my friends when i call them friends or introduce them as my friends. One day they will understand that if you decide to read into things, distort and lie ( like saying she untags things romantically linking her to Jake when she doesnt; like saying Luke and Antonia broke up when people filming in rome for his movie followed her back and she's following them and she was in Italy with him, Like saying Nicola mentioned Luke without being asked when in the interview, for the ones that actually read and not just a quote, she was clearly asked, and even so, she said FRIEND), nobody is fooling you, you're fooling and playing yourself and getting angry for the situation you created. Then you lash out and get disappointed by your own narrative. One day you'll understand, unless you are malicious and sexist, that both Nicola and Luke are dating people in their 20s, Antonia is 23 and Jake is 24, and they are both in their 30s, so do not try to pretend one is different than the other. And if you don't want to date someone of 23 and of 24, you do you, but you don't get to try to tell how adults live their lives. They can vote, they can drive, pay taxes, go to jail, get married, be professionals responsible for people's health and safety but somehow you question decision making for dating. One day you'll understand that Nicola and Luke are individuals, that if you are in this fandom it's because at some point they gave you happiness, so if you can't be sane enough to be happy for them with their loved ones, give it back supporting or at least respecting. Leave then, if you can't do it. For all the moments of happiness these people gave you, give them consideration to just stop talking about them. Or be mature enough to not reduce these people to whom they date, it's only a part of whole complex individuals. One day...

[marshmallowprotection]

"What do you have there, Saeran?"

Saeran glanced over his shoulder to meet your gaze. He wasn't trying to go out of his way to hide what he was doing, which was a good sign, after all! It was a difficult transition to go from hiding something that had remotely anything to do with things that deviated from Mint Eye's goals to being allowed to enjoy his hobbies without a hammer being held above his head.

He knew you would never judge him for what he enjoyed, but he was still learning what he wanted to do with his time. It... was easier for Ray. Ray had begun to cultivate a garden in a small plot of your backyard. He started out a lot smaller despite the plans you'd seen in his journal if only because... he only had so much space to work with.

However, it gave him something to do in his free time and it kept his hands busy. Ray had a difficult time relaxing, and you knew that it wasn't that different for Saeran. He needed to do something. He couldn't sit still. They both didn't know how to catch their breath and let the moment play itself out. The therapist had advised them to take it easy, to build up their new hobbies without turning them into a big task like their previous job had done, but the idea of "taking things nice and easy" wasn't in their vocabulary.

So, to see him working on something made you happy, but you sought him out to make sure that he hadn't forgotten to take care of his needs. He needed to take longer breaks, drink some water, have a nice snack, lean his head back and relax his shoulders, and most of all, enjoy himself.

"A caterpillar habitat," he explained. "I noticed Ray's distress over a few eaten flower petals... and decided to investigate what creature had lunch in his garden. He doesn't want to hurt a little bug, but he doesn't want them to eat all of his flowers, either. I can't imagine I would be all that happy if somebody took me away from such a nice meal, so, I figure I should do something for the caterpillar."

A smile danced across your face as you realized his intention. Even after the fear Saeran had expressed to you about what he thought of himself compared to Ray, you couldn't see where he could've gotten that idea other than Rika. He feared that he was nothing but destruction, a hollow shell filled with nothing but anger, but here he was, with a pair of tender hands, taking care of a small bug that most people would simply smush to be rid of their "problem".

Not just because he wanted to look after Ray, but because he empathized with the creature who'd done nothing wrong.

He and Ray used to compare themselves to bugs, "we're insignificant, worthless, take up space, and better off dead". Saeran had only recently told you that they didn't view bugs like that... and the only reason why he ever said those words was... because they were insults hurled at him as a little boy. Those cruel words cut deep into his tender chest, into Ray's chest too, but they never thought to insult bugs or hate them for it.

How could they?

The bug had committed no crime, it merely existed. It was no different than how they never committed any crime by being born and... no one should have made them feel otherwise.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," you eventually said. "Have you been doing research on what they like best?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "It turns out there's a lot of material you can read on the subject online. I think... I've figured out the best environment for this little guy, though. I didn't want to get it wrong, so I made sure what I found was... more or less safe for his specific family. It's tricky to get it just right, apparently. It's so "simple" that you can miss it."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"...Can you grab some twigs from the garden?"

"Of course! We'll make the best home for your caterpillar friend."

[knifedog-machina]

Being Human: A Species Identity Compare and Contrast

Written by Gavin on June 27, 2024.

Hey, I'm Gavin, and despite hanging out in various alterhuman spaces, I'm 100% a human person. I live in a system with two headmates who are also human, but identify as other species as well - Max as a velociraptor therian, Jude as a dog archetrope and an android. In contrast, I specifically, completely identify as human.

What's so special about that, being human? Statistically, it's nothing remarkable - most people on Earth identify as human after all. I think what's really interesting is that, over the past year, I've been connected to communities that all contain people (or non-people, as the case may be) who partially or fully identify as nonhuman - otherkin, therians, a solid number of fictionfolk and some alterhumans. Therefore, I feel like I can compare and contrast my species identity to the experiences of others, in a way that most people who philosophize on what humanity is don't get the chance to.

We tend to think of humanity as The Default, a non-identity, since the majority of self-identified nonhumans were raised as human, and we all live in human societies. Most people don't bother clarifying that they are human unless they're dehumanized, because it seems obvious that being born human means you're human. Given humanity's position as a default state, a lot of nonhumans see it as an opposing and fundamentally different experience from nonhumanity.

In this way, species identity is similar to gender identity - cisgender people, who identify with the genders they were assigned at birth, are often assumed by transgender people to have a fundamentally different understanding of gender. I feel like both of these assumptions are oversimplifications, ones that miss out on a lot of nuance, and throughout this essay I will be comparing gender and species, as a trans man whose species is as important to him as his gender.

There are some common threads I've noticed when it comes to having a sense of identity. I wouldn't call them universal experiences, I can't read minds, but they're frequent enough to be significant. They may be more obvious when it's an identity at odds with your body (e.g. being transgender or nonhuman) - but I'd go so far as to say that plenty of cisgender (and human!) people also experience these feelings, and simply don't have the words or desire to describe their feelings with these terms.

First off, identity euphoria - the internal sense of alignment, joy, and contentedness one gets from presenting and being perceived as their identity. A trans man might experience gender euphoria from presenting and being treated as a man, and so do many cis men. Think about how thrilled many guys are when their beards fill out; that's facial hair as a presentation of masculinity, and gaining it is a gender euphoric experience. In a very similar way, a nonhuman experiences species euphoria from being perceived as their species - and so do I, as a human being.

I’m trans, so I know how gender euphoria feels for me. I find that the more I'm just treated as a man, the more that the bright elation of being correctly gendered turns into a sense of quiet satisfaction - this is what I am, and everyone knows it, and all is right with the world. There's no reason to think too much about it unless something calls attention to it, and then I feel confident and comfortable enough in myself that other people's judgements are more annoying than hurtful. I exist peacefully in my body, happy with the way people see me in it, and sometimes I'll do something that feels extra masculine and grin about it for five minutes.

My species euphoria falls into the same sort of category - I feel content with my body, the way it matches how I feel internally, and the way other people treat me because of it. I feel fundamentally comfortable with my human body map and movements, having a flat face and hands and nails, walking upright on the soles of my feet. I feel comfortable when I'm acknowledged as a human and a person, when I do something that’s known to be human - when I wear different clothes to express myself and keep out the cold, when I cook a meal to eat with people, when I sing for the fun of it, when I write and draw to share something creative, when I interact with human technology and invention and creation. Humans have been making clothes and foods and songs and adding marks to the world for about as long as they've existed, and we're still doing it, and if I think about it too long I get emotional. I’m human and I feel deeply connected to humanity, and most of the time I don't think about it because I'm treated as one, but sometimes I’ll notice that I'm doing something that just feels fundamentally human, and it's really nice - sometimes species affirmation can be in the little things, like wearing a beat-up jacket or writing a personal essay.

On the flip side, there's identity dysphoria, the distress experienced when one's identity doesn't align with the way they present or find themselves perceived as. A trans woman might feel gender dysphoria because of her body hair; many cis women also feel less feminine if they don't shave. Species dysphoria is a well-known experience in the nonhuman community, the distress of being seen as human or having a human body when you don't identify as one. Given what I said earlier, hopefully it doesn't come as a shock that people can have the opposite experience - feeling distressed about being seen as nonhuman. I get this kind of species dysphoria.

It feels odd to talk about species dysphoria when I’m not nonhuman, but I still feel it. Mostly it comes up in the context of being in alterhuman spaces, being accidentally mislabeled as nonhuman through proximity to those who are, and I've also felt it in the context of playing around with visualizing myself as nonhuman in art. My body map doesn't have nonhuman features, parts like wings or tails or claws or pointy ears. Picturing myself like that feels wrong, it feels like sandpaper, like there’s this foreign thing attached to my body and I need to cut it off so I can stop this crawling sense of my body not being my own. I used to have an awful amount of gender dysphoria, and I feel like the two are very comparable experiences - the distress of feeling like your body doesn't match your mind. I got top surgery, so the gender dysphoria is gone, and thankfully my body is actually human, because I would be just as distressed about being seen as nonhuman as I was about being seen as a girl.

It’s kind of fascinating that I feel this way, that I can’t picture myself as nonhuman without feeling incredibly uncomfortable. On the other end of the spectrum, there's the entire furry fandom, a subculture of people - most of whom definitely identify as human beings - who regularly depict themselves as nonhuman animals for fun and self-expression. We’re all human, what gives? Do they have a more malleable sense of species identity than I do?

Maybe, maybe not. I don't have a straightforward answer to that - like I said, I can't read minds, and I'm just one person. But I do have a couple thoughts on the way humans interface with nonhumanity, on the topic of enjoying it.

See, I get dysphoric about being considered nonhuman, but I've found some loopholes in there. I’m completely fine with my fictional counterpart - the character getting tossed into different AUs for our personal enrichment - being turned into a vampire, a werewolf, a selkie, an android, a person with wings. How's that any different from other expressions of nonhumanity? Well, for me, those stories don't induce dysphoria because they're about humanity, at the end of the day - how people cope with being seen as or turned into monsters, the way they treat one another and the way they treat supposed outsiders, the ways society might change if humans were slightly different animals but still called themselves human. If I were a werewolf, I'd still be human, just one living with the consequences of also being a wolf. If I had wings in a world where all humans have wings, I'm still human in the context of that world. That baseline sense of humanity is what’s important to me.

In a similar vein, I can't stand seriously being seen as nonhuman - but pretending to be nonhuman? Roleplaying? Dressing up in a costume? I can do that. I feel like there’s something very human about being fascinated by the abilities and strengths of every animal that's not your own kind, and wanting them for yourself - the human desire to fly like a bird, swim like a fish, hunt like a wolf, run like a deer.

I think a lot of what people like about fursonas is this sort of wish fulfillment, of having the cool traits of all these fascinating animals, and having that animal self-portrait still being anthro - human - enough to relate to. It's animality through an anthropomorphic lens, through how fun it can be to play pretend and express yourself as a cool deer-wolf-lion hybrid. And usually, those animal choices are symbolic, and the fursona reflects the personality of the person who made it - more often than not, it reflects the cultural stereotypes of what that animal is, instead of being true to what the animal is like as a living organism. It's about the way humans see themselves in animals, not necessarily the way we are animals. So, ironically, being a furry tends to parse as a very human thing to me.

So far, most of this essay has been a comparison, since I see a lot of similarities between identifying as human and identifying as nonhuman. Putting my species into my list of self-identifiers, like how I'd list my name and pronouns, has cemented it as a crucial part of how I view myself and want to be seen. That's the same way a lot of nonhumans think about their species. I have a strong sense of species identity, it just so happens to align with being human. Contrasting the categories seems harder to me.

I could list a bunch of different nonhuman traits that I lack, but it would be on the same level as saying one kintype is different from another. I don't care about walking on all fours, and neither does Max as a raptor. I don't instinctively try to bite a threat, I’d rather kick it, and I know a horse would agree with me. I don't long for the sky and neither does Jude, they're a dog. I don't have a prey drive and neither does a hamster. I don't feel like a nonsapient animal, and neither does an elf.

When it comes down to just being a certain species, there’s not that much of a difference between identifying as a human and identifying as a dragon. There's a bunch of traits that feel correct, and a million others that don't feel right at all.

I could say that I don't understand feeling like I don't fit in my own body, but I do - I had gender dysphoria. I have species dysphoria. If one of my partners is having a phantom shift while co-fronting with me, I invariably end up either leaving front or nullifying their shifts, because I just don't feel comfortable if our combined body map is nonhuman. I don't have memories of being a different species than I am, having abilities that I don't have in my body now, but those aren’t necessary to be nonhuman in the first place.

Do I need to find a contrast that makes sense? Does there need to be some fundamental difference between human and nonhuman identity?

I don't think so. It's all identity, at the end of the day.

[project-sonadow]

Shooting Star

Before… everything, Shadow lived on the ARK his whole life. Almost everyone else got to come and go as they pleased. The professor and his scientists frequently traveled down to the planet below, either to conduct more research or to explain the results of their project to the military commanders funding Shadow’s very existence. The GUN personnel aboard the ARK, who stared at Shadow with fear and hostility, always left after a couple weeks, to be replaced by new, bright-eyed recruits who didn’t know a thing about the truth of the project. 

But there was one person who was with him, always.

“Shadow, what do you think it’s like on earth?” Maria asked.

“The professor said his life’s work was dedicated to all of those who live down there. He once told that the reason for his existence was making people happy through the power of science.”

It was a line Gerald had fed to him, to give to his granddaughter, naive by the circumstances of her life. There was only one person Gerald dedicated his life to, and only one that he wanted to make happy. But it was a lie Shadow was never going to contradict, especially when he owed his creation to Gerald, and his few moments of companionship to Maria.

“Shadow…”

They were looking out the windows on the ARK, at the black of space dotted all over by light from stars which could be long dead by now. The planet was below them, always below them, a vibrant mix of white and blue and green, brighter than anything on the ARK itself, constructed of sharp edges and dull shades of gray. The two of them were only on the ARK to keep Maria alive, so Shadow could be used to save her life, but neither of them were happy here. 

And if Maria wasn’t happy, wasn’t able to live her life, then Shadow’s purpose, his reason for existence…

“Maria… I just don’t know anything anymore. I often wonder why I was created. What my purpose is, for being here. Maybe if I go down there, I will find the answers. Maybe…”

His voice trailed off, and Maria looked at him with sad eyes. It was one of her better days, one where she was able to stand, and talk without gasping for air, but she still looked like a frail, washed out ghost under the harsh lights of the colony. 

“Maria…”

And so they remained there, stuck between the planet below and the stars above.

---

When he first met the other hedgehog, Shadow was unimpressed. He had known GUN was going to find some way to justify his existence to the world at large, but he had assumed it would be the GUN Commander, or someone who had been at GUN for over 50 years.

Instead, they had found a hedgehog, similar to him in appearance but different in every other way. 

Right now, that hedgehog was glaring up at him, green eyes narrowed in misdirected fury. The destroyed Big Foot crunched underneath Shadow’s shoes, evidence of how weak GUN was, unable to capture even an inferior version of him. 

Shadow should have left. He had done his job by stealing a Chaos Emerald, and decimating as much of GUN’s forces as he could in one night. He had a job to do, and he had to get to the ARK. From there, Gerald’s grandson could unwittingly take care of the rest of the plan, if he was half as competent as his grandfather had been.

And yet, he stayed. He blamed his own curiosity- this was the hedgehog GUN had elected to blame for Shadow’s misdeeds, the one who Gerald’s grandson had mistaken him for. Surely there was something special about him. 

“What?” the hedgehog said, clearly confused at Shadow’s appearance, and he smirked, holding the Chaos Emerald up high for the hedgehog to see.

“It all starts with this… a jewel containing the ultimate power…”

“That’s the… Chaos Emerald!” the hedgehog said, and Shadow saw a mixture of surprise and rage cross his face. “Now I know what’s going on! The military has mistaken me for the likes of you. So… where do you think you’re going with that Emerald?!”

Shadow said nothing, and simply glared down at the other hedgehog. It would be foolish to charge an unknown opponent directly, especially one with one of the most powerful items on the planet, and yet the hedgehog looked like he was about to do just that, ears pinned back against his head in fury and disgust.

“Say something! You fake hedgehog!”

Shadow didn’t bother to meet his attack head-on, simply tossing the Chaos Emerald up into the air and catching it again. He felt the power of the Emerald pulsing in his hand, bending and malleable to Shadow’s will- “Chaos Control!”

Shadow had planned to simply warp to the opposite building, hitting the hedgehog on the way, maybe hard enough to keep him out of any of Shadow’s plans. But even under the effects of Chaos Control, with the world slowed down to a stop around him- Shadow saw the other hedgehog’s eyes widen minutely, and then his feet skidded on the pavement. Slow, but still just fast enough to change course, to avoid Shadow entirely.

Shadow blinked, and then he was on the opposite roof. The other hedgehog wheeled around, alarm and surprise on his face, before he started speaking to himself again. “Wow… he’s fast! Hey, it’s not his speed, he must be using the Chaos Emerald to warp!”

So, he was able to figure out Chaos Control from only seeing it used once. But that didn’t mean much of anything at all, at least not by itself.

Shadow curiosity- and annoyance- was piqued. He had hoped to be able to eliminate the other in a single encounter. But their time together was already coming to an end. Shadow could see the human’s forces, military and police alike, approaching. What a shame, to not be able to get rid of the blue pest.

“My name is Shadow. I’m the world’s ultimate lifeform. There’s no time for games… farewell!”

It was easy enough to teleport all the way to the Space Colony ARK with just one Emerald, and the last he saw of the hedgehog was him flinching back, a hand going up to cover his eyes, and then he vanished from sight entirely, replaced by familiar halls that Shadow had already come to hate.

Shadow, still tossing the Emerald into the air, closed his eyes and considered the hedgehog for a second.

Fast. Strong enough to destroy a GUN mech entirely and be unharmed by the encounter. Smart enough to figure out Chaos Control without using it himself. But also stupid, to charge into a fight without knowing a thing about his enemy’s capabilities, and capable of being overwhelmed by strong emotion like a fool.

Special. But nothing too special. Nothing like Shadow himself.

---

Shadow hoped he wouldn’t encounter the other hedgehog again, that he would just remain locked in GUN’s deepest, darkest cell until Shadow was able to fulfill Maria’s wish. Sadly, the humans were incompetent at everything, so it wasn’t too long into Shadow’s next excursion down to the planet’s surface before there was another chance encounter.

“Hey, that’s…”

“That blue hedgehog again, of all places…”

“I found you, faker!”

“Faker? I think you’re the fake hedgehog around here. You’re comparing yourself to me… ha! You’re not even good enough to be my fake!”

“I’ll make you eat those words!”

Shadow had been intending to end it quickly. Gerald’s grandson had promised to destroy the entire island, so all Shadow had to do was kill the other hedgehog quickly, or find a way to cripple him and leave him here, to die in the explosion. Shadow was the Ultimate Lifeform. The other hedgehog was nobody.

And yet…

They ended up glaring at each other from across the clearing, both bruised and battered, but neither able to win. Emerald eyes were just as sharp as ever as they glared at Shadow, and he couldn’t help but be reminded of the Chaos Emeralds as he stared into them.

Shadow could see that the other hedgehog was exhausted, sweat matting his fur, and panting for air. But Shadow felt even more breathless, more out of practice and weak. 

It infuriated him. 

It was the beeping from the communicator that distracted both of them. “Shadow! What are you doing? Hurry and get back here right now before the island blows up with you on it!” The other hedgehog’s eyes widened, predictably. “Blows up?”

Had Shadow really wasted this much time with a single hedgehog? He jumped back, and didn’t spare another glance at the hedgehog as he fled. But next time, he swore that he would crush him. 

Somehow, Shadow knew he wouldn’t be lucky enough for him to die before then.

---

As it turned out, Shadow was wrong. The explosion lit up the entirety of space, and Shadow, in the same place where he had stood with Maria once, stared at it with nothing but contempt.

“I guess he was just a regular hedgehog, after all.”

---

But even after that, things continued to go wrong. Rouge’s betrayal, the truth about the project designed to create the Ultimate Lifeform- Shadow felt off balance, unsteady, even before he found his way to the one of the many long hallways leading to the Eclipse Cannon and found a ghost waiting for him.

“You never cease to surprise me, blue hedgehog. I thought that the capsule you were in exploded in space.”

The hedgehog grinned at him, and it stoked a fire somewhere deep in Shadow. “You know, what can I say… I die hard! You actually saved me, you know.”

Shadow glanced down at the Chaos Emerald the other held. The fake Chaos Emerald. “It was a Chaos Emerald, wasn’t it? But, there’s no way you could have activated the Chaos Control using an Emerald that’s fake.”

They started running, and Shadow kept up with the blue hedgehog’s pace easily as they ran down the hallway, but glancing down at their feet- the other was wearing ordinary shoes, and Shadow was wearing air shoes, designed specifically to allow him to travel at high speeds. Shadow grit his teeth. “So, there’s more to you than just looking like me. What are you anyway?”

“What you see is what you get! Just a guy that loves adventure! I’m Sonic the Hedgehog!”

Sonic. A regular name for a regular hedgehog. “I see. But you know, I can’t let you live. Your adventuring days are coming to an end!”

They fought, in space, above the planet and below the stars. And Shadow…

Shadow lost.

---

They didn’t see each other again. Not until Eggman won, and Gerald’s plan was complete, his message played across the entire earth so all of humanity would know what was coming for them, how their arrogance and cruelty had sealed their fate decades ago. 

And Shadow… thought it was over. Until another hedgehog, this one small and frail and foolish, reached out to him in desperation and hope and an earnest, true love for the planet Shadow hated and all the people on it.

Shadow had thought he would meet with resistance, and suspicion. Instead, Sonic was just confused, and happy, that Shadow was helping.

“Leave this one to me!”

“Shadow, what are you doing?”

“I’ll take care of this, while you run to get the Chaos Emeralds!”

Sonic grinned at those words, and nodded, grabbing his friend by the hand and running around the Biolizard.

The Biolizard itself, supposedly another ultimate lifeform, the prototype of Shadow himself, was so much easier to defeat than one small hedgehog had ever been.

But much like Sonic, it refused to give up, even on the brink of defeat.

The Biolizard vanished- teleported- in a flash of light, and then the shaking of the colony resumed, so harsh and sudden that Shadow almost fell over. Gerald’s grandson spoke to them over the communicators in the ARK, informing them of what it had done, and Shadow- Shadow didn’t know what to do. They had all thrown everything they had at it, and yet-

“Sonic!” the echidna yelled, dragging Shadow out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the two of them, engaged in what looked like a silent argument. Sonic’s eyes glanced between the echidna, the Master Emerald, the Chaos Emeralds- and then Shadow.

Shadow wasn’t entirely sure how he knew what Sonic intended to do, but he just did. It was unlike anything he ever felt before- an eerie calmness, and a sudden surge of confidence that they would win.

Sonic took Shadow by the hand, and led him up to the very top of the altar, where Chaos Energy burned and crackled, where the Chaos Emeralds formed a circle around the two of them. He met Sonic’s eyes once before he closed his own, unable to bear the trust that he saw in them.

He had no idea this was even possible, but it came to him naturally anyway. Chaos Energy flowed through the two of them, and when Shadow opened his eyes he met ruby red on the other side, flickering like fire.

“Come on!” Super Sonic said, a grin of pure excitement on his face. “Let’s go save the world!”

---

The Finalhazard, fitting for a creation of Gerald Robotnik, refused to go down without a fight. And Shadow, despite feeling more powerful than he had ever been, was burning through his power fast. Far too fast for this fight, despite the rings he and Sonic intermittently collected.

And Sonic was beginning to notice.

“Shadow! Your power’s getting weaker! Hey, are you okay?”

Shadow grunted, and tried to focus on the fight.

“Shadow, at this rate, your super form won’t last! Get back to the Colony!”

Shadow landed a hit on the Biolizard, barely damaging it.

“Continuous use of your Super form will cause you to disappear! Get back to the Colony!”

The Finalhazard hit Shadow, sending him directly into Sonic, blasting them both back into space. When they both righted themselves, Shadow took a moment to glare at Sonic. Only a moment, they didn’t have any other time to spare- but Sonic seemed to understand, and gave him a small smile.

The fight didn’t get any easier from there, but things became more bearable when he and Sonic were working in sync, landing blow after blow on the seemingly-invincible creature. The ARK continued to get closer to the planet, and their communicators both crackled, the people on the other side first yelling advice, then warnings, and then pleas for them both to retreat to the ARK. Neither of them listened.

And even when the Finalhazard was finally beginning to weaken, its attacks desperate and wild, Shadow could tell that he and Sonic were on their last legs, burning through the last of the energy. He grit his teeth, preparing for the final attack, and glanced over at Sonic.

Sonic looked fine. His fur sparkled like gold, his eyes like burning rubies. The grin on his face was back, and even from a distance, the way he dodged each of the Finalhazard’s attacks, the backdrop of space behind him- he looked like a shooting star. He looked beautiful.

Sonic…

His light grew brighter, almost blinding Shadow, as he shot towards the Finalhazard.

I think I’ve discovered what the Ultimate Lifeform is…

The Finalhazard screamed, lashing out with all its might, lasers and bombs and flailing limbs. It was all worthless.

It might be you!

Super Sonic collided with the side of Finalhazard, landing the finishing blow, and Shadow didn’t watch as it died. He just kept his eyes on Sonic, even when he knew the other wasn’t looking at him. 

Eventually, though, even someone like Sonic needed help, and as Shadow saw him struggle to stop the falling Colony he flew forward, joining Sonic. A Chaos Control of this size and power was something Shadow had never attempted and he knew Sonic hadn’t either, but somehow, he knew that they could pull it off together.

Even if he was almost out of time. 

The instant he knew the world was safe- that he had fulfilled Maria’s promise- Shadow felt the last of his power leave him, and he plummeted towards the earth. It didn’t take even a second for Sonic to fly after him, attempting to catch him. Shadow knew it was useless, but he held out his hand anyway, hoping against reality that Sonic would be able to create another miracle.

He wasn’t. Sonic’s fingers snagged against his inhibitor ring, pulling it off Shadow’s hand, and he continued falling, with the expression on Sonic’s face seared into his mind. He closed his eyes, and tried to forget the anguish on it.

“Maria… this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you.”

Shadow fell, and Sonic remained far above him, a star he could never catch up to.

[thechibilitwick]

more ramblings that sit in my drafts for an unspecified amount of time before i eventually decide to finish and post them!!! (also sorry if someone has already done an analysis like this i just thought it was an interesting detail)

today I shall go over what I believe the woman that Kazui is seen with in Half is supposed to represent. (+ some general analysis)

This lady is basically the reason why the entire cheating theory existed in the first place, and understandably so. But after his T2 voice drama, Kazui confirms that he never actually cheated (also his wedding ring is. right there. on his finger. man.) If that's the case, then who is this woman? If he didn't cheat, why would a random woman be in his MV? I actually think the answer might not be that complex:

The woman simply represents women.

For one, there are two other side character in the MV besides this lady: Hinako and the bartender. Moreover, both of those characters have a significant difference from the woman: they don't have a full set of facial features.

I personally believe that Kazui views them without eyes because they are people he finds painful to remember. Therefore, the woman still having her eyes visible would mean that she isn’t as significant as Hinako or the bartender.

Moreover, the way the woman is framed has a lot of implications.

The first scene establishes a correlation with the lady and Hinako. Both scenes are framed similarly, and both have Kazui staring at them. (with the same "i'm such an old man. yaoi." look on his face idk how else to describe it) The only difference is that there are two different versions, or sides, of Kazui.

Kazui in the bar, suit and all, has been heavily implied to represent his “true desires”. He's the one that notices Kazui watching from the audience and makes him notice the apple, and the one who appears in the champagne glass in Cat.

Kazui in the house, less dressed-up than bar Kazui, likely represents how he believes he should act. He looks upset over the distance between him and Hinako and he’s the one who's shocked upon realizing his actual feelings.

With this in mind, the transition between both women has implications on the way Kazui views them and in turn how he views women (in terms of his desires vs. what's expected of him.)

The second scenes then implies what it specifically is that both sides of Kazui feels about women.

The first scene starts off with Kazui in the house, staring down at his wedding ring with a sizable distance between him and Hinako.

Then the scene shifts to Kazui in the bar, where the woman is probably drunk, and leaning onto him with possible hints of intimacy. Yet he ends up putting the woman aside.

This is where what the lady possibly represents becomes a bit more clear. Similar to Magritte's art (which Kazui's MVs regularly reference), the woman is not a literal woman, but the representation of a woman. Kazui pushing away the woman as his desired 'true self' could mean he doesn’t feel the need to comply to the expectation of being attracted to or in a relationship with a woman.

Both scenes also contrast each other. The distance between Kazui and either woman as well as the way he reacts to said distance are the opposite. Kazui and Hinako have a considerable gap between them, and he feels guilty for this because of the expectation of being in a (heterosexual) marriage. Despite believing that this is what's 'correct' and what'll lead to happiness, he's still somehow failing.

Kazui and the bar lady have practically no space between them, yet Kazui is able to put her aside because he doesn't feel the need to conform. Even if she's conventionally attractive and is being intimate with Kazui, he quite literally does not give a shit.

Ok this is kinda getting wordy so I shall close off here. tl;dr I personally think the bar lady serves the purpose of symbolizing women, marriage, and maybe even heteronormativity, in order to express Kazui's conflicting views. Maybe I'm actually wrong and she really is an existing person, but uhh hey the themes still hold up in regards to Kazui soooo

(also it's possible that the woman is purposely between him and the bartender in both scenes, because societal norms still get in his way of his actual feelings or smth idk i can't word anymore)

anyways that's all i hope this makes sense 🥹

[eowynstwin]

Do you have any recommendations for longer cod fics with plot?

Yeah, plenty!

A few from @391780 (and their ao3) (if you decide to explore their other fics PLEASE read the tags first, early writes some very dark work that may not suit you):

The Arrangement

The ad reads "Looking for a woman (25-45) to enter a discreet and unusual arrangement, with monetary compensation. Must fill out application and send photo.", and for some reason that you can't even fathom yourself, you apply. AKA John Price, who knows better than anyone what a liability having a spouse or partner is, decides that the only way he's going to find a beautiful soft woman to put up with his absurd schedule and dangerous job is to simply hire them.

the space in between

a shortcut through a construction site at night leads you to a run-in with john price, leader of the local crime family. (or, mafia Price romance with a desk jockey who didn't sign up to be a crime boss' obsession or sole confidant)

Into Your Veins

Ghost is a vampire during a zombie apocalypse, sent on a mission from Price to recruit you to join the little gated community of survivors that he's rounding up. You're a survivor who just wants to be left in peace to tend your garden and occasionally clear out your moat and booby traps of the undead. Neither of you gets what you'd planned on.

Then we have milk0 on ao3

Incompetent People

You share a group chat with your team and you sometimes wish you didn’t. (or, a very fun fic that started as a group chat piece and has evolved into a poly 141 romance. Otherwise known as my favorite fucking trope ever. The reader character has such a fun voice, I adore this fic.)

Next of course is @ceilidho (emphemeron on ao3) (same deal as with early—read their tags if you explore more of their fic, they also write darker work)

take me home, country road

You have nothing on your person apart from a hastily packed suitcase and the dress you came into town wearing, on the run from trouble back home. Too bad John's missing a bride that matches your description. Or: the 1800s (mistaken) mail order bride au

Following up with @alittleposhtoad (smoggyfogbottom on ao3)

"it's gonna get me by the end of the night"

A year after the attack on the Urzikstan embassy, Stacy Davidson struggles to move on. Whumptober Prompt: No. 23: “It’s gonna get me by the end of the night.” Shadows | Stalking | “Who’s there?” Note: I picked Gaz x OC because this ship doesn't exist on ao3, and I wasn't sure how to classify it for searching purposes. Stacy has a minor role in the game!

oh bury me not on the lone prairie

You are a doctor on the frontier, recently widowed and left to fend for yourself. You cope by keeping a strict routine, one that is threatened by the arrival of four strangers one hazy summer night. (141 western AU)

a handsome stranger on a cold autumn day

You work at a small-town library doing the same thing day in and day out, until a handsome captain approaches your desk.

rounding out this list is @lunarvicar who is on hiatus but still fully worth reading. (you can find them here on ao3)

exit row

ghost is that hot guy at the airport you wish you could talk to. good thing your seats are next to each other on the plane and you can fantasize alllll you want. (or, you hook up with Ghost in an airport and meet, months later, after you join the 141. he is not happy about it. or is he?)

to the flame

Moth has barely escaped her first captors, but tumbles headfirst into the care of the 141. She has to decide whether to trust them and their prickly leader, Captain Price - who also happens to be the sexiest motherfucker she's ever met.

a stranger at the table

tudor era AU. John Price is an old friend of your new husband's, come to help on the farm for a season. Your vows are tested in ways you could never have imagined.

All of these I've listed are multichapter fics, but every single author's one-shots are just as good. I highly recommend reading those too!

Now I'm just going to list a few writers who you really should just take the time to go through their masterlists, because you can't go wrong with anything they write.

@yeyinde

@peachesofteal

@moondirti

@charliemwrites (dark fiction, be aware)

@ohbo-ohno (also dark fiction)

honorary mention of @guyfieriii who has removed most of her cod fiction from tumblr due to a frankly disgusting amount of harassment, but I'm sure if you ask her very very nicely she'll send you where you need to go. (seriously. be nice. or you'll see me in your bedroom holding a knife at midnight)

P.S. if you're reading this, and i've expressed love for your work in the past, but you are not on this list, it is NOT intentional exclusion. It is my absolutely horrible memory. I love you and please link your own work if you'd like!

[vonev]

The Strings Of Webs (and the ones you’ve woven)

Miguel O’Hara x reader

Chapter 1: The Beginning Of Something New (and something unknown)

Words: 3.7k

Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, angst, hurt/comfort.

Summary: So—just imagine, one day you’re sitting in your home, enjoying your day off of the usual stressful work you had, only for a mysterious asshole to appear and snatch you away from your home, your safe space. 

Not only that, but he decided to put you in his sick version of a jail and start demeaning your entire existence in front of other strangers that, for some reason, are replicas of each other. Something something Spider-men and the Spider Society, the entire safety and security of the multiverse on your hands, and that you were the cause of everyone’s downfall.

 Yeah, that’s your life now.

Part I Part II 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“—be wary of glitches around you, contact your local hospital immediately if you or your family encounter symptoms or signs of glitching—“

“—whoever decided we should allow kids to have free lunches in school doesn’t realize that the school needs to be fed too! This is why—“

“—and I said, boom! Spider-man, I caught you red-handed!”

“Spider-man spotted running around the city terrorizing civilians with whipped cream, but witnesses said it was a hoax by some random troll—“

“—on tonight’s news of Daily Bugle, Spider-man has been found dead—“

You halted.

The notion of mindlessly clicking next on the different channels paused when you heard the key words, ‘Spider-man’ and ‘found dead’.

To say you were shocked was an understatement of the century, Spider-man out of all the people in the entire universe was declared deceased should not simply gloss over everyone’s mind.

Your jaw hung open, the words still dancing in your mind like lovers on a weekend honeymoon trip, holding onto each other yet under the surface, something else was brewing.

Fuck.

You wanted to seek out Spider-man, so how are you supposed to, now, if he is dead?

You gritted your teeth out of pure frustration, you had hoped you’d catch him in his act of swinging around your part of the city, just being the friendly neighborhood Spider-man as he always usually does.

You are desperate for an answer to a question, nervously biting down on the skin around your nail as you stood up and paced around your living room for a solution.

Bring him back from the dead? No.

Frankenstein him and pray he would have a sliver of his memory left? No.

Pray? No, God never answers, anyway.

You scratched the itchy spot where the spider bit you earlier, pondering over the chances of you being able to summon his spirit through a summoning ritual in the book called ‘Satanism for beginners: dummies edition’ you found at a random thrift shop earlier.

You weren’t in a rush per se, but then again, Spider-man not being alive meant you would never be able to satiate your raging curiosity.

You shrugged, and mourned for Spider-man in your special little way: making yourself a bomb ass dinner and popping a brand new champagne bottle in his honor, as a salute to his service and him as a whole.

After all, Spider-man would’ve wanted this. You doubt he would want people to gather around and shed tears on his grave rather than share happy encounters together with each other in his memories.

You were only assuming, but he did seem like a sweet kid from the handful of run-ins you had with him.

Letting out a deep sigh, you let your feet carry you to your kitchen, rummaging through the fridge in search of the barely expired package of steak shoved into the far back. You inspected the meat sitting inside the packaging, noting how it was starting to turn a grey-greenish hue. You debated on even cooking it and risking your health, but your stomach grumbled the moment you did and you decided against the better of it and made the meal anyway.

You let the well-seasoned steak sit in the pan with melted butter and rosemary, casually basking it in melted butter once in a while with a spoon with the garlic clove sitting on the side, your other hand holding a glass of champagne from the bottle you popped, taking leisure sips in-between your cooking.

Despite its flaws, the smell of the steak was heavenly.

You give yourself a pat on the back and proceed to nicely decorate your plate with the cut-up steak, bringing it to the living room along with the bottle of champagne for more of it later.

“—Spider-man’s identity has been revealed upon his death—“

On the screen, it showed a picture of a promising, rather young looking man, with messy blonde streaks of hair adorning his face and a nice smile with a glint of joy in his eyes.

He looked like he could’ve been anyone’s kid, and that thought saddened you. You decided to switch to Netflix and brought the blanket over your lap as you leisurely browse the catalogue for what seemed like eternity, your steak slowly going cold.

“Holy fuck, nothing at all.”

You settled for watching a 4-hour video essay on YouTube instead, slowly munching your steak away and huddled up in your comfy blanket.

As if the universe had it out for you, a bright orange glow suddenly took over your tiny apartment space in mere seconds, you snapped your head toward the source and immediately shot an arm up to cover your eyes, the lights were borderline blinding. You tried to sneak glances toward what could’ve caused the commotion, and your heart almost popped out of your chest at the sight of a random portal-looking hole in the middle of your apartment.

And out came the hole was possibly one of the biggest men you’ve seen, standing at a staggering 6 '8 stature you would think he had been an otherworldly entity. You could’ve sworn you saw him tore through the fabric of space and time with what seemed to be blades built into his elbow.

And his suit…

He looked like a Spider-man, with the obvious spider symbol embedded into the front of his skin-tight suit. He was a tall wall of pure muscles, looking nothing like the Spider-man your city has grown to know and love, but how could he be Spider-man—

—if Spider-man is dead?  

You looked into his gaze, a fit of pure rage, disdain and disgust could be felt from where you assumed would be his eyes. After all, they say eyes are the windows to one’s soul. His gaze held onto yours as he slowly approached where you sat, you felt a shiver down your spine that spoke to your soul. And it wasn’t as though he had a face to gauge his emotions by—his posture and the big, intimidating steps he took said it all.

This was terrifying, he was terrifying.

Your breath hitched once he got close enough to see the hair standing at the back of your neck like a frightened cat.

Was it hot in here, or was it just you? Or maybe him?

You had no clue, but you could feel yourself starting to sweat as though you had just run a marathon, and your senses were on high alert with how close the man was to you, your flight or fight alarm blaring like a thousand horns in your head.

He was not good news.

But you couldn’t move.

You felt yourself frozen up, and you wish you had been better at responding because you could’ve, and are probably about to be murdered. You took a gulp of breath, suddenly the feeling of your saliva going down your throat felt more vivid than ever in the small confined space of you and him.

You could see the way he scrunched up his nose with the moving wrinkles of his mask, pulling back from staring you down.

He diverted his attention to the watch on his wrist, fiddling with it before a hologram appeared in mid-air like some sort of Sci-Fi freak show, and a small lady appeared on the screen.

“What is it you want now, Miguel?” She groaned, seemingly annoyed at his advance of calling her out to do whatever he wanted at the time.

“Don’t give me that attitude, Lyla, pull out the files from yesterday,” he wasted no time biting back at her, almost as though he would start a fight with her right then and there if he wanted to.

From where you sat, with your legs tightly close to your chest and your blanket now on the floor, you still held dear to the plate of steak you were enjoying half a minute ago before everything conspired, your grip like a super-glue on the fork you held. You noted the rather adorable appearance of the girl, Lyla, was it?

She had a full body fur coat on with what you were certain was a pair of large, heart shaped glasses sitting on her tiny nose bridge.

“Nuh-uh,” she quipped, staring at her nails like she was bored of what Miguel had to say.

“Lyla.”

“Nope.”

“I swear to God—“

“Good luck with that, Miguel.”

You found it comical how they went back and forth with each other, you couldn’t tell if Miguel was joining in on the fun or he had been genuinely annoyed—and for all you know (and for what you couldn’t) he seemed to lean in on the latter. To be fair, he didn’t strike you as the type to bring fun into the party with what he had shown so far.

“Lyla, could you please show me the files from yesterday,” he paused for a few seconds, as if the next words out of his mouth hurt him physically to say out loud, “with a cherry on top.”

Lyla seemed satisfied with that, you could hear her giggle. “Already on it,” and swiped her hand across the air as multiple screens appeared, some with more content than the others, but amongst all the mumbo-jumbo of information you saw one thing that struck curiosity further into you—

—it was a profile of your face, and from what you saw, you looked absolutely amazing in the picture.

You let out a sigh of relief, at least they had the decency to pick a nice picture of you.

At least when you die, you’ll die looking pretty.

Miguel snapped his head to you when he heard your sigh, the pretend-eyes on his mask narrowed to a dangerous slit.

“Don’t think you’re getting away with this, criminal.”

You don’t know what you were supposed to feel with the way he bit his words at you, hissing, almost. But you felt quite offended—and you had a backbone unlike anyone else that would’ve been in your situation.

“You—you did not just threaten me,” You fought his gaze with the determination and anger in yours, and for a flash of a second, you saw the way his eyes widened—almost as though he was surprised you would rebut him. “You come into my home, ruin my nice dinner, and now you act like I just annihilated your entire family!”

You had placed your dinner and glass of champagne onto the IKEA coffee table in front of you, choosing to cross your arms over your chest as you scoffed in his direction, staring him down (or up?) like a disappointed parent at a teacher-parent meeting conference.

His lips pulled back in a snarl, and if he hadn’t had any ounce of self-restraint; he would’ve been pouncing on you with force you never even knew were possible. But to him, you only sound like a child whining about not getting their favorite toy—which greatly amused him, considering what you have done.

“Funny coming from someone who terrorized multiple dimensions,” he scoffed, inching his face closer to yours by towering his massive figure over you, an act of intimidation meant to catch you off-guard and make you fear him.

But what he didn't know was that you worked at Starbucks—so nothing, and you mean nothing could scare you like the ladies did when they’re on their fifth run of Starbucks of the day, irritated from their job and demanding custom drinks that made you cry on your lunch break. You merely glanced at him, your face stoic and devoid of any signs of fear.

“Listen here, big guy,” you jabbed a finger at his chest, caught off guard by how unexpectedly soft the fabric of his suit was—you could vividly feel the tensed muscles beneath them. “You don’t get to strut into my home via some strange portal and tell me what I did wrong, and for your information, you sound like a massive idiot going on about your ‘multidimensional threat’ bullcrap.”

By the end of your rant, he had already concluded that you were going to be a pain in his ass; and for that, he reached his arm out to grab the wrist you pointed at him with, squeezing it, serving as a silent threat.

The kind that wouldn’t end well if you don’t listen.

And to his dismay, you showed no signs of discomfort, only an increased amount of annoyance he could spot in your eyes as you tried to snatch your wrist away from his steel grip but ultimately failed.

“Listen here, cariño,” he said, sarcasm dripping off of him like honey. “You don’t get to dictate who’s in control after all that you’ve done,” his hold on your wrist now tightened tenfold, and he relished in the discomfort he could see when your face contorted, hearing your hiss of pain.

“Dickhead,” you grumbled underneath your breath, the frustration, annoyance and anger boiling in the pit of your stomach at the sight of him—you held back your tongue from hurling more insults his way. And to your dismay, he caught what slipped between your lips, his face getting closer than ever and you could feel the fan of his breath on the tip of your nose.

“Wanna repeat that?”

“I said—“ you prepared yourself for an attack, a foot to his abdomen would do it, just one quick move and he would be out of your hair as you flee from the perpetrator. “Fucking,” …anytime now—

—“Dickhead!”

In an instant, your foot connected with his abdomen, and you kicked. The next few seconds were a blur—his eyes widening at the feeling of your foot on his torso and the actual impact it had. You were frightened at the way he was pushed off of you and into the wall behind him, the strength of your kick causing the wall to give in from the sudden pressure. You could’ve sworn you saw the massive dent in the walls when he slid down—but you wasted zero milliseconds pondering any thoughts you may have.

As he slowly gathered his senses, you were already out of the apartment, bolting.

The adrenaline started to kick in as you practically ran for your life like you’ve never had before—that was because you didn’t have to until now.

You didn’t have to turn around to hear how Miguel had busted through your apartment window, the way the ground shook (or was it just you?) as you felt the weight of his limbs and how they carried him fast.

He was approaching.

And God, for once in your life did you wish you dead.

You would figure out how to explain to your landlord about the broken window and crumbled walls later—for now, survive.

But somehow, you outran him—choosing to swerve your way past the innocent bystanders in a zigzag manner as you yelled ‘sorry’ and ‘forgive me’, if you had learn anything from watching animal documentaries, it was to escape predators by confusing it thus your zigzag marathon.

You were frantically praying to something out there that your strategy was working, because if you paid attention, you would feel the way he was borderline breathing down your neck, toying with you. Your heartbeat thumped in your ears, edging the thin thread of going deaf with how loud it was.

The people you rushed past all collectively gasped and ogled, some even cheered, and you could just tell he was on your tail.

That’s no good.

Your eyes noted the sight of an entry to an alleyway, it was your only chance to survive his borderline murderous attempt at capturing you as you skillfully took a swift turn into the alleyway, your back immediately met the wall as you tried to calm your haggard breaths—you did not want to be spotted by him.

A flash of blue and red rushed past the corridor where you hid, and after a few seconds of no signs of activity of him being near you—you let out a small sigh, one that you had been holding on to dear life.

If you had known any better, you would’ve spotted the sight of his feet above you at the top of the building, crouched as he watched your every move—the way your body suggested your relaxed state and how you strut deeper into the alleyway; big mistake, in his humble opinion.

With the thought in mind that you had effectively avoided Miguel, you slowly caught your breath, your chest heaving as you wiped away the huge amount of sweat that gathered on your forehead. You started chuckling, in your adrenaline high, you weren’t able to hear the way Miguel stealthily fell on a balcony closer to you, how he dropped behind you without as much as a ‘thud’ coming from his soft landing.

To you, you just had the chase of your life—and to your utter surprise, you managed to swerve off a man of a stature and agility like his; it was enough to warren yourself a pat on the back as you felt a smile tug at your lips.

“Having fun?”

Shit. Shit. Double shit.

You were a goner.

Your senses were off the charts now, tingling like a spider crawling all over the back of your neck, sending a shockwave of shivers down your spine. You could smell him, that or your senses were starting to betray you. For a flash of a second what felt like claws tugged at your ankle, causing you to tumble over onto your stomach as you let out a loud yelp in pain.

He had caught up to you, to your unfortunate self, evident by the weight of his foot pressed against the small of your back, applying an immense amount of pressure that caused you to cry out in pain.

“Fucking—how?!” You shouted, your throat hoarse from all the yelling and screaming activities you had been conducting, your high slowly wearing off as your mind instantly jumped into a new stage of emotions you’ve never truly felt before: the utter fear that sent chills down your very core, the burning fire running amok in your nerves, and the loud banging headache you felt when you were knocked down.

“You let your guards down,” Miguel found utmost amusement in the way you squirm underneath his foot, your arms struggling to catch a hold onto something, anything. To him, it was just an ordinary chase on the daily he would frequently experience, running off of the high that it gave him as he bent over to look into your gaze; filled with so much hatred and disdain—and all for him.

It excited him, almost.

But to you, having led the most normal life ever of an average person, being chased by a multidimensional superhero who could traverse the universe within a flick of his wrist was never part of your scheduled programs. And at this moment, you had no idea what to believe in anymore.

The universe was playing a cruel joke on you, and they are laughing.

You caught his gaze and could note the way his pretend-eyes glistened with a bundle of emotions: rage, annoyance, a murderous intent, and excitement. All seething and hissing underneath that stupid mask of his. If he was honest to himself, the situation was the most fun he had in a while.

“Next time,” as he got closer to you, his voice turned into a mere whisper, “Try not breathing so hard, cariño.”

With what you would assume was your death approaching in the figure of a bear for a man—his mask dissipated within an instance in pixels, his face now bare to you as he only got closer and closer, your eyes blown wide open with fear and the pace of your breathing picking back up into a brutal pace as anxiety swelled in your chest.

He had lifted his foot off of your back only to engulf you in his pair of strong, tree trunks for arms. You watched the way his jaw hung open, the light bounced off his fangs, the glint almost blinding you as you merely laid there, spent and mentally exhausted in his arms.

This was it.

This was how you would die.

In a game of predator and prey—and you were the prey that thought they got away.

And for the last few seconds of what you assumed to be the end of your life—you struggled against his hold, yet no attempts of yours were successful at feigning him off of you. He had the audacity to chuckle at your effort, like they meant nothing to him.

Because they didn’t.

To him, you were just an average, unfortunate prey becoming the meal he would treat himself to every night as a reward for his hard work having slaughtered you for his satiations; that being hunger and self-fulfillment.

And because he eyed you like one.

It was hard to miss the red glow in his iris, dominating the ring with his pupils blown out, looking like a crazed man with an addiction—and he had found his drug.

“Relax, you’re only making it harder for yourself.”

He brushed aside your hair, exposing the vulnerable spot of your neck—you could feel the way the tip of his fangs teased the bare skin on the back of where your neck and shoulder connected in a junction, taking his sweet time as his fingers traced up the sides of your arms, you could feel the bruises starting to blossom on your skin in response to his iron-like grip.

And before you knew it, he sunk his fangs into you, breaking your skin as you could only struggle even more so in his hold in pathetic attempts at escaping.

It burnt.

Oh God it burnt so fucking bad.

If you had thought your nerves were on fire before, they were quite literally bathing in a pool of lava by now. The venom has slowly integrated itself into your blood flow, inviting itself in like that annoying neighbor’s kid you never liked barging into your home.

You felt downright violated.

But you were helpless.

And for what felt like the last moment of your life, you could only sob, feeling the bubble of tears bursting and swimming down your reddened yet ghastly-looking cheeks like fish in the ocean. Consciousness slowly started to seep away like grasping at sands—little by little, they would be gone. Your vision gradually declined on you every second.

And along was what little dignity you had left as you slumped in Miguel’s arms, lifeless.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for trapping an author in a realm beyond mortal comprehension?

So basically, I (K, m50s) joined what amounted to a cult in my younger years. The leader of the cult (L, m50s) was a mystic and deeply involved in his belief that there was a world beyond our world, built out of the knowledge of past cultures that trickled through weak spots in space and formed something new. When I was younger and still very much involved in this cult, L had a breakthrough and claimed to finally have accessed this other world. I did not believe him, but eventually I was able to use a ritual to also access the other world. Around this time, people in L's life began to disappear, and eventually, he was caught with a young man hidden in his house, apparently having gone mad from being held against his will. The public generally accepted that L kidnapped him and held him in his house, and his ramblings about the endless house with statues and ocean were simply a result of his madness. I, however, knew the truth. While I broke ties with L in an attempt to save face in light of the public backlash, I knew that the boy had actually been to the Other World, the House. I was obsessed with the House. I wanted to know everything about the House. Unfortunately, side effects of prolonged exposure to the House include amnesia, madness, and an inability to leave the House of your own accord.

So, I did what any reasonable academic looking to further his knowledge should do: when an author appeared at my house, in this world, looking to ask questions about L, his school of thought, and what went wrong, I tricked him into doing the ritual and sent him into the House (the other world House, that is). He (P, m20s) has an extraordinary memory, and a strong penchant for journaling. I visited him twice a week, for no more than one hour each time so as to limit my exposure to the House, and watched as he gradually forgot everything about himself and the real world. P has a perfect memory of the House, can remember how to get anywhere he's been before despite the halls being infinite and practically identical to my eye. He taught himself to survive on the fish from the Tides, befriended the birds, and keeps track of everything in his journals. He sees me as a friend, his best and only friend, as he's forgotten everything that led to this point. He is happy in the House, seems to worship it as a sort of deity figure, and has no desire to go anywhere but the House. He does not wonder where I am when I am not with him, and seems to have completely forgotten that anywhere but the House exists. However, as I said, he is perfectly happy and content with his life, and when my questions threaten that happiness by implying something greater than the House, he gets upset and desires to stop helping me until I convince him otherwise. He loves the House.

So, AITA?

[danmeiconfession]

The amount of hate YQY receives from the general SV fandom is hugely disproportionate to the things he did in canon and one doesn't need to look further than this blog itself. Because ever since this blog appeared, the Yue Qingyuan character tag has been overrun by hate posts.

And this hate is not a new phenomenon either, ever since the early days of SV fandom, he has been a very despised character. Worst of all: Most of the claims he gets hate for don't align with canon either! YQY's worst crime is to enable LBH's abuse but somehow a good chunk of the gen SV fandom will claim he's an oathbreaker, a cheater, an incel and a controling creep.

Which breaks my heart because in the novel he's loyal to a fault, he respects SQQ's boundaries, and the only times he initiates physical contact is when he checks the others health, which never go beyond checking his spiritual veins. Hell, he even lets go SQQ to leave with LBH, after the latter almost destroyed the world they knew! Just so SQQ can become happy.

Yet he receives such an inappropiate amount of hate, that extends so far, the SV fandom as a whole feels very hostile to YQY.

This isn't something I'm making up either, having talked to many other YQY enjoyers, everyone had the same sentiment of being alienated by the fandom and just tired of the constant hate he receives. And if it'd just stop at hate, then it might be manageable, but there seems to be a constant need to humiliate and make fun of him. The times I've seen either SQQ parade with his new boyfriend and how much superior he is to YQY is too many to count. And more often than not he is relegated to a past/current abuser or whatever antagonist the story needs at the moment, despite characters like QJL and HHPM existing. There also have been several times where I engaged with a SV fan to talk about the novel, just to receive unprompted YQY hate out of nowhere.

Of course I don't mean to say he hasn't dont anything wrong; his biggest crime (we know of) is enabling LBH's abuse (and in extension many other disciples) and you're free to dislike any character.

But to act like other characters acted better than him, especially in treatment towards SJ, is ridiculous. (eg. LBH tortured him, LQG went with a group of ppl to harass him at the brothels, QJL)

And for all the proud claims the SV fandom likes to spout of being """#drama free""", it's blatantly untrue and I wish they'd acknowledge this.

_

So, to the blog runner(s): I suggest tagging character hate with "anti [character acronym]", as most people search using the characters written out name's tag to look for fanworks. To specify who you can also add the novels name (written out or not), since some acronyms might repeat. [eg. "anti SV YQY" or "anti Scum Villain YQY"] This might be the best compromise you can do while allowing anti [smth] confessions.

On that note I also suggest tagging "anti [shi.pname]" for anti ship confessions, because I've seen quite a number of those post just having the hated ship tagged directly. The "." is to avoid the posts appearing on the ships native tags on tumblr.

And To the people who'll claim to "simply block the blog / filter the tag": I'm aware such systems exist, but it's not reasonable to need to block a tag or several blogs to just not be overrun by hateposts immediately. Also it's deeply unpleasant to see the wall of hate the first time already, before you had any chances to block or filter. Especially when in this case the hate is overwhelming the tag to a ridiculous degree.

Even then, the chances of meeting any random (unwarned/untagged) YQY hate is staggering high, to the point most of us just distance ourselves from the fandom or straight up leave. So I ask you to behave yourself and make the fandom a slightly better space for us to stay.

.

[bluebeads-art]

your art is so amazing !!! i adored the 3d printed stuff (as someone who has had to design myself 3d printed merch before because i don't usually have much access to the merch in my fandom lol), it's so good?? and all your coloring is beautiful <3

all this to say it might not seem like i reblog much but rest assured all the stuff i liked (or didn't) went into my queue a few times over hehehe. i LOVE your art it's amazing <3

wishing you luck with the identity and health stuff, even if it doesn't get better i hope you find happiness within it 🫡

gah this got away from me sorry for the ramble

aaaaaaa I saw this message in a notification on my phone, said "I'll read that when I actually have time to reply," then the notification got dismissed somehow and if there's no notification prompt to remind me of something, it no longer exists to me. It's been a month I'm so sorry ^^;;

Thank you so much! I wish it was easier to convert more of my stuff to be 3D printable, but my usual modeling style is not watertight in the slightest and disregards gravity entirely. 😆 3D modeling has always been really cool to me because there's so many different workflows depending on what you're trying to make. Keeps things from getting stale!

Speaking of differences, I feel like people don't tend to mention my coloring. :0 I think my line art usually steals the show, heh. I used to be a lot more conscious about color theory and shading when I was younger, but these days there's no thoughts, only vibes 😂

Ok the line, "even if it doesn't get better i hope you find happiness within it" hit me unexpectedly hard (in a good way). Any nice messages I get always means a ton to me, but while I don't seem to be able to articulate why at the moment, I think that line will stick with me for much longer than usual. Thank you so much ♥

---

Speaking more generally (this message just gave me a good excuse to talk, heh)- spoilers; the artist in my brain refuses to die. So after, like, a literal year of not touching it, I've started working again on a 3D modeling project that I started in 2021 that has been haunting me ever since. Been trying to redesign a robot OC of mine Rayner, and I'm really particular about wanting his joints to work in a physical space instead of bending the rules artistically. I'm Really bad at designing complex hard surface objects in flat 2D though. However, there's a reason artists tell you not to character design in 3D, and that's because it's slow, it's easy to lose design cohesion, and most importantly it just sucks, awful workflow. But I am Doing it. And while I was super stuck for years and almost developed a friggin phobia of the project, I am now Doing It. And it's actually working out this time. The 3D model itself is MILES from being done, but the design almost is, and while that's a boring end result for other people, it represents a huge milestone and accomplishment for me in many ways.

I've been drawing a little bit lately too! But I feel my social media hiatus has given me a healthier relationship with posting? Like I have a few doodles that I could either post now or post soon, but I don't feel the same pressure to anymore? Where even if I never post them, I think I'm fine with that. I've always thought I made art for myself, but that's not exactly true because I was also making art for the sake of sharing. And while I don't think there's anything wrong with that, I think being able to separate the two and be content with simply just creating is healthy. Also I'm still not as active on social media in general anymore which is probably healthier as well LOL.

So I'll prrrobably start posting again soon-ish now that I've broken this blog's posting silence? Not sure how to wrap this monologue up. My physical health problems are going to keep on probleming, but in terms of artistic fulfillment I've been in a much better place this past month, and that's a huge yeehaw from me 👍

[goodcopbadcop]

do u have any headcanons for why bad cop didnt appear in the second movie . there was probably a reason but do u have any headcanons for it .....

YES I DO

As the sudden arrival of General Sweet Mayhem and then the prompt kidnapping of most of Apocalypseburg’s remaining heroes put the entire community in shock, GCBC DID consider going out to rescue them, but stopped themself when they saw that the only other person willing to risk their life to venture into space was….. Emmet.

Not to discredit Emmet and his achievements in saving their realm and even befriending Lord Business, GCBC still feels like they’re on shaky ground in terms of developing a mutual relationship. They have some slight internalized shame of being on the ‘bad’ side, and still feel like they’re slightly shunned by EVERYONE, and still thinks that Emmet and his friends aren’t fully trusting of him. They don’t want to even be ‘good’ friends with Emmet, but they at least respect his presence and doesn’t mind helping him when they’re both exploring around the outer ruins of the city, every once in awhile.

Still, the idea of being stuck with him on a tiny spaceship in the endless void of space, under the constant looming threat of the Duplos, in which they are usually powerless against…… yeah no GCBC will absolutely NOT stomach that.

Ironically, they didn’t really mind Emmet’s supposed ‘immaturity’, as GCBC sees his jovial positivity as a good personality trait, and having some sort of light within the gloomy atmosphere of their ruined society isn’t that bad at all. Granted, GCBC kept this opinion to themself, not wanting to appear as ‘weak’, as being so happy-go-lucky was now severely looked down upon.

Plus, if Emmet AKA their real last ‘hero’ in Apocalypseburg, was to leave on this perilous journey, who will be left to protect the ruins of a once great city? It has already been lowkey confirmed in the “Welcome to Apocalypseburg!” set that GCBC STILL WORKS AS A ENFORCEMENT FIGURE, with him actively maintaining a jail and even posting up bounty posters for some criminals. Crime still seems to be a issue, especially considering how Apocalypseburg is literally just inspired by Mad Max’s worldbuilding, crime probably is at a all-time high 🤷‍♀️ Robbery probably is the most prevalent issue, as everyone now tries to fight over what bricks and other miscellaneous pieces they can find to try to just LIVE.

His pride in being essentially the only remaining working officer in Apocalypseburg, acting as the last bastion of a ‘normal peace keeper’, has simply gotten to his head. Leaving everything behind on what may have been a suicide mission in order to help some people in which they believed didn’t even see him as a equal, deterred him completely. (Well, Benny did treat him better than the others…..)

As the story goes on, GCBC could only look on in horror as Armamageddon occured, as they genuinely felt so helpless as their entire realm literally CRUMBLED into a storage bin. After this event, GCBC does now feels some DEEP regret that he didn’t accompany Emmet on his journey, sincerely believing that if they joined him, perhaps Armamageddon could have been avoided in the first place or that he could have diplomatically worked out a peace treaty with Queen Watevra Wa'Nabi (or straight up kill her, he has already enough blood on their hands)

He is however 100% oblivious as how to this was fate, and Emmet had to go alone in order to create the paradox which gave way to Rex’s existence, which in the long run will cause both Apocalypseburg and the Systar System to peacefully merge together 🥲 GCBC really cannot get a W at any moment in their entire existence, he is the most fucked character in all of the TLM series lol

[tommysparker]

one person asked me to share my thoughts on the Red White & Royal Blue movie and that’s all i need so here you go! spoilers below

Okay so let’s start with the things I did like:

Taylor and Nick had AMAZING chemistry. They did a fantastic job with what they were given and I can genuinely envision them as the book characters. All the cast did a great job.

The scene with Alex and Ellen was so heart touching. As a queer person who’s come out to their parent and not been accepted, I almost started bawling when I saw Ellen holding Alex on the couch and telling him how much she loves and accepts him. It was a beautiful thing to see and I’m so happy we have more of that kind of representation in media; a safe space to come out and be yourself. Also Ellen’s knowledge of all the different labels in the community and her saying “The B in LGBT isn’t silent” is super empowering.

On that note, Alex’s speech at the end about privacy and how it’s your choice to come out (if you want to come out). Again, a very important message for people to hear and understand. Seeing the effects of being outed hopefully will open people’s eyes and we’ll see less pressure for people to come out or label themselves. And also hopefully people will stop butting into celebs lives in general.

To end the short list of things I liked: the bit with the phone calls was done in a clever way. I thought it was pretty cool, although it felt too much like walmart Heartstopper.

Now, on to everything I didn’t like about this movie

The writing was SO. FREAKING. LAZY. 90% of the movie is exposition. All tell no show. They pretty much only payed attention to the sex scenes and even those weren’t very interesting.

THEY CUT SO MANY THINGS. When I heard they cut June and Rafael, I was disappointed but figured it was to save time and they’d combine their stories with Nora/Liam respectively (which is what I heard). To my absolute disappointment, neither was done and on top of that they introduced this new character named Miguel who is nothing more than a jealous ex hookup. Not only that, they erased Alex’s parent’s divorce and Henry’s mother, two very important parts of their character backstories.

Continuing on about things that were cut, pretty much any actual bonding time we see with Henry and Alex in the book was reduced to short one-minute scenes and cheap montages. Instead they were replaced with beats that were 15-seconds too long that were meant to say something but simply didn’t translate properly.

Also, they completely cut out Alex’s whole awakening and immediately jumped to him coming out to Henry when they meet up after their first kiss. I get it made for a cute little haha funny banter moment but COME ON. Part of Alex’s character arc is him coming to terms with who he is after denying it for so long, and seeing that process is so important to show for people who are doing the same.

The movie felt so fast paced. Every ten minutes a new important story beat happened without giving the audience any real time to process whatever happened before that. By the time they were in Paris I had no interest in them “making love” for the first time.

I’m gonna make an example of this before it stands out as the most annoying thing to me still. The museum scene is a masterpiece in the books but on the big screen it’s so…bad. Half of the scene was done in voiceover for no reason (once again going back to exposition) and the other half was so boring I could barely pay attention. And the “history, huh?” moment being a spoken thing between them, as opposed to through email like in the book’s completely erases the basis all of their supporters held onto in the books. All the signs, the t-shirts, the graffiti, the way they did it in the movie makes it so none of that could exist.

I really wish we saw Alex’s side of things when they got exposed, especially the way it effected his mother’s campaign. I wanted to see him he told he’s off the campaign and how badly it hurt him. Instead we got one scene of exposition and a single shot of him gushing abt Henry and saying he misses him.

From a cinematography perspective, there was some very pretty shots that were obviously made to turn into promo posters.

That’s pretty much all I got for now off the top of my head. I’ve been trying to cleanse my brain of the film for the past 4 hours lmao

If you have your own opinions, please share respectfully!! I want to hear what you liked or disliked about this.