#404: betrayal not found

[dayssinceabrandcrossedmarkiplier]

404 days since a brand crossed Markiplier

28/6/24

[blood-n-candy]

Concept: Exterminator Mode for Pressure (Part 2)

Welcome to the second half of the Exterminator Mode concept post! If you haven't read part 1 yet, please do (it has very much needed context).

In this post I'll explain the post-mode consequences and the badges you would obtain if this thing was real.

Regret Mode: the consequences of killing everyone in the whole Hadal Blacksite

Done with killing your targets? GOOD!

All that is left to do is grab the crystal, go through the Ridge with only worrying about Squiddles and Wall Dwellers (that's why reading Part 1 before this post is important!), repair the cables without a worry in the world and arrive at the pickup site!

Once you're in the submarine, you will meet Mr. Lopee again:

"Congratulations, young one! You've done it. Hope you've enjoyed your deadly stroll, because you're about to taste Hell. What? You thought all you had to pay was the initial fee? Oh, you naive, little goldfish: you remember your own deaths, and so do they!"

Ruh Roh! Looks like you'll have to strap in for the next three runs, for those will be in Regret Mode! This is what is going to happen:

Eyefestation will appear more frequently, and there will be chance it'll appear in Enraged mode. From the speaker it will call you a murderer and a coward for not looking into the eyes of your victim.

p.A.I.nter will have an aggressive demeanor towards you, its voicelines stripped of its usual playful snarkyness. Eyefestation Gauntlets and Turret rooms will appear more frequently

When trying to interact with the Imaginary Friend's remote, the following message will play: "Due to unforeseen events, Imaginary Friend Remote(TM) has halted their services as of now. We apologize for the inconvenience, we will reactivate the service as soon as possible." Nothing happens after that

Sebastian will not open his shop for you, will yell at you to go away instead. If trying to break in with glitches, you will be shot by Sebastian as soon as the game detects that you're in the shop.

The room to the Exterminator Kit will stay locked for the remaining of the Regret Mode runs.

Mr. Lopee will be the one presenting you with documents in case you die, as well as take any classified documents you might find.

The existance of Regret Mode, a modifier that cannot be overrideable unless you play three runs (regardless of death or not), exists to debuff the Exterminator Mode feature and to avoid it being overused by players (something that happens in Yandere Simulator with the Genocide Ending). It also serves as a little challenge to "redeem" yourself in the eyes of the entities.

Once you die for the first time after Regret Mode ends (so 4th death after completing Exterminator Mode), you will finally meet Sebastian to give you the document. He will have a special voiceline for this occasion:

"Sigh... He told me I had to go back to my old tasks, which means having to interact with you... Let me be clear, "friend": I haven't forgiven you for what you've done. But he is leaving me no choice. Now, be fast with reading your document and get out of my sight."

Exterminator Mode: Badges!

Final part of the concept is the badges! Might design some someday, for now there's only a list:

Here comes the Reaper: activate Extermination Mode for the first time

Gone fishing: kill Angler and its variants at least once

STAY DOWN!: kill Pandemonium

I dare you to look at me again, fool!: kill Eyefestation

The Bad Guest: kill the Good People

Imaginary Friend, Real Betrayer: kill the Imaginary Friend

ERROR 404: Life.exe Not Found: kill the p.A.I.nter

It's Payback time: kill Sebastian

Mutual Pillaging: take everything in Sebastian's shop after killing him

A deadly meal: kill the Searchlight

Bad Hunter: In the Ridge, die to Mr. Lopee after failing to kill all the targets

Extra killings: kill Squiddles and Wall Dwellers for a total of 10 times

Woah, that's a bit over the top: kill Squiddles and Wall Dwellers for a total of 50 times

...Was it really necessary?: kill Squiddles and Wall Dwellers for a total of 100 times

The real monster was you all along: complete Exterminator Mode for the first time

A debt etched in blood: start a run in Regret Mode for the first time

Access Denied: get denied entrance to Sebastian's shop

This was supposed to be a punishment, for Urbanshade's sake!: win a run in Regret Mode

Fine, we forgive you (kinda): complete three runs in Regret Mode, deactivating it until next Exterminator Run

And that's all! Thank you for reading the posts! Let me know what do you think about this concepts, and if you have any suggestions!

[fandom-junk-drawer]

The Witcher Headcanon (Modern Au) - Error 404 Brain Not Found: Bonus Scene - Part 11

"Hey, Geralt, isn't that your f***ing bard?" Lambert asked, pointing towards the sidewalk. He and Geralt were on their way back from the hobby store, and were waiting for the light to change.

Geralt scanned the moderately crowed sidewalk. Yep, that was Jaskier! The bard was doing a little window shopping at the jewelery store.

"Yeah, that's him,"

"It's close to lunch time, let's see if he wants to get someting to eat!"

"He'll probably say no," Geralt said.

"Well, then we'll just have to pursuade him!" Lambert replied.

Geralt glanced at the red-haired Witcher.

He grinned at Geralt mischeviously.

Geralt grinned back.

Jaskier looked over the jewlery in the window. There was a really nice ring that had caught his eye, and he also spied a necklace that he knew Yennefer would like. Maybe he would stop on the way home this afternoon and get them.

Jaskier continued on his way, heading to the studio. He paused to check his phone...

The light changed, and Geralt floored it...

As bystanders watched, the rusty old van swerved to the sidewalk. The sliding door whipped open, and a large, red-haired Witcher leapt out and grabbed the poor man who had stopped to check his phone.

The poor man is screaming and flailing as the scary Witcher drags him into the van. Or tries to. The man is certainly putting up a struggle. He is proving to be a bit difficult to hold on to...

Jaskier is putting his phone back in his pocket when hands grab him and start dragging him away. "Motherf***er!" he snarls when he recognizes Lambert, "Let me go!"

"You're coming with us!"

Jaskier, either genuinely unaware of how he sounded or just out of pure pettiness, started screaming, "Nooooo!" and desperately trying to break Lambert's grip.

Lambert finds himself trying to hold on to Jaskier, who is twisting, wiggling, flopping, randomly going dead weight, and making all kinds of noises.

He finally gets an arm around Jaskier's waist and a hand over his mouth just as he starts screaming, "Help!", and half frog-marches, half drags him towards the van.

He's almost there when Jaskier goes dead weight, slips out of Lambert's grasp, and tries to run. Lambert's grabbing the back of his shirt and trying to swing him towards the open van door.

Jaskier grabs a lamp post and is screeching and cussing as Lambert pries him off and drags him backwards towards the van.

Geralt is getting nervous in the van. This is taking way to long, and people are staring, and...sh*t here come the police. F**k.

Jaskier was clinging to the door frame of the van as Lambert tried to yank him inside when the authorities arrived.

Lambert abruptly let Jaskier go to put his hands up as the police surrounded them.

Jaskier fell to the ground with a surpirsed little yelp and was 'rescued' by an officer and put safely in the back of a police cruiser.

They hadn't even given him time to explain before they rushed back to assist in apprehending his kidnappers.

Things were not looking good. He dialed Yennefer's number and then hesitated. Pushing 'call' was practically a death sentence. Yennefer was going to f***ing kill them all in front of the police. They would probably be safer in jail...

Geralt and Lambert were cuffed and laying face down on the sidewalk, frantically trying to explain. The police seemed disinclined to listen due to all the eye-witness testimony.

F**k.

Jaskier swallowed hard and hit 'call'.

"We know him! He's our friend!" Lambert was saying as Yennefer arrived via portal. She was immediately confronted, and not happy about having guns pointed at her

"Don't f***ing point that thing at me! I'll turn the lot of you into toads, the King be d*mned!"

"I'll turn him into a toad as well!"

"Why is my husband on the ground in handcuffs?"

"Of course I know him, you nimrod, I just told you he is my f***ing husband! The other guy? Never seen him before in my life."

Lambert: *gasp of offended betrayal*

Geralt: *hmmm!* (translation: Yen, stop f***ing around!)

"Fine, yes, I know him. He's my brother-in-law, and he's a bigger dumba** than my husband! Now someone with an IQ of more than two digits tell me what's going on!"

"Kidnapping!?"

Yennefer looked at Geralt, Lambert, and Jaskier in turn.

Geralt was suddenly very busy studying an incredibly interesting crack in the sidewalk.

Lambert was pressing his face into the sidewalk so there would be absolutely no chance they could make eye contact.

Jaskier was sitting in the back of the police cruiser. When Yennefer looked at him, he had the audacity or wave.

"You a**clowns! I should just let them take all your a**es to jail!"

"We were just trying to take him to lunch!" Geralt tried to explain.

"By pulling up in a pedo van and snatching him off the street? Really, Geralt?"

"We didn't think he would put up a fight!" Lambert added.

"Shut up, Lambert, the adults are talking!"

"I'm sorry, officers. This is all just a big misunderstanding. The man they were trying to 'kidnap' is my brother-!"

"I thought I was your Darling Husband!" Jaskier interjected from the backseat of the police car.

Yennefer turned and gave him A Look, and a very graphic mental image of what she was going to do to certain parts of his anatomy if he didn't immediately shut the h*ll up.

Jaskier quickly shut his mouth and the car door. For his own safety.

Geralt and Lambert were given a chance to explain themselves, identities and relationships were confirmed, and the detainees were handed over to Yennefer.

The witch glared at them and pointed mutely at the van. They scrambled for it like horror movie victims making a last ditch effort to survive.

They probably weren't going to survive for long, judging by the sounds that began emanating from the van after the witch closed the sliding door behind her.

The police prudently packed up and left.

[talenlee]

January 2024 Wrapup

One month down! 2024’s going to be easy, you’re going to see! We made it this far, we just have to do this again and I’m sure we’ll find a way. This month has seen a Games Done Quick event, a bunch of videos, five story piles!

Let’s get into it, looking at what you might have already seen and what you might have missed if you’re at all a fan of Things Talen makes!

This month’s Game Pile were:

Exploding Kittens, where I opine about an interface mistake in a game that’s pretty much entirely about revelling in its interface, right?

A Patreon and Channel trailer update, where I made a pair of videos for that

Puzzmo, a game that I have already stopped playing because it fails to localise to non-American spellings

A video form of my Gene Wars article, which adds some details and context about this aggressively tedious game that’s remarkably hard to play, even without Dosbox overcycling and making things die of old age

It also is the first month where, in the off weeks, Fox and I have been playing a game together – in this case, we played through Space Quest III, completing the trilogy. There are, after all, never any other Space Quest games, and you can go check those out over on Youtube (part 1, part 2).

While Story Pile articles covered:

The Sopranos, a TV series that took a lot of time to watch and was worth it and I immediately stopped caring about once I was done watching it,

Godzilla vs Megalon, a charming hokey 70s piece of kids’ action entertainment

Appare-Ranman!!, an anime about going fast that fails when it comes to races

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, a dense book about economics where some betrayal happens,

Afterschool Dice Club, an anime about board games, no really, actually about board games.

But that’s not all I wrote about this month that you can read, with your eyes! I wrote about how much I missed having the physical ritual of a bullet journal. You know, for the nine days I didn’t have it, which is weird because it’s not like I was doing detailed journalling at the end of December.

I wrote about the Speed stat in Pokemon games, and how it currently works. This article actually started as an introduction to the competitive idea of ‘speed tiers’ and how things could be generally positioned against one another. Turns out that no, just explaining how Speed works took a thousand damn words. I thought about ‘hey, who’s the fastest Transformer‘ and found the best answer I could have for that was absolutely nonsense and completely at odds with how Transformers presents that. Keeping with the theme of ‘speed’ during GDQ I wrote about the Speed of Communication and ways to categorise and consider that in your worldbuilding.

I talked about the Minotaur, the Iron Hearts, and the 404 Not Found of Cobrin’Seil, cultures that matter and need to be available for players, but need to also have a material presence in the world that makes them matter. 3rd Edition D&D had some real weird rules corners, and one of them was The Monk, and hey, hey now, I am talking about 3rd edition. You know, the real actual 3rd edition, the 3rd edition before 3.5 that everyone likes to pretend was just part of the same continuity. Anyway, monks were bad. And weird, and they didn’t have game language to describe their mechanical needs.

I also tried to confront the way that Atheism gets treated as a special kind of social evil which just happens to be in contest with someone claiming absolute knowledge of the runner of the whole universe, but we’re the smug ones. Also just vented about how much Mike Winger sucks ass, truly besmirching the noble name of Internet Weirdo Dudes Surnamed Winger, RIP to a real one.

For Magic: The Gathering content, I inspected 2023’s mechanics and what I want to do with them, along with my articles reflecting on 2023’s daily cards and announcing the plan for 2024’s daily cards — the story of Vox Maxima.

This month’s shirt/sticker design was this cute artwork I did of a Ralts reading books:

You can get this design printed on things here. Time is probably limited on this one.

And what else has happened this month, what do I have in terms of diary? Well, truth be told, I don’t have a good answer to that right now because as I write this it’s the twelfth of the month. January is a weird month, lots of stuff gets done because the year is now open in front of me, and as a result, I get a lot of stuff in the queue. I also had a subtheme for this month, with GDQ providing Speed Week.

What I do know about this month though, what I know about my diary, is that I’ve been working on things that need work. I have had to reconcile that the pandemic didn’t just pause my work it made it worse and that means that I’ve been finding victories where I can: What can I do? What can I make better? How much faster can I get things done? How can I make sure I’m always working? And …

At this point…

I’ve done it. I’ve done what I can so far, and I am going to get better.

I wanted to have Lysen Co out by now. I wanted to have Cancon stuff done, too! But money makes a lot of things in that space not stuff I can idly play around with, which is frustrating. This is a point where I’m really grateful for my Patreon – and yes, that does make me worry that I’m going to be trying hard to be crowd pleasing. I guess what I’m saying is if you say ‘I like this’ you might find me overproduce that because I want you to have more of it.

Got my booster shot. Jab in the arm. No reactions, no notes, incredibly boring. Actually no, my shoulder hurts a little bit which I think might be because a guy in a coat stuck a thin piece of metal into it so they could stuff some MRNA shedding nanomachines into my bloodstream so Bill Gates could track me. Mentioning that because it should be a thing people remember to do, and I did it. Easy Feel Good Points for me, since I don’t have any meaningful reactions and they could be sticking maple syrup in me for all I know. I’m genuinely at the point where I think I might be nonsymptomatic, and Fox might be too, and I may have contracted and shared Covid a hundred times and never noticed it because the canary in my personal coal mine is… immune… to… coal? Anyway.

I spend some time this month reading Michel Foucault, right at the source, and lemme tell you that guy’s work is dense. He’s got this really nuggety attitude of words, where there’s very little use of example and demonstration – there’s these heavy laden words that get explained, then he’ll drop all four of the ones he’s been explaining in a sentence and moving on. It means there’s a lot of back tracking and like ‘hey, is this what I think it means?’ It’s a really interesting experience of spending four hours with a twenty-two page essay and realising that yeah, I have these great ideas and I can explain them but it’s translated to… two hundred? words on the page.

There’s also been some delving into Roland Barthes, and back to Johan Huizinga, because Magic Circle theory has become more important to my demonstration of why I’m not invested in Magic Circle theory. Got to demonstrate that expertise.

It was CanCon month! I didn’t make a post about CanCon specifically, because the schedule filled up and that’s just how things go. CanCon meant three days away from my normal computer, and you know what that meant? When the Gene Wars video went up it went up with an audio error and I had to wait two days to fix it! Oh well, I’m sure we all had a laugh about it. I unlisted that video and by the time this goes up it should be fixed. And a new video should be a few days away. Shh~.

Anyway. CanCon was great! Nothing terrible happened and I’m definitely not writing this on night 2 of 3 thinking ‘well nothing bad is going to happen tomorrow!’

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[ao3feed--reylo]

auditory overload

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/XquFDEB

by thighloren (stellarnightmage)

Ben Solo, ASMR artist at night, finds out his roommate Rey gets off to his voice.

He has so many plans for her.

Words: 1069, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con

Categories: F/M

Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren

Additional Tags: Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Rape Fantasy, Fantasy becomes reality, ASMR, ASMR Artist Ben Solo, Choking Kink, Non-Consensual Somnophilia, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Stalking, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Devoted Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Obsessive Ben Solo, 404 Error Ben Solo Not Found, Mentions of dub-con, There is no consent ANYWHERE, Heavy Use of the word Rape, Sexualization of Rape, Non-Consensual Groping, Drugged Sex, Mind Break, Emotional Manipulation, Degradation, Derogatory Language, Condescension, Forced Orgasm, body betrayal, Forced Pregnancy, Birth Control? Not in his dictionary, Overstimulation, Kidnapping, Rey Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, unhealthily ever after, Face Slapping, Fighting Back, but not for long, Dark

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/XquFDEB

[zeegeetee]

I posted 5,082 times in 2022

91 posts created (2%)

4,991 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@fanchengsgf

@misscrazyfangirl321

@sadsongsandwaltzes

@prettycolors

@infected

I tagged 4,200 of my posts in 2022

Only 17% of my posts had no tags

#sky - 752 posts

#clouds - 603 posts

#trees - 572 posts

#pictures - 494 posts

#gifs - 404 posts

#dark - 384 posts

#water - 373 posts

#books - 334 posts

#quotes - 317 posts

#mountains - 313 posts

Longest Tag: 124 characters

#my mother convinced me to watch the first episode with her and i did like it but she started watching it with my dad instead

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So... I know it's been a million years since I've watched Highlander the Series, and I'm over it by now but I have to go into detail about what nonsense the two part finale was. This is about how ooc and absurd everyone was in Duncan's deadish fantasy so I will try not to drag him too much unnecessarily.

Let's start with Amanda, there is a big difference between a thief and a serial murderer. If she had not met Duncan and fallen in "love" with him would she have married a lot of rich men and stolen their money? Sure, why not. Would she have killed them? Not likely and the idea that Duncan singlehandedly saved her from being entirely evil is gross

Joe Dawson, you expect me to believe this man was so inspired by Duncan of all people/immortals that he just did not let the trauma of war effect him? If he never had the opportunity to stalk Duncan he would be homeless and an alcoholic? Ridiculous

Methos, now this guy used to be the absolute worst, the scum of the earth just for fun and to feel powerful, he changed, renounced violence and decided to live life hiding and minding his own business (note that realistically this change didn't happen over night, it took years of diligent hard work) and he did all of this without Duncan's influence. He is a thousand years old he knows that people die, he has been dealing with it for many lifetimes. Would he be so upset over the betrayal and death of his girlfriend that he just reverts back to being the worst? No. When his old friend with whom he used to commit atrocities found him and wanted to get back to it, would he just go along with it because he couldn't manipulate Duncan into killing him for him? No, he would fight and die trying or again run and hide, both of those outcomes would be more likely

Richie Ryan, his story almost made sense, I could buy that he with no other options continued his life of crime, got caught, ran, and died young without Duncan's influence. He could have become immortal and had to run from a bunch of bad guy immortals trying to kill him (but how likely is it really that no other decent immortal would see this poor young man, clueless and struggling and want to take him under their wing? as so many other immortals did for all of the other immortals in the show?) until he was taken in by some "nice" bad guy immortals (not Methos, as we've already established) and been further corrupted. the "nice" bad guy immortals could have asked him to kill an innocent person for their own agenda and Richie Might try but wouldn't be able to go through with it, however though Richie was a bit trusting and naive, he was not an idiot and would not have gone back to the "nice" bad guys after failing to fullfil such a request, he would have run again and if he had to have died again anyway (nonsense) they could have found and killed him later (no)

Tessa, don't even get me started on the horrible, gross, entirely appalling implication that it was better for her to have died young and having been loved by Duncan than to have gotten married and had children and lived because her husband was mean and she stopped making art (it was stated clearly and more than once she wanted children but gave up that dream for Duncan)

12 notes - Posted December 1, 2022

#4

Remember at the end of season six when Stefan and Elena were being absolute clowns saying Damon couldn't just choose to live a human life for Elena, like he's not the same guy that literally only became a vampire for Katherine?

13 notes - Posted October 13, 2022

#3

It's funny how quickly a cheating plot can make me drop a ship

23 notes - Posted September 14, 2022

#2

Five be like "You can cause an apocalypse and destroy the world twice but I draw the line at you lying to me"

25 notes - Posted July 4, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I'm fairly convinced My Chemical Romance just got back together so Gerard Way could play dress up

51 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[thatswhatsushesaid]

all right, time for minshan!!

a song that reminds me of them: "coward," vic chesnutt ("the courage of the coward is greater than all others" /chef's kiss)

what they smell like: uhhhh error 404 fragrance not found, I actually don't know. just spitballing, probably leather. something practical and unintentional.

an otp: aside from his weird psychosexual obsession with lwj, I for sure ship him with jgy because of The Devotion

a notp: I don't really have one because no one ships my guy with enough other characters for me to have strong feelings about the ships one way or another 🥺

favourite platonic/familial relationships: does he actually have any in the text beyond his canon dynamic with jgy tho

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that I disagree with: he is not! an incompetent! cultivator!! fuck!! yes, he starts out with absolutely spotty and unpredictable control over his cultivation, and is a literal combat disaster when all the disciples are wen captives, but come on, they're all so young at this point. by the time the novel ends, minshan has established his own successful sect and demonstrates command over an impressive variety of cultivation and martial techniques (musical cultivation modified from the Gusu Lan, the teleportation arrays and talismans, and in CQL give him some credit for his demonic cultivation flute solos!!!). also he's NOT ugly, stop picking on him /pushes his haters into a mud puddle

the position they sleep in: much to his chagrin, he probably sleeps in a position similar to the Lans--on his back, hands folded on his chest

a crossover AU I'd love to see them in: I saw a fic with this premise that didn't quite work for me in other respects, but I would love to see another tgcf AU where he ascends at the moment of his death because of his unwavering devotion, which I find especially emotionally satisfying given his betrayals and displays of (understandable, tbh) cowardice earlier in the novel (and in cql).

my favourite outfit they've worn: his pale blue hanfu the first time he shows up to jinlintai as su-zongzhu. you look so good, minshan, you go minshan, we're proud of you 🙌

jgy and/or sms for the character meme >:3c

bless u for bringing my main mans into my inbox, where would I be without u rivers 🙏 I'm gonna do both, and we're gonna start with jgy

a song that reminds me of them: lucky for you I have an ENTIRE PLAYLIST to choose from, let's see which one I vibe with most right now. "disarm," smashing pumpkins.

what they smell like: osmanthus oil

an otp: xiyao forever and ever, amen

a notp: I actually don't have any super hard notps for jgy specifically the same way that I do for lxc, but I don't enjoy n!eyao or romantic 3zun. (WITH THE EXCEPTION of ONE FIC that @poorlittleyaoyao recommended to me that has left me an emotionally hollowed out husk of a human being, I may never recover, can't believe she just straight up murdered me like that)

favourite platonic/familial relationship: jgy's devotion to meng shi's memory and her wishes for his future keeps me up at night, which is perfectly normal, I think

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that I disagree with: I don't believe jgy enjoys inflicting pain on others, either in a sexual or non-sexual context. I believe jgy enjoys the power to either inflict or withhold pain in a non-sexual context specifically, but that is a very different kettle of fish from enjoying sadism specifically for its sake. that said, I think if he felt secure enough in a relationship, he would be willing to explore that to give his partner pleasure, but that would be where it begins and ends for him.

the position they sleep in: very lightly, with his back to a secure wall with no windows, facing the door.

a crossover AU I'd love to see them in: man it is actually way easier for me to think about AUs that don't interest me--modern ones, for the most part--but I would honestly love love LOVE a scum villain-style AU for jgy. and also a real hunger games AU, as I've discussed already.

my favourite outfit they've ever worn: dafan mountain hunt look is ICONIC

ok the browser is being Weird, I am gonna publish this one and then just reblog it to do minshan next

[burst-of-iridescent]

the official zutara dissertation (p.3)

Part 1 | Part 2

Now I’ve proven why Zutara is superior, I’ll address the most common anti Zutara arguments (aka, the most ridiculous shit I’ve ever heard in my life). 

BOOK 3: DEBUNKING ANTI ZUTARA ARGUMENTS

1. People only like Zutara because they’re dark and intriguing. In actuality, it’s a shallow relationship based purely on physical appearance. 

First of all, I find it hilarious that Zutara is the shallow ship when Mai.ko is canon, but we’ll get into Mai.ko later. Second, kindly read the 2k words I wrote here about how Zutara connect with and understand one another on a far deeper level than any romantic relationship in the show, and if it’s “dark and intriguing” for two characters to have parallel character foundations and journeys, to support and comfort each other, and forge a relationship based on mutual respect and trust… sign me up, y’all. 

(Also, yeah Zuko and Katara look good together. Sorry you can’t say the same about the mother and son, or the emo goth wannabes). 

2. Zutara would be toxic because all they’d do is fight. 

Zuko and Katara fought (physically) for much of the series because, shocker, they were on opposing sides of a war. They didn’t have petty fights for no reason (*ahem* Maiko), they were literally enemies, and it was that history that drove the two (2) big emotional fights they had in the whole series.

The first time they “fight”, Katara is yelling at Zuko in the Crystal Catacombs (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny) about how evil he is for chasing the Avatar and makes a bunch of generalizations about him. Then Zuko gets pissed and yells back and they blow up into a giant argument – oh wait, what’s that? She opens up to him? He sympathizes with her? She immediately stops being hostile the minute he reaches out? 

The second Zuko and Katara see each other as people and not enemy combatants, they instantly connect. Katara apologizes for yelling at him and the interaction that follows is tender, open and vulnerable, with both Zuko and Katara genuinely listening to and bonding with one another. Toxicity? 404 Error: Page Not Found

The next and last time they “fight” is in the Southern Raiders, following Katara’s hostile treatment of Zuko from the moment he joined the Gaang. First of all, Katara’s anger here is entirely justified because Zuko betrayed her personally. The rest of the group hadn’t been vulnerable with Zuko or trusted that Zuko had changed, so none of them were hurt by Zuko’s decision to side with Azula. Katara, however, had genuinely believed in Zuko, offered to help him, and opened up about her deepest hurt to him – and he’d thrown it back in her face.

Zuko accepts Katara’s anger without complaint, knowing that he deserves it, and works to earn Katara’s forgiveness. He teaches Aang firebending, helps Sokka to rescue his father from prison, and fights Azula to let the rest escape. When he confronts Katara in the Southern Raiders, it’s because he genuinely wishes to understand why she still mistrusts him despite everything he’s done to prove his sincerity. He’s frustrated but genuinely trying to make amends and wants to know what Katara needs in order to accomplish that. 

Both of these fights stem from legitimate grievances Katara has against Zuko, mistakes he’s made that he does need to atone for. However, what’s more interesting is the way Zuko reacts to Katara’s anger both times. He doesn’t mindlessly yell at her, get defensive, or escalate the situation. In the catacombs, he is sullen and moody until she reveals the true depths of her pain, at which point his own anger bleeds away and he reaches out to her with genuine compassion. In TSR, he is calm and contrite, willing to listen and making the effort to understand where she’s coming from so he can resolve the issue. (So toxic, amirite?)

Given that the majority of Katara’s anger at Zuko in the series stemmed from either his position as her enemy, or her hurt over his betrayal, I find it very hard to believe that they would ever “fight” on a similar scale in a future where they got together – a future where both of these conflicts no longer exist. Their canonical approach to disagreement sees them both willing to apologize, to work things out, and to try and understand each other, making it likely that any arguments they do have would be resolved in a healthy manner. Moreover, after Zuko and Katara have put their past behind them for good and established their friendship, they never fight again – and, in fact, grow closer.

Their intimacy and connection, the similarities in their personalities and motivations, and the evidence of their canonical response to disagreement, especially Zuko’s (a desire to understand and a clear evaluation of the situation to find a solution) is more than enough proof that this argument against Zutara is, frankly, bullshit.

(And if we want to talk about fighting, guess what Kat.aang and Mai.ko are doing in much of book 3? *looks pointedly at The Beach, The Southern Raiders, The Ember Island Players, Sozin’s Comet and the multiple unresolved arguments dropped in favour of a last-minute kiss, because that definitely solves everything.)

3. Zutara is a colonizer/colonized or oppressor/oppressed ship. 

I’ve disproved this (factually untrue) argument in this post but to add on: Zuko turned traitor against his country, at threat to his own safety, and risked his life multiple times to bring the regime to an end because he knew he was on the wrong side of the war. Zuko fought against his own family and nearly died to protect Katara. Zuko and Katara, together, helped to overthrow Fire Nation imperialism and bring about a new era of peace. No true colonizer has ever, or would ever, do that. 

Should Zuko and Katara get together, they would do so after the war. As the daughter of a national leader and a war hero, Katara would likely hold just as much power as Zuko, if not more, given that the Fire Nation is now in a position where it must offer reparations and concessions to the other nations. She would be entering the relationship as an equal and would, in fact, gain additional power by becoming Fire Lady, not subjugate herself under a tyrannical regime. 

4. Katara hates Zuko/Katara is hostile to Zuko/Katara doesn’t care about Zuko and so she would never fall in love with him. 

I see we’re just watching the show with our eyes closed now, lmao. 

Even when they were on opposing sides of a war, Katara offered to use her special spirit water to heal Zuko’s scar. Even when she still hadn’t forgiven him, Katara reached out and put herself in danger to save Zuko’s life by pulling him onto Appa’s saddle. (Book 3: The Southern Raiders). Katara and Zuko’s entire relationship arc in Book 3 is based on the fact that they formed a genuine connection in the catacombs. 

And once Zuko gains her forgiveness? Katara shows him nothing but unconditional love, trust and acceptance. She throws herself into his arms when she forgives him (Book 3: The Southern Raiders), banters with him, looks worried for him and tries to comfort him (Book 3: Ember Island Players). She fights by his side readily, invites him to join the group hug, and teases him about his baby pictures (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 1). She notices that he’s frightened about facing Iroh, and encourages and supports him with a loving, tender smile on her face (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 2). 

She agrees to go with him on what may well be the last day of their lives, reassures him, and trusts his judgement completely when he wishes to fight Azula himself (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 3). She looks absolutely horrorstruck when he sacrifices himself for her, screams his name, and immediately tries to run to him, completely forgetting about the powerful firebender in her path. She cries from pure joy when she’s able to heal him, and then stands by his side in support as they look upon a defeated Azula (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 4). 

Whether you see that as platonic or romantic, it is utterly undeniable that Katara loves Zuko very, very much. 

5. Katara would never want to be Fire Lady because she hates the Fire Nation. 

One of Katara’s major arcs is understanding that the Fire Nation is not all-consuming evil, that it is worth saving and worth helping, and it is solely those in power and their militaristic ideology that is to blame, not the people or the land. Katara never shows an ounce of discomfort in the FN, actually enjoys FN climate, risks her safety and the invasion itself to help its people, and appears excited to wear FN clothes, but I guess that was just a figment of my imagination.

6. Katara would have to give up her culture to become Fire Lady. 

Firstly, someone kindly explain to me what exactly it is that Katara would have to sacrifice about her culture. She can’t dress in blue anymore? She can’t eat Water Tribe food? She can’t wear her hair loops? What aspects of her culture, exactly, would Katara have to “give up” in the Fire Nation?

Secondly, since this argument is so concerned about Katara’s culture, let’s look at what happens to her in canon – oh wait, two out of three of Katara’s children show absolutely no connection to their SWT roots? Her oldest son spends his whole life wishing he were an airbender and giving no fucks at all about his waterbending heritage despite the fact that, as the child of a mixed family, he should have valued both cultures equally? Huh, ya don’t say. 

Before you say the same would have happened to Zutara, let me point out that Zuko’s arc is about unlearning this exact ideology (that one nation is more important than others) whereas Aang, at the end of the show, still prioritizes Air Nomad ideals over those of the other nations (refusing to kill Ozai because of Air Nomad pacifist values), despite being the Avatar. Yeah I see why Katara’s culture barely got a passing mention in that family.

7. Zutara had no canon romantic build-up, and Katara is just supposed to be Zuko’s surrogate little sister. 

Sure, Zuko and Katara expressed no explicit romantic interest in one another in canon, but it is entirely wrong to say there was no romantic build up. Many of Zuko and Katara’s scenes together are full of romantic subtext and framing, which the writers and animators left in for some reason (cough they were supposed to be canon):

Zuko draping a betrothal necklace around Katara’s neck (Book 1: The Waterbending Scroll). The exact same message would’ve been communicated if he’d just dangled it before her, but instead the animators went to the extra trouble of creating a scene where he holds it up to her throat despite knowing full well that it was a betrothal necklace, and the implications that came with that 

Katara touching Zuko’s scar (Book 2: The Crossroads of Destiny). Seriously, what the fuck is this romantic ass framing for a non-canon ship lmfao Zuko closing his eyes to lean into Katara’s touch? Katara’s thumb resting on his lips? The soft, swelling emotional music in the background? It was entirely unnecessary for them to even make contact when they could have just ended the scene with Katara saying “I can heal you” and Zuko nodding to give her permission before they get interrupted, but the writers chose to give them the most intimate scene in the whole show and then went ah yes! such platonic besties :)

Zuko covers Katara’s body with his own to protect her from rocks (Book 3: The Southern Raiders) in a perfect example of the Suggestive Collision trope, which is then followed by the Please Get Off Me trope, both of which are used specifically to create romantic tension. Really feeling the sibling vibes here guys 

Zuko and Katara exchange the classic “ew wtf there’s no way I would ever fall in love with you” awkward look (Book 3: The Ember Island Players), used in literally every romcom ever to communicate denial of actual romantic feelings

Zuko pushes Aang out of the way to sit next to Katara, and Katara gives him a side glance before tucking her hair behind her ear (Book 3: The Ember Island Players), in a perfect set up for a love triangle. This is then furthered when Aang becomes jealous at the idea of Zutara in the play, even though Zuko and Katara had expressed no explicit romantic interest in each other at this point 

Katara is conveniently “confused” right after watching the play (Book 3: The Ember Island Players) where she expressed romantic interest in Zuko and none at all in Aang. If she did love Aang shouldn’t this have been the point where she realized it? Also, this is the first time Aang and Katara talk about their kiss at the invasion despite it being six whole episodes ago? When they literally had a big chunk of time alone while Sokka and Zuko were at the Boiling Rock to have this discussion?

Zuko and Katara being framed almost identically to Sokka and Suki, the established canon couple, throughout the four-part finale 

Zuko and Katara blush and fervently deny being romantically involved (Book 3: Sozin’s Comet Part 2) in a classic illustration of the She Is Not My Girlfriend trope (TV Tropes even points out that this is particularly common on shows where kids and preteens are the main target audience... interesting), which is usually meant to imply that there is, in fact, genuine romantic feelings present

THAT. FUCKING. LIGHTNING. SCENE. The sudden slow-motion, the dawning horror on Zuko’s face, the slow, sad violin music in the background, the desperate race to intercept the lightning before it got to Katara, the long, drawn-out, dramatic NOOOOOOO! as he literally jumps in front of her, the zoom in to Katara’s face of utter horror as she realizes what has happened to Zuko? All of it ties into the classic Taking the Bullet trope, making use of every visual storytelling trick to communicate romantic love. Zuko valiantly struggles to get to Katara, and Katara screams his name and runs to him with her hand outstretched like every cheesy romantic movie death you’ve ever seen. There is romantic coding plastered all over this damn scene, and if you don’t believe me, just substitute Sokka in Zuko’s place and tell me that doesn’t feel like we took a right turn into sweet home Alabama.  

If you are going to include this many hints at romance to fool your audience into thinking that a ship will become canon, you cannot then *surprised pikachu face* when people actually think the damn ship should’ve been canon, especially when backed up by emotional intimacy, beautiful symbolism, narrative parallels and character and thematic significance.

[softer-ua]

BkDk hand holding opportunities

Attempt 1-

Deku: I saw you fall down and unlike the thoughtless asshats we call friends I came to check on you, ya know like a normal well raised child with manners and compassion

Kacchan: I will never forgive you for this betrayal

Attempt 2-

Deku: *007 music playing* I got my hands all healed up, the support of my friends who believe I can still reach Kacchan, and a dire situation that really limits any likelihood of refusal

Also Deku: I can’t risk Kacchan hesitating and/or rejecting. Kirishima your the least threatening person here and most likely to survive an explosion, you have to be the one to hold out a hand to Kacchan

Kacchan: you’re all stupid. I’m going home to finish up my 7 layer trauma dip for dinner by bonding with my mother by blaming myself for being kidnapped and for 50+ year old man retiring after a boss battle. Also to analyze why Deku cried, that was clearly out of place and the vibes were off.

Attempt 3-

Deku: oop, you okay?

Kacchan: triple fuck you, I’m still mad about the last 2 times.

Deku: I literally have no idea what you’re talking about

Kacchna: THIS IS WHY I THINK YOU LOOK DOWN ON ME YOU ASS

Deku: I’m literally only getting more confused, but if you need to spar so be it

Attempt 4-

404 ERROR- file not found, missing flies may still be found in the OFA Cloud

Attempt 5-

Kacchan: *scream lecturing 1A while dramatically clenching the charred remains of his letter to talk them all into having a stand-in in the principals offic, forcing Nezu to agree to help ambush Endeavor, using Endeavors own son to pressure him into revealing Dekus location, and exploding people out of his way*

Kacchan: IVE BEEN THINKING OF NOTHING ELSE ALL YEAR IF ANYONE BUT ME GRABS DEKUS HAND I WILL RIP OFF BOTH THEIR ARMS OFF

Deku: Nah I’m good. Reese pieces, see ya when I rest in peacey ✌🏼

Kacchan: AND IF MF DEKU DOESNT TAKE MY HAND IM WALKING OUT HERE LOOK LIKE CRUSTY MCDUSTY

[vibeless15]

Offical AlphaTale anniversary month list!

For all of you wonderful AlphaTale lovers out there this month is the 5th Anniversary of AlphaTale and I wanted to make a list of nice little Challenges for you all to do for each day of the month, including a VERY special something on the exact day the 17th.

So here it is

404 and Chara having a nice time out together

Alpha laying in a field of echo flowers

Omni sitting on a rock in space

The Astral Mother trying to cook

Young Chara and Frisk

Infected and Aliza sitting under a tree

404 and Error switching wardrobes

Loading vs 404

Tint and Rock

Your favorite AlphaTale character

Moments from the past: draw a moment from the past a.k.a A road to destruction.

The Ultimate betrayal! William vs Jacob

Its just a pile of snow ❄, draw 404 hugging a pile of snow that looks like Chara

I found you Faker! 404 vs Faker!404

What would AlphaTale look like in a anime? Draw what you think AlphaTale as a anime would be like

Death of a legend, draw the death of your favorite AlphaTale character

404verse, draw your favorite Character in the 404verse/Prism Saga

Old man 404, draw a old 404 maybe with a long pink beard

Just404, draw the true demon

The Big 3 Es, Draw Fatal Error, Error!Sans and Error 404.

AlphaTale.EXE has stopped working, our spider guy has crashed.

Papyton, Draw Delios and Auroa together

Muffet, draw Muffet

Dress up, Dress up Alpha!Chara in the best clothes you can.

Drip, draw your favorite AlphaTale character with some Drip.

The Alpha bros, draw all the AlphaTale Brothers

The Alphaverse, draw your favorite Alphaverse character

Toilet Ramen, draw Infected eating Ramen out the toilet

Here is your guy's whole list! I hope you all enjoy it and I can't wait to see what yall do!

[brawltogethernow]

Gilvek "Error 404: Fucks to Give Not Found"

[Send me a title and a pairing and I will give you the summary of a fic I will never write.]

During the timeskip/Gil's multi-year fugue, the Mechanicsburg project runs up against a wall and Gil commits I Miss Tarvek So I'm Going To Build A Friend...2!! But this time is even more overt, and Gil deadass Pygamalions up a Tarvek AI to snark at him, patterned off Gil's experiences sharing Tarvek's brain in the Si Vales Valeo. It's like a hamster ball with legs (because Agatha is his inspiration as ever) that can project a hologram probably. Something something, they get the real Tarvek out of the time bubble but Gil is SO out of it from exhaustion by then that he mistakes Actual Tarvek for his stress ball that insults his outfits and holds a whole conversation with Tarvek he thinks doesn't count/matter, probably revealing some of his side of their epic childhood betrayal sequence that he never intended to share with Actual Tarvek, who is now incredibly emotionally overwhelmed. So Tarvek is like "While I'm not surprised you're having a full break from reality, you could have picked a better time" and so on until Gil has a "This isn't Paris!" moment but for "You're not my Furby!" and then either Tarvek talks, they cry on each other, then they fall asleep on each other, or they cry on each other then fall asleep on each other, or they just fall asleep on each other. Actually I think Tarvek bodily lies down on Gil to keep him still and Gil is like "I could throw you across the room easily" but doesn't because human weighted blanket good. They're dozing off and then the Tarvek clank brain is like "oh my, how gauche" and Real Tarvek throws it like it's the baseball from The Great Escape.

[pumpkincentaur]

Unholy Holy Things Worldbuilding || The Dead Gods - Malusiel, the Bloodied Traitor

The subject of Malusiel, or, as he is more commonly known (speaking his name is considered taboo in most places in Valeros)—the Bloodied Traitor—is a complicated one. While it is unlikely that he was always a God of blood, death, betrayal, and murder, his original domain is not known, as what he represented has long since by warped by his most notorious deeds.

Eons ago, long before the Greatest War, Malusiel committed some unknown betrayal against his brethren. What exactly this betrayal was composed of has been lost to time, but the evidence clearly points towards a serious infraction indeed. For this, Malusiel was cast down from his position as one of the most favoured Gods in all of Valeros, and imprisoned within a chamber deep within the earth, bound by his own entrails.

For untold years, there he languished, scorned by his former family, and considered profane by the humans who once worshiped him. Until the fateful day he committed yet another betrayal.

Not much is known about the time before the Greatest War, but the events leading up to the war itself are well documented. Malusiel, in one last attempt to earn back his freedom, convinced the young girl who would become the first Emperor of the Odisian Empire to murder his brother, Zenobiel, as long as she would free him in return.

This last act of treason caused the end of the Gods themselves. In a way, Malusiel freed humanity from its bonds by orchestrating the beginning of the end for his people, but this has earned him no honour in the minds of humanity today. While his betrayal freed humanity, he was still a traitor, and the modern peoples of Valeros look upon that with the same scorn Malusiel’s Godly brethren once did.

Malusiel earned his end at the behest of Mordinoff Bleeding-Hands at the very end of the Greatest War. At this time, Malusiel was still bound, so his death was not a battle in any sense of the word. To this day, Malusiel is considered a profane God, and speaking his name is seen to be unlucky.

Despite all his treachery, he never did earn his freedom.

Taglist and more info under the cut. If you’d like to be added to the taglist for Unholy Holy Things, please let me know, either by responding to this post or sending me an ask!

This is the first in what will probably be a series of edits on the deceased Gods featured in Unholy Holy Things, many of whom are important characters in their own right! First off we have Malusiel, who will arguably be one of the most important Gods in the text for reasons that are entirely spoilers... well, not actually. He’s currently residing in Malvina’s soul, after all.

Taglist: @elywritesbydarkness, @sprigofbasil, @scaevolawrites @maskedlady, @metanoiamorii, @anomaly00, @error-404-error-not-found, @hekat-ie, @aurieeeeeenyx, @kaseylynnwriting, @unholieds, @jauntymushroom, @tae-mv, @veiliza, @hysteriwah, @amywrites256, @pressedpapyrus, @ultimatecryptid, @cream-and-tea, @chuchoters, @storytracks, @maybe-a-cat42, @asablehart

[raksha-the-demon]

Avatar Azula Au?

So the obvious way to make this work is to say that Aang didn’t get popsicled, but instead died during the Air Nomad Genocide. And then the next two avatars came and went in fair quick succession before we get to Avatar Azula. But I don’t really like that version, so instead Azula gets to be Avatar because something weird is going on. 

1. Aang becoming a popsicle throws a bunch of spirit stuff out of whack. He’s not dead so the cycle can’t continue as normal, but he’s also not exactly alive? This is a situation that Should Not Be Possible, and it basically causes the entire universe to throw a 404 Avatar Not Found error. The cycle tries to continue, and a new Avatar is born in the Southern Water Tribe, but because Aang is still alive, the Avatar power is basically split in half.

2. Avatar Hama never manages to bend earth or air, and she certainly can’t get a firebending teacher. But she’s still an extremely powerful waterbender, and for years she helps defend against the Fire Nation raids, until she’s eventually killed. The Southern Water Tribe doesn’t suffer nearly as badly as they do in canon, and they don’t lose all of their benders to raids. Kya doesn’t die, and Katara gets to have a waterbending teacher from her own tribe.

3. Azula is only a few years old when she waterbends for the first time. Someone double-checks the records, and realizes she was born on the same day that Avatar Hama was defeated. Which means the avatar cycle has skipped a step. The Fire Sages can’t decide if this is a blessing from Agni, or a sign that something is very wrong with the spirit world. 

4. Ozai thinks Azula can be used as a powerful weapon for the Fire Nation, even if she can only seem to bend fire and water. Azulon, meanwhile, sees a different opportunity: he doesn’t trust Azula (he grew up listening to his father’s stories about the betrayal of Avatar Roku) but as long as she’s alive, there won’t be another avatar to challenge them. He order Ozai to turn her over so she can be permanently imprisoned. Ozai agrees.

5. This all happens several years earlier than it’s canon counterpoint where Azulon orders Zuko’s death, so Zuko and Azula haven’t been taught to hate each other yet. When Zuko finds out what his father is planning, he does the only thing he can think of. He takes his baby sister, and he runs.

[send me an au and i’ll make up 5 facts]

[m-aster-of-spinjitzu]

masterlist of my fics:D

btw - the blog’s mostly ninjago but i still haven’t watched day of the departed, the island, and seabound:D

error 404: answer not found - set immediately after the final battle in the last ice chapter episode, akita and zane talk. she gets some much needed closure, and her revenge - in a way. lloyd pops in for a bit with some perspective on the season, too. (lol, the fic really is called ‘error 404: answer not found’, the link isn’t broken).

the hues of an empty sky - jay and zane talk about skybound. the former doesn’t actually tell the latter about it, but they discuss things that they can both relate to - like having too many memories, or too little. of being deprived of choices. of family.

green light; cold nights - set a few minutes after cole gets turned into a ghost, he and jay talk as they walk back from yang’s temple. 

oh, to reflect on... reflections - jay reflects on his reflection in the ice labyrinth in s5 and his relationship with nya. (no dialogue.)

puzzle pieces - lloyd introspection, he has a nightmare at the end and kai comforts him. 

golden power; never wielded - lloyd reflects and introspects on s8′s events, specifically harumi’s betrayal. set right after she’d been put in the prison van in the second last episode. (no dialogue.)

orange and gold - cole and vania friendship fluff, set post-s13 but before the island.

[reeltoreal-cl]

Black TV Shows & BGLOs

In 2020, the United States is finally confronting its issues with racism in society as well as the entertainment industry. With that, there has been a surge in black content on various streaming platforms.

Television shows with predominantly African-American casts often feature a glimpse at special pockets of black culture. One pocket often featured is the cultural experience of pledging historically black fraternities and sororities, otherwise known as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The five fraternities and four sororities that comprise BGLOs, affectionately called “The Divine Nine,” are officially known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).

Feature films tend to focus either on stepping, as with Stomp The Yard and Step Sisters, or the issue of pledging vs. hazing, as with School Daze and Burning Sands. Black sitcoms and other small screen productions, however, tend to explore BGLO issues with more nuance and humor.

A Different World - Ep. #216 - “It’s Greek to Me” - 1989 - NBC

Hillman College best friends Dwayne and Ron are in the midst of pledging fictional fraternity Kappa Lambda Nu. As time goes on, Dwayne becomes disillusioned with the process and argues with Ron over whether what they’re enduring is worth the benefits of the frat. Dwayne eventually drops line while Ron crosses into the brotherhood, and they see that their friendship can survive different paths. The matter is handled amicably and respectfully, and Ron is seen in future episodes as an active member.

Season 2 is when A Different World found its identity within the HBCU experience, as Debbie Allen took over the direction of the series after Denise’s character departed. Debbie and sister Phylicia Rashad are both Howard University alumnae, and Phylicia is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

A Different World - Ep. #421 - “Sister to Sister, Sister” - 1991 - NBC

Though no episodes depicted Whitley pledging, in this one Whitley oversees Kim’s pledge process for fictional sorority Alpha Delta Rho. Like its predecessor, the episode questions the pledge process itself, and further, the ethics of whether someone should pledge a friend. While Whitley defends her actions, Kim ultimately gets revenge when she over-seasons Whitley’s eggs with pepper. Whitley realizes she was being harder on Kim because they were friends, and learns how to be a better sister overall.

You can watch A Different World with a subscription to Amazon Prime Video.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - Ep. #408 - “Blood is Thicker Than Mud” - 1993 - NBC

Once Will and Carlton matriculate to University of Los Angeles, they decide to pledge fictional fraternity Phi Beta Gamma. However, things take a turn for the worst when Will finds out he made the cut, but Carlton didn’t because he doesn’t “fit their image.” When Carlton finds out the truth, he reads them for filth in an iconic speech that defends his authenticity. There is no mention of the fraternity in the rest of their college experience.

You can watch The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a subscription to HBO Max.

Moesha - Ep. #224 - “Prom Fright” - 1997 - UPN

The episode begins with Frank reminiscing about Kappa Alpha Psi with his frat brother, complete with cane twirling and chanting, “I'm pretty on my left, I'm pretty on my right, I'm so damn pretty I can't sleep at night!” Frank believes his frat brother’s Harvard-bound son would be a good fit to date Moesha as an alternative to Q, but later finds out the boy isn’t interested in Kappa or anything Frank had hoped for. The boy even says he isn’t interested in organizations that perpetuate a “herd mentality,” a rarity in depictions of children with parents in BGLOs.

Moesha - Ep. #401 - “Moesha Meets Brandy” - 1998 - UPN

There is no discussion about Greek life in this episode, however, Moesha’s new college boyfriend Aaron and his frat brother show up wearing Kappa Alpha Psi shirts for their weekend trip to Big Bear.

Moesha - Ep. #407 - “A Terrible Thing Happened on My Tour of College” - 1998 - UPN

Moesha and her friends take a campus tour for prospective student weekend of Maynard University. Part of their introduction to campus is a step show featuring Omega Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi (and Moesha’s ex Aaron from #401), and Delta Sigma Theta. This episode centers on Moesha grappling with the betrayal of a college student named Melvin drugging her drink at a college party, but thankfully Aaron comes to her rescue.

One of the writers on Moesha was Mara Brock Akil, who pledged Delta Sigma Theta at Northwestern University.

You can watch Moesha with a subscription to Netflix.

Sister, Sister - Ep. #608 - “Greek to Me” - 1998 - The WB

Like the transition from ABC to The WB, the show saw Tia and Tamera transition from high school to University of Michigan. As the twins are exposed to Greek life, Tamera finds her anniversary dinner plans interrupted when Jordan goes undercover for student newspaper to investigate hazing. Meanwhile, Ray tries to convince Tia to pledge Alpha Kappa Alpha, while Lisa tries to sway her towards Delta Sigma Theta.

Lead actor Tim Reid wore an Alpha Phi Alpha sweatshirt in this episode, as he pledged the fraternity at Norfolk Stage College.

You can watch Sister, Sister with a subscription to Netflix.

The Parkers - Ep. #101 - “Grape Nuts” - 1999 - UPN

As Nikki and Kim start Santa Monica Community College, they also decide to pledge the fictional Alpha Alpha Alpha, or “Triple A’s.” As they continue in the pledge process, however, Nikki becomes increasingly fed up, which leads her to tell off the sorority sisters. She drops the line while Kim goes on to cross.

This is a rare depiction of a mother and daughter on the same line, as well as an extreme age gap in pledges for a collegiate one.

The Parkers - Ep. #404 - “Meter Maids Need Love, Too” - 2002 - UPM

Kim and Stevie are troubled by three ex-cons pledging their same sorority. Meanwhile, a fictional fraternity pledge bothers Professor Oglevee and T. While some sororities have clauses against criminal records, this is a rare depiction of one in which women who’ve traded prison for college are able to participate.

You can watch The Parkers with subscriptions to Netflix and YouTube TV.

Girlfriends - Ep. #616 - “Game Over” - 2006 - UPN / The CW

The show’s transition from UPN to The CW coincided with Joan’s transition to “It Girl” with the success of her restaurant The J-Spot. In this episode she mentions that she will be honored at a gala for business women thrown by Delta Sigma Theta, and needs to ask one of her potential suitors to be her date.

With this show being set post-college, this reference is a reminder that sororities and fraternities continue to be involved in their communities well beyond the collegiate pledge process and for good causes.

Girlfriends creator Mara Brock Akil pledged Delta Sigma Theta at Northwestern University, and previously wrote on Moesha.

You can watch Girlfriends with a subscription to Netflix.

Luke Cage - Ep. #108 - “Blowin’ Up The Spot” - 2016 - Netflix

When the police bring in Mariah for questioning, Misty jokes with Priscilla, “Look, I was just about to compel her to make a statement before you let your little soror Skee-Wee on out of here.” This is a reference to Alpha Kappa Alpha, but Priscilla corrects Misty with, “Oo-Oop,” indicating that she and Mariah are members of Delta Sigma Theta instead.

Similar to Girlfriends, the show exists outside of the collegiate realm. Mariah is a politician and Prisicilla is an inspector, showing that women in these organizations go on to have prolific careers, in which they are often expected to have each other’s backs in various situations.

You can watch Luke Cage with a subscription to Netflix.

Dear White People - Ep. #104 - “Chapter IV” - 2017 - Netflix

With a blast from the past, this episode sheds light on Coco and Sam’s friendship as freshmen and how their different experiences affected it. Coco is eager to join fictional sorority Alpha Delta Rho, while Sam wants to join the Black Student Union. Alpha Delta Rho is more interested in Sam than Coco due to colorism, and when Coco finds out, she drops. When the sorority sisters later attempt to enter the Pegasus Party that Coco is in, she denies them access.

Colorism is a topic that many in the African-American community are finally beginning to have open conversations about. This is another rare depiction among portrayals of BGLOs, as it is a controversial part of the culture that speaks to issues of elitism.

Alpha Delta Rho may be a callback to A Different World, as it bears the same name and similar colors to Whitley’s fictional sorority. Early on in the episode, Sam even describes their historically black dorm “like a mini Hillman College.”

You can watch Dear White People with a subscription to Netflix.

Marlon - Ep. #208 - “Homecoming” - 2018 - Netflix

When Marlon and Stevie return to Howell University, Marlon is reunited with his frat brothers, with whom he founded a fictional fraternity for those rejected by the more popular ones on campus. Marlon looks forward to overseeing the latest line of pledges, until he realizes that Stevie is on line as an alumnus. It is later revealed that Marlon was the one who blocked Stevie from joining while they were in college, and Stevie becomes determined to prove his worth. Stevie ultimately completes the process, and the episode is punctuated by a step show.

You can watch Marlon with a subscription to Netflix.

While popular 90s sitcoms and TV shows in the late 2010s feature similar references to BGLO experiences, they often were able to host more complex conversations about them in the span of an episode, especially in regards to character values and relationship dynamics. Here’s hoping that as the new renaissance of black television takes place, we see even more diverse perspectives on these fraternities and sororities in relation to issues at large.

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