#the siren episode was insane actually

[toasty-broski]

People making THE siren episode about Destiel piss me off. I’m sorry but be so serious for like 2 seconds and see what’s right in front of you. All Dean wants is his brother!!!! It’s all about Sam!!! Them fighting each other in the end was filled with tension regular brothers shouldn’t even have towards each other. Like yes the siren was spurring it on but that shit didn’t come from no where and we all know it!They’re literally obsessed freaks when it comes down to it and I fucking love them for it.

[witherbythesword]

if the theory of sam reich being replaced by .. evil wizard dalton reich (and i cant believe i am partaking in this discurse) is true..

i've seen some people asking the question about what those childhood tapes mean. Well i am one of the ancient ones that owned vhs tapes and you know you could replace whats stored on those tapes with overwriting it with new material but it would slowly degrade the quality as the magnetic tape the information is stored on isn't necessarly made to be re-recorded on indefinetly which would also explain the degrading quality of the gamechanger episode.

So my theory is that dalton reich wants to erase sam from history and to do this he is slowly erasing any proof that could hint on sam and dalton being two different people. One thing he appearantly needed to do is overwrite these old vhs tapes of sams childhood.

[mystical-one]

im so tempted to make a list of monkees episodes ordered so that it forms a kind of legible plot but idk what would be a good series finale.....

[marcygoo]

okazyyyy here we go. parts from murder drones eps 6-7 that really tickle my brain that i never see people mention like ever (if you come into the reblogs or comments of this post being like "why didnt you include (x part that everyone talks about)!!!" then that is why. and also i am going. to Eat You.) this isnt really going to be organized or anything. basically just me being abnormal about sounds and movements and other minuscule details that im really fond of for however many words

okay, first thing is gonna be a sound thing. i absolutely LOVE the beeping sound uzi's visor makes in this part. i really like sounds.

cant get a good screenshot of the movement cus.. yknow. duh. movement. but the way alice moves from there to the ground to where v is so. idk. fluid. its so fun to look at i really like it

the finger snap here. i love this finger snap. the noise. the movement. its so good. its so crisp. i love it

the lighting on uzi's face. forgive me for using the word crisp twice in a row but its crisp. its really good. okay

and the lighting on n's face here??? the colors are so harsh. i really like looking at it. okay. i feel like im not writing enough to just describe how much i like the lighting here. i really like it. its cool. okay i think its cool. i dunno

i really like this hallway. thats it. thats the section. the way the camera slowly tilts just a little bit while it zooms in? the way the slowed down music in the background almost sounds like alarm sirens? like okay

another thing i cant capture properly because, duh, movement! but the way the red sentinel kind of dips down here? i dont know why it did that but it slayed. and id like you all to ignore the fact that my nyan cat youtube bar got caught in the screenshot

the sound effect that plays here when "tessa" cuts herself with the sword. i dunno. its just a really satisfying sound to me thats all

another thing about sound effects really close to the last one but. the sorta crunching noises that uzis hand being contorted here make. im normal about sounds i promise. ok on to episode 7

the lighting here. on nori. insane. im not normal. as mentioned before with n i love this kind of harsh lighting especially with the drones it just looks so visually appealing

okay ANOTHER part i cant properly capture. this bit where it zooms in on the screen and shows the elevator. im. not normal about it. i really really like it alright.

UGHHHH THE WAY UZIS HAND MOVES HERE. THE MOVEMENT. THE FLUIDITY OF IT. IM ACTUALLY OBSESSED. AAUUGHHHHHHHHHHGGGGHHHHHH

LETS EAT!!!! DUDE. UGHHHH. AUGH. i LOVE this part SO MUCH you guys have no idea. im obsessed with it. the line delivery. the pose. the shot. the implications. the way that its just such a simple and commonly used phrase. do you get it. do you understand. genuinely one of my favorite little parts in the whole series im not kidding. let's eat

o-o-o-o-ow! ! !!! i always love the glitched voice effects alright. and that combined with the movement of nori's body being forced back by the crucifix. idk. i dunno man. i just like it

and UGH. LITERALLY right after that. the lighting flash just as she pulls it out of her face????? i hate this show so much guys. aughhhhhUGHHHHHHHHH AUGHJJ

grrrr this part. i literally NEVER see people mention it but. the way uzi.. the solver.... uh. whagever. the way their eyes sorta wobble when they turn to look up at n and nori. its a really cool movement to me i dunno

THE CRUNCHING NOISE WITH THE MOUTH GETTING PULLED SO FAST FROM A TINY FROWN TO A HUGE SMILE LIKE THAT??? EWWW????? INSANE. CRAZY. I LOVVE ITTT AUGH

no comment needed. the 😁

ok im kinda putting a lot of stuff from this fight on here. forgive me. its got a lot of really cool stuff. this part like. like. the way all the sound gets kinda muffled and crunchy.. aughh.... i love it. hurts me in my bones. 10/10

ok bit of an unusual thing to point out here but. the solvers flapping here. its so strange. it looks so weird and mechanical to me. in a good way i love it

the hand twitch. no further comment.

eugh. this part. the way the coagulated blood (???) almost jiggles like jelly. eughhh ewwwwwww. why are you like thattttt. (positive! i love blood.)

drone sound: much, crunch (i REALLY like the sound effect that plays when uh... flesha. bends down and Crunches dolls core. the sorta glass breaking sound. sorry doll.)

the fucking frog blink. why are you like that. i hate this thing so much.

the music that starts up right as j lands.. eughjghgjhhhh. augh. dies. also side note that i wasnt able to fit really anywhere. but i love the sound that the ship makes. dont know how to describe it but yknow what im talking about right

the fucking. sound effect. of uzi stabbing her own hand with the protruding bone. crunch. i really really love crunchy crunching sounds. theyre so good. one of my favorites honestly

uh. okay. well thats it thats the post. thanks for coming to my Autism. walks away

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 34 - Heads for no Tails (part 1)

This is THE Kerubim Child Neglect episode, and yet all I can say about its beginning is "what a silly little goofster"

At first, I thought, "Well, at least he put this item at the very top. A normal child might not have climbed that".

And then I paused, and thought to myself, "why is Joris allowed to enter the Evil Cursed Weapons That Kill People storage room to play".

I hate everything about this man, even his stupid bonsai tree. What do you MEAN you're caring for a bonsai tree while Joris is pretty much playing with matches next to a gas pipe.

I need to kill them both, actually. This is so unserious.

I wish he was real, so I could know what his beating him up feels like.

He is so #girlslay

I NEED to beat his ass for not taking this seriously.

Also yeah, the person who these were created to contain was an Ondine. The Ondine named Ondine from the Episode 23, which is all about sirens, who are Ondines, is probably not the Ondine that is mentioned in this Ondine story though.

SAME FUCKING QUESTION, SIMONE. I HAVE THE SAME QUESTION.

BUT THE MORE IMPORTANT QUESTION IS WHY IS JORIS ALLOWED TO BE THERE ALONE TO BEGIN WITH??

I really hate him for joking like this, especially when we know what happens next.

I would say "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" but this is too sad to joke about.

Kill him. Please. I hate how he laughs after she says that.

His entire character thing is that he hates not being able to solve issues. He will "It's ok, it can be fixed :)" his way though the most insane things — and it's a strength of his, it allowed him to find Lou and have a relationship together for a while after what happened. Chances are, he wouldn't have survived for this long, had he not employed an insane degree of toxic positivity in his personal life.

But it also makes him... extremely obnoxious at times.

He himself knows that this is Not a good situation, and it's starting to sink in, considering he grows more and more worried with each of these animations. Which is a really cool detail. He SHOULD be having a slow panic attack about this. It is what he deserves.

Anyway, here's the real most important moment of the entire show:

[faun-the-hound]

will i be crucifed for not liking Castor?

I can't make myself watch the episodes he's in- which sucks because there seems to always be some major plot whenever he shows up

anyway, he's a siren in Daybreak- a bird siren specifically, so think like a harpy of sorts. chicken man. he's a loon actually. the bird.

these things

also a metaphorical loon. man's lowkey insane.

anyway

yeah.

bird.

bird sirens can't fly btw. their wings are meant for swimming/diving. at least they are in Ru'aun.

[stormyoceans]

monica watches » sleep with me

summary: harry, an overnight radio DJ who is in a wheelchair, and luna, who suffers from a sleeping condition, navigate their respective disorders and issues from past relationships as they start their romance

details: GL, philippines, 6 episodes, ~20 min each

content warning: ableism

available on: GagaOOLala, iWantTFC

what i liked:

high quality production and amazing performances

great representation of disability

all the characters, even the side ones, are fully fledged and nuanced. this show is actually a great example of how effective visual language and good dialogues can help conveying informations about the characters without falling into exposition dumps that take away from the feeling of immersion in the story. luna’s character development, in particular, is fantastic and the use of colors, lighting and setting to show it is [chef’s kiss]

janine gutierrez (harry) and lovi poe (luna) have a very nice chemistry and the relationship between the two characters feels incredibly natural. instant attraction doesn’t always seem believable to me, but in this case it fully does, maybe because there’s also an initial awkwardness to it that makes it really charming and close to real life: the characters talk over each other, stumble over their words, hesitate over the right thing to say….. it’s a carefully crafted unpolished feeling that makes you forget you’re watching a show   

communication and consent are SO SEXY it’s honestly insane how sexy and hot those are

it features what has become one of my favorite female friendships of all time!!!!

the cinematography is very immersive and atmospheric, you really get to breathe in the night time and inhabit all the different spaces these characters live in, which is also helped by the editing and the framing of each scenes (some of them looks like paintings)

need me the entire soundtrack of this show tbh

what i disliked:

'disliked' is definitely too strong of a word, but this is one of those rare cases where i wish the show was just a little bit longer. around episodes 4 and 5 the pacing feels slightly rushed to me and i would have liked to linger more on the different stages of harry and luna's relationship. i also would have loved to see more of harry's job as a DJ and learn more about why she wanted to become one in the first place

as an italian, seeing spaghetti getting broken in half got kill bill sirens blasting in my head (JOKING IM JOKING) [but also please don't break your damn spaghetti]

notes: a huge thank you to lisa @stickymoonsoul for recommending this to me, i HIGHLY RECOMMEND it too!!!

[huntinglove]

Adventure time! 0, 1, 2, and 3. - Lovesmenot2015

Hi hi!! Thank you so much for the ask!!

0 – What are some of the inspirations behind your S/I? Are they exactly like you? Were they an OC? Did any of your favorite characters have any influence in their design/personality?

All of my self inserts are mostly me but in my F/O's universe, however, there are six different characters that also inspired Ocean Princess' design and personality!

The water nymphs, from Adventure Time itself, helped me come up with her design, especially when it comes to her hair!

Lapis Lazuli, from Steven Universe, helped me come up with her abilities and powers, especially Ocean Princess' control over large bodies of water, as well as shapeshifting!

Rapunzel and Ariel are the biggest influences when it comes to her personality and character development! She went from a sheltered and curious monarch to an adventurous and loving wife!

Flame Princess is, ironically enough, one of the characters that's the most similar to Ocean Princess, especially when it comes to her emotions and how they affect her decisions and abilities!

The guardian angel from the episode Dungeon is also a quiet inspiration for Ocean Princess' more... Animalistic behaviours. She can absolutely be sweet and loving but she's still very much a siren that thrives on feasting on the hearts of men (Simon included)

1 – How do you come up with lore for your S/I and their relationship with your F/O? Is there any media that represents your S/I? (e.g.: a song that inspired their backstory, an episode that changed something in their lore, etc)

The best way for me to come up with lore for Ocean Princess is to rewatch Adventure Time and Fionna and Cake in general, as well as just taking the time to let maladaptive daydreaming run it's course!

I feel like the episode Incendium is a wonderful representation of Ocean Princess in her unaltered state!

2 – Is your S/I more on the loner side or are they a social butterfly? Are there any other characters that are dear to them other than your F/O?

Ocean Princess is very fluid when it comes to socializing, however she doesn't exactly feel connected to any of Ooo's royals, considering the fact that she's actually a queen (she dislikes the title because it makes her feel old) which makes it all the more complicated to relate to the princesses.

She feels disconnected from most of Ooo in general because her kingdom was never really taken into consideration whenever choices were made throughout the land. She's insanely territorial and that scares people away from trying to form a diplomacy with her.

However, when she's fond of someone, she can be very patient and loving, almost like a mother! She enjoys looking out for the people that are dear to her and whenever she feels heard by her friends and husband she feels safer to be herself around them!

3 – Have you ever imagined any episodes or segments of your F/O's source starring your S/I? If so, what did they get up to?

What haven't I imagined with her, honestly! Some of my favorite reoccurring episode ideas are:

Ocean Princess meeting Ice King for the first time! Having her curiously stalk him throughout the day, watching his shenanigans from the frozen waters and eventually working up the courage to walk around his kingdom when she feels like he isn't around. It eventually leads to him kidnapping her and her willingly staying around until Finn and Jake take her back home.

Her and a fluffy friend exploring the Ocean Kingdom and helping out a kraken like monster that was causing trouble to her citizens, turns out the poor thing just had a spear piercing it's tentacle and needed help!

Her introducing Simon to Abyss and him seeing himself in the butler a bit, he raised Ocean Princess as if she was his own daughter, just like Simon did with Marceline (at least for as long as he could) Basically a flashback episode that showcases Abyss' misadventures taking care of the little royal!

[us-the-voices-and-more-voices-2]

us the voices recommends! shows, and movies! part 1

Larva 11/10

this show is genuinely amazing, I literally have cried multiple times it's genuinely the best show in the whole "potty humour, screaming" genre, literally if you can get past the kinda obnoxious screaming you will be treated with a wonderful show that has so much love put into it.

(most media critics are snobs, this show is awesome. embrace the silly and the cringe.)

Upload (2020) 10/10

black mirror if it was funny and wasn't anti-technology, best take on cyberpunk I've seen in a long time. if you liked black mirror but hated the doomer parts and the trash writing of some of the later seasons and episodes you will adore upload!

(I actually hate black mirror, like it's all short stories at the end of the day and I like some of them so much and others can go in a hole and die genuinely. it's the most mixed bag of a show I've ever seen, because it just kinda is such a doomer show like make up your mind on what it is!!! 4.7/10 overall and 11/10 for select short stories.)

dinosaur king (dubbed) 10/10

if you like "Pokemon" and "Digimon" you will fucking love dinosaur king, it has (for the time) accurate dinosaur facts. the VA's for jessie and James! and I think ash? appear, and it's a all round fun show! lots of dinosaurs and crying to be had!

squid girl (dubbed/subbed) 10/10

if you like anime girl, fish out of water, slice of life, funny shows you will love squid girl! many many squid puns, and general tomfoolery.

Siren: Survive the Island 11/10

a south Korean reality game show, where a bunch of women from different jobs and backgrounds compete to be the last one standing.

it's genuinely the coolest, edge of your seat show I've watched in a long time!

Physical 100 10/10

a reality game show where the top 100 south Korean sports people? compete against each other to win, it's fucking crazy and awesome and I can't believe it's a show.

Star Trek: lower decks 11/10

if you in any shape or form liked Star Trek you will fucking love lower decks! it's a love letter to Star Trek in all ways, it's extremely funny and a fresh take on the Star Trek formula!

(if you think the first ep is a bit meh, stick through it! it gets so much better)

sword art online: abridged 12/10

I have only ever watched, "sword art online: alicization" and so that was my intro to the sword art online series. but after watching the "something witty's" sword art online: abridged I can never go back. it is extremely well written, the characterisation is impeccable, it has the most realistic feel of if a whole bunch of people actually got trapped in a VR game, and is such an amazing version of the show you will wonder why you hadn't heard of it before!

the Red turtle 11/10

if you like beautiful animation, sadness, and to get your brain chemistry changed. you should check out the red turtle! it's a joint production with studio gibbli, and is so visually stunning and mesmerising you will just sob.

this movie is so amazing, and you will adore the hell out of it.

Megamind 11/10

Dreamworks cult classic film, a family movie that breaks down the superhero genre and reinvents it into a tale of redemption, grief, and rejecting what people think of you. one of the best family movies of the 2010s.

bolt 11/10

if Disney wasn't cowards we would have more of these cult classic early to late 2000s 3D movies, but they hate fun.

if you took everything anti-hollywood and a solid critic on the state of cinema and tv and threw in some animals, chucked it in a pot.

you would have this amazing film! genuinely one of the best Disney movies ever, and the fact people don't talk about it more is saddening.

treasure planet 11/10

one of the last 2D Disney movies, it bombed bad in the cinemas but it is an amazing film that deserves love.

the score is amazing, the characters are so weird and wonderful, and it evokes insane feelings.

chicken little 10/10

if you like kinda campy goofy movies about autism coded characters and sci-fi, and also animals you will adore chicken little, it's one of the weirder 2010s Disney movies. lots of fun and a good family movie.

that's all! see you next instalment!

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

05/12/2024 – 05/18/2024

Sunday

Week 14 of missing Cipher Academy

Not much to say about Girl Meets Rock except hell yeah Hatocchi get his ass!!!!

UNDEAD UNLUCK IS CRAZY GOOD THIS WEEK WOAGHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHH This battle was predicated on the idea of “imagination”, but now it has developed into the idea of “conviction”, given how Feng’s determination helped power the cannon and plant the seed of doubt in Lang’s mind. BUT ALSO NICO OPENING THE WORMHOLE TO THE MASTER RULES ROOM IS AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGG I LITERALLY SCREAMED OUT LOUD LMAOOOOOOOOO it’s simultaneously the funniest shit ever while also being a genius move, and seeing Soul being absolutely flabbergasted is so incredible. But then seeing him appear to feel genuinely frustrated and sad at Lang’s defeat is also really interesting…of course Tozuka would give the villains compassion and care for each other…love is one of the central themes of UU after all…and this makes this war all the more compelling… That last spread is genuinely so beautiful…Lang conceding defeat and granting her foe some happiness in her final moments…NicoIchi marriage…it’s just so peak… I don’t know how UU manages to top itself every week but god it feels good to be a part of the journey.

Obligatory beach episode in Oshi no Ko is fine, there are some fun jokes in there. And the love triangle seems to be resolving itself…if not for the Ruby thing LMAO

I’m glad they got that guy out of the air in Dandadan, because the drawings of hand to hand combat are just gorgeous.

Damn, the information drop in One Piece is actually insane…it feels surreal to be finally hearing history that I first got hints about literally ten years ago…

Ahghhrhghghaeujglhgeayhgj the new SpyFam chapter…Martha/Henry is so so so so so so sooooo good…SpyFam is so good when it’s a genuine war drama because it doesn’t shy away from how war permeates and affects society…the kids going through air siren drills and the talk of drafts and everyone’s futures…Martha suffering the loss of her dream and taking control of her life by enrolling in the army and confessing to Henry, only for the bell of war to toll once more and shove a wedge between them that will last for most of their lives…agh… I really hope they get together, and not just at the end of the manga like a lot of shounen manga like to do because I want to see them explore their new dynamic in their old age… If only every manga was as proactive and caring about romance as Undead Unluck is…

I reread Hoshi Dake ga Shitteru to see if I would want to buy it when the officially licensed book comes out and I think I will…! The writing in this was always pretty refreshing to read, and it’s fun and realistic to watch Kengo and Sora slowly orbit around each other and read each other’s intentions until they finally concede that they’re in love. And the astronomy theming and all this talk about dreams is just the cherry on top because it reminds me of Twin Spica. It’s an 8/10 for me, and I’m looking forward to picking up the physical version.

Finally finished reading If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late… I’ve harped on about my issues with this series enough, so I’ll just say that the gist of my problem with it is that it’s a fairly shallow narrative. I’m sure that kids enjoy it, and I probably did as a kid myself, but it’s not particularly rewarding to revisit as an adult because there’s no added depth to be found. Just a quirky series banking on punny humor and the allure of a big mystery and a secret society that lets kids work for them for whatever reason. Unfortunately I’m committed to seeing this series through to the end, so you’ll probably get a lot more griping from me.

Man…I think I’m genuinely too stupid to understand Monogatari. I finished Nekomonogatari Black today and I just feel confused… Monogatari’s trademark of long-winded conversations just leave me always playing catch up as I try to understand the line I just heard while the next line is being said. I went to go read some essays about Nekomonogatari and I think I get it more now, but I don’t get Araragi at all…I rarely do… Maybe I should read the books, at least I can control the pacing there…but I feel like Monogatari might just not be for me, because I can hardly feel emotionally impacted by it when I can’t tell what’s going on. I really wanted to like Monogatari, though…it seems to mean a lot to a lot of people and I love Cipher Academy by the same author so much so I don’t know why this just isn’t clicking for me…

I watched the second episode of Smartypants and it was about as mildly entertaining as the first. Jess’ presentation felt the most straightforward, just straight up facts rather than jokes lol. Jacob’s was solid and genuinely funny at times and came to a satisfying conclusion, much like Trapp’s in the last episode, but I think my favourite of the three has to be Katie’s for her sheer commitment and enthusiasm. I relate, as an egg lover myself…

Monday

Living Dead…Sleeping Dead… Having now read the ending, the name of the manga hits like a truck… Both can refer to Sada, of course, but I’m also inclined to believe that Living Dead also refers to Mamiya in a way… He was aimless in life, only chasing the one ambition he knew and leaving behind the rest of the world in the process… But Sada brought him back…and tried to keep him there, even using up his last moments to try and impart that message to him… Meanwhile, the Sleeping Dead moniker makes me want to die because it’s what Mamiya desperately wanted for Sada in the end…but of course it couldn’t come to pass… This story was never going to end happily… I was surprised to see Mamiya just straight up admit his feelings, but I suppose it was the last chapter so the mangaka wanted to get things moving along. But god, seeing them being intimate and Mamiya slowly opening up to happiness was so incredible…and it only made the ending all the more tragic. Narratively, I think the story was a bit all over the place and not always in control of what direction it wanted to go in, but that last conversation somehow tied everything together and illuminated the themes of the work so beautifully that I can’t even be mad. But god I feel so miserable…8/10…

At least the new Oni to Tengoku chapter cheered me up somewhat…Aoki and Tengoku’s tentative relationship and its down to earth writing is always fun to read about…

And then I read Koisuru Psycho no Shirayuki-kun lmao It seems to be a quintessential edgy “get revenge on your cartoon bullies” escapist power fantasy, but the BL theming and excellent figure art have intrigued me… I normally wouldn’t read a story like this but sure, I’ll watch the “crazy” guy kill some kids for his crush, why not. Everything about this story is so over the top, though, so let’s see if I get annoyed enough to drop it before it concludes.

Tuesday

I’d been itching to read another Sammy Keyes book so I picked up Sammy Keyes and the Art of Deception today and finished it in one sitting lol I love this series so much that I’m trying savour them and not read them all at once, so it’s always a treat when I do get to read one. This entry was pretty cute, with some musings about the value and purpose of art in a way that a younger audience could appreciate and some more progress on the Sammy/Casey romance front, but the highlight for me was definitely seeing Rita take more of an active role in the mystery. It’s nice to learn more about her and see her step out of the “worried guardian” role for a bit, and the old people love quandrangle was really fun to watch play out. Personally I think Rita deserves to have a fling with Lance before marrying Hudson but that’s just me. The mystery was kind of the weakest link here, given how 80% of its runtime was less so about a specific crime and more “things seem suspicious, better investigate”, but it was still decently interesting.

Wednesday

I tried reading Moju by Edogawa Ranpo, but the translation was a little off and filled with typos and grammatical errors that I couldn’t really get into it (and after looking up the translator, it seems like this wasn’t a one-time occurrence). The intro itself was also meh – it seems a little ridiculous that after two run-ins with the blind man, Ranko wouldn’t connect the dots right away that the weird guy wearing sunglasses at her show is the same guy??? And I’m sure the ero-guro stuff was shocking for 1931, but now it just reads as edgy slasher stuff. So yeah, no thanks.

Thursday

DunMesh with a side of excellent spicy noodles today – I used水煮鱼 broth, shanxi noodles, ricecakes filled with cheese, spring onions, and some meatballs I made yesterday and oh my god it was so good. Possibly the best “throw stuff together” meal I’ve ever made for myself. I felt very immersed in the dungeon cooking experience. Watching Izutsumi learn how to actually relate to people and be a part of a team is very cute! Also a nice lesson in learning how to deal with things you don’t like in order to move forward in life.

Friday

Drag Race All Stars 9 huh… I have to be honest…I’m not really feeling this season… I’m glad that they’re competing for these great causes, but now it feels like Drag Race is trying too hard to be a “feel good” activism season and the vibes are just way off. This overly positive tone was fitting when it was the winners season and we were celebrating the girls’ achievements and how skilled they are at their craft, but it’s not really working for me here. I guess part of the issue is that there isn’t anyone I’m particularly rooting for in this group? And then not having eliminations sucked a lot of tension out of the room… I think I’ll actually skip this season entirely. I’ve been watching every main Drag Race and All Stars season since 6 and 3 respectively, but I’m just not compelled enough to continue with this one. I did watch the first episode, though, and it was alright. The song performance was weirdly good in a way where I feel like production stepped in to help (it definitely felt like they were trying to avoid turning the charity song into a meme if one of the verses flopped), but then the sudden perfume themed runway threw me way off. This is something that would’ve been its own main challenge back in the day (flashbacks to that extremely weird animated sidekick challenge from season 9??), and seeing it thrown in here for seemingly no reason was so weird. At least the voiceovers were all pretty funny, and the outfits were nice…except for Gottmik’s. Literally what was that…the placement of the chains was so weird and random and unflattering, and the base was just a basic black dress… Gottmik was a favourite of mine on season 13, so this was a bit of a disappointment. Plastique’s outfit was pretty amazing, I was marvelling at the mechanics of having two sets of wings that closed over each other…it’s definitely a step up from the Courtney Act wings, though those still have a special place in my heart. But yeah, the vibes are just off and I don’t want to watch the rest of the season.

Saturday

To be honest I was sad today but then a four hour video essay I’ve been anticipating for two years got posted just as I was about to eat dinner so I spent most of my day watching that instead of anything else

[bellmo15-blog]

Villains In Fiction Act Like Villains? *Gasp!*

So, there was a post I saw on Twitter last night that was poking fun of some of the sillier complaints people have about Disney Star Wars and the post contained screenshots of posts from Ticktok complaining about how certain factions, the Empire in particular, had been depicted in Star Wars media recently and these shots contained a bunch of fickle arguments such as “where is the war in Star Wars” as if people don’t understand that war isn’t all just big explosions and screaming “FOR QUEEN AND COUNTRY” at the top of your lungs. You know, it was the stereotypical “Disney Star Wars bad” kinda stuff you’d expect to see at this point. However, there were two particular screen shots in this post that bothered me the most. This shot from opening of The Force Awakens where the First Order assaults the village on Jakku which ends with them all being executed, and another shot from one of the recent episodes of The Bad Batch showing that the Empire has started experimenting on kids with that same episode also showing Cad Bane kidnapping a literal baby.

And these complaints, they got to me. Like they actually got to me and not in a good way. Because ignoring the fact that the sequel trilogy actively goes out of it’s way to show the audience that the First Order is A LOT more brutal than the Empire anyway and this opening assault is a great way of showing that and this wasn’t even the first time in cannon that Cad Bane had kidnaped children, they were acting like the Empire being as evil as it is is a new thing. No it is not! This is the same group of people who killed Luke’s aunt and uncle, blew up an entire planet, tortured Princess Leia for information and would of killed her two if Luke, Han and Chewbacca didn’t show up to save her, Darth Vader killed some of his own men just because they fucked up at their job, blackmailed Lando into luring our heroes into a trap and set up a shield generator on a planet they likely didn’t ask the consent of the local Ewoks beforehand. And let’s not forget the Galactic Empire is also being led by a man who manipulated his best solider from childhood, planned a mass genocide on a group of what’s basically Space Samurai wizards and any Jedi that DID survive often ended up working for this new regime to basically hunt down and kill any Jedi who survived Order 66 and let’s not forget Palpatine basically lied his way into power. The Empire experimenting on children in The Bad Batch is no different from how they acted in the past BEFORE Disney brought the rights to this franchise!

However, this post of the Star Wars fanbase just being the Star Wars fanbase also highlights a bigger issue that extends to all works of fiction. Apparently, we can’t have villains in fiction who are irredeemable assholes that do some really horrible shit anymore. And I really have to wonder, do you people NOT know some of the really horrible shit villains have done in fiction over the years. Do you also know that some of them also have no real motivation to do half the shit they do other than “just cause” or because of “insanity?” This really isn’t a new thing or anything!

Don’t believe me? How about we bring up Green Goblin from the first Sam Rami Spider-Man film? This is a villain who literally becomes a villain though a science experiment gone wrong leading to him going insane and he actively takes joy in the horrible stuff he does. Does he have a reason to continue doing evil shit after killing off the Oscorp executives who screw him over at one point? No. Is he still a joy to watch on screen? Yes!

Or how about Risky Boots from the Shantae series. Does she have any deep or personal or sympathetic reason as to why she does half the shit she does in this series, including kidnapping Shantae’s Uncle, stealing her genie magic out of her, inverting Shantae’s Genie Magic to turn her evil or helping the Empress Siren just for the sake of a ship? As far as we know, no! She just really likes being a pirate and stealing shit save for the one time in the series she had no choice but to work with Shantae to stop the Pirate Master. And that’s fine! Because she’s still an incredibly entertaining villain.

Or what about Bowser from the Super Mario franchise. Does he have any detailed reasons as to why he constantly goes after Princess Peach? No! And yes, there is the Super Mario Bros Movie where he wants to marry Peach but that’s a different cannon altogether anyway.

And what about Commander Tartar from Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion who wanted to commit mass genocide on the entire Inkling and Octoling race just because he wasn’t happy with how they had become the new dominant species on earth and wanted to replace them with a new race?

“But Bellmo, we need our villains to be sympathetic otherwise what’s the point of half the stuff they do.” No no no. You can NOT just sit here and tell me making a villain Sympathetic instantly makes that character likable or justifys half the shit they do. Because even the ones who are do some pretty horrible stuff.

Don’t believe me still? How about Magneto in the X-Men movies? Now one look at this guy and you might think that he has a noble goal. He wants mutants to be respected and the X-Men universe mutants are seen as freaks or monsters. Well guess what, Magneto does some pretty awful shit in these films just for that goal. In the original X-Men he was more than willing to sacrifice Rouge, who casual reminder is ALSO a mutant, just to turn a bunch of people into Mutants despite the fact that we see before this point that it does NOT end well if a normal person get’s forcibly turned into a Mutant. X-2 despite helping to stop a plot to wipe out all mutant on the earth he then ends up turning that plan on its head and try’s to have all non mutants wiped out instead. Last Stand he rally’s a bunch of mutants to his side because of a recent “cure” for mutations and his plan is to literally go to the source of the cure, who is a literal child, and probably kill him two. And that’s not even counting some of the stuff he does in the First-Class saga such as being more than willing to blow up American and Russian boats with mislles, thinking the best way to stop the apocalyptic future we see in Day’s of Future Past is to kill Mystic because her actions in the 70’s lead to what happened and willingly working for Apocalypse because he has nothing left anymore. Yeah, I don’t care how much of an activist for mutant rights Magneto is, if I was a mutant I’d be going straight to the school run by the telepath in a wheelchair. Which is ironic for me to say considering Magneto is arguably one of the best parts of these movies. He’s incredibly well acted and his dialogue with other characters is great to listen two.

“But Gannondorf is a sympathetic villain in Zelda Wind Waker. He had good reason for doing what he did.” Yeah, a sympathetic villain who lied his way into the Hylian Royal family and plunged Hyrule and the Sacred Realm into chaos. And that’s just in the Adult Timeline. Don’t even get me started on how he basically used Zant to try and take over Hyrule again in the Child Timeline or how he actually kills OOT Link in the Downfall timeline.

Look, the point I’m trying to get across with all this rambling is that I don’t get why villains acting like villains is such a shocking thing to people nowadays. What, are we going to complain about Heroes being Heroes next? Villains doing villainous shit isn’t a brand new thing nor do they all have to be sympathy to justify the shit they do either. But then again, we live in an age where media literacy is deader than my hopes for that Sands of Time remake to be finished. I know I said this already a while ago but I swear to God, I will NEVER forgive what a lot of overly critical Youtubers from the 2010’s into now have done to an entire generations ability to consume media.

[spectralarrovv]

benny’s outfits ranked

watch me go slowly insane as i try my hardest to avoid this man’s addiction to polo shirts

1. 1.13 “Jesse’s Girl/ReVamped”

this fit changed my life, i saw this episode on tv as a kid and haven’t been the same since. i think seeing benny in such a gorgeous tux after an entire season of horrid polo shirts is enough to put me into anaphylactic shock. he outshined everyone in this episode, 30/10

2. 1.5 “Double Negative/Jilly Putty”

evil benny could have very possibly been my gay awakening at the ripe age of 8, and i will excuse the polo since the leather jacket and asshole attitude carry the outfit. 20/10

3. 2.4 “Flushed”

my standard for this ranking is: the less polo shirts i have to see the higher the ranking. not a single polo shirt in sight this ENTIRE episode, i could cry. the striped long sleeve is a personal favorite of mine and the pink apron is an unironic serve, incredible, 10/10

4. 2.9 “Siren Song”

this look was an absolute serve, benny knows how to make a good fit when it counts. i was already on board with the hair but the cape took it to the next level, 10/10

5. 2.1 “Welcome Back Dusker”

i’m a sucker for flannel, and i don’t know what it is about the green jacket with this flannel because it SHOULDN’T work but it does and i love it. also i would probably wear this, 9/10

6. 1.9 “Blue Moon”/2.10 “Jockenstein”

i’m putting these in the same spot since they’re in the same category: not really outfits, just benny looking good in sports wear over his clothes. and he looks damn good, 9/10

7. 2.7 “Hottie Ho-Tep”/2.8 “Independence Daze”

this jacket instantly makes his outfits bearable, especially with the hoodie in the second pic. and it’s covering his godawful polo shirt in the second pic so i have to give credit where credits due. benny you would benefit from layers, 8/10

8. 2.5 “Mirror/rorriM”

i know the vest was for utility over fashion, but i think it’s cute in a dorky way. 7/10

9. 2.2 “Say You’ll Be Maztak”

i would rather benny be shirtless than have to see some of the horrendous polo shirts he wears at times, lucia did him a favor, 7/10

10. 1.4 “Guys & Dolls”/1.5 “Double Negative/Jilly Putty”

it pains me to include polo shirts at all on this list, but i will say that these are his best polo shirts, they’re tolerable, 5/10

making these lists is actually really fun! i’ll probably do sarah next, which i’m excited for since i love a lot of her outfits… anyways hope you guys enjoyed my suffering

[saltysalmonkid]

Guys i cant stop thinking abt wwdits polycule dynamics so heres me infodumping about them yas

Nandor and Laszlo first bc i care them and people don't talk about them enough!!!! Their relationship isn't all that defined (mostly bc theyre geezers who don't know what a queerplatonic relationship is) but they are very tender and sweet to each other when they want to be. No spoken words, just soft touches and little gestures here and there. I also like to think that the manor they live in was first owned by Laszlo and Nadja but then Laszlo met Nandor and they fooled around on and off so much so that Nandor decided to move in because they had a spare room and he spent so much time at the house already anyway.

Colin Robinson and Laszlo next. Shut up he is not a baby i have no fucking clue what you are talking about you sound insane right now. I think i said this before but i stand by the fact that Colin Robinson will constantly try to annoy Laszlo and then get taken aback and embarrassed when Laszlo just finds his antics cute. When Laszlo realises this he does everything in his power to try and fluster Colin Robinson. It only works about 30% of the time. They go out and do gross, unspeakable amounts of pda quite often because Laszlo's a freak and Colin Robinson can get a pretty good meal out of the collective disgust of the onlookers. Also maybe he enjoys it a little bit but he'd never tell.

Now Guillermo and Laszlo. I'm sure its dawning upon you at this point that when I say "wwdits polycule" what i really mean is "laszlo's continuous quest to obtain more and more partners" and tbh i'm not apologising for it. Once he starts seeing Guillermo as an equal they both find each others' company surprisingly pleasant, and Laszlo takes on a sort of mentoral position in Guillermo's life, teaching him various silly things like playing the piano or how to properly tend to the garden. Guillermo enjoys the domesticity of it all and Laszlo enjoys how enthusiastic Guillermo is when learning. Also, when he finds out that Guillerno is trans he offers to bring him to the witches to get gender affirmation surgeries in a much cheaper and less intrusive manner than human doctors can provide(which is how he did it back in the 1800s, as he tells Guillermo) They reminisce about their childhood, compare past experiences, Guillermo asks him what it was like to be trans back when he was still human, so on and so forth. Sometimes he lets Guillermo tag along on his date nights with Nadja.

Nadja and Guillermo now. Guillermo's not strictly into men, perse, but it's very rare that hes actually attracted to any women. Im not sure if they would be that romantically involved with each other, but they definitely care about each other a lot (specially after the London Incident) and they confide in each other very often. Plus theyre almost the same species of girlboss so they get along pretty well. Usually they'll share looks of exasperation whenever nandor and laszlo do stupid shit and gossip about things and go on fun shopping trips (because laszlo has been banned from shopping ever since he tried to go back home with two carts full of electronics from best buy but nadja still enjoys it so she goes with guillermo instead) Nadja also loves to dress Guillermo up because he has "a steaming heap of donkey shit for a fashion sense" and Guillermo doesn't mind because he likes to be doted on.

Nadja and Nandor now. I actually see their relationship as more of a sibling dynamic than anything, especially w the way they treat each other in the show it's really reminiscent of the way two siblings might squabble, like how they act like they hate each other but when one or the other seems to be in genuine distress they soften up and show genuine care and concern for the other's wellbeing. Some notable examples of this are the gail episode (nadja genuinely being worried that nandor is going to have his heart broken again) and the siren episode (nandor doing his best to placate nadja and help her find her dollie). Because of this i imagine Nandor confides in her a lot, or at least under the guise of complaining. Nadja acts like its a HUUUGE hassle for her every single time but she'll still make no move to walk away from him and will even give him advice on occasion. As for Nadja, she has Laszlo to talk to usually, but everytime they have a lover's spat she'll turn to Nandor and Nandor will usually be kind of at a loss for what to do and will end up awkwardly patting her on the back as she clings to him and moans and cries about how terrible her stupid beautiful husband is being to her. Also, after the London Incident she's become very over protective of Guillermo and will scold Nandor every time he makes him upset.

I'm going to do the rest of the Colin Robinson ones in a batch because i have puzzled over them for ages and still can't come up with anything. Anyway I think out of the rest of them he's most friendly with Guillermo, if only because they spend the most time together as daywalkers. Sometimes if he takes pity on Guillermo he'll do the grocery shopping for him for the week. Nadja and Colin Robinson have a tense relationship at best, especially after Colin Robinson tried to make a move on her that one time. She thinks he is a very annoying little man. Colin Robinson finds her easiest to feed on because she is the most easily irritated one in the house, even more than Nandor. And speaking of Nandor, he's sort of got no opinion on the c-man. They kind of just tolerate each other's existences. Though occasionally Nandor will ask Colin Robinson about things he's genuinely interested in because he knows Colin Robinson knows a lot of stupid random trivia and Colin Robinson will indulge him if only so he can go off on several tangents to drain him a wee bit in the process. (Usually all Nandor asks about are horses.)

Okay, that's all for now gimmy ur own hcs if u hv any

[americachavez]

did cas really tell dean to kneel before their new god? did that actually happen? i thought him beating the shit out of dean in that alley was the most unrestrainedly horny thing this show had ever done ACTUALLY you know what scratch that new question: top horny moments from the cw's supernatural (2005 - 2020)

getting this ask feels like my sins of the last week have been weighed against the Trials I Have Gone Through since the premier of supernatural on the wb in september of 2005 and I’m not sure if it is a punishment or reward

some notes before we begin:

the ep with dean’s male siren was like, conceptually horny but not actually that horny because the dude was uglie. I’m sorry to this man

all you sam girls out there. I respect you but I do not respect jared padalecki who is JUST tall and has zero sex appeal. but those eps where he’s like, drinking ruby’s blood and then eating her pussy are. you know. I’ll give you that

I am ONLY UP TO SEASON 10 so fair warning this is not comprehensive but the horniness does seem to drop off sharply after the mark of cain is no longer in play lol gotta love a good demon murder tattoo plot

this is easily the most insane thing I’ve ever done, including the destiel manifesto

S1 EP12: the scene where dean gets healed by the faith healer, on his knees with a hand in his hair and looking somewhere between religious ecstasy, brain death and an orgasm. starting this list off great

S1 EP22: azazel possessing john winchester. no I will not explain further if u know u know <3

S3 EP10: dean being taunted by a dream version of himself, this is where we first got the daddy’s blunt little instrument line. still burned in my hippocampus a good 13 years later thank yew

S4 EP1: dean crawling out of his own grave covered in grave dirt. hot. the HANDPRINT. HOT. also tangent but this reveal after the s3 finale was WILD back in 2008 I hollered in my dorm room after canvassing for obama. simpler times man

S4 EP 1: cas’ intro scene. the barn. the shadow wings. the hair??? getting stabbed in the chest by the man you just pulled out of hell. getting aaaallll up in that personal space. his little eyebrow. “you don’t think you deserve to be saved.” OUTRAGEOUSLY FLAMING

S4 EP02: “I dragged you out of hell I can throw you back in.” <<< this angel tops. mark dean down as scared and horny etc

S4 EP16: this ENTIRE EPISODE but specifically the part where dean tortures alastair as some kind of foreplay and then alastair kicks his ass. carved you into a new animal. jesus.

S4 EP16: wait I forgot about the part where cas also gets his ass kicked and looks all....hm. dazed and covered in blood while he’s on his knees and about to die. yeah.

S5 EP4: I mean this entire ep is unfairly horny considering everyone is dying of a zombie plague and hasn’t showered in like, 4 years but if I had to pick one hmmm. the dean/dean interrogation scene with the panty kink yeah I know it’s not original but hm. it happened. also misha collins just being able to convey that CAS IS A FLEXIBLE SLUT with a single roll of his shoulders. who SAYS this man can’t act!!!!!

S5 EP18: the ALLEY SCENE. DEAN DOESN’T FIGHT BACK. CAS HOLDS HIM UP OFF THE GROUND AND THEN THROWS HIM ACROSS THE ALLEY. WHY DID EVERYONE THINK CAS COULDN’T TOP. you all had brainworms.

S5 EP18: when cas locks dean in the panic room to stop him from saying yes to michael and “well cas not for nothing but the last person who looked at me like that I got laid” I hate this show. wait I think the blow me cas line is in this episode too what the fuck were they on here

S6 EP5: the scene where dean gets turned into a vampire. between the old dude who I think calls dean a pretty boy (??) and soulless sam....watching??? no ******* but there were just some absolutely foul energies in that scene and I still do not understand WHAT they were thinking

S6 EP20: cas doing a double smite on two demons by slamming them to the ground and then shoving another demon back in its vessel and then smiting him in the same motion. TOP. ENERGY.

S6 EP22: season 6 is possibly cas’ horniest season because he’s like, going through angel puberty after getting his first boner for dean, but the final cas eps are. whoof. cas eats a bunch of souls and proclaims himself to be a new god in order to handle said boner, and then the season ends with cas telling them to bow down and profess their love to him, their new lord, or he will destroy them. note: the way this is framed makes it look like cas is only staring at dean while he says this, even though sam and bobby are also there. the season ends with dramatic zooms on both cas and dean’s faces respectively. this made me actively regret ditching this show after s5 lol

S8 EP??: literally EVERY SINGLE PURGATORY FLASHBACK. cas dean and benny are all purgatory hot in the “pop 10 cranberry pills and risk the UTI” kind of way but also. dean being the hot girl bottom between two tops who hate each other. I really. whew. I need to go take a shower.

S8 EP17: if I get canceled for including the crypt scene on this list I blame you bud. but dean on his knees begging a brainwashed cas to stop killing him WAS sexy. how many times has dean been on his knees in this list wait there’s another one coming up next jsldjfsldkjf

S9 EP2: abaddon getting dean on his knees (YEAH) and pulling his hair and praising him for always coming when called HELLO???? the only thing that ruins this is dean says “I can’t tell if we’re gonna fight or make out” because this is the CW and they won’t let him say fuck

S9 EP6: ah. this entire episode is Emotionally Horny but the horny horny part is when they’re in the car and dean is telling cas to unbutton his shirt and. watches. I know this was on my destiel manifesto but I need it here too

S9 EP9: cas, covered in blood, slitting another angel’s throat and eating his grace after getting tortured. that shot alone made me understand why this website was so goddamn horny for misha collins for nearly a damn decade

S9 EP11: MARK OF CAIN BABEY. cain watching dean beat up a bunch of demons as an audition for taking on the mark, while crowley also is a fucking voyeur to the whole thing. cain is also a hot silver fox with daddy energies. I said what I said

S9 EP 16: dean getting the first blade. he’s chained to a pillar and being menaced by a foppish dandy who wants to add him to his “collection” (WOW). dean then kills him with the blade and whew. murder is sexy sometimes

S9 EP21: dean being pinned against a wall by abaddon’s power, then using the mark of cain to break her hold, calling the first blade to him psychically and then killing her. god the mark of cain is hot

S9 EP23: dean waking up with the demon eyes NUT

S10 EP2: demon dean beating up that dude with the boring backstory and kicking his ass. really was a go on baby I got your flower moment because I hated that dude and I love demon dean

S10 EP3: demon dean being chained up and taunting sam about how his brother is gone, then hunting sam through the bunker. demon dean in general was VERY fun for me, someone who loves trash

S10 EP9: dean going berserk and killing a bunch of pedophile rapists/child abusers. I’m sorry I know this show is trying to preach morality at me about monsters and unnecessary murder and humanity or whatever but we blew past that like 8 SEASONS AGO. also the mark of cain is sexy

S10 EP14: the rest of this list is really gonna be mark of cain stuff isn’t it look I’m here to have fun. cain and dean’s fight. cain continuously tossing his mane of hair back and taunting dean with the picture of what he’s going to become, who he’s going to kill. dean begging cain to tell him that he can stop, and then ultimately killing him. rip daddy.

S11 EP4: again I have not watched this however. every shot of this episode is PRESTIGE TELEVISION because driving a muscle car is sexy. and especially the shot of dean all beat to hell and begging his car to start and giving her a little kiss from his fingers to her dash. ugh. masculinity.

S12 EP10: the bearded salt-and-pepper daddy look returns, only it’s an angel this time and he’s wearing a vest and shirtsleeves and he swordfights with a hot redheaded lady in a suit and an eyepatch. this show is good sometimes!!! and oh fuck lol I just realized this is the same guy who played krissy’s hot hunter dad in s7 probably the first guy who’s hotter as an angel than a hunter. huh.

S12 EP 11: dean riding larry the mechanical bull to “broomstick cowboy.” I have no idea where this factors into the ep but I have seen. the youtube clip

S13 EP23: from what I can tell s13 is way more emotionally horny than boner horny, although dean burning cas’ body was sexy. but the horniest part was dean saying yes to michael and then michael taking over and saying “thanks for the suit.” we are going to ignore the silliest fight scene in existence as well as the final shot ending on a FREEZE FRAME like a goddamn tiktok

S14: not gonna pick a specific moment because I have not watched yet!!! but michael dean is hot. idk why michael is weirdly hot and I cannot stand any iteration of lucifer on this television programme. it should be the reverse but I’m forever an older sibling stan apparently. someone who is catholic could probably explain this better.

S15 EP13: genevieve padalecki and danneel ackles fight flirting as ruby and anael I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY HELD OUT ON THIS TILL THE LAST SEASON

I know I am missing things but this is already an absolutely incomprehensible screed. I know I’m missing shit from the latter seasons but give me time I’m pacing myself

[azenkii]

 ATLA Fic Rec 

because I've been spending way too much time reading it. Btw, this is a rec for gen fics and zukka fics.

Note: an asterisk after the description means that the fic or series is incomplete. (Sadly, this is a lot of them, but I'm pretty sure most of these fics are still currently updating.)

GEN:

Anything by MuffinLance is a must-read. my personal favourites are Salvage (where Hakoda ends up with one (1) grumpy new prisoner/crewmate/adopted son) and Little Zuko v the World (where Zuko is 12, and it's adorable).

The Family You Choose by TunaFishChris is a god-tier platonic soulmate au about zuko and the gaang, so like...go read that right now

The kintsugi series by discordiansamba is an AU where Toph's parents hire Zuko-as-Lee to be a bodyguard for her, and I love it so much. It has some of the best Toph-and-Zuko sibling bonding I've ever seen. *

Dragon Moon by Satirrian is a Dragon! Zuko AU and it's incredible. It also features Bounty Hunter Zuko, so do with that what you will. *

The What We're Given series by Haicrescendo is *chef's kiss*. It's an AU where Zuko flipped his father off early on into his banishment and started living his best life with Iroh. Enter the Gaang. Shenanigans ensue. *

The Internment series by Hannahmayski is another Zuko breaks free from his dad early AU, and it's also really good. Basically, Zuko was never given the option to capture the Avatar, making his banishment indefinite. He sails around with his crew fighting the Fire Nation and it's great. *

The best way to solve your problems (is to help someone else) by hewwodarkness is an AU where kids start disappearing in Ba Sing Se during Book 2, and Zuko takes it upon himself to do a little vigilantism. It's fantastic. *

The Blue Spirit AU series by H_Faith_Marr is an AU starting from, surprise surprise, the Blue Spirit episode. The Gaang takes in Zuko without knowing who he is, and the Power of Friendship™ goes to work on Zuko. *

The the first rule of earth kingdom fight club... series by ohmygodwhy is an AU where Zuko, among other things, fights in underground cage matches, meets Toph early, and realises that his dad might be wrong. It’s pretty funny and really good. *

The The Non-Existent Twin series by FoiblePNoteworthy is hilarious. It's an AU where Zuko poses as his own twin, Li, and the Gaang buys it hook line and sinker. *

The Guilt (The Jet Adopts Zuko AU) series by FoiblePNoteworthy is also really good. Like the title says, it’s a Zuko joins the Freedom Fighters AU. *

The new ways series by blueseam is just a Zuko and the Gaang bonding fic, mostly set in the Western Air Temple, with a side of Zuko not taking care of himself and the Gaang stepping up to the job. If you’re like me and am an absolute sucker for Zuko and the Gaang, go read this.

The Family Matters series by WinterSky101 is a really good fic if you’re looking for Hakoda and Zuko. That’s all I have to say: Hakoda and Zuko.

a nation, held by snowdarkred is a GREAT Fire Nation & Zuko fic - set before and during canon, not after it. Go read it, right now.

Notable mentions: a lot of works by naggeluide are gen and pretty funny, though if you don't headcanon any of the characters as LGBT+ you might not like some of them.

ZUKKA:

anything by Haicrescendo and dickpuncher420. For Haicrescendo, my personal favourite is the Carry On For You series, and for dickpuncher420, it’s love language.

sirens & sleepless nights by Satirrian is a modern AU that just borders on dystopian. Ba Sing Se has been overtaken by the Fire Nation, Zuko is a soldier who broke away from the Fire Nation and got shot for it, and Sokka finds Zuko on the street and brings him inside. It’s amazing, go read it!

do you take this jerk to be (your one and only) by jatersade is a fic that I’m 90% sure is on every zukka fic rec list, and it deserves to be. It’s an arranged marriage AU where Zuko is engaged to Yue, and Sokka is his cultural guide. *

midnight runs and other things by isamagicdragon is a modern AU where Zuko keeps sleepwalking into Sokka’s apartment. Shenanigans ensue. Also, top-tier Zuko, Mai and Ty Lee interactions. *

Unchained Melody by avocadolove is another fic that I see a lot on rec lists, and it 100% deserves it. It’s a long fic (as of now, it’s at 63.8k) and is an AU where Sokka, after getting taken to the Spirit World by Heibai, ends up as a ghost that only Zuko can see. Ft. great enemies-to-friends-to-lovers and an incredible plot. *

Ozymandias, King of Kings by Think_of_a_Wonderful_Thought is SO good. It’s an AU where, instead of being banished, Zuko was sent to work in a coal mine/prison, which eventually becomes the target of a Water Tribe raid after Aang’s return. It can get pretty dark, so watch out for that, and it’s really long (as of now, 168.8k). But trust me, it’s worth it. *

Heart Beat Here by thefangirlingdead is an adorable Modern AU oneshot where Zuko, while shopping for engagement rings with Katara, freaks out when Sokka lies about where he is. It’s a happy ending, don’t worry. One of my favourite fics.

feels like we only go backwards by oldpotatoe and A Certain Slant of Light by JustGettingBy are both amnesia fics where Sokka loses his memory several years after the war. They’re both so, so good. A Certain Slant of Light is finished, but feels like we only go backwards is not.

reality strikes, so bring back the night by zukkababey is a time-travel oneshot where Western-Air-Temple Sokka wakes up in the future to find his older self married to one (1) Fire Lord Zuko. Fluffy and funny. 

maybe i just see you (in everything) by epicbubbles is a really cute Modern AU oneshot with love confessions and just fluff all around. 10/10 go read it!!

it’s the illusion of separation by argentoswan is a fic that has legendary status and it absolutely deserves it. God-tier Modern AU where Sokka ends up working at the Jasmine Dragon alongside his former high school bully, Zuko. (Kind of) enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and it’s just...SO good. *

say you like your shirt soggy by crosspin is a reallyyy nice 5+1 fic. It’s Modern AU, and it’s pretty short (3.7k), but the amount of yearning that gets packed into that 3.7k,,,,*chef’s kiss*

and they were roommates by flydunes is another Modern AU where sokka puts up an ad for a roommate. Zuko moves in, and Sokka gets a crush. It’s just good vibes all around :) *

like blood from a stone by catalinacat is a Soulmate AU that took a completely different direction with the soulmate trope. The summary does a better job of explaining it than I can. *

absence of heat, excess of destiny by theycallmesuperboy is one of the best soulmate AUs out there. it’s not too long, only 4.3k words, but it covers the entire series and then some. Seriously, go read this.

it isn’t strange, but it’s true by theholyterror is a 5+1 post-canon fic with some of the best pining I’ve ever seen, ft. Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko. The 5+1 is times Zuko went out of his way to touch Sokka.  *

like the sun inside of you by ofherlionheart is another post-canon fic, and it’s incredible so far. the first chapter alone is 23k, so it’s already a decently long read. *

the stemverse: earth science zuko au series by acezukos is a REALLY good Modern/University AU. So far, it only has one work (earth system history) but that work is already *chef’s kiss*. The series is incomplete, but earth system history is complete!

rebellion’s such a hushed affair by zeitgeistofnow is a fantastic Modern AU that, like sirens & sleepless nights, borders on dystopian. Actually, I think it is dystopian, but it hasn’t been tagged as such. Anyway, 10/10, go read it right now immediately

Mark Time by foil is a Modern AU where Sokka ghosted Zuko years ago, and they get brought back together by Aang and Katara’s wedding. It’s really good, but the fic has some pretty heavy content, so make sure you read the warnings. *

That birds would sing and think it were not night by HisMomoness is a Modern AU that has Zuko tutoring Sokka, with absolute top-tier pining. Like, seriously, the pining is insane. Superr good

this love burns so yellow (becoming orange and in its time, exploding) by meliebee is one of the best post-canon fics I’ve ever read. It features a civil war in the Fire Nation (that gets resolved about halfway through) and some great Toph and Zuko interactions, as well as some Grade A pining. 

boy problems by burnt_oranges is FANTASTIC post-canon and has sokka and zuko in an accidental arranged marriage, plus some attempted assassinations. It’s great.

zuko vs the homie sexual agenda by parmigiano has Zuko and Sokka pining for each other in Ikea. Do I need to say more?

Friendship Bracelets by peachcitt is a Modern AU best friends to lovers. Pretty short (4.9k), but the pining is immaculate.

isn’t this the vision that you wanted by nebulastucky is INCREDIBLE, I read it recently because it just got completed and it’s *chef’s kiss*. It’s post-canon ft. mutual pining and some reallyyy good ‘and there was only one bed’ scenes.

Real Slow and no one knows anything but us by surveycorpsjean and quidhitch respectively are two of my favourite post-canon Ambassador Sokka and Fire Lord Zuko fics. Go check them out!

The Duke’s a Hazard by naggeluide is a really nice AU starting from the Western Air Temple, where the Duke decides that Sokka and Zuko are now his new parents. They bond over coparenting, and the (kind of) enemies-to-friends-to-lovers is really good. Plus, it’s funny.

Those Who Favor Fire by CSHfic and VSfic is a really good fic of the Spymaster Sokka AU. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an AU where Sokka fakes his death and goes undercover in an organisation that wants to kill Zuko.

Fics I added after posting (so far, all Zukka):

The Road Between Action and Inaction by Donvex is a fic that I can't believe I left out the first time?? It's a modern hitchhiking AU and it's great.

Rituals of the Ocean Floor by Donvex is a nice one too. It's only around 2.2k words, but it's a Fox Spirit!Zuko and Sharkman!Sokka AU, and I just really like the writing style.

by the stars above, i knew we were in love by theycallmesuperboy and The Fate of Nations in Our Hands by sapphic_ambitions are both top-tier post-canon fics. Be warned: by the stars above is a liiiittle bit angsty.

blue's clues by parmigiano is a really good Modern AU where Sokka, a university student journalist, gets ahold of the phone number of the Blue Spirit, a new campus vigilante. He ends up talking to the Blue Spirit to get an interview out of him, and it's really cute!

Honourable mention: the Avatar Zuko series by the_cloud_whisperer is one of the best series I've ever read, and it's really long - it got completed about a month ago, with 493.6k words in total (415k if you ignore the extra work made up of author's notes). It develops all the characters really well, especially Lu Ten, but the main ship is Zukaang. Personally, my biggest problem with Zukaang is the age difference, and Aang is aged up to be Zuko's age (or older, I think? I don't really remember) in this. I kept reading it because the plot was too good to give up, and I do highly recommend it, but yeah.

I’ll add more fics if I remember them, but this is what I had bookmarked. Also, shameless self plug here because I also write ATLA fic @ azenki on ao3

[madhare0512]

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LADIES AND GENTLEMEN I AM BACK!!

I'm sorry I was gone so long, l was dealing with some stuff. but!! I've returned and I'm ready for content!

so! without further ado! welcome back everyone to an episode of Mad Rambles!

on today's agenda: the Egos/Disney's Hercules fusion au.

content warning: mentions of death

a comprehensive list of the gods:

(some of these are inspired/taken from @theprinceofflies god au, so go check that out too)

Ipliers:

Dark - god of shadow, night, and darkness, King of the gods

Wilford - god of mischief and trickery

The Host - god of storytelling and written word

Google - god of knowledge

Dr. Iplier - god of life and healing

Yancy - god of gateways, shelter, crossroads, and protector of spirits and travelers (leader of the Muses)

Illinois - god of adventures and journeys

Captain Magnum - god of the seas, guardian of the sailors

Yandere - god/goddesses of obsessive love, devotion, and marriage

Actor - god of acting, showmanship, performance, and theater (banished to the Underworld)

Silver Sheppard - god of protection and safety

Annus - god of the sun

Septics:

Anti - god of chaos, Queen of the gods

Jackie - god of strength and power

Marvin - god of magic

Henrik - god of death and disease

Chase - god of alcohol and family

Jameson Jackson - god of language and history

Robbie - god of the supernatural; spirits, ghouls, etc

Shawn Flynn - god of creativity

Battle:

Natemare - god of music and sealife, guardian of the sirens

Phantom - god of choices and deals

Theory:

MadPat - god of science and the stars

AntiMatter - god of insanity

The Detective - god of justice, guardian of innocent souls

Crank:

Blank - god of stress, anxiety, dreams, and nightmares

Unus - god of the moon

Misc:

Damien - god of truth

Celine - god of deception

now, I want to say that this au is entirely my own and I'm very in love with it. it sort of follows the actual storyline of the Disney movie, but deviates from it quite a bit. today my focus is gonna be on Google, Chase, Mad, Mare, Blank, Phantom, Marvin, and Jackie

their stories in the Hercules AU actually intertwine quite a bit. I won't reveal a lot, but I'll tell you some about each of them.

Google: born into godhood, parents are Anti and Dark, no patron god

Chase: granted godhood, no patron god

Phantom: god of choices and deals (patron god: Celine)

Mare: god of sealife and music (patron god: Magnum)

Blank: god of stress, anxiety, dreams, and nightmares (patron god: Damien)

Mad: god of science and the stars (patron god: Unus)

and this is all I'll tell you about them. they all get very close actually.

and finally, an excerpt from the fic parts I have written out:

Not far away was a museum full of ancient Greek artifacts. The museum is quiet. 

At least, until someone shouts, "Would you listen to those museum guides? They make all the stories sound like Greek tragedies!" shouts one of the people in the room. 

"Well, then, it's up to the Muses to fix it, huh?" asks another. 

"Damn right it is!" calls a third. 

"Well then, our story sure doesn't begin with the birth of the prince of the gods," says a fourth one from the middle. He grins as one of the other muses says, 'Tell it Yancy!' Yancy rolls his shoulders, then his neck, producing several cracks and pops as his eyes glow a soft gold. "Our story actually begins long before the Prince of the gods, many aeons ago."

thank you!!

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