#i guess i am kind of an avatar blog now might as well use it to promote my writing

[jade-of-mourning]

okay sorry hi I know I just sent you an ask about my cat being alive but you’re like,, my favorite internet stranger so I thought you should know. I calmed down a little bit and read your response to my fourteen page ask

IM SO HAPPY I HYPE YOU UP‼️‼️ I love being peoples’ hypeman and you’re like,,, awesome so that’s super cool. don’t rush yourself but if you’re feeling pumped to share I will be your #1 fan. I’m probably gonna finish a little 4+1 thing and post it to my blog as a little grand reveal as snailon if that’s cool :3

ALSO I’m so happy you posted the cat thing on ao3 it was really nice and super well written and thank you for the suggestion! the cat is being washed thoroughly right now and I am on guard duty of the bathroom door. he was (we guess) stuck in the sewage of the construction sight beyond the wooded area behind our house.

SO MORE LOK THOUGHTS

you exactly caught my vibe (again) when you mentioned the insane repression mako and bolin are doing in canon. I honestly think there’s nothing more than elevator music behind bo’s eyes in canon because if the creators allowed anything else it would solely be The Horrors and they needed someone on that godforsaken team to be emotionally available and somewhat happy. and try as he might, mako will always be uncontrollably feral. I know by b4 he just has an all out brawl every morning fighting to get his hair presentable. give up and be the scraggly, strange detective that somehow knows everything that you were always meant to be.

which, for the record, is not to say I like his hair. I want him to grow it out more so he stops looking so fucking dumb with his stupid pointy ass hair (I really really really hate mako’s hair) but I also think it would grow out kind of wavy/curly which. yeah. I will be coming back to this later when I yap about avatar mako btw.

also PLEASE PLEASE PLEASEEE write mako absolutely losing his shit he 100% so much deserves that. he cries maybe once yearly and it is scheduled so I think he should get to murder y’know. just a little bit. he’s just a girl (insert sad coquette hamster)

makos hand being fucked up is the Vision. you understand so much. the gloves are so suspicious (the same way the shirt-on-at-the-sauna is in the comics. i see you, you little transmasc) and going off the logic of the last ep that with enough charge/consistency, lightning output can scar/mangle the exit point of the bender so. mako learning to use his bending mostly on his own fucking up and rocking his own shit until zolt shoves someone over to go clean up the rookie cause finding someone new is a pain. of course it’s a patch job (as you mentioned everything for them would be) so I imagine it’s like. pretty mangled. like stuff just slightly out of place, lots of raised skin and discolored patches and generally like uncomfortable to look at. I’d bet (like you said) bolin is really the only one he’d trust to see his hands unless makorrasami became like. a thing.

also if you have any,, fic recs,, I would be very not opposed,,,,,

OKAY OKAY SO AVATAR MAKO THOUGHTS. I’m actually going insane about this au.

so for 1: this idea was mostly a silly little ha-ha but imagine raava gets really fucking confused being in their first ever mixed kid and just. skips right back to air after mako. would that not be the funniest shit ever. like the earth kingdom would already be pressed that their go was a mixed kid who was a criminal firebender for the first bit of his life, but imagine how the FIRE NATION feels having their avatar “skipped over” because mako (again, CRIMINAL FIREBENDER) was technically a fn avatar.

and this keeps happening. more mixed kids. mixed kids out of the cycle ordered pairs become avatar. raava gets fucking lost. everyone loses track of whose element is next and world leaders everywhere are sobbing. mako would be so very pleased with himself. he and the half-avatar water tribe person would be clinking together glasses of alcohol in heaving and watching it all go down.

I was also thinking about this half-avatar playing a role in mako’s journey. They would be roughly fifteen years younger than the gaang, so it would make sense for them to still be alive (since raava could return to aang and still maintain them well enough) during mako’s era. do you think they could take on a mentor or distant relative role for mako? maybe being half-avatar would make them the world’s only dual bender, and they would understand mako’s struggle with wielding more than one element in a way no one else would be able to. bonus points if the styles they maintain are either earth and fire or the ‘opposite’ elements (like air+earth/water+fire—water+fire would be good to use to teach balance and that fire is not only to harm but to nurture, and that water parallels it as not only to nurture but to harm)

and that brings me to my third thought; both avatars followed in series have had a conflict or struggle with their bending. aang had to learn the other three types of bending—his conflict was finding teachers. korra needed to find it in herself to flow with the winds of airbending. but copying korra would be lame. so what’s mako’s conflict?

there’s where my pitch comes in (and kind of the point of the half-avatar); mako figured out how to use air, earth, and water as well as he uses fire (if with less refinement) within maybe a week (if that) of being discovered as the avatar. he’s a scraggly street kid used to clawing at what he can get and holding on tight: being discovered means he doesn’t have a particular reason not to make use of the other elements if need be, so he figures out how.

but the key words there are if need be. he absolutely can lift a chunk of earth five times his size, or entirely soak a full grown adult in pond water, or slap someone around with a strong gust of wind or power a building for a month with a bolt of lightning. will he be doing any of this? no. not unless his or bolin’s lives or livelihoods are threatened. mako’s struggle is that outside of life-or-death combat? he’s about the same as a nonbender. because bending has always been a risk—a life threatening and life ending risk—and one he isn’t willing to take unnecessarily. his journey is learning that bending can be used for more than harm or to enforce fearful order.

fourth and kind of final thought for avatar mako for now—he’s the earth avatar in this, but he looks very fire nation in canon (at least, my understanding of ‘fire nation’ v ‘earth kingdom’ features) so I was thinking, the avatar represents the four nations (kind of five now if we’re counting republic separately) (oh my god new thought what if there was an rc avatar ‘whose avatar is it’ ‘air by my guess’ ‘nah it’s republic city’s turn now’ ‘how does that even make sense? their blood is of the four nations.’ ‘I don’t make the rules man. ask the spirits, they’re right there.’) but they always look like the nation they’re from so. what if all the avatars look a little mixed but just lean heavy into native. so mako looks like a mixed kid already (though I’d make him more ek—will specify in a sec) but then just gets more mixed from. everywhere. but it’s not even generalized like,,, he looks like he’s from specific subcultures the last avatars came from. earth part looks kyoshi even though his dad wasn’t from the island. fn part looks like caldera city even though mom wasn’t. air—less noticeable, but he looks like aang, in a way. very temple-kid-y and less nomad-y. if that makes sense. and I’d say water part is kuruk but there’s also the ‘avatars look like their past life’s lover’ so. katara (ADDING TO THE PARALLELS IM GOING INSANE)

so this is the part where I elaborate on the ‘more earth kingdom’ part of mako’s design in my head. this also is part of the avatar-looking-like-lover thing. so ek complexions are pretty ranged, but a good deal of them are darker skinned. mako’s pretty fair, but I propose as a kid whose dad is white-brown (he’s an Italian farmer boy who tans heavy and he looks brown) and is also white-brown when I spend too long outside (ten minutes) in the summer; mako who tans so quick into a more typical dark ek tone. also bolin is darker because he deserves melanin. he gets to keep gold eyes cause they’re cool but I propose.. heterochromia!!! green/gold, could be some grayish/blue? js an absolute melting pot in there. then I associate ek with less pronounced but boxier facial structure, so either his face stays like,,, long, and is softer or stays sharp and is boxier like bolin’s. honestly prefer the first one but both are neat. also hooked nose. I don’t make the rules. katara also has a hooked nose btw it’s real I saw it.

also mako and katara have the same glare (sokka told me) and they scrunch their faces up like little carbon copies of each other when they’re focused. by the way I love to parallel the shit out of katara and mako can you tell,,

I just realized I wrote a longpost length ask. I’m so sorry.

I think I had something else to say but it’s getting late and it’s a school night 4 me so I’ve gotta get to sleep.

rest well! your favorite anon,

🐌

ah hello sorry for the extremely late response snailon!

I honestly think there’s nothing more than elevator music behind bo’s eyes in canon because if the creators allowed anything else it would solely be The Horrors

tbh you're so correct about this. let bolin have Feelings, 2024!!! (i find it so interesting that the general consensus is that bolin is more well-liked by the lok fanbase, but mako's fans are deep in the trenches whereas it's a lot harder to find active bolin fans. i stay forever respectful of the even fewer of them out there. not entirely sure how to articulate it, but yeah. bolin deserves better both from canon and the fanbase and one day i'll have to deconstruct his entire existence because he's just a fascinating creature who represents sort of a paper cutout of a stereotype

which, for the record, is not to say I like [mako's] hair. I want him to grow it out more so he stops looking so fucking dumb with his stupid pointy ass hair (I really really really hate mako’s hair)

HAHA that's valid. tbh i'm pretty neutral towards it; i like s1-s3 hair better than s4 hair because while i think that mako's poor attempt to comb himself into some semblance of Proper Society is pretty accurate to his character, i'm just not a big fan of it (though the fact that it looks bad is probably a further testament to his character never finding proper integration into society)

he’s just a girl (insert sad coquette hamster)

again. coughing at the essay i'll never finish writing on this. (okay off topic but i really really love transfem mako so much but also just fem mako in general and i need to put this out into the world. early lok fandom was on a seriously good kick when they were all drawing and writing lesbian makorra is my confession. mako being a girl makes my brain whirr)

also if you have any,, fic recs,, I would be very not opposed,,,,,

fic recs list i've written up but there's a lot of other good ones out there. immediately off the top of my head, people whose writing on mako i really like in general include slacktension (incredible author & artist from original airing with a mako voice of all time and great character dynamic exploration), rockingthegraveyard (best mako & bolin dynamics), wastetimeandtype (i especially like their casual ship fics and they made me an accidental fan of huan/mako), deerstalkerdeathfrisbee (wuko author but their mako voice is impeccable), bobtailsquid/steinbecks (another author from original airing whose writing style is just so poignant and accurate to character), themanofmanyhats, and velkynkarma. idk how you feel on makorra specifically but i confess, i accidentally really do like them and there's a lot of good stuff on ao3/ffn for them that i could share :P and i too am a fan of makorrasami but tragically, there's not a lot of that out there; however, all of old_and_new_friends' makorrasami works are fantastic. they're a multishipper who writes a lot of mako and very well, and while while i haven't read a lot of their fics because not all the ships speak to me, the ones i have read are all great. so yeah i'd suggest you take a look to see if there's anything there up your alley!

raava gets really fucking confused being in their first ever mixed kid and just. skips right back to air after mako. would that not be the funniest shit ever. like the earth kingdom would already be pressed that their go was a mixed kid who was a criminal firebender for the first bit of his life, but imagine how the FIRE NATION feels having their avatar “skipped over” because mako (again, CRIMINAL FIREBENDER) was technically a fn avatar.

okay this is actually so funny what LMFAO i didn't take into consideration that the avatar of the generation being from your nation is probably generally a point of pride and that mako's general existence is like,, the greatest possible insult to that in all the ways khsjdfbhfhsdbh i might have to casually include that in some outsider pov because the sheer comedy potential oh my god

do you think they could take on a mentor or distant relative role for mako?

i realize i probably didn't word it very explicitly in my initial explanation of this au, but what i actually meant was that raava couldn't leave the non-aang host entirely until their death because her presence was vital to their living. it's casually playing off the theory that yue was meant to be the water avatar, and so she was born sickly because of the absence of spiritual energy her destiny had intended for her — that raava's presence plays a role in the sustaining of her host's life. to sum up what i mean: raava is the vital life juice infused in the destined avatars. (roughly. it's been a while since i looked at this theory lol) therefore, while they continue to live independently of aang's actual death, raava can't move onto the next avatar until this not-avatar also dies. so they are very much dead as mako's immediate predecessor. but it's a great idea and i love that your brain thinks this way!

mako’s struggle is that outside of life-or-death combat? he’s about the same as a nonbender. because bending has always been a risk—a life threatening and life ending risk—and one he isn’t willing to take unnecessarily. his journey is learning that bending can be used for more than harm or to enforce fearful order.

oh interesting take. i can see that. in planning this au, i was thinking more among the lines of him only viewing bending other than fire to be a risk, and that he only ever figured out earthbending up until the point of where the story starts, but yeah i didn't really consider which element would be his block. he's honestly a pretty versatile guy in my opinion — i feel that he moves in a very airbender way (read: korra's spiral-motions in a leaf in the wind are meant to demonstrate her picking up mako's style of deflection, evasion, and waiting to strike), but his mannerisms are very earthbender in his stability in reality/rooted nature despite his lack of general stability in life. obviously he's got the firebender in him; i think he has a lot of pent up emotions and he generally represses them very well, but when it does get unleashed then he has a very typical-firebender explosive sort of manner. (i'm still adamantly against the take that he's a hotheaded no-thoughts raging firebender man though LMAO i don't understand how it's such a thing. sorry for the tangent. i'm resigned.) and for water, i feel it's adjacent to air in being less about head-on motions, and it's pretty reflective of mako's tendancies of roundabout-ness when it comes to matters of the heart. i don't really know how to articuate it but he has the most waterbender vibe. it's the katara so what i'm saying is that i don't really see him struggling with any of the elements in the way aang struggled with earth and korra with air, and you pose an interesting point. i'm not sure if your proposal would be in line with my current planning of this au, but it's still a really interesting idea that i'll mull over! it's a neat segway into the whole amon/equalists arc that i'd never cover but would still be set in the near future and i like the concept. thank you for sharing :)

but he looks very fire nation in canon

oh yeah i agree LOL i've seen edits of switching mako & bolin's eye colors (+ that iconic screencap from s1e2) and as much as it doesn't suit him i still stand by that he SHOULD'VE had green eyes and bolin gold. it's a small detail i've seen randomly included in a couple fics from way back when and it always makes my heart happy haha. i agree that lok dropped the ball in terms of portraying all the mixed families that exist in the series and that there was so much potential there, both with mako & bolin as main cast characters and background in the kataang kids (plus by proxy the airkids) — not just in the crossover of cultures, but just physical character design as well.

(also katara & mako parallels actually drive me crazy too lhfdhgksfjd)

(gonna be real dude by the time we finish feeding off of each other we're going to have oc-ified mako so much that he's not even from the legend of korra anymore)

i really love receiving your asks!! <33 but yeah this was a long one so it took a while to find the time to sit down & deconstruct into halfway cohesive responses. i'd love to chat about mako with u more in greater detail but it's a little bit tough with these longass askbox exchanges </3 i'll just put it out there — if you're comfortable, feel free to reach out to me from your main and we can talk through dms! and if not i'll always be happy to receive you in my inbox; just know that my responses will tend to be delayed because i have a lot going on in my life haha. it's lovely to hear from you again :)

#lychee acquires and answers asks

[houjichaya]

first post is a text post because I didn't want to reblog ryuusan's abs and have that be my defining "first post" on this new, squeaky clean tumblr handle. (I did, however, give into peer pressure and made my avatar... well, you can see it, right?)

um. short intro, I guess? I'm a baker by trade, with a preference for bread and chocolate, but I am also known to cook every now and then. I might have won a few competitions back in culinary school, but that's like a lifetime ago.

another lifetime ago, I used to write quite a bit! nowadays, it's kind of hit-or-miss, I suppose. mostly I dabble in things that probably will never see the light of day.

mostly here for i7, with a very noticeable bias towards one group in particular, but I'll maybe share food and stuff, too! will also re-blog anything that catches my fancy.

...and that's basically all there is to it!

#intro post

[oceansabove]

hey guys I wrote a MaiLee fic! check it out :)

#avatar the last airbender #mailee #mai #ty lee #avatar renaissance #mailee fic #atla #i guess i am kind of an avatar blog now might as well use it to promote my writing

[beelsnack]

Bad Influence - Beelsnack's 666 Follower Special!!

(Technically I'm over 666 - shoutout to the porn bots)

But seriously, holy shit, there's a lot of you. Thank you all so much for liking my stuff, and for interacting with me and sending me good vibes and all of that. I hope I can keep giving you guys quality work!!

And yes, I am a nerd and I consider 666 a milestone for a blog for a bunch of demons. No, I'm not sorry.

-----

Lucifer: He couldn’t help but wonder when the change had set in.

When the human first arrived in the Devildom, they had been humble and meek. If anyone complimented them, they deflected it with the mastery and resignation of someone who had been doing it for far longer than they should have. And if someone thanked them? You would think their entire world was dissolving around them.

But now?

He extended a gloved hand towards them as they descended the stairs. Tonight was one of the rare nights where they had the opportunity to be alone without one of his brothers tagging along, and they had been planning this date for nearly a week now. They slipped their hand in his without any of the hesitation they would have shown at first. They knew they deserved his reverence.

“You look radiant as always, my dear,” he curled his fingers around theirs as they reached the bottom step, bringing the backs of their knuckles to his lips. “Surely there is no star in the sky that could outshine you.”

They laughed - his theatrics always did amuse them. “You do have amazing taste, after all.”

He chuckled as well, guiding the two of them to the front door. “Of course. Do you think the Avatar of Pride would associate with anyone less than the best?”

“Definitely not,” the wind that came through the door when they opened it blew their hair away from their face, and Lucifer couldn’t help but preen at the fact that he had helped that quivering little animal grow into the proud swan that stood before him.

“Speaking of the best, where are we going for dinner?”

“Don’t worry, my dear,” he laughed as they made their way out into the night. “You deserve the world, and the world you shall get.”

“Unless ‘the world’ means a steak dinner, I’m not interested.”

Mammon: “Come on, don’t leave me hangin’ out here!”

The curtain covering the entrance to the changing room rustled, and Mammon heard a faint “Fine, fine, just give me a sec!” before it finally opened and out stepped the human.

Mammon always thought they looked good no matter what they were wearing, even if it was one of his old t-shirts and a pair of shorts. Actually, especially if it was one of his old t-shirts and a pair of shorts. But seeing them decked out in his fashion brand - one he had both designed and modeled - was definitely making him feel some type of way.

He let out a low whistle when they stopped in front of the chair he had seated himself in. The results of his own shopping spree were tucked haphazardly into a colorful assortment of bags at his feet, but the human had taken a bit longer than he did picking out their stuff. And damn, was he glad they did, because otherwise he wouldn’t get the chance to see them modeling his clothes.

It was a private fashion show, just for him.

The outfit itself was pretty simple. A black fitted tee beneath a cropped leather jacket, a pair of faded dark-blue skinny jeans, and a pair of black sneaks with a gold stripe going up the side. But the thing that brought the whole outfit together was the long necklace with a topaz pendent resting against their breastbone.

“Well?” they asked, giving him a spin before striking a pose before him. “What do you think?”

For a moment, he couldn’t speak. The human wearing his clothes...it was the next best thing to them walking around with “I Belong To Mammon” tattooed on their forehead.

“I, uh...I guess you...um,” he swallowed thickly. “Ya look alright, I guess.”

“That’s tsundere for ‘you look hot,’ right?” they grinned before spinning around to look in the mirror. “Man, this is a whole look! I have to have it!”

If this had been a few months ago, the human would have waffled back and forth about whether or not to buy anything. It didn’t matter how much they wanted something, it was almost like they just couldn’t do anything nice for themselves. There was being frugal, and then there was deprivation. Now, though, was completely different.

“I wonder if I should get some shades to go with?” they mumbled, looking themselves over in the mirror. “I think that would really pull it together, don’t you?”

“Just don’t go for the Ray Bans, it’s a fucking scam.”

Leviathan: "Come on, come on, come on…"

Very rarely was Levi the one watching someone else play games, unless it was a stream. And as mind-blowingly awesome it would be to watch the human stream one of his current faves, he definitely didn't want other people seeing how adorable they looked when they were focused.

They had come to him with absolute determination in their eyes, begging him to help them out. There were a limited amount of UR armor sets in the event, and they needed to get their hands on one. And, well, what kind of friend would he be if he didn't help them out?

(The fact that he already scored the armor is irrelevant.)

So, here they were, camped out in the pillow nest that they often made for themselves when gaming in his room, laser focused on the screen with Levi giving them guidance. The event level was brutal, but they were in the final hours, so it was crunch time.

"Okay, this boss is easy once you know the attack pattern. Four regular slashes, a jab, then you've got about five seconds to get behind a pillar before it uses the AOE."

"Gotcha."

Even then, it was a long battle, and they had used up most of their healing potions by the time the monster let out an anguished roar and disintegrated into a pile of bones. The human held their breath as they moved towards it to gather their loot.

"Yes!!"

They practically leaped out of the pillow nest in triumph. There, right on the top of the loot list in shimmering gold font, and the UR armor that they had been coveting.

"I got it! I got it!" they cheered. "Levi, I finally got it!"

"Hell yeah you did!" the two of them shared a crisp high five as the results of the campaign loaded on the screen. It was updating in real time, so they could watch as the final moments of the event ticked away.

Levi knew what they were looking for. Early on in the dungeon, another player had done them real dirty, sniping them from a few levels above and then taunting them over VC about how they would never get the armor now. So of course that only inspired the human to work harder, and here they were.

3...2...1

Event over. Quickly, the human scrolled up to the beginning of the list, checking the names of all the players who scored the armor.

Levi sat next to them, chewing his lip. What was that person's tag again? He didn't remember.

Suddenly, the human let out a snort that turned into a full-on giggle fit.

"They didn't get it!" they cackled like a hyena. "Serves them right, the jackass!"

Levi was pretty sure it wasn't a good idea to laugh at the misfortune of others. But, he knew better than anyone that spite was a hell of a motivator. When they had first gotten themselves isekai’d into the Devildom, they had let demons walk all over them, Levi had personally witnessed a lower-level demon shove them out of the way to get a sandwich they had been reaching for, and the human just stood there and let them take it. But they had grown to be a little more selfish, and if they wanted something, they were taking it.

And maybe, just maybe, seeing them like that turned him on just a little bit.

Satan: "You want to come and say that to my face?"

Satan stood there in stunned silence as the human spun on their heel to look the demons right in the eyes. They had their back to him, so Satan couldn't see the look on their face, but whatever it was made the two lesser demons flinch.

"Hey, come on, Human, we were just joking."

"Yeah, no need to get all worked up."

They scoffed, and Satan knew them well enough to know that they were rolling their eyes. "Is that right? So you don't think I'm a...what was it? A fleshy meat sack who thinks they can get what they want by sleeping with the strongest demons in the Devildom?"

Another flinch. Satan chuckled to himself.. Did those morons really think they wouldn't hear them? Humans might not have super-heightened senses but they weren't deaf.

A small crowd had begun gathering around them, waiting to see what would happen. It wasn't every day one of the human exchange students squared up to a demon.

"You've got some nerve," the human drew themself up to their full height - which, admittedly, was laughable compared to most demons - and crossed their arms. "What do you think Lord Diavolo would do to demons who messed with his exchange students?"

"I believe there's a special spot in the Royal Torture Chambers for such demons," Satan came to stand next to them, and the other demons downright cowered. "If I recall correctly, there's an Iron Maiden down there."

"Ooh, cool!"

"Alright, we get it!" One of the demons cried, throwing their hands up defensively. "We're sorry!"

Satan opened his mouth to spit a curse at them, but the human beat him to it. "I've got Lord Diavolo on speed dial, so start running."

The two demons turned tail and booked it down the hallway, nearly crashing into Beelzebub as he turned the corner with a sandwich hanging out of his mouth. He stood frozen for a moment before he swallowed and turned to Satan and the human.

"Were those two bothering you guys?"

Satan cast a sideways look at the human before a wicked grin spread across his face.

"They took care of it."

Asmodeus: "Well, someone's feeling bold tonight."

The door had barely shut behind the two of them before the human was pressing Asmo against it, mouthing at his neck as their hands traveled down the front of his silk blouse. He shuddered gleefully as their breath ghosted against his ear lobe.

"I can't help it," they murmured, fingers skirting just beneath the hem of his shirt. "You looked so good out there."

"I look good all the time, darling," he hummed, reaching up to grab a fistful of hair to gently pry them away from his neck.

"You looked especially good," they huffed as he let go of their hair. "Dancing like that, I could barely wait until we got home."

"Aw, sweetheart, you should have come to join me." Asmo rolled his hips in an echo of the dancing he had been doing at the club, delighting when he felt them shiver against him. "We could have put on a show that would have captivated the whole Devildom."

"I don't think the staff would appreciate it."

"They would be too busy watching to care," Asmo giggled, diving down to capture their lips in a quick and dirty kiss. "Although I can't say I'm not thrilled to be getting a private show."

Beelzebub: “Man, this place has the best barbecue!”

Dinner dates were a pretty common thing for the two of them. Over the course of the human’s stay in the Devildom, the two of them had figured out which restaurants would put up with Beel’s appetite and which would visibly freeze when the Avatar of Gluttony entered the establishment. The Hellfire Barbecue was one of the good places, probably because Beel made sure to tip really well, and one time personally went into the kitchen to tip the chef. Or, well, he tried, anyway. He ended up giving the money to the human and told them to give it to the chef because he knew if he went in there he would devour everything. But the sentiment was still there.

Beel smiled down at the human as they wiped the barbecue sauce off of their face. “You finished all of it this time.”

“Huh?” they glanced at their plate. “Oh. Yeah, I guess I did.”

“You usually don’t.”

“I was really hungry, I guess.” they grinned sheepishly.

Beel distinctly remembered the human telling him that they always tried to save some food for later. Whether it was being resourceful or because they had a weird sense of shame around eating too much, Beel didn’t know, but he had never pressed in case it was a sensitive issue. But, seeing them indulge themselves and looking genuinely full and satisfied made him happy. And was probably his main motivation for taking them out to dinner so often.

Well, that and getting his own food.

“I like watching you eat.” Beel said, waving to the owner as he passed by.

“You...like watching me eat.” the human repeated, looking somewhat confused.

“You look so happy when you eat good food,” Beel smiled. “I like seeing you happy.”

Belphegor: Oh, how the tables have tabled.

“Come on, I don’t feel like dealing with Lucifer’s lectures today.” Belphie grumbled, tugging half-heartedly on the human’s arm that was flung around his waist. “We should get up soon.”

For all of his complaining, Belphie didn’t move. If anything, he snuggled down deeper into the bed. He loved when the human agreed to have a sleepover in the attic with him. They got uninterrupted cuddle and nap time, since nobody dared to come up to the attic except Beel. And Beel was almost always welcome to join the cuddle puddle.

“Five more minutes…” the human mumbled sleepily, burying their face into Belphie’s neck. The soft, contented sigh they let out tickled, and he squirmed a little.

“Aren’t you usually the one waking me up?” Belphie nuzzled his nose against their hair.

“But it’s comfy here,” they whined. “I don’t want to get up.”

“You just don’t want to do the presentation in class today.”

“Your point?”

Belphie laughed. “Can’t say I disagree.”

“I did all the hard work anyway,” they shrugged. “We’ll make Mammon give the report.”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

The two of them settled back down into the nest of pillows. The human had almost drifted back to sleep when Belphie brought his nose down to theirs to nuzzle them together.

“You’re cute when you’re sleepy.”

“You’re cute when you shut up and let me sleep.”

#obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me asmo #obey me beelzebub #obey me beel #obey me belphegor #obey me belphie

[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

Ways to Say I Love You (Zuko x Fem!Reader)

Warnings: some swearing, nothing else i think.

Genre: Fluff

Fandom: Avatar The Last Airbender

Summary: Different ways that reader and Zuko say I love you without actually saying it.

Word Count: 3263

This one is also part of the writing challenge by @fromthewatertribe! (@astroninaaa) Again, go check her blog, she’s amazing! I chose prompts number 19:  “Okay, so, like, I might, well, it’s not that I might, it’s that I do, I, just, shit! Okay, well, you see— I am kind of absolutely in love with you.”; number 20: “You make me really, really happy”; and number 42: Character A: Fuck. Oh, fuck. I’m in love with Character B! Character C: Yeah. A: Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?! C: What?! I thought you knew!. Also, the whole idea is from prompt number 21: ways to say “I love you” without saying “I love you”.

Reader uses she/they pronouns!

•••

You and Zuko had always been close, you even went with him when he was banished. There was always this unspoken thing between you two, these feelings that you were too afraid to admit. However, you’d always let the other know just how much you loved them without using words.

•••

You were in the tea shop in Ba Sing Se, you were already closed and started cleaning everything when suddenly, you dropped a cup of tea, which ended in you cutting your hand. You let out a soft groan and quickly went to clean your wound. You didn’t say anything because it was already pretty common for you to hurt yourself because of your clumsiness, and quite frankly, you didn’t want to bother anyone.

However, Zuko saw you run to the back of the shop and followed you, thinking that maybe you’d need help with something.

“Hey, (Y/N), did something-?” He stopped talking when he saw your hand and immediately went to help you. “How did you do this?” He was clearly concerned, it was evident in his voice, and your heart melted a bit.

“I dropped one of the cups,” you said. He immediately helped you clean your cut and dried it with a clean towel.

“Wait, let me bring some bandages. Try not to break anything else!” He said, clearly teasing you because of how clumsy you were. When he came back, he grabbed your hand and started wrapping the bandage around it, constantly looking at you since he didn’t want to make it too tight. “I think that’s it.” He said when he was done.

“Thanks, Zuko, I don’t know what I would do without you. You saved me!” You said, half-joking, you gave him a quick peck on the cheek and went back to help Iroh. He let out a sigh and thought about how he wouldn’t change a single thing about you, not even how clumsy you were, and thought that you were the one who had actually saved him, and how you constantly kept saving him every single day.

•••

You truly couldn’t believe what was happening, Zuko had decided to team up with Azula, and now you were fighting against him while the Water Tribe girl fought against his sister.

“Why are you doing this?” You asked, pain and sadness clearly present in your voice. “I thought you’d changed, that you realized this whole ‘capturing the Avatar and going back to the Fire Nation’ thing was useless!”

“It’s not useless! We can go home, (Y/N)!” He said, trying to convince you.

“I’m not going anywhere, and the Fire Nation was never my home. My true home is way closer than you think.”

“What do you-?” He was interrupted by you throwing some fire at him. “Stop it, I don’t want to fight with you, I don’t want to hurt you,” he said since you’d never been actually trained and knew very little about firebending. 

“Then stop this nonsense!” You yelled. He threw a little bit of fire at you and while trying to avoid the flame, you fell. 

He went to help his sister, leaving you there. Once the other girl was out, Azula started walking towards you, but he pushed you to one side so her fire wouldn’t hit you. She looked at him a bit confused, but there was no time for questions since the Avatar had got into the Avatar State. You thought that maybe you’d win this fight, and you could convince Zuko to go with you, but suddenly, Azula shot lightning at the young boy, and all your hopes vanished.

The waterbender girl managed to catch the boy before he hit the ground, and you quickly run over to Iroh. “You’ve got to get out of here. I’ll hold them off as long as I can,” he said to the girl.

“Go, you don’t have much time,” You told her. She smiled at you, and for a moment she hesitated, but she gestured for you to grab her hand. 

You looked back for a second and saw that some Dai Lee agents were coming towards you. You covered your face, waiting for an impact that never came, and when you opened your eyes, you saw Zuko in front of you, ready to fight them. He turned around and pushed you once again towards the girl. “Leave, (Y/N),” he pleaded. “I’d rather you’d hate me while still being free.” And with that, you finally grabbed the waterbender’s hand and escaped.

You had tears in your eyes, and you were feeling a lot of things at the same time. You closed your eyes and for a moment, you wished you could’ve done something to make him change his mind, but it was too late now, and there was no turning back.

•••

At first, when Zuko joined you it was a bit weird. You’d missed him a lot, but you were still a bit hurt after what had happened back in Ba Sing Se. You knew he was trying, though, so you also tried your best to forgive him.

It was late at night and you couldn’t sleep. This was something that happened quite often. You were used to sleeping with a doll that your family had given you when you were a child, but you lost it after you left the Earth Kingdom, so sometimes you just stayed in your room, or even got up and walked around the temple. Tonight, however, you’d stayed for a while near the fireplace, and when you finally got up and headed to your room, you saw someone walking away from it.

“Zuko?” He turned around to look at you and stopped walking. “Did something happen?”

He shook his head, trying to sound calm. “No, I just wanted to check up on you,” he said. “Are you okay? What are you doing awake?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you replied, going into your room. He walked back to it and leaned on the door.

“Can’t sleep?”

You let out a sigh. “You know me too well,” you mumbled. “I’ve been having some trouble falling asleep without my doll,” you admitted loud enough for him to hear.

He smiled briefly and entered your room, sitting next to you. “There’s something more, isn’t it?” You nodded softly, not really wanting to talk about it. He noticed that and let out a small sigh before talking again. “I need to ask you something, something that hasn’t left my mind ever since you said it.” You looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. “Back in Ba Sin Se, you said that the Fire Nation was never your home, that your real home was way closer than I thought.” He made a little pause to see your face. “What did you mean?”

You took a deep breath while you closed your eyes, already feeling a bit nervous. “What I meant is that sometimes your home isn’t a place; sometimes it’s a person,” you started saying. “You’ve always made me feel at home because, well, you are my home, Zuko,” you confessed. “But it was dumb of me to think that you’d feel the same way,” you mumbled, revealing why you’d been so sad during the last couple of days.

“No, (Y/N), look at me,” he pleaded. You did as he said and he grabbed both of your hands. “I made a terrible mistake that day in the catacombs, I would never do that to you ever again,” he said, also thinking about his uncle. “I know I said it a million times, but I’m really sorry, and I understand if you’re still mad at me.”

“I’m not mad at you, I don’t think I was ever mad,” you told him. “I guess I was just sad that you’d chosen the wrong path,” you explained. “But I don’t really think I could ever be mad at you, Zuko." 

Right after you said that he wrapped his arms around you, and you did the same too. "Sometimes I think that even though I made a lot of mistakes, I must’ve done something good to have you in my life.”

You blushed at his words, thankful that he couldn’t see you. When you pulled away, you asked him if he could stay until you fell asleep, and he said yes.

“Would you play with my hair, please?” You asked. He hummed in response and began running his hands through your head. It wasn’t long until you fell asleep, feeling peaceful and calm due to his touch.

“You’re my home too, (Y/N),” he mumbled right before kissing your forehead.

•••

The sun was setting and you had nothing to do, then suddenly you noticed Zuko sitting by himself away from the group. You walked towards him and he turned around a little bit. “Hey, do you mind if I join you?” He moved a bit to the side, gesturing for you to sit next to him.“What are you doing here by yourself?”

“I was just a little bored,” he answered. You chuckled at his response “Have you been practicing lately?” He asked since he was also teaching you how to use your firebending.

“Yes! Aang and I practiced quite a bit while you and Katara were gone,” you replied, clearly excited about learning how to properly use your bending. Suddenly you shivered a little and hugged yourself, trying to stay warm. “I can’t believe that I’m a firebender and I’m always cold somehow,” you mumbled.

Zuko immediately took off his robe and wrapped it around your shoulders. “I wonder the same thing,” he said while giggling. “But I’m used to you always being a little cold.”

You grabbed his coat, softly brushing your hands against his, and put it on properly. “Thank you,” you murmured. You slowly leaned on him, resting your head on his shoulder. “I’ve missed this; I’ve missed us, I mean.”

He hummed in response, thinking about your words and silently getting really nervous. He was also blushing a bit, and he was grateful that you couldn’t see him. “Yeah, me too.”

“Can I be completely honest with you?” For a moment he thought about what you could possibly say, and only answered your question when you called his name to catch his attention again. “I was kind of hoping you’d end up joining us.”

“What do you mean?” He asked you in a confused tone.

“Well, after all the events at Ba Sing Se, I was sad and frustrated but if I have to be honest, I thought you’d end up realizing that going to the Fire Nation wasn’t the right choice,” you explained.

“Wow, you had a lot of faith in me,” he said.

“I always had and I always will,” you started saying. “I feel like I’ve known you forever, Zuko, the real you.”

He smiled at your words, happy to know that there was someone out there besides his uncle who actually believed in him since the beginning. He thought that maybe you were the only one left since he didn’t truly know how Iroh felt about him, but he was still glad to have someone. “Can I be completely honest with you too?”

“Of course you can.”

“I didn’t join the Avatar just to help him win the war, I also did it so I could see you again,” he mumbled. “Because, to be honest, being apart from you was killing me.”

•••

The play sucked, you all agreed on that. But it had sucked even more for Zuko. He even said it himself: it took every mistake he’d ever made and rubbed them in his face. So it was safe to say that he wasn’t in the best of moods. You obviously noticed that and decided to go to his room to check upon him.

You knocked on the door and heard his voice telling you that you could go inside. “Hey, how are you doing?” You asked as soon as you entered. He looked at you a bit disconcerted, so you quickly explained yourself. “I noticed you weren’t feeling so well after the play, so I wanted to see how you were.”

“Oh, well, it’s made me think a lot,” he mumbled.

You sat on the edge of his bed so you could be closer to him. “Do you want to tell me what you were thinking about?”

He looked at you for a second and thought about how much he loved your sweetness and kindness. “I was mainly thinking about my uncle,” he finally spoke. “I still feel very guilty about what I did to him, and I’m afraid he won’t ever forgive me.”

“Zuko, hey,” you said while cupping his face. “I get why you think like that, but I’m sure he loves you and that he will forgive you as soon as we see him again,” you comforted him.

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“Because I know him and I know how much he loves you. You’re like a son to him, Zuko.”

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second. “Thank you for saying all that,” he mumbled. “And thank you for being here.”

“I meant everything I said, and I’ll always be here for you.” You said while looking at him in the eye. 

“You make me really, really happy, (Y/N),” he told you, making you blush a little.

“You make me really happy, too.”

•••

You’d met with the White Lotus, and now you were in their camp. You could even feel how nervous Zuko was about seeing his uncle again, and you’d held his hand the whole way to the camp, to let him know that you were there with him.

“Everything will be fine, Zuko,” you tried to calm him down.

“I don’t know, (Y/N). Katara tried to calm me down too but I just can’t seem to do it,” he told you.

“Hey, look at me,” you asked him while grabbing his shoulder. He stopped moving and looked at you. “Try to breathe slowly. It’s going to be okay, yeah? Trust me.”

“I always trust you,” he mumbled without really thinking about his words. You smiled softly at his words.

“Then just relax and go in there, I’ll be here until you get out, okay?” He nodded slowly and wrapped his arms around your waist. You wrapped yours around his neck and buried your face in it, enjoying the warmth of his body.

He wanted to say something before going into the tent, but he didn’t know what. It was like there weren’t any words that could express how he felt, so he just smiled at you and you saw him walk away.

•••

“So, it all went well with your uncle, right?” Asked the Water Tribe boy.

“Yes, he forgave me right away,” answered Zuko, still not fully believing it. “I couldn’t have done it without (Y/N), though. I mean, Katara helped me too, but (Y/N) is just… special, you know?”

“Right,” replied Sokka. “So, how long have you known (Y/N) for?”

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. We were always really close, and she even left the Fire Nation with me when I was banished… as you might remember.”

“Yeah, I do, she was never mean to us, though,” said Sokka, teasing the other boy.

“That’s because they’re always kind. They always see the best in people, even when they shouldn’t. They saw the good in me even before I did.” He spoke about you with such admiration in his voice that anyone would think that you’d been together for years now.

“Yeah, and how long have you been in love with them?” Zuko opened his eyes with surprise and looked at his friend. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Asked the prince, thinking that Sokka must’ve been joking.

“Are you kidding me? It’s clear that you have feelings for her. It’s noticeable in the way you talk about her, the way you look at her… everything.”

Zuko stood there for a moment, thinking about what the other boy was saying. He thought about all the years he’d spend with you by his side, how you were always that kind of light in the darkness for him, and suddenly he realized.

“Fuck. Oh, fuck. I’m in love with (Y/N)!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“What!? I thought you knew! We even like to guess who will confess first!”

Zuko grabbed his head, still processing everything. “I have to go tell her! I have to go!” He kept repeating.

“Then just go, nobody’s stopping you." 

And so the boy left, looking everywhere for you. Once he found you, he saw you with Katara. She was doing your hair and you were just talking about random stuff when suddenly a very worried-looking Zuko appeared out of nowhere.

"Can I talk to you, (Y/N)?”

You noticed that Katara had just finished your braid, so you said yes. He told you to follow him and before you left, Katara whispered something in your ear.

“I bet he’s going to tell you that he likes you.” You blushed a little at her words and rolled your eyes at her. Sure, one could only dream, but you knew that she was wrong.

Zuko and you were away from the rest of the camp since he wanted some privacy. After all, he was about to say something really personal and important to you.

“What did you want to talk about?” You asked.

“Yeah, right, that. Okay, so, uhm, how do I say this?” He kept playing with his hands, trying to find the right way to say it.

“Did you forget or something?” You said in a teasing tone.

“No, no, I didn’t forget, it’s just that-,” he interrupted himself by taking a deep breath. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Okay, so, like, I might, well, it’s not that I might, it’s that I do, I, just, shit! Okay, well, you see— I am kind of absolutely in love with you.” His words came out of his mouth in a single breath, barely giving you any time to process them. In the back of your head, you could only think that Katara was right, and at first, you thought that you were dreaming.

You snapped out of your thoughts thanks to hearing Zuko’s voice again. He was apologizing for everything and even began to walk away. “Zuko, wait!” You told him once you realized what was happening. You ran to him and wrapped your arms around his neck, and he did the same around your waist. You pulled away from him a little to connect your lips together, something you’d dreamed about doing for quite a while now. “I am kind of absolutely in love with you, too,” you said once you stopped kissing.

“When you didn’t say anything I thought that you would reject me,” he said.

“I’d never do that,” you replied. He smiled at you and kissed again. “I love you, Zuko.”

“I love you, too,” he said and realized that those were the words he’d been looking for for a while now. The words that completely described the way he felt about you. He pressed his forehead against yours and thought that the next day while facing Azula, he’d have something else to motivate him during the battle: going back to you.

•••

TAGLIST:

@noodlesfluffy

#zuko x reader #zuko fanfic #zuko fic #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #atla fanfic #atla x reader #atla imagine #atla zuko #avatar fanfic #avatar x reader #avatar imagine #avatar zuko #avatar fic #atla fic #zuko imagine #zuko fluff #atla fluff #avatar fluff #zuko angst #atla angst #challenge #nina's 1k event

[ungarmax]

zack’s emergency commissions post

hi, it’s me again, you know, that guy you all donated money to last summer so i could go to my mom’s funeral? well, guess what!!! shit hit the fan again. yesterday (july 20, 2020), my sister tried (and luckily failed) to kill herself, and i really need to make that trip again.

there’s a lot going on right now and i know nobody can spare much, but it’d mean a lot to me if you could at least consider looking at my commissions. i am hoping to raise about $200 to cover the cost of gas, since it’s 1500 miles round trip. i have food stamps so i can buy food.

here’s what i can offer right now (all prices in USD):

face masks: $10 - $15

dice bags: $10 - $15

single character avatars: $10

tumblr themes: $20+

stuffed animals: price varies*

custom plushies: price varies*

if you just wanna donate: paypal or ko-fi

* these have a long turn around time

contact: zack (at) houjun (dot) com

examples & more details under the read more link

face masks

these are two layer masks. i lost the original tutorial i used, but it’s similar to the first one listed here. they are two layers of cotton with three surgical style folds. these are the kind that i personally use. but like, i can’t guarantee they’ll protect against covid, insert disclaimer here, etc etc.

$10 if you choose a material i already have, $15 if i have to buy a new one

turn around times for these can be up to a month, sorry

dice bags

these little guys have a fleece inner pocket and a regular cotton exterior, along with a drawstring top.

$10 if you choose a material i already have, $15 if i have to buy new mats

turn around times for these can be up to a month, sorry

avatars

you give me a character, i give you an avatar. it doesn’t have to have pride flags for the background, i’m just lazy so there are a lot of those in the previews, haha.

$10 for one, $15 for two

turn around times for these are probably around a week usually, but i might not have internet while i’m visiting so it might be more than that

tumblr themes

i specialize in readability and always include options for images, text sizes, fonts, links, and colors so you can do customization yourself if you want.

links to some of the themes i’ve made (sorry for all the rp blogs, lol): x x x x

$20 for the main theme, extra for bells and whistles, + $10 for matching side pages (optional)

turn around times for these are probably around two weeks usually, but i might not have internet while i’m visiting so it might be more than that

other stuff

if you’re super interested in custom plushies of any time, let’s talk through email or dms! these range in price a lot, but we’re talking $50+ here for animals and $100+ for humanoids, and like i said, with a large turn around time.

#commissions #donations #please feel free to signal boost #thank you for reading ;_; #q #death m #suicide m

[zktop10]

Author Feature: duCOQUELICOT

Ok, so I am a fan of our next featured author and I am so thrilled to have them on my blog! Welcome duCOQUELICOT

Please go check out the stories and make sure to leave some love! And as always, share these lists so others can find something new as well!

Title: Gem of the Setting Sun Rated: T Summary: The war might be over, but that's just the beginning of a whole new era of problems. The Gaang find themselves amidst the struggles of rebuilding the world, growing up, coming of age and understanding who they are, now that everything has changed.

When everyone seems to have something to do besides Katara, she sets out to find her own destiny. Zuko, who is trying to change a century of hatred into an era of peace and love, could use the help of a brave waterbender with a heart of gold. Learning about the histories of their respective nations, they discover a threat to the world that is greater than anyone could have foreseen. Also, Zutara.

New (final) chapter: At dawn, Zuko and Katara find each other again. Score: 7.5 / 10 Rated T WIPs: 1.3 / 10 Tags: Slow Burn, Angst, Mutual Pining

Title: One Quiet Night Rated: NR Summary: Prompt #77, where Zuko and Katara swap elements - but I just use it as an excuse to have them talk. Score: 5.8 / 10 Not Rated One Shots: 1.4 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Element Swap

Title: there are roads left in both of our shoes Rated: G Summary: In the Spirit World, Yue learns about the fate of her friends before they know it themselves. The spirits have their unique way of dealing with the material world and its inhabitants, and one of the most interesting ones is reincarnation. As it turns out, two people she knows have had their paths tied together since the beginning of time. Score: 4.6 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 6.7 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Series, Soulmates

Title: Zutara Month 2020 Rated: G Summary: A collection of bits and pieces for my 'Gem of the Setting Sun' universe. Jumping back and forward in time, so will contain spoilers, but I guess it's okay because we all want Zutara to happen anyway :). These works will find their way back into the story, one way or another. Score: 4.5 / 10 Rated G Complete: 0.3/ 10 Tags: Zutara Month

Title: counting the ways to fall without landing Rated: G Summary: What if we had gotten more scenes with Zuko and the Gaang before the Comet arrived? Well, this is what that is. A collection of scenes and snippets of everything that happened between "The Western Air Temple" and Zuko's coronation. And maybe something after that, too. Score: 3.5 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 4.9 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Lost Scene

Title: it rained through the night Rated: G Summary: Katara doesn't even want to talk to that moody, silent kid in her after school art class. But she has no choice, because when they both end up at the wrong place at the wrong time, they'll have to work together to solve the mystery. Score: 3.5 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 4.9 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Alternate Universe, Modern Universe, High School Setting

Title: caught between a rock and a hard place Rated: G Summary: Just when Iroh and Aang reach the belly of the Crystal Catacombs, the earth shatters. Katara and Zuko are cut off from their saviors, and from Azula as well. They'll have to work together to find a way out: is their uneasy, rather shaky alliance able to withstand the problems their journey will throw at them? Score: 3.2 / 10 Rated G One Shots: 4.4 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, Crystal Catacombs

Title: it keeps raining in your heart Rated: T Summary: The unthinkable has happened. Aang hasn't survived his battle with Phoenix King Ozai, and Zuko and Katara have to flee the Fire Nation palace in a hurry. The world is barren, and the future is uncertain. Will they find the new Avatar before the Fire Nation does? Will they ever be reunited with their friends and family? And what will they do about Azula, whom Zuko, despite everything, couldn't leave behind? Score: 3.2 / 10 Rated T One Shot: 2.3 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Lost the War

Title: between your waves Rated: G Summary: Ten years after the comet, Zuko asks Katara to come to the Fire Nation palace. They haven't seen each other in a while, and Katara is nervous. It turns out Zuko has finally gotten a lead on where his mother might be, and wants Katara along for the ride. On the trip, old feelings resurface, and while there are numerous misunderstandings, they are still drawn to each other.

Oneshot/prologue for Zutara Week 2020: Reunion. Score: 2.6 / 10 Rated G One Shot: 3.3 / 10 Tags: One Shot, Zutara Week, Misunderstandings, Awkward Encounters

Title: you're the only thing i've ever truly known Rated: G Summary: After Kanna's death, Zuko stays in the South Pole for a little while to help out his friends. Katara doesn't know how to handle his kindness, but is thankful for it. Together, they reminisce about what life and death means, and Zuko makes a promise to Katara. Score: 2.5 / 10 Rated T One Shot: 3.2 / 10 Tags: Zutara Week, Fluff, Some Angst

#zutara #fanfiction #rec list #top 10 #author feature #ducoquelicot

[hyper-super-clover]

Trouble in Devildom Town, Part 1/3

In this short story, our dear Leviathan is back with another one of his “hey I teleport you Normies into a game world”- kinda games. What will the happen inside the world of the game “Trouble in Terrorist Town”??

This story contains two OCs/ MCs, so if you´d like to know more about the girls Violet and Clover, you can check out their character designs & descriptions on my blog :D

Hope you´ll have fun on this three-parted adventure!

 Approximate reading time: 10~15 minutes

Words: 3.156 words

 It was a calm, neat Saturday evening, when a new message hit the "House of Lamentation" group chat...

 Leviathan:

OMGGGGGG

GUYS (and girls LOL)

YOU NEED TO COME OVER TO MY ROOM ASAP

 Satan:

?

 Mammon:

To your room? Seriously?!

 Asmodeus:

I can't remember having Levi calling us over ever before... What's going on??

 Leviathan:

LESS TALKING, MORE COMING OVER.

 Lucifer:

I do hope for you this matter is worth the ruckus...

 Clover:

We'll be there in a sec!

  And so, the whole mansion's population found themselves in the third-born's room a few minutes later.

"Levi..." Being the last one to step inside the crowded room, Belphegor was rubbing his eyes in a tired manner. "Would you tell us what's going on now...?"

However, Leviathan wasn't really going to answer any of their questions.

Instead, he was prompting his guests to close the door, his gaze drifting over all of them.

Lucifer crossed his arms.

"This maniac expression on your face is highly worrying, Levi," Lucifer said.

Levi turned towards his computer, hectically mashing his keyboard, clicking on several pop-ups that appeared on his monitors, before finally turning around to properly face them.

He wore a crazy smile.

"Dammit, Levi," Mammon burst out, "I'm not in the mood for your weird shi-"

Ignoring him, Levi spoke in his best terrifying voice.

"I welcome you..."

Before anyone could react, he pressed a last key, then the monitors emitted such a strong light that all of them had to close their eyes.

  Slowly able to see again, the nine of them suddenly found themselves in a little shack.

"What... What happened...?" Violet was the first one to take a proper look around. "Where are we?!"

Leviathan's laugh pulled them out of their confusion. He spread his arms triumphantly.

"Welllcome tooo....

Trouble in Terrorist Town, the special, virtual reality but actually it's true reality -edition!!"

"Trouble in... What?" Mammon asked.

"Wait..." Clover was searching for Levi's attention. "I know this game, I've played TTT before. But why are we... really here?"

Satan shot his otaku brother a glare.

"Is this one of your real life games that you are only allowed to leave when you win??"

"Kind of," Levi laughed. "Don't worry though, if you die here, you don't die for real. You'll get kicked into a spectator lobby and we'll all respawn together once the round is over."

The oldest brother gave a stressed sigh.

"Really, now..." Lucifer rubbed his temples in distress. "Why do you always force us into playing your games without asking first...?"

"Well... I feared all of you would say no if I did" Levi responded, actually in a slightly sad tone.

When Lucifer breathed another sigh, they heard Asmo giving a weird squeal.

"Look at our outfits tho~!" he hummed.

He was standing in front of a partly broken mirror, posing while blowing his reflection some hot kisses.

"A simple black, military look, slightly armoured just at the right places... And oh my, tight clothes just show all those curves and perfections of my astonishing body..."

As he was looking around to find someone who would agree with him, his eyes landed on Clover.

"Isn't that right, darling~?"

The girl didn't even look at him.

Instead, she was staring at somebody else with a heavy blush covering her face.

"Y-yeah... Curves and... Perf... Perfection..."

Asmo wouldn't need to, but nonetheless he followed her gaze to find the sixth-born.

Of course, Beelzebub noticed this piercing glare that laid on him, but (fortunately for the girl), he was too pure to correctly interpret the thirst behind it.

"Huh? Clover? Are you not feeling well? You look like you have a fever..."

He hurried over to check that her face was truly burning hot, and of course only getting warmer now that he was this close, in this soldier like, perfect, absolutely stunning uniform that just-

"GUYS!!"

Thankfully, Leviathan saved the girl from passing out.

"The game is about to start soon and you don't even know the rules!!"

With a little frown, Violet leaned against the wooden wall that Satan was already rested against.

"So we're really going to play this crazy game...?" she mumbled so only the blond could hear.

She gained a chuckle.

"I guess so..." Satan whispered. "Although I must say, weird and extreme as they may be, but Levi's games can be quite amusing if you just go with the flow."

She mustered him, then a smile spread on her face as well.

"Well, I guess we should take all the opportunities we can to do crazy stuff while Clover and I are here in the Devildom."

Before Satan could answer, Levi threw a pebble at them.

"You listen as well, Normie!!"

Then, he finally went to explain the rules...

  "In our group of nine, there are three that are not like the rest...

They are traitors.

They work as a trio, trying to kill all the other players in order to win the game.

But who are they, you ask yourself?

Well, that is a thing only they know, and THE thing the innocent one's have to find out.

To their guidance is the almighty detective.

Unlike the traitors, the detective can, or should, reveal his role so that the remaining players, called the 'innocents', can protect him better.

Then, logically, the innocents' and detective's goal is to find the three traitors and eliminate them.

When the game starts, we may run out of this shack and will have additional two minutes to spread over the map. Keep in mind that in those two minutes it is impossible to harm your co-players, but after that, it's time for war.

The map is covered with all sorts of weapons that may help you in the epic fights we will have.

But behold!

Both, the traitors and the detective, have access to special weapon shops, where they can, any time, any place, trade achievement points for super cool, limited items to grant their victory!

On your wrists, a health bar will appear, but you can only see your own. Once your life points reach zero, you will be put into said spectator lobby and may follow the game like ghosties in the sky! Then you will also see who has which role."

 Levi took a look around after having finished.

"Any other questions?"

Belphie raised his hand.

"Do the traitors know who the other traitors are? Or can they kill each other?"

"Very good questions! They know of each other, but they may also kill each other if it gives any tactical advantages. Their goal is to have at least one traitor alive at the end of the game while the rest is dead.

Ah, I forgot to say...! If an innocent person or the detective kills another innocent one, they will die as well, as a penalty."

After a round of silence, everyone looked as if they were ready.

"Good to go?" Levi checked one last time.

Gaining nods as an answer, a big smile grew on Levi's face.

"Alright!!! Then...

Let's begin!!!"

  The players were just about all out of the shack when the game officially started.

A giant countdown manifested in the bright sky of day that, judging by the bright sunlight, must have been the sky of the human world.

Two minutes were slowly ticking down.

Levi was pointing up at the clock...

"After this preparation time starts the overall time of one hour. If that time is over, the innocents will win as well. But for every person the traitors kill, they gain five minutes to add to the counter."

... And then he pointed down on his arm.

"You should all see a role written on here. And the traitors will see two other player's names on here as well."

He gained a round of hesitant nods.

"Our player names are displayed above our heads. Be careful, they might reveal your position if you're not hiding well enough."

They heard Belphie snort with laughter.

He pointed above Mammon's head.

"'StupidMammon'? I like that name, it's better than your real one!"

"Huh?!" Mammon looked up to see it himself. "WhAT?! Levi, did you give me this shitty name AGAIN?!??"

"Lolololol, sorry Mammon, I had to."

Kind of automatically, everyone needed to check their names before doing anything else.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow.

"Most of our names are normal, though... We have Beel, Belphie, I am 'Lucifer' as usual..."

"Yep! I am Levi-chan, and the Normies are Violet-chan and Clover-chan."

"What an honour to have a naming scheme fitting your name," Violet smiled.

"Well, I felt kind today. Don't push your luck, or I'll change it into Normie #1 and Normie #2 for the next round."

O moment later, Satan gave a sigh.

"... Why am I called 'Stan'?"

Levi looked at his name.

"... Oh. Must be a typo lololol"

The others laughed a little, while the Avatar of Wrath tried to contain his displease, but out of all, Asmo seemed to find it the most amusing.

Which was weird, because he was completely ignoring the fact that his nickname wasn't normal either, but there was an extra fat "Ass-mo" written above his head...

 After a round of getting used to the sensation of being inside a video game, Violet clasped her hands to finally get things started.

"Could we get going? There's only less then a minute left before the friendly fire wears off."

Very grateful for helping to get the game going, Levi was about to dismiss everyone, when he remembered one important detail.

"WAIT!!" he screamed.

"What?! I wanna go already...!" Asmo whined.

Levi looked around.

"The most important role!! Who's the detective?!"

Everybody shot each other glances, then, finally, a little "ah!" caught their attention.

Their gazes landed on Mammon.

"There's 'detective' written on my left arm, so I guess it's me?"

"WHAT?!" Levi pressed out. "OH, MAN....! Why does it have to be MAMMON?!"

"Well, I guess the innocents are on their own, then," Satan agreed to Levi's resignation.

"With Mammon as the most powerful innocent, the traitors have a clear advantage," Lucifer agreed, too.

"Aw, maaan, and I was hoping for an exciting first round..." Asmo pouted, of course, in agreement.

The white haired male gave a growl.

"H-hey!!! Don't be like this, I'll kill those traitor bitches in no time!!"

But no one was listening.

In a collective sigh, all the others automatically started to move, not a single soul feeling the need to stick to the one person they knew was one of the good ones.

"Hey!!" Mammon called out again. "Aren't ya innocents s'posed to guard me?! Where are y'all going?!?!"

... But no one was listening.

"Grr... Just you wait...! I'll slay this game!!"

And with that, he turned to follow behind Lucifer and Violet, whining and screaming at them to wait for him, only to see how Lucifer was fastening his step.

   Walking through the deserted village and onto a wide, open area, Clover soon felt her fear of being chased kick in.

Somehow, she had ended up all by herself, but that only made stumbling about so much worse.

But now, as she turned her head to check if someone was following her, she saw how Satan had been trying to follow her in silence.

As they locked eyes, however, he greeted her with a smile and went up to her as if nothing had happened.

"... Hi," Clover mumbled carefully.

"Please don't mind my behaviour," the blond said while gesturing to continue walking together. "I still have to figure out how to properly behave in this situation. I mean, it's not every day that we suddenly face each other as maybe allies, maybe enemies... right?"

The girl shot him a sceptical glance.

"Well, that's true... But if your goal is to not appear suspicious, then... Don't to that again. Just a friendly little piece of advice."

Satan laughed.

"Yes, my apologies. You see, you have mentioned you know this game, so I found it best to stick to you."

They halted as they found a pistol laying on a boulder nearby, a package of ammunition right next to it.

Both of them were hesitating, then Satan turned around to continue.

"You take it," he said, obviously trusting that Clover wouldn't shoot his back right this instant.

Well this, or he was already bearing a weapon...

"I've seen people play this game lots," Clover continued the conversation. "I know how everything works, but I'm afraid I'm pretty bad at all the aiming stuff..."

The two reached a weird cliff that parted the land in a huge gap, no ground to be seen in the huge depths. One of those super unstable-looking wooden bridges was leading to the other side.

The platform on the other side was rather small, with only a few buildings in the middle of it.

Satan held his chin in a contemplative manner.

"I bet there must be some rare items waiting for those who would go that far and cross the bridge..."

Clover gave a nod.

"Probably... Welp, you can get the stuff, I have terrible fear of heights, so I'm not going over that wobbly bridge thingy."

The girl was about to leave again, but the male got hold of her wrist.

"No, you're coming with me."

"What?! Why?"

He searched for her eyes.

"Look. I trust that you're innocent, and I ask you to trust me, too. I could have already killed you if I wanted to, when you were all alone. But we need to work together if we want to stand a chance against the traitors and whatever special weapons they might have."

He made a little pause while the girl fought with herself to make up her mind.

"Please," he said again.

Finally, Clover gave an annoyed grunt.

"Fiiiine..." she grumbled. So, she pointed at the bridge. "But you go first... Mister Stan."

She stressed his nickname in a manner to mock him.

Satan looked at her for a moment, dazzled, then he turned around and could only give a breathy laugh.

"See, now you can be sure that I am innocent. Because if I was allowed to kill you just now, I definitely would have."

  "Oooh, Leviii!"

Asmo was nearly doing little jumps while trotting alongside the third-born. His excitement was visible, but very odd, and of course Leviathan noticed that his brother was acting strange.

"Asmo, for Lord Diavolo's sake, what's wrong with you?!"

Putting on his best puppy eyes, Asmo looked at him all innocent.

"Eeh? Shouldn't you be happy that somebody actually enjoys your weird games for once?"

Levi growled in response, moving through the deserted village with such care, as if death could be waiting behind every next corner.

... Well, it could, yes, but his super secret agent act was just... a little too much...

"Sure, but... You're almost TOO excited about this. A little shady, if you ask me... Like, out of all games, why would one where we kill each other be one to wake your interest?!"

He gained a dramatic rolling-of-eyes.

"Oh, please, Levi! It's not the killing or tactical contemplation that gets me excited... But think about the potential that this scenario bears!"

They peeked inside one of the empty houses.

There were two weapons inside, a crowbar and a shotgun without ammunition.

Breaking the nearest window, Levi climbed inside to pick them up, and was kind enough to give Asmo the crowbar even though he hasn't done anything worth gaining it (as Asmo had even been too scared to get a cut from climbing through the broken window so he didn't move an inch).

"What potential, exactly?" Levi asked, more because he felt like Asmo would pressure him into asking that anyway.

Glad that he could continue his speech, Asmo placed a dramatic hand on his forehead.

"The potential for drama, Levi!! Just imagine... us lonely wolves lumbering through the streets, and our maidens Violet and Clover shivering in fear!"

He changed his pose, wrapping his arms around himself as if hugging someone.

"Oh, whom should they trust?? Their hearts, their minds, or just nobody at all?!"

Then, he suddenly grabbed Levi by his shoulders, getting pretty close to his face.

"Love blooms in times of war, Levi! And I will take every chance I can to see those flowers in their full beauty!"

Silence.

Then, Levi gave an exhausted sigh.

"... Can you please go away...?"

And Asmo let go of him.

"Tsk. Okay, if you're not mentally able to understand the depth of my words, then I shall find a better place to fulfill my tasks...!"

  "Sooo, Beel, where you wanna go?"

The twins were already out of town, kind of heading towards the edge of a nearby forest.

The taller one seemed to be searching for something.

Then, he held his stomach.

"I'm... Hungr-"

"No, don't even say it" Belphie sighed. "Are you, really? Even inside a game?"

Beel only gave a pout, so Belphie continued after a while.

"Well, if we must secure you won't go on a rampage and destroy the whole game, then the forest might be the best place to find something for you."

And so, Belphie continued heading straight towards the green.

After a while, however, Belphie noticed how his brother wasn't following any more.

Turning around, Beel had stopped completely and was looking off into the distance behind them.

When Belphegor asked him what was wrong, the other male slowly shook his head.

"Where did everyone run off to?" Beel asked. "I can't see any of the other players..."

"Hm... I saw Violet, Lucifer and Mammon go into the forest as well... Asmo and Levi seemed to have stayed near the village... And I don't know where Satan has gone."

Now Beel turned his head.

"And Clover?"

"Uhm... She went somewhere... there, I think. I heard her talk with Levi when we left, but it seemed like she wasn't going to stay with him."

"So she's all alone right now?"

Belphie got a little confused over Beel's worried expression.

"Well, maybe. But she could be a traitor, so why are you so worried about her?"

Beelzebub's gaze drifted away again.

"I just... Don't like that thought." He snapped back at his smaller brother. "And by the way, you could be a traitor as well."

Belphie leaned back in a carefree manner.

"Yeah, but I told you I'm not. You don't believe me? I believe you're innocent, too!"

Beel gave a little sigh.

"But you can read me like a book, even if I tried lying to you..."

They kept standing there in a little silence.

Then, without further ado, Beel grabbed his brother by his arm, turned around, and kept going into a different direction.

"Beel, what are you...?! Weren't you hungry?! What about the forest??"

"... I sense food over there. Don't worry, and let's get going."

#obey me #obey me fanfic #obey me shall we date #obeyme #obey me oc #obey me mc #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me levi #obey me satan #obey me asmo #obey me beel #obey me belphie #violet #clover #fanfic #trouble in terrorist town

[watchathon]

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Series Finale: Sozin’s Comet

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watchathon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a TV show every weekday, with a short blog post where I write down my thoughts as I watch. Each new thought starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. Now that the introductions are over with, it’s time to break that one-episode-a-day rule and finish off Avatar: The Last Airbender with the climactic grand finale, Sozin’s Comet:

PART 1: THE PHOENIX KING

- Okay, so, Katara in the intro is still saying “He has a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” I could’ve sworn they removed that part by this point... Maybe that was just something for the DVD?

- I like that the “Previously on” segment is so long. It really emphasizes how much buildup there was to this. How much the Gaang has been through to get here.

- I gotta say, I was not expecting a beach party in this episode.

- Somehow, for reasons I can’t explain because I don’t understand them myself, this ambush from Zuko made the audio of Nicolas Cage saying “Surprise attack!” in Into the Spider-Verse play in my head.

- Zuko’s really lucky that he earned Katara’s forgiveness before this violent pop quiz, seeing as just a half season ago... “You take one step backwards... one slip up... give me one reason to think you might hurt Aang - and you won't have to worry about your destiny anymore. Because I'll make sure your destiny ends right then and there. Permanently.”

- It never occurred to me that we didn’t get details on the war meeting before now.

- I’d bet hearing about this plan is the thing that tipped the scales and fully convinced Zuko to join the Gaang, and prevent the genocide of the Earth Kingdom.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko being welcomed into the group hugs. Especially when it’s Katara who invites him.

- I like that Zuko is teaching Aang to redirect lightning, the same way Iroh taught him.

- Even before it’s made explicit, you can tell that Aang’s uneasy about the idea of killing.

- Toph is just delighting in her role as Melon Lord, isn’t she?

- Someone out there has definitely written an AU fanfic where someone gets killed during this training and it’s Toph’s origin story as the malicious Melon Lord. If not, then I will write it myself, and it shall be the crackiest crack fic that ever cracked.

- Y’know what, I wish Toph could’ve actually gone on a life-changing field trip with Zuko too! Everyone else got one...

- This scene of Sokka climbing into Appa’s mouth is even more uncomfortable once you’ve... well, once you’ve grown up and... Okay, I tried to put it subtly, but I just can’t: Once you’ve been cursed with the knowledge of what vore is.

- Well, there’s a bait-and-switch if I’ve ever seen one: “Azula, you’re the new Fire Lord!” “=)” “But I am now the Phoenix King and still your superior who you will answer to.” “=O”

- Nice to see June and her Shirshu make a comeback.

- Does this mean Aang wasn’t running away on purpose? I honestly thought he was just going to that island to get some alone time, maybe meditate or contact the previous Avatars’ spirits.

PART 2: THE OLD MASTERS

- I’m not sure if this is something I forgot from June’s first appearance, or if it’s actually just never been brought up before, but I didn’t know her Shirshu had a name.

- It’s sweet that Zuko is seeking out Iroh’s help. Even if the method of finding him is, ah, well... unorthodox.

- Even Avatar Roku doesn’t know where Aang is. And here I thought it was some Avatar thing that had never been brought up before.

- It’s nice to see these people make a comeback. Bumi, Piandao, even Jeong Jeong and Master Pakku are here for the finale.

- I am surprised that we didn’t get an interaction between Toph and Bumi, though. The man Aang wanted to teach him Earthbending, the girl who ended up doing it... But I guess there’s only so much time, and I don’t think there’s any scenes that could be deleted to make room for it.

- It seems like Aang is just searching for confirmation of his beliefs, rather than actually seeking wisdom.

- I like that we get to see Bumi taking full advantage of the eclipse to take back Omashu from the Fire Nation, instead of just being told about it.

- It’s nice to see so many past Avatars beyond just Roku and Kyoshi, Avatars that we never heard of before, but now we hear their stories. But all of these past Avatars echo the same sentiment that Aang should kill Ozai, even an Air Nomad Avatar.

- What can I say about this scene of Zuko and Iroh reuniting? Forgive me for echoing a post I made on my main blog, but this is a scene that’s both sweet and sad.

Sad, because Zuko’s abuse at the hands of Fire Lord Ozai left him anxiously expecting furious punishment for crimes much less than what he did to Iroh. He can’t even comprehend the idea that Iroh would forgive him. His expression while apologizing to Iroh clearly shows he’s expecting the worst.

Sweet, because Iroh still loves Zuko like his own son, and doesn’t even need to forgive him because he never felt anger at Zuko’s betrayal: Only sadness and a worry that Zuko had lost his way, truly lost his honor. And Iroh is so clearly happy to see that Zuko has found his destiny, and joined the fight against the Fire Nation.

I could go on and on about this scene... It’s my absolute favorite scene in the whole series and it brings me to tears every single time I see it.

Gosh... it’s gonna be so awkward going back to the jokes and little mundane thoughts after this, isn’t it?

- Okay, I have officially given up on the idea of finding out what the heck this island is.

- I like the smile on Katara’s face, when she’s asked to team up with Zuko and fight Azula.

- It’s nice to know that Iroh will get the opportunity to run that tea shop, even if Zuko won’t be there to work with him.

- Okay, okay, so the island was actually a lion turtle. Frankly, I’ve still got a lot of questions. Even some new ones.

- It’s nice to see that the Netlix subtitles aren’t ALLCAPS anymore.

PART 3: INTO THE INFERNO

- Gotta hand it to the music, it can make even a scene of Azula making a fuss over a non-pitted cherry rather unnerving.

- Azula’s... Azula-ness has gone straight up to eleven with her newfound role. Hasn’t it? What with all the banishments, even banishing the entire Dai Li.

- Sokka, Suki and Toph are the real dream team. 

- And we get a great final blind joke!

- I like that we get to see everyone doing their part in this final battle. All the members of the Gaang, even the White Lotus, get their moments to shine.

- The hallucination of Ursa shows that Azula, on some level, has an idea of what’s wrong with her. You can tell that they were thinking of a redemption arc for Azula come Book 4, though I am glad that didn’t happen.

- It’s chilling to see Ozai razing the forests of the Earth Kingdom like it’s nothing. And then to realize that this is what Aang will have to face.

- At first I wasn’t sure what Sokka’s plan was, but now that I see it in action, it’s really creative.

- I like the idea of a final one-on-one Zuko vs Azula duel(...a). It’s been a rivalry since Book 2, and it’s nice to finally see it get settled, even if I can’t imagine it’ll end up that easy: Otherwise, what would Katara do?

- It’s so cool to see Aang showing his prowess in all bending techniques, using them all in this final showdown.

- The background music during Zuko and Azula’s Agni Kai really sells it. It makes it sound almost tragic, and it is: two siblings pitted against each other, no choice but to fight to determine the future of the world.

- Azula might be slipping, but she’s still Azula, all too willing to cheat in what’s supposed to be a one-on-one duel.

PART 4: AVATAR AANG

- Netflix isn’t showing the intro for the individual parts, but I’ve gotta say... There’s no way that Katara’s still saying Aang’s “got a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone.” Right?

- I like that we get to see one last use of Metalbending from Toph in the finale.

- Dang, I hope this isn’t really the end for Sokka’s sword, or his boomerang. Especially when the sword was so cool, and one could say meaningful.

- I honestly wasn’t sure the Avatar State would ever be a factor again. But if there was ever a time, this is it. (ADDENDUM: This is probably the best time to clarify that I find and add the images at the start after writing the rest of the post.)

- And it’s so epic to see Aang bending all four elements at once.

- I like that Iroh got to burn down the Fire Nation flag.

- Since Zuko’s down for the count, I guess this means a battle between Katara and Azula, the latter powered up by Sozin’s Comet.

- To be honest, I could barely make out what Azula just said. “kjsdbksrbfkjvf family position to look after, kdcbkfh”?

- Katara may not be stronger than Sozin’s Comet-powered Azula, but she’s much more clever than Azula is right now as she loses her marbles.

- This is just the perfect kind of defeat for Azula. There’s no grace to it, no dignity, just writhing around, screaming and spewing fire as Zuko and Katara look on with pity.

- There’s probably a great practical reason someone could find for Spiritbending being a thing, but here’s why I’m glad it exists: Aang gets a happy ending. He gets to take down the Fire Lord, and hold true to his beliefs. If it weren’t for Spiritbending, if Aang killed Ozai, then he would be conflicted to the end.

And I don’t want that. I want Aang to get an unambiguously, undoubtedly happy ending, where the world is saved and that’s all there is to it.

Plus, Spiritbending is quite the spectacle.

- I’m guessing Sokka’s space sword and boomerang really are done for. But hey, there’s always headcanon. Maybe Sokka searched the forest and eventually found them.

- Weird to think that Ty Lee’s gonna be a Kyoshi Warrior.

- Again, I can’t believe Zukaang’s not the most popular Zuko ship in the fandom. Not a ship I’ll go to bat for, but it’s got all the hallmarks of a fan-preferred couple.

- It’s so nice to see Zuko’s coronation, and the official end to the war. It’s a happy ending for the whole world, the start of an era of peace.

- “Love and peace,” huh...? Now that’s funny to hear in the finale to this show, considering the next show I’m covering, come 2021...

- I like that we get to see one last confrontation between Zuko and Ozai. Even if Zuko’s question of where Ursa is doesn’t go anywhere (in the show, I know they touch on that in the comics), it’s nice to see the newly-crowned Fire Lord Zuko having evolved past a need for Ozai’s attention, or a fear of Ozai’s wrath.

- It’s nice to see the whole Gaang having fun at Iroh’s tea shop, in the end. And I stand corrected, this is where we get the final blind joke.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I’m lucky in that most of my childhood cartoons hold up as an adult. I watched Kim Possible, Phineas and Ferb, Code Lyoko, Courage the Cowardly Dog...

Still, there’s something special about Avatar: The Last Airbender. It had a unique aesthetic and world that no other show was quite like. It had a story that was like nothing I’d ever seen as a kid.

And it doesn’t just hold up, it’s even better.

When I was a kid, it was as simple as rooting for the good guys to win, and for the Firebenders to lose, except for Zuko once he turned good.

Now, as an adult (but mostly as someone with a DVD player/Netflix account so I’m not just watching whatever reruns I can catch) I can appreciate the character development, the arcs, the entire story.

I can appreciate how Aang grew from a little boy who does indeed have a lot to learn before he’s ready to save anyone, into a hero who could save the world.

I can appreciate how Zuko was an abuse victim who did what all abused children wish they could do and left his abuser.

I can appreciate... Gosh, Iroh’s entire character and dynamic with Zuko.

Some people say that Avatar “starts off as a kids show, then turns serious”, but I’d disagree. Avatar is a show where our heroes change, where they learn lessons, where they come of age and become the kind of heroes who can end a war that’s been going on for over a century.

As relieved as I am to be (mostly) done with these posts for the rest of the year, I am still oh-so-glad that I’ve rewatched Avatar yet again, and I know that I will be whenever I rewatch it in the future.

Now, with all that said... Farewell! Until the Christmas special, at least...

#TV #Avatar The Last Airbender #ATLA #Book 3: Fire #Sozin's Comet #Katara #Zuko #Aang #Toph Beifong #Sokka #Appa #Azula #June #Nyla #Iroh #Avatar Roku #King Bumi #Piandao #Jeong Jeong #Master Pakku #Fire Lord Ozai #Suki #long post

[mst3kproject]

Exo-Man

Failed series pilots were very much part of MST3K’s stock in trade.  We’ve sat through San Francisco International, Stranded in Space, Code Name: Diamond Head and I’m sure there were others.  I generally recall all of those movies being kind of dull and lacking in personality, and I can’t imagine this 70’s superhero mess being much better.  I don’t think anybody in Exo-Man was ever on MST3K but Jose Ferrer (the first Latino actor to win an academy award, for 1950’s Cyrano de Bergerac) was once in a movie called Zoltan, Hound of Dracula, which I am deeply remiss in not having seen yet.  You may also recognize Harry Morgan, who was Colonel Potter on M*A*S*H.

Dr. Nick Conrad is a wacky physics professor of the type nobody has ever encountered in real life.  He’s somehow both smart enough to invent anti-gravity and memory plastic, and stupid enough to chase after a fleeing would-be bank robber.  The latter stunt, set to wakka-chicka Mitchell music, makes Nick the target of a mafia assassin, who kills his lab assistant and leaves Nick himself paralyzed from the waist down.  He wallows in self-pity for a while, but then rediscovers his passion for invention and builds himself a suit of armor that will allow him to walk again… and to take on the mob single-handedly.

I don’t know why they called the movie Exo-Man.  That name is never used in the dialogue.  I guess the more accurate Fiberglass Avenger just wouldn’t have sounded as cool.

The first thing you’re likely to notice from the plot summary is that Nick’s story starts off as Dr. Strange and then takes a hard left into Iron Man.  I’m pretty sure the latter at least was an intentional ripoff, with bits of the first thrown in, knowingly or not, to distance Exo-Man from Marvel’s lawyers. What’s funny is that posterity has actually made it a hat trick: the movie opens with a weirdly homoerotic jogging scene, so now he gets to be Captain America, too!

Exo-Man is a really stupid, often boring, and consistently ugly movie.  The actors are mediocre, the music bland, the effects terrible, and stuff is made to look ‘high tech’ by sticking lots of blinky lights on it.  Way too much time passes before we get to the action and when we do, we find a deep pit of disappointment.  Yet at the same time… I kind of enjoyed it.

A major part of why has got to be the incredibly dopey super-suit the main character wears, which looks less like ‘Iron Man’ and more like ‘Fiberglass Commando Cody’.  It moves really slowly and I doubt the guy in the costume can see very much.  Nick controls the bottom half of it using switches on one sleeve, which appear to have simple functions like ‘sit’, ‘walk’, and ‘jump’ (there is, of course, no ‘run,’ because nothing happens fast in this movie). He puts the thing on by lying down in what looks like a tanning bed (or maybe one of those contraptions from Avatar).  My personal favourite is the warning light labeled malfuntion.

All this is in a movie that sometimes manages to be surprisingly subtle.  We are introduced to Nick while jogging, we watch him play tennis with his girlfriend, and see him maintain this exercise regime even while he’s supposed to be under police protection.  These shots are in brilliant sunshine, and the camerawork is as active as the subjects. Post-injury, Nick never outwardly complains about his inability to participate in sports, but we now see him sitting in his wheelchair in dark surroundings, with the camera held perfectly still.  We feel that he has lost something he loved dearly, and we never need to be told it outright.

We are also introduced to Nick as somebody who is devored to furthering minorities.  His two lab assistants are an east Asian student and a Jewish one (the latter identified as such by a surname, rather than appearance), and the reason he was at the bank was to help a Latino student get a loan.  Again, the script trusts the audience to get this without having to draw attention to it through dialogue.  These minority characters are, of course, still just accessories to Nick’s story. The Jewish guy in particular is there to be fridged – its his death that leads to Nick flaunting his police protection and getting hurt.  But the effort was made to say that minority rights are important to Nick, without hitting us over the head with it.

Theme-wise, Exo-Man is about a man coming to terms with a disability.  I should preface this by saying that I am not disabled, so my perspective is necessarily biased.  If anything I say below is offensive, that is out of ignorance, and please let me know so that I may edit or delete the review and do better next time.  I was actually pretty impressed by how the script and director handled the life-changing nature of Nick’s injury… mostly.  I’ll start with the bad stuff.

The attack on Nick comes with a heaping helping of victim blaming.  As an important witness in the bank robbery, he was offered police protection.  The assassin tries to get around this by putting a bomb in his car, but one of the lab assistants borrows the car for a late-night pizza run, and gets killed in Nick’s stead.  This leads Nick to deliberately place himself in a vulnerable position, hoping to draw the killer out for capture and punishment.  In the hospital with a broken back, Nick blames the police for failing to protect him, but I’m pretty sure the movie wants us to think that this is really Nick’s own fault.  Like the tragic accident victims in Days of our Years, he has nobody to blame for his own misery, or that of his loved ones, except himself.

After that, however, the movie’s treatment of Nick’s disability improves quickly.  His girlfriend Emily leaves him, but that’s not because he’s in a wheelchair, it’s because he’s too busy wallowing in self-pity to even let her into his apartment. Later when he apologizes to her, she takes him back and they resume their happy relationship, and the fact that they can’t play tennis together anymore is not an issue.  She does not treat him as something to be pitied, she speaks to him on his eye level, and they avoid that weird trope of having the abled partner sit in the wheelchair-user’s lap.  Emily loves who Nick is, not what he can do.  His colleagues and students, likewise, treat him with respect and help him with his chair, and never make the latter feel like a burden.

By the end of the film Nick has come to terms with his disability.  The suit he’s built is not a cure for his condition: in fact the first time he wears it out, it breaks down and he needs help getting back to his high-tech armored van.  It’s a tool he has built for a purpose, and he doesn’t feel the need to wear it in non-superhero situations.  Based on what we see, he could have built a legs-only version to wear under his trousers and let him go jogging and play tennis again, but that is no longer who Nick is.  And when and whether to wear the suit is always Nick’s own choice, not something imposed on him from the outside.

Of course, it would also be really helpful in later maintaining Exo-Man’s secret identity, and I suspect the writers were thinking of that a lot more than they were of things like parents forcing questionable ‘cures’ on disabled children.  The secret identity probably would have been a big deal if the pilot had sold, but in this stand-alone story, I thought the suit worked well as a metaphor about a disabled man at peace with himself.

Exo-Man also takes a quick little peek at the morality of vigilante justice, although this comes in pretty late and clearly isn’t something they wanted to get into in any detail.  The first person Nick confronts in the suit is the assassin who actually beat him up. He says he didn’t go into this encounter with any real plan… perhaps he just wanted to scare the guy.  What ultimately happens is that the assassin climbs a drainpipe to get away from the terrifying robot man, the pipe comes off the wall, and the man falls to his death.  Nick feels this is his fault, and so the next time he takes the suit out he does so with a particular goal in mind: he wants to capture the mob boss and provide evidence of his wrongdoing to the police, not to kill anyone.

The mob boss’ name, by the way, is Kermit Haas, which is probably the least intimidating name a movie has ever given to its big bad.

Would that work?  Is evidence a guy in a robot suit left in your dumpster for you admissible in court?  Isn’t where stuff was found kind of important?  I honestly have no idea and I’m not sure how to go about finding out.  People might wonder why I want to know and I don’t think saying it’s for my blog would allay their suspicions.

At the end of Exo-Man, I was more entertained than not, but mostly on the level of laughing at the dumb-looking suit and appreciating the fine art of ripping off comic book characters.  If that’s your kind of thing then this movie ought to put the fun in malfuntion for you. If that’s not your thing, well… this is an MST3K blog.  What are you doing here?

#mst3k #reviews #episodes that never were #exo-man #tw: abelism #70s

[tbooks79]

My Review of the “ An Ember in the Ashes series”

Well, I finally finished the “ An ember in the Ashes” series and my heart is now ashes itself. Before I start this review, I would like to point out that it might be biased, and that my intentions are not to attack the author, but rather to describe my experience, however painfully raw and wonderful it has been.This series is a journey that reveals itself incessantly unpredictable. Through it, I have seen my heart and soul become treacherous to my body, and my mind to my tongue. There are literally no words for me to convince you to take on this adventure with me. Yet I will try to do so.( there might be some spoilers for the entire series.)

  The first book of the series: “An Ember in the Ashes” introduces you to a world of suffering, and two main characters, Laia and Elias are trapped in it against their will. From start to finish, the author makes it clear that this is no fairytale or sappy love story, but one that will easily sweep you off to an entirely new world. But is it? A new world? Is the world the author describing so different from the one we live in right now? Where humans feed and glee on other human’s pain, and where being in power matters the most even if it means breaking and shattering. Where even if we have a common foe as an enemy, we seek to fight each other still.

    When Laia arrives at Blackliff as a slave to spy on the commandant, she also discovers that having lost her family is probably the easiest thing she’s had to deal with, because Blackliff is not just a school, it is a prison. One that turns children into monsters and everyone else within its walls into their worst selves. And even if someone like Elias is fighting against it, it will eventually grab onto him and never let go. Now I don’t like Laia. I guess I am just not as attached to her as many of you are. She’s every character in every YA fantasy novel and I’ve read tons of stories like hers. She’s to me, the least interesting character of the whole series from the first book to the last, even if the author tried very hard to change that fact. Not to say that the character is not well written, because it is. It’s also well developed throughout the story. However, her story, and how she is written is just too familiar. I found myself feeling bored while reading her chapters, and wishing I could skip them altogether. But, my reader’s heart kept me from doing such a thing, for I am very well aware that her voice is important to the story.

  Helene though, has my entire heart, I was drawn to her character since the first moment she appeared in the story. What I witnessed after is nothing short of amazing. Helene is flawed and unlike Laia, the author is not consistently trying to make you believe that she’s not. She makes mistakes, terrible ones, and turns them into triumphs even if it seems like life is always testing her. Her suffering and heartbreak start with Elias as she watches him fall in love with another. It goes on in book two when she becomes the blood shrike of an evil emperor and has to haunt the man she loves in order to kill him. The murder of her family before her eyes, the loss of identity, battling two parts of herself she doesn’t even fully understand and I know Laia has been through as much, but Helene’s pain feels real. Her character is more human in a way that Laia’s is not. Laia’s character is fictional through and through and Helene is human, and that is perhaps why she is less loved. It is easier to love a character if you can still think of them as fictional, the moment they become too real, and you can connect them to someone or something in real life, and their bad parts become the bad parts in all of us. These characters, in our mind, are no longer likable. As a reader, you know this. You have felt this. And as I’ve said before, i am very biased, I never really like the protagonists, the villains are always more interesting. I personally think that the only series that balances “real” in both heroes and villains perfectly is of course, Avatar the Last Airbender, but that deserves an entire blog by itself.

    Going back to Ember, yes I did hope for Elias and Helene to end up together, although  I knew from the beginning that they would not. I like Elias though, He’s a softie and a cutie, and when he saves someone they don’t actually end up dying for his cause ( Izzi). Elias’s narration of his love for Laia is what really made me vouch for them. I liked learning about Laia through Elias’s perspective, which is so stupid to even say, and also so contradictory to what I was saying earlier because Elias often does think of her as perfect. To him she does no wrong. But then, that’s every man in love.

    I would definitely describe Elias as an introvert. The true ember in the ashes. He lives in his head a lot, which I find intriguing. Because his self loathing is so raw, it is scary. The fact that he can save the whole world and still thinks he’s horrible connects well with that real feeling of “ I am not doing enough” that we all get sometimes, Yes I am changing the world, but I am disappointing so many others. I also like that he never hated Helene, and was able to understand her pain where even herself couldn't. I like their relationship. It actually made me happy that the author crushed the love triangle by the end of book two, because the whole thing was getting on my nerves. And one other thing I also noticed in Elias’s character is that he’s very accepting of others. He doesn’t judge people much, which made his role as the soul catcher perfect for the character. Yes he is a mask, sort of a murderer, skeptical and very careful, but he knows he’s not perfect, and doesn’t necessarily expect other people to be.

     In my opinion, Sabaa Tahir created a very beautiful, fantastic world. Her descriptions are vivid and I often find myself in the city she’s describing. I even grew attached to the characters. I just wish she wasn’t killing so many people for no reason. At first, I could see why some people had to die, like in the trials. Even up to Izzi ( I am still salty about it, though). I kind of understood those I guess, but then in the last book, I just felt like she killed people just for the sake of being a mean author, and yeah I just thought Helene deserved better. After everything she’s been through, she and Harper deserved better. That’s all I have to say. And to me that was the only flaw to an otherwise perfect finale to a series. I do think the last book is the best of all the books, and if you haven’t read them, sorry if i spoiled it for you, and you should do it as soon as you can, so you can get your heart broken and rage as hard as I did. Go read this series. It is amazing.

- Teri Jacques

#sabaa tahir #ember in the ashes #a torch against the night #reaper at the gates #sky beyond the storm #ya #fantasy #magical world #lose your mind #lose yourself

[homosexualcolombus]

unsolicited online dating advice

let's be real, i was just as blindsided as the next person and had no clue that a few months into this wretched year of our lorde 2020 we would be living through a major historical event that is the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic. so now, i'm home from university with nothing else to do, stuck in quarantine with no idea how long it would last. couple that with the fact that i am a complete gen z stereotype in the sense that i am always glued to my phone and my laptop, talking to strangers on the internet and broadcasting every single vapid detail of my relatively uninteresting life to a just-as-uninterested audience, and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.

two weeks and a thousand pages into the pornhub home page later, i got tired of the rinse and repeat and decided i wasn't gonna be that bitch who gets carpal tunnel less than a month into quarantine. question is, where would i put all the pent-up sexual frustration into now that the sweet release of pulling the padge is no longer an option? the answer? tinder.

by the time i finally got used to the sour taste that "e-dating" brings to my mouth, i realized i needed a game plan.

don't get me wrong, i'm no stranger to tinder and online dating, and i'm not even kidding when i say it's legitimately a war zone out there. god forbid u get hit by a stray hormone in the battlefield (in which case, f in the chat for our fallen soldier). but with the current situation in mind i knew i wasn't going into just any regular battle, hell not even a regular hunger games, but a full blown quarter quell.

this, of course, led me to convening a meeting with my two remaining brain cells: dumb and dumber. now the last thing dumb "retained" was a stupid ad from a youtube video: an e-toro ad. normally i would have dismissed that stupid idea (if you can even call it that) but given the shortage of manpower i decided to look at it in a different way. which then led me to thinking of approaching dating as a marketing strategy (which, by the way, whew! big reach. so glad i stretched before that one). in the vein of the ad topic, dumber decided to regurgitate the memory of an old tv commerial from my head.

tinder. meet, chat, date. olx. hanap, usap, deal.

see the difference between the two? yeah no, me neither.

so now i'm on board, even though i was totally not expecting to get a sensible idea from dumb and dumber. the problem is, how the fuck do i market myself as a person desirable enough to make people want to buy into the fantasy?

i tried forcing myself to remember every single econ related lecture and every single experience i had in grade school where i was forced to sell shit for grades until i've finally managed to unleash my inner entrepreneur. she came and she came ready. the bitch even brought with her a checklist so you know she means business (also because she's a capricorn, and they're all anal like that)

1. branding

i would be the first person to tell you my name is very pedestrian... the kind of pedestrian who's unlucky enough to be collateral damage in a freaky car accident. i have a white person's name too (christopher!!! yes as in colombus aka the world-renowned caucasian colonizer) so i'd say i'm not doing so hot in the branding department.

inner entrepreneur's solution? a nickname. one unique enough that it catches someone's attention, but not quirky enough to make them think your parents are hippies. in the end i chose toph, because it's not THAT common, and it gives the hot normies an opening to make avatar: the legend of aang puns so overall a win-win.

2. aesthetics

the mirror is not my friend, and nor is the camera. i'm what you would categorize as "aesthetically challenged"ㅡ in short, i'm ugly. but this aspect i wasn't really too worried about because i wasn't born yesterday. appearances, especially in photos, are easy to enhance. i knew my good angles and with the help of a few filters and good lighting i was all set. it also helps that i have an android phone because let's be real, who wants to look clapped in hd? certainly not me! i believe beauty is in the eye of the cctv footage quality selfie.

android - 1 apple - 0

3. product integrity

don't pretend to be something you're not because that jig gets real old real fast. i'm the type of person who likes to lay out all my cards on the table, and in that spirit, i'm upfront and honest to my matches about being a pathological liar. it's fun making them squirm by letting them second guess everything i say as they desperately try to decipher what i am and i'm not lying about. plus, everytime i feel the conversation slipping into snoozefest territory, i just say something wayyyy out of pocket and it shoots the conversation right back to party city! is it real, or did i make it up, who cares? who says i don't know how to keep a relationship spicy?

4. advertising

no, pleb, this does not mean you should buy tinder gold (unless you're an incel, in which case, be my guest). what this means is that i swiped religiously. i made sure i reached my like limit early so that i get maximum engagement by the time the 12-hour timer resets. the more users i liked, the more chances my profile appears in their cards, and in this house, we love good exposure!

so now you've read this far and you might be wondering, is this method successful? can i apply this to me too? and let me be the first to tell you it isn't. i would NOT have made a whole blog post and posted it on the internet for free for everyone to see if it did. the point here is that if you've read this far and thought "well maybe this can work" then i've successfully managed to waste a good few minutes of your time (or maybe not few, idk how fast you read), which in the age of quarantine, is a commodity you're bound to have too much of.

now, i believe a thank you is in order?

#blogs

[fedoranonymous]

Infinite List of Beginner-Friendly Anime Recs: Trigun

"I am known as Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III. Don't hesitate to call."

tl;dr I questioned someone’s recommendation for someone else’s first anime on the basis that people who are unused to anime might like something that’s less than 20 hours long and tells one complete story within the first hour or so, and 20,000 words later I decided to make my own post(s) because I clearly had Feelings

26 x 30 minute episodes + 1 x 90 minute movie | watch it: netflix (?) | hulu | amazon prime | funimation 

insurance agents go looking for a legendary outlaw in the Wild West But IN SPACE (tm) so that they can accurately estimate how much damage is caused by this humanoid natural disaster. damage still accrues.

Follow the Read More for more convincing and trigger warnings (to my best recollection)

Features:

less “space western” and more “western in the space”. Other than some pieces of Lost Technology (TM) this is a pretty standard rooty tooty mcshooty until you get into the Worldbuilding

the fact that the primary cast consists of one lovable doofus who just Doesn’t Know Why Everyone Keeps Shooting At Me and two insurance adjusters who are following him around to try and keep track of how much damage he causes still cracks me the fuck up

the best excused recap episode of all time re: they’re insurance adjusters. they have to SEND the rePORT ahahahahaha brb dying

one of the official summaries called Vash “more doofus than desperado” and like. yeah. yeah. you get it.

you thought Aang’s Technical Pacifism was good but Vash manages to not kill people while creating a torrential rain of bullets. For real. If you like the idea of action movies but hate seeing blood, most of this show is gonna be excellent for you and the rest is gonna be okay to good.

Wolfwood. Just. Give me this midwestern hick priest with his drive by confessional and his money grubbing ways and his heart of gold (ThInK oF tHe ChIlDrEn) and his literal cross to bear (do not google because spoilers but yeah) and his somehow keeping up with Vash when Vash has been an impossibly skilled fighter for like 8 episodes so far. Yeah he’s only in like two episodes. He’s still a great character!

pretty much every recurring character is Wholesome As Fuck and I’m here for it. Tons of quotable moments about how you can never give up and you have to keep moving forward and the inherent coolness of people and yeah. Just a good uplifting show with a whole lot of wasted bullets.

that time Vash has to pretend to actually be every rumor that has ever been spread about him and immediately starts singing “ladee dadee died~ genocide~ ladee dadee dud~ an ocean of blood~ let’s begin the killing times” because he is actually a five year old sometimes and i love him so much

impeccable animation, character design, sound work, etc would I recommend you something that would be painful to enjoy? I mean I guess you wouldn’t know, I could have outstandingly bad tastes, but no you cannot go wrong.

“Repeat after me: This world is made of! Love! And! Peace!”

I might say “x anime did better in the US in Japan” with more or less accuracy, but Trigun abso fucking lutely did so well in the US it got a movie over a decade later because that’s how long it took for dubs to come out back in the late nineties and early aughts. Surprise surprise, Westerns do better in the West. It’s also got the violence porn balanced with a specific precious moralizing that vibes well with a predominantly Christian audience balanced with genuinely awesome humor. Trigun truly is the anime for people who don’t like anime.

Watch Out For:

General warning for violence, guns being the answer to every problem, mostly implied body horror, at least one serial killer, this might be the show with the (implied?) cannibalism someone fact check me, child endangerment (to be fair it’s the child doing the endangering by sneaking in where he isn’t wanted), alcoholism, and general rough times. There’s something really poignant that’s escaping about how God abandoned the world but us humans don’t have that luxury, it’s that kind of setup.

Honestly special shout out for the specifically very accurately Christian proselytizing considering that it’s a Japanese production and as a rule Xtian imagery in anime tends to be used like, say, grecoroman imagery in Hollywood. Occasionally accurate but usually just kind of generalized meh. It was a plus for the overall production but if you’re on my blog it might be a minus for you.

Episode 4 to the point that it’s regarded as borderline ooc. A woman is tied up in such a way that she’s dangling from the ceiling and Vash makes a beeline to try and see up her skirt. It’s an obvious gag and nothing is shown iirc (to be fair I only watched the broadcast version), but I know some folks would like the warning especially after the previous point. It’s a shame because the rest of the episode is really good, it’s an adaptation of the pilot chapter that got Trigun greenlit, but the scene is fairly standalone so should be skippable. Just look for Vash’s eager puppy look and go forward about two minutes.

Millie Tommygun, being the cheerful, optimistic one of the two main girls, can be treated kind of shittily by the narrative, which is hilarious considering Vash’s Whole Everything. I think Millie has internalized the idea that she’s the stupid one to Meryl’s Sarcastic Genius, but also Millie’s the one who figured out who Vash is first and just generally the one who calls people out on their bullshit, with a smile, which is literally their jobs. She’s never unlikable, though, unlike Meryl who needs to defrost to Vash’s Whole Everything despite having Millie for a friend. Perhaps they only just met on this assignment? Otherwise idk why Meryl ain’t used to it yet, probably some heterosexual bullshit.

Any time Knives is in the summary. Remember that “at least one serial killer” yeah that’s Knives et al. Shit has to get darker before you can see the light shining through.

Overall Trigun is such a good anime. It’s just. Have you ever wondered what Avatar the Last Airbender would be like if it was an East Asian author writing about Western tropes? Now you know.

#eli's anime recs #main trigger warnings are body horror ultraviolence and the existence of at least one serial killer #and overt xtian themes? with all of the previous #possible cannibalism too i think this is the one #it's a good show but it is Dramatic As Fuck #also for fuck's sake if you know the show and I missed something please chime in

[celestialmystical]

Crystals, a Kalimba, & Lancome Perfume

This morning, September 9th, 2020, I woke up without my consent. It was one of those abrupt, rude awakenings you get quite frequently if you live at my parent's house.

My first thought when I woke up like this was, "Out of all the things I'm not going to miss about America, (which is a lot), having to hear my dog bark at the top of his lungs so early in the morning is at the tippity tip top of my list."

The last couple of days I haven't been able to sleep well because today, at midnight, or I guess tomorrow, I am going to go on a plane to South Korea, where I'll be living for a whole year--at the least.

I've been in a mixture of excitement and nervousness for the last couple of days which I just call antsy. When I'm antsy, even if I fall asleep, the slumber is restless and unsatisfying.

Even the day before I was feeling antsy and tired, but because I had an 'open house' where my friends could come in and chill with me while I packed, it cancelled out my tiredness completely.

It started off with hanging out with my friend, we'll call him Sad Boy, at my local Starbucks. We hadn't talked in a while, probably not since the start of quarantine, six months ago. We had a lot to catch up to each other, and because we both basically have the same astrological chart, we were able to really connect and be there for each other.

It made me think: Am I really ready to leave America and go to South Korea?

Later, we went back to my house and other people came over. We'll call them: Slow Walker, Hot Manga Chick, and Avatar.

We all mostly just sat in my room and talked and caught up with each other. I had one of my suitcases packed before I met up with Sad Boy and didn't really do anything productive while we were all together. But it was extremely fun and comforting to know how much my friends love and care about me.

They were the ones to convince me to write this blog.

Again I thought, Am I ready to go?

Anyway, before dinner time, which was like 6:30, they left.

Then, 10 minutes later, after a long day of work in a hospital and an hour drive, showed up my friend, Birthing Hips.

After I was done eating, we went up into my room, talked, caught up, and I thought she was going to leave, because I thought she was very tired from her long day of work. BUT she stayed. And I am so grateful and thankful that she did.

Without the amazing, practical Birthing Hips and another guest I will mention later, my packing would have been disastrous.

Going through my dresser was fine and easy. It was just delicates, pajamas, and shorts. Birthing Hips helped me slim down my pickings for those things.

Birthing Hips helped me roll my clothes and put them in these plastic bags that you squeeze the air out of so it compresses and makes less space. Birthing Hips used her magical birthing hip strength to squeeze the air out of the bags for me which was no easy feat let me tell you.

Once it came to my closet, that was a more difficult issue.

I told Birthing Hips, I'm just going to take everything that I want to bring off of my hangers and put them in pile.

She was like k.

So, I pulled one thing off. Then another. And another. And another. And another. And another.

Each article of clothing made Birthing Hips' eyes go wider and wider.

Once I was done with my closet, which only had five pieces of clothes left in it, I turned to Birthing Hips, who was starring at me like I was crazy, and said, "That's summer. Now onto winter."

Birthing Hips looked beyond stressed for me. I was oblivious.

I took everything out of the cabinet below my closet and plopped them all onto the same pile.

I said, "Done!"

The pile was higher than my fan, who wears the only bucket hat I own better than I do and is named Rebecca.

Birthing Hips looked at the pile and was like, "Yeah, you're going to have to cut that down."

But I'll be gone for a whole year! I need all of these! I thought then.

But I trusted Birthing Hips because she is so logical and practical, and I am very much whimsical and impulsive, which I know isn't a great thing to be when you're packing. Plus, she has been to South Korea before.

So I tried cutting it.

After a couple of minutes, Birthing Hips spoke again: "I feel like you're just putting the same pile to the other side of the room."

Which I was. But I honestly couldn't imagine myself not having all of those clothes. How am I supposed to know what I'll wanna wear there? I'm going to be there for a whole year, shouldn't I bring everything?

But no. I couldn't. I could only bring 2 suitcases, 1 carry-on, and the suitcases couldn't be anymore than fifty pounds. I wanted one suitcase for clothes and shoes, the other for everything else.

So I really had to think which outfits I had to have now versus what I could have later, when my parents could ship it to me.

Finally, I was able to cut the pile half it's size. And then I cut it again half it's size.

Birthing Hips approved and it was go time.

That's when the amazing Glitter Queen came over with McDonalds and box for me to put stuff that I want shipped to me later in. Yay. She also helped us roll and squeeze the bags of clothes. And helped me decide on only four pairs of shoes.

That was difficult for me. FOUR???

Anyway, after the clothing suitcase, Birthing Hips looked at my other packed suitcase and saw it was still kind of opened.

She was like, "I have a strong feeling we should look in there."

Glitter Queen agreed after hearing about the struggle of me packing my clothes.

They opened it and were immediately mortified.

All of my toiletries were haphazardly placed without protection in the top zipper bag of the suitcase and everything inside was a mess that looked like I was just trying to cram as much stuff in there are possible--which is exactly what I did.

Birthing Hips laughed and took out something, "A crystal? You're bringing a crystal?"

"I'm bringing three of them." I told her.

"This is going to break if we don't wrap it with something."

"Why are you bringing a Kalimba?" Glitter Queen inquired and took out the little instrument that I painted. "Do you even touch this thing?"

"I do!" I yelled.

I took the Kalimba from her and tried to play the Avatar theme song. I failed miserably but still said, "I love this thing. I have to bring it."

Then Glitter Queen took out my huge Lancome Perfume. "Girl, this is going to break and shatter everywhere."

It went on like this. Everything they took out, they had something to joke about how it would break. So we had to take some things out, like one of my crystals because it was an easily breakable one even if we did wrap it, and we had to take out a jewelry box made out of glass. We had to put a lot of things in little baggies to make sure if anything spilled it wouldn't go everywhere.

It made sense to me when they were explaining how each item could have lead to horrible damage and I wasnt angry at all but thankful. It was just so funny to me how I didn't think about any of that at all when I was packing and what might of happened if we never opened that suitcase.

I also took out the Kalimba but I would not compromise the Lancome Perfume.

Priorities, you know?

So we put that in one of my purses and put a towel over everything else.

As I was putting the Kalimba back on the shelf I said, "This is so cute though, even though I don't really use it. I wish I could bring it."

"So you finally admit you don't touch it?" Glitter Queen said.

We all laughed.

Again I thought, Am I ready to leave all of my friends who are so amazing and helpful in so many unique, beautiful ways?

Later we hung out outside with another one of my friends, we'll call him Pumpkin Ghost, which was fun because we spilled, sipped, drank, and choked from laughter on all the tea we had for each other.

I thought, I am so lucky to have such amazing friends. Even though I want to explore the world on my own, am I ready to leave everything and everyone I love and know, and instead, follow my heart and face the unknown?

The next day came, which is today. Nothing really special happened. I ran last minutes errands. Taped shampoo down and put it in a plastic baggie like Birthing Hips told me to do. My mom gave me a pedicure, which hasn't happened since I was a child, but we bickered and talked the same. My dad and I went to get food, we kind of talked and he mostly played on his phone, like usual.

Night time came, my parents drove me to LAX. We listened to my r&b playlist on the way there. I watched everything out of the car window with the mindset that this is the last time I'm going to see all of these things that I've seen several of hundreds of times since I was three years old.

Am I really ready for this?

I felt somber and forlorn and confused.

We parked in the parking lot at the airport. Already I was feeling what I've been craving, to be the minority in terms of race. It felt scary and uncomfortable, but also thrilling and exhilarating.

My parents walked me into the airport, helped me out with checking in my bags, and getting my ticket.

Then it was time for me to go through security. SO I had to say goodbye.

I hugged my mom and then I hugged my dad, and he held me so tight and for so long, tighter and longer than any other hug I've ever received from him. And he started crying. I cry now as I write this but then I was just so overwhelmed with everything and the line was moving.

Then I really thought, I could leave now. I could stop this now. Am I really ready? Do I really want to do this? This is a big step. A huge step. Moving across the world into a country that doesn't primarily speak English. What am I doing?

But my feet moved on their own. I got on the escalator, waved goodbye to my parents, and went through security.

As I waited in the airport and kept myself busy, I still kept asking myself, Am I ready? Am I ready? Am I ready?

Then I got on the airplane. Got myself situated. Buckled my seatbelt. Waited more.

Am I ready? Am I ready? Am I ready?

The airplane slowly started backing up and make it's way onto the ramp.

Am I ready? Am I ready? Am I ready?

It drove to the edge of drive way and started speeding against it.

I gripped onto the arms of my chair, watching out of the window was the background blurred by faster and faster.

The plane lifted, and my gut dropped, but my heart soared and lighted my entire being and came out of my throat:

"I'm ready."

[armahonoris]

Personal Update (read me)

Hello Friends,

I know I haven’t been active on Tumblr in about a year and even then, my activity has been sporadic at best. I guess I’ve been going through some things. Not all of it has been mad mind you, just has taken some mental energy is all.

I guess it all kind of sprouted in 2016, my family and I were working on getting out of a shitty town which we did in the first part of 2017. I then started a new job in a new place and had to focus on that and then as life started rolling along, I guess I kind of started loosing pieces of myself along the way. Just little bits at first so it wasn’t noticeable. But that is just something that happens as an adult. Well, then of course more shit happens. The first half of 2018 came with all kinds of fun itself (again not all bad) but some of which included having to move because our landlord wanted her house back. Then at the first part of 2019, I got promoted out of a stressful position into a very nice position but needed to give a lot of brain power for that for about six months while in training. Of course then at the same time I was battling some depression and having sleep issues (as in the lack of sleeping sort).

Things started looking up last June when our new landlord in or new place approved for us to have a second cat so my family surprised me with a kitten. Axel has been a massive improvement for me emotionally and physically. I also took a meditation course through my work which was helping out a bit too.

But I still had some depression issues. Not quite as bad as before but the root of the issue was still there.

Cutting to the chase, one day in October, I had a stark realization: I don’t want to get married and I don’t want to have children.

Now this might sound simple to some people but I have just turned 30 this last November, but starting a family was something that I thought I wanted. But my romantic prospects were zero and none of them panned out and I honestly cannot see myself getting married or having children in a reasonable amount of time. And when I nice guy tells me that is what he wants, I go into emotional panic.

Coming to that conclusion was a big thing for me. Especially when I realized that I do not need any validation from a romantic partner about my worth. If someone doesn’t want me as I am, then they can go f-themselves.  It was my life, and I could do whatever the hell I want. I have a good job, I have a house to live in, I have a car. I don’t need anything else but to have fun the way I see fit.

That is when that big lump of depression went away and I could actually say that I didn’t hate myself anymore. That is a big deal.

So...now what?

Now I need to find those pieces I lost along the way and that has been a struggle in its own right.

I’ve then had a bit of an emotional quarter life crisis. I have nothing to strive for, I have no real goals. Nothing to do but go to work, come home, rinse and repeat. I had no drive for anything. I was not happy.

My mom asked me what would make me happy and I told her I didn’t know.

So I’ve been trying to figure that out. I’ve been picking up some old pieces of things that use to make me happy and some of them have been fitting back in place like they never left (like cosplay and conventions) and some of them haven’t fit back at all (like theater and blog writing). But, I’ve also found some new pieces that fit in nicely with old ones (I am a furry; I will love getting ears and tails and pairing those with cute anime cosplays).

I almost deleted my tumblr completely the other day because I have been frustrated with no knowing what to do with myself and feeling like I cannot live up to expectations. But then @ancientblxde said how she looked forward to writing with me again and I didn’t want to give up quite yet. I guess I also had a golden moment yesterday, when I finished my ‘Fursona’ as my avatar for the furry fandom community. My Fursona is how I picture myself on the inside. She is the person that I want to be. The moment that I clicked save on the file, I felt a new vigor. I didn’t like the person that I have  become so I want to be better. I want to find little things to add to my day so they are not so black and white, rinse and repeat. I want to find those little things that make me happy a little bit each day. And the things I kept putting off because I had no motivation for them even though they were important, I am going to try and do one thing each day, no matter how small it is.

So I am back. I want to find my love for the my muse again and for all the wonderful people I have interacted with and who have been keeping up with me for all these years even though I haven’t been around because you are all important to me. It is because of this...that I hesitated when I wanted to delete everything.

Thank You. <3

#{outofsteel} #Mun speaks

[standfortheangels]

Instructions: Always repost with the rules, answer the 11 random questions left for you, and leave 11 more for the people you tag!

Tagged by: @illicreatxm

This got long so I’m going to stick it under a read more ^^

1. If you could write any canon character, which would it be and why?

Hm. I’m not sure. I have roleplayed a couple of canons before, but I find it harder to keep the muse for them. I could probably do Elsa okay, I could jump between her locked in the castle personality and her open, welcoming character post-film, which might help, but the inconsistencies in her Over-powered Powers annoy me, so I think I’d add a few limitations in there.

2. Favourite Disney movie?

Maybe Aladdin because Robin Williams is of course amazing and so perfect in that role~ Ohh but there’s also Atlantis.. And Dumbo! Aw no... Let’s just call this my top three before I get carried away >w>

3. Least favourite MCU character?

I haven't seen the more recent ones, so, I can't take into account characters like Thanos or Dr. Strange or, whoever else they've been bringing in. So out of what I've seen, I'd have to go with Bruce Banner/The Hulk.

It seemed in the earlier films that they didn't give much attention to Banner. They were all over using the Hulk to make bits interesting, but Bruce was boiled down to "quiet smart guy who CaN TuRN inTo THE HULK" so, yeah.

And the hulk himself later did like a 180° change for me. In his stand-alone film I think Hulk says like 3 words, maximum. Then rarely talks in his appearances in the other avengers brand films. Cool. We had "Puny God" and that was a-okay. One short, memorable, funny quote seems perfect.

But then what was all that when Whedon got his hands on it? (I mean don't get me started on that, I am really reigning myself back here but) They start off needing ways to calm Hulk down enough to get him back inside and give control back to Bruce, fair enough. But then like... He winds up not letting go of Bruce's body even though he isn't enraged anyway? And suddenly he's emotional enough and smart enough to take- what was it a plane? And seperate himself off from everyone and look all solemnly at Natasha before he does it or something?

Obviously my memory of it isn't great, honestly I stopped paying attention after Natasha's "I'm a monster- not because I was raised in a heartless environment full of violence and raised to literally kill people, that bit's whatever- but because they took away my fertility and now I can't have babies." speech. And that's the last MCU film I watched. I didn't want anything to do with them after seeing what Joss Whedon did with the characters and the overarching plotline and... Everything. x') So I might have gotten some of the hulk stuff wrong.

(I did watch Deadpool though, that I enjoyed~)

4. If you had to create any new character, what occupation would they have?

Ooo good question.

I think something proactive, where they could seek other characters out, but.. I'd kinda like a bad guy~ Someone who lies so much for their job, they have a dual personality to work with. They can be your smiling friendly neighbour, wishing you well on your holiday, then turn around and grit his teeth because this poses a major problem for his mission, and he can't lose his target, so now he has to follow, but he can't do that as your happy neighbour, no, you know he isn't going on holiday, certainly not today, not on your flight, not to the same ski lodge you're going to. No, he has to make a new cover- maybe say his neice phoned him with a family emergency and he'll be leaving to go be with her a while. Then shed this identity, find out where his target is going, quickly pose as some other tourist who blends into the background and get to the lodge first, all the while planning out some plausible skiing accident he can set up.

Wow that got more detailed than I expected x'D I think I just reinvented hitman, whoops.

5. Favourite sport?

[Image ID: Kiki from Kiki’s Delivery Service, laughing hysterically.]

My biggest concern when I'm on my feet is not falling over so, obviously sports aren't really my deal. x')

I used to swim a lot when I was a kid, I loved that, but, don't do it now.

And I'm not really into watching sports either tbh. Most of it seems over-hyped. Most football teams (real football, it is not soccer. The hint is in actual football, the ball, is hit, with your feet. Picking it up and running with it and then sometimes kicking it does not qualify as football, come on USA. Your thing is closer to Rugby than Football.)

Anyway most teams aren't much better or worse than any other if you actually watch objectively, which makes it look like they both suck because they're too well matched to score goals more than once in a blue moon.

Rugby I don't really understand the appeal of either. Scrums are weird and it wouldn't be entirely bizarre to see a guy walking away from the game with blood down his face and an ear in his hand. You'd almost expect him to stick the ear on ice and be back in a few minutes with his bandages on.

Really the only sports than interest me are the gymnastic types. Ice skating is good for a while but it can start getting dull if you don't have people willing to break the mould a bit. (Which is why I absolutely love the free skate bit. Where they aren't being scored and they just do whatever the hell they want, omg I live for that)

Floor routines are awesome, the pommel horse and rings are usually a little samey for me but the one with those two bars at different heights, that's fun to watch~ there's a little more variety there.

(And I don't wanna hear anyone in the replies saying these aren't sports, every example there including figure skating is a separate event in the Olympics, so. There.)

6. What’s your dream car?

I don’t really have one. At this point in my life I don’t actually have the option to learn to drive so I haven’t really thought about it. My only criteria is, it has to have a nice face. x)

Since I was tiny I have always seen cars as faces. The headlights would be eyes, and usually the number plate would be the mouth, but some cars have other stuff like a grill that might be the mouth instead. So like...

This would be a grumpy car with a pig-like nose and frown.. Actually those look like jowels either side of the mouth part. It looks kind of like a bulldog. X’)

And this would be a happy car. That black part around the number plate it wide and smile-shaped, and the headlights- rounded on top and straighter on the bottom, like the little creases we get when we scrunch up our eyes laughing~

This car looks like someone just said something really stupid to it, and it is not impressed, and lets the silence hang not knowing what to say.

Happy car

Terminator car

Happy car but in a mean way.. Like it’s on its way to cause mayhem or poking fun at someone. You get the general idea -w-

7. A movie that you think should have a sequel?

Hmm... this is a toughie.

8. A movie sequel that you think should be deleted from existence?

I don’t remember which number it was or even the title, but the Shrek sequel where Shrek like, hates having kids so much he makes a deal to change time? And Fiona winds up as like a vicious warrior leader because no-one ever saved her from the tower, and rumplestiltskin is in it? What even was that...

9. Design your dream outfit using this game ?

I wouldn’t say this really is my dream outfit, but from the options on offer~

(also discounting the enormous hair bun >w>;)

10. Favourite fairytale?

I’m not sure if this actually counts as a fairytale, but I love the story of the jolly roger. That classic skull and crossbones flag has a story behind it that a lot of people don’t know.

In a nutshell, a man (i guess a pirate) develops an intense crush on a young woman, who is about to get married. But just before her wedding, she dies. She is buried, but the man doesn’t take death for an answer. He digs her up and has sex with her body. When he’s done, a disembodied voice speaks to him, telling him that he has basically impregnated this corpse, and to come back in nine months.

For some reason, he does. He digs up the woman again. And sat below her pelvis is a small skull and two bones. The disembodied voice tells him to take these bones with him on his ventures, and they will bring him luck.

It’s bizarre, and kinda gross, and.. I dunno if being rewarded for sexually desicrating a corpse is the best moral? x’) But I was amazed when I heard this story, because I’d had no idea there was this whole tale behind the flag~ and I still love that it exists~

11. Create an avatar of your favourite muse using this creator? ?

First, it’s so cruel to ask me to pick my favourite child how dare you >w> haha

I went with Chester though because he’s the one I’m usually most connected to.

I can’t think of anyone I want to tag right now (at least not anyone who hasn’t probably done this already), but I’ll put the new 11 questions for anyone who does feel like doing this~ :) __

1. What’s one thread/plot you really want to do that you haven’t had chance to yet?

2. What is the reason for, or meaning behind, your blog icon?

3. Do you have any pets? Tell us a bit about them!

4. What is one thing you would never want to change about your appearance?

5. There is an ultra secret spy group, and you’ve just uncovered their existence. Now they say that you must either work for them, or they’ll find a permanent way to keep you quiet. What kind of work would you offer to do for them?

6. If you met your muse in real life, how do you think the two of you would get along? (multi-muse blogs, pick one of your muses at random.)

7. You have been given a huge budget to remake one film in your own vision. You can change anything, add anything, choose the cast, you have no limits. What would you do?

8. What is one skill you wish you could automatically master?

9. A genie offers you a deal. An unlimited lifelong supply of one food of your choice... But, you have to sacrifice your ability to chew. Does any food still tempt you?

10. What do you think is the funniest animal?

11. Share one memory you have that makes you happy to think about~

#literally anyone can do this #and you can tag me in it too if you want #even if we've never interacted #I love reading posts like these #x) #ooc #long post #I loved the game questions on this btw! #I've never seen anyone include something like that before #it was fun! #illicreatxm