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lylethewaterguy · 2 years

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I’ve got thoughts about Dark Crisis, like as a concept. Disregarding the fact that it’s premise is stupid (oh no the justice league died, they’ve never done that before, whatever shall we do), it also feels so disrespectful.

Like they show Jon trying to put together a new league, with everyone being gigantic douchebags. Which, A. Why would that responsibility fall to him, he’s a child? B. Why do they even need a new league, doesn’t the league have reserve members, or am I being stupid? Why wouldn’t the still alive members + the reserve members be the new league? And importantly, C. Why are we acting like the loss of the league is this giant impossible loss?

Sure, emotionally it’d be massive for the characters who lost their mentors, their friends, their heroes, and their family. And I can see why the world would slightly fall into chaos thanks to villains thinking there’s no one there to stop them. But then the world would just… go on? Idk why the writers are acting like the rest of the superhero community aren’t just as capable (at least all together) as the leaguers who died.

What would the world do without Superman? Idk, and good thing we don’t have to find out since we already have one (who has been earths sole superman for almost a year now mind you). But if that’s not enough we also have superboy, supergirl, steel, and a whole host of non super characters with similar power sets.

What would the world do without Wonder Woman? Aquaman? Green Arrow? Don’t know, don’t have to find out. We already have one Wonder Woman, three wonder girls, and an entire island of potential wonder women. We also have Jackson, Garth, Mera, Dolphine and an entire ocean of atlanteans. Not only do we have another green arrow, red arrow, Arsenal, and we’re about to get speedy back if I’m not mistaken, but I’m sure other people can also learn archery if necessary.

The Flash? There’s at least 3 other flashes, one kid flash, and one impulse ready to go.

Batman? Has an entire army of orphan children at his disposal, and an entire team of Batmen running about the place.

Green Lantern? ...

Really the only people who don’t have a lot of people with the exact same powers as them are Zatanna, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkgirl. And even then they still have some people with those exact powers.

Idk it just feels so disrespectful to the 99% of superheroes still alive, especially those like Nightwing and Arsenal who have existed as characters for longer than most of the leaguers who died, to act like they wouldn’t be able to pick up the slack. Like the world needed those leaguers so badly that everyone will be divided, no one will know what to do or how to move forward, and the everything will fall apart without them.

I’m not saying I hate the concept. I’m all for a story honouring the legacies of the league, and focusing on the interpersonal relationships of the community (not sure why the league had to die for that but whatever). My problem is with the way the promotion of the story and the story itself is being framed like a “how could the world possibly manage” story. When realistically, the world would mourn and be a little extra chaotic for a few days, maybe weeks, then it’d be fine again.

#dark crisis #and again I’m especially mad about #nightwing #and #dc arsenal #cause like… I get that in universe they’re the children of the league #but why are we in our universe still acting like they aren’t just as historic as the league?#why are we acting like Dick Grayson didn’t become a superhero a year after Batman did #(both in continuity and chronologically)#why are we acting like Speedy wasn’t introduced in the exact same comic as Green Arrow #why are we acting like both of them aren’t older than fucking WONDER WOMAN herself???#why did neither of them have 80th anniversary specials?#they literally got nothing #sure there was the Robin 80th #but that was for ROBIN as a concept #focusing on all the robins through the decades #acting like it wasn’t dick grayson specifically whose anniversary it was #idk man #it just makes me feel really weird and sad when my boys get disrespected like this #(same goes for all the og Titans btw they’re all historic characters in their own right #it’s just that dick and roy are the oldest)

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maple-tree-hills · 2 months

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Percy Jackson AU where instead of Poseidon being absent in Percy’s life, he helps raise him. But Percy doesn’t know his dad is Poseidon. He thinks Peter Johnson is a marine biologist and a fisherman who is frequently on long business trips for his job. Maybe Sally and Poseidon are divorced, and she marries Smelly Gabe or maybe they’re still together, who knows.

Just, instead of Percy being in anger at the gods for neglecting their children he’s in disbelief that his very normal father is Poseidon. They go on fishing trips together all the time and he dresses like a tacky Hawaiian tourist. Not a god. He refuses to believe this despite Grover being a satyr, and Mr. Brunner being a centaur.

I’m not sure if Percy should know all of the gods or not. Maybe he knows Mr. D already as Cousin Dexter. Cousin Dexter has shown up a couple of times in his life. He’s a devil for the drink and a known alcoholic, so why is he at this weird camp playing cards with Grover and Mr. Brunner? And they start talking about the gods and demigods again. And Mr. D calls him ‘mortal.’ And Percy’s like yeah, no Cousin Dexter has had a bit too much to drink despite the fact that he can’t smell any alcohol on him, and he’s only been drinking Diet Coke. Percy switches subjects as to why Mr. D isn’t drinking any alcohol. Apparently, his father won’t let him drink alcohol anymore and is forcing him to work at this summer camp. Percy is happy to hear this because at least someone isn’t having Cousin Dexter’s shit anymore.

Then they switch gears back into the conversion about gods existing and he’s sure Grover, or Mr. Brunner, or Mr. D will say sike, but none of them do. They all seriously believe in the gods. Well Percy is stubborn and won’t be convinced this easily.

And then he finds out that Hades stole the master bolt and has his mother, and he’s like uncle Hector? Uncle Hector is a god of the underworld? And he has my mother and stole Zeus’s lightning bolt? No way. Uncle Hector lives in LA and works at a music producing studio. He is not the god of the underworld. He is not Hades, this is insane and Percy does not appreciate being punked. He’ll admit some supernatural stuff is real because a minatur killed his mom, but being a demigod no way.

And they keep telling Percy about the family drama and he’s still in disbelief. All he knows about uncle Zane is that his father is not on good terms with him. There’s no way uncle Zane who his father HATES, who works in the Empire State Building is Zeus. There’s just no way.

And then he finds out about the Big Three and forbidden children thing. And he goes ‘That can’t be true uncle Hector has two kids: cousin Bianca and cousin Nico.’ And he just accidentally spoils to everyone that Hades has not kept his end of the pact about fathering more mortal children.

And then they’re on the road going through quests fighting against Alecto again, Echidna, and Medusa and Percy still can’t believe the gods are real.

It isn’t until he gets to the underworld that he starts believing. There seated on a dark throne surrounded by skeletons is Uncle Hector? Uncle Hector is actually Hades? He’s freaking out he’s never seen his uncle this way before. He’s terrifying and keeps demanding this Helm of Darkness thing in exchange for his mother. Where’s Nico he wants to hang out with his cousin?

And maybe Percy sasses him because what the heck uncle Hector sending furies after your nephew and holding your sister-in-law hostage and accusing your nephew of theft is not cool. And things for the most part will proceed like they do in the book for the most part. I could see Hades when he’s pretending to be a human behaving similarly to Jay Duplass’s portrayal of him in the TV show. Just a comical uncle who is most certainly not lord of the underworld.

(I’ve only seen the TV and I’ve almost finished the first book so far, but I do know Hades has two kids named Bianca and Nico)

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artbyblastweave · 3 months

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So, the thing about Ward's worldbuilding is, it's bad on purpose. This is something I didn't catch until a relisten of the earlier parts, but the disconnect between the actual literal apocalypse that occurred two years prior and the shockingly advanced levels of infrastructure and technology is very deliberate. The entire thing is slapdash and farcical. You have people out the door of a shitty concrete hovel lining up for bad coffee. You have cars built out of random scavenged parts, "dumpsters" that Victoria can't manhandle because they're made of clumsily-welded-together scrap metal. Victoria can't reliably navigate at night because power to the city below is intermittent (and her mother Carol happens to live in one of the parts that does have consistent power; that's unexamined, make of it what you will.) The mall cluster shitshow goes down in a "mall" that, IIRC, is called out later as having been basically a dead end economically, a doomed grasp at a sense of normalcy. The patrol block uses recycled PRT gear, Dot's interlude involves the machine army jumping a bunch of bog-standard apocalypse scavengers. What you're looking at isn't a new society built up shockingly quickly; you're looking at the previously-well-supplied-and-externally-supported outpost of the recently destroyed society, and after two years they're finally chewing through the last of the head start they got. The societal equivalent of Wile. E. Coyote hanging in the air above the cliff, or of the seemingly-untouched duelist seconds away from sliding in half. Unfortunately, due to choices made about the timeframe and focus of the story, the Coyote sprouts wings. The duelist whips out a staple gun. Or to come at this from another angle- in The Walking Dead, a comic I really like, I can sort of organize the arc of the apocalypse into three-ish big chunks. For the first eight or nine months in universe, about 48 issues, things are obviously bad, right, quite a few people have died, but there's a sense among Rick and company that they might be able to ride it out, that things are on the upswing. They've got crops going, they have new births, maybe help from the government proper isn't coming the way they thought it might towards the start, but things are looking up! Then, of course, the Great Fuckening of Volume Eight occurs, and you enter the middle phase of the comic, where they're down to like a third of their group, they're food-insecure, they're constantly on the move, they're under attack from rapists and cannibals who've descended into habitual atrocity because they're totally without hope. Children are having mental breaks and killing children, the first friendly guy Rick met in the whole comic is now an insane hermit feeding dead bodies to his undead son, on and on and on and on and on. Bad times, but a comparatively short middle in the grand scheme of things. Then they find Alexandria, and the back half of the comic is spent basically on an upward trajectory with some zig-zags, there are still periodic existential threats but they're clearly past the nadir.

Ward feels like it starts midway through that first part, the you-don't-know-how-much-worse-this-can-get part, with the emphasis on the social tensions, the encroaching winter, but then it just...doesn't get much worse. I mean they have a rough three months, but then they sort of speedrun right to the hopeful future ending as soon as the titans are dealt with. There were parts that I suspect were supposed to be the dark-night-of-the-soul I'm alluding to but they didn't land as such. I feel as though the superhero genre stuff kind of subordinated the apocalypse stuff, made it less visible by virtue of whose POV we were following, and sometimes I feel that as a remedy to this, Ward should have taken place over the course of years, and it should have Just Kept Getting Worse. For example Breakthrough should have had to kill and eat Rain to survive the winter

#parahumans #ward #wormblr #thoughts #meta #the last line is a shitpost #everything else is endorsed #wildbow

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leikeliscomet · 5 months

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“But We Love Martha Jones!” - The Doctor Who Fandom’s Selective Memory of Racism

Be aware that this article contains explicit examples of anti-black racism and misogynoir.

Chapter 2 - Utopia-ish

The constant nitpicking of Martha Jones for reasons white female companions could get away with was blatant anti-black racism. Let’s get that bit clear first and foremost. As a Black person in fandom, watching Black characters get torn apart while never being given the grace of their non-Black castmates is an experience that’s too common. Microaggressions are more subtle so the easiest way to shut down any mentions of racism is to accuse Black fans of making things up or telling us “Well it’s not like REAL racism”. Luckily Doctor Who Tumblr birthed the Martha Jones affirmative action and Aunt Jemima “memes” so I can cross both covert and overt racism off the list. As mentioned in extensive detail in the previous chapter, plus the various Martha Jones articles written before me, the treatment Martha experienced was racist. I don’t care if you personally didn’t like her. I don’t care that you missed Rose. I don’t care that Ten is your smol bean. Martha’s treatment was racist. Freema Agyeman’s treatment was racist. It might not have been everyone. It might not have been you personally. But it was there. The fandom can never be a safe space for POC, specifically Black people if this elephant in the room can’t be addressed over a decade after it arrived.

On paper, you’d assume Martha’s rep was good because “at least she wasn’t a Black stereotype”. Some fans praised her for having a present father, not speaking MLE and not being from the ends. This goes into respectability politics but the fandom’s weirdness about Black Brits and class is not the point of this article. The point is the revisionist history of how Martha was really treated and to do that it helps to know what Black tropes are. The Mammy trope is a Black woman whose main purpose is to serve her white counterparts and during slavery, she mainly cared for the slave owners' children. She is usually fat, dark skin and asexual, not as a representation of those things but as a statement of how if she isn’t used for sexual exploitation like the Jezebel (the promiscuous, reckless, sexualised Black woman), she has no sexual value at all. Her value is serving the needs of others only. Martha doesn’t fit this trope in theory but in practice, she fulfils the sub-categories of this trope both in show and fandom: the disposable Black (girl)friend trope. She is used as Ten’s emotional punching bag before he’s ready for Donna and then Rose again. She had to endure edgy moody S3 Ten so no one else had to. She’s the excuse people use to deflect any critical analysis of how race was handled in RTD1. She’s the fandom’s excuse to deflect from their own racial biases. Racism? No way! Everybody loves Martha Jones! What do you mean?

Some parts of the fandom have tried to mend things by suggesting Martha be paired with other doctors or romantically shipping her with other characters a bit better than Mickey Smith. But does this hold up? As much as I’m a big fan NineMartha as a concept and as someone who honestly saw one-off characters like Riley Vashtee from 42 or Tallulah from Daleks in Manhattan having way more romantic chemistry with Martha than Mickey ever did, simply re-shipping Martha isn’t enough. Doctor Who’s racism isn't exclusive to one doctor, one series or one era and new Martha pairings suggest the issue was “right person, wrong doctor” instead of what the issue actually was: racism. Moffat and Chibnall’s eras weren’t full of golden Black representation either so I doubt the Martha issue would’ve magically disappeared under those two. From Nine’s hostility to Mickey, to Twelve’s hostility to Danny Pink to Thirteen handing a South Asian Spymaster to the Nazis and Eleven only travelling with POC in comics most fans haven’t heard of and being besties with Churchill, simply putting Martha with another Doctor isn’t the serve fans think it is. Even RoseMartha seems like putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. If it's not enough for Martha to be compared to Rose, put down in favour of Rose, told she isn’t Rose and told she's worse than Rose in fandom and in show over and over and over, she has to be shipped with Rose too. Martha’s a great character… as long as you can tie her to Rose… again. Even in my own article I have to talk about Rose because Rose is centred in what was supposed to be Martha’s story. A doctor-to-be Black girl from London with a hectic family meets a Time Lord and gets abducted by space rhino police at work in one day. Her main conflict isn’t balancing work and time traveller life, or fighting to get her family back together, or seeing what’s out there in the universe - it's that she isn’t “Rose” enough. The Mammy and her sons’ main thing in common is simple; how well they serve and centre the white characters. In attempts to mend Martha’s treatment she is still only valued in relation to white characters. She should’ve been with Eleven because he would’ve fucked a Black woman. Or maybe Dilfy Twelve. Or a sapphic romance with another female companion who she saw twice or doesn’t actually know. Or maybe Ten in an alternate universe where he supports #nubianqueens. None of this is done to explore sexuality or romance with Black women and is definitely not to centre Black lesbianism and bisexuality. It’s Mammy with a dash of Jezebel. It's adding romantic and sexual value on top of physical and emotional value like a crappy meal deal.

I’m tired of Black women being treated as extensions of white women both in media and in real life. I’m tired of our value being determined by how well we serve white people emotionally, physically, platonically and sexually. And I'm even more tired of white feminism especially in this fandom. It would be so easy to label this article as anti-Rose, anti-Ten or anti-Tenrose to invalidate my whole racial analysis because it's the easy way out. I’ll admit I like both characters individually but not the ship but this isn’t something I decided on since birth - it's my conclusion as a Black fan in a predominantly white fandom, watching a predominantly white show, watching the first companion of my race be told she isn’t good enough compared to the white characters, and that the hatred of her is justified for the greater good of its popular white ship. Black fans can never have this conversation without being told we’re “pitting women against each other” and that Martha and Rose hugged once in S4 so everything's hunky dory. Martha’s happy that Ten found Rose again so what’s the problem? It sends a clear message that Black women’s pain will never matter a much as white women’s feelings. “Rose is amazing! Martha’s amazing! Stop pitting women against women!” but who was pit against who in the first place? These faux girl power posts fail to acknowledge the overlap of race and gender which separates the treatment of Black and white women. It fails to acknowledge Martha’s hate was rooted in anti-black racism. It fails to acknowledge the anti-Rose pushback was in response to how the show and fandom convinced us Rose was the untouchable bar this Black woman failed to meet. It fails to acknowledge Freema Agyeman the actress was targeted not just her character. It fails because the female empowerment rhetoric that leaves the Black ones at the bottom of the pile only “empowers” women of a certain demographic.

The harassment Martha experienced was swept under the rug of “stan wars” but it was so much deeper than that. I’m not saying Martha stans are angels but there was no “Great Stan War” because the sides were never even. At the end of the day no amount of “Martha’s better than Rose” tweets will ever compare to the fact that Martha hate was rooted in misogynoir. Rose was and still is considered the greatest companion of nuwho, whilst Martha is constantly erased and undervalued. Rose’s video views and hashtags have always been bigger than Martha’s. Amy and Clara came after Martha but still surpassed her in popularity and got plenty of fan edits of “The Girl Who Waited” and “The Impossible Girl” whilst Martha was conveniently skipped in the companion lineup. The fandom’s bias still shines clearly in favour of Rose over Martha. Rose’s jealousy towards other women is justifiable and just the ups and downs of a 19-year-old whilst Martha’s is entitled bitterness. Rose’s flaws are compelling character moments and depth, Martha’s are “holding her back from being a good companion”. Hell, even Donna calling out Ten’s BS was entertaining accountability whilst Martha was just the angry Black woman. Fans will weaponise Rose’s working-class roots to imply a pro-Martha bias, failing to acknowledge the working-class to poor background of the average Black Brit, the anti-blackness middle-class Black people are not spared from, the many working-class Black characters of the show like Mickey, Bill, Rigsy and Ryan or how most fans don’t consider Martha middle class because she doesn’t fit the white British cultural stereotypes. You can't be the most loved and hated at the same time. The hard truth is Billie Piper wasn’t racially abused by Martha stans but Freema was absolutely racially abused by Rose’s and the effects of this are still around. Go into Martha Jones tags today and you’ll see snarky posts of how Ten could never love another companion like Rose. Even when Freema bravely shared her experiences of literal racism, fans were quick to yell “But I wanted Ten and Rose though” as a justification for years of misogynoir. Again, we need to address the elephant in the room instead of covering our eyes and ears to act like it’s not there. A Black character and actress was collateral damage in order for a popular white ship to rise and whilst I’m not an anti, I as a Black Doctor Who fan, I’ll never be a supporter. At the end of the day, only one of these actresses is still carrying the burden of misogynoir over 10 years since RTD1 ended. A lonely walk across the Earth yet again.

<- Chapter 1 Chapter 3 ->

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darkficsyouneveraskedfor · 6 months

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Same as it ever was 6

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as neglect, bullying, manipulation, cheating, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Between your home life and work, you just can’t catch a break. Especially after you draw the ire of your boss.

Characters: Lloyd Hansen ft. Pete Brenner

Note: have a happy friday.

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!)

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

Sunday gives you an excuse to get away. Pete, like a dog with his tail between his legs, doesn't even try to come up with an excuse to 'work'. You take Simone with you to the grocery store, warning the slug that he can handle Malik for a couple hours alone. You notice the pout in his lips but don't acknowledge it.

You don't need much but you take your time. You agree to buy Simone an Archie comic, shrugging off the extra few dollars as you notice her growing restless. You made her leave her book at home. You're happy she loves to read but she can't ignore the world all the time.

"You wanna get lunch?" You ask as you push the cart through the lot.

"Mm, I dunno," she drags her feet, "I'm tired."

"Probably 'cause you need to eat," you judge her with your elbow, "come on, how often is it just the two of us."

She grumbles but you ignore her reluctance. You're in no hurry to get home and you can scrounge enough for a sit down in the diner. It might be the last nice thing you can afford.

You load up the bags on the trunk and drive down the block to the same place you would take Simon when you were still pregnant with Malik. Those days were nice and so far behind you. The memory makes your heart ache.

You open the door ahead of Simone and follow her into the mom and pop shop. You're seated by the window in a booth. You order coffee as your daughter gets an apple juice. You peruse the menu but you're not very hungry.

"Oh, they still have the grilled cheese," you say.

"Yeah…" she continues to read the menu, nonplussed by your suggestion.

You tap your toe and cup your chin as you look out the window. It's a nice day even if you're gloomy inside. You turn back to the table and flip over the menu.

The waitress returns with your drinks. You sip your coffee before you order a mac and cheese and Simone gets chicken fingers. You hand the menus over and smile at your daughter. She's old enough, she'll catch on soon.

"So, what's your latest adventure about?" You ask.

"Uh, well, I just read one about a knight. She's a girl and she goes off to fight an army of trolls…"

You immerse yourself in her retelling of the children's novel. You don't care, it's better than reality. You giggle and smile as she becomes more animated. She can be so monotone but her passion makes you proud.

A figure approaches, breaking your trance, and you look over expecting the waitress. To your chagrin, it's not.

You grip the edge of the table as Simone's voice peters out and she looks at the man with her cool deadpan. You clear your throat, fighting the urge to reach across and shield her. Mr. Hansen smirks down at you as he glances between you and your daughter.

"Funny running into you here," he snickers, "enjoying your weekend."

"Just having lunch," you say crisply, "hope you're having a good Sunday."

You turn straight on the bench and look at Simone as you gesture for her to face you. She frowns as you try to come up with an escape plan. You don't even know what to say and he's not going anywhere.

"Oh I'm having a wonderful weekend. Look at you, how cute, this must be the spawn."

"Spawn?" Simone murmurs, "hey, what's your deal, guy?"

"Sim," you wave her off, "that's good to hear Mr. Hansen. I hate to keep you so–"

"Room for one more?" He winks.

"Ew, no," Simone speaks before you can, "mom, tell him to go away."

"She's mouthy. Not hard to guess why," he scoffs.

You slide off the seat and stand, stepping between him and the table. You arch a brow, pleading with your hands out.

"Please, sir, we're just enjoying a meal out. I'll see you tomorrow. At work."

He watches you, his amusement playing on his face. He's enjoying seeing you squirm, just like before. He always knows the most sensitive spot to hit. Your kids would be top of the list.

"Tomorrow," he winks as he leans back on his heel, "we got a special meeting, don't we?"

"Sir," you hiss.

He chuckles and rolls his eyes, "alright, ladies, enjoy your lunch."

He backs up and struts away. You don't sit until he's out the door. What on earth is he even doing in a place like this? It's not exactly a Michelin star experience.

You settle back in and swallow, turning to watch out the window. He isn't in his usual suit but still dressed nicely. A peach polo peeking out under a teal bomber jacket and canary pants. Tacky if you say so yourself.

"Who was that weirdo?" Simone asks.

"My boss," you lean back, "just saying hi."

"He's strange. Like the villain in the book I was reading," she scowls out the window, "you need a new job."

You laugh despite yourself, "you have no idea. First things first, I'm starving."

🗄️

You get home, exhausted. You put away the groceries and tidy up. Of course Pete couldn't clean up after making a mess of the kitchen for a simple PB and J. You sigh as you finish and look in on the kids in the living room.

Malik colours as Simone creases her brow at her book. You hear Pete outside working on his Corvette. For a brand new car, it sure needs a lot of maintenance.

You tell the kids you'll be upstairs if they need anything. You go to the bedroom and open the closet. You're so anxious about tomorrow, you may as well get ready to face the music.

You pick out an outfit. Nothing special. You don't have anything fashionable. It's not like you need more than a striped blouse and worn black pants. You just don't want to come back up there to grab it all in the morning.

As you come downstairs, you hear Malik giggling. You peek in through the doorway with your armful of clothing. Pete sits on the floor at the coffee table beside the boy and scribbles with a crayon. He meets your eye as you pass and gives a sheepish smile. You shake your head and keep going.

You open the door to the basement and the cool air sweeps around your descent. You put the outfit on the folding table beside the camping cot. Your first few nights have been less than comfortable. As cozy as your own marriage.

You check the dryer and take out the towels, folding them on the top and stacking them there. You hear footsteps on the stairs. You keep your back to the airy space.

"Hey," Pete says. You're not surprised. He keeps trying to corner you. "So…"

"Busy," you grab a basket and set the towels in it.

"Hm," he stops only a few feet from you, "Simone said you ran into someone. Your boss."

"Yup. Nice guy," you utter dryly.

"I thought Mandy was your boss."

You roll your eyes as you lift the basket and turn, "one of many. She's up in York now."

"Ah…" he hangs his head, gripping one hip, "a lot's changed."

"I'm not in the mood to talk so let's not do this."

He huffs and steps into your path. He puts a hand on the basket. He looks you in the face.

"I will be home every day at six–"

"Too late."

"Please, can't I just try? Can't you?"

"Me? I tried, Pete," you snap, "come home at six anyway. The kids will be happy."

"What about you?"

You stare at him grimly. Your eyes tingle and you look away. Your chest rises and falls.

"I haven't been happy in a long time. Don't think I will be again," you shrug and pull the basket away, striding past him, "I didn't make you happy either, did I?"

He huffs and trails after you as you cross to the stairs. As you go to make your ascent and he grabs your arm and spins you back to him. Before you can react, he snatches the basket from your grip and places it on the stack of rubbermaid bins by the wall.

He puts his hands on your arms and pulls you against him. He leans in and you turn your head, his lips crashing into your cheek. You shove on his chest and growl.

"What are you doing?" You pinch by his ribs.

"Baby, please, let me make it up to you–"

"Don't touch me," you push on him, "get off."

"I love you. I mean it–"

"Stop!" You hit his chest again but he doesn't budge, instead wrapping his arms around you, squeezing the breath out of you. How is he still so strong when you only ever got weaker? "Pete…"

"You can't walk away–"

"You already did," you keep your voice down, mindful of the open door above.

"Let me try. I wanna make love to you–"

"Pfft, yeah right. Go get tested and I might even consider letting you hold my hand," you snarl, "get off of me now."

"Wha– I'm clean–"

"Get!" You bring your knee up and feel it collide with his crotch. He releases you and staggers back, cupping his most precious possession. "You're a dirty fucking weasel."

You turn and pick up the basket and stomp up the stairs as you hear him whimpering. Serves him right. You can't help but smile at the ounce of power you feel in that moment.

🗄️

Monday morning both too quickly but not fast enough. You get up with the kids and get them ready for school, filling a thermos of coffee for yourself. You drive them to school and send them off with dread in your chest.

For a moment, you idle outside the school. You miss the days when you only worried about spelling quizzes and dodgeball. You hope at least your kids never end up where you are.

You follow the crawl of traffic out of the school zone and reluctantly steer towards work. You yawn and drain half your thermos before you get to the office. As you shoulder your bag and look up at the corporate facade, you feel the world threaten to crumble around you. No, not the whole world, just yours.

You enter behind a few others and try to find your courage in the elevator. You peek over at your coworkers; you recognise two but the other you don't know. There's not much workplace camaraderie, more of an understanding to get your work down and clock out.

You follow them out and go to your desk. You sit and pop the lid off of your thermos. Just enough to get you through this. You don't unpack your lunch, certain you won't be eating it there.

You turn on your PC and sign in. You're in no hurry to get started on work. Your calendar pops up with the internal schedule reminder. There it is, a meeting in ten minutes. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

You get up and go to the bathroom. You can do this. You dealt with your scoundrel husband, you are still moving, you're not dead in the water.

But how do you survive this? Do you beg? You quit and take the loss? No you can't. You need this job and if you get fired, at least you'll have a hope at severance.

You avoid your reflection. That old woman isn't you. You go out and check your watch, pausing as the shine of your rings gleam in the fluorescent light. You slide them off and put them in your back pocket.

You check the schedule one last time and go to tbe meeting room. There's no one there as you find the door shut. It's clearly empty on the other side of the windowed walls. You lean against the plaster and tap your sole.

"Ah, there she is. How's it goin', toots? You need some chamomile? The chairs sure are comfy, aren't they?" Mr. Hansen struts down with his hands in his pockets.

"Sir," you greet flatly. He's mocking you. Jokes on him, you're always tired.

"Come on," he twists the handle and swings the door open so that it bounces on the hinges, "get moving."

You don't react to his crass tone. You merely step into the room as the light flicks on as the censor picks up your movement. You walk along one side of the table as Hansen shuts the door.

You hover behind a chair as he goes along the wall and tugs each cord to repel the blinds down, blocking out the hallway. Uneasiness bubbles in your stomach as you watch him. You expected him to make your humiliation public.

"Have a seat, honey buns," he faces you, approaching the other side of the table.

You sit and fold your hands on the table top. He has no paperwork, not even a computer. You wonder what exactly is going on.

"Is someone from HR–"

"Look, let's keep the sticklers outta this," he waves you off, kick one foot out as he shifts his weight to one hip, "unless you really want a disciplinary slip. Me, personally, I can't be fucked with that paperwork."

You frown and flatten your hands on the table, trying to keep your anxiety from showing. He looks at the gesture and tilts his head. His cheek dimples and he snorts.

He doesn't comment. Not at first. He paces up and down the table and bites his thumb.

"Alright, let's get to business," he stops at the end, close to the corner, "what are you willing to do to keep this job?"

"Sir?"

"Pretty daughter you got. Probably eats up that paycheck in no time. All those cute shirts and ugh, the growth spurts–"

"Mr. Hansen," you swallow, "please, I don't think my family has anything to do with this."

"They have everything to do with this," he insists, "let's not pretend."

"I'm not– I'm sorry I fell asleep. It won't happen again."

"I gave you an out. All you had to do was put your hands down my pants and you could've napped in the boardroom. No problem. I do it all the time," he snickers, "but no, you're a stubborn little bitch. Makes me wonder what the old man sees in ya. Really, cause a tight ass ain't fun unless you get inside–"

"Mr. Hansen," you exclaim, revolted by his lewd words.

"Whatever he's doing, he's not doing it right. You need to loosen up, toots," he runs his thumb across his mustache, "and that little girl won't be so proud of mommy if she ends up working at Burger King like some stoner teenager–"

You sputter, heat creeping up the nape of your neck and speckling down your body. You shake your head. Did he know or is it a lucky guess? Either way, you don't have the energy for this. You're done being a joke for men.

"Just spit it out. What do I have to do?" You sneer as your hands ball.

His lips slant and he smothers a noise in his throat. He slowly walks closet until he's right beside you. You turn the chair to face him as he leans down and puts his hand on yours. He unfolds your fingers and feels along the indents left by your rings.

"Looks like trouble in paradise," he winks, "well, I'm the good kinda trouble. Trust me."

You stare at him. You're not as naive as you once were. There's no denial here. This is real life, a bitter pill you need to swallow.

"That's it? A hand job and I keep my job?" You squint.

He laughs and cups your chin, "oh, you think that's it?"

You can't help but let your surprise bleed through. Your not some young hot thing. Is he just trying to rub salt in the wound or is he serious?

"I…"

"Hand, mouth, cunt, ass, tits," he pulls away as he lists of each word, "you look in tact for the most part. But most importantly…" he shoots you with a finger gun, "you're desperate. What more could I ask for?"

#lloyd hansen #dark lloyd hansen #dark!lloyd hansen #pete brenner #dark pete brenner #dark!pete brenner #lloyd hansen x reader #pete brenner x reader #fic #dark fic #dark!fic #series #au #same as it ever was #the gray man #pain hustlers

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002yb · 5 months

Note

how abt an au where the villains of the month steal dickjay's dna and make a clonebaby :O

Okay, but what if it's a scenario where the Superfam and Batfam come together on some mission. They save the day, but in the wreckage of everything is this dark haired, bright eyed clone baby and all of them just stare because two of them are daddies but they don't know who.

So they all take turns caring for the baby until they can figure out what to do; whoever's DNA was used will have ultimate say, but they need to consider risks and the liability of it and-

SuperBat

Clark understanding where Bruce's concerns are coming from, but getting prickly regardless because Bruce is treating this clone baby like a threat. Clark has one clone son and he's perfect; they would be so lucky to have another. )<

To which Bruce shuts himself up because he's 1) not fool enough not to recognize that Clark will throw hands and Bruce is woefully under prepared for such a fight and 2) per his therapist, Bruce needs to make active efforts to 'be more sensitive to others.' This is a prime opportunity.

Also, Kon overhearing Clark being protective over him and getting all timid over it. Just scuffing his boot over the ground and acting like he doesn't care but really he's feeling so warm and loved and Tim rolls his eyes before bumping his shoulder against his friend and offering him an assuring and soft smile and ahhhhhh

Anyway, Clark and Bruce taking first watch of the child

And Clark isn't surprised by it; he's seen how Bruce is with kids of all species/creeds, but it still takes him by surprise to see how good Bruce is to this baby

He might be endeared, too. Because there's something really sweet about catching Bruce sat back in a chair, baby on his chest as he works, hand large enough that it spreads to support the babe's back and head - a protective stance

Or rather, Clark is definitely endeared. Because when Clark offers to tend to the baby, he only gets as far as reaching out to take them before Bruce is shuffling away, grunting as he goes to do the task himself because the old bat is attached after no time at all.

Clark does eventually get to hold the baby (which he loves; he gets all nostalgic about back when Jon was this small and how children grow up too fast, which Bruce can only grunt in agreement to because they really do).

But anyway, Clark gets to hold the baby and it's sweet. He supports them, holding them close to his chest and bouncing as he walks around, turning his head to smell the top of their heads and smiling at the baby smell

Bruce might feel just the slightest endeared by the sight, even if Clark being gentle and kind is nothing new.

Dickjay

Reluctant caretakers!dickjay, but only because Batman looks especially grim as he hands the baby off to Dick. Like this man is not keen on letting this child go

There's nothing to be done for it though. There are JL matters at hand and Superman and Batman can't skirt their responsibilities for too long at a time, so.

Even still, Bruce lingering in the shadows and being this foreboding presence in the background for a time while Dick and Jason take their turn with babysitting.

Things only settle once Superman herds Batman away. A comical sight that helps break some of the tension once Dick and Jason are alone.

Maybe they aren't anything to each other in this AU yet, either. Not really friends, hardly brothers. And it's not that they're estranged, but they don't seek one another out, either. Not unless it's for work.

Which is why babysitting together is weird.

Something something where Dick encounters the same problem as Clark had with Bruce, because while Dick tends to the baby, Jason keeps a distance and just sort of looms in the shadows. Wandering to the fringes of Dick's peripheral before pacing back away, arms crossed tight and scowl looking very much like a pout.

Because Dick is capable of watching a baby on his own and takes on the responsibility because Jason didn't/hasn't/has never seemed keen about kids in this way. Making sure they're safe? Of course. Having them drool and snot and vomit all over you? Not so much.

But the more Dick watches Jason and how fidgety he is, the more Dick realizes that it seems like Jason really wants to hold this kid.

So Dick asks Jason if he'd like to [hold the baby]. And of course because Jason is Jason, he won't admit outright that he wants to. It's clear with how his eyes light up, how he has to bite back a smile, that Jason is so eager though.

It's unexpected, to say the least.

What's more surprising is Dick's introduction to caretaker!Jason and how much of a mother Jason is.

It takes him out at the knees.

It's all Dick can do to stare in awe and wonder as he watches after Jason and the baby. Because Jason is so soft and gentle and sweet with them. The baby cuts through Jason's prickly exterior and on so many occasions Dick catches sight of the most devastating smiles.

And Dick has something of a domesticity kink always and forever so at some point he starts to get flustered by Jason being all kind and caring and delicate. Which Dick knew Jason always was, but to be confronted by it in such a darling way? Fuck.

But Dick tempers himself because it's still Jason.

So they go about their time babysitting.

Something something Dick playing with the baby a lot and keeping them engaged. Jason happening upon them because he hears baby laughs. So he wanders out from wherever he'd gone to find Dick and baby playing peekaboo. And the baby is thrilled by it. Their titters are so sweet that even Dick smiles - more wide and genuine (biting, Jason recognizes) than he's allowed in a long time and ahhhhhh.

And something to take Jason out at the knees: coming home from running errands or working a case to find Dick reading to the baby. Not even a baby book. Just straight up case notes and censoring the graphic bits as he goes and Jason is so damn endeared.

That feeling only gets worse when he comes back from showering and finds the both of them napping.

Jason gets a blanket over them and starts dinner. And when Dick wakes up to the noise, he flusters worse than ever before because Jason. Apron. Cooking for the family them.

Something something they're working on the couch together. Jason's got the baby cradled to his chest. Dick looks over occasionally because it's cute. But between one glance and the next Jason fusses and Dick looks over and oh.

The baby tries to nurse off of Jason through Jason's shirt and Jason tuts at them and Dick just stares because omfg. Jason scowling and Dick being genuinely flustered although he still laughs because it's funny and cute.

He still goes to get the baby's bottle though.

And when he comes back Jason jokes about how Dick would be surprised how often that's happened.

Which. What? <- an internal thought with an envy that rears itself in a startling way.

Externally though, Dick plays it cool.

'You've done this before?'

'With Damian.' What? 'He'd always bite, too.' What? 'Hah, he didn't change.'

Which leads into a conversation about how Jason cared for Damian way back when. And grumbles about how he should have stayed longer if only to have raised the brat with some proper humility and manners.

Dick minding his tongue over how Damian might have internalized plenty of Jason's ornery qualities, but a lot of his best qualities, too.

It becomes very clear how Jason missed out on being there for Damian growing up. So Dick fills him in starting from the point where Damian came to him, at least, and what an ornery punkass brat he was and how Dick loves him anyway

And from there they just talk. And they laugh. They taunt and challenge and jibe and get recklessly close to flirting as they exist in this domestic bubble with one another.

Oh. Something with Dick taking the baby to shower. And he has a towel around his waist but he's very much a wet and glistening dream as he pokes himself part way through the bathroom door to hand the baby off to Jason and Jason just about combusts because he was wholly unprepared.

Anyway, Jason's had a crush since forever and Dick falls in love over the span of their babysitting duties.

So when it's time for Conner and Tim to take over, Jason is more intense than Bruce ever was because no. Fuck off, losers. The baby is theirs. His. Uh.

The baby is eventually coaxed from them (despite Jason's snarls and scowls; despite even Dick's disappointment) though because vigilantism doesn't lend itself to this sort of normalcy, this form of goodness

But Dick tries anyway by at least holding on to Jason. And asking him out on a date and moving in together getting married having a circus trope of kids and-

KonTim

For flavor and funnies: Tim and Kon struggling to babysit the baby. They've overcome any number of hardships together, but child care might be their undoing.

Just two very young adults with no aspiration for having a family being confronted with family life and not jiving with it in the least. Like they're absolutely the sort that hold this baby beneath their arms and at arm's length as there's a two v one stare down because like...what now?

Spoilers: chaos.

But before that, Kon and Tim jinxing themselves because for a while the baby is just chill and not doing anything and just...it's so boring? They honestly don't understand baby fever or the hype of new parents; this is miserably dull.

Famous last words between them, because right after it's all crying and hiccups and blowouts and just all the nasty things those who aren't ready for parenthood tend to fixate on hahaha.

Like, one of them absolutely gets peed on while trying to change a diaper. And they screech about it while the other laughs. But it's okay because karma exists so the other party definitely gets puked on after changing their shirt for the third time.

Tim develops some sort of system for troubleshooting baby problems; manic first parent energy dialed up to 1000

And by the end of the day they're both exhausted and they just got the baby down and they're ready to sleep, but then there's more crying and they just smack at each other because, 'it's your turn.'

But it's Tim and Kon, so of course they get into a routine and get everything sorted.

Anyway, abrupt cut to:

Where Tim is working and has the baby in one arm against his shoulder while he types away with the other. Just patting the baby's back to burp them since they just ate while attempting to catch up on a case he's fallen behind on.

Tim distractedly grabbing the baby's bottle instead of his coffee cup. And when he goes to drink it, the rubber nipple pokes him and he scowls because ugh, come on.

Meanwhile Kon is just there, staring intensely and being wildly jealous because it's been days of nothing. So Kon makes a dramatic gesture to his chest/nips and Tim cackles because omfg, shut up stop.

Which only makes Kon snicker and smirk and take the challenge for what it is.

Basically everything devolves into Kon trying to seduce Tim

Another abrupt cut:

Where Tim is debriefing with Batman over something and Bruce hears the baby crying in the background and visibly straightens and leans forward, shifting left and right to try and get a better view while asking after the baby and Tim is just ._. because the baby is fine, no they don't need help and Bruce don't you dare zeta over-

DamiJon

Damian standing there with hands out ready to receive the child into his care, only Bruce is being stubborn about it again.

Bruce making all manner of excuses for how Damian doesn't need to babysit and that Bruce can cancel his plans and-

But Damian is a dutiful son through and through and is wildly obtuse so he misses the obvious with Bruce wanting more time with the baby and insists that his father resume his duties and responsibilities because Damian can be trusted with this mission

And Bruce is just a big sad boy about it because baby

Meanwhile Clark is just fond as he looks after his partner before turning back to Jon to assure him that Jon can call for him if anything happens.

Which Jon rolls his eyes at because it's just for a few hours; they'll be fine. And then a little hair ruffle moment because yes, they will be fine they've both grown so much proud dad feels ;3;

But also they'll be fine because DamiJon spend their babysitting time on the farm with the grandma and grandpa Kent supervising lol

Anyway, Damian holding the baby and being so calm that the baby is just zen af, dozing and drooling on Damian's shoulder.

Damian swatting at Jon's hand when Jon goes to poke the squishy baby cheeks

So Jon smirks and pokes at Damian's cheeks, too. Because they're still round with youth.

Damian retaliates by pinching Jon's cheek. Doesn't matter if Jon is grown now; Damian can fuck him up - watch it. )<

Since it's only a few hours of babysitting, they'd pass the time wandering the farm. Introducing the baby to all the farm animals.

Just baby pats for the cows and sheep and Damian mindfully taking the baby's hand when Jon brings them a chicken because he's not risking any bird pecking at the babe.

The chickens pecking at Jon instead lol

The baby being snuffled at by a horse and the sound/feel of it making the baby laugh and Jon beams about it because this baby is a Kent through and through; a total farm baby.

Damian commenting on how that might be. Because the baby has Jon's nose. Which makes Jon fluster a bit because what? Really?

Jon scuffing his foot over the dirt and mumbling about how maybe the baby is theirs, after all? They have Damian's eyes.

Damian refusing this, because it's clearly his father's eyes.

And Jon just about gags because no, nope. Damian or nothing.

But anyway, an easy day spent babysitting on the farm.

Jon being surprised by Damian's grace with looking after babies. And Damian gets to share some of the experiences he remembers with the nanny that looked after him. It left such a lasting impression on Damian and it's so clear that he's fond and tender towards the memories and Jon is both glad and jealous because it's nice to know that Damian had some kinder childhood memories, too (even if Jon wasn't a part of them).

Martha showing them both how to properly feed a baby and burp and change and bathe them.

Come the end of the night, they're all tuckered out. Jon and Damian passed out on the couches in the living room. And the baby nestled up with grandma Kent who is so happy to have another grandbaby. Great grandbaby? Doesn't matter.

And then of course there's a clamor (or as much of a clamor as Bruce makes) as Bruce charges up to the house to fetch his clone baby because Bruce is always and forever an intense father

Bruce taking the baby but forgetting Damian at the farm

The way this man reverses the car all the way from the main road back to the farm ahahahaha

And Clark is there with Damian passed out in his arms and Bruce is so flushed with embarrassment because 'not a word, Clark.'

#superbat #dickjay #jaydick #timkon #damijon #jondami #kontim

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necrolexic0n · 2 months

Note

does Phantom get turn into stone or did it went differently?

IVE WAITED YEARS FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME ABOUT MY THEORIES /REF

my swap dreamtale goes a lot more differently i think, i wanted to make a comic but i can do it later when ive got the blocking down

OKAY so: Autism Activated

<<everything below this talks about the origin of my dreamtale, why Phantom (Nightmare) is the way he is, and how Nirvana (Dream) came to be)>>

Welcome To DreamSwap

As far as this au goes, everything up until the stone is more or less the same. They keep their personalities of lively young children in the beginning, with only slight changes such as Dream being a bit more mischievous and Nightmare being a little more optimistically open. He corrupts the tree accidentally, yada-yada-yada, but not to prove to the villagers that he isn’t all bad, but because he listened to his brother’s encouragement instead of falling into his fearful depression. It was hope that fueled the action instead of spite.

All while this was happening, Dream had taken some apples with him to the village as hand outs to those in need, not just the one.

By the time he got to the tree and saw what had happened, he saw the mob. They were furious, engulfed by negativity. Dream couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to his brother, so in his quick thinking he started to take bites out of every apple in his bag. What he didn’t notice was the slow corruption of them. One bad apple, the whole patch goes bad. One apple tasted of rot, but even when he spat it out there was nothing he could do.

This is how Nirvana was formed.

He was consumed by a golden sludge. His bones creaked and cracked with the internal pressure of the magic, it barely holding him together. The pain was….more than the living, or even the dead, could ever perceive to withstand.

He grew addicted. To the power. To this…sensation.

The last words exchanged are unknown by anyone aside from Nightmare.

He watched as Dream wreaked havoc amongst the population with what little wits he thought he had left.

This would be the first moment that Dream would engage in bloodlust. The thrill of getting what he wanted. What the thought he wanted..

“BROTHER, NO, PLEASE—!,” Nightmare pleaded.

His calls fell upon a deaf skull.

His brother was nowhere to be found.

There were screams. Then silence.

…”Look what you made me do,” The monster muttered.

“Aren’t you happy?”

Nightmare didn’t know how to respond. His eye lights darted around, searching desperately for a solution. His sights fell onto a lone black apple between himself and the one who stole his brother away. Quick as a whip he lunged at the fruit as Dream simultaneously took to snatch him away, and took the biggest bite he could manage.

Something bubbled in his chest as a darkness formed over him. A comforting hold. The apple had taken the primitive shape of a soul. He had become mortal. His head spiraled with voices, not of his own, he could hear the cries and pleas for help. For hope. The comforts of sadness. The community in isolation. It’s deep…it hurts. He knows. The loneliness dissipates, as he knows what he must now do. The apple is safe.

He accepts his fate.

He pulls a sword from his magic, black as obsidian with a sheen that could drive envy from a diamond. Nightmare took to defensive stance. This was a warning

Dream had watched grossly, repulsed by this…clod’s..actions. Who did he think he was? He looked over to the once beautiful tree.

“No sense in leaving this stump around, hm?”

Suddenly the tree was sliced, forever severed from the connection of the two brothers. As if there was any salvaging it to begin with…

Nightmare turned towards the creature but only to be met with a dagger in his body.

That was not to plan.

As Night turned to ash, not dust, but ash, Dream realized what he’d done. He tore through the ashes in search of the apple and had nothing to show for it.

Something inside of him squirmed. The little guardian of light had one last request.

The ashes were spread across the stump of the tree as a final goodbye.

With that, Dream fled, never to be seen again within the foreseeable future.

Everything good was lost.

And it was all Nightmare’s fault. Or, so he thinks it is.

~~~

Over the course of nearly 500 or so years, after many days and nights and through much weather, the stump began to evolve in shape. Into the shape of a somewhat familiar figure.

The 500th year came about…the figure finally hatched. The Phoenix had not risen alone, the Guardian of Magic had been keeping close eye and informed him of the incoming plans led by his former brother.

Phantom was startled. Almost unprepared.

This is how he became a True Guardian.

#undertale #utmv #undertale au #dreamtale au #dreamswap #rootsreversedau

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zuko-always-lies · 12 days

Text

List of Azula AU/fic ideas

Better parenting Ursa

Azula raises Katara AU (and continued) and more

Azula and Katara get friendly postwar and talk about their brothers.

Mai is significantly older than Azula and Ty Lee AU (Older "sister" Mai)

Jin works at Iroh's teashop but finds out about his past

Zuko tells Azula about the Spirit Water

Ursa and Ozai get along better, and it's not a good thing AU

Imperialist Lu Ten survives the war and tries to regain his throne afterwards

Zuko finds out more about his nation AU

Revolutionary Azula takes over Ba Sing Se AU

Three different AU ideas in one

Favoritism in the royal family is a little different

What if Zuko had a nonbending twin sister (who he doesn't get along with).

Zuko's daughter changes how he sees Azula

Zuko and Ursa try to isolate Azula ("for her own good")

Ozai gets exiled and the Gaang stupidly ally with him

Earth Kingdom ends up with custody of Azula postwar and support her bid for the Fire Nation throne when Zuko starts another war with them.

The Gaang tries to figure out why Zuko joined them.

Dangerous Ladies find Ursa in Book 2

Azula and Toph fake dating

Zuko/"world leaders" try to force Aang to take away Azula's bending and he's very much not OK with it.

Azula is thrown away to the NWT postwar as a trinket and Chief Arnook adopts her.

Comics! Ursa's letter about Zuko being a bastard gets out.

Zuko and Katara lie about what happened during the Agni Kai

An exiled Azula finds Fire Imperialist! Ursa postwar

Aang has to save Azula from being executed by Zuko

Zuko's defection during DoBS goes very badly for Mai

Zuko joins the Gaang at Ba Sing Se, but it ends poorly

Zuko killed Azula during the Agni Kai, and now he has to deal with the consequences.

AU idea where Zuko keeps Azula permanently imprisoned in bad and torturous conditions postwar, and Izumi finds out about when she’s relatively young, and draws exactly the sort of conclusions about her parents that you would expect. Not to mention being terrified that she might be treated the same way if she missteps…

Ozai never declares Zuko and Iroh traitors

Iroh-Azula roleswap au

Zuko asks Azula for help with his firebending

Zuko wants Azula to like him but doesn't get why she doesn't like him (postwar)

Katara has an arranged marriage with Zuko and Azula tries to get into the good graces of her sister in law

"Katara is supposed to have an arranged marriage with Zuko, but she falls in love with Azula instead."

Another take on Zvtara (arranged marriage) and Maizula.

Azula-Katara AU idea (or: Katara runs into an Azula who has changed a lot in some ways and not very much in others)

Zuko is actually Ikem's son

Firelord Azula ends her brother's exile

Azula raises Izumi (it's complicated)

"AU idea: Azula commits suicide out of despair, and just about everyone is convinced that Zuko had her murdered or at the very least “encouraged” her to do it."

Dangerous Ladies get banished/declared traitors and Azula basically gives up. Mai has to step up her place

I have to say, “Zuko has to deal with finding out that Ursa very much isn’t who he believed she was” remains excellent fanfic fodder.

"AU idea: Ursa is more aware of Ozai’s abuse and potential for abuse than in canon, so, right after her exile, she seeks out Iroh and charges him with protecting both of her children."

Firelord Iroh treats Azula in a really screwed up way.

"AU where Azula dies during the latter stages of the war or right after it, and Mai is the only person who ever morns her as a person, not as a politically convenient symbol (Ty Lee runs away from her complex feelings on Azula as much as she can)."

Dark idea

"Since so much of the fandom is convinced that Azula is Zuko’s older sister, I need an AU where this is true and Zuko is just as throne-obsessed as canon and spends all his time trying to usurp his older sister."

"AU where Ozai has a heart attack and dies right after the fire siblings return to the Fire Nation, and Zuko and Azula have to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, the Gaang are plotting to overthrow them and bring the war to a close once and for all..."

King Kuai adopts Azula as his heir

Things get complicated, darkly (Azula exiled postwar AU)

What if Zuko tried to be a good brother

"I really need an AU where Lu Ten returns and is pissed over Ozai’s usurpation, so he kills Ozai, seizes the throne, and continues the war. Of course, Iroh ends up supporting his actual son in all of this, and the conflict in the Fire Nation ends up boiling down to Zuko and Azula vs. Lu Ten and Iroh as the situation spirals toward civil war, at the same time the 100 years war continues."

"Maizula AU where Mai married Zuko, but he died not long after Izumi was born, and Azula and Mai are secretly carrying out a relationship while raising Izumi and ruling the Fire Nation as her regents."

Azula joins the Gaang with a twist...

"The chaos which would result if Lu Ten showed up alive again in Book 1 and launched a rebellion against Ozai in pursuit of “his” throne."

Ursa opposes Firelord Zuko

Iroh tries to kill Azula during "The Chase"

Mai and Ty Lee on trial for "war crimes"" and Azula has to save them

This is very long list, and people are welcome to steal any ideas they want from it for their own use.

#Azula #Au Idea #Au idea #Azula au ideas #Zuko #Ursa #Mai #Ty Lee #Katara #Ozai #Iroh #Not very friendly to Iroh #Various au ideas #fic idea #crack fic idea

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tfp-is-my-lifeblood-lol · 8 months

Note

How would the bots and cons handwriting be like? (Sorry for my bad English lol)

Ahhh! I love this idea! Had WAY too much fun with this.

Bots and Cons Handwriting

Optimus:

-Can write insanely neatly, and in literally ANY font

-Everything he writes looks like it came straight from Google Docs

-He can perfectly recreate Comic Sans, much to the children's amusement

-Handwriting KING

-He's too powerful

Arcee:

-Her handwriting is gorgeous

-She writes very neatly, definitely in cursive

-Everything she writes looks like a diary from the Victorian era

-Majestic✨✨✨✨

Ratchet:

-Cursive, but MESSY cursive

-Like, REALLY messy cursive. What is he even writing? Who knows? It's a mystery.

-You know, cuz, like, that's how a pharmacist's prescriptions look, and he's a medic. Lol

-Ratchet has messy pharmacist handwriting

Bumblebee:

-His handwriting is so cute😭

-Basically Comic Sans

-Not PERFECT Comic Sans like Optimus, but just bubbly and adorable

-Having legible handwriting is something he practices a lot, since his voice box is broken. Writing is a nice way to express himself if need be.

-He has kindergarten teacher handwriting

-My dyslexia would be so happy

Smokescreen:

-Neat enough handwriting, but HE WRITES SO BIG

-All caps, all the time

-He goes through too many notebooks, because he saves NO space

-Poor guy. He just has a big personality

Bulkhead:

-Unreadable

-His hands are just way too big

-Very messy. Only Wheeljack can read it because he and Bulkhead share the same braincells

-Bulkhead and Ratchet get in arguments, because Ratchet's reads Bulk's handwriting, and is like: "Bulkhead, your attempts at penmanship are downright INCOMPREHENSIBLE."

And Bulkhead's like: "You say that like any of us can read yours!"

And Arcee's like: "I second that."

And Bumblebee buzzes in agreement.

Ratchet just rolls his eyes, like "ugh." Because he can't argue. HIS handwriting is gibberish, too.

Ultra Magnus:

-Opposite of Smokescreen...Ultra Magnus's handwriting is TINY!

-Seriously, where is it? You need a microscope.

-Only the humans can read it, because it's so small. And even THEY have to squint

-It's also PERFECT. His handwriting is very neat

and blocky, like a typewriter

-If only we could actually see it

Wheeljack:

-He's like, a graphic design CHAMPION

-He learned handwriting from Miko, so he loves big bubble letters. He decorates them with cool patterns, like flames, and lightning bolts

-Very stylish

Megatron:

-What I can only describe as "spooky cursive"

-Very formal, and kinda gothic

-He'd use some kind of calligraphy pen with very dark, splattery ink, or, like, whatever the Cybertronian version of a quill is.

-He's an elegant guy...well, sort of, except most of what he writes consists of:

"My dearest Starscream,

It is with great regret (note my sarcasm, Starscream.) It is with great PLEASURE that I must inform you...

I have caught you invading my stash of dark energon, once again.

I will be grinding you into scrap metal momentarily.

Yours truly,

Lord Megatron."

Starscream:

-Starscream has the ABILITY to write neatly, and in cursive

-But he writes very scribbly, because he's angry

-If "ranting" was a font, it's the font he writes in

-Also, he probably keeps a rage journal, where he trash talks everyone he knows

-Somebody help him🥲

Soundwave:

-Handwriting? What's that?

-He probably uses his internal computer to make documents, and prints them

-And when he prints things, they probably slide out of his neck. Terrifying. So he prints things to freak Starscream out

-It's beautiful

-If Soundwave was FORCED to handwrite, he'd do it in computer code, or morse code, or something weird like that. Everyone would be baffled trying to understand it.

Airachnid:

-Very splattery

-But that's what happens when you use energon and human blood as ink.

Shockwave:

-Writes in calculator font

-Like, the font a calculator has

-He says it's "the most logical font"

-Starscream constantly judges him for it

Breakdown:

-Definitely not neat, but not Bulkhead levels of messy, either

-He doesn't have the best handwriting, but he can make some pretty good doodles

-If, for some reason, Megatron assigned Breakdown and Knockout a task involving handwriting, Breakdown and Knockout would both doodle instead of being productive

Knockout:

-Ooo! So majestic!

-It's very bold

-His handwriting is suave and announcer-y, just like him

-It'd also be curved slightly to the right, like italics

-Almost like something you'd see in a commercial, or a movie trailer, or a billboard

-Like a NASCAR advertisement (y'know, because race car)

#It would honestly be so funny to watch Cybertronians trying to use a tiny human-sized pencil #having existential crisis over whether Soundwave can be a printer #tfp #transformers prime #tfp headcanons #tfp arcee #tfp optimus prime #tfp bumblebee #tfp ratchet #tfp bulkhead #tfp smokescreen #tfp knockout #tfp starscream #tfp megatron #tfp airachnid #tfp ultra magnus #tfp breakdown #tfp wheeljack #tfp soundwave

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cartoonartistpng · 5 months

Text

Dadphiles Master Post

Dadphiles is a Sonic AU that diverges from the Solaris fight in Sonic 06, wherein Mephiles separates from Iblis at the last moment. In his haste, he accidentally pulls a de-aged Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all to the past with him. Now Mephiles must watch over them as they grow up if he wishes to enact his revenge… He just wasn’t expecting them to call him “Dad”.

All posts can be found under the #Dadphiles AU tag.

Details below + Links:

This post will be updated as time goes on. New additions will be marked as (✨New!✨). Last update: (Mar 6, 2024)

Character Sheets

Sonic | Shadow | Silver | (✨New!✨) Mephiles

Height Chart

AU Lore

Mephiles/Iblis/Solaris breakdown (Art): Mephiles the Mind, Iblis the Heart

The Trinity Gods of Mobius: Gaia who provides the Earth, the Master Emerald who provides life, and Solaris who provides the sun.

Mephiles' Crystals: Pieces of his power, they allow Mephiles to reach Sonic, Shadow, and Silver across time and space even with his weakened state.

The Void: A place between time, like a pocket dimension, made by Mephiles' power. It allows him to protect the children without interfering with the rest of their respective points in time. It's a place of absolute darkness and when the children enter or leave, it is in a brief plume of dark smoke.

Due to Mephiles not having the full power of Solaris (something Iblis possesses but does not have the mental capacity to use), Mephiles does not know which threats to the SSS happened in the original timeline or if they're genuine threats. Therefore, he pulls them into the Void whenever they're in danger.

Animatics

Was it all a dream? - Tumblr

The sun is not a mortal's to control. - Tumblr

Fanfics (Ao3)

And the Void was Silent - Ch 1/1

Timeline

Canon Divergence from Sonic 06 Final Battle

(✨New!✨) The Beginning - Immediately after escaping the final blow, Mephiles finds he dragged three hoglets with him. (Mini Comic) [Note: Pseudo-Canon]

And the Void was Silent - Mephiles' POV while raising Sonic, Shadow, and Silver. (Fic - Complete)

AU-Altered Sonic CD

The Incident - Sonic, Shadow, and Silver are abruptly returned to their times, marking this the last time they see one another for years. Mephiles falls into a hibernation while the children are left lost wondering what happened.

Was it all a dream? (Animatic)

[Incomplete]

AU-Altered Sonic Adventure 2

AU-Altered Sonic Heroes

[Incomplete]

AU-Altered Shadow the Hedgehog

[Incomplete]

AU-Altered Sonic 06

"Destroy the seal of Iblis..." (Mini-Comic)

[Incomplete]

AU-Altered Sonic Forces

The sun is not a mortal's to control. (Animatic)

-=-|-=-

Bonus art can be found under the #Dadphiles AU tag.

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mikodrawnnarratives · 5 months

Text

TW IMPLIED CHARACTER DEATH

TW BLOOD

(Just like last time, it isn't really graphic but I'm tagging just so you know)

@naffeclipse

Part 1 | This is Part Two | Part Three | Extra

It. Probably won't need a part 4

I'm doing this all on one cps file so I sure hope so kjlfdkfljs

i'm at like- 750+ layers i'm so sorry my file

...there might be a part 4 but it'll be small sketches and aftermaths

Once again, long post under the cut:

I am not the only traveler, who has not repaid his debt.

I've been searching for a trail to follow again

Take me back to the night we met

- The night we met by Lord Hurdon

Alright, I didn't make too much of an effort to hide it but how many of you guessed it was gregory and how many of you didn't see it coming?

Gee I wonder who Gregory's companions are

Okay if you don't have a nugget of who these companions are then my rambling below makes it a little more obvious

Anyway, this little comic of self indulgence to mend my broken heart says "YO what if Gregory and other characters saved Vanessa like they did in canon"

It certainly would NOT be easy for Vanessa once she wakes up to that realization. But there are factors that make it a little bit easier for Vanessa to cope compared to other children.

Since Gregory and others proved they could fight and free her as Vanny, it gives her mind a little reassurance that they aren't completely helpless.

Plus, I like the idea of the GGY story (Dr Rabbit) existing as this au's equivalent of the same experience, that would mean Gregory has had his own bad experiences with Glitchtrap and so it wouldn't be like some random kid going against a threat he was unfamiliar with

She still distances herself a lot earlier on and the more time passes, the older Gregory gets, the less he looks and sounds like a kid.

Those make it much easier for Vanessa to stand being around them as time goes by. Earlier on, she only really interacted when absolutely necessary. But she did grow a small soft spot for them.

She remained pretty closed off about herself over the years and never delved too deep about her past. Ness left frequently for her own hunting jobs and at one point Gregory asked where she went. Somethings made it seem like these hunts weren't just random and different

He didn't get an answer of course. But later that day, Vanessa told him about Y/n. In vague terms. This is the most information he ever gets about Vanessa's past.

So Gregory's got no idea who to expect to see showing up to the gravestone ltr on and is just like

Gregory: cool, ur mysterious enough for it to be believable ur related to my mysterious older sister/mentor figure Wanna hear a story

Y/n: ...yes.

Forgive him his brain is ever so foggy from grief and no slep

Anyway, Y/n picked a day to visit Vanessa when they knew they were stable enough not to lash out and attack any humans that may happen to also be visiting the graves. They had eaten pretty recently but not so recent that they were vulnerable.

It's pretty early in the morning where it is still dark and the rain provides some more protection.

If you couldn't tell before, many MANY years have passed since Y/n has been human. Think somewhere between 20-30 years. And while, they still hate who they are now and aren't mentally okay, they've gotten a semi-solid understanding of their limits and what they can and cannot tolerate and when.

And, even though they are nervous, they can manage to have this conversation with Gregory for now.

Why are they talking to Gregory so willingly? despite the risks?

well

the next part will explain that

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sexymanxisuma · 6 months

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Masterpost of all aus, fics and series that have been tagged on this blog

if you enjoy any of these, please feel encouraged to go check out the blogs tagged and check out more of their stuff! ^-^

#shep dbh au <- the detroit become human au that @shepscapades has that is in the form of comics and other drawings as well (think like doodles and wips ^-^)

#the silver sun <- a xisuma centric fic that @thathermitweirdo and art that is made inspired by the fic

#tastes like coffee <- an ethubs fic that xisuma shows up in by @thatonewatercat

#hunger au <- posts about the fic lost in the dark (he's got a heavy heart) by @definitelynotshouting that is a grian fic where grian goes through a lot of stuff and xisuma shows up in the fic. heavy tags

#vampire au <- so far just one post by @thathermitweirdo talking about writing vampire hunter xisuma ^-^

#it spreads au <- a comic series by @foxxology where grian becomes corrupted by skulk during s9 and xisuma shows up

#creaturfication au <- an au by @evenmoreevil & @applestruda

#sporelings au <- an au by @sporelings-au that takes place during s7 where grian is mother spore and the other resistance members are his kids and doc is his partner. xisuma shows up and is lovingly referred to as uncle egg by the sporelings ^-^

#meiy'ia <- a pirate fic and art by @kitsunespawz where xisuma is the captain of the ship. there is hermitshipping in it

#space outlaws <- a hermitcraft space au by @martuzzio that has art and a fic called my reality, yours

#starred water au <- an au by @kingscourthouse that includes both xisuma and evil xisuma

#little big hermitcraft <- a little big planet au by @slime-gods

#iris au <- an interactive au on the blog @ask-the-iris-au-hermits

#apricity au <- an au by @isolarya which includes watcher lore and traffic series

#the swap au <- a post double life au by @arthropod-concoctions where the soulmates end up swapping places. xisuma shows up during in the fic, which is called and why are you british now?

#spicy chicken au <- a fantasy au by @mojo-chojo (and their mutuals, followers and anons) with various comics and fics. this au has hermitshipping elements ^-^

#hot guy aquarium au <- a merfolk x superhero au on @officalhotguyaquarium where xisuma is the owner of the aquarium ^-^

#black rose au <- a four part series by @cobradoesmcyt that is set in s6

#diverging future <- a fic by @bunnyloverqueen where xisuma adopts grian and jimmy as children. evil xisuma is in the fic too. heavy tags.

#mini tango au <- an au by @mysteriousmoss about tango having a clone/son. evil xisuma appears in some art for the au

#void duo hero au <- a superhero au by @kiwinatorwaffles that has both art and fics. this au includes both xisuma and evil xisuma

#hc scp au <- a scp au by @rosego1dd

#daau <- a desert alien au by @stiffyck that xisuma is a part of ^-^

#tcpootw <- the curtains pulled out of the wall is a fic by @meteormoss about etho cleo and bdubs. xisuma is only mentioned in asks i believe (i haven't finished reading the fic yet so sorry if im wrong ^-^). a bit heavier fic.

#tamacrafters au <- an au by @hybbart where players spawn in as eggs and then hatch into lil creatures ^-^ this au is partially inspired by tamagotchi if i remember correctly (let me know if im wrong ^-^)

#jevin's egg disaster <- an au by @theminecraftbee inspired by the easter egg hunt that jevin put together in s9 where the eggs hatch and lil hermits run around the server ^-^

#private detective gem tasey <- a gem centric detective au by @kiwinatorwaffles

#featherweight au <- an au by @doctorsiren that xisuma and evil xisuma appear in

#featherswap au <- an au by @doctorsiren that xisuma and evil xisuma appear in

#commission competition <- an au by @stitchthesewords that is about etho and bdubs mainly. xisuma has appeared in it tho ^-^

#dry lightning au <- an au by @t3rm1n0s where an oc (koda) is created and their shenanigans on the server. xisuma appears in the au

#winter's rebirth <- a multifandom au by @mysteriousmoss that xisuma and evil xisuma appear in

#wall au <- a superhero au by @nullvoidface where cuteguy becomes the villain. xisuma appears in it. the fic is called And Now There's A Coldness (And It's Shaped Like Me)

#coastal town au <- an au by @solsearchingnights that is multi fandom. xisuma shows up in it.

#aadtd au <- an au by @sleepychaoticentity where both grian and zedaph are watchers on hermitcraft. xisuma is a part of this au

#kitsunes space pirates au <- a pirate au by @kitsunespawz where every server is a pirate ship and the admin of said server is the captain. both xisuma and evil xisuma are in this au

#odyssey craftpunk au <- an au by @gumptiomdog that both xisuma and evil xisuma are a part of

#hermitfold au <- a hermitcraft x dsmp au by @serendipitous-posts where c!jack manifold appears in hermitcraft s8 and ends up basing with zedaph. xisuma is a part of this au

#metal hearts au <- an au by @votederpycausemufins where mumbo and grian rebuild grumbot and jrumbot but as little robots, so they now have essentially 2 kids on the hermitcraft server. xisuma is in this au

#snapshot au <- an au by @doctorsiren where different hermits have been "snapped" and are evil robots (pls correct me if im wrong about this) both xisuma and evil xisum are in this au

#dadskall au <- an au by @doctorsiren where iskall is doom guy/used to be doomguy and is also xisuma & evil xisuma's dad because of being doomguy

#this is about a stuffed bird <- a fic written by @theminecraftbee where mumbo jumbo sets out on a mission to find grian after the world seemingly ends and he sees things that no one should ever see. evil xisuma is in this fic and there are mentions of xisuma

#hermit doomsday au <- an au on the @dailyxisumavoid blog where xisuma is surviving in a post apocalypse world and is finding other survivors along the way ^-^

#recks au <- an au by @wasyago that takes place in s8 with the concept of the builders are robots that the redstoners have made in a cyberpunky setting ^-^ both xisuma and evil xisuma present

#from the archives <- a the magnus archives au by @sixteenth-days that has multiple fics and has characters from multiple different smps. both xisuma and evil xisuma show up during the au.

#hermitcraft mermaid au <- an au by @remderance where xisuma is the owner of an oceanarium and ocean research center. different hermits in this au are different ocean creature mermaids like scar and pearl ^-^

#fallen london au <- an au by @redstone-sun that is multifandom and has multiple fics

#octopath au <- an au by @bathtea4 inspired by octopath 2

#SEN au <- an au by @tunastime around the fic Stretching Endless Nights. xisuma is mentioned in the fic and in some other posts about the au

#xisuma #evil xisuma

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lovesick-feelings · 1 year

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can you pls write hcs for yan withered foxy? istg hes so underrated;-;;

Your right dear reader! It's strange how unpopular Withered Foxy is compared to his variants. Well, that is if you remove all the fan-made comics with Withered Foxy as a protagonist (っ´ω｀c) Either way, I think it's because a ton of people see the original characters to be the same as the withered but broken and traumatized ⊙︿⊙ I personally see them as different entities tho. Anyways thank you for requesting lovely reader!! \(♡´౪<♡)/

❤ Years of loneliness and neglect have left Withered Foxy in total disarray. He can’t remember the last time he left the dark, dusty service room. He could always roam around, but what’s the point when there is nothing out there for him? Normally, he’d recline and reminisce about his short time on stage, but lately, it's been harder with how restless he has grown. That is until he hears two employees talking beyond the door. Something about a new guard being hired?

❤ Like every other Foxy, he appears reserved. Your first couple of nights will be him stalking you from the shadows of the hall. As he observes, he likes to fill in the gaps about what you could be like. You smile at a drawing a kid has made of him. Do you have a soft spot for children? Or maybe you're a fan of his? Either way, the more he watches it fills his head with delusions. Ones where maybe… you were meant to be his.

❤ Only when given an opportunity will Withered Foxy start talking to you. He’ll inquire about you; ask you who you are, why you chose this job, and such. Oh, how sweet you are to him. So patient even though you were alarmed by his presence. You’re so amusing to him; perhaps he should look after you more. After all, there are things worse than him in this pizzeria. He’ll make it his duty to visit you every single night.

This man has two sides to him:

❤ Very weary. He doesn't feel the motivation to do anything besides seeing you. He’ll shuffle his way to your office and talk about anything on his mind. Even if you don’t talk back, the thought of you listening to his ramblings about the good ol’ days comforts him greatly. If you're interested, he’ll even recite his classic pirate stories. He's very hesitant when he realises he's talked for too long, regardless of how much you assure him that you enjoy listening to him. He’s mindful of his off-putting appearance, so unless given permission, he won't come any closer. To show him you are not afraid, you can reach out to him. Beware as this can unlock some unwanted clinginess.

❤ The other is frantic. Impulse drives him to become more animalistic. When the only thing pledging his mind is you, what else do you expect from him? Instead of his casual greeting, he hides in the dark, ranting about you belonging to him only. Before you can process, he's already launched himself onto you. He grips you with every ounce of strength to make sure you don't leave him again. He holds you tightly until you bruise, and if that doesn't stop you from struggling, he’ll mark you instead. The last thing on his mind is the agony you feel. Only to be with you, no matter the cost. What's worse is the way he “compliments'' and patronizes your helplessness. He goes on about how beautiful the color red is on you. How, if this were anyone else, you would have been killed in seconds. Of course, he could never because he loves you~. The Flashlight is your only hope of getting you out of this madness.

❤ Once he resets, it takes a second for panic to set in. The poor fox does anything he can to make up for whatever he’s done. He doesn't know what he's supposed to bring, so he's breaking the first aid cabinet and rushing everything he finds to you. With all the overwhelming emotions you give him, he can’t control his mood shifts. He doesn’t want to wound you; yet, he doesn't want to leave your side either.

“You know yur ol’ Foxy adore ye too much to hurt his treasure~” 🥰

“This is your fifth time biting me” 😐

❤ Withered foxy is both possessive and jealous. The mere thought of you seeing someone else sends him into panic mode. Anyone he deems to be getting too close he’ll maul into pieces. Even his withered friends are not safe from his scowls whenever they get too buddy-buddy. He wasn't the first animatronic to greet you, but you gave him your heart when you welcomed him with that beautiful smile of yours. To him, that’s the equivalent of marriage.

❤ The only other animatronics he trusts to leave you with is Balloon Boy and JJ. Withered Foxy resents the Toys with a passion. Despite this, he still has a soft spot for BB, as he cannot bring himself to hate children, and they make a good team. Same for JJ except he empathizes with her being left behind. They sometimes follow Withered Foxy whether he wants them to or not. On rare occasions, he leaves BB or JJ in charge of watching you when he’s away. If you're good with children you could use this opportunity to your advantage.

❤ His paranoia always gets the best of him. He’s the type to have a dream about you cheating on him and get angry at you for it. Heaven forbid he finds someone showing any type of romantic gesture too. He will gut them until they are nothing but mush in front of you. He won’t beg or talk you into staying. He’s dragging you into the parts and service to trap you in a suit. If he doesn't, regardless, you’ll still be stuck in the parts and service room. Resisting or begging won’t help much with him thinking you don't know any better. Maybe you would've been better off being killed in a suit.

“If there be one thing a pirate never shares between his crew it be his treasure! And you, me jewel, shall be with me forever~ ”

#yandere withered foxy #withered foxy #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #yandere fnaf #fnaf yandere #fnaf human #fnaf 2 #fnaf x reader #fnaf 2 x reader #yandere withered foxy x reader #withered foxy x reader #fnaf 2 withered foxy #yandere foxy x reader #foxy x reader #yandere withered foxy x yn

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cherlockgomes · 28 days

Text

Bridgerton: A romantic poem about Indian culture.

As an Indian, Desi representation in the media can be difficult. It dances precariously between romanticism and downright insulting. It stands to change the world’s view on those with an ethnic background, often pushing the “white saviour” agenda forward. Speaking from personal experience, I can attest that it creates an internal battle. Growing up, I watched shows like Phineas and Ferb, where characters like Balgeet or Ravi from Jessie were portrayed as kooky, with exaggerated accents and quirks. While I agree stereotypes can often aid the comedy in a show, repeatedly watching the Desi characters be used as comic punching bags created an air of displeasure within me. I found myself wanting more and more to be like Hannah Montana, with her blue eyes and blonde hair, rather than one of the Patil Twins from Harry Potter. It took years to unlearn the racism I had internalised and finally see the beauty in my culture.

It is possible to argue that the growing number of comedies starring racial minorities has facilitated racial tolerance. Take, for instance, the second season of the popular Netflix show Bridgerton, which centres around the romance between a viscount and a character of Indian descent, Kate Sharma. I liked the show's appreciation of my culture through romanticism. Three unique scenes stand out to me in particular—the hair oiling, tea brewing, and Haldi.

In the hair-oiling scene, Kate comforts her younger sister by running oil through her dark tresses. Sitting at your mother/grandmother’s feet while she oils your hair is a canon event in every Indian girl’s life. It is an intimate act of devotion and love in Desi culture, as the person takes great pains to massage the oil into every crevice of your scalp as it stimulates hair growth. In Western culture, oily hair is often looked down upon. While I grew up in India and thus had no first-hand experience of the same, I’ve read multiple stories about how brown girls were bullied and belittled for having oil in their hair. Therefore, seeing something as trivial as oiling a loved one's hair being romanticised in a popular show could change people’s perspective on Indian culture, enabling the rest of the world to see it as we do.

A quintessential experience in a desi household is watching the chai (tea) being brewed as the aromas of its spices fill the air. Desi tea is more than just milky dishwater. It's a delicate blend of floral notes and spice that warms the back of your throat, only to be soothed by the creaminess of the milk. Making it is an art you’re forced to pick up as you watch your family members painstakingly observe the handi (pot) to ensure it doesn’t boil over. Like the hair-oiling scene, Bridgerton brings out this tradition quaintly. In an episode, Kate removes a few spices from a richly decorated pouch and adds them to a strainer suspended above a teacup, along with a handful of tea leaves. She then pours hot water over the mixture before adding milk to it. It is a scene shot in solidarity with close-ups of Kate’s actions to create an almost Wordsworthian romanticism of an activity nearly second nature to my people. Indian food is often criticised for being too smelly or having a flavour profile that’s too strong. Like the hair oil, Desi children are frequently belittled or bullied for bringing cultural dishes to school. Therefore, watching the precision and complexity that goes into making something as simple as masala chai (spiced tea) can change people’s opinions on the cuisine.

As Indians, Haldi, or turmeric, is a spice that’s ever-present in our lives. It’s used in our dishes and is an answer to almost every disease and injury. As children, we’re urged to drink Haldi Doodh, or, as it’s better known by its gentrified name, golden latte. For centuries, it’s been used to treat injuries. When we get injured, the yellow powder is usually pressed to the wound as it is believed to hold natural healing powers. Thus, it comes as no surprise that we’ve even found a way to include the marvellous spice in our marriage ceremonies. The Haldi Ceremony is performed a day before the wedding. It takes place in the couple’s parental home, where a mixture of Haldi, oil and water is usually rubbed onto the face and upper body by the couple’s close friends and family. In Bridgerton, we see a similar practice carried out by Kate and their mother the night before Edwina’s wedding. The scene is portrayed in an intimate manner compared to the grandiose version you might see in a traditional Indian wedding. Nonetheless, seeing a critical Desi tradition integrated so well into a mainstream show was quite a surprise and a good one at that. I loved that they paid such close attention to detail, going so far as to drape the characters in yellow clothes, which are considered auspicious during a Haldi.

I watched a beautiful Indian woman cast as the main character in a Netflix show instead of some caricature, and it healed something inside me. I loved that my culture was finally getting the appreciation and exposure it deserves. The way the show’s creators integrated age-old traditions into the storyline instead of repeating harmful stereotypes like with Apu from The Simpsons, made me appreciate the show and its gradual shift to accurate inclusivity.

The entire point of the Romanticism movement was to take seemingly mundane things and describe them in such a way that makes them seem extraordinary. It aims to change the person’s view on the subject by painting it in a remarkable light. Take, for example, the poem “The Orange” by Wendy Cope. It describes the simple joys in life, like sharing a fruit that graces almost every fruit bowl. It changes the way you look at things, and that’s why the romanticism of the Indian culture in something as mainstream as Bridgerton is so essential. It has the power to change how people view Indians and how we view ourselves.

#bridgerton #kate sharma #edwina sharma #viscount #you are the bane of my existence and the object of all my desires #haldi #desi #desi representation #romanticism #stereotypes

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