#give this mom back her sons

[shuublebunny]

Reunion

Hey gang, I wrote a quick little drabble of how I personally think Aphmau would have reacted to seeing Garroth again during the first dream sequence. I could never understand how she wasn't angry with him and just went "omg shawty I missed you <3"

Enjoy!

♪ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

Tired. That seemed to sum it up pretty well--only it didn't--Aphmau was beyond tired, she was exhausted. Fifteen minutes, no, fifteen years she spent battling that damned priest and his brother. That stupid, horrible brother in whom she had put so much trust, toward whom she felt such deep affection.

That same, wretched brother who stood before her now. No, that's impossible. Of course, she had experienced a good few things that should have been impossible recently, and she supposed this shouldn't be too much of a shock. She could be hallucinating, for all she knows; after all, she hadn't been able to sleep in days, and this environment certainly didn't resemble anything short of some twisted dreamscape.

Whatever the reason for this vile man before her, she couldn't help how she burned with rage at the sight of him (of course, she hoped to suppress the slight, cool wave of relief that soothed the scorching fire of contempt that coursed through her veins--he was safe). She stood there, glowering at him from a decent distance of a few paces opposite from him under the cascading branches of the wisteria they were situated beneath, and he stared back, his gaze soft, warm, and full of admiration as he shifted slightly in an attempt to conceal his anticipation.

"My lady? Is that really-" "Don't," she cut him off, her tone icy enough to crystallize the knight's blood in his veins, "speak as though you are so pleased to see me."

Her interruption was met with a moment of palpable silence from the traitor, who looked like a kicked puppy. After a while, though, he bravely (stupidly) spoke again. "But I am. My lady, I am so glad to see that you're safe."

"Are you, now?" This was a very different Aphmau from the one Garroth saw as he regathered enough of himself to fend off his brother; that Aphmau was confused, afraid, and teary-eyed at the thought of leaving him behind. This Aphmau was cold, distant, and livid, yet somehow as radiant as ever. "Because you didn't seem too concerned with my safety--or anyone else's for that matter--when you sided with Zane."

He could have hissed at the sting of her words, true as they were. "I know. It was wrong of me to act in such a disgraceful manner." She stared at him, unimpressed, through half-lidded eyes and a quirk of her brow, but she let him continue. "What I did was horrible, and I cannot apologize enough. But you must understand that Zane took advantage of my love for you and used it to control me. He turned me into something I'm not." Aphmau's barely-maintained composure snapped at the ridiculousness of his excuse. "Your love for me?" she spat, venom dripping from her tone. "What you did wasn't love. You were upset that I held affection for another man that wasn't you. It was an act of possession."

"You think I'm possessive? You led me on," he retorted through gritted teeth. "I did nothing of the sort." "You kissed him!"

Aphmau nearly doubled over in laughter at the incredulousness of his accusation. "I beg your pardon? I have done nothing of the sort." Garroth's pulse pounded so harshly at her denial that he could hear it. "Don't deny it, I saw you. You led me on and then you kissed him!"

"I can't lead either of you on when I'm not actively pursuing either of you," she retorted with a wry, humorless chuckle. "I never chose to be pursued by either of you, and if you perceive me being friendly as an attempt at courtship, that is your own damn fault." Garroth opened his mouth to defend his wounded ego, but his lady continued, "And even if I did, you have no right to claim me if we never explicitly determined what we are outside a lord and her guard. You didn't just betray me, but all of Phoenix Drop! Do you even know what's become of our home?"

That seemed to shut Garroth up for a while, and Aphmau could feel her chest swell slightly with a cold, sick sense of pride. She didn't really feel much better. Her guard, who looked thoroughly shaken at the realization, finally choked out a hushed plea. "What happened?"

The lady felt everything she had experienced come rushing back to her, images of decrepit, overgrown homes and her now adult children flashing behind her eyes in rapid speed. "'What happened?'" she seethed, "Well, for every minute spent in Irene's Domain, one year passed in the overworld. So you can imagine my dread when I returned to my village abandoned, in shambles, with everyone gone." Garroth could feel his head begin to spin as his lady continued, "the only one left in the village was Dante. Did you know that he spent every day, for the past fifteen years, going to that same spot where we all disappeared in hopes that we would come back? That he stayed in the remains of Phoenix Drop as people slowly started leaving because there was no hope for a lordless village? How he's now an adult in his thirties, with a wife and two children?"

She felt her eyes start to burn with tears that she refused to shed in front of him. "Yip is all grown up now, and Donna and Logan have kids of their own now, as well. And Laurance came home to find Ungrth's grave was robbed. You should have seen how distraught he was." Her chest heaved as her rage caught up to her. "And Dante looks so tired. Nothing can seem to bring back that spark in his eyes. Cadenza has fully taken over Metelli as their lord, and Nicole is the lord of Scaleswind. They're both incredible." The tears continued to burn, and her chest continued to tighten. "And Zoey gave up her immortality to bring us back. She could still live forever if you weren't so stupid," she spat. "And the worst part? My sons are all grown up. Malachi looks to be my age now, and Levin has been lord of what remains of our home for the past year. Levin didn't even recognize me--he couldn't even look at me without glowering at me. He tried not to show it, but he resents me, and I can't even blame him. He took on lordship at sixteen! And he feels that he has to live up to the standards of a woman he didn't even know, a woman who abandoned him!" Her last statement came in choked sobs, the tears finally daring to burst forth and roll down her cheek in fat, hot streams.

Garroth, who could only stand bewildered and ashamed for all of Aphmau's evisceration of his character, buried his pride and did the only thing he knew to do; he pulled her into his arms, as if to shield her, whispering a plethora of 'I'm sorrys' and sweet nothings until her ragged sobs and labored breathing calmed down. The tidal wave of emotions had finally crashed, and Aphmau couldn't find it in herself to push away. After everything that had happened, it was nice to be comforted, to be seen. This was her guard, her Garroth. The one who was always there, who never faltered, unless he dealt with wounded pride--

She ripped herself out of his arms with a newfound fury, flames dancing wrathfully behind her amber eyes as she scowled up at him. "You took away everything! You stripped Phoenix Drop of their lord--and by extension, their validity as a village, robbed Dante of his youth, and robbed me of my sons' childhoods! I will never get to watch them grow up. I missed so many of their firsts, their joys, failed to comfort them in times of grief…everything! You robbed me of my motherhood." Her vision blurred, and she could see red. Her senses only seemed to do her any good when Garroth reached for her, and in a moment of clarity, she swiftly slapped his hand away. "I swear to Irene, Garroth Ro'Meave, I will find a way to bring you back to our realm and you will help reverse all the damage you've done."

"…Of course, my lady."

[bonefall]

longtime dc fan and i think a lot of people are angry because alex is obviously one of the most culturally relevant instances of misogyny in media. that being said being more culturally relevant doesn’t mean it’s the worst instance of misogyny and i think bumble definitely experiences more profound misogyny in the way the actual content is presented, if that makes sense

I get you, and that's a charitable way of looking at it.

I think what's rustling my jimmies is that like, there was a couple of WC fans being mildly dismissive of Alex in that note minefield, after dozens of comments of "fuck you how could you let the fridge woman lose" and "Bumble didn't deserve to win ANY rounds" and "how could A CAT experience misogyny." But then WE get blamed for the toxicity because THEY were butthurt that the Funny Cat People have the 'audacity' to win something they feel entitled to.

Like, we've gotta be endlessly charitable as we get openly insulted because they're upset about Alex losing, a very well-known and culturally relevant character with a legacy so massive we have a whole term named after her. But condemnations of "She's just a cat, letting WC into this poll was a mistake, Bumble can't even be a victim of misogyny" only started coming around once I started talking about it.

as if it's OUR fault people got passive-aggressive or even OPENLY aggressive towards us, and that we're "just as bad" for retaliating

But like you said, it's not a "Most Culturally Relevant Misogyny" tournament, it's a "Canon Misogyny Victims" tournament. And you're not even supposed to give a shit that Bumble died. The fat, woman abuse victim is beaten to death by a dictator, and your takeaway is meant to be, "It's so sad that Clear Sky is being blamed for murdering her, now they're all preparing for self-defense against a homicidal maniac, oh nooo :("

And I think that DOES make her deserve the win here! Alex is a MARTYR. Everyone with a brain agrees what happens to her is bad. It happened in her canon because it was bad. We talk about her and keep her memory alive. Bumble gets dismissed entirely out of hand because she's "just a cat in a kid's book" as if that doesn't make it worse, and as if the kid's book didn't treat a domestic abuse survivor like a moron for even asking for help.

Anyway, just to reiterate, I love DC fans. It's not all of you guys. Alex was done dirty and deserves justice-- and it's even kind of a shame that all she became is "The Fridge Woman." I haven't even heard people talk about how she was a wary, responsible person who was still ready to rock with Kyle's new weird glowstick powers, or that she was a journalist, or that she just got brought back in another edition as a Green Lantern only to be revealed as an illusion and re-absorbed back into Kyle's mind. Nope. Even her fans just remember her as The Fridge Woman.

[asleepinawell]

erich: wait does this mean my mother was actually a good person and just corrupted by an evil crystal?

women's wrongs supporters: *loud booing*

laha: no she's always been crazy and evil

athena: correct

everyone: *wild cheering*

[whenthegoldrays]

🍉

[solar-halos]

i think the craziest part of the percy jackson series—(warning i’m gonna be talking about child abuse)

—is that sally married gabe. “she was using him to hide percy’s demigod scent.” she married a man who physically abused her child. like. i get it’s a very nuanced situation and that demigods literally don’t even exist but yk what does exist? moms who marry men that abuse their children… like girl. there are plenty of bum ass men who smoke weed and eat pizza and looove their ciggies and instead of abusing ur kid they would straight up ignore him and if they were a demigod their scent would STILL be hidden

[dirtytransmasc]

self indulgent got concept.

Ned brings Jon home, Cat hates the boy, everything stays the same... until Robert Baratheon is charging through the halls of Winterfell looking for the babe, ready to butcher the poor thing where he lay helpless in his cradle.

in a matter of moments Catelyn learns three things:

The babe was never a bastard, Ned had only lied to her to protect Jon, and that she would die before she let Robert lay a finger on the babe she'd previously wished death upon.

cue Catelyn Stark snatching Jon from his cradle, holding him, protecting him, loving him as she would her own son, risking it all to keep him safe, all care for herself thrown to the wind.

like they say, what a mother's love holds no bounds, and what it makes her capable of had no limits.

[unoisveimved-un-proffesional]

My gender complex goes back 3 generations and through two queer women and their family trauma, I feel like I know what I'm talking about. We know a thing or two because we've seen a thing or two.

[nicoscheer]

The reel 😂

Nearly cried at the little turtle silhouette, not Miles going ‘a couple of weeks off from gigs now to chill’ sweetheart the 7th is barely two weeks away😂

[thesmokinpossum]

seriously tho, the fact that it’s specifically explained that Karaba the sorceress became evil not because of who she fundamentally is as a person but because of the violence men inflicted on her and the long lasting pain it caused her AND the fact that Kirikou’s way to access to adulthood/manhood is not to kill/defeat her but to heal her pain and allow her to find peace again...this movie was truly so advanced in so many ways..

[crownrots]

hattie’s thing went off the rails but whatever ig.

🦎 gecko springs — a nice little town that was always getting infested with those pests. not anymore, tho. it’s turned into a resort hub of sorts; cheap accommodations, good people, high acceptance rate (just don’t cause any trouble and don’t provoke the geckos tho bc they only have to deal with them once a year now), a mini trading scene.

🌵richard ‘ricky’ steele — the only authority figure in gecko springs, sherif of sorts. only got the job bc he’s seen as the person that did the most to clear the place out so they could live in relative peace. total pushover. loves music. family man. nice to everyone, but watch out.

🦂 reno steele — best friend and adopted brother. hot headed and charismatic. has expensive tastes, wears gecko hide boots. swindler. always on the run from someone or something. ricky’s right hand man, definitely the muscle. loves to start trouble.

🪳cricket — ghoul gal. pre war college student. super smart and super sharp. makes herself useful by hacking terminals, turrets and annoying robots, too old for this shit. owns the saloon / country store / inn. besties with reno.

🪙 aster ‘creed’ madden — baddie, but he has a good reason ig. despises ghouls. leader of the crusade. searching for his ghoulified son and tearing apart whoever stands in his way to do so. good guy gone bad. needs to reevaluate his life choices and move on.

[hauntingblue]

I ❤️

IN-BETWEEN ARC EPISODES

[spaceratprodigy]

one day I'll finally talk/write abt what happens between them on scylla but I think nonstop abt what his vision mom says

[the-halfling-prince]

Outlander S3:

Marseli: Listen here, you English whore-

Claire: 😶

Fergus: Hey that's my mom don't call my mommy a whore

[lesbiankoby]

[remembers my gojos mom oc] really gotta get a handle on her cursed technique… i associate her with ringu lol. in my head. something like that. i think her technique is impractical for battle but she uses it to maintain an information network that keeps her on the good side of tokyos curse user population

[penrose-quinn]

So I was editing awhile ago and I just had to suck it up and remove this part ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Tbh I seriously need to get over Shin's love life and why it didn't work out for him because I never shut up about it, but at the same time.... I'm reeeeally convinced that it's rooted from his parents........

[aro-aizawa]

sighsss thinking abt my voltron aus again