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phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess · 1 year ago

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REMINDER: it's okay to rewatch a show you liked or a book you love as a young person and realise that, hey, nostalgia and the exact person you were when you first engaged also played a part

sometimes, they're just weird shitty shows or badly done books, but to you at the time you fell in love with them, they were perfect

and that's okay

accept that there's a thick layer of nostalgia on your memories, read/watch it again if you want to or not, it's alright to admit it's sily or awkward or just a strange plot now you think anbout it

you don't have to get defensive, or die on the hill for something you don't really love all that much now but you did once, etc

sometimes you have a story that hits you at the right time, no matter how weirdly scripted or awkward, or is now not like... great when you have the context that you missed as a kid...

and that's normal.

part of you can still love it, remember it fondly for what it was in that time, in that place, at that moment when you were a fan. but you don't have to defend it until you're a defeated husk of a human being hating everyone around you for questioning things you like(d) a dozen years ago. it's not an attack on your childhood or who you were to grow aup and realise things had subtxt, or were not the way you first read/saw them.

for example, we all liked the flinstones right?

you rewatch that recently? wilma and betty have to ask their husbands' permission to do a LOT of stuff, very religious onsense wrapped in caveman attire with the 1950s attitide.

does that mean the idea of dinosaurs also helping with everyday stuff wasn't fun? of ourse not. but you can see why it is uncomfortable to watch now, with the new lens / viewpoint of adulthood and current societal norms, right?

or land before time. Loved that shit so much, wanted to eat a treestar so bad because thy drew them delicious and the mother death scene hit a lot of kids right in the heart... was it the most fantastically scripted movie? OR the movies since? Nah. Especially the ones that seem to insist that singing and being friends will overturn racism and bullying, but you know what? That's baby's first step at these concepts.

You have a child who is sad about the triceratops being a cunt to the others and using a racial term (in the movie) you can use that as your go-to metaphor for explaining injustice, because it's a concept the kid gets and also is age appropriate.

would you spend 23hrs a day online defending Land before Time to people you don't know or those who are like "Wow man it sucks" or harassing the people making newer sequels of it because the 'uality is worse'

No, because it's a kids show. For kids. And while you loved it in your heart at one point, seething with anger over what is a singysongy fun dinosaur movie with increasingly limited plot... makes it weird. Fighting people online because it was a childhood memory is also weird.

And let's be real, there's a few fandoms that could stand to calm down in this way too.

No, Twilight was not the most fantastically written story ever made; but it hit a number of teenagers around the world in their Urban Fantasy horny hearts at the right time.

Was the Hunger Games quadrilogy (ovies) perfect in showing oppression and the plight of the children slaughtered while the world watches? No, I'd say they actually sailed right over it because the movies actually created a lens of the situation from the Capitol's perspective. Are some people still Fucking Furious about this? Yeah.

Why though? Will it help you do the dishes? To have a good sleep?

The Potter fans. I loved those books too, guys, but it is true a lot of things with context in place from an adult perspective come across as less 'yeah that's magic' or 'yeah bad lady gets taken away for punishment!' and more How Did I Miss That?

It would be a long essay on the things that are actually really upsetting when you think about it, but I am not typing that tonight. The blatant stereotypes, the racism, the weird Vamps are cool but WEres are code for AIDS thing, the wizard cops ending, gender nonsense, that no one seems to do maths but also can manage making potions, the slave race that loves it, and the centaur SA that was So Funny. Is there wizard child safety? I think there needs to be one. So Bad. Not the amreican system though.

There's a lot that slid over your head as a kid... (I thought they were going to ride off really fast and maybe chase her through the forest on threat of trampling if she's caught, not THAT). And also, if there's OSHA for wizards, someone needs to be looking into the lake full of homicidal mermaids and moving stairs, what if you fall, is there a safety spell or something?

I have thoughts about that series, about how the worldbuilding didn't need to go in any of those directions, it didn't really add anything. There were routes around them.

But to this day people will lose their minds if this is questioned, and sometimes I think they don't really want to. Not to that extent. IT's something they loved and is a part of their childhood they clung to for whatever reason (it's different for every person) and now they feel obligated to fight for it. To accept it without criticism.

Som really good examples of this are the Star Wars and Star Trek and Transformers franchises.

Have you watched th original star wars? They're FUN, they're DUMB, they're KOOKY and SCI-FI, and half the extras don't even get the action right but you got the intent. People were fucking foaming at the mouth because the fourth alien in the background's bandana was tilted the opposite way to the originals and then they put a GIRL in as lead?!?!?!? Chill.

REal criticism is saying 'yeah those last three were FUCKED, because all the growth in #1 of the new triology as imediately flipped around and written over in #2, and then again in #3, the narrative is a confusing slop of different writers and directors not working together.

Star Trek? Love the series. Do I cringe so hard my spine feels like it will eject like on of those weird multi-lead/eraser pencils we had in primary school back in the day? Sure. Do I like all iterations of the show? No, especially the one right after Voyager that decided Vulcans can fuck whenever and aliens are blue etc. Very confusing. But then on voyager the captain and pilot became lizards and fucked to make a new species on a planet in the delta quadrant and we never talked about it again. So like...

Do people still go fucking insane over any new iterations deviating from the last and defending it online? Yeah.

Transformers... fun kids show, fascinating use of special efects and CGI in the first one. Plot wise its a shitshow and if they span the camera any more times to make it an action sequence I think we would all vomit. But certain fans would rather chug petrol than accept it's not perfect because they had the toys. I had a knockoff one that was half-voltron somehow from an op shop as a kid. Loved it.

Won't go to war for it, unless I'm in a certain mood and need to just Word my way around a bendy issue because work or whatevs didn't stimulate that braining for the day.

Stargate? Love it. Not the best writing, cringy, but fun.

Steven Universe? It's a good show, there's fun and bright stuff and it dipped toes into deep topics in a way that made it easier to talk to kids about hard things. That's good. Was it perfect? Not at all. Songs were pretty good overall.

My Little Pony? This is a little napalm on the argument, but like... it wasn't a bad show. Cringey and blindingly bright, the plot seen from the opening credits but it was fine. Fun even. For young children or uni students whose brain is sizzling and wants shiny singing things to entertain them for two minutes after the assessments are finally uploaded and they are free. No thoughts required.

The important part there is that they were for kids. They continue toi BE for kids. You can like them. Any kids show that doesn't immediately make a parent want to vomit from their saccharine nonsense (you know the ones) is fine, same way there are occasional double entende in kids movies, so the adults can somewhat engage too.

Still to this day people are fighting WARS on the internet about how Great vs how SHIT the show was. (Any of the above really) and it's like...why? Which part of you feels so attacked when things like this, that you like, are riticised, that you go to Fight?

Which loosely circles back to my original point of.... its okay to like something, and recognise flaws. Its okay to still like something important to you in a nostalgia/retro/that haracter is half my teen personality way.

But you can let also choose to accept it does not match your memories of it, and let it go.

Just, think about it, okay?

You can pull a Marie Kondo with your nostalgia if you feel ready, or just move certan things to your mental attic until later.

No one needs to be sitting up all night emrbroiled in seething hatred and diatribe of an argument about a show you loved / may still be attached to, and feeling despair if you can't best the other person. Neither of you win if you didn't sleep, if you spent all that time fighting, if you leave angry even if you win, or you get nasty and namecall or dox.

These things can be very central and important to you but, think about what it is costing you to hold that level of love. IS it obsession? It is welded into who you are? Is it a past echo of who you were that you feel you need to defend? Did you just want to fuck the villain and people are like 'bruh???' Does one of the Not-Okay-Now things the characters or writer believe meld with your own beliefs and you feel attacked?

Find your why and think on how it makes you feel. Especially if it's a why that hurts yourself or others.

How can you move through that without finding yourself attacked or triggered or distressed and angry?

At the end of the day, it's your life.

You get just the one.

It's okay to admit that something you were obsessed with no longer meets with your level of enjoyment or love, or even with your ideals and beliefs. You can let them go.

A gentle burial under a mental seedling that grows into a new love for something similar but meets your interests now. Or a solmn viking boat down the mental river, alight in the twilight night with flames as you farewell it once and for all. Or perhaps you put it somewhere in the back of your mind to revisit another time, when you are ready, and can make a clear decision.

There isn't a wrong answer.

Almost all of life is about learning, growing and reflecting on yourself, your environment, the things you believe and take in, the things you reject, and the world itself.

I forgot where I was going, please assume something poignant was at the end about grief and loss for parasocial and fictional relationships (with a character or whole series or move / story itself) and how they can hurt like real ones. Depending on who you were at the time they meant so much to you, and how those characters likely wouldn't want you to build yourself into a narrow cage of anger and despair on their behalf, etc.

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sirellas · 1 year ago

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Left Hand of Destiny (1&2) stream of consciousness review

Overall thoughts: I really liked this book! Or technically 2 books but the second is just the continuation of the first so in my head it was just one long book (~500 pages all in all). This is only the second trek book I've read and also the second written by the actor who played the character in ds9 (shoutout to ASIT, though this one has a non-actor co-writer as well), but even beyond the star trekking of TLHOD, this was a really good read in terms of writing style, pace, emotion. It was very action and character focused which I enjoyed, and especially the characterization of Martok was so great and obviously JG Hertzler had a lot of thoughts about the character he played that translated really well on page.

The memory alpha article on TLHOD says this but I didn't really start to see it until the last half of book 2, but this is very much a King Arthur story (btw don't look at that memory alpha page unless you don't care about major spoilers lol). Down to a lady in the lake handing out mythical swords. That instance was a little heavy handed in my opinion, but I did like all of the prophetic dreams and talk of glorious purpose.

That's something to note though: if you don't like dream sequences, this is not the book for you. There are A LOT of dreams. In fact the opening scene is a dream, but it's now my new favorite opening line in a book because it jumps right in by telling you who this guy is and what his deal is:

I personally am a big fan of overt symbolism like this (even a well done cliché or two), myths and repeating cycles of heroism etc etc. And I think this book melded Arthurian drama with Klingon drama well. The Klingon-ness of this book was great. What better way to get to the heart of Klingon culture in a story but by focusing on the guy chosen to lead his people and getting it ripped out from beneath his feet and having to decide that he actually wants to be chancellor. In a lot of ways this is a story of outcasts finding their way back to where they belong, which isn't always what they expect or want in the beginning. Which leads me to...

The supporting characters really made this book. Without Pharh the Ferengi who got bullied for being as ugly as a Klingon as a child and now runs a landfill on Qo'noS, there would be no book. He's my favorite (little buddy coded to the extreme) but most of the major side characters are really well explored in terms of motivation and actions. Worf, Sirella, Ezri, Darok, Kahless, Alexander, to name a few. Alexander and Kahless were two of my other surprise standouts. And because no one who hasn't read this book knows about my new favorite guy Pharh, I will now include a couple passages I highlighted to spread the word about how great he is:

Wide array of well developed side characters aside, this book is awful for women. Yes the main antagonist is Martok's insane ex, but her character is kind of too outlandish to really have much depth. Ezri shows up at the end of book 1 and plays a big part in book 2 but honestly I'm not sure why she was even there (apart from loyalty etc, but I mean story-wise she didn't add all that much to keep the action moving ((anyone else could have been subbed in for her 9 out of 10 times and it would've made more sense tbh)) except to be another explainer of Klingon things to the reader). Sirella has a few great scenes, but not nearly enough and she wasn't allowed to do much either in terms of agency and impact on plot. Martok's two daughters are barely afterthoughts.

The main plot is that a usurper attacks Qo'noS (and specifically goes after Martok), swaying the Klingon people to their side through a combo of bioengineered charisma and the people's growing resentment toward progressive ideas that Martok (and Worf) represents. That's really only the problem in book 1, while book 2 deals more with Martok accepting the hand fate has dealt and deciding to win so they can save the decaying Klingon heart and so on. But even with the kind of cheesy setup, it rarely felt overwrought or unearned with the emotional beats. The antagonist lady is, yeah, she's a bit over the top. And before 2016 I would've said the quick flip to xenophobia and Make Klingons Great Again (I'm pretty sure they use that phrase almost exactly) in the general public was unrealistic but hey, cycles of destiny and evil constantly shifting and repeating, am I right??

There were... quite a few deaths. I guess I should've expected that, being a Klingon setting and all, but some of them hit me hard. And a few I don't think really needed to happen and kind of weakened the narrative.... maybe I'll put a spoiler section below a cut at the bottom of this to discuss those 🤪

This paragraph will haunt me for a while I think... 😀 sorry for inflicting it on others now but hey that's show business

Even with some hiccups (see spoiler section below), I loved the book pretty much. Shocker: tumblr user girlmartok loves the Martok book, but it was better than I had hoped even. The Martok focus was so good and the side characters just made it even better. Much more of a heroic fantasy than most star trek settings, which fit really well and also was refreshing. It's long! But I would recommend it if you have any interest in Klingons and/or fun little guys who go on adventures and think a lot about death.

SPOILERS ⬇️

Okay ripping the bandaid off. The way Sirella died was not chill. I mean even having her die was not something I would have included, because the story really didn't dive all that deep into her and Martok's relationship. But ramming an enemy ship so Martok could flee near the beginning of book 2... and she doesn't even kill any major bad guys doing it?? It just served no point narratively (the bad guys still outnumbered them, still caught up to them not long after) and it didn't even really affect Martok all that much beyond like one paragraph where he wants to turn around and go on a murder spree in her name... He doesn't even get to go on a murder spree in her name!!!

Bandaid rip #2: PHARH MY LITTLE BABY BOY DIES???? I was glad I had forewarning about this one because I would've been mad otherwise. I am not exaggerating saying he was my second favorite character in this book after Martok. The humor he added, yes, but also just his role as an outsider who's seen as weak by both Ferengi and Klingon, and he befriends the chancellor of the Klingon Empire, HOLDS ONTO THE CHANCELLOR'S RING FOR MOST OF THE BOOK AND BECOMES HIS SQUIRE BASICALLY 🫠💔 I don't know how anyone wouldn't fall in love with him. At least his death was done well, even though I don't think it should have happened. He at least got a murderous rampage in his name 😤 and Martok basically adopted him so he could get into Sto'vo'kor 🥺

Those were my main two criticisms of the book, and really ties into why this wasn't as great a story as ASIT, for example. A lot of things happen to Martok, but some things don't get the resolution they would need to influence him on this character journey he's going on. One of Martok's defining characteristics in ds9 is that he's a wife guy and his wife doesn't take bullshit. But then his wife dies suddenly and he's upset but he's not Upset upset, if you know what I mean. It didn't feel earned and it didn't feel necessary. Literally the first and only time it did feel like a reasonable plot device was at the very end when Worf tells him that people love a tragic victor even more than a victory. The problem is just that Martok doesn't ever explore what that tragedy really means to him.

Justice for Shen and Lazhna, Martok's daughters, who in addition to dying off screen are only brought up to highlight how shitty of a dad Martok has been. He just thinks of them (and his son Drex too but he gets more characterization solely by virtue of appearing in the narrative) in terms of himself and his love for them is more on the side of pity rather than real emotional attachment. Sirella should've been way meaner to him about that tbh.

Non character death related but a big focus of the first book was Martok losing public opinion pretty much immediately. Old friends turn against him and that really shakes him. But then in the second book... that's not really brought up again? The whole second book takes place away from Qo'noS, and yeah they mention that people will probably become less affected by the dumb bioengineered charisma after time, but I cannot stress enough how much the entire planet hated him. So he won the big battle against his foes etc etc, came back to Qo'noS and... just told everyone all that?? That goes along with the lack of fully exploring the consequences of some of these bad things that happen to Martok. It felt like a little too much piled on him and not enough resolution.

#the left hand of destiny #star trek books #star trek #martok #tlhod review #star trek book review #would LOVE to hear from anyone else who has read this btw #and sorry for the super long review. i did not even cover everything i wanted to lol #long post

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nyhti · 2 years ago

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Headcanons about my versions of Nightmare and Jonathan.

Jonathan is still teaching at Gotham University, when he takes a trip back to his hometown on summer vacation one year. Now I should probably note that my verse is build upon pre-crisis and since Jonathan's family was never talked about then, I think it's fair game to headcanon whatever and I headcanon that they were okay, actually. He grew up in a rural town not far from Gotham. He's the middle child of a big family where money was tight.

On his visit he decides to go for a walk in the forests where he used to hide from his bullies. Suddenly he hears children. He's already about to turn back, until he hears something else. A gun shot. A gun shot and the cry of a bird. Jonathan takes no interest in birds, but he can recognize the cry of a raven. He knows they live in the vast forrests of his hometown and that the townsfolk hate them. The general opinion is that they are pests and should all be killed. Jonathan had no opinion on the matter, not until now. A child screams in pain, asking his sister for help. Jonathan moves towards the sound. He hears the flapping of wings and desperate cries and then... nothing. Finally he sees the children, but they can't see him. There is a dead raven at their feet, another one a little further away, next to a big tree. The very tree Jonathan would climb to get away from his bullies. Both children are covered in bad cuts from sharp talons and a powerful beak. The raven by the tree must have been shot first, which led the other to attack. It's life had ended from a blown from a heavy rock, which lay besides it's body. One of the children starts to climb the tree, says something about finishing the job. She climbs back down with a nest under her arm and takes it to her brother, who's already waiting with a rock in hand. Jonathan is frozen to the spot. The scene has taken him back to when it was him being hunted in this forest. The girl places the nest down, three ravens huddle together terrified. The boy holds the rock over the nest, about to drop it. Jonathan is frozen no more. He jumps out of the bushes scaring the children. The rock falls, but a little to the side of where it was intented. As the children disappear into the forrest, Jonathan turns to look at the carnage. For a moment these birds he never cared about, these birds he would've scared just for fun, shared his pain. He considers burying them, to soothe his guilty conscience for not acting sooner. Not realizing these birds were as bullied as he was and that he played a part in that bullying by doing nothing. Then suddenly one of the chicks moves. The rock had missed it. Jonathan's heart skips a beat. He wraps the bird in a napkin and picks it up. He can bury the dead later, what's important right now is that Nightmare lives.

He takes Nightmare back to Gotham with him. He reads everything he can find about ravens and how to take care of one, takes him to the vet, does everything he can. I think it would be quite new and strange for Jonathan to be taking care of someone. The fact that someone, even if it was ”just a bird” relied on him just to survive to the next day was a responsibility he'd never had before and it scared him. There was this tiny fragile new life sound asleep in his lap who trusted him blindly. Trusted his life to someone as untrustworthy as Jonathan. He wondered if he could really do this. He would think of all the animals he had experimented on, sentient beings, beings capable of feeling pain, beings that did not deserve that. He was scared he wasn't good enough for this, that he might hurt Nightmare somehow. But there was no need to fear such things, as even if Jonathan wasn't perfect, even if he did make mistakes, he always did his best and that was good enough. Nightmare was growing bigger and stronger everyday.

Once Jonathan's summer vacation was over and Nightmare had learned to fly, he would follow Jonathan to the university. What a field day it was for Jonathan's bullies, who were always looking for new things to make fun of him for, to see him talking to raven. But it didn't matter, because the joy Nightmare brought to Jonathan's life far out weighted the odd looks his collegues and students gave him.

Yet despite how much Jonathan loved Nightmare, despite everything he did for Nightmare, he never actually intented for Nightmare to become his pet. After his peers all the way from kindergarden to university had drilled it into his head that he was utterly unlikable, it was hard to believe that anyone, not even an animal, would willingly choose to be around him. But Jonathan had no idea how to care for an animal without turning it into a pet. He was giving Nightmare little kissies on the head from day one. And so when the day came when NIghtmare was fully grown and Jonathan, holding back tears, opened the window for him, letting him go, Nightmare didn't understand. To him this was no different from any other time Jonathan opened the window for him to go stretch his wings. He looked outside, saw that it was raining and kind of cold and flew back on the nice warm couch. At that moment it became clear Nightmare was here to stay.

And Nightmare became his first friend, his lifeline. For even in his darkest moments after losing his job, after losing everything, it was Nightmare that kept him going. Nightmare and the unquenchable thirst for revenge that kept him alive despite all.

Something that's different in my verse is that Jonathan doesn't use Nightmare as a minion like in canon. He cares for Nightmare's safety and doesn't put him in dangerous situations. I think he let him tag along for his first few crimes as Scarecrow, but would quickly notice it's unsafe. Nightmare attacked everyone who tried to hurt Jonathan and in turn put himself in danger. That's where Jonathan said no. Nightmare is his son, not a weapon. He started leaving Nightmare home when he went out as Scarecrow and if he would not return, Nightmare knew to head to Arkham.

He stays at Arkham with Jonathan. On the grounds, of course, since no animals are allowed in. Nightmare is the only reason Jonathan even goes outside at Arkham, as it is the only place they can meet (though Jonathan does sometimes try to sneak him in, but Jeremiah tends to catch him in the act). Nightmare has also learned Jonathan's daily schedule and all the windows at Arkham. He knows which window he can see Jonathan through at any time of the day. He also gets anxious if schedules are swiched around and he can't find Jonathan. Sometimes Nightmare will also fly back to Jonathan's hideout and bring little gifts like hay to him.

Nightmare, like all ravens, is very clever. Jonathan likes to tell people that Nightmare is trained to peck people's eyes out, just so they'd leave him and Nightmare alone, but that's a lie. As previously stated, Nightmare does attack if he sees Jonathan being hurt, but is not trained to do so. He is, however, taught much more important things like giving little kisses with his beak or doing a little pirouette. Since ravens are really good at mimicing, he knows a few words like ”hello” and his own name, which he likes to repeat a lot. That's not all of course, because Nightmare won't stop at mimicing just human language, he will also mimic any kind of noise. After spending a weekend at Jervis' place, he learned to mimic dial-up internet noises (my verse takes place in the 90s.) People always jump a little when they hear Nightmare speak for the first time (which amuses Jonathan to no end), but get used to it after a while. They will hear the most ungodly noises in the dead of night and go: ”Ah, Nightmare is feeling silly again ^_^.”

Nightmare is about seven years old now and his favorite hobbies include playing with a bouncy ball and getting kisses from Jonathan. Since ravens are so smart, Jonathan wonders if Nightmare remembers what happened to his family, but whether he does or not, it doesn't seem to weigh him down. He's very happy and content with his life with Jonathan.

#nightmare #scarecrow

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gnomey22 · 1 year ago

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Fish Tank

I haven't done anything on here except textpost memes and reblogs for a while, and I was just thinking about the scene where Chat shoots Shrimp out of a cannon after hearing her Love Song, and now I have the sudden urge to write about why it's one of the best scenes in the entire season. The title is just a team name I made up for these two, those are obligatory when Chat shoots someone.

Firstly, I think this scene is the single best showcase of Chat's real intentions when shooting someone from their cannon, unless they have pre-existing beef with the person they shoot - they're trying to show their appreciation/love by team-attacking with them, and this is their only way of doing so. It might even be an attempt at a compliment, means that the person is strong enough for the collision to do enough damage to the targeted enemy! One of my favourite things about Chat as a character is how they have zero normal methods of showing their love for someone, and the methods they choose make it very easy for them to come across as forceful or annoying. This is prominent in all of their character relationships, but just before they shoot Shrimp from their cannon, Daniel Failboat establishes the lore that Chat's insane amount of eyes are a terrible combination with Bo's inability to make eye contact, and that seems like a perfect example for my point, because despite that giant setback, Bo is arguably their most positive relationship in the series. Back in the Realm of the Fey, their constant insanity (and lack of Failboat to balance it out) forced Bo to take some responsibility, even though that's the last thing she wanted to do, and that was the first step in lifting both her confidence levels, and her personal connection to the team, which are integral to her character arc. Chat's love language is as unconventional as they get, but even towards someone who is logically completely unprepared to handle them, it can actually work. They're a nonsensical being, and they have very little idea of what could actually harm someone (they are still a child, who don't really know how to use their literal artillery), but as long as their intentions shine brighter than their methods, you can see the heart behind the insane things they do.

Secondly, since I've talked for so long on how this builds Chat's character, I'll talk for even longer about how it builds on Shrimp's. Specifically, how carefully she reacts to the situation at hand, considering her newly budding friendship with Chat. She's aware that they can do this, and she's been rooming with them for a decent while, so she has a closer understanding of their personality than ever, and she's already prepared for the possibility of being shot. However, she is caught completely off-guard when they ask her to get in the cannon, though - not because she's surprised that they'd ask that, but because they preface it with declaring their love for her (Strictly platonic, obviously, as the Love Song ability suggests). Shrimp hasn't made a lot of friends in her own age range, considering the bullies she faced back in the ocean, and most of The Incident being adults, so she has to make a lot of guesswork on whether Chat's actions of friendship with her are okay or not. She's more experienced with live chats than anyone, so they really get along on a surface level, but more complicated situations like this are hardly her expertise, she literally ran away from home when confronted with one- but Chat is the furthest thing from those bullies, they fully believe in her talents, and they're actively trying to push her into the limelight! The attack actually saves someone's face, too! Shrimp is physically hurt by the proceedings, though, and everyone has made it clear to her that her pain does indeed matter. These contradictions mess with Shrimp's head, so for a brief time, she tries to ignore them. She also ignores Chat by extension, choosing to hype up Bill for the rest of the venture, and only confronts them when they get back to the Inn, during which she does the only thing she can think of - set some boundaries. Nearly impossible to do with Chat, but she can't completely rely on Bill to moderate her actual live chat, she needs to take responsibility as well, and it works! Chat's belief in her extends to her somewhat-light-hearted threats, and even though they move to Failboat's room shortly afterwards, their friendship with Shrimp has obviously benefitted from this. They even picked up some of her singing skills, and Shrimp's made her first steps in navigating a friendship with someone who isn't an authority figure for her. Chat never meant to hurt her, and since this is the first time, she doesn't hold any hard feelings towards them. That's a waste of her emotions.

Thirdly, and most obviously, the scene is fucking hilarious, and makes perfect use of Miitopia's mechanics. Daniel Failboat's own laughter is infectious, and the immediate juxtaposition of the character's attacks, only to increase their bonds in the end, is only possible through a vessel as absurd as the Miitopia video game! I can't imagine a world where anyone could sit down and intentionally write that scene, it has to happen of its own free will, and Failtopia in general makes perfect use of that idea.

#failtopia #failboat miitopia #failtopia chat #failtopia shrimp #failtopia bo #Chat #Shrimp #Bo #failboat #not an official essay #but a long post nonetheless #these guys take up too much space in my tiny little brain #i wouldn't have it any other way #chat's actual character is under appreciated imo #most people just project onto them #which is fine #but i'm too obsessed with analysing their actual character #no issues with shrimp #she's perfect

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pearthery · 1 year ago

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will there be more chapters for your potpurri au? no pressure, just curious!

hopefully one day!!! i did have a ginzura-themed draft set in the potpourri au (it's still there ahaha i just haven't added to it in a long while) which was titled something like actually the strawberry flavour in your strawberry milk is really just sugar and red dye. i only got so far as ginzura bullying haggard old man hasegawa-san before i lost the plot of it but i aim one day to finish it!!! actually here is a snippet ahaha

After a long day at work ferrying customers back and forth through the endless streams of urban traffic, Taizou slams shut the driver's door to his cab, rolls his shoulders back and his head up, and then nearly bursts into tears.

"Please stop sitting there," he begs to the demon perched on the wall outside his house. "Please. It gives me a heart attack."

Yoshida-san's devil child, the one that the man dotes on incessantly, the one that likes to wheedle snacks from Taizou's sweet, innocent wife, the one that has tormented Taizou relentlessly without him even lifting a finger at least three times a week ever since their paths had tragically crossed, stares down dolefully.

"Hatsu doesn't mind," says Gintoki. "Besides. What's it my fault if pathetic old men die early? An old man who dies from something as lame as a heart attack is like a piece of dog crap stinking things up on the boot of society. An old man who dies from a heart attack is probably dying from something else already anyway, like crappy convenience store cigarettes or the weight of their own failures or their sunglasses leeching out all of their braincells like a cursed object."

"That's Hatsu-san to you," says Taizou, for lack of anything else.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, old men like that are already like zombies anyway. Even if they die, they'll still get up and go back home and leech off Hatsu." Gintoki pinches around the outsides of his nostrils thoughtfully, probably in search of stray boogers.

Taizou drags his hands down his face. He heaves a large sigh. His blood pressure has been climbing upwards for years at this point. "Aren't you too old to be doing things like this? Don't you have to get home? Don't you have anything better to do? Don't you have too much homework to be bullying poor, working men just trying to get by? God help me."

"Pft," says Gintoki, twelve years old and mean as hell. "As if God would listen to dog crap like you."

ooo

The first thing to ask, obviously, is why Gintoki is here.

"It's because he's run away from home again," explains Katsura-kun, politely letting himself into the kitchen through the back door. He gestures over at Gintoki (rifling through Taizou's refridgerator shelves for sweet treats) and beams at Hatsu (heading out to the garden) when she pats him on the head, even though the kid's almost as tall as she is now.

"Yeah," says Gintoki. He settles down at the table with a cup of chocolate mousse.

Taizou gazes wearily at the scene.

"Don't just come into my house like that. Who even invited you? And you. I was going to eat that. I was going to have that for dessert tonight."

Gintoki's eyes go wide and he makes a noise of surprise. "Hm? Oh, this l'il thing? Sorry. It just looked so lonely in the back of your fridge. I thought I'd keep it company. Anyway, I'm a growing boy, so I need all the sugar I can get."

"I put it up at the front so I could take it out for dessert. I was really looking forward to that."

"It's probably better that you don't eat too much sugar anyway, old man," Gintoki adds. "I heard too much sweet stuff is bad for geezers."

"You know what. Fine. Go ahead," says Taizou.

"If you're hungry or peckish," says Katsura-kun, "then I'm not sure Hasegawa-san's pantry is the best place. It would really have been better for you to stay home and let Yoshida-san stuff you with, what's that he's been baking a lot recently? I think they were lemon rosemary cookies." He pauses and looks to his left, where Gintoki nods absently into his chocolate mousse.

"Yes, that's right. Lemon rosemary shortbread cookies. They were quite good actually. Yoshida-san gave me a container to take home. I stopped by their house after school, that's why," he says to Taizou, whose expression must be showing the confusion bouncing around his brain. "He even sat me down to discuss the symbolism of the ingredients he used. He said: half a cup of sugar for the sweetness of existence, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a quarter of a teaspoon of salt for the tears shed in existence, a cup of butter, smooth and slippery, like all the things that slip out of your grasp—"

"Hey, what do you mean my pantry's not the best place?," says Taizou after a moment of realisation. "I work hard to feed myself and my wife, you know that, you brats? This whole day I was driving around rude, shithead city people who smoke in my cab and spill disgusting sticky soft drinks on my seats, and this is what I come home to?"

"You're the shithead who smokes in your cab," says Gintoki. "If your car smells like smoke, then that's because you're stinking it up in the first place, so it's your own fault."

"Are you really a little kid?" says Taizou. "Why do you have such a crude mouth for a kid? Why is everything you say so mean?"

"Hey, you're the one who said 'shithead' in the first place. I'm just repeating what you said. I'm an impressionable young boy, so you should be watching your mouth, actually. You should be a good role model."

"Don't your neighbours smoke? I see Tatsugoro-san with his pipe around all the time, are you this mean to him? Are you this mean to Ayano-san? You aren't, are you? You're only this mean to me. I'm the only one you call a pathetic old man, aren't I? I'm the only one you unleash all of your insults on, aren't I? You only call me dog crap on the boot of society."

"—two cups of all-purpose flour, soft and bright, for all the things that are so delicate that they can be blown away in a single breath, rosemary for fidelity and remembrance, oh Gintoki, what have I done that I don't deserve your fidelity, oh Gintoki, remember me, won't you Gintoki, wherever you have gone to, away from me, preserve the memory of me in your soul, even when you so evidently can no longer stand to look at my face—"

"Shoyo has a dumb face," says Gintoki to Katsura-kun. "And I'm just going to stay at your house for a week or two. I go to your house all the time."

"Well, you forget that Yoshida-san is possessed by a thousand spirits of melodrama," says Katsura-kun. "Also, lastly, lemon for bitterness. That said, I have a container for you as well, Gintoki."

Gintoki wrinkles his nose. "I don't want it, thanks."

"I'll take it," says Taizou, having been demolished by a middle schooler. "I need a pick-me-up." The container is swiftly slid across to him. "Thanks."

He opens the lid to find resting on top of the pile of warm biscuits a small square note embossed with spiky leaves around the edge. It's covered with pen drawings of hearts and sad faces and reads: FOR MY STINKY LITTLE SWEETPEA WHO IS ALWAYS WELCOME TO COME BACK HOME AT ANYTIME HE DECIDES TO RETURN HOME MOST HOPEFULLY SOON. <3.

"I wonder what Hatsu's doing outside," says Taizou. If he arches his neck, he can glimpse through the window. She's tending to the flowerbeds, it looks like. She pulls out a couple of weeds. Katsura-kun looks as if he knows exactly what is contained in Gintoki's care package (kid probably watched the note be written) and is politely ignoring it. Gintoki's face is very bland.

"Looks like there's some paper in here. With some writing on it. And some little pictures." He takes a bite out of what really is a good biscuit, sweet and buttery and still warm. Yoshida-san seriously is a good baker. "So these are kind of like fortune cookies, yeah?"

"Huh, says Katsura-kun. "I didn't get anything in mine."

"Huh," says Taizou, with maximum discretion. "Weird. Maybe something happened at the fortune cookie factory and they had a mix-up. Welp, since I'm an old geezer and I've had enough of both sorts 'a fortune, good or bad, in my lifetime, I guess you kids can have mine."

Silently, he folds up the note. Gintoki's hand is already open and outreached, though he refuses to look at it. Underneath that note is another one, which is a mournfully calligraphed poem about the temporary nature of happiness and domestic bliss that has additionally been annotated. He passes that one over as well.

"Anyway, Katsura-kun," he continues, "what was that recipe? Can you say it again, or maybe write it down? Hatsu might like it. She's mentioned wanting to try her hand at baking these days."

#pear things #asks!#potpourri au #actually reading this over after so long of having it sidelined in my mind has reminded me how silly this shoyo is ajshd #shoyo voice: oh my stinky little sweetpea #suffering is just the quintessential madao experience..

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addic-tea-d · 10 months ago

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Draco Fic Idea 👀

okay but what if there's a fic about Draco that follows him throughout the books to highlight the little things that show he's really not all that bad and, like Harry, is also a creation of his environment and the people around him. Mrs. Weasley "He's just a boy" vs Narcissa "He's just a boy"

I am basing this on the movies cause I never read the books. also, please excuse my writing, this was all word vomit. I also love a good Drarry fanfic

This is a lot to read, and slight suicidal thoughts/intentions in Year 6?

Year 1/Philosopher's Stone: Draco's so excited to meet the famous Harry Potter and was really excited to be friends but how?? dare Harry?? not take his hand??? So first year is just Draco being jealous and petty and that's where the bullying starts from. Stealing Neville's Rebembrall is just him wanting Harry's attention: if they can't be friends, might as well be enemies. And despite all his trying to act tough, he's truly a scary cat at heart: pure terror on his face when there was a troll in the dungeon, meeting Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and quickly running away. And honestly, he looked like he was going to cry when Slytherin lost the House Cup.

Year 2/Chamber of Secrets: Daddy Lucius is starting to act weird. Why? Dark forces are at work and he's getting nervous. Draco is always out to make his father proud because that was how he was raised: always looking for praise. He's obviously a curious child: looking around the shop that Harry flooed into but can't really look because "don't touch anything, draco" (Was that a deleted scene? idr). Gotta live up to the Malfoy name. Always spewing Purebloods are better because that's all he knows. "I didn't know you could read" and then looking impressed cause he learned something new from a 'friend' (they don't share much because they're more like followers than friends so he's always open to learn more about them). Still gotta keep up bullying Harry (and his friends) because who knows what Crabbe and Goyle will report back to their parents and then trickle to his father. Also doesn't help that Lucious keeps muttering things about Harry at home. And him injuring his arm at the quidditch game? Refusing to leave the infirmary? He's hoping Lucius will show up and check on him like Harry's friends did. Let's face it, he was obviously spoiled growing up, but his definition of family love is vastly different from the norm.

Year 3/Prisoner of Azkaban: "Potter, is it true you fainted? I mean, you actually fainted?" Definitely hiding his concern for Harry under the guise of making fun of him. And him looking impressed on learning how to open the monster book of monster by petting the spine? Adorable. And that look over Harry, 100% he's checking him out but then had to hide it by saying dementor. Because what if his father hears about that??? Checking out a man?? And he's such a curious student, and not just for potions. Yea, he's a little mean about it, pushing towards the front to watch, but that's the mask he's created over the past few years and it's definitely not easy to lose. Him charging up to Buckbeak? Definitely wanted to one up Harry. I mean, Buckbeak was looking very calm when Harry got off, maybe he thought Buckbeak was calm enough to approach? Or he was just being a teenage boy. But once, again, he's little scardey cat. Got scratched a little and nearly fainted lmao. And I fully believe he didn't need a cast, he just wanted to be fawned over like Harry usually is. And soft-hearted Draco when he pushed Neville aside to get in line for the Riddikulus charm: he looked shocked at how hard he pushed Neville. And he absolutely did not need to put in the effort to fold his note to Harry into a crane. OmG Dracon was absolutely terrified when he and his goons were attacked by Harry at Hogsmeade. OH OH my favorite part is when Hermione has her wand pointed at Draco and you can see his mask completely vanish to show the scared boy underneath it. Everything Draco is and does is a mask.

Year 4/Goblet of Fire: Draco boasting about him and Lucius getting good seats was him trying to get onto Lucius's nice side but that quickly backfired. Lucius has definitely gotten more stern over the years, much harder on Draco, like he actually hit Draco with his cane?? Bruh?? Draco will definitely work harder to try and get on his father's good side this year, doing whatever it takes. Still wants to be connected to Harry in any way but can't get too close because his father is getting weirder about him, so he takes his bullying to a new level. You can't look at me and say Draco climbing into a tree and taunt Harry wasn't because he wanted Harry's attention. That's so much effort not to be anything. And him lowkey telling Harry he thinks more highly of him than his father? Lasting ten minutes instead of five? I'm telling you, he's hiding how much he actually cares about Harry under all the bullying, you gotta read in between the lines. And if Draco was so terribly "oh, I don't want to mingle with halfbloods and muggle borns", he would not have had so much fun at the Yule Ball, he could have just sat out on the side, but NO! He was slow dancing and had a great time with the band. And you can't tell me Draco didn't look sad when Dumbledor was giving his speech about Cedric. Sure, Draco and his friends/goons have been bullying other students, but to hear another student dying? That's completely different.

Year 5/Order of the Phoenix: All thoughts about Draco being just Draco is out the door, he can only be Malfoy. I'm sure Lucius told Draco and Narcissa what actually happened that night with Voldemort's return. Lucius is definitely changing more and much faster, he needs his honor back and to be in Voldemort's good graces again. And upon learning Lucius is a Death Eater, Draco knows there will never, ever, be a chance of him and Harry becoming anything more than enemies. Draco is still a wimpy boy, flinching away when Harry charged at him on the platform despite being 'bold' enough to taunt him. But his curiosity ensues as he takes Divination with Professor Trelawney, an elective class. If this website is correct, that means Draco not only chose Divination as an elective for Year 3, but stuck with it for 2 years and didn't drop it. That, or he wanted to be closer to Harry. I'll take both. And Draco definitely uses 'Harry up to no good' as an excuse to stalk follow him in the open, fueling his Harry obsession. Draco's face when Umbridge slapped Harry? If he truly did hate Harry like he pretends he does, he would look happy at the action but instead he looked oh so bamboozled.

Year 6/Half-Blood Prince: Things had definitely shifted at home. Lucius was thrown into Azkaban, his mother was probably all over the place, there were probably people Death Eaters entering and leaving his house quite a lot. He's terribly on edge, you can tell on the train when the 'smoke bomb' went off: he's the only one standing up and looking around. The comment about Draco throwing himself off the Astronomy Tower if he had to continue at Hogwarts for another two years? He knew something bad was going to happen at school and he didn't want any part in it (with him having to find the vanishing cabinet. He was reluctant to follow after his mother into the shop with the first cabinet, showing he wasn't comfortable with the idea). This book definitely shows the conflicts Draco goes through, wanting to make his parents proud, but also being forced to do things that would kill him if he didn't comply. A little excessive to break Harry's nose, but he did do it because Harry put his father into Azkaban, and he did still look up to Lucius. I can't really say I approve. He was acting completely unlike his usual self during school. Before, he would at least be more animate, perhaps bully other people, but instead, he looked down and kept to himself. When he found the second Vanishing Cabinet, it looked as if he couldn't believe his eyes, as if he had hoped he wouldn't have found it. He didn't want to be a part of Voldemort's plans, but since having found it, he knew he had no choice. "I was chosen for this. Out of all others, me. I won't fail him." Yeah, well, he didn't sound all that proud when he said that to Snape. And even Snape could tell Draco was afraid. Who wouldn't be? And the symbolism between Draco and the feather he was holding?? A feather from a bird who can fly away with their own freedom yet Draco cannot???? I can't *cries*. Let's admit Draco did a shoddy job of trying to assassinate Dumbledore. A cursed necklace? Poisoned Mead? He wasn't even trying, it was like he was looking to get caught.

omg the bathroom deserves its own little paragraph. Obviously Draco is stressed and nearly going crazy due to everything happening in his life. He was nearly having a panic attack, clothes felt too constricting so he took off his sweater vest and starts heaving and crying. Sure, Draco cast the first spell and started the fight, but who's to say he didn't do it out of fear? Thinking perhaps Harry was there to curse him so he attacked first. And who's to say Draco didn't hope he actually died after being hit by the Sectumsempra spell?? Then he would no longer have to continue working on the cabinet or assassinate Dumbledore. And who's to say, after being saved by Snape, he didn't ask "why did you save me, why not just leave me to die?"

The scene of Draco and Dumbledore is pretty self-explanatory. The Malfoy mask is gone and it's just Draco. Draco who was not only dragged into a war, but into evil. He who showed Dumbledore his dark mark but held no pride for it. "I don't want your help. Don't you understand? I have to do this. I have to kill you... or he's going to kill me." This entire scene, just pain. Nothing else. The pain on his face when Bellatrix? blew apart the Great Hall, a place that held memories of his past six years. And the painful realization Harry was there when Snape killed Dumbledore, which means he saw Draco there (who knows how long he was there).

Year 7/Deathly Hallows: would Draco not be depressed here? Lucius is home, but Voldemort and Death Eaters had taken over his home. Voldemort is always talking about Lucius' failures, and Lucius is not taking that very well. Any happy memory Draco had in his own home would be quickly covered with dark new ones, who was murdered where (like the lady in the dining room), and probably also screams from the cells. omg imagine being terrified in your own home where one wrong move could end your life. Always pressured by Lucius to do better so they would be forgiven by Voldemort. Ugh imagine the pressure but he still tried to do good by not revealing Harry. And he didn't try very hard to hold onto the keys to the cells when Harry grabbed them. And when Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle face Harry, Goyle tells Draco "go on Draco, don't be a prat" when Draco doesn't move. Draco doesn't really want to hurt Harry, he just wants his wand back (I think that's what's happening here? idr). We all know how special a wand is to a wizard. Poor Goyle dies in his own fire, even if they weren't all the closest, Goyle was still one of the closest people Draco knew and he never really had time to grieve. Lucky to survive the fire, Draco is definitely going to have a fear of fire after that. And his hesitation to walk over to his parents after Voldemort comes to Hogwarts carrying Harry's body?? He really didn't want to go. He only moved after his mother called for him (haha fu Lucius) and went to his mother's side (FU AGAIN Lucius!). He definitely did not enjoy Voldemort's hug. And my FAVORITE SCENE but is a deleted scene ahhh is when Draco calls out to Harry and throws him his wand. Despite everything, despite knowing he could very well die by doing so, Draco still wants to do the right thing and help take down Voldemort.

He was just a boy who needs lots of love and hugs and much therapy and goddammit now I need to write this.

#omg #I'm so obsessed #with #Draco Malfoy #from #Harry Potter #ugh #I need this #as a #fanfic #actually #you know what #I'm gonna do it myself #this is just me rambling #I'm aiming for #Drarry

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redhatmeg · 1 year ago

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And now the fight between Sanji and Luffy.

First of all, Sanji probably doesn't believe he can be saved and that's because his family seems to be too powerful and there are too many things at stake - not just Sanji's hands and Zeff's head, but probably even Straw Hats' lives too - for him to see any way out of this situation. He also can't tell Luffy anything about this, because he's riding with his monstrous brothers and father.

So he decides to play along and say some terrible things to his captain. And he knows Luffy very well; he knows what words will make him angry and what kind of men Luffy despises. And so Sanji plays a spoiled noble, he talks about social standing and about being able to use servants and soldiers as he likes.

Look at his face in that scene. Look at his eyes and arrogant smile. He really wants to come off as evil and smug, and heartless as most of the villains Straw Hats encountered. He wants Luffy to see him as a liar and piece of shit; as a false friend not worth saving.

But Luffy went through a similar "We are not friends anymore" bullshit with Nami and Robin, and he didn't give up on them either, so he quickly see through his cook's performance and calls him out.

Yonji proposes to fight with Luffy, but Sanji tells him he will "send them off" himself. And I have two ideas as why he does that:

Because he doesn't want Luffy to face his brothers. As I said earlier, he doesn't believe right now that there is a way out of this situation. I think that recently he reverted to this scared, bullied child who is helpless against his abusers, so he doesn't believe Luffy can take Vansmokes, especially on his own. Given that Vansmokes earlier threatened him repeatedly about attacking Baratie ("There will be blood on East Blue." and all that crap), so even if Luffy used all his fighting techniques and beat up each and every Vansmoke, Baratie could suffer every moment.

Because he's playing both before Luffy and his family a cold-hearted man who betrayed his captain for wealth and comfort.

When Sanji attacks with one of his more powerful moves, he expects Luffy to fight back, to defend himself with haki if necessery... but Luffy doesn't want to fight. He wants to talk. He wants to know what's going on. As I said earlier, he went through this with Nami and Robin, and he's not going to just give up on a member of his crew.

Their fight is very one-sided (even if Luffy calls it a duel) - Sanji attacks and Luffy takes it. Finally Sanji - knowing that his captain won't give up on him and won't fight him either - uses a very powerful move that knocks Luffy out. Nami slaps him for this, but it's safe to assume that Sanji used enough power to make Luffy unconscious, but not enough to kill him. And even if the Vansmokes won't believe that Luffy is dead, they will believe that Sanji cut his ties with him.

Anyway, Luffy gets up pretty quickly and says it how it is:

"I know you were just saying things that you didn't want to! Stop lying! Did you think you could send me away that easily?! Screw that! No matter how many times you kick me, you're the one that gets hurt."

Nami is skeptical of Sanji, but Luffy shuts her down and vows to stay in one place and starve until Sanji comes back. It's important to remember that before he does it, he has a flashback of Sanji telling him about All-Blue. He even says: "Our journey isn't done yet." Sanji may say that he's happy now, but Luffy knows his deepest dream and Straw Hat wants Sanji to achieve it.

"You're the cook of my ship! I won't eat anything other than what you cook! Even if I get hungry or the spears rain on me, I'll stay right here and wait for you! Be sure to come back, Sanji! Without you, I... I can't become the Pirate King!"

This vow is especially poignient because ever since his two years in Okama hell, Sanji started to be more vocal about wanting Luffy to become a Pirate King and his own motivation for staying in Queendom was to make his camrades stronger.

Sanji knows it, Nami knows it, we know it - Luffy is a glutton and needs meat. So for him saying he won't eat anything, unless Sanji comes back, is a big deal.

#meg rewatches one piece #one piece #monkey d. luffy #black leg sanji

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newsies1992daydreams · 2 years ago

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Problematic Aspects of Newsies (1992)

I love Newsies. That’s an understatement. I LOVE Newsies. The music, the characters, the turn of the century time period, the history, the underdog story that ends with children victorious over adults. I adore this story with my whole heart and soul.

That said, I think it is really important to discuss the aspects of Newsies that I love ... less. Weak writing, character assassination, questionable things that creep me out and make me want to ask the creative team behind this musical “WTF were you thinking?” I’ll be honest, I personally think the Broadway stage show has a lot more problematic elements in it’s writing that I’m itching to discuss. I still love it -- but yeah, there are several writing and character choices that make me cringe. This is NOT an attack on the production nor anyone’s love of the stage show. No drama here. Just a conversation I haven’t seen anyone have yet. But in good faith, I’ll discuss the weaknesses of Newsies (1992) film first.

Let me emphasize, I love this movie so much. I spent my fist summer with it watching it daily. Years later, I still love it, but can acknowledge the problematic elements of it.

I think the majority of problematic aspects in this film come from the lack of meaningful female characters. Newsies doesn’t pass the Bechtel test nor is it a feminist film. There are three named female characters, all of which have minuscule screen time. David’s mother Ester Jacobs appears once. Sarah Jacobs is David’s older sister and Jack’s love interest. She has one private conversation with Jack and then follows the newsies around as they organize the Children Crusade outside of the World Building, but has little to no personality outside of her relationship status to David and Jack (as a sister and love interest). Medda appears in two scenes and has the least loved songs in the film.

The lack of these three characters is such a disservice to both the story of Newises and the characters themselves. I know this because I read Newsies original script (when it was still a drama, not a musical) Hard Promises and all three women had more scenes and meaningful interactions with Jack and David. Sarah was vocal about her Socialist political stance and supported the strike. She called Jack out on his decision to scab when no one else would. Ester impulsively slapped David out of fear and anger when he announced the strike to his family. Her reaction raised the stakes and told the audience the newsies may be children, but the strike was more serious than a child’s play and affected more than just the kids. Meda was one of the few adults supporting the strike and the newsies with respect.

Watering these characters down weakens the story. How are David and Jack supposed to react and be influenced by those around them when the people (i.e. women) around them barely say or do anything?

There are also no female newsies in the ensamble cast either. Historically most of the newsies were boys. But girls were newsies too. Girl newsies even had their own Lodging House, so they did exist, but the film fails to represent them in any way. Luckily, the Broadway stage show was able to include them, so at least that was remedied.

Another problematic aspect of Newsies is the Delancy’s sexual harassment of Sarah when they attack the Jacobs siblings. The way they touch Sarah (grabbing her waist and dragging her into an alley) and talk to her (calling her sweetheart and tootsie)/about her “we’ve got the best part of your family right here.”) carries a super rapey undertone. It’s uncomfortable and completely unnecessary.

Compare the Delancy’s attack on Sarah to their attack on Les in the same scene. Neither are their true target, who happens to be David. Les gets pushed into a mud puddle, then thrown into a pile of empty metal jugs. The Delancy brothers are capable of bullying without bullying through sexual harassment. On a narrative level, we already know the Delancys are bad guys. This scene isn’t to establish how bad they or or that they are worse than the viewer thought. So they don’t get any more bad guy points for sexually harassing Sarah. The Delancy’s could have treated Sarah more like Les. Knock her basket out of her hands, push her down -- you know, be bullies -- but ultimately let go of her and keep their hands off her.

Sarah doesn’t have many scenes or dialog in the film, so to still include her being sexually harassed in one of her few scenes is incredibly insulting to her character. Violence against women is too socially and culturally accepted, especially in film. Nothing in the scene demands their attack against her be sexualized. So why was it?

If the story wanted to Jack to come to the rescue and decide his friendship with the Jacobs siblings is more important than turning scab, it could have been done another way. Again, I know this for a fact because Hard Promises, the original screenplay, DID it. In Hard Promises Les was was injured accidentally while striking and Jack rushed to his rescue because Les’s safety was more important than any deal with Pulitzer. So a scene including anyone being attacked and sexually harassed was completely unnecessary.

Newsies is a wonderful, joyful story based on some really interesting historical events. It’s well loved for a reason, but that doesn’t automatically make it perfect or exempt from criticism. I really wish the 1992 film gave these female characters more screen time and agency because imagine how much better Newsies could be! As fans we have the power to “correct” these problematic elements in our headcanons and fanfic and our conversations within the fandom. Instead of saying how boring Sarah is and pretending she doesn’t exist, we can instead re-frame the conversation as damn, the movie really did Sarah (and all of the other female characters) dirty. Because it sure did.

#Newsies #newsies 1992 #hard promises #sarah jacobs #newsies jacobs family #newsies meda #meta

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110789angle · 2 years ago

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Before Winnie of Pooh Blood and Honey, The Mean One, Bambi Reckoning, and Peter Pan. NOW new Disney horror.

I always have a version of this.

There also are other horror version ideas.

Grimm Fairy Tales #2

Cindy Monroe grew up as an awkward teenager but desired the same things as other teenage girls want – a degree of acceptance and attention. When she finished high school, she moved on to college where she hoped to put her past behind her by joining a sorority. After feeling hurt and running away from the sorority girls. Stop by the Fairy Tales book clubs in studio auditory.

In this version Cinderella makes a deal with the fairy godmother in exchange for her soul. This version of Cinderella also wishes that her stepmother and stepsisters be killed, a fate to which they succumb (violently.) As this was the period when Sela was being influenced by Belinda’s trickery, Cindy takes the wrong message out of this and seeks revenge. In the end she finally finds the prince charming.

Detention (2019)

Cinderhella was in the movie, but not a supporting character. A group of teens went to see this movie called “Cinderhella 2: Beauty Screams″. In the scene, the victim girl was caught in the middle with Cinderhella on medical torture chair like SAW and asked to put on the slippery and cut inside the stomach. The victim girl tried to apology to her about sex as a joke. My theory was story was she probability Cinderhella was genuinely nice, helpful, easy going, and normal girl. Maybe leave of religion parent or another stepfamily could be strict. When Hella started hanging out with a group of teens. Some are teased but not much being bullied. The teens trick her and make her to have sex without saving herself before marriage. She ran away feeling a sinner and become suicided by burning her body. Then never saw Hella again in high school years. Now she is out getting revenge on the teens who did it to her.

Grimm TV show-Happily Ever Aftermath

Lucinda Jarvis was nine-years old when her mother died, and two years later the father remarried. Lucinda and her stepfamily did not get along well. The godfather, Spencer Harrison, gave her everything that she wanted to make sure she didn’t lose control. She stayed distance from her family. Spencer was able to sneak her uninvited into a black-tie party, where Lucinda wins the heart of Arthur Jarvis (Prince Charming), who had been occupied with her stepsisters' minutes before, further fueling jealousy. Arthur and Lucinda finally got married. Years passed Lucinda’s father killed himself because the financial problems. Arthur and Spencer went Lucinda’s stepmother Mavis Kerfield who's ran the business after husband death to asked for money. Mavis turns them down, however, because they have stayed away from the family for so long.

First Lucinda killed her stepmother and one of stepsister but one alive. Later, that night Arthur got attacked by Lucinda, and realized that she never loved him. She has no conscience and will kill the last remaining for inherit her father's $52 million fortune.

He was caught and cornered in the basement when she heard a terrible noise that made her head and ears in agony pain. She escaped.

Her godfather, Spencer caught up to her.

She begged him to help her. He agreed but he cannot let her escape again.

He had killed her with his screeching noise to ease her pain and suffering all those years.

Spencer apologized but he regrets nothing as it was for her own good.

But in the end, she doesn’t wish to be abandoned by anyone ever again. She shifted to her fang and killed him.

They both died in the ending.

Is it a happy ending?

Or a sad ending?

You decide.

Criminal Minds: If The Shoes Fit

Claire Dunbar was born in 1990 raised by the single father Edward when the mother in prison. Claire’s father became pedophile to her and others. As a child, she would be read bedtime stories by her father when he wasn't abusing her, which caused her to become heavily fond of books. Her favorite story was the Cinderella fairy-tale. When she was five, she was abandoned at a shopping mall by Edward after he lost his job and was struggling financially, with only a note of apology attached to her blouse. Claire’s father finally got arrested for assaulted two girls and dead in jail of heart attacks. Claire was in a foster family mother and three daughters.

During adulthood, Claire worked at the dry cleaners but had a poor work ethic and tendency to steal some of the dresses that were dropped off. She loves to read other adult romance novels that are part of fairy tales. Claire targeted handsome male Caucasian college students in their 20s that look alike Prince Charming in the fairy tales in the stories, all of whom would approach her first after being captivated by her beauty. After going out on only one date with them, she would talk with them about finding the right person to love, and when their responses or behaviors were unsatisfactory, she would attack them in fits of rage.

Finally, when the FBI caught up to her, that is when Reed decided to finish the story. The story that she had never found out what happened in the ending of Cinderella.

He said that he was searching for the maiden whom he danced in a ball. He searches high and wide to find the mysterious maiden that can fit this glass slipper.

Claire was happy. She believes that she had found her prince charming in the fairy tale.

Reed kneeled and put on her glass slipper (Evidence at the crime scene) and he escorted her to the police car.

#cinderella #horror movie #horror fairy tales #criminal minds #detention #grimm tv show

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eclipsejynx · 3 months ago

Note

TW - mentions of death, small mention of suicide and running away, bullying, rotting, sadistic and abusive behavior

OMG THIS IS LITERALLY MY NIGHTMARE not literally there's a few differences! The only way he'd ever ACTUALLY be 'happy' for once is if he dies or if Dream gets out of his life for good! Not in the sense that Dream dies, no. If Dream ever died and his soul, the last golden apple, was permanently destroyed and dusted, Nightmare would have a really, really bad panic attack. Both from emotional issues and the lack of positivity that affects the balance. Picture that one scene from Avatar: The Last Airbender, where Azula starts sobbing after being defeated (link). He'd start sobbing and screaming and, since the balance is even more unstable, he'd start to slowly fade away in an agonizing death.

Despite it all, he's just a child that wanted love. A really fucked up child, sure, but he didn't know any better. Lack of guidance and parental figures scarred him. He leeched onto people who showed even the slightest care for him, fake or not. Dream, in the past, was his only source of hope. So, if Dream died, he'd panic and die.

If Dream were just away from Nightmare, however, things would be different.

Similar to the legend I reblogged (@signanothername), my Nightmare is obsessed with Dream. Nightmare thinks that Dream is the source of their suffering, and it would be better if they never existed. So, this has two endings.

Let's go under the assumption everyone left Nightmare; Killer left with Color, Dust and Horror went somewhere else (maybe they went with Swap? I'm still thinking about it), and Nightmare's just abandoned.

You see, my Nightmare had abandonment issues. BAD abandonment issues. In my AU and multiverse, he always latched onto people who showed even a hint of loyalty and affection. He's like a leech. So, when those people leave, he's left in confusion.

Poor baby doesn't know what love is or how to show it :[

He's been abused his whole life, he's become quite sadistic. Being raised in such an abusive environment, he's 'learned' that violence is normal behavior.

He'd have a panic attack, not as severe as if Dream died, and he'd probably just sulk in his castle. He'd probably stay isolated, never going outside. I like to imagine that his body would slowly start to rot and grow moss on it with the amount of negative emotions being overwhelming for him. If Nightmare was left alone without anyone, he'd be swirling in confusion that he'd start to kill himself from the inside.

That's what would happen if Nightmare was abandoned and left alone. But, what if it wasn't like that? What if Dream just left him alone for good?

well, at first... he'd probably die.

he's spent so long searching for Dream, attacking him, and the thought of Dream just leaving him... hurts. He's always gotten negative attention, he's thought that negative attention is better than no attention. he needs Dream. He gave him a purpose.

so, first reaction, his body would probably try to self-destruct.

However, if he lives through that part, he'd probably try to slow adjust. With nothing to do, he'd probably go back to old hobbies from the past, probably reading, learning languages, making up his own languages, and doing things he probably should've done when he was a kid.

honestly, with the head trauma he faced, he'd probably start to become childish. of course, he was childish by thinking with his heart instead of his head, but this would be more of an age regression. He'd probably need a person to help him mentally. I'd like to imagine Killer, saying he stuck around the longest, but I dunno-

---

if Nightmare died, he'd smile at it.

all the trauma and suffering would be over.

he'd smile at Dream's tears and think about how pathetic they are. Yeah, he'd prefer dying with Dream than anyone else.

After all, if Dream starts crying at his death, Nightmare didn't lose, it's a draw.

im curious, do you think nightmare could have a happy ending? Maybe not a typical one, but just a quiet painless moment before death where he can feel at least a little happy? I dunno

I love your inerpritatiom of him so much. Hes like a little wet rag full of trauma (affectionate)

Y’know I actually think about this nonstop

Like can my Nightmare actually have a happy ending? When he’s just doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over without taking a step back to look at himself and his actions?

And well, i love the fact you said he wouldn’t have a typical happy ending, cause that’s exactly how i see it

The thing is, when it comes to his relationship with Dream, I think it’s a bit on the doomed side, where the possibility of them to reconcile and find common ground is there, but both of them are too blinded by their pain to truly settle down and talk it out like adults (even when Dream tries to talk to Nightmare, it always escalates to them fighting, whether physically or verbally, and it’s not always Nightmare that’s in the wrong, sometimes it’s Dream in the wrong, and other times both of them can be in the wrong for one reason or another, but the result is the same with them just fighting, that’s why they usually end up staying silent whenever they’re in the same place and they’re not fighting each other, they simply keep each other company without a word)

So when it comes to the twins they’re too broken, and their relationship is too scarred for the both of them to truly heal together

So if anything, I think Nightmare is only going to heal if he just finds a life that isn’t revolved around Dream at all, and yeah, that’s kinda fucked up, but sometimes, you can’t be happy unless you’re far away from that family, where they’re out of sight and out of mind

And don’t get me wrong it isn’t cause Dream is a bad brother at all, it’s more cause Nightmare’s pain is mostly around the apple incident and his twin, so for him to actually finally heal, he needs to let go of the obsession of getting the final apple and the obsession of how Dream must have been the main reason for his pain somehow, and he can’t let go of that obsession, unless Dream’s somewhere far away from where he is, somewhere unreachable

That’s where the 500 years of Dream in stone comes in, I like to think that Nightmare was actually mostly chill during that period, not saying he wasn’t spreading negativity at all, but he was too traumatized and too busy wanting to move on and finding a future for himself that he wasn’t too bad, but once he settled down his mind started catching up to him and instead of chasing a future away from his pain, his mind instead got back to become stuck in the past and all he’s reminded of is the pain he went through, and he definitely wasn’t at all happy, but even then, i’d still say he was peaceful in his own way

But when Dream got free? Yeah every little ounce of pain, trauma, bad and good memories came crashing down and well, Nightmare, the being who acts on emotions more than brain just immediately goes nuts

Enter: mean girl bitchmare

And well, i think it’s kinda obvious how it goes, Nightmare’s behavior just gets worse and worse as the time goes on with every time he gets to see Dream’s face (to Nightmare, it’s the only reminder left for him about the abuse he went through)

That being said, the only happy ending Nightmare could truly have is if Dream just was far away, not dead, never dead, just… far far away

But i can also see the possibility of Nightmare finding peace in the very last moments of his life had he died, but only if he gets to die within Dream’s arms, cause whether he finds happiness with Dream far away or not, a buried part of Nightmare still loves Dream deep inside, and Nightmare would perfer to die within the arms of the only person who ever truly cared about him, than die all alone without someone to whisper reassurances as he faces his fear of death

And hey, a part of Nightmare smiles in sadistic glee at Dream’s tears as he holds his corpse :)

#y'know #I always get so nervous when I reblog stuff from one of my idols #cause I always remember #they can see this shit #so I always try to word it carefully then reread it #only to realize I sound so freaking weird #like bro-#UUUAGAUHAGHGH #I SOUND SO WEIRD

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undeadorion-archive · 1 year ago

Text

Random reminder that when it comes to someone inadvertently reminding you of past trauma is not their fault nor is it their responsibility. I mean situations in which someone is in their own space, talking about something not typically traumatic, but because of your personal association with it you take personal offense to it. Yes, your emotions are valid and in no way trivial, but that does not give you a right to attack, blame, or otherwise harass the person who you view as having caused it.

Part of engaging with the fractured public spaces like social media, where everyone has their own little corner, is managing yourself. It is not the responsibility of others.

I was randomly reminded recently of two incidents where I encountered this sort of behavior.

The first was in a discord server with other artists. I was at the store and spotted two abominations on the shelf: dessert hummus. Brownie and cookie dough, specifically. I wanted to share the horror with my art friends, and one of them just lost their shit at me.

Their reason: They were a non-white person and as a child they were bullied over having non-traditional lunches and in general over food preferences. This translated into getting mad at people who judge "ethnic" foods without having tried them before.

The problem: I actually love hummus. I never said anything against real hummus. The products I posted were an American corruption. But the person would not accept this and caused such a scene I was eventually left the server.

The second time was on a site called Plurk. Like a weird cross between twitter and discord where each post is its own little chat thread. I'd been trying to watch YouTubers that people were always pushing on me to figure out if there was something I was missing. Usually they were just the "loud means funny" sort. One was Markiplier. Who I discovered I really don't like. In one of the videos I selected at random, there was some weird sort of animal abuse talk and I was frankly horrified. And a random person took serious offense to my disliking of him.

Their reason: Markiplier reminded them of their brother who died. So somehow my not liking him was an offense to the memory of their brother? I still don't understand it.

The problem: The worst thing I said was questioning how people could insist he was the most wholesome YouTuber, and general confusion. I kept telling the person they needed to back off and that they were too close to this to be rational. But they just kept pushing and yelling at me. And other people were jumping in and getting involved. It was chaos. It was one of my last straws and I left the whole scene not long after that.

And these are minor compared to the offense people take at others online. So before you go attacking someone else, deal with your own shit. Just because someone doesn't like something that you hold close to your heart has nothing to do with you unless they're saying you shouldn't like it. Directly. Because, shocker of all shockers, a random person online not liking something has absolutely fuck all to do with you.

And if you do attack people over things they had no way of knowing? Sit down and shut the fuck up.

#orion rant time #i saw a tiktok about this sort of behavior #it drives me fucking insane #you can like what you want #i literally don't care #i block tags of stuff i don't like #and all is well #as long as you're not pushing it on me

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faintblueivy · 4 years ago

Text

So Imagine...

A world where Bruce Wayne died as a child in that alley that day, Martha and Thomas Wayne grieve as normal parents. They DO NOT BECOME BATMAN AND JOKER.

Nothing ever remains the same after losing their little boy. So, Thomas buries himself in his work and Martha drowns herself in depression and pain. They do therapy and it works a little and life becomes bearable but...not happy.

One day, Alfred badgers the couple to go out and relax a little and buys them tickets for a circus - Haly’s circus. Everything was going nice and dandy and Martha was in awe of this little acrobat as much as the rest of the crowd when suddenly the rope snaps and the boy’s parents fall to their deaths - right in front of him and the gathering. Thomas is quick to jump in to see if he could help them in any way but Martha can see it in his eyes that they are as dead as they can be.

They return to home with heavy hearts and Martha can’t get the image of the little boy out of her head. His skin was a light shade of bronze but his dark hair and bright cerulean blue eyes reminded her so much of Bruce that her heart wouldn’t rest. So a few days later she uses her connections to know if the child is safe and well cared for, when to her immense horror, she is replied that he was shipped to Gotham Juvie due to the lack of foster homes. She is enraged.

She calls Thomas and Alfred and lets them know about the little acrobat’s situation and declares that she was going to adopt him. They hesitate a little but she is not to be deterred as she goes ahead and brings the little boy home.

Richard John Grayson - Wayne. Or Dick, as he likes to call himself.

He is adamant that he wants no parents and Martha is fine because not only that she is old enough to be not his mother but also because no child can ever be her Bruce.

“You can just call me Grandma then.” She tells him.

His eyes are wide but he nods and then smiles and Martha, in a long while, has never felt this happy.

Her new Grandson, despite losing his parents, is a ray of sunshine with unlimited supply of energy and the cold and empty manor is warm and happy again.

Dick is a little charmer and even after Thomas and Alfred’s initial reluctance, they immediately fall in love with the boy and one day, when Martha comes down to the morning breakfast, she hears a happy, deep rumble - one she has not heard in many years. Thomas is laughing.

There on the dining table, seated beside Dick, was Thomas laughing. Her eyes water at the scene and Alfred, who is standing beside her offers her a handkerchief. None of them mention how his own eyes are wet too.

...

Dick is sixteen, a brilliant boy in academics as much as they disinterest him but an invincible athlete. Martha has been told time and time again that her grandson is undoubtedly a international level gymnast. But he is a teenager.

And teenagers steal their grandparent’s ‘coolest’ car and rush off into the night. But they don’t come back with a little battered and bruised, homeless kid tucked under their arm.

“He had jacked three tires off your car. When I confronted him, he tried to hit me with a tire iron.” He says, amused, as Thomas tries to convince the child to show him his injuries.

“I didn’t do nothin’! He’s a fuckin’ big boob liar!” They boy screams, his blue green eyes glaring daggers at Dick.

“Language.” Both her and Alfred warn simultaneously.

After hours of struggle, interrogation and fuck you’s, Martha learns that the child’s name is Jason. He is twelve. Mother died form drug overdosing and Dad is a petty henchman of some crime lord. He ran away from multiple foster homes because they are so abusive that the child feels safer on streets.

Martha goes on a rampage over Gotham’s foster care after that. She did not donate millions of dollars annually for children to feel safer on streets. After of lot of talks and reassurances and promises, Martha acquires her second grandchild.

Jason Peter Todd - Wayne.

Jason is tiny. Malnourished like Leslie said. But he is sharp, observant and hungry for knowledge. Martha and Alfred joke that Jason is Thomas' soul child. Where Dick had loved activity and movement, Jason liked quiet and stability - Martha thinks that running and fighting for survival on streets every single day does that you. So evenings often found her and Dick in the garden but Thomas and Jason in the library pouring over as many books as they can.

And to nobody's surprise, despite their rocky start, the boys become inseparable. They are outwardly different, with clashing interests and behaviors but Martha can see that they both carry the same cores of light.

When the morning of Dick’s Parent’s death anniversary comes around, both her and Thomas find Jason on Dick’s bed, arms curled protectively around his big brother. For the first time in so many years, Dick wakes up to warmth surrounding him, not nightmares.

...

Both her grandsons attend Gotham Academy so when she receives a phone call from the Principal, she is half surprised and half not. When she enters the Principal’s office, both her boys are standing on one side, Jason with his head hung in shame and Dick glaring daggers at the other side. The boy who seems to be injured is being coddled by his mother who is shooting nasty glares at her grandchildren periodically.

Then she notices another small boy standing beside her boys, trying to melt into the wall.

Tim Drake. The only son of Jack and Janet Drake of Drake Industries.

She arches a questioning eyebrow at Dick who shakes his head and then she turns to the Principal.

“What happened here?”

“Glad to see you’re here Mrs. Wayne.” The Principal says, pushing his glasses up his nose, “I regret to inform you that your ward Jason Peter Todd attacked this young man here.” He gestures to the other boy.

“Madam, Gotham Academy is a prestigious school and we do not encourage physical violence here. Yes, it might have been acceptable from where he came from but it won’t be, here. I hope you give us the right to punish Mr. Todd here appropriately.”

Martha inwardly bristles at the jab at her grandson and says crisply, “Mr. Wayne.”

“What?”

“He’s not just Todd. He is a Wayne. Please remember that.”

“Principal Sir.” Dick cuts in and Martha is confused because as hyperactive as Dick is, he is a mannerly child and knows better than to cut in a conversation like this but what draws her attention is the chilling tone which Dick almost never uses. Dick continues, “Why don’t you tell our grandmother more of your regrets? Or the prestigious Gotham Academy believes that bullying is acceptable.”

Martha has been told what she needs to know.

“Jason?” she calls out to her youngest grandson softly, “What happened?”

Jason is quiet when suddenly Tim Drake moves forward. She can see he is scared the way his hands shake but determination shines in his blue eyes. She likes him.

“I want to say something.”

He narrates the tale of how he was being bullied and how the boy on the other side with his mother threw his science project model away and broke it and physically tried to attack him when Jason stepped in to save him. Martha felt nothing but pride at Jason’s righteous indignation.

Tim also explained that Jason exercised immense control even after these bullies called him ‘street rat’, but the verbal spar intensified after Dick was insulted for his Romani heritage, but it came to fist fight after Thomas and Martha were insulted, and Bruce’s death was made fun of.

Her gaze snaps to the other three occupants of the room and they are all in various shades of pale. Apparently, the Principal had not done his homework.

“Principal” She says icily, “Yes, I give you the authority to punish Jason appropriately but only when this young man here”, she gestures to the boy who was now cowering behind his mother, “Is dealt with in the same way.”

After threatening the Principal in soft words but harsh tone about not tolerating to having her grandsons bullied the next time, she grabs Jason’s hand to drag him away from these people who don’t deserve his company, when her eyes fall on the little trembling Tim.

She offers him her hand.

He stares at it, shocked but after an encouraging smile from Dick and a small shove from Jason, he takes it shyly.

And since that day, Tim becomes a member of Martha’s family. The boys stay together so much that even Thomas forgets that Tim is not theirs.

Tim’s upbringing sends Martha’s grandmother instincts on a haywire and she resents the Drakes for their criminal neglect towards Tim.

It is rewarding that Tim flourishes in their attention.

She learns that his hobby is Photography and he is excellent at it. And he is a genius when it comes to science, computers and gadgets. He likes crime thrillers movies and books and often picks them apart with his scarily good knowledge about forensics that leave the rest of the family in awe and slightly disturbed.

The dam breaks when one day Jason and Dick return back from school telling her that Tim was absent today and they are worried about him. When they later sneak into the Drake mansion in the evening, Thomas receives a frantic call from their oldest grandchild that Tim was burning with fever. Because Thomas is a doctor, they save Tim before anything serious happens.

This time, it is Thomas who sues the Drakes for Tim’s custody after him and Jason had, had enough of ‘Timbo’s shitty parents’.

“Timothy?” Martha brushes his sweat soaked forehead gently. “Would you like to be a member of our family legally?"

Tim is hesitant about this but he admits that he likes Wayne manor much better than he ever liked Drake mansion. He confesses that he loves Jason and Dick as brothers and sees Martha, Thomas and Alfred as his grandparents as well.

The long custody battle ends with both Jack and Janet Drake dying at the hands of two different tragedies, leaving Tim an orphan, but also with a loving family consisting of three grandparents and two brothers by his side.

Timothy Jackson Drake - Wayne is adopted into the Wayne family as her and Thomas’ third grandson.

...

A year after they adopt Tim, Thomas comes home with a small girl on his side. She is clearly an east Asian in heritage with dark hair and dark eyes and is speech deprived. Thomas is clearly distressed after Cassandra - her name is Cassandra - is safely secured in warm bed in a nice room across Jason’s. He calls her, the three boys and Alfred to his study to explain about the small girl.

He talks about how Gordon brought the girl to him and after hours of wordless, signed and clumsily sketched on paper conversations with the little girl they were able to determine that Cassandra was hiding from her father who was an assassin and wanted to drag the little girl down the same path before she ran away. The more he talks about the damage and abuse the girl had experienced at the hands on her own father, the more furious Martha becomes. When Thomas’ explanations ends, Jason slams a punch into the wall making a dent but no one has the heart to reprimand him for that.

The following morning, Martha can see that her three boys have unanimously decided that they are adopting Cassandra as their sister. She is treated like a Princess, and given the nick name ‘Cass’.

Slowly but surely, Cass learns what it means to love through Dick’s bright kindness, Jason’s quiet protection and Tim’s infinite patience. After her father is finally apprehended, the family celebrates.

Cassandra Wayne, soon after, becomes the beloved Wayne Princess of Gotham.

Martha and Thomas often accompany their only granddaughter to her speech therapy lessons, so after six months of her adoption, at dinner, she places a kiss on everyone’s forehead - her three brothers and three grandparents, stands at the head of the table and croaks out, slowly, “Thank...thank you.” All of them stare at her flabbergasted, but it appears that she was planning to shock them even more.

“You...Love. Love you...”

The silence that follows her broken but sure words is deafening. Surprisingly it is Tim who breaks it as he scrambles out of his chair and launches himself at Cass, wrapping his arms around her and both Jason and Dick follow him, grabbing both their youngest siblings fiercely.

A quiet sob breaks her out of the trance and she smiles when she watches Thomas furiously wiping his tears from the sleeve of his shirt. The last time he had cried was at Bruce’s funeral. And Martha is infinitely grateful that this time these are happy tears.

...

Sometimes Martha wonders what would have happened if Bruce had lived. If these children are her grandchildren then does that mean they are Bruce’s kids? Had Bruce lived, would he have accepted these gaggle of kids that her and Thomas have collected over the years as his own? Would he have kids of his own?

Her questions are answered when one day she hears a slight commotion in the entrance is surprised to see a young woman with a sword threatening Alfred.

“I want to meet the Master of this house. Let them know immediately.” She demands in an authoritative but silky voice, and Martha suddenly sees the Toddler clutched in her arm.

“What is it?” Martha speaks as soon as she can when the woman notices her. She looks surprised for a second but immediately schools her features as the baby fusses.

“You’re alive.” She whispers and before any of them could make an indignant comment about her wordings, she says, “It appears that I might have traveled in to the wrong universe.”

Now that is interesting. Martha lives in a world where they are protected by aliens...so, it is certainly worth hearing for.

Martha offers the young lady an invitation for tea which she accepts. She notices how the woman carries herself with lethal grace and dignity as if she was a Princess but much more. As they sit and Alfred leaves to bring the promised team Martha notices how the woman’s eyes sweep over the place.

“How may I help you?”

Her voice attracts the attention of the toddler and this time, he is not clutched tightly enough to his mother’s chest to turn his small head and look at her. Martha gasps. Because the child looks too much like Toddler Bruce. But instead of the blue eyes like her son, this child has glowing green ones, like his mother. But still, the resemblance is uncanny.

“Yes, he is your son’s.” The woman answers the unasked question.

She is explained the existence of Multiverse, and it’s workings and how Bruce survived instead of them in that world, met Talia (the woman’s name is Talia Al Ghul) and had a child but had to leave. Talia mentions the reason she came here was because her son’s life was in danger and Talia’s father wanted to raise her son as an assassin Prince and a tool for him to use. Talia’s solution to protect her son was for her to give her son to the Bruce of this world to raise, since the Bruce of that world had gone missing.

“I can raise him.” Martha suddenly declares and the woman looks at him shocked. “I will not raise him into a life of violence but I can certainly protect him and give him a happy civilian life.”

Talia looks unsure, hesitant, but says, “I...have been a warrior since the day I can remember. Never once have I ever thought of my son not being a warrior. He was...born to be one.”

Martha smiles. “He doesn’t have to be one. Yes, his life will be infinitely different than the one you imagined but...he will be well loved and protected. I can assure you of that.”

“Damian.” Talia whispers as he deposits the baby in her arms after a lot of consideration. “His name is Damian.”

She looks at her son tenderly one last time and places a kiss on his forehead and Martha’s heart breaks a little for the young mother.

“Will you return back for him?” Martha asks as she follows the Talia to the door.

“No.” Talia whispers, her voice strained. “I will not. Any action taken by me is monitored by my father closely. If I return back, then he might know that I have left Damian here and I cannot let that happen. He is yours, forever.”

Martha gives her a sad smile. “You’re a brave and good mother Talia. Thank you for doing what is best for your son.”

She nods, not turning to look at Damian one last time as she leaves the manor grounds, never to return.

Martha looks at the baby secure in her arms and her lips quirk up into a grin at the sight of two curious green eyes watching her with interest.

“Welcome to the family, little Damian.”

When she introduces the new addition to the family, Thomas is dumbfounded. Dick is ecstatic at the prospect of having a new baby brother, Jason is secretly pleased, Cass is happiest and Tim looks unsure.

That’s how Damian Wayne - Al Ghul joins the family.

Damian fits in their home spectacularly. After few days of hesitation, like he had with Dick, Thomas takes to Damian quickly. He has an epic competition going on with their eldest grandson to become the baby’s favorite. Damian refuses to sleep without Thomas but his tantrums are only controlled and won over by Dick. Damian loves Jason manhandling him and giggles happily when the older boy throws him in the air or swings him around. Damian loves Cassandra because she knows what he wants before any of them do. And Cass loves to carry her little brother around to watch birds and animals in the manor grounds.

The only person Damian seems to not get along with is Tim and the older boy seems not be fond of him either. Because Damian wants everything Tim does and the older brother has to compromise for Damian every time. But Martha has to bite laughs a lot now a days because almost everytime Damian falls asleep, it is with Tim in vicinity. And she has caught the older boy tenderly covering Damian in his favorite blanket more often than not. Martha thinks that this is kind of cute but keeps her opinion to herself.

Her little grandson is quite protective of his siblings though. Anytime someone upsets any of his siblings, they are threatened with scowls, growls and even bites and stabbings in extreme cases.

Like last time when Mrs. Park made fun of Cassandra’s speech impairment, Damian almost bit her finger off. Damian hates one of Dick’s racist colleague (they all do) so much that anytime the man enters his field of vision, the first thing Damian gets his hand on is thrown at the guy’s head. With deadly precision. And last time when Mr. Link had called Jason ‘street rat’ for personally volunteering charity work for poor and homeless, Damian had smeared his juice and drool covered hands on the Man’s thousand dollars suit. And when one time, a reporter had infiltrated a Gala and chased Tim around to ask uncomfortable questions about his parent’s death and the Wayne’s involvement in it, Damian, noticing Tim’s distress had stabbed the reporter with a fork with no hesitation.

Martha is still not sure if she should encourage or reprimand Damian for that.

...

As she sits on the head of the table with Thomas on her side and Alfred on the other end, she wonders how miraculous it is for her to have all these children in her life.

Dick is engaged in an animated conversation with Stephanie who was introduced to the family as Tim’s girlfriend. Barbara, the daughter of James Gordon and Dick’s girlfirend/or not was helping Cass pile up food on her plate. Damian and Tim were bickering over something as usual but Jason trying to hide his snickers in guise of drinking water which made Martha sure that the something was Jason’s doing.

These people were her family. The ones she had gained after losing Bruce. She wonders, if there was a universe where Bruce got to meet her grandchildren.

Would he accept them? As family?

Would he love them? As family?

She brightly smiles when the multiple sets of eyes turn to her waiting for her to blow the candle.

“Happy Birthday Martha.”

Thomas says warmly, his voice thick with emotion and she meets his gaze and sees the love, affection and thankfulness in his eyes for this family that they had created after their earth shattering loss. She knows what she wants as she blows the candle on the cake flickering in front of her.

I wish for us to be family in every universe.

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save-the-villainous-cat · 3 years ago

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Could you write something fluffy about hero and villian both bantering with each other softly and through little giggles on how they should raise their child as they play with their little toddler? Bantering could be on anything, who's name will the baby call first, or who'll decide what the baby wear after bath, or would beating up school bullies be a good thing or not, you get me?😂

And also when sometimes the villian comes home from wherever and sees the hero and the baby all cuddled up on the couch, they can't help but get teary at how much hero has changed their miserable life to this.

OMG OMG OMG IMAGINE THE VILLIAN OR THE HERO COMING BACK HOME AND THE BABY JUST RUSHING TO HUG THEM!!! And making breakfast with baby in their arms as their partner sleeps?

“Definitely a villain.”

The hero’s head hurtled around and their eyes lit up as soon as they saw their spouse leaning against the doorframe lazily.

“There you are,” the hero said softly as a smile tugged at their lips. One might think the hero was used to it by now but every time the hero had to kiss the villain goodbye was like a heart attack. Every time felt like a last goodbye and the terribly stretching hours without the villain were torture enough. Not to know whether the villain would return in a box or completely fine was the worst part about their spouse “taking care” of their competition.

So, it was no wonder the hero’s heart dropped when the villain’s eyes jumped between them and their daughter, playing with her new toys. The hero was on their feet instantly.

“Sorry I am the one to break this to you, baby. But your daughter is definitely going to be very evil. Look, that’s villain behaviour right there,” the villain said to the hero as they pointed at her. The hero’s eyes followed the villain’s finger and landed on the toddler who was chewing on one of her building blocks.

“Oh yes, very scary,” the hero remarked. They walked up to their spouse, wrapped their arms around them and kissed them carefully which was something they could never get tired of. It was soothing to feel the villain smile against their lips, it triggered a prettily warm feeling inside of them which pervaded their entire body. To have the villain finally next to them after a whole week was pure heaven. The hero wanted to never let go, to never stop kissing, to never take their eyes off them.

However, their longly awaited kiss was interrupted when their daughter started babbling incoherent sounds of pure excitement. The hero backed off, their hand still under the villain’s shirt, searching unconsciously for new injuries until they eventually turned around. Their daughter had a blinding smile on her face and took uncertain steps towards the both of them. She chanted something close to “gah, gah, gah” and let her tiny arms flap up and down.

It was astonishing what kind of power this small child had over her parents. The two mightiest people in the city could fold in seconds to make her happy.

Still watching her approach, the villain kissed the hero’s temple, hugged them from behind and swayed the hero’s hips slowly.

“You won’t believe it, baby,” the villain whispered into the hero’s ear. “I actually missed you.”

Their breath tickled and made the hero giggle.

“Oh really?” the hero asked, smile never fading.

“Just a little bit. Don’t think I might actually like you.” They pressed a kiss to the hero’s neck before they squatted and hugged their child. Their daughter fell without hesitation into their arms and rested her head on the villain’s shoulder. It was a scene the hero wanted to capture on camera and replay over and over again in their head.

Their spouse picked her up with ease. And then, as they turned a bit, the lighting hit them perfectly to reveal a small bruise on their cheek

“You’re hurt,” the hero whispered. Their thumb was on the villain’s skin instantly, their gaze slowly inspecting the bruise.

The villain was quiet, seemed lost in thought and even a bit sad. But they didn’t say anything. They looked at their daughter and let her bounce up and down on their hip.

“Was worth it,” they said eventually.

“I still don’t like it.”

“Baby,” the villain said. “I know you don’t. But I promise I’ll be done soon.”

The hero nodded. The villain had never broken a promise.

That day, all of them fell asleep on the couch and the hero had never had a more restful nap.

#the best thing about Valentine’s Day is the incredible loathing my body is drenched in #well i am always filled with hatred but this holiday is really pushing me over the edge #i also have a terrible disease called ‘being good with kids’#also this is rushed bc I’m with my wonderful friends #writing snippet #heroxvillain prompt #heroxvillain snippet #heroes and villains #hero #villain #heroxvillain #hero x villain #an answer for an ask #request

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