#this AU came about wayyyy before the punk AU

[zeebee-jeebies]

omg thank you thank you thank you!! every time you make fan art for me my heart feels so full 🥰 i should def return the favor one of these days huh

Quick drawing of a Jess design my friend @zeebee-jeebies and others that aren't here whipped up for a Reverse Villains AU!

[theonlinemuse]

So @lesbianmaxevans and I have been discussing how there’s very little backstory for Dani Powell on the show and we decided to contribute to the tags by coming up with our own headcanons for her:

Dani is a nickname obviously, but instead of Danielle or Danika, it’s short for Danys, a unisex Haitian Creole name. She only gets called Danys if she’s in trouble  

Malcolm giggles whenever that happens and Dani threatens to put her cold hands on him if he tries calling her that 

Malcolm learned her middle name the same day he met her middle sister, New York County Court Judge Naomie Powell, who barged into the precinct after an incident where Dani got hurt and went, “Danys Eliana Powell, if you’re going to give our family a heart attack, at least pick up your phone!”

Her dad is Haitian (I still say that episode 5 should’ve delved into this with Dani and her backstory) and her mom is Jewish. Dani and her sisters were all raised Jewish 

Dani doesn’t regularly go the synagogue, but it’s tradition for the Powells to go to services during major holidays 

Dani and JT explaining Jewish holidays to everyone

Powell wasn’t her dad’s original last name. Her dad and grandma came to New York from Port au Prince in the late 70s and their original last name was Poirot. Grandma Eliana kept the name, but her dad changed it to Powell when he started university 

She’s the youngest of three girls in the family. Her oldest sister Mona is played by Meta Golding while middle sister Naomie is played by Sydney Tamiia Poitier

Naomie was the sister who suffered from night terrors after getting into a bad car accident as a teenager and Mona and Dani would often take turns looking after her. This is how Dani knew how to deal with Malcolm 

Dani is bisexual. She and Edrisa went on a date before deciding to be friends and Edrisa likes to joke about them being exes much to Malcolm’s confusion 

“When did you even break up?” “We didn’t, technically. We just went go karting and had lunch at Zabar’s before we realized Dani was wayyyy too much like an aloof little sister to me.”

And this is totally a crack headcanon, but after seeing Jurnee Smollett-Bell playing Black Canary in Birds of Prey, Dani and Dinah Lance are now cousins. Their moms, Zipporah and Dinah Senior were sisters

Dani and Dinah may be Jewish, but they don’t keep kosher all the time. They don’t eat pork, but they’re absolutely weak against shellfish, much to their moms’ dismay 

Chaotic bi Dinah and distinguished bi Dani

Imagine Dani going undercover in Dinah’s band and them singing the Birds of Prey song from Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Dani can rock the punk rock aesthetic. Dinah makes her wear fishnet stockings, red lipstick, a corset over a dark lace shirt, and gold metallic temp tattoos. Malcolm has a heart attack

And then Dani starts singing and he’s a goner because he’s only ever hear her sing old songs from the 30s to 50s and there’s something powerful and sensual about her singing punk rock music. He’s not ready for it

JT teases the hell out of him, but he soon shuts up when Dani and Dinah bring Tally into the mix. Edrisa records the whole thing, as well as Malcolm and JT’s expressions. Gil ends up using it to keep Malcolm and JT from doing anything too outrageous

Grandma Eliana would sing old jazz and méringue songs to Dani and her sisters when they were little so Dani ended up with the habit of singing them absently whenever she’s focused on a task, usually when she’s doing her hair

Dani grew up listening to songs from the 30s, 40s, and 50s due to grandma Eliana always playing her extensive vinyl collection. She didn’t really get to listen to modern music until she was in middle school 

In addition to jazz and swing, Dani’s surprisingly good at disco. It didn’t help that her dad often played Boney M and Earth Wind and Fire during her childhood

She used to joke that the Powell family is decades behind in their taste in music. Dani doesn’t listen to many modern songs, but she likes singing along to Yonce as well as Janelle Monae songs like Electric Lady and Sally Ride

Make Me Feel becomes Dani and Dinah’s bi anthem 

Malcolm once caught her singing and he keeps trying to catch her again. He’s lucky to listen for five seconds before she kicks him out of the bathroom

Dani’s a bit of a tea expert thanks to grandma Eliana, who taught her many different ways of making tea. Other than Earl Grey, Dani’s favourites include grandma Eliana’s ginger tea and pomegranate tea

And I’m not just saying that last one because I saw tags about a Brightwell Hades and Persephone AU

She loves tea flavoured desserts as well. She often gets a glazed Earl Grey donut for breakfast on Monday mornings when she needs a little pick me up

She changes up the glaze depending on her mood. Lavender for when she’s stressed, balsamic and pomegranate for when she’s in a good mood, blueberry for when she’s irritated or stuck on a case, brown butter for when she’s tired, and caramel with blood orange zest for when she’s ready punch a dick

In the summer, she loves Thai iced tea popsicles and matcha green tea popsicles dipped in chocolate

Dani isn’t as big of a coffee drinker as she is a tea drinker, but if she has to have coffee, it’s always a cinnamon mocha with a shot of espresso 

She can cook, but because of her schedule, she mostly sticks with quick to make dishes like grilled cheese and spaghetti. She likes spicing things up though, thanks to growing up with her dad and grandma’s cooking 

Every Hanukkah, Dani always gets roped into preparing the desserts with Zipporah since her dad, grandma, and oldest sister are in charge of cooking. Dani’s the first to admit that she’s not a cook, but she’s gotten good at making sweets, even if she doesn’t always have the patience for it. Eight nights a year is her limit

Malcolm as a foodie bemoans this and his trying to broaden her food choices slowly becomes a thing 

The look of horror on his face when he sees her chow down on a double beef bacon mushroom burger, poutine, chocolate pecan pie and a strawberry milkshake in one sitting is priceless

And Dani loves seafood, especially shellfish which Malcolm can’t have because it gives him hives 

Dani was a bit of a trouble maker in elementary school, but for good reason. She stuck gum in a classmate’s hair because she stole her favourite scratch and sniff stickers and lied about it. And she once kicked a football player where the sun don’t shine because he was being a dick to her

She dressed like Kimberly Hart from the Power Rangers movie in high school, though she did have a goth phase for about two weeks in freshman year. She was trying to channel Wednesday Addams. She was definitely a bit of a rebel style wise. Malcolm was most definitely a nerd

Ironically, Dani’s the one with poor eyesight. She only wears glasses if there’s no more contacts and they’re a chunky pair that’s similar to Edrisa’s glasses

Dani does have some secret nerdy traits, she knows how to code thanks to her sister Naomie going to coding camp for five consecutive summers 

And like Kay, Dani has some artistic tendencies too. She grew up with outdoor art programs that encouraged her to paint 

She’s fluent in French. She, her sisters, and their paternal cousins went to a bilingual language school thanks to grandma Eliana’s influence

Dani also did competitive figure skating as a kid. She actually made it to the Junior Grand Prix finals. She got silver

There’s recordings of her competition routines on YouTube somewhere and she actually goes undercover as a figure skater for a case. Gil acts as her coach because he actually used to skate as well

She also did some cross training in ballet as well since her godmother is a well known ballerina turned dance teacher. There are a lot of pics of Dani in her early teens of her in a leotard and tights with curls escaping her ballet bun

She has an old injury that often acts up when the weather is cold. She broke her leg pretty badly in high school due to an accident in gym class. She got knocked off the balance beam when they were doing gymnastics and had to be rushed to the hospital for surgery 

She prefers horror and thrillers to action movies, but she likes period pieces too. Belle is a recent favourite of hers

Dani likes Star Trek because her dad is the biggest sci-fi nerd and it was a big part of her childhood. She also grew up as a fan of Eartha Kitt because of him after he made her watch 1960s Batman reruns with him

As a result, she wanted to name her first kid after Eartha. She eventually nicknames her first daughter Kit because of this

Dani actually introduced Tally to JT. They were roommates in college (Dani majored in social work while Tally studied chemistry) and they went to the same synagogue 

Tally designated Dani as godmother after she and JT had twin girls. She was the sandeket at Noa and Miri’s simchat bat  

She practices Krav Maga, she and Dinah both learned it in high school, though Dani always says that Dinah had more of a natural talent for it 

Dinah also did kickboxing and gymnastics and Dani ended up tagging along her lessons. She doubled as a coach and sparring partner 

She and her sisters dressed up as magical girls for Halloween when they were little and the new Charm reboot is like reliving their childhood

She wraps her hair for sleep with funny and colourful scarves that Naomie always gives as gag gifts, a tradition that started when they were preteens 

She’s dyslexic, but she wasn’t diagnosed until middle school. She had difficulty memorizing things so she got into a habit of carrying a recorder with her. She also has her phone and computer set to dyslexia friendly fonts and listens to a lot of audio books

It’s also the reason she sometimes makes mistakes when she’s dancing. She sometimes mixes up left and right

She also had trouble learning French at first because of this 

Dani can hold her liquor, but after four drinks, she becomes a giggly drunk who randomly speaks French and sings 90s rock songs

She also suddenly gains a sweet tooth when sober Dani doesn’t usually go for sweets. Luckily Malcolm has a few lollipops stashed away for when this happens

Dani did a brief modelling stint back in college to help out her cousin, who was in fashion school at the time. She mostly modelled for women’s wear and book covers. She even posed for a couple of historical romance covers 

Malcolm may have accidentally come across it thanks to his mom. Jessica might have been a little smug when she told him to fetch the book from where she left it. The look on his face was priceless

Dani ends up recreating a cover for a case. Edrisa makes Malcolm pose with her. She takes so many pictures

Given that Malcolm has Sunshine, it’s ironic that Dani owns a cat. It’s a mischievous black cat named Shuri and she loves climbing things, especially Malcolm

[hillnerd]

How Tonks was reduced to a love interest, how she pressured Remus into marrying her, how Remus and Tonks were queer coded and the author purposely put them in a straight relationship. These are some from the top of my head.

Ah! Gotcha. Ok, well first of all- I’ve always loved the idea of the dynamic of Remus and Tonks- sweet professor type with punk happy-go-lucky punk gal. (and frankly am Biased since that dynamic is similar to me and my husband. He’s all tired and greying and sweet and math-y/sciency/technical while I’m all energy, and color and silliness.) 

Tonks was reduced to a love interest

Ok so I think there is this idea that independent women are not allowed to be involved with someone romantically in a story because it somehow undercuts their value. I get that line of thinking. I think this idea stems from the very real issue of women in stories ONLY being romantic interests in stories, with little else to their character. The token female in a series that is reduced to little more than a romantic interest for the lead? Yeah- that’s valid criticism. However, for a side character to have a romance? I don’t see how that is a bad thing. It doesn’t make kickass Auror Tonks any less kickass to be in a romance. She was always a very loving and sweet character, so having this side story of hers in the books wasn’t a weakness.

I do think, though, that showing her as this hollowed out shell all through book 6, and not showing any of the development of Remus/Tonks in the books was a mistake by JKR. I had shipped Remadora before book 6 due to a great fic (Shifts by Fernwithy) as I saw their interactions as cute and flirty and was on board- but wish it had more on page development. The whole ‘mystery of why Tonks is sad’ was a bit weak and I much rather would have seen hints of their romantic relationship instead of a year of that. We also don’t get to see much of Tonks as herself after the battle of the 7 potters. Remus we see multiple times, but not Tonks- and then at the final battle she’s all distracted and ‘where’s Remus’ which I did not care for again.

So yeah  I get the criticism of how Tonks was handled in this. Much of her spark and agency was taken away, without the formation, love and happiness of their relationship getting much screentime. We were told, not shown, most of it.

how she pressured Remus into marrying her  

That is not a fair criticism people put forth. There is NO proof of this- and I think people are just bitter than it's Tonks/Remus happening- so they go out of their way to misinterpret Remu's regrets he tells Harry. The reason he 'regrets' marrying Tonks is he thinks he's a burden to her. I've done the same when I'm dealing with my depression/ptsd/disability. I am like 'gawd, my poor burdened husband. He's be so much better off without me!' That is my anxiety and mental illness talking- obviously I have no regrets being married to the best man in the entire world (sorry everyone else! but it's true! :) ) But when you are self-loathing and triggered, you say crap like that. Remus is about as self-loathing and self-sacrificing character as you'll find. He's smart, kind, and wonderful- but he's got some real self-worth issues and how he handles his relationship with Tonks.

All she is guilty of is LOVING him- and trying to make him see he is worthy of love. That scene in the hospital wing where their lovestory is finally revealed shows this very clearly.

Anyone who interprets this as her unfairly pressuring him is a bit deluded, or bitter, or has reading comprehension issues imo.

how Remus and Tonks were queer coded and the author purposely put them in a straight relationship  

Oh THIS one. Yeah... The internet wants everyone to be gay. And when *false shock* most authors don't write that into their heteronormative books, people act like it's a big shock, or will say characters are queer coded and act like they were tricked.

So straight people can have punk hair. Straight people can have AIDs-like diseases. :P And like, that's all that could MAYBE be seen as 'queer coding'? Honestly.

Anyways- I think it's a shame that there is so much hetronormativity in our media/books etc. But I also don't think that JKR pulled any bait and switch with Remus or Tonks.

Personally, I see Remus as bi, and Tonks as Pan- but that's my own headcanon.

I think a LOT of people got super obsessed with Wolfstar wayyyy back when book 3 came out- and by book 5 it was in a frenzy- so when this out of nowhere romance came in that shut down all those gay dreams for the characters, people lost their damned minds- and it's never quite calmed down.

Personally I didn't see how wolfstar could have been a thing when Sirius betrayed Remus so deeply with that prank when they were kids, and then mistrusted Remus so deeply he thought he was a traitor and not Peter. Like, the timeline isn't very good for a relationship to have been there. Sirius is so obsessed with James that I just have never seen it as canon.

However I love the fanon versions of Wolfstar, and like the AU idea that Wolfstar was a thing for a while, then Remus did that whole 'I'm not worthy of LOOOOOOVE' thing and retreated and THAT's why Sirius thought he was the traitor. But by the time he's free from azkaban it's too late for them, he's a different person, and now Remus and Tonks are a thing.  

In the end- I really like the concept of Remus/Tonks and always have. The execution left something to be desired. I would have been a-ok with ALL the sadsack stuff they did with Remus and Tonks if we’d seen more of a build up of the happy stuff too.