#you know. as a treat. it's not really that important or anything.

[rotationalsymmetry]

I do think the "realistically, the gaang must have already been killing people" thing is being genre-oblivious. This is a children's cartoon show, and you gotta roll with the conventions of children's media. For the most part, unambiguous death doesn't happen. When Katara freezes people in ice, they're fine, just immobilized, even though it's *ice*. When Fire Nation soldiers get dumped into the ocean, we see them at least temporarily treading water, which allows for the possibility of an off-screen rescue. When an Earth Kingdom general is trying to convince Aang to join the war, we see *injured* Earth Kingdom soldiers, with no coffins or anything. An implausibly large number of people are captured rather than killed by the Fire Nation -- we don't know of one character on the heroes' side who died on the Day of Black Sun even though they lost, it's not that big a stretch to imagine that worked both ways.

Even Yue doesn't really die, she turns into the moon.

And you can't make an argument that the show is treating ordinary characters like red shirts while giving the leaders "real person" status, because it doesn't! The show humanizes minor characters and people who don't have much in the way of power at every turn. There's Fire Nation soldiers and guards and students with individual personalities. Ordinary people in the Earth Kingdom have their own struggles and losses and moments of happiness. In the Avatar Day episode, Aang makes friends with the other people in jail and in the Boiling Rock episode the heroes work with other prisoners -- people with their own priorities whose crimes are left ambiguous -- to escape. There's no stormtroopers in this show, no faceless mooks. Everyone's a person.

And the show spent INCREDIBLE amounts of time on showing Zuko's redemption arc. So much that I think some people think of him as just being ontologically on the heroes' side from the beginning. The show put so much effort into humanizing and redeeming Zuko to convey that other people in the Fire Nation have that potential, including his father, who was a teenager once too. (Was a child once. Aang sees a picture of Ozai as a child.) Picture a Zuko who grew to adulthood as the prince of the Fire Nation, surrounded by people who were sure that the Fire Nation's imperialism was right and correct, and never directly interacting with any people the Fire Nation harmed. Are you sure Zuko couldn't have turned into someone like Ozai under different circumstances?

And it's not rushed. It's set up in The Southern Raiders, if not earlier. It's a theme over multiple episodes; the method is introduced late but the conflict is not, and the method is not the important thing. (Steven Universe was very much rushed, unfortunately, due to executive meddling. And also. If you're going to be mad at the show, you have to be mad at it starting with the Pink Diamond reveal, and that part wasn't rushed, that part came off perfectly.)

(It's also thematically consistent with, eg, Paku getting in the way of Katara learning water bending at first but being a temporary adversary, not a permanent one, or the guy Yue was engaged to being a total jerk, and Jet's story and Hama's. Sometimes people are complicated, sometimes people have conflict with people basically on their side, because whatever side of a conflict people are on, they are still people. With positive qualities and flaws. On whichever side. This is the core thematic message of the show, for crying out loud. Objecting to that means you wanted a completely different show.)

Sometimes I think about how and why some people had such a *bad* reaction to the end of Steven Universe, specifically in regards to the Diamonds living.

Even though they no longer are causing harm to others and are able to actually undo some of their previous harm by living, some folks reacted as though this ending was somehow morally suspect. Morally bankrupt, even.

And I think it might be because so many of us were raised on a very specific kind of kids media trope:

They all fall to their deaths.

Disney loves chucking their bad guys off cliffs. And it makes sense- in a moral framework where villains *must* be punished (regardless of whether their death will actually prevent further harm or not), but killing of any kind is morally bad for the hero, the narrative must find a way to kill the villain without the protagonists doing a murder.

It's a moral assumption that a person can *deserve* to die, that it is cosmically just for them to die, that them dying is evidence that the story itself is morally good and correct. Scar *deserves* to die, but it would be bad for Simba to kill him. So....cliff. (edit: yes, cliff then hyenas. But cliff first. Lol.)

Steven Universe, whatever else it's faults, took a step back and said "but if killing people is bad, then people dying is bad", and instead of dropping White Diamond off a cliff, asked "what would actual *restorative*, not punitive, justice look like? What would actual reparations mean here? If the goal is to heal, not just to punish, how do we handle those who have done harm?" And then did that.

Which I think is interesting, and that there was pushback against it is interesting.

It also reminds me of the folks who get very weird about Aang not killing Ozai at the end of Avatar. And like, Ozai still gets chucked in prison, so it doesn't even push back on our cultural ideas of punitive justice *that much.* and still, I've seen people get real mad that the child monk who is the last survivor of a genocide that wiped out his entire pacifist culture didn't do a murder.

[tezuka-rin]

i was talking about this with a friend, and i know the easy and probably correct answer is "just do it", but there really is like, something deeply harrowing about being a transfem closeted to any degree. especially if you're Out Online. there's You, the You you meet your friends with, the You that shapes your interactions - but you can never be fully at ease with telling people that. you just can't. you're not on HRT, dressing fem isn't an option. there's always the chance anyone you let in will see you as a Faggot, a Pervert, someone pretending to be something they're not - and you don't have anything to show for it. you glance at trans people who are out, but there really is so much that you wouldn't have to leave unsaid if you could. you live your life to whatever degree you can with something looming over you that even if you make the objectively correct and right and good choice you have no idea how many people will stop talking to you or if you'll suddenly turn from someone helpful and reliable to some dangerous predator in their eyes. any relationship runs the risk of them not liking you if you move forward; so many angles are blocked off by virtue of not being able to move forward; you're constantly bombarded with reminders of just how badly you'd be treated if you let these people in on the most important fact in your life. btw this isn't like a "not transitioning is valid" post. i have to rely on a family who've made their opinions on the subject quite clear, i have hobbies which are good-old-boys clubs, etc.

[ultfreakme]

So.

I finished She-ra.

I wanted to watch it because I realized I rarely watched anything with a female-centric cast and I especially didn't interact with sapphic content despite being sapphic. Abundance of cishet male-specific stories and a love for action-adventure led me to not exploring the latter in stories centering women because I had my own biases. I didn't think there were nearly enough action-adventure stories centering women out there in comparison to men. I just gave into convenience. Also I'll be real, internalized misogyny.

She-ra was so breathtaking and impactful because close to a decade after watching Legend of Korra and the beginning of Korrasami, I got to watch a fully-explored lesbian relationship on-screen with all the action and adventure I wanted.

I saw too much of myself in all the characters. In Glimmer & Angella's mother-daughter bickering, in Catra's insecurities, in Mermista's distance and aversion to people but still wanting companionship. I saw me in bits and pieces across all these girls and women.

It's a rare moment for a POC queer woman like me to truly see myself anywhere. My identity is often considered rare enough to be mythic (although queer POC are fucking everywhere lbr).

I remember being an eight-year old, and watching The Little Mermaid for the first time. I was mesmerized, I sung "Part of Your World" and re-enacted in my tiny apartment with only enough space for a bed and a cupboard and nothing else where my entire family were. I'd sing it on top of my lungs and then I'd look in the mirror and see brown skin and black hair and the spell of being a mermaid underwater would break.

Then fast-forward to 2024, I see She-Ra and her magical princess friends say they need to recruit a powerful Sea Princess to their war efforts. I am excited only because my fascination for mermaids has never really gone away. Then our main crew arrive and what do I see?

A brown woman, a woman with my skin tone and my eyes and my wavy kind of hair. She's stand-offish and a little emo, and she controls the ocean. She can switch her legs for fins and swim!! Suddenly I'm eight again.

I also remember watching The Swan Princess for the first time and feeling strange butterflies every time I saw Odette in her beautiful white gown. I didn't know then that girls could like girls, all I had was this feeling. A buttery, soft feeling where I wanted to sit beside her and see her smile. As I grew up I understood it was me being attracted to her and thinking "there's no love story showing the way I love".

Enter Catra and Adora. I felt a silly kind of nostalgia seeing Catra in love with a magical girl in gold and white.

I could go ON AND ON with all these little details where bits of me were in the show. It made me a little less lonely, and made me a lot more hopeful. Seeing yourself in media is important. Obviously you don't need it to empathize with a character or understand them but seeing parts of your own experience on-screen is a different kind of high. Like, like woah I can be a protagonist like that? I don't need to erase myself?

A story which treated parts of me- all the good and the bad parts- with kindness and gave it all a happy ending. I am so used to reading tragedy, expecting cruelty from even fantasy that I truly treasure stories with hope.

This show gave me that. I have been doing pretty bad in terms of mental health for months, maybe over a year actually. This was a nice reprieve and I hope the message of the story sticks with me, and that I start 2025 stronger and braver.

[windwardstar]

[Reply by @n0-1-important: I’m really sorry this happens to you. Genuine question how do you tell the difference between that and people suddenly getting uncomfortable because they just accidentally misgendered you? End transcript]

You know. This truly is a masterfully crafted response. It completely undermines any authority I have on my own experience and makes any attempt to point out the bullshit in your reply as me overreacting reading transphobia into anything and further making your "reasonable" suggestion of me misinterpreting their reactions the most likely case.

Faux sympathy followed by a but did it actually happen? I'm sorry this was your experience but was it actually? Hidden in a reply instead of a reblog so nobody else sees it. And then of course the cherry on the cake, how do you know this reply itself is actually doing this and not just a person who genuinely feels bad and wants to know. Great gaslighting 10/10. (And if your response was genuine and this level of gaslighting is just because you're really that unaware: your ignorance has reached the point it's indistinguishable from malice, the devil is standing at your side advocating for them.)

Trans people are the authority on their own experiences and suggesting that I'm mistaking people's clear discomfort with a trans person as "maybe they just felt bad for misgendering me" is fucking bullshit.

But also. The part where any enthusiasm or support completely evaporates the moment they find out I'm trans doesn't change if they felt bad for misgendering me. They still treat me differently and find the nearest way to escape talking to A Trans TM than continue the conversation. They still disengage from the topic rather than pivot to telling me I'm so brave for being out or transitioning or whatever well intended supportive ally thing that happens when the person actually supports trans people. And none of them actually bother to correct themselves and gender me correctly, none of them apologized for misgendering me, none of them attempted to deflect the misgendering with the standard i didnt know I can't be the one in the social wrong blah blah blah that even well meaning allies and other trans people do. There was zero acknowledgement of me being trans on their end. Also they didn't even attempt to change the topic of conversation while still continuing to engage with me. No. It's very clear they were uncomfortable with the concept of a trans person- especially one they had just unknowingly completmented and praised- and wanted nothing to do with me because of that.

How do you know they were transphobic and not just embarrassed about misgendering you? The gall.

so idk if this is just something i run into or other people get it too because i don't really see it mentioned or talked about, but there's a degree of "yeah #girl power #feminism" when people perceive me to be a gender nonconforming girl and that enthusiasm evaporates the moment they find out i'm trans and not a girl.

like. i wear a tux for concerts. people who think i'm a girl give me so many compliments and say i'm so brave for wearing it and good for me for making the choice and all that. and then, when I say that I'm trans and my pronouns are they/them and I'm not a girl, they just completely 180 in the enthusiastic support and turn into the fake smile required civil "that's nice," and find the nearest way to exit the conversation.

because there has been a push to expand what girls and women can do. however that support does not extend to saying you're NOT one when they think you should be.

[ready-to-read7]

Prompt #2

this prompt is something I really enjoyed writing, I really like the concept of wonder woman/Diana being a mother figure to Danny and I also really like the prompts were Danny along with Dan or dani/Ellie are de-aged ( also you can decide if Danny is the ghost King or  not but I think he would be at this point)

so in this situation a bad Fenton parents story where Dan, Danny and Ellie/ dani are badly injured and clockwork wanting to save all three of them  would de-age them and ellie /dani  is a few months old, Danny is  two years old and Dan would be around five years old,  and clockwork  wants to give them  a responsible mortal Guardian and will for some reason, goes to  Pandora and will ask her if she can think of any strong independent women to give the de-aged King along with his siblings/clones to and Pandora would be like yes because she is a dead Amazonian and would think wonder woman/Diana is the perfect choice for this

she would then contact Diana (I would say through her dreams but you can decide how)  and would  ask her to go back to Themyscira so that she can ask her a favour, when Diana reaches home she goes to one of the beaches where a  portal opens up to reveal Pandora is holding a de-aged Danny, Dan and dani/ ellie and would ask her if she would be willing to be a mother to these three, explaining to her without giving too much information that these are three powerful young beings that need a strong and stable figure to raise them and Pandora would also elaborate that two (or only one of them if you decide to make Danny trans )  is  male but she still wants the members of the Amazonian’s to treat him/them with respect, Diana’s mother would be close by listening and Diana would agree to raise the  three little ones asking for their names and anything important she needs to know, Diana’s mother would agree with her daughter’s choice and would inshore  Pandora that they will not discriminate against Dan and danny ( if you don’t go with the trance Danny thing) just because they are boys, if they are raised by Amazonian’s they are just as much a Amazonian as any other, Pandora would be relieved and would continue explaining that as they get older they will develop abilities that will be hard for them to control at first but with practice they can control them easily, she would also tell Diana that it would be in the best interest of the children if no one found out that they were actually powerful beings and it would be much safer for them if people believe that they are her biological children and Diana would agree.

 So Diana and her people would come up with a story explaining that the three children were being raised on Themyscira for their own safety since Dan and Danny or just  dan is the first male Amazonians so they needed a bit more protection for the first few years of their lives, (just know I did not research anything about the Amazonian’s so if any of the information is wrong I apologize also technically they wanted to do it in a way so the they are  not lying so keeping the children on the island for a year before they introduce them to the rest of the world is their way of bending the truth )  and Diana would then move back to Themyscira for  a small bit to sell the story along with being able to get to know her new children

 One year later Diana decides that it’s about time she takes her children out to the world of man, and she would decide to introduce her children to the Justice league on bring your sidekick/children to Work day (do remember she had not told anyone about her kids mostly because it never was brought up and no one asked  if she had kids so she  was technically not keeping it a secret) so she would get to the watchtower early and would sit in the meeting room with her kids, and somehow no one saw her walk in and go to the meeting room (yes she was announced on the coms  but there were not many people in the watchtower at the time so no one really noticed or paid attention)

She would sit in the meeting room as she listened into the coms as heroes and their children/sidekicks started coming to the watchtower she would then place dani/ Ellie down and would tell her brothers to watch her as she went to go fetch snacks for them, Dani and Dan would end up getting into an argument and dani / ellie being the little Explorer she is would wander off,

She would crawl into the main room where all the children and sidekicks of heroes were running around playing and talking as the adults were talking with each other and as she was crawling around someone tripped over her I would say one of the Robbins or one of the speedsters and because of her much greater resilience she wouldn’t get hurt but she would get startled and started crying which would alert all the adults and children who would wonder why there was a one-year-old in the watchtower and whose child was it, due to her black hair and blue eyes people would immediately assume she’s either Superman’s or Batman’s but both of them will deny this while Batman is holding her trying to get her to calm down, then Dan and Danny would run in calling  her name and Superman would ask them if this was there little sister they would say yes and  he would ask who their parent is and before they can respond wonder woman would run in with a speed that is quite frightening and would yell out to Danny and Dan ask them why they weren’t watching their sister and why did they leave the meeting room and everyone would then realize that the children were Diana’s and many of them were utterly confused

(I hope this kinda makes sense of what I’m trying to get across I just love seeing Diana as a mom it just feels right because she would be like the perfect mother)

[sincerelykimii]

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝

𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲...𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐀/𝐍 : 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐱 𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐲, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩. 𝐄𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 :)

He hopes he's subtle about it. After all—you're off-limits given the very name you're bearing. The feelings he harbors are wrong, the way his heart aches for you is so, so wrong. It's almost ironic, really. The ex-assassin falling for someone so innocent and pure. Someone entirely out of his reach. Being Tony Stark’s daughter definitely had its benefits, money, fame, being an avenger obviously. But the most important was the family that came with it, every single one of the avengers treated me like their own, except Bucky Barnes. I really admire Bucky but, he’s not a…people person? I try my best everyday to talk to him, get him to smile just a little. It doesn’t help that I find him dangerously attractive as well. Today is another day of trying to get him to talk to me, maybe even flash me a smile. I approach Bucky a warm smile on my face, “Hey Bucky, how are you?” I say softly, nothing. Crickets. Just a numb glare, maybe later? I walk away letting my feet lead me to the kitchen. He watches you walk away, his expression unchanging. He always watches you walk away, wondering why you even bother trying to talk to him. He's not like the others—he's not charming, he's not funny, he's not...human.

Sitting on the counter in the kitchen, my eyes locked onto the heart shaped magnet on the fridge. My mind pondering about the interaction I had with Bucky moments ago, can you even call that an interaction? probably not. The timer goes off snapping me out of my thoughts, I hop off the counter opening the oven, grabbing my freshly baked cookies out. Maybe this will crack the grump that sits on the couch, I enter the living room plate full of heart shaped cookies in hand, “I know you don’t wanna talk but, I made cookies and it would be a crime not to share, so…here.” I say setting the plate beside him.

He tries to ignore the tantalizing smell of fresh cookies - just like you baked for the others, not realizing you'd be affecting his broken heart in the process. He shifts slightly, avoiding the plate. "I'm not hungry." His voice comes out harsh, but he's not fooling anyone. I simply nod my smile fading just as quick as it appeared, at least he talked? “if you get hungry, they’re there.” I say barely above a whisper before retreating back to the kitchen. He stares at the plate of heart-shaped cookies, his stomach growling betrayingly. He glares at the cookies, hating how they smell so good - just like you. He sits there for a moment, then slowly reaches out and grabs one, breaking it in half. He brings the now heartbroken cookie to his mouth taking a small bite. His eyes widen as the flavors spread across his tongue. Walking out of the kitchen, bottled water in hand, my jaw almost drops to the floor seeing Bucky eat the cookies I made, for him. I nibble on my bottom lip nervously before placing the water beside him, “Have a good day Bucky.” I say flashing him a soft smile, He looks up at you as you place the water beside him, his eyes softening ever so slightly at the sight of your small, nervous smile. He doesn't say anything, just watches you walk away before turning his attention back to the cookies. He eats another one, savoring the taste, then another, and another, till the plate was empty.

Over the next few days deciding to stop my antics and give Bucky the space he obviously wants, I walk into the living room, seeing Bucky once again. I smile softly at him as I walk into the kitchen, not a single peep leaving my lips. He looks up at you as you enter the room, his gaze following you as you walk into the kitchen. He notices the change in your behavior, the lack of forced conversations and shared treats. A part of him misses it, misses you - but he knows it's for the best.

Sitting on the counter once again pondering, why do I miss the glares I get, the grunts when I chatter to him, none of which are kind gestures but they’re the gestures that usually don’t happen when other people talk to him. I shake my head clearing the thoughts as somebody walks into the kitchen, that somebody being Natasha. She walks over to the counter and notices you sitting there, looking lost in thought. She raises an eyebrow, concerned by your expression. "Hey, what's wrong?" She asks, sitting down beside you. I sigh looking over at Natasha, “does he hate me?” my brows furrow gently, she knows who im talking about, Natasha knows everything, and I couldn’t be more grateful for her. “I mean, I tried everything nat. I even baked his favorite cookies and all I got was a grunt.” little did I know Bucky heard all of this, damn super-hearing. His heart clenches at your words, realizing that his coldness has hurt you more than he thought. He wants to say something, anything, but his throat is closed up. He gets up from the couch, walking out of the room quietly, unnoticed by either of you.

I shrug my shoulders hopping off the counter, “thanks nat, I’ll try that.” I offer her a small smile before entering the living room only too see Bucky isn’t there. Did he hear our conversation? no shot. I walk around the building trying to find Bucky but there was no sight of him. “damn it Barnes.” I mumble dissapearing into my room. Later that evening, as twilight settles over the building, Bucky returns, a small package tucked under his arm. He hesitates outside your door, his fist raised to knock, then lowers it uncertainly a few times before actually following through. The sound echoes loudly in the quiet hallway. the soft knocks snapping me out of my thoughts, I get up opening the door revealing Bucky, my eyes widen slightly before softening seeing a small package held out infront of me. “Hi Bucky.” I say barely above a whisper, “Hey..."

His hand stays outstretched, offering the package to you. It's wrapped in simple brown paper, with a small, handwritten tag. "For you," he says gruffly, his eyes searching yours. He shifts uncomfortably, clearly out of his element with this whole...gesture thing. Taking the package from his hands my fingers brushing against his, sending sparks through our arms. “Thank you Bucky, what is this for?” I say meeting his eyes. He swallows hard, his gaze holding yours for a moment before looking away. "Just...open it," he mutters, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He takes a step back, his arms crossed over his chest as he waits for you to untie the paper. I nod before opening the gift quickly, a soft velvet box comes out of the package, my eyes widen once again. “what…” I trail off quietly. His heart races as he watches you open the box, his breath catching in his throat at the sight of your tears. He clears his throat, his voice barely above a whisper. "I...I saw it and thought of you.” It’s a gold necklace, with a heart shaped pendant. “It’s beautiful.” I whisper, I can feel my eyes water as I run my finger along the delicate surface of the pendant. Bucky takes a hesitant step closer, his hand slowly reaching up to gently wipe away the tear from your cheek. His eyes search yours, a flicker of vulnerability passing through his stoic expression. "I'm sorry," he says softly, his thumb lingering on your skin. "For making you cry...for everything.” I shake my head no, “they’re happy tears…” I laugh softly, “I didn’t expect this, thank you. So much.” I place my hand over his, bringing it to my lips, leaving a soft kiss on his knuckles.

His breath catches in his throat at the tender gesture, feeling your lips against his skin. Without thinking, he takes a half-step closer, his free hand moving to rest gently against your waist. His voice comes out rough with emotion. "Happy tears...that's good. I...I meant what I said." My breath hitches feeling his warm touch on my hip, it fits perfectly in his hand as if it was made for it. “Did the cookies change your mind?” I say teasingly, a small smirk creeping onto my lips. He chuckles softly, the sound rumbling in his chest. His gaze drops to your lips briefly before meeting your eyes again. "The cookies were a nice bonus," he admits, his thumb absently caressing your cheek. "But it was more than that. You...you see me." His hand on your waist slowly pulls you a little closer, their faces now just inches apart. His voice drops to a whisper, his breath mingling with yours. "You don't flinch when I'm close. You don't look away when I'm...broken. You just...accept me." I bring my free hand cupping his soft flushed cheeks gently, His eyes flutter closed briefly at your gentle touch, leaning into your hand. His heart pounds in his chest, knowing he's standing on the edge here, but he can't pull back anymore. “You’re human Bucky, you deserve to be treated like one.” I whisper, feeling his breath against my lips, one wouldn’t hurt…right? "Steve was right about you," he whispers, his lips almost brushing against yours as he speaks, looking at you with a soft, gentle expression. "He said you were...kind. And patient. And that you saw something in me that no one else did." He pauses, his gaze searching yours. "And he was right." His voice is barely audible.

My eyes linger on his, processing the sweet words, I couldn’t hold back anymore. I lean in kissing his lips gently, the soft pink lips I always found myself staring at, the soft lips that let out stupid grunts, the lips that fit perfectly in mine. Bucky's eyes widen in surprise as your lips meet his, but he doesn't pull away. Instead, after a brief hesitation, he leans into the kiss, one hand sliding up to cup the back of your neck gently as he deepens the kiss, his lips moving tenderly against yours. The kiss feels like a million sparks, the slow passionate movements, it’s perfect. I pull away breaking the kiss slowly. “Bucky…” I mumble against his lips. He pulls back slightly, his eyes opening to meet yours. His pupils are dilated, his breathing slightly heavier. "Yeah?" he murmurs, his thumb gently caressing your cheek. "Was that okay?" He asks, a hint of vulnerability in his voice, hoping he didn't overstep. I nod quickly the same genuine smile creeping onto my face, “it was…perfect.” I put my focus back onto the beautiful gold necklace sitting in my hand, “put it on for me?” I whisper lifting the necklace a bit higher.

He smiles softly, relieved and happy. He takes the necklace from you, his fingers brushing against yours. He carefully lifts it over your head and settles it around your neck, his touch gentle. "There," he says, his fingers lingering on your collarbone for a moment before he pulls back. I bite my bottom lip attempting to suppress the smile, obviously failing miserably. “thank you…” I turn to face him once again, my cheeks heating up seeing the genuine smile on his lips. “how about some more cookies? in return for the necklace.” He chuckles softly, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Only if they’re heart shaped...”

[afrowrites]

Princess and the Farm-Boy (Special Chapter 😏

DISCLAMER: ALL CHARACTERS ARE AGED UP

Author's note: Y'all it was been one hell of a year. I mean I have never been so overworked and with other stuff in my life it has been impossible to write anything, but I had this one in the works for awhile and I thought you guys deserved a treat. So here is my first *Ahem* "Spicy fic". I really hope y'all enjoy it :).

Clark Kent !Smallville! x Black reader

Warnings: Smut, Oral (f! receiving), Unprotected P in V sex (Please be careful irl)

Read on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61783975

There you are stuck in the rain, the mud creeping up your loafers and on your nice white stockings. Once again your plans to escape Smallville have proven futile. Your eyes start to tear up in frustration, which makes no sense. After all you're not a child, so why should you start crying like one. 

Your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of a familiar and annoying truck pulling up.

 “Hey, are you ok?” Clark asks, he sounds genuine. 

“Yeah, I'm uh just fine.” You answer, he looks at you quizzically. He knows how much you hate mud and all things dirty.

“Doesn't look like it.” “Well what would you know anyway?!” You spat, your pride may be bruised but it's not broken.

He grumbles in frustration, he knows you're not going anywhere without a fight. So he goes for the next best thing, you see him get out the truck his tall frame makes his way to you and then he grins a little devilish grin.

“C'mon I know you don't wanna be here out in this rain, your hair’s too important.” 

“I don't see how that's any of you- Oh my God what are you doing!!!” You squeal as you are suddenly hoisted in the air and on his shoulder.

“Well princess, I'm taking you home.” He smiles.

You don't know how to feel about his nickname for you. 

Usually you hate it but right now it makes your cheeks heat up in a way you have never felt before.

He drives you both in silence, he realizes that he kinda kidnapped you, and you are feeling an acute sense of butterflies. Something you could never feel for Clark Kent. 

You shake the thought right out of your head, he looks over to you sort of reading your mind,

“Hey so uh- what is the deal you, I mean ever since we met you act like you hate me.”

You turn your head towards him, looking at his defined jaw, it's making you melt right in your chair.

“I don't hate you Clark,” you sigh “I just needed something to be upset at. It just felt weird to be taken from my penthouse in metropolis and come to Smallville, y’know.”

He does understand where you're coming from. 

“Look, I might not be super rich and super smart like you, But I know what it feels like to be taken from my home.” He comforts you, hesitantly placing a warm hand on yours. 

Before your able to pry further, you make it home. “I guess this is your stop,” He chuckles.

“You know the staff aren’t home, It’s pouring out there,” You sheepishly continue “I-I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.” You can’t even believe the words that are coming out of your mouth, yet they feel so natural. 

He does his usual goofy shrug and mumbles an “Okay”. 

You say your name into the intercom and your let in to your expansive house, It’s a far difference from his warm and inviting home. You both walk across polished wooden floors with high ceilings, old paintings and weapons from a time before. He felt it was all a bit macabre. 

You take his hand leading him to your room. It’s hilarious when you get to your room. It's pink and filled to the brim with hello kitty and poster’s of Beyonce on your wall, it’s much more girly than the cold academic you are.

“Don’t gawk, I’m still a girl y’know.” You tell him, your words bringing him out of his trance. You take your sweater off infront of him as you're preparing to take a nice warm shower. He peaks over and sees you in your rain soaked white button down. He begins to blush as he sees your bra pink and full of ruffles just like your room. He almost gets an anime nosebleed from seeing you. 

“Here I’m gonna take a shower,” You throw him the remote. “Pick anything you want, I pretty much have all the good movies.” You wink uncharacteristically and slink into the bathroom. 

He turns on the tv and flips through the channels until he finds something. He hears a knock on the door, and while no one is on the other side he finds a fresh T-shirt and some comfy pants in his size in a warmed box. 

“Hey um, I thought you said no one was here.” He asked you through the wall.

“Oh there isn’t, I had my robot send it over.” He rolls his eyes. Of course you have a robot, He thinks to himself. 

He slips into the warm clothes, He doesn’t know however that you're peeping through the crack in your bathroom door, You notice his strong arms and wide back, He has such a soft chest. He’s jacked but not ripped and you don’t mind it one bit. 

You walk out into your bed room still in your robe, He’s sitting in your bed comfortably hand on his stomach. You look out the window seeing the worsening storm. 

“Hey do you wanna just stay the night?” You ask him. And while he could go through the storm no problem he needs to keep up the facade of being powerless so he just nods. You hand him your phone and tell him to call his parents. 

You sit at your vanity and start to moisturize your brown skin. He looks over to your glowing beautiful skin. He's so hungry it’s almost like he’s eating you with his eyes,he almost trips over his words when telling his parents he wouldn’t be home for dinner. 

There you are in your silk pajamas and a cute boy in your room, You have no idea what in the world to do. So you just get under the covers next to him. You hesitantly put your hand on his chest, and before you can pull away he takes your hand in his. The warmth he gives you makes you melt. 

“You know farmville, Sometimes I think I like you.” The confession falls out of your mouth like your Niagra falls. You sit up wide eyed staring into his sky blue eyes.

He just gives you a toothy grin like no other and plants a soft kiss to your lips, after a second he pulls away. “ I was wondering when you were gonna come to your senses.” 

You roll your eyes and kiss him, this time it gets deeper. You rake your hands through his messy brown hair as he places you on top of him. You straddle his lap and his strong arms cradle your back. He melts into your mouth like vanilla ice cream on a hot summer’s day, And he smells like fresh cut wood and apple pie. He tastes like a dream you’ve been desperately reaching out for but you could never hold. 

He pulls away to catch his breath, with blown out pupils like he’s in love, (Well he is now lol). 

“Gosh, you’re just perfect.” He breathes into your neck slowly kissing down your collarbone to your plump and supple chest. 

You take a deep breath everytime he kisses your radiant brown skin. “Clark,” You break him out of his trance. “Yes, Princess?” The nickname sounds fresh and new but familiar and quiet all at the same time. 

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” You ask him timidly. “Girl, I don’t think your brother himself could keep me away from you.” He chuckles into you as he slips off the strap of your top. Exposing your  glowing bare breasts.

His mouth salivates at the sight of them, And in one swift motion he pulls you further into him.

He places his warm mouth on one of your soft peaks while caressing the other.

“Oh Clark,” You say his name with a sharp gasp “That feels s-so good.” You enjoy his movements as he kisses lower and lower till he reaches your soft entrance. 

His eyes roam the sight, his pupils blown and his breath hazy. Your scent light and sweet envelops his nose. 

He starts licking your clit with long swipes of his tongue, you sharply moan. Tangling your fingers in his soft brown hair. 

He’s eating you out like he is a man on death row, and you're his final meal. And then when you didn’t think it could get any better he places his thick fingers in your sloppy wet pussy.

“Oh-Oh my god Clark,” you moan out. You're loving every single bit of attention he gives you. And he’s doing so much it’s like he can hold his breath forever he hasn’t even come up for air. 

You're so focused on the pleasure he gives you, you don’t even realize how your belly feels warmer. How your toes start to curl, how your body starts to writhe and squirm. But he knows, he knows that even between the broken sentences and near pornographic moans your body is close to climax.

“C’mon princess, think you can give me me a-” and before the man can continue there you are creaming this poor farmboy’s fingers. Your back arches as you cry out in pleasure. 

“GOD, FUCK.”  Your words spurn him on as he didn’t realize himself that he was grinding into your bed. His dick so hard and with precum leaking at the tip. He’s afraid to hurt you with his size. He won’t even bring up the subject of his sore cock to you opting to handle his business in the bathroom. 

“Oh my god Clark that was amazing.”, “Oh well I thought-”  you interrupt his words with a deep and passionate kiss as your hands glide down to his member. You can almost feel the heat coming off of it. 

“ I think I know how to help you with that.” You giggle. You can see his cheeks heating up as he blushed furiously. 

You pull his pants down to reveal a huge throbbing cock. “How the hell am I supposed to fit this in my-” 

He hears you mumble under your breath, “Y’know you don’t have to do this.” “Clark, Baby if I didn’t want to do this you would know. Now open my side drawer, there’s a bottle of lube in there.”

So he grabs the lubricant for you, for some reason he is surprised at your usage of the bottle mostly because it’s halfway gone. 

“Oh relax, it's for my dildo’s, ya goof.” You giggle at him once more. He doesn’t think he’ll ever get tired of that noise. 

You apply the cold lube to his red throbbing cock, which sends shivers down his spine. His chest heaves in pleasure as you stroke his thick member. 

“Baby do you want me to ride it, or do you wanna be on top?” The two options scream out to him, “Can you ride me p-please?” he asks, almost nervous like he didn’t just eat your pussy like it was a birthday cake. 

You straddle his lap, grinding on him teasing his very soul. You finally give him some relief  when you place his tip at your entrance. He’s so big you have to catch your breath every inch on the way down.

“I’m sorry princess, I know it’s a lot,” “Oh no it’sss.” You hiss in the middle of your sentence. “I can take it.” 

You finally bottom out and it feels like the air has been removed from your lungs. You reassure him that you're fine but he insists you take a breather before you start. 

You slowly pump yourself up and down on his length relishing in the feeling, His hands gripping the sheets trying so hard not to hurt you. The pleasure is almost to good as his beautiful pink lips part in an attempt to breath out a silent prayer of release.

“Princess, I’m so sorry I can’t-” He grabs on to your hips, speeding up the pace on both of your pleasures. 

“W-wait Clark, Oh ff-uck!” You whine as you take your arms and wrap them around his back, glistening with sweat. 

It seems like his strokes would never stop but as his pleasure builds with yours. 

“I’m gonna, s-hit.” He hisses as spurts of his cum flow inside of you as you follow releasing on to him.

You both look at each other with boundless stars in each other's eyes. “That. was… Amazing, I never would have thought goody two shoes Clark Kent could do all of that.” You breathily laugh. 

“Right back atcha, now I think I need a shower. Care to uh join me?” he asks shyly. 

You smirk because the fun has only just begun.

Taglist: @blackynsupremacy

[pixelatedsticks]

Blind Hydra au

How did Electra and the components react when they met Hydra and what are they're relationship like with him?

Hi! Thank you so much for asking.

When Electra and the components first appeared during the race they didn’t really pay attention to hydra. They had more important things to do.

It was only during the fourth race that wrench and Electra got tipped off that something was wrong with hydra. Electra from slicks reaction to rusty uncoupling from him and wrench from watching the live recording.

After the race was over and pearl was found wrench went up to hydra and kinda just, grabbed his face to get a closer look. The following conversation went something like this

“Your blind,”

“Yes”

“You’ve been blind this whole time?”

“Also yes,”

And for a bit after that hydra had various components kinda just, watching or tailing him through the yard. Nothing malicious, The components haven’t really interacted with disabled trains before, and this led them to kinda treat hydra like an animal at the zoo, they would look at him and wonder what he’d do next.

Wrench approached him several times to tinker with him. She really wanted to know more about how he worked and if she could fix his blindness. She would also do research to what kind of tanker he was so she could help him.

Killerwatt, after getting advice from trains that if he’s gonna stay in the yard, he should start helping people other than Electra. tries to act as hydras guide and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself (While also turning into a bit of a mother hen in the process). It took multiple times of hydra and various other trains reassuring KW that he’s fine and he doesn’t need help for KW to finally back off a little.

Joule was the one who keeps poking hydra at random times. She is the one who treats him like a zoo animal the most. She’ll wave her hand in front of his face to see if he can sense it. Spoiler alert he can.

Volta is probably the one to actually treat hydra like a human. Well at least more than the others. He kinda just watches hydra. He doesn’t do anything like joule or try to help him like KW. He just kinda stares.

Electra did the same thing as wrench, grabbing hydras face to get a good look at him. After that Electra questioned how he was racing when he was blind and hydra just responded “idk man I just do,”. Electra probably doesn’t pay attention to hydra the most, they have much more important business to attend to.

Thank you for the ask!

[oyeixcher]

Every DanYok Scene (11 ¦ ??)

Y: "That's why you asked to be transferred here?" D: "Not exactly. It's like no one wanted to work with me. Someone in power needed to do something." Y: "Why didn't you quit and change your job once and for all? Why put up being ill-treated in a small station like this?" D: "There are people in need of help in any area. There are jobs for me to do everywhere. I'm still staying because I believe I'll get a chance to redeem myself one day. Nothing can be changed right away as we wish." Y: "Come on. When will you get to do what you want if all you do is wait hopelessly? Do you know how fast this world changes?" D: "Everything has its right timing. Just because something changes fast doesn't mean it's good." Y: "You're waiting for the right time, waiting to be powerful, but when is that? 10 years? 20 years? You might not have the chance at all. Even if that day comes, everything else might collapse already. If you want to do or change anything, do it now. Don't wait until you get burned out." D: "You know my stories. I haven't known yours." Y: "Do you really want to know? In my life, there's just one important thing. But I don't want to tell." D: "Fine. It's alright if you don't." Y: "Hey, I was just kidding. I'll take you there myself. I want you to meet her in person. Sounds good?"

[theflagscene]

Don’t know if this is legit or not, but…

Firstly, how would that even work? If this is legit it’s probably more about the idea of mpreg than anything else, like the author is saying: lower your expectations, ain’t no butt babies happening.

Which, fine, cool, don’t wanna slap a fake belly on Pavel, don’t. But removing the whole idea of characters being able to be impregnated leaves a massive plot hole in the second season, more so than bringing back characters that have died. Which is the fact that Tony’s entire human trafficking story was built about the idea of breeding more special alphas, omegas and enigmas to sell. Which is why he wanted Way to get Babe pregnant, that was laid out plain and simple, full stop, period. Massive part of the plot, really the only plot if you think about it. It was the driving force behind everything, behind most of the character’s story arcs.

But beyond that! If this is true and not just some rumor—please be a rumor—I’ll be disappointed because I truly enjoyed seeing a non gendered stance to the idea of genetic childbearing. Not for the A/B/O elements but just for the fact that it’s so rarely seen in media and when it is, it’s usually played off for laughs. In the 1990’s there were quite a few big budget comedies about cis males being pregnant, but it was always show in a really rude and occasionally misogynistic way. I personally liked how Pit Babe treated male pregnancies like it was just a normal thing, it wasn’t some odd kink or whatnot, it was just a part of the universe the series was set in.

When Charlie asks Babe if he wants children and Babe laughs about it because they’re both Alphas and not because they were both cis males, that scene felt really important. Yes, I know the series had omegaverse elements but it never felt that way really—at least to me—besides the use of the fanfic subgendered terminology, what was truly unique was seeing male characters facing threats that are so commonplace (and often fetishized) for female characters.

The threat of various sex crimes, human trafficking, date rape (Way using his powers on Babe was very GHB coded), forced impregnation, forced marriages, basically being seen as nothing more than childbearing chattel.

Whilst some of those things males do face in real life situations, obviously, I’m speaking about specifically in media. In television and movies those things are rarely shown as something that happens to anyone that isn’t a woman, typically younger women and little girls. So yeah, the silly gay racing show actually held some serious weight to it. And those actors worked their butts off to make it all seem genuine, to make the horrors their characters were facing seem real. And as men, probably half of the things their characters faced had never even crossed their minds in real life. But they made it real, they didn’t act stupid about the idea of Babe getting pregnant, they were properly horrified at the idea of Tony wanting him to be a breedmare for a trafficking ring, and Babe was absolutely heartbroken and terrified to find that someone who claimed to be his friend just wanted into his pants!

I know I make jokes, talk about slick sliding around and butt babies, etc. But you gotta understand, I spent nearly 20 years in the Supernatural fandom, I was there when A/B/O basically became mainstream and no longer something barely remembered from a monster of the week episode of Star Trek. So yeah, I make jokes about that shit, because I’m a grizzled old fandom veteran who was there when the magic was written.

But on a deeper level, on a human level, on a queer level—and as someone with absolutely amazing transgendered life partners, I found Pit Babe’s non gendered stance on pregnancy really beautiful.

[storm-and-starlight]

so a while ago I saw this post going around that talked about, like, when you're picking names for genderbent characters, sometimes just going with the masculine/feminine version of their original name isn't going to work because the context and connotation is completely wrong, and I was like yes! good! excellent! but it used some batfam characters as examples and the name it picked for a genderbent Damian went so completely against the tone of the name "Damian" that I immediately went "nope I'm doing this myself" so uh. here's the Storm version of a genderbent Batfam + reason why I chose those names.

Bruce "Brucie" Wayne -> Elizabeth "Beth" or "Lizzie/Bessie/Buffy" Wayne OR Berenice "Bunny" Wayne Elizabeth, at least in my head, feels like the same kind of "classical english name" as Bruce -- it's well-known, not particularly tied to any one era, relatively formal, and makes sense for an old-money family that doesn't really have East Coast WealthyTM names (think Throckmorton). "Beth" feels like a good parallel to "Bruce" in that it's a short, workaday name, and there are plenty of silly nicknames for the ditzy socialite side - I am enormously amused by the idea of Beth Wayne, Batwoman, going by Buffy in public, but if that's too much of a reference "Lizzie" or "Bessie" also exist. Berenice, meanwhile, is on here largely because of the nickname "Bunny", which is even better, imo, than Buffy. Bunny Wayne. It delights me. (Berenice is. fine. It's a bit fancier than Bruce, imo, which may or may not jive with the tone of any given fic, but it probably wouldn't be my go-to.)

Richard "Dick" Grayson -> Dorothy "Dotty" or "Dolly" Grayson I pulled this one directly from the original post bc I really do like it and think it works well - it's all about the nickname. It needs to be something that was once a legitimate, unremarkable name that is now a deeply ridiculous thing for someone to unironically call themselves and Dotty and/or Dolly are about as close as you can get to that without it being. actual slang for penis. "Dorothy" also works well as a counterpart for "Richard": a well-known, somewhat old-fashioned name but one that's still in use in modern times.

Cassandra "Cass" Cain/Wayne -> Cassander "Cas/Cass" Cain/Wayne This is one where I actually do think just using the masculine version of the original name works quite well. Cassandra is a name from Greek myth, and given Cass's history and parentage, I think that that context is one of the most important things about how that name works with her character: it's a non-English name, pulled from a culture commonly treated as a "lost golden age of civilization", it's long, it's complicated, it's elegant and a little bit strange. "Cassander" was the name of a king of Macedonia, according to behindthename.com it's the masculine version of the name Cassandra, and to me it has that same sense of slightly eerie elegance.

Jason "Jay" Todd -> Jessie "Jess" Todd This one is more about sound and and vibes than anything else - Jason is a well-known, plain, fairly workaday name that gives me the impression of someone who is strong and no-nonsense, and Jessie (not short for Jessica) gives me the same impression, especially if she habitually goes by Jess in public. Also, they're very sonically similar, and I liked that.

Stephanie "Steph" Brown -> Sidney "Sid" Brown OR  Zachary "Zach" Brown I'll be honest, I don't know nearly as much about Steph Brown as I would like to, so this one is based mostly off of sound, nickname quality, and some context - Stephanie sounds relatively modern, to me, it's a name that wouldn't fit a pre-1980's character (at the earliest). I went with "Sidney" and "Zachary" because they both also have that relatively modern feel with a well-known short form. "Sidney" is here because it starts with S and I think "Sid" fits okay? with the character despite being pretty sonically different from "Steph", "Zachary" because it has a closer sonic feel to "Stephanie" despite the name "Zach" being a little further, vibes-wise, from "Steph".

Timothy "Tim" Drake -> Cordelia "Cora" Drake OR Theresa "Tess" Drake Okay, okay, listen. I know "Cora" sounds nothing at all like "Tim" BUT. in my heart. the name fits the character better than any others I could find. "Timothy" feels very Victorian Boy's Name (or like. animated movie about talking animals set in the 1920's/30's) to me, and in modern days it's a longer, very formal name that's basically never used full-length, but the shorter form is plain, well-known, and still very common. "Cordelia" was also popular in the Victorian Era, would be a familiar-but-uncommon name to most people, and having "Cora" be the everyday name I feel just. fits the character well. Theresa is on here as a closer-sounding alternative because "Tess" is the closest I could get to "Tim" without just stealing Tamara's name (although come to think of it, in an "everyone is genderbent" world just swapping Tim and Tam's names would be very funny), and it has that same "common short form of an uncommon, slightly old-fashioned full name" element, and because "Tess" is a better fit for the character than the other two candidates ("Tori", short for Victoria, or "Tilly", short for Matilda - I liked those two because they give me the same vibes as Timothy, but the short form is the more important part).

Duke Thomas -> Blue Thomas Okay. I know, this sounds nothing at all like "Duke", but again. in my heart. same vibes. It's a name that's very modern-sounding without being Trendy, it's a single syllable, it's a name that is also a common word, and just. idk, they feel similar to me. A little bit cool (in multiple definitions of the word), a little bit laid-back, like they'd both work as nicknames for a 1920's jazz singer. You get it.

Damian Wayne -> Alecto Wayne Yes. I know. Hear me out on this. The original name proposed for a genderbent Damian is what prompted me to make this post in the first place (and no I'm not saying it because I don't want to rag on OP too much) because Damian, as a name, has. just. so much meaning and so much context that is so important to my perception of Damian as a character. It's a Greek name, meaning "the tamer" - it's clearly non-English - it's strange and unusual and stands out among a modern American crowd - it's older, darker, dangerous - it's pulled from a long-gone civilization that for a long, long time was treated as one of the pinnacles of human achievement and yet was just as fucked up as any other society and often was significantly more so - and, most importantly, it is such an Edgelord of a name. It's the name of the overdramatic bad guy in a vampire play (not movie. play.) who stands in a tower drinking blood out of a jeweled goblet. It's a name given to a baby who was raised by assassins and the grandchild of an immortal assassin bent on destroying civilization in an attempt to make the world better. Damian is a sharp prickly pompous brat of a ten-year-old and part of that is looking down at a little kid with a sword with a name like Damian. It's just. how do I even explain this. it makes perfect sense for the League to have named him like that and it makes perfect sense that part of his personality is trying to live up to that and yet he can't because he's like ten. I picked Alecto because of all the names I found, it was the only one that gave me that same, immediate sense of "this is the name of a villain in an overdone fantasy novel, with over-the-top Meaning and Symbolism". It sounds Sharp and Strong and while recognizable, it's clearly not something people are typically actually called. It's Greek, meaning "unceasing" - it's the name of one of the Furies. I just. It works. (I know it's gonna get read as a TLT reference. I don't care. It's use in TLT is exactly what I mean by "it's the name of the villain in an overdramatic fantasy novel" tbh).

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Oh yeah. Definitely a little infuriating. And the thing is it’s not really a one off thing for Tim. He pretty consistently undermines her identity as the Spoiler, something which is sucky in general, but especially rude when you consider the significance of her secret ID and the spoiler mantle to Steph esp early on in her vigilante career.

Her ID as the Spoiler is metaphorically and symbolically important to Steph, but her secret identity is also portrayed as something which she needs to operate as the Spoiler.

(This isn’t unique to Steph, you can absolute find occasions where Tim Drake thinks about how if someone found out he was Robin he’d be finished as Robin, even when that person is Stephanie, oddly enough.)

But Tim losing his ability to be Robin would be tragic for very different reasons than the reasons it would be tragic for Steph.

For Steph, especially early on in her time as Spoiler, her ability to be Spoiler is literally her ability to fight back against her abusive father. It’s literally the tool she uses to stave off her perverted uncle.

No secret ID = no Spoiler = no ability for 15 year old Steph to protect herself and her mom

While Tim Drake not being able to be Robin would obviously suck for him, it wouldn’t place him in the same vulrenable position early-Spoiler Steph just leveraged herself out of. He’s not escaping anything or saving himself via Robin, or at least, not in the same way Steph is through Spoiler.

Additionally, when you keep in mind just how much Spoiler means to Stephanie as a symbol of her agency and end of her victimization, it’s incredibly obvious why Steph cares so much about her secret identity, and kinda fucked that Tim oftentimes just doesn’t.

Like another part of it is a power imbalance. Tim and Batman and Co. can (ostensibly) end Steph’s crime fighting career (potentially by telling her mom) thru their knowledge of Steph’s secret ID. This isn’t rly a hypothetical. Within Steph’s first few comic appearances Batman threatens her with exactly that idea.

Steph’s secret ID is used against her here. (Side note just noticed how fucking stupid Tim Drake looks in this panel. Great stuff.)

In contrast, she has no such leverage over anyone who knows her secret identity. When Tim calls her “Steph” instead of Spoiler to try to force her to listen to him, it’s not very well like she can return the favor.

Everytime another vigilante calls her by her first name instead of Spoiler while she’s in costume, it also just invalidates her legitimacy as a vigilante.

Real vigilantes have secret identities and those are a Big Deal to keep secret. But if Steph’s secret ID is just thrown in her face, it’s a denial of her actually being a vigilante at all.

No one goes around calling Batman “Bruce” in front of villains and civilians. No one addressed “Tim” when Robin is facing down criminals. It’s disrespectful and dangerous.

Steph doesn’t get this same consideration.

This gets especially egregious when Tim tries to get Steph to quit being the Spoiler because the Baffler knew her secret id. Tim, you’re the one announcing it constantly. You’re the one treating he secret ID like a joke.

Point is Tim treating her secret ID flippantly despite Steph’s insistence he use her vigilante name is super common unfortunately and especially sucky for Steph is particular.

(And does make his blow up in Robin #87 feel a little hypocritical.)

they are so silly goofy

[zhongli-lover-69]

hey girl is the room flooding or are you just happy to see me

[quietwingsinthesky]

i really do think the desire to paint ten as unambiguously The Worst™️ when it comes to his relationship with martha is out of this desire to uncomplicate their relationship. to decouple them as friends and people who profoundly impacted each other’s lives. it’s just an easier narrative to swallow: that ten was Awful to her and then martha kicked him to the curb when she realized she was too good for him. easier, maybe, then dealing with the troubles of unrequited affection don’t have to be anyone’s fault, or that ten shut martha out in a lot of ways but let her in in others that he wouldn’t let any other companion near, or that they were still friends, they still wanted to see each other and be around each other, even though it was messy and sometimes hurt. you know?

[dykedvonte]

I think the most baffling thing about the Tulpar as a vessel to me is the fact that the ship really did only have a one way communication system.

I know it was cheap but even the most basic of vessels regarding major transport would have some way, shape or form for outside communication. Not only that but there was absolutely no form of innate emergency signal to show they may have been offline or in trouble despite clearly having a system to dock credits if they went off course. It's another factor that really shows that bad situations are made to get worse by design. One person who is required to relay all information to the crew and make all the choices without feedback. No way to update or call for help in case of a dire situation. No way to inform of inner personal conflicts and acquire procedures accordingly.

It really is like they are all in some sort of fucked up solitary confinement. They have their own world with strict roles that are meaningless in the end, as long as the cargo makes it, it doesn't matter what happens on that ship to the company. They don't want to hear anything and will come to conclusions on what happened based on how much pay they can withhold from the workers. Even what they do send is short, sterile and corporate to the extent it was likely written and sent out with a command by some random unmanned computer in an office.

There's something to be said about how unfair it is to force absolute power and control onto one person when you as an entity could do so much more to offload it but I've said it many times before so I won't again.

[snailchimera]

There's this recurring theme that you see laid out the most explicitly with Cobigail but it's there for every god, where the gods of the grove are adored but isolated. It's strongly implied that either they can't leave the god realms or it's at least really difficult to do so! They're functionally housebound! And only the godpoke actually goes in and talks to them directly! So of course for the older ones, who don't have anything to prove but are starving for basic human companionship, King's approach works. And it works wonders, as evidenced by how quickly gods and humans alike put their faith in King, and especially how Miss Mitternacht talks about King saving the day/being the glue that keeps the gods from completely falling apart/being necessary to save the world! It probably seems almost literally miraculous, in much the same way and for much the same reasons that watering a thirsty plant and watching it perk up in real time seems miraculous. Why would she take a different approach with Inspekta? Even if she realized she'd misstepped, would she even be able to change tactics with Inspekta, or would that interaction create a permanent hostile label in Inspekta's brain? Was there even a better option at the time? Inspekta also needed someone to treat him like a person, after all; he just didn't think that was what he needed, and it certainly wasn't what he wanted.

There's a line Robart/Peeps has about Inspekta in the Cove, where he says Inspekta as a mortal was always working so hard to help people, and he "seemed desperate". We see plenty to reinforce that elsewhere. Inspekta has to be perfect because anything less than perfection is worthless. Of course he's going to see King as a threat when she's not only being talked about in much the same glowing terms people used to talk about him, with skills that overlap with his domain (communication and bringing people together are after all pretty key parts of leadership), but approaching him in this way that implies he's not perfect. Acknowledging that he has problems is like touching a hot stove, and blind adoration feels good and safe and almost fills the hole so at this point it's the only thing he easily accepts. But how the hell was King supposed to know that? And she's still, again, a person herself, not an emotional truths dispenser. When the situation gets that fucked, seemingly out of nowhere, who could respond with the perfect rational magical code phrase that instantly defuses it?

And at the Spire, look how calm she stays, how she keeps reaching out! How reassuring she is when he stops being a threat! Can you imagine going through what she just went through and still doing that? We heard how scared and sad she was. For fuck's sake, on top of everything else Inspekta decided the correct response to King halfway getting through to him was to crush her under a pile of junk. She could have died right there. Not to mention the other gods are all her friends, or in Mitternacht's case, her partner, and they're all in danger too. King is so devoted to deescalation, so aware of the importance of this role she's taken on. She's trying so hard. She cares so much. And she jumps into it the instant Inspekta shows up. She was prepared. How much time do you think she spent replaying her own kidnapping in her head, trying to figure out what she could have done differently?

I have so many feelings about King. I think maybe she also needs someone to talk to, who won't expect her to be perfect.

very overjoyed to wake up to my psychic blast being effective