#I tried to show it a lil in the comic about Killer getting his name

[somegrumpynerd]

Do you have any hcs for the twins?

Here's two I remember that I really like! (Also these are definitely not my ideas originally but I cannot for the life of me remember where I first saw them)

For Dream it's that he's just as strong as Nightmare. Like you see Nightmare lifting his henchmen with his tentacles all the time, Dream should also be able to lift like 3 people at a time. I wanna do something silly with it in my truce au but here's Blue finding out in the meantime (he lost his phone and Dream's helping him look for it)

For Nightmare it's that he can also do the starry-eyed thing that Dream and Blue and Cross can. Dream knows he could do it when they were kids but assumes the corruption changed that, but really it just doesn't happen very often so none of them have seen it. This is how it looks

[tepkunset]

Who is Sabra and why are comic readers worried about her introduction into the MCU?

(Making this because I actually have receipts for her problematic writing to back up statements already made, mostly)

[Content warning for racism against Arab peoples, especially Palestinians]

Ruth Bat-Seraph, AKA Sabra, is an Israeli superhero who was introduced in 1980, first appearing as an antagonist to the Hulk. When she’s not acting as a superhero, she’s a policewoman. She’s named after the Hebrew word for the pear cactus, per editor’s note in Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #256.

Her being a policewoman is cringe, but she’s not the first or last Marvel hero to have such a job for her alter ego. No, what has people concerned is that she’s always been written as a racist bitch.

In Incredible Hulk vol. 1 #256, Bruce Banner tries to help a homeless Arab boy who ends up getting killed in a bombing. Sabra mistakes the Hulk as working with the bombers and attacks. Hulk gets mad and goes on a super-cringe anti-Islam and anti-Judaism rant, saying religion is the cause of the boy’s death. And somehow this leads Sabra to an epiphany that “oh yeah, this boy is a human being!”

So that’s some really bad/dated writing, but you can at least say the intention for character growth was there, right? Show this state-sponsored superhero that her government has taught her wrong. Too bad she learns absolutely nothing long-term from this.

In Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, all she and the Arabian Knight contribute to the comic is arguing with each other. He’s written as an antisemitic and sexist pig, and she’s written as a racist jerk who refuses to work with him on account of him being Arab and comments (paraphrasing) “that’s just how it’s always been between our people”—Iron Man makes an inappropriate joke about this, of course.

In New Warriors vol. 1 #58-59, she appears again. Justice has a lil bit of a crush on her, and the story starts seemingly innocent… until Batal, a Syrian hero shows up, and then it’s back to the same bullshit. She advocates for his murder because “The Arabs” killed her son. Batal argues that she shouldn’t generalize an entire group of people like that, but she refuses to listen and calls him “child-killer”. Things escalate thanks to mind-control, but she cannot pin that on mind-control. That’s just her being awful.

But this is all old stuff. Let’s fast-forward to some more modern comics, where surely she’s much better, right? NOPE. Because in Union Jack vol. 2, Sabra can’t even make it through her introduction without accusing Navid Hashim, a Palestinian-Saudi hero, of being a terrorist.

Like literally the only thing this character exists for is to stir up “drama” with Arab characters. I cannot even begin to fathom what the MCU will do with her, unless it’s a total and complete re-writing that is miraculously better. Which we can all count on, surely //sarcasm

[putas-in-suffering]

I wish u would write a story about angel being in love with a stripper but being cool with it and always coming in to support his lady 😉

Okay, sucias....strap in because we took this idea and ran with it. Because guess what? Your putas have zero chill 🙃🙃. We had hella fun writing this and now that the universe has been created, who knows? Maybe we’ll explore it some more 😏

Anyway, take a read and let us know what you think! Besos 💋💖

*We added a Part 2! Check it out here.

You threw your robe on, hastily tying it so that you could go meet your boyfriend. You’d seen him walk in at the start of your dance, eyes captivating you as you gyrated on stage and slid down the pole in the center. He was your biggest fan. Your loudest cheerleader. He was unlike any man you’d been with. Fully supportive of you and your chosen career path. And you were going to do everything in your power to make sure you kept him.

Your six-inch heels clicked on the sleek black floor as you maneuvered through the throngs of bodies in the crowded club. Men tried to garner your attention, hoping you’d stop and pay them a visit. Most knew not to reach out and touch, but some had to be reminded. If you couldn’t send the message, the security team surely would.

You headed towards the small section that the MC liked to hold up in, the area still visible from the main stage but secluded for private dealings. Your man always sat at the bar when you performed, his eyes focused on you and only you. And you danced for only him. Every night. Even if he wasn’t there. You thought of nothing but him as you touched yourself and got lost in the hypnotizing beat of the music, feeling the breeze of crisp bills being thrown at your nude form. It was a high like nothing else. One that Angel Reyes had only made better since he’d strolled into your life.

You walked through the thin curtains that sectioned off the area, smiling when your eyes met Angel’s. He was sitting on the end of a long, curved booth, unlit cigarette propped in his mouth. You walked over, butterflies in your stomach as he opened his tattooed arms to you. He spread his legs, letting you stand between them as he looked up at you.

“Hi,” You greeted, leaning down to hover over his lips.

He pulled the cigarette from his mouth, pocketing it inside of his leather.

“Hi,” He mirrored, a smirk hidden beneath his facial hair.

You met in a kiss, the action becoming increasingly inappropriate as his hands began to wander under the sheer pink fabric of your robe. His hand skimmed the back of your thighs, meeting the flesh of your ass. You’d changed into a rhinestone bra and panty set, a favorite of his.

Your fingers threaded through his beard, feeling his tongue persuading yours further and further into his own mouth. He tasted like beer and mint, his cologne permeating the air over the usual scent of sex and smoke in the club.

“Hey! If you wanna give a free show can you at least move so we can see better!” Creeper yelled across the booth, effectively ending the moment.

You both pulled away to the snickers and chuckles of the other men, neither of you the least bit embarrassed. Angel’s fingers worked under the thin waistband of your panties, snapping the material against your skin as he licked his lips.

He was positively sinful.

And he was perfect for you.

“Did you like it?” You asked, heavily made up eyes blinking down at him in anticipation.

“Fuck yeah, mama. Made me hard watching you up there.” He confessed, his words making you shiver. His hands continued to roam your body, touching any patch of bare skin he could, which was a lot considering what you were wearing.

You beamed down at him, pleased by his praise.

“Really?” You asked seductively, leaning down once again to let what was left of your lipgloss stick to his bearded lips. You let your arms encircle his neck, playing with the raven ends of his slicked back hair.

His face was level with your breasts, his gaze flicking from them to your face. You pushed them together, arching your back so that they practically touched his nose. He moved the opening of your robe out of the way so that he could have access to your cleavage. You pushed your chest out further, silently begging him to touch you there. He rubbed his face into the pillowy flesh, his beard burning as his lips planted gentle kisses.

You closed your eyes against the intoxicating sensations, your body falling into him more as he supported you. He was sturdy and strong against you; his hard lines complimenting your soft curves. It was as if you both had the other under some kind of spell. The power each of you had to get lost in the other was almost incomprehensible. The chemistry. The tension. It made for an explosive union between two wild souls.

A wadded up napkin hit Angel in the back of the head, interrupting his exploration of your body.

“Lover boy! Some of us don’t wanna pop boners right now.” Gilly teased, chin gesturing to the fact that Angel’s hands were dangerously close to revealing your bare breasts to the men.

While you were a dancer and the men had seen you dance before, you had given no one but Angel a lap dance. They could watch from afar but touching was obviously off limits. It was a boundary that not only felt natural, but was also laid in place out of respect.

You both straightened, though Angel’s hands were still connected to your body. You smiled and finally waved at the group of bikers, the brood now as much your family as they were Angel’s. The line got fuzzy when you factored in Angel’s actual brother being there and seeing you naked. But neither seemed to have an issue with it.

“I sent a round over for you guys. Did you get it?” You asked, gesturing to the lowered tabletop that sat a few feet in front of them. Beer bottles and ashtrays littered the surface, random stacks of cash adding to the mosaic of debauchery.

“Yeah, thanks for that sweetheart.” Bishop said with a kind smile and wink, holding his new beer in his hand.

“Perks of dating a dancer.” You teased as Angel turned to face the rest of the guys, taking you with him and settling you into his lap. You sat on his thigh, legs crossed as he held you in place.

“Among other things.” He added slyly, wiggling his eyebrows comically. The action forced EZ to shake his head and laugh, the man unwilling to hear about his brother’s sexual escapades.

You got comfortable as you started to catch up with the guys, laughing and joking over the hum of music. A few of the other dancers made their way back to work over some of the men as they perched in their laps. You’d already given the crew a heads up on which girl was worth their time and money and which wasn’t.

You noticed EZ eyeing a girl across the bar. She was newer to the club, but popular among the patrons. She went by Luna and she was a sight to behold. Long dark hair with eyes to match and skin that tanned a warm caramel shade. She had a killer figure and had easily become a top earner amongst the dancers.

An idea popped into your head and you decided to give it a shot.

“Ezekiel,” You called, gaining his attention and beckoning him closer to you and Angel.

“What’s up?” He asked as he settled next to his brother, taking a pull from the beer clutched in his hand.

“You like her?” You asked, gesturing to the woman he’d been checking out near the bar. She’d made her way closer now, perusing the private sections for customers.

“Like her?”

“Yeah, you think she’s attractive...” You explained, hoping he’d take the bait.

He nodded. “She’s pretty.”

Angel scoffed next to him, clearly seeing where you were going with this. You playfully shoved at his chest, daring him to do more. He didn’t.

“Her name’s Luna. I can call her over if you want.”

“I don’t need help pulling women.” EZ said, chuckling as he did.

“I know. But she’s good. One of the better ones. New to the club. I think you’d like her.” You explained, shifting when you felt Angel lift his hips into your thighs.

“Oh, so you’re trying to set me up.” EZ accused, his head already shaking in response.

“Come on, EZ...” You pleaded, reaching for his arm. “She’s a nice girl. I think you two would hit it off. And if not, you get a bomb ass lap dance.” You reasoned, pleased to see him mulling it over.

“Live a little, lil brother.” Angel goaded, bumping EZ’s leg with his own. “She’s hot. My girl’s got good taste.” He said with a boyish smirk, kissing your neck.

“Alright, alright...if you guys will stop.” EZ finally relented, sighing as if he couldn’t believe he was letting you do such a thing.

You clapped, excited to play matchmaker for someone as deserving as EZ.

“I’ll be right back.” You said as you stood, adjusting your robe.

You stepped out of the sheer fortress of curtains and made your way over to Luna. She spotted you immediately, smiling in relief. She’d had trouble making friends. She was new and most of the other dancers felt threatened by her presence. You’d been friendly with her, instantly getting a feel for her personality. She was chill and super sweet. A perfect match for EZ.

“Hey, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

“Okay...a customer?” She asked, taking your outstretched hand and following behind you.

“Yeah. He’s really cute...a gentleman.” You said vaguely, not wanting to scare her off by saying you wanted to set them up. You figured you’d let the moment run it’s course and see what happened.

You pulled her into the section with you, noticing the way Angel and EZ were leaning close to each other and whispering. Upon seeing you, they pulled apart and straightened. You stepped towards Angel and pulled Luna along, placing her in front of EZ.

“Luna, this is EZ. He’s Angel’s brother.” You introduced, noticing the way Angel was looking between your clutched hands and scantily clad bodies. You could practically see the wheels turning in his head, his eyes giving away everything he was thinking. All filthy. All explicit. You felt your entire body heat at the notion.

“Hi EZ,” Luna greeted softly, the raspy tone of her voice making the words sound more sexual than they should.

You let go of her hand as she moved towards the younger Reyes brother and settled into his lap. EZ welcomed her, his massive arms surrounding her as they spoke in low voices.

A tug on your hand made you look towards Angel, his eyes now black and hooded with desire. You let him pull you back into his lap, but this time you straddled him. His hands immediately attached to your ass, his pelvis pressing into yours, letting you feel his growing hardness.

“What’s got you all riled up, baby?” You whispered into his ear, feeling him shudder in response. You nibbled at his flesh, biting and sucking on his earlobe as your hips began to swivel in his lap.

“You.”

He groaned when you began sucking harshly at his neck, his admission ratcheting up your arousal. You were wet and ready for him, desperate to have him inside you.

It wouldn’t be the first time you’d let Angel fuck you in the club, but you weren’t going to do it with all his brothers around. You’d have to wait. Sooner or later the MC would leave and Angel would hang back, ensuring you made it home safe. Under the guise of giving a dedicated lap dance, you’d fuck yourself on his cock in the empty section. You never got caught. But even if you did, nothing could be done. No one wanted to started trouble with the MC.

The perks of dating a Mayan.

The shifting of the couch pulled you from your spot nuzzled into Angel’s neck. His finger was lifting the edge of your panties to feel you when you stopped, his touch halting when he realized your focus was elsewhere.

Luna was pulling EZ behind her, his hand grasped in hers as she led him away. They were going to the private rooms.

You smiled, mentally patting yourself on the back.

“You’re proud of yourself, huh?” Angel asked with nod to his brother’s retreating form.

You settled into his lap again, your attention now back to the man in your life. You played with the buttons on his shirt and then traced your pink nails over the patches on his leather. His rings felt icy agaisnt your skin as his hands ran up and down your thighs and ass.

You were absolutely head over heels for this man.

“Yeah I am.” You stated with a smug smile, circling your hips to the slow, sensual beat playing through the speakers. “I’ve got good instincts.”

“You do?”

“I got you, didn’t I?” You challenged, raising a well-manicured brow at him.

“I thought I picked you up.” He said, running his mouth over your neck and chest.

“Not a chance, baby.”

He surprised you by slapping your ass...hard. The slap echoed as you gasped and then giggled, the sting sending waves of pleasure straight to your core. The sound caught the attention of the rest of the guys, but they quickly went back to their conversations when they realized what it was, some rolling their eyes as they did.

“Let’s go to the back. Dance for me, mama.” He softly demanded as he kissed your chin, hand lightly gripping your neck. 

You were unable to deny him. It was frowned upon to take your significant other to a private room for a lap dance. There was a risk of sexual activities taking place and that wasn’t allowed. Though that didn’t stop you and Angel. And usually there were cameras in the rooms for safety purposes, but you knew for a fact they were broken and hadn’t been in working order in quite some time.

“Okay, Daddy...”

You led him to the hallway of closed doors, music booming from behind each one. You found one that was unoccupied and stepped in, shutting the door. Angel immediately began kissing you, his hands grasping at your breasts through the thin layer of bedazzled lingerie.

You managed to break away and push him towards the black leather couch, shedding your robe as you did. He did as you wanted, already knowing the drill.

He sat there, thighs spread and dick hard. He looked dangerous and you knew if he asked you to kill for him, you probably would. He owned every part of you. And under the cover of darkness, you were going to let him have all of those parts...and then some.

Sucia Tag List:

@marvelmaree

@visintaes

@otomefromtheheart

@aquarius-smr-writing

@glimmerglittergirl

@arveeee

@fangirlingaesthetics

@maciiiofficial

@woahitslucyylu

@angelreyesgirl

@ifoundmyhappythought

@mheart27

@collegegirl83

@luna8819

@enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat

@everyhowlmarksthedead

@whatupitshuff

@noz4a2

@thesandbeneathmytoes

@minnicelli

@claytoncardenasbabymama

@brattyfics

@starrynite7114

@losolvidad0s

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

Kdrama recs Part 1

Hullo and welcome to the kdrama life @camsthisky​! The following list is not in any particular order, other than the fact that I start with a more rom/com vibe and head toward more romantic/action or action. All the following kdramas are set in the modern day, and part 2 of my recs for you will be either darker kdramas set in present day or historical dramas.

Let the list begin!

1. Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: 

Do Bong Soon is a v smol woman who has super strength and who wants 1. To create her own video game 2. Get her police officer crush to return her affections. Which like, police officer is kinda cute but he ain’t that special. Bong Soon winds up becoming a bodyguard to Ahn Min Hyuk, the extremely rich, kinda spoiled, ridiculously extra CEO of a gaming company who does not like the police for secret reasons, and sadly does not have a good relationship with his family. (He a lonely boy underneath everything.) Min Hyuk finds out about Bong Soon’s powers, is in TOTAL awe of her, offers to train her in fighting, and literally falls head over heels for her.

The caveat with this show is there is a subplot or two that annoy me, BUT I just use the 10 second skip button and it is totally worth it because the romance is super cute—SUPER CUTE (also I have a list of favorite actors and Park Hyung Sik is def on it—one minute he is an adorkable, blushing bby the next he can be intense and sad)

He cute

2. Her Private Life: 

Hello fake-dating!! Ryan Gold (an adoptee who didn’t live in Korea for a while) is a former artist who stopped painting because he couldn’t deal with his Stendhol (?) syndrome (among other traumas). Deok Mi is the classy art curator of a famous museum who definitely does not have any secrets she wants to keep from the world—well, other than the fact that she is the number one fangirl of kpop idol, Cha Shi-an (who also appreciates art) and has a major crush on him. Ryan becomes director of the art museum and there is a whole thing with getting Shi-an involved in an art show.

Following this and a series of unfortunate events a false rumor starts that Deok Mi and and Shi-an ARE dating. It’s a little complicated to summarize, but basically what you need to know is that Ryan and Deok Mi become a fake couple so there won’t be a scandal for Shi-an or violence done to Deok Mi by rabid fangirls. I enjoy the fake-dating trope a lot, and how it becomes real for both of them! The leads are played by Kim Jae Wook and Park Min Young, who both have incredible range. Lots of soft moments in this one! Good kisses, a scene where the faves bake together, and also Ryan wears a lot of deep v-neck shirts and jackets which is an attack on me personally.

The show also contains a bit of angst, which I LOVE. Hand-holding becomes an important theme 😊

RYAN NO

3. Crash Landing on You: Rich South Korean heiress/fashion designer Se-ri accidentally winds up in a North Korean village, and really REALLY wants to go home. Mostly because there are no scented candles or spa-like bathtubs in the vicinity, but also because she could easily disappear into a NK jail and never return. A North Korean captain named Ri Jeong Hyeok finds her and decides not to turn her because, one, he’s a good guy who doesn’t want to turn an innocent person over to what might be her death, and two, turning her over might get his four underlings in trouble for reasons. Said underlings are his family, basically, and they are a deLIGHT. One is an argumentative proud sort who likes to drink and to feel important and who tries to provoke (and gets provoked by) Se-ri at every opportunity, one is a lover of banned South Korean dramas, one is a 17 year old bby who misses his mom, and one is the silent but most loyal follower of the captain. 

Besides all these people, there are two other characters (including a surprisingly wise conman) who become faves and major players in the plot.

There is a great mix of humor, romance, found family, and angst, and I love it very much. A few things don’t go the way I want them to near the end, but a bit of imagination and fanfic can fix anything 

ALSO I FORGOT THE CAPTAIN GETS SUPER SULKY FROM TIME TO TIME AND IT IS HILARIOUS

Show of hands, who thinks they will meet again

4. Are You Human Too: A FAVORITE SHOW OF ALL! TIME!

What do you do when your husband dies and your evil mega-rich father-in-law takes your son away from you and keeps you from seeing him ever? Well, if you are scientist with more genius than positive coping methods, you build yourself a robot son who looks exactly like your real son. Great solution, am I right?

Nam Shin III is the name of my favorite robot son, played by the inestimable Seo Kang Joon. He is the purest bby you will ever meet, being designed so that he never lies and so that he will immediately go to hug anyone who cries. He seems quite a contrast to the bitter human Nam Shin, who hates his gilded prison life, hates his Grandpa, and tries to sneak away from his right hand man, Secretary Ji Young Hoon, his only friend in the world. The girl in the show is Kang So Bong, an ex-UFC fighter who was so badly injured she had to quit. She is at first a bit jaded and mercenary because of her past, but she has a golden heart that just needs to be reminded of its existence.

Not going into details to avoid spoilers, but everything upends when the robot Nam Shin has to take the place of the human Nam Shin. The show is a soft, funny, angsty exploration of what it means to be human, with some good found family throughout. The character development is phenomenal, and the connection between So Bong and Nam Shin III is *chef’s kiss*. I just want to give a shout out to Seo Kang Joon who plays a duel role like you wouldn’t believe, to SKJ’s smile, to the soundtrack, and to the character of Young Hoon, a loyal, steady, and self-sacrificing secretary that we do not deserve  (gosh tho he looks good in blue!)

Look at my robot son getting a long-looked for affirmation! (his lil smile!!!

5. W: Two Worlds: 

This show unique because it  meta as HELL! Oh Yeon Joo is a junior doctor and the daughter of a webtoon artist whose big hit, W, is coming to a close. Much to her surprise, she gets pulled into the world of the comic where she encounters and saves the main character, Kang Chul, a former Olympic shooting champion who was blamed for the murder of his entire family, and whose sole desire is to find the real killer. It’s a good romance between them, and I also love Kang Chul’s relationship with his hyung, which, tho it is not always a main focus, is present and wonderful. Kang Chul himself is both intelligent and adorably bratty, charismatic and angsty, soft and fierce, and he is one of my favorite kdrama characters for sure.

As for the meta, the show does a fantastic job exploring the rules of the comic world, of how one can enter and leave, the importance and power of main characters and supporting characters, and the purpose of an author. There is always another twist coming, and it is just so much fun!

UM SIR PLS POINT THAT ELSEWHERE

6. Healer: 

I watched half this show and never realized that the female lead is played by Park Min Young, same actress as in Her Private Life. Someone had to tell me lol! She’s just so good at playing different people. In this show, she is Chae Young Shin, a reporter for a celebrity tabloid who has big dreams of becoming a famous reporter who investigates stories that actually mean something. She is a bit quirky, very cute, very brave, and probably one of my favorite female leads. She lives with her dad above his coffee/teashop bakery and is friends with all the ex-cons he has defended while doing his other job of lawyering.

Anyway this show is more of a romantic/action drama. To get an idea of the titular Healer, picture what you would get if you took some of Batman and Nightwing’s aesthetics (wearing black, hanging out on rooftops, punching people, flipping around, etc) and put them into a night courier who likes to watch National Geographic and dream about one day going off to an island where he can live all by himself for the rest of his days because oh yeah he is a loner whose only friend is an older woman who sets up his jobs and whom he has never actually met.

There is also an older reporter that Young Shin looks up to, the fun tabloid office where she works, a heck lot of mystery surrounding some tragedy involving a group of reporter best friends/found family back in the 80’s/90’s, and of course both members of the OTP have childhood trauma that has made them who they are today. One of my favorite things that happens in the show is that Healer has to go undercover for a while, Clark Kenting it up in Young Shin’s tabloid office, which overnight becomes a real news agency for reasons.

The action is LOTS of fun, and the romance is really soft and cute, and better still, when there is a misunderstanding or something that gets in their way, they almost immediately talk about it and resolve issues. They TRUST each other and give the benefit of the doubt where many tv couples would break up or get in big fights. I find it (plus the character development) very refreshing.

I couldn’t find a gif of my favorite fight sadly. This will have to do

7. Lawless Lawyer: This has Lee Joon Gi. Watch it.

Just kidding, there are many other reasons to watch the show, but it is true that Lee Joon Gi is one of my favorite actors. The man has phoenix eyes, a jawline that could cut silk, diamonds, you name it, and such a deep well of emotional acting that it literally kills me when his characters rage/weep/love/etc.

Anyway, in this legal thriller/romance/action drama, LJG’s character Bong Sang Pil is a beautiful, very extra ex-gangster/now lawyer who opens his own office, ready to fight villainy and avenge his mom with the law or with his fists, whichever is more useful at the time. He has a right hand man named Manager Tae and recruits a bunch of thugs as his minions, and they all become a weird sort of family as the show goes on.

Ha Jae Yi is a quiet badass lawyer who has no time for sexist idiots and gets her license suspended for smacking one of said fools. She gets recruited to assist Sang Pil, and they find their goals align as both their mothers were destroyed by the villains.

Speaking of the villains? EXCELLENT acting by them all, like they need to go down obviously, but you can’t help but be in awe of a few of them or even get attached to one or two in a weird way. Props to the show for having one of the best female villains I have ever seen

What an icon

Here you get two gifs of him

Sorry I needed to make it a magical three lol

~~

Tune in next time for historical dramas and modern dramas that are a bit darker!

[hughiecampbelle]

The Black Dog (Marcus Lopez Oneshot)

Character/s: Marcus

Word Count: 1,026

Tag List: @dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt @myriadimagines @lilyswritings @encounterthepast @death-of-a-mermaid

A/N: So, I meant to write a different fic for tonight, but ya gurl hasn't been feeling that great mentally, so I wrote this instead. I know it's not my best, nor my typical style, but I'm glad I could get anything written, especially something this long. It always feels like one step forward, and two steps back. I know I'm not the only one, especially in these crazy times, but just know if you are feeling this way or have in the past, all these bad feelings will pass, and things will get better, it just takes a lil time :) Feedback is always appreciated 💜💖💜

FIC MASTERLIST PART ONE. / PART TWO.

WANNA BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST?

"You're just happy it's not you anymore. The black dog moved on."

Claws unclipped, teeth sharp, jaw locked around your skin. It had a taste for blood, for you, and him, and everyone else trapped in their beds. You didn't know what you were getting to when you found it. A puppy, sweet, small, with matted fur and tired eyes. Crying weakly, unable to life their own head. It didn't have a name, a diagnosis. That was too much, stepping over the line, out of your comfort zone. Fear. If you got too attached you'd never find your way out. Instead, you tried to distance it from you as much as possible.

It was not Your Black Dog, it was only The Black Dog.

Not the owner, but merely a caretaker, until it grew bored, tired of gnawing at your fingers, of messing up your room, of barking in the night, leaving you restless, exhausted, tending to your wounds. It peed on the floor, in your sheets, crying incessantly. It didn't eat, opting to chew your assignments, your school books, even your clothes. It didn't sleep, instead whimpering in your ears, walking over the bed, stepping on you all night, needing to get comfortable. Everything with The Black Dog became difficult.

Sometimes it was quick. Days, a week. Licking your face, wagging it's tail, barking to get your attention. Under the lunch table, following after you in the halls between classes, jumping through cigarette smoke on the roof, but most of the time it found you in bed. Sometimes it wasn't. Weeks, months, years. Never quite sure when - if - it was going to end. Wearing the same dirty clothes day in and day out because that shirt, those socks, they're too heavy to take off. Hygiene becomes a thing of the past. Your hair greasy, knotted, hurting. Your skin broken out, lips cracked, body unwashed. It made you feel like you weren't a person anymore. This dog took everything from you.

Your time, your energy, your will to live.

Then it was over. Then, it moved on. The sounds of it paws padding across the floor, scratching at the door to get out, to leave, watching it make its way down the hall, past the other boarding rooms, classrooms, out the door. Barking at the faces it recognized, the peoole who looked after it, but was not yet ready to visit again. You recognized the fear, the weight of that reminder on their shoulders, their minds. Like you, there was no escape, there was only a moment to breathe, to bathe, to clean up the mess it made before it found its way back. Time had a funny way of warping. It was hard to remember the way happiness felt when it was around, hard to recall a real time you'd laughed. When it left, though, it took the sadness, the grief, the numbness. Everytime, you expected to remember, to be better at handling it, coping with it, but it always felt like the first, no matter how many times you'd faced this.

Wiping your memory clean, catching you off guard all over again.

You knew it moved on to someone else. You didn't want to believe what Marcus said, his words bitter, truthful, honest. You wanted to think you were different, but that dog had stripped you of your compassion, making you feel more selfish than you ever thought you could be. When it wasn't with you, it was with someone else, and you'd be lying if you said you weren't the most relieved when it left. You could watch it push open the doors of others rooms, take the seat of someone in a class of yours, trip over itself to catch up to its new caretaker. So close to you, but not you, and that was enough for as long as it lasted.

Sometimes you blamed yourself. You were the one who couldn't deny a puppy, taking it in, wanting to protect it in a way the world never protected you. You thought you brought this on yourself. If you'd done something different, if you were a better student, a better friend, a better person, maybe this wouldn't be happening. You didn't realize what it was, though, until it was too late. A trick. A wold in sheep's clothing. It wasn't your fault. The Black Dog would have found you regardless, showed up out of nowhere, leaving you confused, full of doubt, and shame. It was inevitable. That's what they didn't understand, the ones who didn't hear the barking, who didn't get scratched or bitten. No one asked for this, no one brought on to themselves.

It just happened.

It made you think you were the only one. Countless nights awake, feeling lonely, undeserving, it made you think no one cared about you, that they shouldn't have to. That no one would miss you if you were gone. But you weren't. The Black Dog was a silent killer, man's best friend, always in need of a companion. It wasn't something you spoke of, not often, wanting to keep conversation light. He noticed before anyone. The teeth marks on your hands, arms, the bags under your eyes, the mess f your room. He saw it, because the dog visited him, too. Stepping on his heels, tearing apart his comic books, drooling over his notebooks. Marcus recognized it all in you.

He never was the most domforting, often taking a cynical approach on the world, never getting his hopes high, never trusting too easily, but he knew the kind of havoc this dog created, the things it did to you, the things it made you do. It came with stigma, misconception, boiling it down to its bones. It's not being sad. It's not laziness. It's crushing, it's suffocating, and it hurts like hell. If he could be there, distract the dog, tire it out, help you for as long as you needed, then he would. Eventually, it would go away, because it always did, but until then, he'd be by your side, showing you how he got through it, how you can, too.

[mazarinrouge]

Let’s Read The Promise: Part 1

Everyone hears that the Avatar: The Last Airbender comics are bad. And they super fucking are. I tried to give it a chance, and I found that The Promise is probably the worst of them that I’ve skimmed. The Search is eh. But OHHH MANNN The Promise. It’s perhaps one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever read, and is in general a complete trainwreck. I’m not posting each page as an image because that’s tedious and you can go look them up on your own, but there will be some snippets here and there. Without further ado, a play by play of ATLA: The Promise.

In brief, this comic is about Aang and Zuko working together to remove the Fire Nation’s colonies and their culture from the Earth Kingdom shore. Surprisingly, it handles this sort of situation in a really dumb way. /s You would think Aang and Zuko together would be able to come to some reasonable conclusions, but you know. I’ll get to that later. It opens with the same intro from the shows narrated by Katara, except this time it’s different. Because it’s after the war and all.

But I believed Aang could save the world. And you know what? I was right. With the help of his friends, Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai and ended the hundred year war. Zuko, Ozai’s son and our ally, became the new Fire Lord. Together, with Earth King Kuei, Aang and Zuko promised to restore the four nations to harmony.

Except didn’t he run away to travel the world with his bear? If he did go back to Ba Sing Se after the war, we’d have to assume he didn’t die out in the wilderness or get captured at any point in time. We’d also have to assume that the people saw him and just LET him back into power, despite being the puppet for the Dai Li. And do the Dai Li still exist? They do in Korra, but I can’t see them here. Inconsistencies, oh well, who cares?

There are about eight fire nation colonies on the shore. Zuko decides to help Kuei “remove those colonies by doing whatever it takes”. This is very vague and already sounds like a bad idea. Cough cough. Sokka names the movement to remove them the Harmony Restoration Movement while Toph suddenly learns Invisibility Bending.

Then they go to Iroh’s shop cause why not. And we suddenly travel ~back in time~ to the Season 3 finale and see Katara and Aang smooching. Which apparently Sokka steps in on. It feels sort of like a sitcom. And Sokka’s like blehhh kissing! Katara and Sokka fight about it and you can really feel the tension in their dialogue. Gotta give mad credit to the writers here. /s/s/s/s

Then they’re on their way to a festival right after the war ended, and it’s going to be great it’s got fireworks and everything and

Oh my god. This is the angstiest thing I have ever seen. First off, why would Zuko be asking Aang this? Why not ask Katara? She clearly hated you (lol). Aang’s whole thing was how much he didn’t want to kill Ozai. Even IF Zuko started “becoming” his father, how would he expect Aang to be the one to murder him?

I also understand this is a natural emotion for people. Like, if you had an abusive father you probably wouldn’t want to turn out like him. But I imagine it’s somewhat different if your father and all his fathers before him committed mass genocide. If you’re raised to think that’s pretty wrong, hell, he even thought it intrinsically as a lil boy, then you probably won’t kill a lot of people. I don’t know just food for thought .And as an added fact, all the Fire Lords had their dads alive when they were conditioned to kill everyone. So I really don’t think Zuko would make any decisions as bad as his father’s. Maybe bad decisions, he’s hotheaded, but he’s not a murder. He wouldn’t even touch Zhao because it reminded him TOO MUCH of what Zuko’s dad did to him. It just seems out of character. But not as out of character as Aang KILLING Zuko.

Katara seems to be cool with it, though.

It timeskips to a year later and we see that Zuko is worried about rebel Fire Nation peoples to try to assassinate him. This I can agree with. There would have to be some people who oppose Ozai’s imprisonment. And it’s very sudden for a 16-17-ish year old boy to become your new ruler. He wakes up one night thinking someone will assassinate him, and guess what he was right. And would you guess who it is???

A teenage girl! Got to keep all the cast the same age. Wouldn’t want a hired hitman or anything. This teenage girl is so rebellious. She came all the way from the west coast of the Earth Kingdom to kill Zuko. She’s from the oldest Fire Nation colony and she’s here to take revenge, because apparently....the Restoration Movement is going to destroy all the colonies?

There was never any indication as to what this “movement” would consist of until now besides “remove them”. I didn’t imagine removing them would mean removing the culture or the people? You see, the rational thing to do would be to remove the government so the Earth Kingdom could control the land. There could be an intermingling of cultures and it may be interesting, but definitely not bothersome. That’s why some of France looks like Germany. They moved in and then the land went back to France and now they just all hang out there. There’s no concrete explanation to the reader of what this movement does. So really I still can’t say it would really destroy all the buildings and evac. all the people but Hell. It might.

Isn’t vague writing cool?

So Zuko sends this girl back to her home colony in cuffs. Her dad finds her and it turns out her dad is the mayor. Now I can understand their trouble. He may worry he might not have any position of power in the colony anymore, but hey, that might not happen. It’d be ridiculous to install an Earth Kingdom specific mayor, maybe even a little racist? It could happen though, so you understand your distress--

except NO! It’s not about that at all. Apparently the Restoration Movement is now Confirmed to Remove All Fire Nation People. Great. This went downhill fast.

Then this guy says hey your father wouldn’t be proud of your actions and Zuko attacks him.

Sheesh.

Then it cuts to Aang forcibly removing everyone from their homes and putting them into a new and confusing country. Cool. But suddenly when they get there a soldier tells them that they all need to leave! Because Zuko has stopped supporting the Restoration Movement! So that means that all Fire Nation Colonials are barred from entering the country??????

??????????????????????????????????????????

I don’t think i have to even explain why this is one of the worst ideas ever. Why forcibly remove or never allow in? Why not the middleground? The gray area? That whole part of the damn original show that was toted around so gloriously. How extremes are bad and not everything should be taken far this way or the other. But whatever. Fuck the show. Let’s do this instead.

It cuts to Toph’s metalbending academy and we learn that Zuko has holed himself up in Yu Dao. No one is allowed in or out. Toph says he’s becoming like Ozai. Aang is meditating and talking to Roku, who thinks Aang will be a good guy if he kills Zuko. This could just be a dumb rehash of the show where none of the other Avatars give Aang the answers he wants. Maybe the Lion Turtle will come back too and give Aang some Complacency Bending to fix Zuko.

I like this though. Aang is set on his own motivations and protecting Zuko as his friend. He’s not even looking Roku in the eye. Their worldviews are so different. Neat.

They arrive at Yu Dao to confront Zuko. The walls are barred and Aang and Katara decide to go in themselves, scaling up the wall to get past the gaurds. This comic site has custom annotations like old Youtube videos by the way, and I just thought I’d show you this.

Typically the rule with pet names is if your partner says one you don’t immediately say it back. But OK. I guess ‘babe’ was too adult for the demographic. I just can’t see these two really using pet names at all. Like Aang would respect his girlfriend so much he’d probably be happy enough just getting to say her real name so often.

We also learn here when he gets inside the walls that “Flameo, Hotman” is actually spelled “Flamio Hotmen”. I cannot accept this.

Aang enters and bows to the General and they start attacking him and Katara.

If they’re both trespassers why are they only attacking Aang and not Katara? How is Aang that close to the fire and he’s not got a Zuko burn yet? These important questions and more brought to you by me.

lol

Katara gets fed up with these people burning Aang and does a Dr. Crocker-esque panel by panel of her saying

“Stop. Trying. To. Set. My.

Reminds me of something else....something....even more awkward to say while attacking people....hm...

“Stay away from my dad’s ex-girlfriend!”

Oh well. I must have forgotten what it was. (coughKorraDoesntExistcough)

Then Zuko comes in and grabs Katara in a weird and compromising position. She says stop you’re hurting me oh no. And Zuko says not until you stop hurting my guards. Which she didn’t really hurt any of them. She demobilized them like Aang would, but they’re all still ok. She did throw ice shards, like pointy ones, Not sure what happened to that poor guy.

Aang gets mad at Zuko and they start fighting. Aang tries to talk to him while they are fighting and it’s kind of like a Naruto battle. And then....

God dammit.

But it’s ok because Katara does what she always does and just walks inside Aang’s killer air puncture ball no problem and touches his face to bring him out of the Avatar State. Which is sweet and I always like it when she did that. But how did she get inside the Aang ball?

Then Zuko says ok fine we can all calm down and talk. By the way, Zuko is growing incredibly weird cheekbones here. I think it’s a part of Bryke’s direction, because if you look at Korra almost every single male (except Bolin) has killer cheekbones. Like really really skinny face cheekbones. And now Zuko has them here.

Maybe they’re trying to represent Zuko becoming his father. Because Ozai had cheekbones too. But how does one get cheekbones like this in a year? Earlier in the comics, he didn’t have a face like this. He looks like a little skeleton man. Maybe it’s supposed to portray his aging due to stress like Lincoln or something. But man. It just doesn’t look like Zuko anymore. It looks like cheekbonko. That’s his new name.

Zuko had a change of heart after talking to the family in Yu Dao he met.

(gee maybe you should let the government be in control of the towns but let the people stay there because it is an old colony. Or let the colony stay so long as they don’t harass the Earth people. Or set up a joint government sort of thing with a council to rule these specific colony towns. Or anything but this dumb plot. ALSO LOOK AT ZUKO’S WEIRDASS HEXAGON FACE CHEEKBONES FUKC)

Also Katara doesn’t say anything she just stands there looking sad and confused. But just to make sure she does say something she says maybe Yu Dao should be the exception and only they can stay. Why is no one smart in this universe. But anyway, she decides to have another meeting with the Earth king.

It cuts to Zuko. The Kyoshi Warriors are his new bodygaurds. He gets up in the night to get water, but really he goes to see his father and DUN DUN DUN.

Well that was anticlimactic. Just seventy pages of UGH....THIS IS SO INFURIATING. But you know that’s fine.

This has been Part 1 of The Promise.

My predictions are Aang will not kill Zuko. (hes in the other comics) And they will remove everyone from their homes. Everyone will be happy despite that fact and Aang will get a kiss from his ‘sweetie’ the end.

But who knows?