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demigod-of-the-agni · 2 months

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Spider-Man India, but... where from India?

A SUPER long post featuring talks of: cultural identity, characterisation, the caste system, and what makes Spider-Man Spider-Man.

I’m prefacing this by saying that I am a second-generation immigrant. I was born in Australia, but my cultural background is from South India. My experiences with what it means to be “Indian” is going to be very different from the experiences of those who are born and brought up in India.

If you, reader, want to add anything, please reblog and add your thoughts. This is meant to be a post open for discussion — the more interaction we get, the better we become aware of these nuances.

So I made this poll asking folks to pick a region of India where I would draw Pavitr Prabhakar in their cultural wear. This idea had been on my mind for a long while now, as I had been inspired by Annie Hazarika’s Northeastern Spidey artwork in the wake of ATSV’s release, but never got the time to actually do it until now. I wanted to get a little interactive and made the poll so I could have people choose which of the different regions — North, Northeast, Central, East, West, South — to do first.

The outcome was not what I expected. As you can see, out of 83 votes:

THE RESULTS

South India takes up almost half of all votes (44.6%), followed by Northeast and Central (both 14.5%) and then East (13.3%). In all my life growing up, support towards or even just the awareness of South India was pretty low. Despite this being a very contained poll, why would nearly half of all voters pick South India in favour of other popular choices like Central or North India?

Then I thought about the layout of the poll: Title, Options, Context.

Title: "Tell us who you want to see…"

Options: North, Northeast, Central, East, West, South

Context: I want to make art of the boy again

At first I thought: ah geez. this is my fault. I didn't make the poll clear enough. do they think I want them to figure out where Pavitr came from? That's not what I wanted, maybe I should have added the context before the options.

Then I thought: ah geez. is it my fault for people not reading the entire damn thing before clicking a button? That's pretty stupid.

But regardless, the thought did prompt a line of thinking I know many of us desi folk have been considering since Spider-Man India was first conceived — or, at least, since the announcement that he was going to appear in ATSV. Hell, even I thought of it:

Where did Spider-Man India come from?

FROM A CULTURALLY DIVERSE INDIA

As we know, India is so culturally diverse, and no doubt ATSV creators had to take that into account. Because the ORIGINAL Spider-Man India came from Mumbai — most likely because Mumbai and Manhattan both started with the same letter.

But going beyond that, it’s also because Mumbai is one of the most recognisable cities in India - it’s also known as Bombay. It’s where Bollywood films are shot. It’s where superstar Hindi actors and actresses show up. Mumbai is synonymous with India in that regard, because the easiest way Western countries can interact with Indian culture is through BOLLYWOOD, through HINDI FILMS, through MUMBAI. Suddenly, India is Mumbai, India is a Hindi-only country, India is just this isolated thing we see through an infinitely narrow lens.

We’ve gotten a little better in recent years, but boy I will tell you how uncomfortable I’ve gotten when people (yes, even desi people) come up to me and tell me, Oh, you’re Indian right? Can you speak Hindi? Why don’t you speak Hindi? You’re not Indian if you don’t speak Hindi, that’s India’s national language!

I have been — still am — so afraid of telling people that I don’t speak Hindi, that I’m Tamil, that I don’t care that Hindi is India’s “national” language (it’s an administrative language, Kavin, get your fucking facts right). It’s weird, it’s isolating, and it has made me feel like I wasn’t “Indian” enough to be accepted into the group of “Indian” people.

So I am thankful that ATSV went out of their way to integrate as much variety of Indian culture into the Mumbattan sequence. Maybe that way, the younger generation of desi folk won’t feel so isolated, and that younger Western people will be more open to learning about all these cultural differences within such a vast country.

BUT WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SPIDER-MAN INDIA?

Everything, actually. There’s a thing called supremacy. You might have heard of it. We all engaged with it at some point, and if you are Indian, no matter where you live, it is inescapable.

It happens the moment you are born — who your family is, where you are born, the language you speak, the colour of your skin; these will be bound to you for life, and it is nigh impossible to break down the stereotypes associated with them.

Certain ethnic groups will be more favourable than others (Centrals, and thus their cultures, will always be favoured over than Souths, as an example) and the same can be said for social groups (Brahmins are more likely to secure influential roles in politics or other areas like priesthood, while the lowers castes, especially Dalits, aren’t even given the decency of respect). Don’t even get me started on colourism, where obviously those of fairer skin will win the lottery while those of darker skin aren’t given the time of day. It’s even worse when morality ties into it — “lighter skinned Indians, like Brahmins, embody good qualities like justice and wisdom”, “dark skinned Indians are cunning and poor, they are untrustworthy”. It’s fucking nuts.

This means, of course, you have a billion people trying to make themselves heard in a system that tries to crush everyone who is not privileged. It only makes sense that people want to elevate themselves and break free from a society that refuses to acknowledge them. These frustrations manifest outwardly, like in protests, but other times — most times — it goes unheard, quietly shaping your way of life, your way of thinking. It becomes a fundamental part of you, and it can go unacknowledged for generations.

So when you have a character like Pavitr Prabhakar enter the scene, people immediately latch onto him and start asking questions many Western audiences don’t even consider. Who is he? What food does he eat? What does he do on Fridays? What’s his family like, his community? All these questions pop up, because, amidst all this turmoil going on in the background, you want a mainstream popular character to be like you, who knows your way of life so intimately, that he may as well be a part of your community.

BUT THAT'S THE THING — HE'S FICTIONAL

I am guilty of this. In fact, I’ve flaunted in numerous posts how I think he’s the perfect Tamil boy, how he dances bharatanatyam, how he does all these Tamil things that no one will understand except myself. All these niche things that only I, and maybe a few others, will understand.

I’ve seen other people do it, too. I’ve seen people geek out over his dark brown skin, his kalari dhoti, how he fights so effortlessly in the kalaripayattu martial arts style. I’ve seen people write him as Malayali, as Hindi, as every kind of Indian person imaginable.

I’ve also seen him be written where he’s subjected to typical Indian and broader Asian stereotypes. You know the ones I’m so fond of calling out. The thing is, I’ve seen so much of Pavitr being presented in so many different ways, and I worry how the rest of the desi folk will take it.

You finally have a character who could be you, but now he’s someone else’s plaything. Your entire life is shaped by what you can and can’t do simply because you were born to an Indian family, and here’s the one person who could represent you now at the mercy of someone else’s whims. He’s off living a life that is so distant from yours, you can hardly recognise him.

It shouldn’t hurt as much as it does, yeah? But, again, you’re looking at it from that infinitely narrow lens Westerners use to look at India from Bollywood.

AND PAVITR PRABHAKAR DOESN'T LIVE IN INDIA

He lives in Mumbattan. He lives in a made-up, fictional world that doesn’t follow the way of life of our world. He lives in a city where Mumbai and Manhattan got fucking squashed together. There are so many memes about colonialism right there. Mumbattan isn’t real! Spider-Man India isn’t real!! He’s just a dude!! The logic of our world doesn’t apply to him!!!

“But his surname originates from ______” okay but does that matter?

“But he’s wearing a kalari dhoti so surely he’s ______” okay but does that matter?

“But his skin colour is darker so he must be ______” okay but does that matter?

“But he lives in Mumbai so he must be ______” okay but does that matter?

I sound insensitive and brash and annoying and it looks like I’m yapping just for the sake of riling you up, so direct that little burst of anger you got there at me, and keep reading.

Listen. I’m going to ask you a question that I’ve asked myself a million times over. I want you to answer honestly. I want you to ask this question to yourself and answer honestly:

Are you trying to convince me on who Pavitr Prabhakar should be?

... but why shouldn't i?

I’ll tell you this again — I did the same thing. You’re not at fault for this, but I want you to just...have a little think over. Just a little moment of self-reflection, to think about why you are so intent on boxing this guy.

It took me a while to reorganise my thinking and how to best approach a character like Pavitr, so I will give you all the time you need as well as a little springboard to focus your thoughts on.

SPIDER-MAN (INDIA) IS JUST A MASK

“What I like about the costume is that anybody reading Spider-Man in any part of the world can imagine that they themselves are under the costume. And that’s a good thing.”

Stan Lee said that. Remember how he was so intent on making sure that everybody got the idea that Spider-Man as an entity is fundamentally broken without Peter Parker there to put on the suit and save the day? That ultimately it was the person beneath the mask, no matter who they were, that mattered most?

Spider-Man India is no less different. You can argue with me that Peter Parker!Spidey is supposed to represent working class struggles in the face of leering corporate entities who endanger the regular folk like us, and so Pavitr Prabhakar should also function the same way. Pavitr should also be a working class guy of this specific social standing fighting people of this other social standing.

But that takes away the authenticity of Spider-Man India. Looking at him through the Peter Parker lens forces you to look at him through the Western lens, and it significantly lessens what you can do with the character — suddenly, it’s a fight to be heard, to be seen, to be recognised. It’s yelling over each other that Pavitr Prabhakar is this ethnicity, is that caste, this or that, this or that, this or that.

There’s a reason why he’s called Spider-Man India, infuriatingly vague as it is. And that’s the point — the vagueness of his identity fulfils Lee’s purpose for a character that could theoretically be embodied by anyone. If he had been called “Spider-Man Mumbai”, you cut out a majority of the population (and in capitalist terms, you cut out a good chunk of the market).

And in the case of Spider-Man India? Whew — you’ve got about a billion people imagining a billion different versions of him.

Whoever you are, whatever you see in Pavitr, that is what is personal to you, and there is nothing wrong with that, and I will not fault you for it. I will not fault you for saying Pavitr is from Central due to the origins of his last name. I also will not fault you for saying Pavitr is from South due to him practising kalaripayattu. I also will not fault you for saying he is not Hindu. I also will not fault you for saying he is a particular ethnicity without any proof.

What I will fault you for is trying to convince me and the others around you that Pavitr Prabhakar should be this particular ethnicity/have this cultural background because of some specific reason. I literally don’t care and it is fundamentally going against his character, going against the “anyone can wear the mask” sentiment of Spider-Man. By doing this, you are strengthening the walls that first divided us. You’re feeding the stratification and segmentation of our cultures — something that is actually not present in the fictional world of Mumbattan.

Like I said before: Mumbattan isn’t real, so the divides between ethnicities and cultural backgrounds are practically nonexistent. The best thing is that it is visually there for all to see. My favourite piece of evidence is this:

It’s a marquee for a cinema in the Mumbattan sequence, in the “Quick tour: this is where the traffic is” section. It has four titles; the first three are written in Hindi. The fourth title is written in Tamil. You go to Mumbai and you won’t see a single shred of Tamil there, much less any other South Indian language. Seeing this for the first time, you know what went through my head?

Wow, the numerous cultures of India are so intermingled here in Mumbattan! Everyone and everything is welcome!

I was happy, not just because of Tamil representation, but because of the fact that the plethora of Indian cultures are showcased coexisting in such a short sequence. This is India embracing all the little parts that make up its grander identity. This scene literally opened my eyes seeing such beauty in all the diverse cultures thriving together. In a place where language and cultural backgrounds blend so easily, each one complementing one another.

It is so easy to believe that, from this colourful palette of a setting, Pavitr Prabhakar truly is Spider-Man India, no matter where he comes from.

It’s easy to believe that Pavitr can come from any part of India, and I won’t call you out if the origin you have for him is different from the origin I have. You don’t need to stake out territory and stand your ground — you’re entitled to that opinion, and I respect it. In fact, I encourage it!!!

Because there’s only so much you can show in a ten minute segment of a film about a country that has such a vast history and even greater number of cultures. I want to see all of it — I want him to be a Malayali boy, a Hindi boy, a Bengali boy, a Telugu boy, an Urdu boy, whatever!! I want you to write him or draw him immersed in your culture, so that I can see the beauty of your background, the wonderful little things that make your culture unique and different from mine!

And, as many friends have said, it’s so common for Indian folks to be migrating around within our own country. A person with a Maharashtrian surname might end up living in Punjab, and no one really minds that. I’m actually from Karnataka, my family speaks Kannada, but somewhere down the line my ancestors moved to Tamil Nadu and settled down and lived very fulfilling lives. So I don’t actually have the “pure Tamil” upbringing, contrary to popular belief; I’ve gotten a mix of both Kannada and Tamil lifestyles, and it’s made my life that much richer.

So it’s common for people to “not” look like their surname, if that’s what you’re really afraid about. In fact, it just adds to that layer of nuance, that even despite these rigid identities between ethnicities we as Indian people still intermingle with one another, bringing slivers of our cultures to share with others. Pavitr could just as well have been born in one state and moved around the country, and he happens to live in Mumbattan now. It’s entirely possible and there’s nothing to disprove that.

We don’t need to clamber over one another declaring that only one ethnicity is the “right” ethnicity, because, again, you will be looking at Pavitr and the rest of India in that narrow Western lens — a country with such rich cultural variety reduced to a homogenous restrictive way of life.

THE POLL: REINTERPRETED

This whole thing started because I was wondering why my little poll was so skewed — I thought people assumed I was asking them where he came from, then paired his physical appearance with the most logical options available. I thought it was my fault, that I had somehow influenced this outcome without knowing.

Truth is, I will never really know. But I will be thankful for it, because it gave me the opportunity to finally broach this topic, something that many of us desi folk are hesitant to talk about. I hope you have learned something from this, whether you are desi or a casual Spider-Man fan or someone who just so happened to stumble upon this.

So just…be a little more open. Recognise that India, like many many countries and nations, is made up of a plethora of smaller cultures. And remember, if you’re trying to convince Pavitr that he’s a particular ethnicity, he’s going to wave his hand at you and say, “Ha, me? No, I’m one of the people that live here in the best Indian city! I’m Spider-Man India, dost!”

(Regardless, he still considers you a friend, because to him, the people matter more to him than you trying to box him into something he’s not.)

#long post + more tags that kinda spiral away BUT expand on the points above AND kinda puts everything together concisely #BROS THIS IS AN HONEST TO GOD ESSAY #THAT HAS BEEN COOKING IN MY HEART FOR A WHILE NOW. SIMMERING FOR MONTHS BEFORE FINALLY BOILING OVER IN THE LAST WEEK #genuinely hope you read MOST of it because yes it has Quite A Lot Of Exposition but it all matters nonetheless #put in a lot of thought into this so i expect you to do your part and challenge your thoughts as well #you see how i'm not asking for you to listen to me. but to actually Think. i want you to cook your thoughts and add some spice and flavour #and give it a good mix so you can come out of this a little more wiser than before #because!!! yeah!!!! spider man india is just that!! he's indian!!!!! we don't need to collectively agree on where he comes from #bc it gets rid of that relatability factor of spider man. at the most basic level #think of it as a schrodinger's. he is every single culture and none of them at the same time. therefore none of us are wrong!! sick!!!!#pavitr's first priority is making sure HIS PEOPLE are safe. that's probably as far as we can go that relates him back to peter parker spide #he loves his people and working in the name of justice to FIGHT for HIS PEOPLE is just the duty/responsibility he takes up #it makes sense that he loves everyone and every culture he engages with bc that's the nature of spider man i suppose #if peter parker spidey acts as the guardian for the regular folk.. then in my mind pavitr spidey stands as the bridge uniting the people #because society as its core is very fragmented. and having pavitr act as a connection to other folks.... mmmmm beautiful #that's what i'm talking abouttttt !!!#anyways guys this is literally 3001 words on my document EXCLUDING THE TITLE. THAT'S 7 PAGES AT 11pt FONT. i'm literally cryingggg wtf #pavitr prabhakar #spider man #spider man india #desi #desiblr #atsv #across the spiderverse #atsv pavitr #indian culture #india #desi tumblr #what the fuck do i tag this as #agnirambles

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puppetmaster13u · 9 months

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more art for @phoenixcatch7 's Possessed Doll Au I just wanted to sketch him with his stomach hatch open. Who knows what he's doin

#I didn't mean to make it look like he's about to bitch slap someone lmao #possessed doll au #Honestly was probably putting something in his stomach and got spooked lol #batman #bruce wayne #cryptid batman #batman au #dc #dcu #sketch #ibispaintx #I like to think Bruce has a crack on his doll face that mimics the scar he has on his eyebrow in his human body #Do you think a kid/robin has gotten put inside the stomach space for safety lol #Or just to fuck with people because they *saw* Robin go under the cloak but now they're just gone???? Where'd they go????#Bruce: Why did you put velcro on the doll head- why did it *let* you do that #Robins: It's to help you keep your hood up :D #Why can I see one of the kids playing Master of Puppets (Metallica) whenever Bruce walks in and just bursting into giggles #How many tags will survive before tumblr munches them

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tswwwit · 1 year

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Can Dipper pick Bill up? Has he ever tried? What would Bill's reaction be to his little human husband carrying (or trying to) him, and under what circumstances would either of them agree to it?

Good question!

I'm not sure if Dipper can pick Bill up - certainly not an easy task, Bill's taller and a handful in more than one way. Probably Dipper makes the attempt out of retaliation. Bill wants to pick up Dipper all the time? Fine! Let's see how Bill likes being manhandled for once.

Unfortunately for this plan, Bill's entirely fine with being man- or demon-handled! Frankly the whole thing would be deeply amusing. Bill gets not only attention, but also an opportunity to tease Dipper AND mock him while he struggles. A triple win!

#answers #bless these two idiots #Bill *does* make it a struggle of course. But not by squirming away #More like putting the back of his hand to his forehead and falling back in a swoon at just the right time to make Dipper nearly drop him #Or clasping his arms dramatically around Dipper's neck in a way that makes it hard to keep his grip #Possibly 'helping' by trying to climb on top of Dipper instead #Switching between comments like 'oh no this so-called 'hero' is trying to drag me off' and other sarcasms and others like:#'Boy you sure are sweating kid! Having trouble? or 'Jeez it's obvious you've never swept any being off their feet before. Amateur.'#Dipper's frustration is hilarious and only intensifying with Bill's dumb antics. But he can't quit *now*. He's already halfway there #If he just gives up then Bill will mock him for THAT for ages #Gotta get the guy off the ground at least once before he lets him drop. Hopefully in a mud puddle or down a well or something #He'll see this through with gritted teeth and also probably a sore back #If he'd remembered to lift with his knees he could have spared himself the last one #But frankly he probably just walked up behind Bill and tried to just. Lift.#It took Bill a second to figure out what the heck he was doing. And then: The Mocking Began

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good-beanswrites · 4 months

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hi! may i request some mikoto + amane (platonic obvs) … anything? they are very dear to me 😭

Yes!!! Thank you so much for the request -- they really are such a good pair ;-; (The thing is, I had so many nice scenes in mind about how they parallel each other, but they wouldn't know or reveal that about each other so I kept restarting...) Anyway, here's something right after Mikoto's first trial/verdict!

Mikoto could pick up on someone’s bad mood from a mile away, though the skill was unnecessary when the other party very clearly and calmly informed him, “I’m in a bad mood.”

After refusing his offer, Amane turned back to a thick textbook she’d been taking notes on. Didn’t kids usually complain that school was already a prison? She must have wanted the full experience. He'd worked nonstop at his studies as well, but this was a new level. Amane often reminded him of his little sister, though she always took the extra step like this. His sister would have jumped at this opportunity to play a few rounds of their favorite card game.

“It’ll be fun!”

He flashed a smile, but it had no effect on her severe expression. “I know you’re just trying to comfort me about our verdicts. I refuse to be pitied.”

“Comfort and pity are two very different things. But anyway, it wasn’t either of those things.” He gave an easy shrug “To be honest, I’m just a little bored. It’s weird not having any work to do during the day.”

Mikoto couldn’t remember the last time in his life he’d had so many hours to himself. A lot of the others were fun to play games with. A few of the sportier prisoners helped him stay active. He enjoyed smoking breaks with the other men. Still, he was left to his own devices for the majority of his time. It was maddening. He’d recently requested some more art supplies, having used up the last batch, but they had yet to come in. Now with the verdict announcement, he wasn’t sure they’d ever arrive.

“That is your own problem. I already have something to do.” Her eyes lingered on the cards for the briefest of moments before returning to the book. “I told you, I’m not in the mood for it.”

Regardless of her hostility, he took a seat beside her. He leaned his arms out on the table. “We don’t have to play the same game.” The last time they'd played as a big group, several prisoners pulling the tables together to fit everyone. Amane had kept very quiet, eyes darting around at the cards as she tried to keep up with the rules. Not many of the others noticed the frustration clear in her face. Mikoto wasn’t the type to let her win out of pity, though he had begun to mutter the rules and strategies to himself a bit more as the night went on…

“Is there a game you liked to play at home?”

“No. There was no time for games in the house.”

“All work and no play… hah… I know what that’s like.” He slumped his cheek onto his arm, lazily shuffling the cards around. He felt bad for bothering the girl if she truly was upset. He thought it was the bad experience that made her reject him, he hadn’t realized there were also family issues attached. Usually he could read people well; maybe he was losing his touch. He seemed to be losing touch with a lot of things, these days.

He readied a game of solitaire.

“Mikoto?” Amane kept her face turned away. “There was… one game.”

“Yeah?” Mikoto shuffled the cards back together. He slid them over to her. “You should teach me!”

She didn’t touch them. “You probably already know it.”

“Nah, I only know a few games. I’m better with tarot cards, though those aren’t really the gaming type. Come on, what is it?”

She told him the name of the game, insisting it wouldn’t be worth playing. She kept her attention on the textbook, but her eyes weren’t reading any of it.

“Ahh, I’ve heard of that one! We start with four cards, right?” He started dealing them out.

“No, five –” she pointed to the deck, urging him to add two more.

“Right, right.” He laughed lightly. “And the goal is to get pairs, and put them in a pile, uhh, here.”

Amane shook her head. She shifted her body slightly towards him. “You must be thinking of a different game. There’s actually three piles for pairs. One here, one here, and when it’s your opponent’s turn…”

Her eyes gleamed as she explained the rules. She pointed to various cards, telling him exact moves and point values. “And to win, you need to –” Her expression shifted. “You… you already knew all this.”

“Of course not!” He put on his most convincing smile.

She deflated. “You’re not a very good liar.”

“Tch, tell that to the warden.”

His shoulders sagged along with her. If Amane could see right through him, why was the rest of Milgram still coming up with stories about what he did and didn’t do? “Well, I might already know the rules, but it’s been a long time since I’ve played. You can still give me a hand. Plus, if you really are in such a bad mood, it’ll be good to take a break from your studies. You should always take a break when things get too overwhelming, yeah?”

She gave him a withering stare.

“Eh? What’s that face for?”

“Alright, let’s play. You can go first.”

“I mean it, what was that look? Aw, come on…”

#milgram #mikoto kayano #amane momose #see - the thing is they both had crimes about 'protecting themself' but both would deny it was for that reason #they both seem to have some family trauma but would never admit it #theyre both used to putting on their best behavior and being 'good' for others but hardly realize that themselves #they are both in denial all the time !!!!!#so i tried to show them getting along for their own perceived reasons -- mikoto thinks he likes her because she reminds him of his sister #and amane thinks she likes him because hes being kind about their verdicts #and while both are right theyre Also drawn to each other because they are very similar at their core #and both have skills with reading people/picking up on cues making it tough to lie to one another #that forced honesty makes for a solid friendship haha!#i also remember a comment from yamanaka that amane would be the worst at card games because shed have trouble with the rules #she seems old enough to handle complex games but she probably never got to play a lot at home ;---; and mikoto probably learns a lot of #types of games (and tarot) so can connect with even more people #i thought long and hard on whether mikoto would let someone else win but he doesnt seem the type (plus amane would notice)#once again i know amane starts speaking in the plural but this comes a bit before that #yaay thank you so much for the request! this was really fun to do - i hope you enjoy!#ive thought a lot about amane and john but less on her and mikoto lol so this was nice :D #drabbles

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theshadowrealmitself · 1 year

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Fell asleep last night thinking about an au where Norman recovers from being the Green Goblin, but he ended up doing some really creepy stuff beforehand including attacking Peter as he was Peter Parker and not Spidey and then keeping him locked up for several days (Peter ends up with a few scars from it)

Norman avoids any jail time because he’s rich and revealed somewhat of the truth, that a medicine he was working on for himself had terrible side effects, no one knows about him being the Goblin, they only know about him attacking Peter

Peter is able to successfully get a restraining order against him tho, but Norman’s a jackass who keeps hanging out on the fringe of the distance he’s supposed to be at and speaking/yelling at Peter, stuff like “when you finally forgive me and drop this restraining order, I’ll be here with open arms,” and “Uncle Ben wouldn’t want you to hold this hate in your heart” and because of the previous mentioned richness, Peter can’t do anything unless Norman steps too closely

And tbh Peter mostly got the restraining order because he was worried it would look suspicious if “Peter Parker” didn’t seem too badly affected by things, since he was used to being attacked by Norman as Spiderman

But now that he’s keeping Norman away, even if he still hangs around, and he has visible scars from it that everyone can see, and everyone knows about the court case and what happened and keep asking him if he’s okay, he’s…starting to acknowledge that it all was traumatizing, not just the kidnapping event but the whole thing with the Green Goblin, that he was just pretending it wasn’t because he’s a hero, and people seeing how badly it’s been affecting him is actually healing in a way

#part of the au #was that Peter runs Parker Industries #and although most people are on Peter’s side #every time there’s a science event the people who set it up complain at him and try to get him to drop his restraining order against Norman #because they’re going to invite Norman #he’s rich and runs a science company #but they also have to invite Peter because even if it’s a small company he’s always putting out amazing inventions #and it makes it difficult for the organizers to plan it with the two of them always staying a certain amount away #so they’re dicks.#and Miles was upset that people could just harass Peter about his restraining order and that he’d have to deal with someone who hurt him #at this event #so he gets his dad involved as some unofficial security guard since Norman probably paid off all security at the event #which was really sweet of Miles but now Peter has no way of escaping as Spiderman #and then I fell asleep before figuring out how he’d get around that because if Miles is also at the event then his dad #would be paying attention to him too especially if Norman Osborn is nearby #so that’s why this section isn’t in the body of the post #I love Norman Osborn but sometimes gotta acknowledge he was a creep who greatly traumatized Peter #Peter Parker #Norman Osborn #Spiderman #spider man #spider-man #the green goblin

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orcelito · 1 year

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minor details, but in chapter 68 of trimax we do see this bit:

the items that vash kept in his coat.

a "funbari doll" (which i cant find anything definite online about what that is with just a cursory look, so im going to run under the assumption that theyre some kind of collectable in-universe) & it's a red one, which is apparently rare. he still has the same pen radio that connects to his earring that's used waaay back on the sandsteamer. a swiss army knife, a random key, a used tissue (?), and...

a lighter? blow torch? i still cant tell what that last bar thing is tho. & i guess he had some kind of (normal) coin too? but Only One.

love the characterization implications for this lol. definitely the kind of pocket contents i'd expect from a silly immortal with a big coat

#speculation nation #fanny reads trigun #fanny's trigun analysis #trigun #just. hm. for Fic Purposes this is pretty useful.#it's cute that he has the doll. very vash.#overall tho it's very utility-driven. swiss army knive + blow torch. Yeah those would be useful to just have.#gotta wonder what that key is to. maybe i'll keep my eyes peeled in my official reread to see if it's mentioned.#otherwise i might have to just accept it as an unknown. & perhaps make smth up for Fic Purposes lol #he got the pen back from Kaite. which is a very interesting detail. not exactly useful for my fic bc he does not have that pen anymore lol #unsure if the coin is currency or some other thing. if it Is currency then lmfao @ vash being flat broke before all of this.#but THEN AGAIN early on he does say a lot of money gets in his way traveling east to west (i think it was) so What's The Truth Vash?#anyways im still looking for a new icon. got a few possibilities but im still undecided.#in the meantime U guys can have this lol. im fascinated by all the little details that are put in like this.#i really do love that he carries a swiss army knife & a blow torch. would they still call it a swiss army knife?#he does refer to the french language so obvs he knows about old earth stuff. for ease's sake id probably just call it a swiss army knife lo #bc yes now that i know he carries a swiss army knife it will Possibly come up in my fic. this is a tool i can use for my Purposes heheh

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fisheito · 7 months

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OMG. that means... Cloaca Crew........

WAIT.

✨C l o a c a C r e w✨

#is there a way to turn someone's tags into regular text or must i continue turning words into jpgs like a savage?#blade walks into the bathroom too and goes “oh?? u talking about the stall??”#“it's great! my voice bounces around while i'm in there so singing is super fun. here lemme show u”#cut to scene where it's blade crowding eiden/yakumo/rei into one stall and making them sing to test the bathroom acoustics #blade wears a hard hat while swimming in the shark tank #does it make sense? no. but blade does not want to be left out of the hat game. safety first!#did i go down another abyss of articles about owl and shark anatomy to confirm cloacas before i drew this? yes.#the tags tho #olivine (ever the caring coworker) tries to stop edmond from gorging on sugary carrots but edmond will outrun him #or stuff his face so fast that olivine cannot stop him #several hours later u just find edmond curled up on the ground in the rabbit pen #bc of tummy ache.#he is under a mountain of fluffy potatoes (bunnies) trying to comfort him #olivine knew this would happen so he's out there gently extracting edmond from the pile and coaxing him to rest properly #i wonder what the staff room fridge looks like.#WHO PUT AN ENTIRE KING SALMON ON TOP OF MY SALAD #anyway. they can probably eat relatively normal humanish food.#or maybe that fridge is just a decoy fridge (and a place for edmond's full 3 heads of lettuce)#and the real lunch fridge is in the back with all the “animal food storage”#u open it up and it's just a pixellated blur of gore #blame all the carnivores working here. they demand fresh meat.#zookeeper au #yakumo #eiden #rei #blade #edmond #olivine

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fantasykiri5 · 2 days

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Hey in the events of an Avatar AU, do you guys think Adaine would be a waterbender (ice, frost, blue theme) or a lightening speciality fire bender? (Witch bolt/lightning bolt reminiscent, only element to conjure bending material out of thin air which is like magic, fire could be blue)

#if she were a water bender she’d probably be the one to figure out firebenders can use water techniques to redirect lightening #also I have Gorgug as an earth (metal speciality/inventor) bender (like Toph) Fig as a fire bender (lava speciality?)#Riz as earth nation non-bender #Fabian as late blooming fire bender (no speciality)#and Kristen as The Fucking Avatar because she’s the funniest one to be the Avatar. also she’s already the chosen one and possibly the-#-strongest cleric in all of spire so like #*was the chosen of helio and then made a god and brought back Cassandra THEN Cassandra and Ankarna #instead of having arrows she’s got stars on her forehead and just below her collarbones (where the unicorn stabbed) that light up in the-#-avatar state #Cassandra was the avatar before her I think.#going my the cycle Cass would make a good waterbender I think which would put Kristen in earth which is fitting #which also means she’d learn fire first and Fig would be her teacher #then she’d have to find someone with air. Adaine might make a good airbender too??? idk #or someone she doesn’t get along with as well because air would be hardest for her #maybe kipperlilly? and she starts training with her but they fall out and Kristen has to go continue learning on her own #Fabian would learn fire WITH Kristen I think because he didn’t know he could bend before their quest #and Gorgug would invent metal bending some time during their adventure. even as the avatar Kristen struggles to get a hold of that one-#-but she’s pretty alright with sand #Fabian learns he can bend when they find fig and was thought to be a non bender before that #Riz was their bow guy and Fabian was their sword guy #Captain Seacaster was a fire nation pirate and Halariel was maybe a water nation non-bending citizen? or rival pirate/fought off pirates #Cathilda is a fire bender for sure #Oisín is a lightning bender Maryanne is an earth bender #Ruben and Ivy are non benders (or maybe ivy is a swamp bender?) Buddy is a non bender #Lucy is a waterbender #Kipperlilly was either an airbender (Kristen’s failed teacher) or a non bender I think. or maybe fire #kiri rambles #adaine abernant #fhjy #avatar au

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scumvillains · 1 year

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i just think ran has a thing for your legs

more specifically he would looove to adorn your ankle in a dainty gold anklet. its subtle but his own little version of a collar

loves it even more when it dangles right on his shoulder when hes pressing you in half and drilling the life out of you

#he would make such a show of buying it too #you go to some super expensive and private jewler #and he has it custom made and when he puts it on you for the first time #ur literally just on the couch before he pulls your legs into his lap #raises ur right leg and hooks it on #probably kisses your ankle after #trails more kisses up your leg <3 #ran haitani #haitani x reader #haitani ran headcanons #ran haitani x reader #tr x reader #tr x you #tokyo revengers #tokyorev x reader #haitani ran x you #haitani ran x reader

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todayisafridaynight · 1 month

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I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

#snap chats #//twenty page google doc in the background// ignore that. it's mostly for comedic purposes #might also be my fault idk sorry about that. allegedly. idk ive had like three people tell me they started to ship them cause of me 🧍‍♂️#@mementoasts is another person who's drawn masadai and whose stuff i love and am inspod by .. i love their disneyland fic sm ...#there was another artist on twitter who posted a neat drawing of them but i cant remember who they were and i didnt bookmark it //screams//#recently there's been ANOTHER masadai artist ive started following on twitter - @wifekiryu. his account's n/s/f/w fyi before you go looking #he has a tumblr too @foxdies. i say cause i realized as much recently vjeaKLGJALKGJ #oh but I GUESS ill get deeper into why. /i/ personally ship masadai or whatever #first off they're opposing factions yet their character alignments Do Not Match their roles. stereotypically anyway #aoki who leads the 'surface' of society and is meant to be an admirable figure and someone 'just' when really. he sucks LMAO #though that's not atypical of politicians but just from a stereotypical This Is A Respectable Individual perspective of his role #daigo on the other hand leads the 'underbelly' of society- yk comprised of dangerous criminals and outcasts and whatnot #yet as we know him daigo's compassionate and considerate of his men- he doesnt treat them like tools like aoki does #if put in a room with the two daigo would be most people's choice of person to hang out with. probably open a trapdoor on aoki tbh #and i think thats really cool and epic i always love that kinda Subverting Expectations thing #theres also the fact they both started off like. edgy/angsty in the franchise and then brush up down the line #masato does a stronger 180. publicly. obviously but its still really funny they both have to get their act together #if you wanna talk about in-text reasons. there really is none LMAO I TELLS YOU masadai is pure crack #but if i wanted to pull a muscle reaching then there's daigo being on aoki's side while everyone else is on arakawa's during the funeral #im lying of course. mitsu was behind him. rgg tryna make me forget mitsu exist .... put him back in y8 ....#and ofc ichi joins that side to even out the seating but moving on another Goofy Reason is arakawa being like #'the chairman and my son are like p much the same age Surely he knows how he thinks :)'#and then i just think daigo being all smarmy about outsmarting aoki is really goofy and im choosing to interpret that as personal #they both also have issues with their dad. s. dad/s/. anyway.#tbh the google doc tag was a joke but i really could sit here and list every dumb reason why i think theyre funny together #like i started going over the tag limit so uhhhh yeah needless to say i have a lot of. dumb reasons 💀💀💀💀#one day ill use the main text for long rambles like this but todays not that day Point Is my imagination is rampant im afraid #so the short and sweet of it is I Think It's Funny. And They'd Be Terrible Together. Which Is Why It's Funny.#and the unfortunate part is anything i find funny i obsess over for a year so. //gestures to the mountain of bullshit thats my masadai tag/

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hauntedpearl · 8 months

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i do love the chuck won theory i do but the thing is. im not the biggest fan of how they did it on the show. like i get why it is like that it's just not my preference is all.

going back to my point about keeping god off the screen, I think I would've preferred if they were "fighting" god like that. in the sense that they're aware, to some extent, that this is all out of their control. it's like in good omens but the evil version of it. the plan is ineffable, so what can we even do about it? do we even have free will? are we responsible for the evil in our lives or is someone else? did you kill your son? did your son kill your mother?? or did this Nebulous All Knowing Entity make him do it? does it make a difference, when this grief is choking your throat?? when the guilt is in your veins? when the pain you've caused, you're feeling, is all so tangible?? you can't fight god and you can't beat god and you can't be sure that you are ever on your own. there is no hope, and there is no reward, and you aren't quite sure about the witness. can you choose kindness anyway? like this? when the world is ending and your feet are close to the edge of it?? does it matter?? DOES IT MATTER?? DOES IT MATTER??????

#this is too weird and high concept for me to even fully articulate. like can you do it like this? probably not. very philosophical question #territory #it's a thought experiment #more than anything else and you can't make movies out of those jsgdjdkdld #doe is talking again #this is kind of like a nonsense post but i think like. you will always lose against A God™ is. it's very. it's something. it's sooo #helpless right. but at the same time i think the point is like. you can still choose. kindness #it might not matter but that's the thing. who dictates what does and doesn't matter #what gives life meaning in this unknowable universe. what is your life made up of. ehat moments define you.#what is the God you worship and the god yhat you fight. i give one respect and i don't do it for the other. because i worship this world and #the people in it and the kindness they are capable of and the experience of touching the skin of my people. that is the God that matters.#to me. but say there is something elae put thwre and it is out to get you. ot hates you or maybe it loves you. you'll never know. but it is #there. and it is changing the world you are in. these are not things you can control. what you can control is this: you kiss your son's brow #before you kill him. you hold your lover's hand before he is ripped from you. you tell your brother you love him #before you're gone.#does it matter? does it matter? does it matter??? maybe not to the thing that hates you but it does. TO ME. TO ME. YO ME

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henrysglock · 1 year

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S4 Victims: Story by Proxy?

Okay so. In spitballing with Em...something stuck in my head.

So we all know how serial killers leave crumbs because deep down they want to be caught/want the truth to be revealed? Well what if the Duffers, or even current Henry, are doing the same thing. That is, leaving breadcrumbs.

This mainly has to do with the S4 victims, their stories, and the order in which they're chosen.

So, it goes like this:

Chrissy: Abusive mother who resembles Virginia

Fred: Eaten alive by the guilt of being responsible for the accidental death of an innocent.

Max: Suicidal over guilt about Billy's death and her response to it. Billy, who died saving her/while she was saving herself from the Fleshflayer, a regenerated form of the Mindflayer.

Patrick: Abusive father, not much else told.

Max (again): Suicidal Ideation, dies, soul taken, but was revived by El. She's now in some limbo-state, where her body lives but her identity/mind is elsewhere. She will likely be brought back entirely by El in S5.

It almost feels like a story by proxy if we piece it together.

So, let's piece it together:

Person with an abusive mother...feels responsible for the death of an innocent...a sibling who was killed while this person was trying to save themselves from a monster which came from Hawkins lab, which leaves them suicidal...and this person lives in a situation with an abusive father figure. This person becomes suicidal, and their suicide attempt was not entirely successful. They were revived by El, and end up in a limbo state. They may or may not be brought back by El later.

Now, let's collect details about our serial killer:

Abusive mother? Check. (No matter how we frame it, Virginia was not a good mother.)

Innocent died? Check. (Henry has nothing bad to say about Alice, which we know he would if she were not innocent, since he does this with every other victim.)

Sibling died as a result of saving oneself? Check. (The Creel massacre was a situation where Henry was, with whatever intentions we may assign for the other family members' deaths, trying to save himself from Virginia and by extension the lab.)

Ended up with an abusive father figure? Check. (Well...an abusive Papa, one might say.)

Brought back by El multiple times? Check. (El was the one who took Soteria out and brought Henry back from being powerless. El was the one who put Henry in the UD/limbo state. El was the one who opened the gate for his return to the RSU.)

IT ALL ALIGNS. So let's put it together with all the feelings involved:

Citations (I guess? Explanations?) are in the tags listed by number!

Henry had an abusive mother who was at least trying to have him shipped off to the lab, if not actually trying to kill him outright. This situation builds and builds, him wanting to be left alone (1), putting out subconscious and conscious cries for help (2), and her targeting him about it, until March 25th, 1959.

Virginia starts it, attacks, and this time she's out for blood (3). Henry defends himself (4). Virginia, being the parent with powers (5), doesn't actually die (6). Victor, Alice, and Henry go for the door (7). Virginia's on the stairs (8). She's got to finish what she started, since her original plan was botched (9). Henry puts his energy into trancing Victor (10), protecting him from Virginia, since logically two people can't occupy one person's mind.

This leaves good, innocent Alice to fend for herself, standing directly in front of the staircase. She's a loose end (11). Virginia kills her, but can't kill Henry or Victor while the trance is occurring. She figures Henry's going to run himself into the ground (12). She figures she can call Brenner in to collect Henry, like they planned (13). If she disappears, she figures it'll go into the news something like this:

"World War II veteran kills entire family in deranged fit of insanity. Wife missing, presumed dead. Son dies in hospital."

And on both counts, she's essentially right. It does basically go into the papers that way. Victor is taken in for murder, and Henry is taken by Brenner, but not before he sees that Alice was caught in the crossfire (14).

Henry ends up with Brenner, the abusive Papa. He's got the guilt about Alice's death, something that makes him sad and angry. Brenner, maybe, decides to push this in order to increase Henry's powers, but it backfires. Henry's powers increase, but he does...something. He lashes out, he snaps, maybe he even tries to kill himself. He's Brenner's prized pet, though, so Brenner can't let that happen. He seals Henry's powers away with Soteria. It's a death for Henry's entire identity, so far as to have him under the name Peter Ballard. Then comes along 011. She removes Soteria from Peter Ballard...and revives Henry Creel. She then exiles him to the Upside Down in 1979, only to eventually bring him back in 1983 when she opens the Mothergate.

All this to say: It could be his own story, told through the stories of his victims.

Breadcrumbs, or maybe...obvious things, which nobody by any chance ever observes.

Below the cut is where I speculate into motivations for his actions after Soteria's removal, so...not required reading for this particular analysis.

Years of MKUltra torture warp Henry's guilt about the situation into a bastardized, violent, brutal, unethical savior complex based in the notion that he's a predator by nature, but a predator for good. He "saves" the lab kids from a future like his own, filled with nothing but torture. He "saves" El from her ignorance about the lab and intended to have her join him, thereby attempting to "save" her, technically his little sister, from the lab entirely.

He "saves" his s4 victims from their guilt and suffering, which so closely mirror his own, which no one saved him from. I could even go so far as to say he was "saving" Will, who is set up to be so much like him, from a world of horrible people who (from Henry's viewpoint based on his lived experiences) would only serve to abuse and betray him.

This of course isn't to say any of it is right. None of it is right or good...but it makes sense. It follows a pattern. It coheres. The math...maths.

#Citations!#1: Henry often hides alone in the attic.#2: Victor's burning cradle vison (a child in need of help). The drawing of the Shadow Monster. Possibly Alice's nightmares.#2 (cont.): Can all be interpreted as calls for help. Children in distress act out and make disturbing art in hope of conveying that need.#3: Virginia may or may not have been trying to kill Henry but based on the Fleshflayer parallel re: sibling death...it's probable.#4: Henry himself describes that night as self defense/being forced to act.#5: Virginia likely had powers given that Henry has powers #6: Her powers are likely similar to Henry's and Henry has regenerative powers. There are also fishy scenes of her death which imply #6 (cont.): that she may have still been alive. These include: shots from her POV. The fact that her eyes are bloody--#6 (cont.): but still intact in some shots. The unexplained POV from the top of the stairs.#7: Henry looks very nervous and fidgety at the door like he's antsy to leave with Alice and Victor #8: Again the unexplained POV on the stairs...stairs she earlier runs down after Henry gives her her mirror moment in the bathroom.#9: Henry was successful in disabling her initially which exposed her culpability.#10: Henry puts *so* much time into Victor in canon with basically no explanation why.#11: Alice seems to be a smart and upstanding girl. She might not be controllable re: Virginia being alive/the whole scheme with Brenner.#11 (cont.): The only way to eliminate that risk is to kill her...and we've already seen that Virginia is not good to at least one child.#12: If Virginia has powers like Henry's she likely has a sense of how long someone can be tranced before the trancer runs out of energy.#13: Who called Brenner to come get Henry during his coma? How did Henry end up in Brenner's hands specifically?#14: amerion-main's recent post re: Henry's position change in the foyer shots #End Citations!#This is all very much speculation when it comes to the actual path of events re: the Creel Massacre #but we can all agree that we don't have the full story about the Creels yet...so who knows.#henry/vecna/001 #henry creel analysis #henry creel #virginia creel #creel family #stranger things #stranger things analysis

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