#Especially as a writer and editor

[undercityrezident]

My Reflections on Octopath Traveler 2: Part 1

(This reflection has been split into four parts because of Tumblr's image limit per post. Please find Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.)

Before I begin, I should outline my bias for this game. It’s no exaggeration to say that I might have a sense of inflated gratitude for Octopath Traveler 2. When I was forced to deal with a difficult situation throughout the month of March, I had little in the way to entertain me. One avenue to help retain my sanity was my Nintendo Switch, though I'd already played through most of the games I own for that console.

But that’s when I turned my attention to a game I’d gotten as a gift a couple of Christmases ago, a game that I’d been sleeping on for far too long: Octopath Traveler 2. After inserting that cartridge into my Switch and booting up the game, it quickly became the main reason I wasn’t going stir-crazy.

I’ve played the first Octopath Traveler, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, even with some of the flaws I noted on my playthrough, so I knew that I was likely in for something good unless Square Enix royally botched it. However, an RPG of this sort is a time investment, making it daunting to approach when you have so much else going on, hence why it took me so long to finally sit down with this sequel. Now, with abundant time on my hands, there was no better moment to finally dive in.

And boy, was it a deep plunge, and a refreshing one at that.

So here it is, now that I’m back on here with a continuing obsession with the game that single-handedly helped me for those three weeks and is continuing to drive me into obsession in the aftermath: my reflection on Octopath Traveler 2, for all its goods and ills.

And believe me, the goods outweigh the ills heavily.

Before you read on, while this reflection is about a game that came out over two years ago, those who still want to go into it as blissfully blind as I did, please take note that there will be complete spoilers for the game below the cut.

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The Boosting and Breaking of Iconic Battles

One of the biggest appeals and strongest points of the original Octopath Traveler, in my opinion, was its battle system, and it’s no surprise that it returned with more than a few tweaks and additions. At its core, the battle gameplay is largely the same as before, but its complexity has been notched up, buffing the break and boost system by adding a new latent power meter that fills up under various conditions throughout the battle.

If you thought you could pull off some insane combinations in the original game, wait until you tie in the various characters’ latent powers when they pop off. I’ve managed to snag some victories from the jaws of defeat in some truly insane ways. And while I’ve heard it’s quite easy to optimize your party to completely obliterate some bosses far too fast to enjoy them, I wasn’t that kind of player—both for being not quite that smart and also for being the kind of player who doesn’t min/max by instinct unless there’s absolutely nothing else to do.

The result of my playstyle was the chance to see some truly fun and creative boss battles, which remain one of the highlights of this game as it was in the first. Another step up the game took in this sense was how the game played with mechanics and the dynamism of its battles to drive up the stakes. Some bosses shrouded the turn order from you, temporarily pushed certain party members out of the fight, outright turned party members against you, stacked debuffs throughout the fight to add a sense of timing and urgency, and even nullified once-reliable abilities. As the best example I can think of, I can rightly say that the final boss was ten times more intense than it would’ve been for the fact that you couldn’t revive your allies except when the boss was broken, making every decision feel tense and risky.

Of course, these challenges were offset by how you could strategize to make sure you had varying degrees of party synergy. The sub-job system returned, and with many classes revamped with returning abilities and new ones to complement their associated characters’ unique personalities compared to the travelers in the first game, combinations and ideas to combat even the toughest of challenges in the game were abundant. Also returning is the fun idea of giving alternate outfits to each traveler’s sprite in battle when they take said sub-job. Just take one look at any character you give the hunter sub-job and tell me they don’t at least look marginally cuter with animal ears.

While we don’t see the return of the same secret jobs from the first game, we get new ones that have some interesting dynamics of their own. They’re typically acquired towards the very end of the game, so you might not get as much time to mess around with them as the others, but they do open up some very intriguing potential as the challenge mounts toward the game’s climax. The exception to this is the inventor class, which is available from very early on, but the resources to unlock its abilities are typically found slowly throughout the game. Still, the inventor allowed for some flexibility early on, making some growing pains a little easier at lower levels.

And Osvald looks good in a steampunk top hat with goggles, let me tell you.

Overall, the battle system was already built on a very sturdy foundation, and the developers managed to make this game’s system—and the battles by extension—better as well.

Plus, I will not forget the absolutely intense excitement of fighting the final boss with ALL. EIGHT. TRAVELERS. AT. ONCE. What a rush! What a thrilling climax, getting to pilot the whole team, even if it was done on a pseudo-switching system. That, in itself, added another layer of strategy I had to consider on top of the already staunch difficulty of the final boss.

Even the small additions made the battles feel that much richer, like the travelers adding flavour to encounters by complimenting one another on their accomplishments in breaking an opponent or expressing concern for a fallen character. The travelers even had special lines when summoning particular characters to the fight or when fully boosting against their story bosses.

Few things in the game hit me as hard as when Osvald fully boosted himself during his Chapter 4 boss fight and cried out, “Forgive me, Rita!” or when Throné was letting out growls of pure anger when fighting Claude. I had no idea how much more these little touches would endear me to these characters, make battles feel that much more gratifying when breaking an opponent, or how much more tension I’d feel when the characters would voice their dismay on seeing someone gravely wounded.

Of course, the tension in battle would be nothing without our implacable foes, and once again, the artwork details for bosses drive home both the nostalgia for such design styles and choices from the games of yore. It also greatly serves the purpose of highlighting the threat, characteristics or, in some cases, downright depravity of some of the villains you face in this game, especially when paired with their voice acting. These battles are nothing without stakes and motivation to fight these opponents, and the artwork and interspersed dialogue in the battles help to amp up the drama of it and make it feel just as personal for you as it is for the travelers.

Of course, I can’t say the battle system was absolutely perfect. There were a few flaws here and there that frustrated me, even if only momentarily. Some spells or abilities were lacking a measure of description that crippled me in crucial moments because I had either misunderstood them or their level of non-specificity led to poorly informed decisions.

One such example that comes to mind is Alephan’s Wisdom, which works for numerous abilities between different party members, but it’s hardly possible to tell which except by experimentation. In the clutches of an intense battle, experimentation of that ilk is ill-advised, but there were times I had to gamble on it in a dire moment. When that gamble failed to pay off, it felt rather depressing. The idea that I might have to look it up to know exactly which spells it could enhance was a grating prospect.

As well, there were instances in certain boss battles, whether by simple bad luck or some flawed design, where a boss would empower themselves to unleash a devastating move at the end of a turn, only to immediately go first the next round and unleash said horrid ability to cripple my party, giving me absolutely no hope to prevent it by breaking their defences. While I can see horrific probability being the main culprit for this, I would hope that the game’s programming would allow for some intelligence in determining whether the boss should be allowed to pull off such a power-up move when it knows that they get the next move the round after.

I found this happened more than a few times throughout the game, and while I could say that I might have just that much bad luck, I want to think it happened often enough that I feel there should’ve just been a touch more thought put into developing countermeasures against this sort of occurrence.

That said, I can’t say that these small and infrequent complaints overshadow the otherwise stellar and well-thought-out battle gameplay that permeated the game overall. Even small things, like the ability to fast-forward battles to help with the little grinding that I needed to do, made big differences in my appreciation for the game's battles. The battle system did not need to change too drastically from the first game to maintain its appeal, but I saw how many aspects were tightened up to make it even better than before.

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Taking Path Actions to Improve Gameplay and Design

The battle system wasn’t the only thing that saw additions in the sequel.

The Introduction of a day/night system added extra depth by making the world feel a bit more lived in. NPCs would change location and dialogue depending on the time of day. Some puzzles and side quests can only be completed at one time or another. A scant few can only be completed by switching between the times of day to accomplish separate tasks pursuing the same goal.

This core mechanic of switching between day and night also complements one of the game’s overall narrative themes, driving the point the game makes all the more deeply by integrating it into gameplay. This, to me, is a hallmark of great game design, as many video games tend to ignore such integration in favour of relying on the player’s ability to suspend their disbelief or rely on the disparity between gameplay and storytelling that’s sometimes come to be expected with video games (less so lately with improvements in technology, though it’s still a prevailing trend). While there are a few exceptions to this exceptional design philosophy throughout the game, Octopath Traveler 2 does its best to keep to it, and playing the game feels all the more satisfying and cohesive as a result of this attention to detail and care.

The time-of-day system also deepens the characters’ mechanics, as each character now has two path actions: one for day and one for night. The day actions correspond to those you know for each job in the first game, but their night path actions not only add variety and flexibility in how you tackle challenges in the overworld but also deepen the characterization of the travelers. Osvald, a scholar and ex-prisoner, mugs people at night for their items, demonstrating his straightforward nature and his willingness to do what he must to proceed on his quest for revenge. Ochette gains followers by literally sharing meals to make friends with them. As above with merging gameplay with story, merging characterization with gameplay is a fantastic demonstration of excellent game design and attention to detail.

Path actions also play a pivotal role in the game. While, for most of it, they are simply a means to acquire items, information, and additional boons in battle, there are a few moments here and there where they help facilitate plot progression. At times, it does feel like a bit of a slowdown in the storytelling to try and make the game feel more interactive. These can feel like awkward sticking points, especially as dialogue scenes and gameplay are segregated by fade-to-black-fade-in transitions. But there are some crucial moments where these path-action plot moments feel notably impactful.

Nowhere is this more evident than in a few of the ending sequences of the game, where a path action is used in a crucial moment to either incredibly comedic or emotional effect. These specific moments will be touched on in my story reflections later, but the fact that attempts were made, sometimes quite successfully, to incorporate these gameplay elements into the storytelling is very much appreciated. It helps make me, the player, feel involved in the story, which should be a primary goal for an interactive medium like a video game.

On the note of storytelling, side stories return as well, and while many are of similar stock to the first game in terms of depth and quality, there are a few exceptions that expand the scope of storytelling potential. Some great examples are the trials series in Timberain, the Stage Actors quest in Tropu’hopu whose result depends on who completes it, the Washed-Up Letter alluding to a character in Osvald’s chapter 1, the Mysterious Box leading to a haunted house, and many of the “next chapter” quests which wrap up and add further some NPC characters’ stories.

These things are not the only quality features the game retains from its predecessor. The art style the game evokes remains as charming as ever, with lovingly rendered environments and contrasting spritework for the characters. The sprites seem quite a bit livelier as well, with more detail and animations being added to give them a sort of vibrancy that helps add character and works in tandem with the voice work to provide an engaging story while maintaining the goal of paying homage to older RPGs. Agnea’s story benefits especially from these more vibrant and active sprites, as many of her cutscenes depend on these small but still communicative displays.

I also want to give a note of appreciation for the various pieces of artwork in the game. Each character gets a pair of portraits that, more often than not, highlight the characters’ path actions by day or night. They further help draw out the travelers’ unique characterizations, once again tying portrayal to gameplay.

I should also mention that, once again following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Octopath Traveler 2’s character designs are top-notch, communicating well the themes, motivations, and feelings of the characters they portray. Even better are the characters’ story-ending artwork, each evoking some aspect of the character or their story lovingly.

However, one point that sticks out to me as something that may not have been as well integrated into the game but added as a sort of bonus feature for “cool factor” was the fact that you could get your own sailing vessel in the game. Don’t get me wrong, as someone who absolutely loves all themes nautical, I was thrilled when I first discovered I could purchase and pilot a sailing ship on the seas between Solistia’s two continents.

The idea of discovering islands and treasures I otherwise wouldn’t have had access to was exciting at first. However, I found I quickly exhausted all these discoveries rather quickly, and the act of sailing around quickly grew dull. It was nice to note that I could, if I wanted, cross between the continents at will without having to pay for ferries anymore, but that was something I could already do once I’d already paid the fare at least once to each anchorage and unlocked fast-travel locations.

I feel like more could’ve been done with the sailing segment of this game, but it felt somewhat tacked on, largely acting as a money gate for characters to access late-game areas to complete their stories. If there had been something more added, like more story elements at sea—a ship-to-ship pursuit ending in a ship battle to confront a villain would been amazing—or… the ability to visit Orsterra (however limited that would have to be for the development time/resources for the game), I would’ve much more greatly appreciated the ability to sail around.

Another irking issue for me was something carried over from the first game: the fact that you must keep your starting character in the party. I never really understood this decision in the original game or this one, and I speculate that it has something to do with the idea of picking your protagonist and only being able to part with them once you’ve settled their story.

Even as much as I found myself captivated by my starting character’s (Throné’s) story, I feel all these characters’ stories are important, especially to them. Each character is a protagonist in their own right, whether their stories are more relevant to the overarching plot or have greater stakes or not. For these reasons, I don’t understand why I’m forced to have a character locked into my party, relegating me to having them levelled way higher than the others while I try to level the rest evenly so I don’t feel shortchanged for their combat abilities when I bring them to their respective story chapters.

Still, even in the wake of these flaws, it's clear that the developers put a lot of effort into not only maintaining the quality gameplay established in the first Octopath Traveler but also working to eclipse it in the sequel as well. From start to finish, the overworld gameplay was well-thought-out and executed, sparing no detail to ensure that every hour of this game was memorable. And I have to say, in the two weeks I spent playing, I can remember quite a few emotional moments due to this game’s artistic and design polish.

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Travelling Eight Ways Through Stories to Bring the World to Life

Worldbuilding and General Ideas

Before I dive into each of the individual characters’ stories, I should note that the world of Solistia itself is, to me, a fascinating setting. I’m not a connoisseur of RPGs of this sort, so I might be able to write this off to how few I’ve played, but I have to say that a world that’s on the cusp of an industrial revolution, with the advent of the steam engine being one of the main plot points, is a novel idea to me.

Where medieval-fantasy and steampunk RPGs seem dime-a-dozen, one where the advent of such technology is an active influence in the game, paralleling human history, is something I found quite refreshing. Even better, it helped to reinforce many of the themes common to multiple characters’ storylines. The concepts of class disparity and the influence technology could have on those levels of social and cultural strata, for good or ill, is a theme and idea that resonates strongly, even today—especially today. Accenting these themes in a fantastical world also containing magic, monsters, and gods makes for something not only poignant but entertaining in equal measure.

The contrast between the old world and the new, the wealthy and the poor, and the powerful and the downtrodden, are all themes that tie together this game’s world and its central characters. In twain, concepts that bridge these ideas and people, whether it be technology, culture, faith, or emotion, all make their marks on this game and its myriad tales.

The game’s setting is every bit a character as its eight travelers, and their stories would be all the lesser if such an intriguing and deep world weren’t built around them. You need only complete some side stories or use the inquire action to see the depth written into this game and its people. I spent well over a hundred hours playing this game, and I’m sure I still don’t have a full grasp on everything this game contains with its living, breathing complexity in all its denizens. But I’ve managed to peer pretty closely at it through those hundred hours, and I am thoroughly impressed.

If you want a comedic example, go to Clockbank and inquire through its citizenry. You’ll marvel at the sheer ridiculousness of the thieves’ guild mind games being played by a startlingly large section of its population. For a more serious one, inquire to the citizens of Roque Island and see how they’re all treated as numbers on a spreadsheet by their employer.

Beyond the world, there are also efforts made to enhance the story past the simple act of writing. Compared to the first game, this game features TONS more voice acting. While the prequel had voice acting in specific scenes, just about every line spoken in a character’s main story (barring chatting with random NPCs irrelevant to the plot) has voice acting. This was clearly a massive effort, and I must say I appreciate it. I think it does these stories a great service to have the writing fully expressed in this way, making so many more moments so much more impactful.

My only complaint regarding this is that the travel banters, returning from the previous game, aren’t voice-acted. Wonderful as they are (having grown in how they portray facets of the characters, connections between the travelers, and their reactions to ongoing events), it’s an oddity to see dialogue for these characters not voiced in contrast to how everything else is. I hope future games in this series see the travel banter voice acted in the same way we saw it done in their main stories. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to hear them bouncing off each other in ways similar to how they did in their crossed paths (which I will certainly be discussing later).

However, I do very much appreciate that all the character-chapter-based travel banters, even the ones you missed for not having the right party members together at the right time, are viewable after the fact. I loved being able to look back and see what each character thought about various events or their fellow travelers without fear of having to replay the game (or search for it online).

And finally, before turning to the individual stories, I wanted to praise the decision to let each traveler undertake their own Chapter 1 themselves (besides whatever NPCs they might have with them for plot reasons). While it was cool to go around helping each traveler conquer their first boss in the first game, I felt that it better served to build characterization, introduce supporting characters, and keep the focus on each traveler if they each got to conquer their first chapters by themselves before interacting with the party.

With that all said, I finally get to dig into the main reason I’ve wanted to write this reflection in the first place: the travelers’ stories. I wanted to do this in the proper “O-C-T-O-P-A-T-H” character order, but I feel it would be more natural for me to write about them in the order I encountered them.

Throné

I began my long journey with Throné. I’ve read that many people started with her because they anticipated the return of the purple “lockpick” chests from the first game, but I had completely forgotten about those. It’s been a long while since I played this game’s prequel, so it hadn’t even occurred to me. I picked her because a) I’m always here for a complex femme fatale character, and b) I’m always here for a dark, tragic story, and her introductory blurb assured me of that.

I had almost picked Osvald for his own intense tale of revenge, but I opted to choose Throné because I suspected that I’d have to keep my starting character in the party much as the first game did, which I was correct about, and I wanted to have something other than a scholar this time, as I had picked Cyrus in my first game (I generally have a predisposition towards intelligent, caster type characters and classes/jobs and wanted to try to play against that for variety this time around).

So it was that I began with Throné, and perhaps there’s a bias due to her being my starter character, but hers was perhaps the strongest Chapter 1 I’d seen among all of them. While you could easily draw parallels to Therion’s story in the first game, with both characters being bound by something—the bangle versus the collar—the approach taken here is intensely different.

Where Therion had to deal with the existence of his ex-partner and all the troubles that come with that, Throné is actively trying to escape her association with the Blacksnakes, and the setup that comes with that in Chapter 1, both in terms of narrative and the actual setup by Mother and Father, hit hard. Being forced to kill Pirro in a death match arranged in the shadiest of circumstances is both tragic and intense. The way events set up Throné’s quest for freedom and the main antagonists of her story in Mother and Father is expertly executed.

This chapter firmly established Throné as a strong, driven character for me, pushed along a gripping story by an undercurrent of dark tones that lean on the foibles of parentage, imposed or otherwise. I was drawn further in by the portrayal of Mother as an incredibly vile villain, irredeemable in all the best ways that make it satisfying for us to take her down in her path’s Chapter 3. The small but poignant parallel in having Mira witness it, given the revelation of Mother having killed Throné’s true mother, only drove a dagger deeper into my captivated heart as I watched that story branch conclude.

Father, on the other hand, is a more complicated matter, and his route contrasts Mother’s route fantastically. While there is no doubt that Father is not a good person, there is that seed of what kind of good—or at least, slightly better—person he might’ve had the potential to be if things hadn’t turned so sour for him. The loss of Marietta and his true child to Throné’s true father utterly broke him, if his tale is to be believed at least—and the doubt invoked by potentially unreliable narration does make the story more interesting to consider. The ensuing battle with Father, having trained Throné to finally end his miserable existence, however tragic and utterly twisted it is, was thoroughly emotional.

In the end, it was evident that, in his own intensely perverse and morally bankrupt way, Father did try to be a good parent to Throné, even threatening to kill Mother should she kill Throné. We can probably all agree everything Father did fucked up Throné to such a degree that she’ll probably never recover fully from the trauma of the life she lived, but it still felt somewhat touching to see Throné give Father some semblance of peace at the end when she called him Dad.

I think the part that messed me up the most in the wake of it all was how the dagger you looted from him was named after Marietta. Sadly, though, I found its impact somewhat blunted by how I quickly found a weapon that I thought was better and equipped it to Throné not long after. I never sold Marietta, though.

With those chapters closed and with the revelation that Father and Mother’s keys could not unlock Throné’s collar, and thus her freedom, her Chapter 4 brought us back to New Delsta, and I’m always a fan of bookending stories like this.

However, this chapter is where I felt Throné’s story faltered in an otherwise excellent tale. Had this part of the story been foreshadowed or hinted at better, this might’ve been, without a doubt, my favourite story among all the travelers’. We had a singular hint of the upcoming twist, one that came so early on in Mother’s Chapter 2 route that was so vague that there was no way I could start putting anything together before this chapter. Only Father’s final speeches indicated anything about Throné’s true father, and even that didn’t give much detail of the man nor his staggering crimes and depraved conduct.

Yes, Claude, Throné’s true father, is an absolute monster and one of the most, if not the vilest, villains in the series. Hell, he probably holds a top-ten position amongst my mental pantheon of reprehensible villains (at least by metrics of their misdeeds). He is found in a truly haunted place. Nothing is said of Lostseed or why it is the way it is—at least none that I found beyond the speculation that it was this kingdom spoken vaguely in fables that various characters in Throné’s story recite. This unsolved mystery might be such by design, as some mysteries might have a better impact if left unsolved. However, I cannot give the same benefit of the doubt with the approach the developers took with introducing Claude.

Claude, apparently the literal progenitor of all the Blacksnakes—all in an attempt to sire an offspring to kill him—accomplished his deeds through the most vile ways, both in the acts of creating and sullying the ensuing lives of his children. Yet, these deeds, or any clear hint of them, are absent from the rest of Throné’s story. This resulted in a twist that completely blindsided me, and as someone who believes that sudden, unprovoked twists like this are cheap writing barely worthy of the name “writing,” I found this to be… underwhelming, at least narratively.

Don’t get me wrong, I was very motivated to see Throné’s story through for her freedom and to end Claude, but I found the sudden reveal intensely lazy. The one child we saw in Oresrush looking like Pirro was never brought up again, nor were there any other examples of anyone with similar features. If there had been more hints that many of the Blacksnakes had uncannily similar features, this would’ve been a great approach as well. The guardsman at the Garden and the keeper of the trolley at Lostseed are an example of this, but it comes far too late in the story.

In my opinion, Mira would’ve been a great way to exposit this. I wonder how Throné would react looking at a girl who shares some of Throné’s features she has in common with Claude, especially in the wake of killing Mother against Mira’s wishes. The idea of sharing the same nuances in their expressions of fear, despair, or rage in that moment could’ve hit quite hard, I feel.

Still, even with that major complaint, I can’t say I’m totally dissatisfied with the ending to Throné’s story. It’s bittersweet and completely on theme with the rest of her story. She wants to be free. She wants to live a life away from the stench of blood. But she had to shed yet more blood to do it. To free herself from all these mockeries of parental figures.

I’m sad that we didn’t get to see Throné resolve her feud with Mira directly, only getting to see it happen in a “next chapter” side story that did not explicitly involve our thief, and I do wonder about what Throné did with that baby Claude was holding through the whole battle. These are plot holes I wish had gotten their proper dues, along with a proper buildup to Claude. As well, I wish the idea of Claude being a potential vessel for Vide was something that also extended to Throné, further complicating her role in the final chapter of the game.

But I cannot complain about the masterful use of and conclusion to the themes of her story. The final battle is intense from a narrative perspective, with Claude bringing up images, the ghosts of her past, to fight her: Pirro, Mother, Father, Marietta, and even Throné herself. And then it all ends, at last, with us, the player, getting to use Throné’s path action to let us take the key from Claude as he perishes. Our final act to ensure Throné’s freedom.

And, at long last, Throné is free, even if it came at a high price. She might not know what comes next for her, but the idea she gets to choose is a bright spot in the otherwise dark sky that’s hung heavy over her life. No collar to threaten her. No parents to cage her. She is her own woman, and she earned her freedom, even if it stinks of blood.

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Osvald

I read The Count of Monte Cristo when I was fairly young, and I think it’s caused me to have an affinity for revenge stories, especially ones that make you question the whole venture along the way. It might be one of the reasons I liked both this story and Primrose’s from this game’s predecessor. And, thinking of Primrose as Osvald’s story began, I wondered if his story was going to be a retread of Primrose’s.

Thankfully, though there were certain parallels to the beginnings of each these two revenge stories, I found they diverged fairly quickly, and each protagonist handled their quest differently, putting to ease most concerns I had about any overlap between the two.

If there was a character I could relate to the most among all of the travelers, I feel like Osvald would be among the top picks… or at least he would’ve been a decade ago. While he certainly has powerful emotions driving him in his story, the man is nothing if not analytical and logical in his pursuits. Similarly, I felt there was a time when I looked at everything through the same lens, having closed myself off to emotions as a defence mechanism. I spoke little and hardly confided in anyone else.

I can’t say that we’re completely alike though, since while my time of suppressed emotion and overreliance on logic might’ve been a defense mechanism, I’m fairly certain it wasn’t for him, but rather a central aspect of his personality and characterization. Regardless, this did make me connect with him in some respects, and it makes me wonder how my game experience would’ve changed if I started with this scholar as I had with Cyrus in the last game.

Regardless, his traits made him a fascinating character to me, and one whose story I greatly looked forward to consuming piece by piece as we travelled across Solistia. I was a bit confused about why his escape from the prison constituted two chapters, especially when the second seemed so much shorter than the first and could’ve easily been part of the first since they shared the same setting. But in truth, it made little difference besides the brief pause between them.

Pushing forward into the story, we quickly learn that Harvey is a completely unforgivable villain undeserving of mercy or sympathy, much like Claude. Comparatively, though, I like him as a villain better than Claude because he maintains an intense presence through most of Osvald’s story. Better yet, we get a much better idea of what motivates him. His inferiority complex turned megalomania was unravelled to the audience in a great way, peaking with his final encounter in Chapter 5.

He is, admittedly, something of a very hammy villain, with his Chapter 4 appearance and the final confrontation devolving into supervillainy that even some Batman villains might raise an eyebrow at. And, after reading some other fandom commentary, I did see how the final battle resembled an anime power-beam conflict. Even so, in the moment, I thought it was an intensely engrossing and fun fight, and I thoroughly enjoyed the climax of their story.

I appreciate the progression the story took, from breaking out of prison, to returning to Conning Creek (the scene of the crime), to Montwise in pursuit of Harvey directly, and finally to where Harvey was performing his final ritual in the tomb of D’arqest. It was well-paced and hit all the right notes along the way. I also appreciate the presence of Lady Clarissa in Chapter 3, as Osvald desperately needed someone trying to talk him out of revenge, or else the narrative would seem a bit one-track.

Thankfully, we hit the twist in Chapter 4, and the plot went from a fairly “by-the-notes” revenge story into something more special, if tragic. The absolute dread and horror I felt when it was revealed that Rita had not died that day and had been used to fuel the Grieving Golem was heartbreaking. I mentioned earlier in this reflection that Osvald’s shouting “Forgive me, Rita!” was one of the emotional highlights in any battle in the game, and I think I might be underselling that. Let me put this into perspective.

A giant golem is dripping putrescent purple ichor in front of you. You and your companions are heaving, all on their last legs, and it’s Osvald’s turn to act. You have moments before it destroys your group. As the player, you hear the music swelling, a wave of violin notes rising and falling… rising and falling… as the percussion beats in the background. Osvald steps forward, and you have your latent power ready, Alephan’s Wisdom buffed, and enough BP for a full charge. The music builds to its peak, and he shouts his plea for forgiveness to his wife as he fully boosts. It’s a mercy. It’s an end to whatever suffering Rita might still be enduring. An end to something that besmirches her memory.

Then he casts his spell, and the beast that was brought into being on the wings of his wife’s lifeblood finally falls to a heap, hopefully freeing Rita as well.

You finally exhale in relief, only to have your momentarily clear mind be reclaimed by the sadness of what you’ve just done. What Osvald just had to do.

And then Elena enters the scene, alive and well, but with her mind altered to recognize not Osvald as her father, but Harvey, the man who destroyed her real father’s life and used her mother for a glorified experiment.

I know I couldn’t have truly understood what Osvald was feeling in that moment, not being a parent, but damn if my heart went out to him. It’s a scene that will stand out as one of the most memorable of the game for me for how heartwrenching it was.

But in the wake of that, the change that came was just as important: the realization that Osvald had something to live for, to fight for, other than revenge.

That was when this became a great story for me and when I was truly invested enough in seeing Osvald to Harvey’s demise. Further revelations in the final chapter would further damn Harvey as being even more dramatically disgusting a monster than we’d seen him as in Osvald’s story alone. But none of that mattered in the moment, because it felt so damn good to see Osvald protect his precious daughter and divine the secret of the seventh source.

It was made all the better when said discovery led to a new move appearing in Osvald’s list of spells in the ensuing battle. This was the first of a few instances when learning a move during or before a boss encounter courtesy of the plot made me absolutely giddy. Again, another brilliant way to tie storytelling to game mechanics.

To this day, I’m not clear if both Harvey and Osvald discovered different variants of the seventh source, or if Harvey simply mistook the shadow as the source itself while Osvald had been the only one to discover the true article. And while it might’ve been a bit cliché to see that the power of love, the urge to protect his child, was the catalyst or the key to Osvald unlocking it, in the emotional thick of the drama, it didn’t matter to me. It felt right. It felt appropriate. It felt perfect for Osvald’s development: a man, analytical and seemingly devoid of all emotion save for rage, finding purpose and though a gentler—though no less passionate—emotion to fill the void that Harvey had left him with from the beginning those five years ago.

I won’t lie, I am not sure if this is my absolute favourite story of the eight, as other contenders hit equally strong highs or maintained consistency of quality throughout theirs. But of this I am sure: Osvald’s story is of top quality, both in this game and among the medium in general, and I will likely refer back to it if I should write a revenge story of my own someday, much in the same way as I’ll likely refer back to the Count of Monte Cristo as well.

---

Part 2 Continues here...

Part 3 here. Part 4 here.

[urfavcrime]

dsmp is still SO insane to me. still not completely convinced it wasn't a social experiment. it is something that can never be replicated again due to the really specific circumstances that attributed to it's creation and popularity

[splotchi]

just remembered askblogging means i gotta Write, i cant just draw Pictures i gotta put down WORDS AAAUUUGGGGHHHHHH

[artemesianerdmom]

My writers, can we please

please

please

PLEASE

please

stop it with the repeatedly stating what color the main character’s/love interest’s hair is?!?!

[theftshrubbery]

reminder for newcomers . Reblog

Please

[lilacs-stars]

no one:

the voices in my head every time I finish writing something telling me to skip over editing it and just call it good: it'll *probably* be fineeeee (I am fully aware I make like five hundred typos per page)

[gigantomachylesbian]

men love to act like they're god's gift to prose fiction, like their workshop advice is the sole thing needed to Fix Your Story, and then not even be good writers.

[venusinmyrrh]

2, 20

2. an indie film

Four Rooms (1995), dir. Allison Anders, Andre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino, starring Tim Roth

four short films form one wildly funny (and just fucking wild) movie about working customer service in Los Angeles for rich people. Tim Roth has the range!

20. a musical film

Cyrano (2021), dir. Joe Wright, starring Peter Dinklage and Haley Bennett

if we are friends then I'm assuming you've already seen Moulin Rouge, so I am once again insisting everyone watch Cyrano, and read this discussion with the production team about love, desire, anti-cynicism, and openheartedness.

send me a number for a film rec!

[frances-and-the-moon]

A Question to all editors/creative people

[anistarrose]

the under-praised backbone of any fandom:

fan wiki editors

fan wiki editors who move the wiki off of fandom.com and to an independent host, especially

transcript writers

image description writers

fic rec list curators

translators

everyone who archives an ephemeral ARG or website-based lore dump

everyone who archives and preserves related media in general, for that matter

[docholligay]

Do you think authors sometimes don't realize how their, uh, interests creep into their writing? I'm talking about stuff like Robert Jordan's obvious femdom kink, or Anne Rice's preoccupation with inc*st and p*dophilia. Did their editors ever gently ask them if they've ever actually read what they've written?

Firstly, a reminder: This is not tiktok and we just say the words incest and pedophilia here.

Secondly, I don't know if I would call them 'interests' so much as fixations or even concerns. There are monstrous things that people think about, and I think writing is a place to engage with those monstrous things. It doesn't bother me that people engage with those things. I exist somewhere within the whump scale, and I would hope no one would think less of me just because sooner or later I like to rough a good character up a bit, you know? It's fun to torture characters, as a treat!

But, anyway, assuming this question isn't, "Do writers know they're gross when I think they are gross" which I'm going to take the kind road and assume it isn't, but is instead, "Do you think authors are aware of the things they constantly come back to?"

Sometimes. It can be jarring to read your own writing and realize that there are things you CLEARLY are preoccupied with. (mm, I like that word more than concerns). There are things you think about over and over, your run your mind over them and they keep working their way back in. I think this is true of most authors, when you read enough of them. Where you almost want to ask, "So...what's up with that?" or sometimes I read enough of someone's work that I have a PRETTY good idea what's up with that.

I've never read Robert Jordan and I don't intend to start (I think it would bore me this is not a moral stance) and I've really never read Rice's erotica. In erotica especially I think you have all the right in the world to get fucking weird about it! But so, when I was young I read the whole Vampire Chronicles series. I don't remember it perfectly, but there's plenty in it to reveal VERY plainly that Anne Rice has issues with God but deeply believes in God, and Anne Rice has a preoccupation with the idea of what should stay dead, and what it means to become. So, when i found out her daughter died at the age of six, before Rice wrote all of this, and she grew up very very Catholic' I said, 'yeah, that fucking checks out'.

Was Rice herself aware of how those things formed her writing? I think at a certain point probably yes. The character of Claudia is in every way too on the nose for her not to have SOME idea unless she was REAL REAL dense about her own inner workings. But, sometimes I know where something I write about comes from, that doesn't mean I'm interested in sharing it with the class. I would never ever fucking say, 'The reasons I seem to write so much of x as y is that z happened to me years ago' ahaha FUCK THAT NOISE. NYET. RIDE ON, COWBOY.

But I've known some people in fandom works who clearly have something going on and don't seem to realize it. Or they're very good at hiding it. Based on the people I'm talking about I would say it's more a lack of self-knowledge, and I don't even mean that unkindly. I have, in many ways, taken myself down to the studs and rebuilt it all, so I unfortunately am very aware of why I do and write the things I do most of the time. It's extremely annoying not to be able to blame something. I imagine it must be very freeing. But it ain't me, babe.

Anyway, a lot of words to say: Maybe! But that might not stop them from writing it, it might be a useful thing for them to engage with, and you can always just not read it.

Also, we don't censor words here.

[babyleostuff]

writer in the dark

you found working on your manuscript in bed a blessing and a curse at the same time. the blessing: warm covers and soft pillows. the curse: your boyfriend.

🖋️ THEME: fluff, late night conversations, pouty and dramatic cheol (nothing new) 🖋️ PAIRING: idol!seungcheol x writer fem!reader 🖋️ WORD COUNT: 1.1k

the gentle, fruity scent of your freshly brewed tea minghao brought seungcheol from his last trip to china filled your bedroom from where it was standing on your bedside table. of course, that would only last only until your boyfriend came out of the shower, thoroughly sprayed with his favourite cologne he wore even to bed. as much as you enjoyed it during the day, sometimes you felt suffocated with the scent at night, especially when your boyfriend went into koala bear mode. which happened at least five out of seven nights. 

you sighed and rubbed your eyes, feeling tiredness settle in your muscles. your fingers felt tense and you’d go as far as to say sore from the hours you spent typing on your keyboard. but the deadlines were quickly approaching, and your agent would not appreciate another delay in the schedule. the second book in your next trilogy was one of the most anticipated books for the upcoming year, so there was no room for tired and sore fingers. 

even though they felt three taps away from falling off your hand. 

“which chapter are you on?” cheol’s head peeked out from the open bathroom door. 

without sparing him a glance, you reached for the cup and took a sip of your tea, careful not to burn yourself. “not telling you,” you said, scanning through your document for any comments from the editor. 

“oh come on,,” he mumbled, and with a towel over his head, walked over to your side of the bed. ”you never tell me anything. i always play you my music. i even let you help with the lyrics.”

“right,” you nodded. “ i’m still waiting for the credits.”

from the corner of your eye you noticed a small pout forming on his cherry lips. you wondered if he’d even learn that you’d never show him anything before the final draft, if he was lucky. writing was such an intimate thing, and you weren’t sure you’d ever be able to show him something that wasn’t nearly perfect in your eyes. 

he’d definitely claw his eyes out if he saw what your first drafts looked like. 

“look, baby, writing songs and books is not the same,” finally, you turned your head, meeting his big, brown eyes. “there’s no point in showing you anything without any context and how would you feel if i told you the plot twist?”

he sighed and pulled the towel over his face. “i hate it when you’re right,” he groaned.

you got back to reading feedback left by your beta readers and editor, while seungcheol busied himself with the rest of his night routine, providing you with a nice background noise. as much as you loved writing with music, it was nice to listen to something else. 

‘what about the characters though?” he plopped on his side of the bed, fully clad in his baby blue PJs. “one of them surely must be extremely handsome, strong, dependable and smart.” 

a giggle escaped you. “are you sure you’re not talking about yourself?”

“no,” he simply said and scooted closer to you. “it’s just that every successful book has a character like that. just making sure you didn’t forget to write one.”

“thank you for informing me, when i’m 90% done with the final draft,” you said and looked down at your boyfriend, who was making himself cozy between all the pillows. he truly was a princess. 

“see, if we’d talk about it sooner you wouldn’t have an issue,” seungcheol grabbed your computer from your lap and pulled the covers to cover your upper body. 

“cheol, darling, how am i supposed to write with my hands under the blanket?”

he whipped his head, eyes distraught and wide, as if you’d just said the most cancelable thing he had heard in his career. 

“writing? we’re going to bed. you’re definitely going to bed,” he said. 

“i’m not,” you laughed and reached for your computer, but before you could grab it he whipped it out of your reach. “baby, what are you doing?” 

seungcheol gently grabbed your chin in his hand. “you’ve been doing nothing but sit at your pretty ass for hours and hours. i get that writing is your job, but it’s not healthy. what about your eyes? your back?”

“what about you and kkuma?” 

“not the point,” he said, unamused. “the most i’ve seen you this week was during breakfast and maybe in the evening if you haven’t already passed out. you need to rest.”

“but-.”

your head crashed against his soft chest, as he wrapped his strong arms around your shoulders and pressed you closer to his body that you knew as well as your own. 

“i honestly don’t care what you have to say, honey,” he said and pressed his lips against your forehead, then reached to switch off the light. “sleep. now.”

“okay, dad,” you mumbled, but draped your arm over his tummy nonetheless. you weren’t made of stone; obviously you missed him as well. you were just better at hiding it. 

a couple of minutes passed and you could feel your eyelids getting heavier with the second. your boyfriend was right in one thing – you really needed that rest, because not even the cologne managed to bother you. 

“you know,” cheol’s voice gently pulled you out from your sleepy state. “if you need to revise any of the sexy scenes we can do that now.” 

you slipped your hand under his PJs and ran your fingers over his tummy, making him shake with laughter. “you cannot be serious, choi seungcheol.” 

“i’m always serious when it comes to sexy time,” he ran his finger over his cheek. 

“first of all, did you just call fucking sexy time? and second, didn’t you tell me to rest?” 

his quiet giggle made your stomach warm with love. you loved writing, words, and imagining magical realms in your head, but if there was one thing you hated about being a writer was that you’d never be able to convey something as beautiful as your boyfriend’s voice on paper.

“yeah, but i figured you’d have an even better sleep, you know?” 

you shook your head. “you’re delusional.”

“oh, sorry for wanting to make my girlfriend feel good.”

“i already feel good. like this,” you said, and nuzzled further up cheol’s neck, placing a small kiss on his jaw.

“yeah, because your extremely handsome, strong, dependable, and smart man is actually real.”  

“one day i’m going to make you sleep on the couch,” you grumbled. “now let me sleep.”

you could feel his lips widen in a smile against your forehead. “i love you,” he whispered, which was the last thing you heard before falling asleep, enveloped in warmth, fluff, and his cologne.

[theflashjaygarrick]

Cassandra Cain is groundbreaking as a character because she wasn’t invented as a supporting character to a white man but her own protagonist. Sure, in the broader DC universe she was a part of the Batfamily but almost immediately she was given a solo ongoing where she was the titular figure. Batman was made a recurring side character in her own narrative. This is super rare in big 2 superhero comics. Most of the time women (especially women of colour) are introduced as a supporting character for a male character story, or as part of a white male dominated team, before organically gaining the popularity to ‘earn’ her a spinoff.

But with Cass they trusted that this stubborn, neurodivergent, Asian teenage girl was badass and compelling enough as a superhero to sustain her own solo series. And you know what? They were right. batgirl 2000 (her original run) is the first and longest individual batgirl run in DC comics history. Comic readers loved her.

And this only was possible because of a diverse writers room with a drive to push creative boundaries and a willingness to fight with editorial if necessary. Joe Illidge (the first black editor for Batman) recalled that the Bat creative team had to fight to have a non-white Batgirl. But they fought for it, they won, and Cass demonstrated that risks and moves towards more diverse comics pays off. And the fact that after countless attempts to silence her, ignore her fans, and pretend she doesn’t exist, Cass is back with a vengeance and a new solo only further proves they were right. Despite what the anti-woke crowd may cry bold, progressive storytelling can and does work, especially when the creative team believes in the character and plot and the people with the money let them do their thing.

[noirscript]

his silent script

Pairing: Yandere!Actor x Smut Writer!Reader Description: You never meant for your words to become real, but Dorian Shaw—celebrated actor, relentless shadow—has stepped straight out of your pages. He watches you like he knows you, like he’s living the life you created for him, and when he speaks, it’s with the certainty of a man who refuses to be just fiction. Warning/s: YANDERE | Stalking | Psychological Manipulation | Power Imbalance | Implied Coercion | Implied Threats | Note/s: Happy 900 followers! Actually, it already exceeded 900. I hope I can finish Sovereign's Reign on or before I reach 1,000 followers. ^^ Anyway, enjoy reading!

Masterlist | Dark Roast 50% OFF | Commission | Tip Jar

The first time you met him; it wasn’t with flashing cameras or red carpets. It was raining—of course it was raining—and the bookstore’s leaky ceiling made a steady plip-plip onto the laminate floor.

You’d come for peace. You found him instead.

He was in the back corner of the romance section, hood low over his brow, fingers grazing the spines like he was choosing a victim rather than a novel. Tall, still, silent. The kind of presence that made you aware of your own heartbeat.

You didn’t recognize him. Not really. Maybe you’d seen him once, in passing on some trailer auto-playing on your phone. But the name meant little. The face meant nothing. You weren’t in the business of idolizing men who wore fake faces for a living.

Still, you noticed the way his eyes lingered too long on the shelf where your name sat, your series nestled between glossier, brighter titles. You saw the slight twitch in his jaw when he picked up the second book in your “Sin & Silk” trilogy. And then—he smiled.

Not like a fan. Like a man who’d just found something he’d been missing.

“Is this one any good?” he asked, holding up the copy. His voice was deep—velvet laced with smoke—and you immediately felt heat crawl up your neck.

“I wouldn’t know,” you said, brushing past him to the counter. “Never read it.”

He laughed—just once. “Liar.”

You turned. He was still watching you.

“You’re her,” he said. “The author.”

Your stomach sank. “So?”

He didn’t answer. Just flipped the book open, letting the pages fan out beneath his fingers, stopping on a dog-eared chapter. You knew exactly which scene it was. Chapter 17. The one your editor almost didn’t let you keep. Too dark, too raw, too real.

But you’d fought for it. And won.

Now he was reading it. Slowly. Deliberately.

“This scene,” he murmured. “The way he talks to her. Makes her feel like she’s drowning even when she wants more.”

You stiffened. “You make it sound creepy.”

He smiled again. This time, it didn’t reach his eyes.

“It’s not creepy if it’s real.”

• ─────⋅☾ ☽⋅───── •

You didn’t think much of it. A strange encounter. A nameless man in a bookstore. A slightly unsettling comment.

Then a week later, your book shot up the charts.

Overnight, your inbox was flooded with messages. Your social media exploded. Edits. Fanart. BookTok girls screaming about the “Sin & Silk” trilogy, especially Chapter 17. You didn’t understand why—until you saw the video.

Him. The man from the bookstore.

Only now, the hood was off. The world’s most sought-after actor, Dorian Shaw, was staring into a camera, book in hand, reading your words.

“I couldn’t put it down,” he said in a quiet interview, caught between questions about his next thriller and a luxury brand endorsement. “There’s something real in this writing. Dark, yeah. But honest. Like she’s not afraid to tell the truth.”

Dorian Shaw. Award-winning. Obscenely handsome. A man with a face built for obsession and a voice that bent crowds.

And now, he was yours.

Your book, your name, your words—on his lips.

It should’ve been thrilling. You should’ve been grateful.

But when you watched that interview, it wasn’t his praise that stuck with you.

It was the way he looked at the camera.

Like he wasn’t just recommending your book.

Like he was speaking to you.

• ─────⋅☾ ☽⋅───── •

The next time you saw him; it was at your signing event. Your publicist was buzzing, hands fluttering as she arranged stacks of books and fixed your hair between signatures.

“He promoted you,” she whispered. “Do you have any idea what that means?”

You did. Your Amazon page had crashed. Pre-orders were climbing. But all you could think about was the way his fingers lingered on your words.

He showed up without fanfare. No entourage. No disguise. Just Dorian, dressed in dark tones, leaning against the end of the line like he belonged there.

People turned. Whispered. Phones clicked.

And still, he waited. Twenty-three minutes.

When he finally reached you, he didn’t hand you a book.

He slid a black envelope across the table.

“I read them all,” he said. “But I think you already know that.”

You stared at him. “Why are you here?”

His smile was slow. Purposeful.

“I want to talk. The real kind. About the man you wrote.”

“I write fiction.”

“You write truth in disguise.”

He stepped back, letting the crowd absorb him. But as he disappeared, he called over his shoulder:

“Open it when you’re alone.”

Inside the envelope was a script. Handwritten. Raw. A scene lifted straight from Chapter 17—but with differences. Subtle, unnerving ones.

The villain won.

The heroine didn’t run.

And at the bottom, scrawled in ink that had bled through the page:

You wrote him. I became him.

• ─────⋅☾ ☽⋅───── •

You tried to avoid it after that. Ignored the surge of followers. Declined interviews. Turned adaptation offers.

But Dorian was persistent.

He posted again. A black-and-white video of him reading a monologue from your latest release. The comments were chaos. His fans demanded a collab. Your sales doubled. Your publisher offered a new contract. Your name was trending.

And through it all, he watched.

At first, it was distant. A like. A repost. A subtle nod during his press tours.

Then he started commenting. Small things. Quotes from your work. Direct lines. No context.

Then came the invitations. A book panel he was hosting. A charity gala “in your honor.” He even showed up at a local café reading where you’d been assured anonymity.

You finally gave in at a networking event your agent guilted you into attending. He was there before you. Waiting at the bar.

“You never answered my messages,” he said as you approached, drink in hand.

“I don’t owe you anything.”

“No,” he said. “But you created me.”

You shook your head. “You’re not him. He’s fiction.”

Dorian leaned in, voice lowering. “I’ve played gods, killers, kings. But none of them fit like him. None of them felt like me—until your story.”

You hated the way he said it. Like it was fate. Like he truly believed it.

“You don’t know me,” you said.

“I know you better than anyone who’s ever touched your skin,” he said, his voice almost reverent. “Because I’ve read the parts of you no one else dares to look at.”

You walked away.

But something tethered you there.

• ─────⋅☾ ☽⋅───── •

And now, you were in the backseat of a car. One you didn’t remember getting into. Rain blurred the windows. Your hands were shaking.

The partition slid down.

Dorian looked back at you from the driver’s seat.

“You shouldn’t get in strange cars,” he said.

Your mouth went dry. “This isn’t my driver.”

“No,” he agreed. “It’s mine.”

You reached for the handle. Locked.

“Please,” he said. “Just listen.”

You swallowed. “You stalked me.”

“I followed the story.”

“There is no story.”

“There is,and you know it.”

His voice was quiet, almost broken.

“You wrote me. I was fragments before you. Empty roles. Hollow scripts. But then I found your words. And I felt something. For the first time in years, I felt alive.”

He turned in his seat, eyes meeting yours.

“Don’t take that from me.”

The knife was beneath the seat. You knew it. He didn’t reach for it.

Instead, he took your book from his coat. Your first. The one that had started it all.

“Let me show you what this means to me,” he whispered. “Let me be him.”

Your heart pounded.

“I don’t want him.”

“Yes, you do,” he said. “You buried him in fiction. I’m digging him out.”

Silence sat between you like a second presence.

Then, softly: “Give me one scene. Just one. Let me prove I understand.”

And you, against everything rational, nodded.

He didn’t touch you.

But he looked at you like you were the final line of a monologue he’d rehearsed a thousand times.

And when it was over, you went home.

And picked up your pen.

And rewrote the ending.

This time, the villain stays.

TBC.

noirscript © 2025

Taglist: @hopingtoclearmedschool @violetvase @zanzie @neuvilletteswife4ever @yamekocatt @fandangoballs @mel-vaz @vind1cta @greatwitchsongsinger

[scare-ard--sleigh]

i know i've only been working for like an hour or so but ohhhh my goddd i need a shot of tequila and a fat blunt these articles are Killing me

[dollishmehrayan]

# TAKE EVERYTHING AS IT WAS WRITTEN FOR YOU ── .✦ ( batboys x writer!reader who writes ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ )

dollish note ౨ৎ: hey so I’m back from the dead apparently, anywaysss omgg I missed you guys Hii and I will posting more content from now on and taking this seriously and these past days I was super stressed out over moving but hey my lovess anyways I decided to base this writer s/o over like anyone, like whether you write fan fic like me or write actual books, it matters to this hcs !! Tags: (batboys x writer!s/o)

© dollishmehrayan — ( all rights reserved to me. These works cannot be reposted, translated, or modified. Thank you for understanding dollies! )

# DICK GRAYSON ── .✦

He loves that you're a writer ( listen he just LOVESSS creative women like hello !? God forbid a guy likes creative people 🫠) he's your #1 fan and biggest hype man.

Tries to read your work over your shoulder while you're typing, even if you hate it “Babe, I need to know what happens next!” Like constantly over your shoulder seeing what you’re drafting and etc.

Occasionally offers cheesy plot ideas like “what if the love interest also knows parkour?” (His ideas suck)

Will 100% brag to everyone: “Yeah, my partner’s a genius novelist. Ever heard of them? You will.” OOOOO

Falls asleep listening to you ramble about story arcs and character development. It's his favorite sound.

Writes you little encouraging notes like, “You got this, Hemingway 💪” and sticks them on your laptop / tablet or wtv you have bbg.

# JASON TODD ── .✦

Loves your dark, gritty writing especially if there's violence, angst, or moral grayness involved since a lot of people don’t write angst that casually.

Offers surprisingly insightful edits or plot ideas: “This villain's motivation is weak. Give them a tragic backstory and don’t make them redeemable.”

Low-key wants you to base a character on him but will pretend he doesn’t care.

Has a soft spot for reading your fluff pieces though and will be quietly emotional about them.

Will threaten anyone who leaves bad reviews on your work. "Just say the word. Username 'Booktoklover93'? I got 'em."

He buys you fancy notebooks and pens and acts like it's no big deal, but he's proud of himself.

# TIM DRAKE ── .✦

Absolute king of writing dates you'll both sit in a café typing furiously and sipping terrible coffee.

Helps you fact-check obscure things at 3am without complaint (okay, maybe some complaint).

If you write mystery or thrillers, he treats it like solving a real case. “Wait… that clue in chapter 5…”

He totally has a secret folder on his computer labeled “[Your Name]’s Writing – Favorite Stuff” with all your pieces saved.

You’ve accidentally inspired him to write fanfic once and he WILL take that secret to the grave.

Sends you prompts or memes like “this is so your OC.” (Sorry I just keep cringing at oc 🥲)

# DAMIAN WAYNE ── .✦

At first, he might not get why you write fictional stories… but then he reads them.

He's completely blown away and demands to know what happens next immediately.

Occasionally critiques your logic but ends up emotionally invested in your characters.

“Why did you kill him off?” Because it served the story—” “You’re a monster.”

Will sit next to you while you write, drawing or sketching your characters in his own style.

Has probably told Alfred he thinks you’re a genius at least once when he thought no one was listening.

# BONUS WHICH MR WAYNE! ── .✦

Loves that you're creative and has the patience of a saint when listening to you rant about plot holes.

He doesn’t read everything you write, but when he does, he’ll quote it back to you at random times like a proud husband.

“Chapter 7 really showed growth. I was impressed.”

Offers to fund your writing career or self-publishing venture without blinking. “You’ll need an editor and marketing team.” SIGN ME UP !!

He also gently reminds you to eat and sleep when you’re on a deadline: “You’ve been writing for 16 hours. Come to bed and go to sleep.”