#If I could turn back time...

[mikewheeler]

wishing today that I had included the bedroom 4x03 scene in my mileven top 10

[kaliina-catoe-blog]

Someone asked on reddit: "What is your biggest Fanfic Ick when you're reading?" and I saw a lot of other similar posts asking similar questions... I actually have a couple, but I'm specifically going to rant about my big one.

Children speaking either like full-grown adults or like they're much much younger than they are meant to be.

I was HORRIBLE about this for years, mainly because I wasn't around many kids younger than me (baby of the family). But now, as an adult who has been around children more? Omg. No. Please.

I've also taken some Early Childhood Development (ECD) courses since then, and I excelled in AP Psychology as a teenager- so I might not be an expert but I know the basics now. Honestly? If people who write children just take 5 (five) minutes to read up on the basic ECD milestones for speaking it would correct the issue completely I swear...

Most children start talking younger than you think! They babble and form basic monosyllabic or bisyllabic words by 1 year. (mama, Dada, baba, wawa, up, no, etc) [side note: I personally was talking in full sentences by 18 mo, but I am an outlier the size of Spiders George and should not be counted. I am hyperlexic, this post is about "standard" kids]

By 1.5 (18m) your baby should at least be speaking in basic monosyllabic and bisyllabic words and they'll still babble but usually with more purpose. What would be incoherent might start to sound more like they're attempting sentences. (EG: "Mama, I hab wawa? [Mama, I have Water?]") Technically babbling stage sentences, but they can be more or less easy to understand based on other factors. It is CRUCIAL to speak to your baby at this point especially, and even more important if you're attempting to teach the baby more than one language. Don't use baby voice- actually speak to them. Otherwise, they *will not* learn to say real words in time for school.

By 2 your baby is speaking in sentences! Maybe not always super clearly, but this is a good time in their life to begin introducing them to enunciation and basic language skills. (my examples here: "Mama, I need water, please." "Mama.. Need wawa, pease?" and then you repeat the sentence so they can try to copy your enunciation.) At this point, don't be too strict or you might unintentionally make them *stop* talking. Encourage them to pronounce/enunciate things correctly instead, and praise when they do well.

By 3, they should have a decent grasp on the language basics and should be speaking in full sentences at least mostly. They might still mispronounce things or not fully enunciate correctly. But they have the basics down and are ready to start getting hooked on phonics! (Idealistically, it's even better if you've been showing them educational content the entire time- with minimal screen usage. But like. I've seen Gen Alpha kids and I have Gen Beta cousins and nibblings. I'm not stupid. It's ALL screens. If you want your Gen Beta kid to do better than the Gen Alpha kids have been doing? GET BABY BOOKS. USE THEM. READ TO YOUR KIDS. This is why so many high school students are illiterate! It's because they weren't exposed to literature or basic phonics until they were fucking 6!)

Ahem. By 4, I was reading unassisted both out loud and silently. But normal children should be learning letters and numbers and how to count to 10. Your normal 4 year old should be capable of sounding out small words and should be able to spell their name and your name. I'm serious. First thing you need to teach your kid to read/write unassisted is their own name and your name. Before they start pre-K. If your kid ever gets hurt, or you get hurt? They need to know their name, and yours. It's not that difficult to teach your kid not to call you your first name- but it's hard to find them if they get lost and have no idea who they are or who they're looking for aside from "mama/dada/ren".

By 5, we have reached Pre-K! (or Kinder depending where you are ig). They should be speaking in full, mostly correct, sentences. There is no more "wawa" instead of water. They may still be saying "wah-duh" but they should be beyond "wawa". They should be able to say "Drink" and not "dink" (again, it may be a little more "dwink" but that's normal. If they know the word and can reliably say it and be understood fine? They're doing ok. If they have a speech impediment you're about to find out from their teachers or doctors so don't worry about it yet- or just bring it up yourself and ask them if they believe there's an impediment).

I repeat, because this is the age I see get the "baby talk" treatment the most, your 5 year old character should be capable of speaking in full sentences. FIVE YEAR OLDS ARE NOT 3.

By 6, we start to see a grasp on basic Grammar and spelling ideas- this is the age where some of those rules don't make sense, or are contrary to one another (like the "I before E except after C; unless your Foreign Science-teacher Neighbor, Keith, Receives Eight Weird Counterfeit Weightlifting books in the mail- sent by Feisty Caffeinated Beige aliens" rule... Or the dozen different ones about commas, and which commas are which, and why the fuck we have multiple different types of THE EXACT SAME CHARACTER- All of which go in literally the same place but slightly differently and for different reasons).

Yeah. Age 6 is wild, man. And the way 6 year olds talk? It reflects. This is the age of "Why is fart spelled like a smell?" and "Ren? How did I go in your tummy when I was a baby me?" and the ever-present "I runned-ed really fast!"... They know what the rules are, but they don't actually know how they *work*.

7, and we have reached a great age for conversation! 7 year olds can speak pretty clearly, and while they may still say things like "I runned" instead of "I ran", they do it a lot less... And usually not quite that obviously. This is the age where correcting their grammar/spelling/enunciation is going to be really important! We want to encourage them to come to us with words they can't pronounce in books, or ask how to spell random words that they hear in media/life, and we have to be kind about correcting errors. 7 year olds are soft and sensitive and a little bit whiney. They're still small enough to cry over a skinned knee, and ask for fit-it kisses, and they won't be this small ever again. Yes, the 9000000000 questions a day will get exhausting and annoying and "omgpleaseshutuppleasepleasejustgofindathesaurusandstopaskingme" but then we start to really see the fruits of our labour.

8 years old! They can read, they can write, and they can do basic addition and subtraction - maybe even a little multiplication and division depending on the school/home educational resources. They are finally old enough to be introduced to long multi-chapter books (as in, more than 15-20 chapters) for solo reading! Honestly, I was reading multi-chapter books LONG before 8. But I was also a very hyperlexic child, and a kid that is developing at a totally "standard" pace should be hitting this milestone ~around~ 8. Maybe they're 7.5, maybe it takes until they're 8.5. But 8 is a median age for independently reading long chapter books.

By 9, we are very independent. Almost double digits! That's practically grown! A 9 y/o is going to be so so super excited to do anything alone. They're still going to mostly listen to you, and they'll go to you directly for help/comfort/etc very openly. Enjoy this phase! It is not a long phase. Linguistically speaking, by 9 most kids are pretty much grown-out of minor speech impediments- the ones that stick are actual impediments and it's up to you are your child to decide if/what speech therapy is good for them. Smaller things, like "Dwink" over "Drink" usually go away by this age. More permanent impediments will be much more clear, and they're completely natural! There's no shame in having a speech impediment, and while your child develops a personality and tries to be more independent - it's your job to handle any speech impediments for them. Let them focus on being 9.

10! Double digits already? Wow. Seems like only 500 words ago we were teaching them to tie shoes and spell "duckie". By this point, they're talking pretty much like how you'd expect a 10 year old to talk. They're either going to be a swearer, or not, and that's 80% your own doing. The other 20% is literally everyone else in their life. Peers, teachers, aunts, uncles, rads, etc. (rad being what my nibblings should call me, because I think it's 😁😁 rad 👉👉)

After this point? Just. Keep letting them learn more and more big words. If you've done all of this right, they'll probably love reading! Just nurture that love, and you're set. 11 year olds are cringey- they use weird dumbass slang that adults don't understand, and we use their slang to embarrass them every chance we get. A tale as old as time.

Honestly the next "big shift" in how a kid talks, is puberty. The change in vocal register can mess with the way the speak - and can also make certain Speech impediments worse, so if you're someone whose kid has an impediment, make sure you've prepared them for that. Warn them that vocal changes might make them feel as though any speech therapy they've done is pointless, and work with them to encourage them and help them remember that these vocal changes are not *bad*. Make sure they understand that there's nothing wrong with it.

And then, again, next big change isn't really a change at all. They're ready. They're grown! 18! The most common "change" here is that they might get a little bit too comfortable swearing a lot more than what's appropriate. But they'll figure out what's "enough" swearing soon enough. The important thing isn't whatever might be going on linguistically anymore... You've done it. You have managed to bring an entire human being all the way through childhood and into adulthood. You created a whole entire person! Now sit back, relax, and wait for grandkids or a dog or something... And remember that if you get grandkids, you also get to repeat a large portion of all of the work you just did.

And you also get to know that you made a tiny human! And then that human became an adult all because of you! And they decided to make *another* tiny human!

Ok Ok... I could go on, but Im getting really off-topic. My point is:

Children develop sooo quickly! There's only 10-12 years before they're most of the way grown and beginning to hit puberty. Your 8 year old Dick Grayson should NOT talk like he's 4! 10 year old Dick Grayson is not about to be using words like "Rhetorical question" unless you've given us reason to believe that he is well-read enough (In English) to know what that means. He might understand the premise of "not a questions are supposed to be answered" but it's INFINITELY funnier and more realistic for that type of interaction to play as-

10y/o Dick: "Why do you call yourself penguin?"

Penguin: *starts to answer*

Dick, jumping his ass: "I didn't mean you had to actually tell me! It was-" *pauses to look at his dad* "Batman?"

Batman, amused: "Rhetorical."

Dick: "Yeah! It was Rhetorical!"

*keeps beating up Penguin, who is so confused*

And more!

Your de-aged Danny Fenton that's suddenly 2? Should not be super-conscious and speaking like he's 14. And! Even if he's mentally 14 still, 2 year olds babble mainly because their mouths are tiny and have like. Barely any teeth.

Even I, hyperlexic and learning to ask for things at 18mo, still mostly babbled until I had all of my teeth. [I know this because my mum and I are super close and I recently had to get a full medical history, including me and her doing the math to figure out exactly how old I was at all of my milestones- based on how old my brothers were and where we lived and what surgery/test/etc I was having done at the same ages].

Anyway. So even if he's fully conscious or wtv, he's not speaking like a teenager- he's limited to what he can physically pronounce as a toddler.

Also! In this same vein! Stop forcing the baby talk to be written out completely phonetically.... I'm so so so sick of reading

"An' I tol' mah da-da aaallll 'bout the fishes at da 'quarium" like. Seriously guys. Just. Fucking. Type it.

It makes more sense for a 5 year old to go "I told my daddy aaallll about the 'quarium and the fishes and the cool boat thingy we rided on!" than whatever that hell-fire bullshit is, that just ate the text off the other example.

Kids under 10 especially tend to speak in run-on sentences. They use "and" "like" "Uh" "um" and other filler words. Constantly. Have them say like 6 different sentences, with barely if any pause, and call it a fuckin day lmao. It's more accurate than you probably think it is. My favorite example is my little cousin, we'll call her Amie (real name of my real adult friend lmao, but idk any good fake kid names so) I'll also just call myself Kat for simplicity sake.

Amie(7): "Katkatkatkatkat!"

Me: "What what what what what?"

A: "Come look! I found a cool bug underneath this big ole rock in the backyard it's over by the trampoline and I almost squisheded it by accident but it's ok because I jumped off and then I moved the rock offofit and then I came to get you so you can see the cool bug thingy! Look!"

Me, looking at what appeared to be a huge ass beetle: "Oh, wow! That is amazing! Do you want to put it in a jar so we can show mom? Maybe she'll let us go release it in the woods, so it's safe from the weed whacker!"

A: "Oh yes! Yesyesyesyes! I wanna go find a really cool jar! A big one and we can poke holes in the top but we should probably poke the holes in before we put Jerald in it because that way we don't accidentally poke a hole in Jerald because I think that would be really sad. I like Jerald."

Me: "I like him too, kiddo. Let's find a jar for him to take a nap in until Mommy is back, okay?"

Anyways, that's just an example of my 7 y/o cousin. Be creative! Have fun! Just keep in mind that if you want other people to read it, you have to put a little effort into it. My biggest advice?

Read up on the age you're writing. What grade are they in? How big are they? How does being that size shift how they (literally) see things around them?

Maybe try to go spend some time with younger relatives if you have any! Or maybe go visit a library and go to the kids section for a few minutes to browse- Ive done this to get a physical sense of what a little kid's world looks like from that low lol. I literally went to the library, and shuffled around on my knees for like 10 minutes browsing an empty section of the kids' area. Nobody questioned me, nobody gave a fuck, nobody even looked at me because: everyone will just assume you're there for a kids book. You have free will! Just. Go research what little kids are like before you write them completely wrong and then get pissed off when nobody wants to read your piss poor attempt at writing kids. (I say this with love, I swear, it's just a topic that personally really frustrates me 😅)

Hell, use this post as a giant guide for raising your characters' kids!

Maybe don't actually use it as a real life parenting guide tho. I wrote it in that style because that's just how it made sense in my head lol... I am not a parent, I just really wish I was.

[spitedemon]

i really don’t think it’s “typical dragon age fandom nonsense” for people to be genuinely upset about the world state choices. combat, level design, art direction, gameplay gimmicks, those have all varied across each dragon age game. the one thing that’s remained constant are nods to our previous choices.

i wasn’t expecting my HoF to come riding in on a griffon, but i can’t find a monument dedicated to warden tabris somewhere around the anderfels? lucanis couldn’t have some lines about the time that one arainai boy was stirring up trouble in antiva city? you’re gonna tell me that making a mage the new divine wouldn’t have some impact on nevarra and antiva? on the anderfels, the supposed most devout militant andrastian nation in thedas? you’re saying nobody in the north is paying attention to who rules orlais or ferelden? come on.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

This wine tastes like pigs blood!

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[baeshijima]

thoughts on being engaged to duke!sunday, the head of the oak family, an incredibly influential figurehead within society, the close subordinate of emperor gopher wood who brought him and his sister in and raised him like his own, and the villain who faces a tragic ending in a novel you recently finished — the very same one you just so happen to find yourself transmigrated into. he is as cunning as he is blinded, a trait which brought ruin to many in the empire, and one which ultimately brought ruin to himself at the hands of the protagonists.

as luck would have it, you became a barely mentioned side character from a marquis family, whose role was to be the villain's wife stuck in a one-sided love who, too, would get caught up in the tragedy alongside him. however, now that it's you who is stuck in this position, you're determined to try any means necessary to deter him from going down that path, all in an effort to escape your predestined doomed fate!

of course, you didn't expect it to be easy. the day of your arrival in this world was already the night before your wedding, so you had little time to prepare yourself for the nonchalance of your supposed family, how they viewed you as but a means — a tool — to boost their influence and prosperity, the dismissive mannerisms of the household servants, and the absolute beauty of a man you will be married to.

(seriously. the novel descriptions did not do him justice. he was like... like... like he was handcrafted by god himself! and not to mention his sister, robin, was the very epitome of an angel! perhaps you're destined to perish by the god-tier visuals instead...)

to say the least, the wedding ceremony went by quickly. safe to say you didn't spend the night; he was cordial and gentlemanly upon letting you know that he won't do anything until you're ready, that you can take this relationship slow, but somehow you ended up feeling a tad insulted. like, who leaves their newly wedded alone in a big cold bed as they walk out on their own? a sick bastard that's who!

well, whatever. it's not like you need nor want to consummate with him! besides, you have bigger things to worry about — things such as your impending death. and, of course, the only way to stop sunday that you can imagine working is by chipping away at his resolve bit by bit, and opening his eyes to reality.

he is a tragic character, one who cares more about the well-being of penacony and its people than anyone else, but was manipulated into getting his hands dirty in the emperor's stead. you knew this. you sobbed over his story, cursed out the protagonists, and even fought internet randos on novel forums about sunday's motivation and how,

no, he is not just a stupid villain. he is a complex character with flaws and humanity and was cruelly taken advantage of by someone he considered family. he was deceived through the suffering the emperor wanted him to see to make him easily manipulated, creating a rift between him and robin to have that prominent separation. you know what? maybe you're just a !%#@ who can't even #@?"% read properly!

and yet you still find yourself at a loss when faced with the walls he has in place. your initial efforts went as well as it possibly could have; you trying to earnestly help him, while he "kindly" dismisses your offers! well, "kindly" being more condescending since you could read between the lines of his mannerisms and amiable demeanour, but that's fine! you expected this! that just means you have to double down on your sincerity, get through to his heart (somehow), and help him realise humanity isn't as weak as he's led to believe!

you have three years until the novel's plot officially starts, and another year after that until your demise. that's plenty of time to get him to warm up to you!

it was easier said than done, but after your valiant effort and abundance of time put into this relationship, which admittedly you could do with some of that lost time back, you could give yourself a pat on the back with the progress you made! while you definitely could have done without a lot of the headaches, it's safe to say sunday has significantly warmed up to you in comparison to your wedding day. he now willingly eats all his meals with you with some real conversation, takes garden strolls with you in the early evenings, invites you out for dinner at a restaurant at least four times a week, hell he's even joked and laughed with you more frequently! but most importantly, he has begun asking for your opinion before finalising any decisions he is required to make. and he actually listens and considers your side! now, that certainly is the best outcome you could hope for after all this time, and it most definitely will help in your endeavour to save you both from the protagonists!

however, you've noticed he's been more... affectionate? well, at the very least he now willingly holds your hand when in private (not just in moments when you're in the public eye and he has to make sure the family's reputation is spotless), sometimes he will hug you out of the blue ("i just need to... recharge. you have a way of calming me down. i hope you don't mind." ...how could you say no to his supreme god-tier face card? that's just a losing battle you won't even bother fighting against.), oftentimes he opts to just gaze wordlessly at you (robin had mentioned over one of your tea times how it almost appears as though there is no one but you in the world when sunday gazes at you with, in her words, "the eyes of a man so deeply in love!" ...whatever that's supposed to mean...), but a more recent development has been his sudden interest in kissing you; well, more specifically giving you a kiss to the back of your hand or on your forehead — certainly not anywhere near the lips! (besides, he's probably just gotten comfortable with you, enough where he can freely act without judgement. nothing more, nothing less.)

well, either way, development is development! soon enough, the time for the main plot to start has arrived. it of course follows what you remember, from the organised balls to the protagonists meeting to the political aspects of it all. the only difference is sunday's less active involvement in all the schemes and the emperor's ploy. rather, he seems more focused on you and the future of your marriage and even displayed a sudden interest in your practically non-existent relationship with one of the foreign diplomats, aventurine— wait...

"[name]," he calls your name out so sweetly you nearly disregarded it as someone else he was talking to. well, perhaps you would have done had he not suddenly appeared before you, a tight-lipped smile tugging the corners of his lips as he steadily approaches you.

oh. he doesn't seem very happy, if his tense figure is anything to go by. you wonder if one of the nobles grated his nerves a little too much this time?

sunday comes to a halt a step away from you. "i don't like that... gambler being so close to you. it... it brings me a rather unpleasant feeling." there's a slight, trembling pause. not a moment later does he close the gap between you, one knee on the ground as he matches your seated height on the fountain rim, your hands gently enclosed in both of his.

you idly wonder if this is what robin meant by the so-called "eyes of a man so deeply in love" she constantly gushed about, for the way in which he gazes up at you is enough to render you breathless.

"tell me, [name]," he begins once more. there is an underlying desperation woven within his tone, one which has your head spinning and heart thumping wildly as his trembling gaze holds you in place. "tell me, what am i to do with this fervent love and overwhelming adoration i hold for you?"

oh.

...oh.

perhaps your impending doom should be the least of your concerns when you now find yourself in the arms of a clingy husband...

(though, it's safe to say you did, in fact, manage to prevent him from succumbing to his tragic fate! you just gained a loving, yet slight slightly emotionally challenged husband along the way.

well, you can help him work through it; you have the rest of your lives now to figure it out, after all.)

[mienar]

close-ups of a commission i did a while back! 🌱

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[beaulesbian]

The limit is four seconds.

[sweetieviktor]

viktor is in love! (headcanons)

summary: how he acts when he loves someone.

content warning: just fluff!! also, this was written with season 1! viktor in mind!

author notes: life has been hard (exams, school stuff, looking for a job and a lot of other things lol), but now im finally able to write again!! :) and season 2 is just arrrgh so good, so good. also, thank u for the request! i really want to write more about vik (and any other arcane characters), so please keep sending those in!!

» at first, viktor would be pretty oblivious about his feelings for you, always ignoring the little tingling in his heart whenever you talked to him, the smile that appeared on his face every time you laughed or the way he seemed to be draw closer and closer to you, like if you were magnetic.

» whenever you talked to him, he would look at you like you were the only thing that mattered in the whole world, like every word you said was sacred, like you were the most beautiful thing he laid his eyes on. and you could swear it was possible to see hearts on those eyes.

» if you happen to work close to piltover’s academy, he will find himself going out more, looking for you in every corner on the streets. but if you work on the academy, he will go to your workplace quite often to brainstorm or just to talk about some subject he is working on.

» and when you happen to talk about the things you like, be prepared to either face viktor staring at you, completely silent, or to be bombarded with viktor questions, trying to learn more about whatever you're interested in.

» after your meet-ups, he always come back to the lab and talk to jayce about you, about the things you like, how you're amazing and beautiful and understanding and pretty and intelligent and so, so many good things.

» maybe he is in love...

[xxplastic-cubexx]

graph

bonus:

[jadewritesficshere]

Just thinking about s4 but when Alpha!Eddie grabs Steve to shove the bottle against his neck, he doesn't realize Steve is an omega and accidentally scruffs him. And Steve is just boneless, kinda goes down. And Eddie isn't expecting deadweight and almost falls ontop of Steve but realizes what's happening (let's just say he's fought off a few bullies who scruffed members of his pack). He immediately drops the bottle and holds onto Steve, who tries to scent Eddie. Just shoves his face into Eddie's neck and nuzzles it, lets out a purr unintentionally.

[imclou]

can't believe fnaf brought me out of art hibernation man what a turn of events

[secretsimpleness]

Sometimes I want to bring Morrigan but then I remember I play as a face-tanking rogue and I bring Wynne. Warden Cousland, Morrigan, Wynne / Dragon Age Origins (c) Bioware

[corviiids]

i think L should've tried harder to piss light off. provoking light into slipping up would not only be hilarious i also think it would be extremely easy and effective. not saying you could get light to actually confess this way, but he would definitely make more dumb mistakes if, for example, L kept interrupting their homoerotic brain chess matches to insist that kira is actually matsuda because the butts match

[mobius-m-mobius]

falling in love with a god is not a death sentence. the story is only a tragedy if the god loves you back. - nathaniel orion g. k.

[aingeal98]

More Jason and Cass thoughts (sorry but also not sorry) but if I was magically given full control over DC and could write what I'd want obviously I'd make Cass Batman but I've been thinking of what sort of reaction and role Jason would have in response. I think I'd write his version of "Congrats on the new job!" as a test, involving the Joker and civilians and gangs and Red Hood and a ton of explosives. Bruce failed me, and now he's given up. You're his successor, let's see how you handle this dilemma that freaked him out so badly he threw a batarang into my throat rather than let me avenge my own death in front of him.

So obviously Cass will overcome the traps and the puzzles. That's the fun part to show how competent both of them are and sprinkle in little character moments as we go. But then we reach the emotional crux of the matter, probably laid out as some sort of saw trap because it's Jason. Here I am, a victim of murder. You say nobody dies tonight but I did, and I want the man who did it dead. Not only did Batman fail to avenge me but he failed to stop the Joker from going on to create even more victims. What right do you have to stop me from getting justice for myself? What right does this man have to life after what he's taken from me and from countless others? I'm not trying to kill a random stranger, I'm specifically demanding justice for my own death that I never got while I was gone.

There are two ways this could go. The straightforward route if I knew my time on this run was limited would probably be a pyrrhic victory like the ones Cass's og series was so fond of. Just like Bruce in utrh, she acts on instinct and saves the Joker (and Jason this time) . A win technically, but she fails the test. Jason is once again vindicated but with nothing to show for it. The story ends with Cass sending the Joker back to jail and going back to the batcave, where the old Robin costume looms judgementally, highlighting her failure. It would be the most fitting end given their character molds, all tragedy and conviction and unstoppable force meets immovable object etc.

However... I think the option I prefer would be a little different. Cass levelling with Jason, a killer talking to a murder victim. She has no right to stop Jason from getting justice, she has no love for the Joker but she knows any death she allows to happen like this would devastate her, just like that death row inmate long ago she tried to break out but ended up letting go once the family of the victim talked to her and demanded justice. I think... In this specific situation, she'd just be honest. Morally she has no right sure. Personally she just really really doesn't want anyone to die. Give her one chance, please. Let her try it her way. Not demanding, not lecturing or insisting, just... Please. Don't do this. Let me try another way.

And then what? Jason asks.

In the end a deal is struck. Cass will take the Joker and lock him up, ensuring he never harms anyone again while also trying to rehabilitate him. But the second she fails and he gets free, Jason kills him and she won't stand in his way. It's the kind of deal that leaves both of them mildly disgusted and dissatisfied with themselves, neither of them naturally creatures of compromise when it comes to this specific topic. But Cass is willing to do anything to avoid death and Jason did not expect the new Bat to be so... Flexible? Kind of? Of course maybe she won't actually hold up her end of the deal and when the Joker gets loose she'll try and stop Jason from killing him and he'll get his miserable vindication, but right now this is something strange and new and he's mildly confused and curious about where it will go. He doesn't believe in her ability to contain the Joker forever but he's willing to let her try because her reaction to that future failure interests him. She's given him a sword of damocles to hang above her head and he didn't ask for it or expect it. It's the type of power he never thought the Bat would just... Hand to him.

The conflict ends with neither of them fully winning or losing. They both don't really know what to feel about this.

The thing is, the second Cass let's Jason kill the Joker she's hanging up the mantle. She's staking the Bat on this, because it's always go big or go home with her when it comes to saving others, even someone like the Joker. In this magical universe where I have unlimited power, Cass would lock the Joker in a secret bunker and have Leslie Thompkins talk to him daily, mostly because I think her pacifism speeches and debates in the comics would make a fun contrast to the Joker's evil sadism. (But what about his rights? Doesn't he deserve a trial and to be held in a regular prison? I'm going to be honest I think Cass would be very comfortable bending the rules on this specific situation. Morally questionable but I'd have fun with it. She's going to let Leslie treat Joker like her personal pet project to save his soul because yes she wants him to change but also she's got a city to save every night so go crazy Leslie, have fun.)

And the Batman series would continue with Cass as the lead, new challenges and new antagonists and every twenty issues or so for the first hundred we'll cut back to the Joker briefly if his chats with Leslie can help highlight some thematic element of the current arc. But bit by bit he'd slowly fade away onto oblivion, maybe getting referenced every hundred issues or so until eventually no one remembers or cares about him because there's so much else going on. Meanwhile Jason's got a good thing going as Red Hood, primarily based in Park Row and a tentative ally on the occasion when their vigilante work aligns. Unlike Joker he's a much more frequent character in the comics, and after say 10 years (this is my magical fantasy universe Cass's batman run is going to last for a very long time alright) when people think of DC characters they think of Red Hood long before they think of the Joker.

Is any of this realistic? Right now of course not. It's why I'd go with the pyrrhic victory if I actually got the chance, because it would be the best way to tell the story in the larger context of the Bat narrative. But it's my fantasy DC editor and writer daydream and I'm going to dream big. They're never going to be normal happy siblings, their personal demons will never fully let them be free and the looming possibility of losing everything they currently have narrative wise if Bruce comes back as Batman will always be there. But it's maybe the closest to peace they'll ever get. Unsatisfying and tame compromise that probably violates several laws and ethical codes but whatever. Cass has never read the Geneva convention and Jason's not going to shed tears over the Joker. Let him die relevancy wise if not physically.

[noodles-and-tea]

I now have a hc that Sherlock just sends John relevant songs instead of properly verbalising his feelings