#and turn it into an interesting character trait

[babyangelsky]

I love that Phu was wearing his teddy bear pajamas when he got blown by Cir

And I love it specifically because it flies in the face of a rather unfortunate trend that's always been present but that has been on my mind a lot lately.

A couple of months ago, I came across a post that referred to Teerak from Your Sky as "basically a child" and went in on the show for portraying him in any sort of sexual light and then went in on Muenfah and criticized him for wanting to do anything remotely sexual with Teerak and just—

No. NO. NO!

Listen, I don't give a fuck how someone interprets a character even if I disagree on every possible level. Art is subjective. How someone sees the art they consume and what they get out of it is none of my fucking business.

But there's this awful tendency to conflate cuteness with immaturity and to infantilize any character that exhibits any traits or preferences that can be read as cute. Hell, sometimes even a character's appearance is all it takes for them to be infantilized.

And it's always the same shit. If a character is shy, soft-spoken, bubbly, cheerful, or sweet, they're seen as a child. If they have plushies and enjoy lots of color, they're seen as a child. Act cute? Child. Like cute things? Child. Shorter than their love interest? Child. Younger than their love interest? Child.

Fucking STOP.

The person who made the post I referred to used a screenshot of Teerak hugging his Snoopy plush to somehow justify their interpretation and you know what? LIKING PLUSHIES AND CUTE THINGS DOES NOT MAKE SOMEONE """"BASICALLY A CHILD"""".

Whether or not a character (or a real actual person) likes cute things or happens to be sweet and soft-spoken and shy has nothing to do with how mature they are and it certainly says nothing about their sexuality and sexual desires. I turn 31 years old in just over a week and there are plushies on my bed. I put hearts all over my blog. Liking cute things just means you like cute things! That's all!

Teerak is adorable and colorful and sweet, and he's also a young man who's deliriously in love and HORNY for his boyfriend. He ALWAYS wanted to fuck that man and if he hesitated at first, it was due only to his lack of experience. Nothing else.

Which is partly why this scene:

Was so fucking great to watch. Not just because Teerak wanted to fuck his boyfriend and made his intent crystal clear and took the initiative, but because he was allowed to by the story. @iguessitsjustme wrote a great post about it, go give it a read.

More and more we're seeing BL's where both characters (THE CUTE ONES INCLUDED) are allowed and shown to want each other sexually and it's been amazing to see. Mutual horniness will never not be amazing to see.

Allll of that is why I love that Phukan was in his teddy bear pajamas in his love scene with Cir. Because like Teerak, Phukan is exactly the type of character that gets infantilized and that people get all pearl-clutchy about when he's portrayed doing anything sexual.

Phu is adorable and colorful and he likes being babied and he collects those cute little trinket things I can't remember the name of and he ALSO REALLY WANTS TO FUCK CIRRUS. To quote @poetry-protest-pornography , he was an active and enthusiastic participant in his first blowjob and that's exactly as it should be regardless of what he's wearing or what he likes! He's a full person with a functioning libido and I'm so happy and grateful that the story isn't infantilizing him.

TL;DR, some of ya'll have got to let go of the notion that a character being/acting cute and them experiencing sexual desire are mutually exclusive.

[weathertheraine]

Karasuno First Years: DnD Party AU!!

This is an AU I’ve had cooking for literally years so finally here’s something for it :DD I’ve built the first years as a level 4 party - just starting to get on their feet and not almost die on the daily.

Character backstories here!!

I have practically made character sheets for these guys but BE WARNED. They are not all 100% legal I have fudged things like Hinata needing a high strength score to multiclass out of Barbarian… but like. I don’t think I’ve cheated in any ways that a chill DM wouldn’t probably find a way to swing :P

IMMENSE ramblings under the cut about my reasonings for class/race/trait decisions if you’re interested in that :P

HINATA: HALFLING BARBARIAN/SORCERER

- Hinata as a Halfling not only gives him an even bigger height disadvantage than canon, but also has some INCREDIBLY fitting traits: ‘Lucky’ lets him reroll 1s, ‘Brave’ means he is resistant to being Frightened, and ‘Nimble’ means he can dodge through spaces occupied by creatures who are bigger than him (aka Human-sized), giving him extra manoeuvrability on the battlefield.

- I thought a barbarian’s Rage was also a great way of representing Hinata’s near-superhuman athletic abilities and determination on the court. For the duration, he has increased attack and strength abilities, and resistance to physical damage. The rage will end if he hasn’t attacked a hostile creature or taken damage since his last turn - a fun parallel to his need to stay in the action and constantly be touching the ball or he gets deflated (at least at first - this is their early days as a party, so they have some of their early flaws even if they’re young adults here instead of teens).

- ‘Reckless Attack’ is also fitting as it gives him advantage to attack but also gives his enemies advantage to attack HIM - this could serve as a version of decoy-ing, drawing attention and fire. As he levels up, he’ll also gain Extra Attack and Fast Movement (self explanatory) and Feral Instinct which makes him less likely to be Surprised, and more likely to be the first to jump into battle

- The most fun part though of course are his wild surges of magic, since he is a Wild Magic Barbarian. This means random magical effects can sometimes happen as a side-effect of his actions - things which can be helpful like ‘temporarily infuse your weapon with magic’, but can also be things like ‘deal necrotic damage to everyone around you, including your allies’. I think this is a really fun way of translating Hinata’s incredible abilities which at the beginning of the series, he has little control over. He can pull off amazing feats, but he can’t recreate them on demand, and sometimes it’s more of a hindrance than a help

- Narratively, he’s trying to learn to control his emerging magical abilities by multiclassing into Sorcerer and training with Kageyama. This means he can now cast spells on purpose as well as accidentally but it also increases the wackiness and power of the magical accidents he can cause. These now include gems like ‘involuntarily cast Fireball at 3rd level, centred on yourself’ and ‘you are transported to the Astral Plane until the start of your next turn’, but also ‘for the next minute, you can teleport 20 feet as a bonus action’

- As a sidenote Hinata also has by far the highest hitpoints, which represents the amount of time he’s able to get hit and keep on going, and the highest initiative which means he’s likely to be acting first in a fight

-

KAGEYAMA: DROW SORCERER

- Kageyama HAD to be a sorcerer to me because that’s the class that has innate magical ability, which is the best parallel for his prodigy status and natural volleyball talents (as opposed to a wizard like Tsukishima who has to learn from a spellbook)

- As a sorcerer, Metamagic also gives him increased control over his spells, which I think is perfect for him as it represents his incredible control over the ball. I picked ‘Careful Spell’, which lets him essentially cast an AOE spell but avoid his allies, and ‘Seeking Spell’ which lets his spells bend around obstacles to reach their intended target.

- He takes the origin of the Clockwork Soul - this gives him the ‘Restore Balance’ ability which lets him remove ‘advantage’ from his enemies and remove ‘disadvantage’ from his allies. I saw this as a good way of representing his setting responsibilities of opening a good opportunity for his spikers; if the opposing side would have had an advantage, Kageyama can take that advantage away. It’s also a fun mirror to Hinata’s ‘Tides of Chaos’ ability, which lets him GAIN advantage.

- I also imagine him using a lot of buffing spells like ‘Enhance Ability’ and ‘Aid’, bringing the best out of his allies

- He’s a Drow/Dark Elf because I wanted him to be edgy (silly answer) - for real though, he has a terrifying reputation as Drow are considered automatically evil, and it’s a reputation he… only partially deserves. He IS a powerful and dangerous sorcerer, but he’s not evil, in fact he’s doing his best to do good in the ways he knows how, but his demeanour in combination with people’s assumptions mean that he’s never been able to keep a party or erase the negative rumours. Only now, with the other first years making an effort to understand him, is he starting to find more of a place in the world.

-

TSUKISHIMA: HALF-ELF WIZARD

- Tsukki is a wizard because that’s the spellcasting class that studies magic from spellbooks and that’s just his vibe. I can imagine him being frustrated with Hinata and Kageyama’s natural sorcery abilities, in a parallel to his view of them as Volleyball Monsters who have innate power he just doesn’t have.

- I imagine him being a very by-the-book wizard in the beginning, mostly using utility spells like ‘Comprehend Languages’ and ‘Detect Magic’. He’s uncomfortable in combat and probably casts Magic Missile every turn because it’s one of the only spells that’s guaranteed to hit its target - this mirrors his early series attitude of playing it safe and coasting on his abilities instead of pushing to be better.

- As part of the start of his growth, he’s taking the path of chronurgy magic. This gives him ‘Chronal Shift’, which means he can force opponents or allies to re-roll certain actions, potentially turning a success into a failure or visa-versa after seeing how the original roll turns out. I think this is a fun representation of him coming into his blocking abilities, letting him essentially say ‘oh Ushiwaka spikes it in? Actually no he doesn’t, roll again’. At higher levels, he’ll even be able to dictate what the new roll is, and he can also cast spells but save their effects for later, which parallels his ability to form long-game strategies which don’t pay off for a while.

- I’ve also said he starts using spells like ‘Augury’ which lets him see whether the outcome of a certain action will be overall good or bad, and ‘Suggestion’, which lets him bait opponents to do what he wants - developing the strategic skills that will eventually make him a real asset in combat

- He’s a half-elf partly because Yamaguchi is human and Kageyama is an Elf - Tsukki is special, but he’s not THAT special, in a middle-ground when it comes to his natural talent. Yamaguchi definitely looks up to him as someone special and magical, but Tsukki doesn’t see himself that way compared to ‘real’ elves and ‘natural’ spellcasters.

-

YAMAGUCHI: HUMAN FIGHTER/RANGER

- Since Yamaguchi is the most ‘normal’ of the first years and the only one not on the starting lineup in the show, it made sense to make him the most ‘normal’ option of a human fighter, which is a combination that’s sometimes considered basic or boring but can actually be invaluable when it’s used well. He considers himself the weakest link on the team at first because he isn’t magical like the others, but his martial abilities often give the team the edge in combat.

- Instead of the usual human ability increase, I gave him the feat of Martial Adept, letting him take Battle Master Manoeuvres. He has ‘Trip Attack’ and ‘Disarming Attack’ which means he can knock down and disarm enemies rather than just damaging them, giving his allies an opening to attack more easily. This is a great parallel to his pinch serving, which breaks up the opposing team’s formation and gives his teammates the opportunity to strike!

- As a Banneret fighter he ‘inspires greatness in others by committing great deeds in battle’, foreshadowing his role as eventual team captain!! He gains ‘Rallying Cry’ which bolsters his allies along with himself, and in the future he’ll be able to give them extra actions as well

- Yamaguchi has also taken a level of ‘Ranger’ now that the party is on the road, giving him survival and travelling skills that the other’s don’t have. It’s also starting to give him a small amount of magical power, which he doesn’t have the hang of yet (I’m fudging this a bit for narrative). I’m seeing this as a kind of parallel to his canon arc of finding a way to fight with what HE can do, finding his own niche that ends up being invaluable to the team.

- Yamaguchi also has by far the most balances stats and I think often ends up as the ���face’ of the party even though he has the lowest Charisma score and would really rather ANYBODY else was doing the talking. But Kageyama is too likely to offend, Hinata can be overwhelming or accidentally confrontational, Yachi is too nervous, and Tsukki hates talking to people even more than Yamaguchi does. Poor Yamaguchi.

-

YACHI: ROCK GNOME ARTIFICER

- To match her manager roll Yachi needed to be a support class, and I really like the idea of her being an artificer rather than a traditional spellcaster. Rather than always using innate magic, she’s learned a specific set of skills which allows her to create magical artefacts and potions, thus helping her party to be stronger even if she isn’t often in combat herself

- Being a rock gnome gives her more knowledge of magical technology, and allows her to ‘tinker’, constructing small clockwork devices with simple functions like starting a fire. being an artificer means she has ‘magical tinker’ as well, meaning she can infuse objects with a spark of magic to produce a small effect in a similar way.

- ‘Infuse Item’ gives her more powerful abilities along these lines, letting her imbue objects with magic. I gave her the infusions ‘Returning Weapon’ (a weapon can be summoned back to the user after being thrown), ‘Enhanced Weapon’ (this and the previous feel good for assisting Hinata and Yamaguchi,, ‘Replicate magical item’ (feels fitting for her smarts and the way she’s good at absorbing knowledge from what’s around her), and ‘Enhanced Arcane focus’ (good for assisting Tsukishima). Her different abilities mean she can be a huge help to all her teammates in different ways, just like as a manager she has different approaches to helping out the different team members

- She has the specialty ‘alchemist’ which lets her make potions and cast some healing spells. however, it also lets her create ‘experimental elixirs’, which have a random effect. though yachi is more level-headed than most on the team, she is still a member of karasuno with the capability of pushing the envelope and growing in exciting ways, so I felt like this was a fun way of representing her own passion and enthusiasm for trying new things, as well as fitting for someone who’s spent a lot of time with a wild-magic user like hinata

- ‘The Right Tool For The Job’ means with time, she can create the perfect tool for the task the party needs, showing her smarts and her ability to solve specific problems with the right solution - something I think she shows in the series with how she has such good advice for the team on many occasions.

- Yachi also has the highest wisdom of the party, meaning she’s the best at insight and reading emotional situations, such as telling when people are lying.

[narcjsistx]

𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄! | itoshi rin x fem reader

part thirteen: symbiosis || BAND AU, A BIT AGED UP

plot: after your band's last concert, a few days after Rin's, an online competition arises about who is the best bassist. A whole new challenge is created by the new fandom who loves you, but people don't know that you and the bassist of Blue Lock haven't spoken in about 3 years since you broke up, when you were sixteen

02: PAST, YESTERDAY

characters presentation || last part || next part ; words: 1k

𝐌𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ; take a look, trust me!. you can find the other parts of the story by searching in the section dedicated to bllk

The lesson had just ended, Sae had already finished hers a few minutes ago, but by now it had become a habit for her to wait for you: weeks had passed since you went to her house for the first time, and from that moment on every afternoon you spent the your time playing in his garage. But there was one peculiarity, one that made you a little uneasy

Across the room, putting his bass back, was Rin Itoshi. At the end, he had seriously started taking classes, and so you had found your friend's younger brother in the same class as you; you hated to admit it, but he was good for starting so recently. Maybe it was an Itoshi family trait knowing how to play instruments without too much effort, another beyond the eyelashes

You never spoke during lessons, but you observed each other a lot: every time you looked up you found his big teal eyes staring at you, and every now and then you stared at him without realizing it. Every time one pecked the other, he would look away, only to look back again a few seconds later. You didn't know why you did it, but it had become practically normal by now. You found him interesting, and maybe he found you interesting

You pick up your bass, walking out of the room, Rin a few steps away from you; When you reach the hallway, you notice Sae. He's usually always in great shape, but today he seems a little tired

"Are you okay?" you ask approaching him, and Rin joins your duo "Nii Chan was sick before he even came to his class" he says, and Sae glares at his brother "It's not true, I just have a bit of a headache. Let's go" he says as he heads towards the exit of the music school. You look at him a little perplexed, and you notice how Rin is too; you look at each other for a few seconds, then you both shrug and follow Sae. Surely Rin knows more, but you think his brother has a fever

On the way to the Itoshi house, no one dares to speak: from time to time Sae sneezes, and you and Rin look at each other more and more perplexed by the reddish's pedantic behavior. Usually you and Sae always chat on the commute, but since Rin joined your duo the conversations have become rarer and rarer. Maybe Sae is ashamed to show his brother that he talks to a girl, you don't know this, but by now it has become almost normal to remain silent

Once you get to the garage you place your bass in the usual place, but you notice Sae climbing the steps that lead to the first floor "Wait for me here, Y/n. I'll take some medicine and we can start... in the meantime you try something with Rin, he hasn't yet never tried with anyone" Sae says, but before you can reply he has already closed the door. A strange silence envelops the garage, while you turn towards Rin embarrassed: again, you find him already looking at you, but this time he didn't hide it. You don't know why he does it, but you can't help but be a little embarrassed by his behavior. Plus, he's not one to talk much, so that makes the situation even weirder

"Um... can we try what we did with our teacher today? That song with the low notes" you say, picking up your bass, trying to limit eye contact. You plug your bass into the speaker, and only then do you hear Rin nod as he settles down too. Timidly, you start by giving the first notes of the song, tapping your foot to give yourself the time, but unexpectedly Rin starts playing, significantly anticipating the notes with which he technically should have started. You look up in surprise, continuing to play as you observe how focused he is, completely engrossed in the song. You smile almost spontaneously, and you don't even know how to explain the reason for your sudden joy

Perhaps, you have found the second person with whom you get excited when you play. Rin's concentration, his precision, his perfect timing... they are like gold to you, rare gold that you want to protect and possess. You increase your concentration, spinning around as you play, and Rin seems to start moving too, while a genuine smile breaks out on his face. It's all so unexpected but perfect that the song almost fades into the background, while this time it's you staring at him without shame, waiting for him to notice you

And when he looks up, the bass still clutched in his hands, you feel as if the notes he plays hit your heart in a lethal way, but this too is the effect of the music. Your gaze intertwines with his, and you almost don't notice how the song ended, as if your hands had played it automatically while you were concentrated on something else

"You're really great, Rin!" you say, approaching him almost without noticing, your hands unexpectedly grabbing his "Play with me!"

“Rin, Y/n, Sae can’t… oh” says a female voice from the door, Mrs. Itoshi’s. Both you and Rin turn around awkwardly with your hands still intertwined, but quickly break away when you hear the lady, who however smiles at you tenderly "Were you two playing? You're good" she asks giggling, and you look down in embarrassment “It was us, mom. How's Nii Chan?” Rin asks, but you notice a bit of embarrassment in his tone of voice "I came to tell you... he has a fever. He can't play this afternoon, I'm sorry Y/n" the lady says, but you look up shaking your hands "It's not a problem, Mrs. Itoshi! I can go home, I'm sorry Sae has a fever" you say already putting your bass back in the case, but a hand grabs your wrist, stopping you. You look up, Rin's slightly unsure teal eyes looking at you "Stay. We can... we can try another song" he says awkwardly

You swallow a lump of saliva, more awkward than him "Oh, okay" you say, your voice shaking, but his hand still hasn't left his wrist. It's as if, for him, interrupting contact wasn't possible... actually, it's the first time your skin has touched. And you can't ignore the little shivers down your spine, the same ones you felt while playing with him in a completely symbiotic way. You want to stay here with him, for him, to also feel the thrills of emotion and once again the excitement

TAGLIST: @x3nafix ; @kittenish0 ; @littlejapanesesightseeingtrip ; @pan-kojiwa ; @pookalicious-hq ; @kaz-0e ; @sof888a ; @chugging-bleach ; @matchablossomsss ; @lovelymeguru ; @thebestsetter ; @yamsverse ; @princesssae ; @yuukigyatgyat ; @azharyy ; @rwbie ; @bubybubsters ; @swagkittybear ; @syarc0re ; @rink1sser ; @frogsrules ; @hwaassaa ; @chuuyalvover ; @poemzcheng ; @poisonedst4r

[marisiss]

Part 1/2 (or more, who knows)

Remember about that ask from your thoughts of time rifts, @ashfluffys ? I FINALLY MANAGED TO DO IT!!! Introducing a new AU "Era of the Ice Queen"!

And just for it, i made comic from beginning of Ice Era, here we go!

(I hope i wrote it understandable for it to read-)

So, as i developed Hat Kid and Mu are only alive creatures on the planet and no more, everyone else turned into ice statues (EXCEPT SNATCHER, he just disappeared)

So, if you move much earlier, then after going to Vanessa's manor and reaching the attic, Hat Kid almost already took the timepiece, but Vanessa abruptly came to the attic and in a panic, Hat Kid, before she could take it, runs straight down through the window.

Vanessa wondered why she needed this shiny thing. Looking at this shiny hourglass, Vanessa was able to see something in it, and she saw in this hourglass her past, when she was not cursed. And she thought that this was a chance to bring everything back, but suddenly changed her mind, because her prince betrayed her and it makes sense to return to where your lover betrayed you.

And so, she thought, why does she need the past when there is a present? When you can change the present and become a real queen in the end, rule the WHOLE planet! Therefore, she EVENTUALLY left her house and followed Hat Kid. The whole pursuit of Hat Kid went ALMOST unnoticed, because Vanessa quite cleverly stole the timepieces from under her nose, but sometimes they collided and Hat Kid tried to get her hourglass back, but each time unsuccessfully.

That's how, having collected enough timepieces, she, like Mu, changed the whole planet in her own way, now becoming a truly serious and powerful opponent and queen.

There should also be a storybook about what Mu has been doing all this time, but that will be in a completely different post.

So, what about DESIGNS?

I only did Vanessa designs, other of Hat kid and Mu will be later, so here

I didn't decided which design i like more, but i got interested about HARD MODE of boss battle with her... Snowgrave wish (NO WAY, DELTARUNE REFERENCES?????).

She literally beast here, There are no human traits, only instincts of destruction and protection of one's greatness, but even here she will lose.

I even draw one scene of boss battle, cuz why not?

GO HAT KID, BEAT HER ASS UP!!!

In this battle, she became overpowered too much, even more than Mu in canon ending. No matter how Hat Kid tried to hit her, weaken her, Vanessa didn't get tired at all, but only fought much harder. And Hat Kid, on the contrary, weakened more and more due to the terrible cold, she practically did not feel her limbs, until in the end she fell in front of Vanessa, and instead of killing her, she made her a henchman in the ranks as a guard and because Hat Kid, despite Outwardly, she is quite brave and strong. Therefore, why not make her your slave, or rather a guard, while Mu watched in horror and ran away, almost crying, Realizing that this is the end, there is no longer any hope of salvation if that were the case, hehe.

That's it for now! More information and the relationships to the characters will be in the next part! I hope, you like it👉👈

[stray-tim]

Stray’s extended Character sheet[Character-sheet made by- @thanathecreator ]

•Basic Information•

🔴Name- Tim Kyle (former Timothy Jackson Drake)/Stray

🔴Age- 19

🔴Sexuality- Bisexual

🔴Gender- Male

🔴Species- Human/turned into a cat-boy through a magic Anon

🔴Nicknames- TimTam, Kitten, Timmy, Pequeno sol

🔴Reason for nicknames- TimTam ← just an obvious choice | Kitten ← his Mom gave him that nickname shortly before he became Stray | Timmy ← again obvious | Pequeno sol ← Bitey gave him that nickname because of his sunny smile

🔴From a Fandom?- DC/Batman

🔴Zodiac sign- Cancer

•Physical appearance and traits •

🟠Hair color- Black

🟠Hair type and length- fine (I think??? I don’t know how hair types work v.v) and middle length on top + undercut

🟠Eye color- Blue

🟠Skin tone- White

🟠Scars- Some small scars on his body from his rooftop climbing before his time as Stray, some bigger ones scattered around from various fights/escape manoeuvrers

🟠Predominant features- His cat ears & tail

🟠Height- 5’6 ft.

🟠Dominant hand- Ambidextrous

🟠Jewelry/ Accessories- He carries around the amulet that transported him into this universe, but he does not wear it

🟠Are they healthy or not? Reason why- He is, as long as he got enough sleep/isn’t consuming copious amounts of caffeine and is taking his Modafinil for his narcolepsy.

🟠Allergies- None

🟠Glasses?- No

🟠What do they wear when they are home alone?- Sweats and Hoodies

🟠Tattoos- No

•Mannerisms•

🟡Speech Style- A mix of Bristol lingo and flirting purr

🟡Quirks- Tends to bite his lips while thinking or his boyfriend if he is in reach

🟡Positive traits- He always tries to help his family and the people he considers friends

🟡Negative traits- He will go to extreme length to archive his goals, not limited to stalking who he deems important or of interest

🟡Drives/Motivation- He wants to get back home to his boyfriend and Mom, but without leaving the people behind he has grown close to in this universe

🟡Sense of Humor- Mostly Banter

🟡Private or Public?- As Tim Kyle he is a private person, as Stray he sometimes likes to get a bit more attention if needed

🟡Leader or Follower?- He likes to be in control, but can step back if someone is better suited for the job

🟡Daredevil or cautious?- He wants to be cautious, but he often rushes into things if he doesn’t have the time to think much about it

🟡Optimistic/ Pessimistic/ realistic?- Realistic

🟡Speaker or Listener?- Listener

🟡Accent- faint Bristol accent

🟡Voice Claims- Tim Drake

🟡Theme Song(s)- Phantom Thieves Peter and Jenny

🟡Temperament- Level headed

🟡Talents- Stalking, lock-picking, stealth, Bo-Staff, Grapple gun, hacking, Contingencies

🟡Flaws- Distrustful, needs many naps if he isn’t on a caffeine high, paranoid

🟡Loud or quiet?- Quiet

🟡messy or organized?- Messy

🟡solo or team player?- Team

🟡introvert or extrovert?- Introvert

🟡relaxed or serious?- Relaxed

🟡What will always make them cry?- Thinking about losing someone dear to him

🟡Do they celebrate their birthday?- Yes

🟡What will make them Smile?- Cats, his boyfriend, pranks

•Background•

🟢Hometown- Gotham

🟢Social Class- upper middle class

🟢Education- public school ← He was forced to finish it

🟢First memory- Being yanked away from a playground when he was around 3 by his father.

🟢Worst memory- His parents telling him that they will never consider him a Drake anymore after today.

🟢Best memory- The first kiss with Bernard

🟢Most important childhood event,why?- The day he met Catwoman for the first time, because otherwise she would have never become his Mom and he would never have started being Stray

🟢Most influenced by- His parents: Janet & Jack Drake, Selina Kyle and Bitey

🟢Role models- Catwoman, Nightwing and Bitey

🟢Where does the character live? And with who if they live with someone- In his dimension Tim lived with his Mom (Selina Kyle) in Park Row or stayed at his boyfriends place (Bernard Dowd), now in this dimension he hops between staying at Other-Selinas home and in the abandoned office building with Bitey and Alexander in Crime Alley.

🟢Do they want to move and where?- He would like to move somewhere more comfortable with Bitey, mostly because of the Baby and the lack of privacy, but he has yet to mention that.

🟢Type of childhood- he was severely neglected and verbally abused until he was 9 ½, but his childhood improved significantly after Selina adopted him, he still wasn’t the safest child, since his Aunt’s/Uncle’s belong into the rogue category and he himself is the sidekick of a rogue

🟢Upbringing- It is a Mix of very latch-key/stiff upbringing and a more loving home.

🟢Best Qualification- He always has another back up plan

🟢Most important person in their life and why?- Bernard, since he is the only person he feels like he can be himself with

🟢House environment- at the moment a single room in an abandoned office building, that has far to many rooms that aren’t safe to enter, that room is stocked with most thing he needs.

🟢Childhood crush- Superboy (Kon, that was before he got together with Bernard)

•Family•

🔵Mother- Janet Drake (alive but estranged) | Selina Kyle

🔵Father- Jack Drake (alive but estranged) | Bitey ( @bite-anon )

🔵Siblings- Tiny Tim (younger version of himself, who became @batkid-from-another-father ), Jacyn ( @jacynkaplanbrake ), Duke ( @irl-batsignal ) and Alexander.

🔵Relationship with family?- He has a good relationship with most of the, even though he is on edge around Jacyn. He mostly just wants for everybody to be happy and has a hard time archiving that goal.

🔵Any children? Do they want any?- No children, he is open to the idea, if Bernard would ask, but only after he made copious amounts of contingencies. Update: Thomas ( @toddlerofgotham ) might count in this or the siblings category.

🔵Pets- He has 3 cats back home, that are solely his. Luna, Tigger and BB.

🔵Extended Family- He is unsure if he can count the Batfam as extended family, but he certainly counts Harleen Quinnzel, Edward Nygma and Pamela Isley as his Aunts/Uncle (when it is convenient he also includes Oswald Cobblepot in that list)

🔵Close to family?- He is very close to his choosen family.

🔵Are they related to anyone in their ancestry that was cool/ important?- No

•Favorites and Least Favorites•

🟣Favorite Movie- Princess Mononoke

🟣Least Favorite Movie- The cats musical

🟣Favorite Book- Lord of the Rings

🟣Least Favorite Book- Whatever Jason is currently quoting

🟣Favorite Holiday- Halloween

🟣Least Favorite Holiday- Easter

🟣Favorite Mythological creature- Demons + Fae

🟣Least Favorite Mythological creature- Vampires

•Abilities and Bias’•

⚪️Affiliation- Catwoman, Batfam, Harley Quinn, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Penguin

⚪️Powers- none

⚪️Powers limitations- /

⚪️Weaknesses- Catnip, sleep depravation

⚪️Allies- Catwoman, sometimes Spoiler, Harley, Ivy, Ridder, sometimes Penguin

⚪️How well known are they?- In his universe he is pretty well known in Gotham, but in this new one he isn’t as prominent

⚪️Costume- Black leather costume, with a wide black half-jacket and cat shaped earphones, that have been reworked recently to hide and protect his new ears.

⚪️Do they have a voice changer?- No

⚪️Alias- Stray

⚪️Weapons- Bo-Staff, Whip, an array of Toxins (from Ivy, Scarecrow etc.) and some acid.

⚪️ Gadgets/ tech- Grapple gun, glass cutter, lock-pick, Domino with thermal vision, Headphones to filter out noises.

⚪️Physical Weaknesses- His tail and cat ears are rather sensitive, so he tries to shield them.

⚪️Fears- Rejection, weirdly empty and lifeless spaces (liminal spaces, see liminal Arc), angry sreaming direct at him from people close to him

⚪️Motivations- Money and Fun

⚪️Why do they do what they do?- He wants to help is Mom, to repay her for everything she has done for him, he also like the chaos he can bring with his actions.

⚪️Mental/Emotional weaknesses- His family, bringing up anything from his old home life

⚪️Rivals- Robin (Damian), since both of them want to take all the stray cats home.

⚪️Romantic interest? Who if yes- Bernard Dowd ( @basically-bernard )

⚪️Do they have a known quote?- No

•Miscellaneous•

⚫️If I could put them in a different universe or Fandom, which one?- Stardew Valley

⚫️What was there first kiss like? Have they have it yet?- He had his first kiss with Stephanie Brown, when he was 15 and she was Robin at that point, it was good until Batman walked in on them.

⚫️Have they ever lost somebody they loved and who was it? How did it impact them?- Theoretically he lost his parents, since they don’t see him as their son anymore, he was (is) devastated because of this and held out hope for a year, until he gave up and changed his name, to distance himself from his old life.

⚫️What would happen if they were granted 3 wishes?- He would get a stable way to travel between his own and this universe, Batman and Catwoman would finally resolve the tension and talk about their relationship, he would get @jacynkaplanbrake the help he needs

⚫️There stranded on in island with________ and they have 4 items,who and what do they bring?- Bernard, a hunting knife, a water-filter straw, a pot, a signal gun.

⚫️what quote do they feel portrays them?- You wanna get home? Put it all on the line

⚫️Most prizes possession and why is it prized?- The first picture he took of Batman and Robin – his start as a baby stalker

⚫️Have they ever stolen anything? We’re they caught? Do they feel guilty or prideful?- So much and he always felt good about it, even when Batman and co sometimes caught him.

⚫️What textures do they absolutely hate to feel?- Silk, it reminds him of the bedsheets of his old home.

⚫️How long can they go without showering? When do they feel dirty?- At most 48 hours, but after 36 hours the feeling of being dirty sets on.

⚫️Where do they put their clothes when they are dirty?- Mostly on the floor right next to the hamper (he throws them in the general direction)

⚫️Do they sleep with the bedroom door open or closed and why?- Closed, he likes to keep his room as dark as possible.

⚫️If they woke up with animalistic features such as ears and a tail( that were different from the ones they already had if they had any at all)how would they react?- That did happen and he was/is ecstatic about it, even if it makes it harder to hide his own emotions.

⚫️if they could only eat one thing for 20 days, what would they eat?- Pasta with tomato sauce and cheese

⚫️do they re read books they already have?- Only a few

⚫️if they had the option to know when they would die, exact date, would they want to know or would they want to stay oblivious to it?- He would want to know, so that he could prepare everything, so that he could spare as much grief as possible to everyone involved, but also to maybe find a way to prevent it.

⚫️What song would they listen to on repeat?- Stalemate from the Death Note musical

⚫️Do they believe in a form of a afterlife?- Yes

⚫️Do they crack there joints?- Far to often

⚫️Spicy, Savory, Sweet, Bitter, or Sour?- Spicy and sweet

⚫️Do they adopt stray animals?- Any stray cat is fair game

⚫️Do they procrastinate or do they get it done asap?- Depends, schoolwork he procrastinated so much that he sometimes asked one of the Robins for help, but anything that has to do with the job will be done as fast and good as possible

⚫️What is the temperature when they shower? Above 40°C, the longer he is in the shower, the higher the temperature climbs, he starts at ~38-40°C

⚫️Do they daydream?- Yes

⚫️ do they work best in messy or clean environment?- Messy

⚫️ do they keep personal photos? Why?- Yes, he hides them away out of habit, but he loves taking and keeping photos of personal moments.

⚫️Do they indulge in anything?- Energy drinks (in concerning amounts), if he is highly stressed and without supervision.

⚫️ would they do the exact opposite that someone says to them just to spite them?- If the consequences do not outweigh, yes

⚫️ if they’re alone and they hear a noise would they go check it out or would they hide? Why?- He would absolutely check, because he has the skill to handle himself and it’s most likely one of his not-siblings trying to play a prank.

⚫️ if they’re lost what is the first thing they do?- Climb high and find an identifying landmark

⚫️ what is a dream they had that was terrifying and made no sense too them? Anything that came after the Liminal Arc, granted nothing in that world made much sense to him to begin with.

⚫️ what is the stupidest thing they have ever done because someone said not to do it?- Eating a California Reaper, even though Bernard told him not to do it.

⚫️ are they stoic or melodramatic about being injured?- He acts like nothing is amiss, when he can get away with it, otherwise he will whine, because it isn’t that big of a deal and he can take care of everything himself (he can not)

————————————————————

Brief run down of an important moment for the character, can be anything-

0-9 ½ - lived with the Drakes.

7-8 ½ - stalked Batman and Dick-Robin.

8 - ran into Catwoman on a roof in a cold Gotham night, this occurrence repeated until she offered to train him, so that he could keep himself safe.

8 ½ - he becomes Stray.

9 ½ - Selina adopts him, after his parents didn't respond to her or her lawyers e-mails about his well being, his parents only came back for the custody battle, once Bruce paid for a better lawyer for Selina.

10 ½ - he changes his name from Timothy Jackson Drake to Tim Kyle, in hope of distancing himself emotionally from his parents and so that the press would have a harder time finding him.

19 - he lands in a different dimension.————————————————————Short run down of their storyline-

- He tries to find a way home

- He crashes in Other-Selinas apartment

- He adopts several siblings

- He and Signal get kidnapped by DreamCorps.

- He gets cat-ified

- He gets adopted by a deer demon named Bitey (who is a cannibal)

- He acts like his Mother to snap Tiny Tim out of possession and does not stop when he should have

- He starts therapy with Harley again (He has a therapist back home since he was adopted, League vetted)

- Jacyn and a JJ-Tim put an electric collar on him (one of Lucifer's underlings help him get rid of it)

- He and Bernard get back into contact through Tumblr

- He is trying to help Dan with the GIW

- Bernard is visiting him in this dimension through the help of Jamie

- There is now a stable way for him to travel home and back.

- DreamCorps is back and is threatening his family, specifically the children.

Character Info:

Stray is 19 year old Tim Kyle - formerly known as Timothy Jackson Drake - who was adopted by Selina Kyle/Catwoman as a almost 10-year-old. The inccident in Ethiopia didn't end with anyone dead, which is why he never became a Robin. He is in a relationship with his universes Bernard ( @basically-bernard ).

He was thrown into this Dimension via cursed Amulet and has found his way back home, via a stable portal that he and others now use to switch between these two universes.

He sees Jacyn ( @jacynkaplanbrake ) as a brother, even tho things aren't too healthy between the two.

Batkid ( @batkid-from-another-father ) is a younger Tim, that he also sees as his little brother.

Duke ( @irl-batsignal ) is also a brother and good friend for him.

Thomas ( @toddlerofgotham ) has started to grow on him and has also become something like a little brother to him (or more likely like his own kid).

He also got adopted by Bitey ( @bite-anon ) somehow. Sometimes he lives with him and other times with the Selina from this universe ( @selinakyl-ee )

The Harley ( @harleenquinntime ) of this universe also got the Aunt title, which in return makes her daughter ( @luluquinn ) his little cousin.

Another close friend is Liminals ( @l1m1n4ls ), who have helped him and Duke once before to escape from DreamCorps ( @dreamcorpsinc ) who are now back, bringing trouble once more.

I'll add to this as the story progresses and I'm sorry for the late introduction and all the tags ^^"

Credit: @/cosmicpoutine here on Tumblr for the lovely art!

[campbyler]

Hello!!

I’ve had an unpublished modern au byler fic in the works for an embarrassing amount of time and I’ve noticed that you two talk about characterization a lot, which has been my main struggle. I’ve figured out choices to make for characters and how they relate to choices and characteristics of the canon characters in the show, but I’m not sure if the reasoning behind those choices and traits will translate to readers.

I love the fic and I feel like y’all did a great job with making those reasonings clear in your writing without directly saying it, so I’d love to know if you have any specific tricks for that!

Also sorry if this kind of formal, I’m stuck in email mode with finals coming up :|

hello! soooo sorry this is such a late response — i was thinking it over when it came in and then i ended up talking about something similar on another ask and totally blanked 😔 thank you so much for asking for our input, i’ll try to be as concise as i can! (<- edit from future me who has finished typing up her answer to this ask: famous last words. you were not concise. at all. oh my god i’m sorry) i know you said you already made your initial characterization choices and everything so please bear with me while i word vomit and rehash what was probably part of your thought process anyways just to be able to follow my own train of thought lol

some general thoughts here that thea and i have been mulling over for the last few months regarding how we’ve written our fic and choices we have made for it: we’re both well aware that acswy is not everyone’s cup of tea for many reasons, but i’m specifically bringing this up in response to your ask because every once in a while, we do see someone refer to our mike and will as being written out of character, whether or not that’s a deterrent for them in reading. and i want to make it clear that this doesn’t bother us and nothing im about to say is meant to sound defensive or like we’re making a case to people who feel this way — we have our reasons for making the decisions that we did and also already heavily retconned our og concept for them on account of it having been pretty ooc at the time, even to us, so we’re confident with where we are now — but it has made us think about what people actually consider to be “out of character.” this brings me to my first point re: characterization which is, to us, the importance of differentiating between something that the character in the source material doesn’t/probably wouldn’t do versus something that is more of a direct contradiction to the character themselves. for example, we’ve seen people say (often while reading for the first time) that will is ooc specifically in the first couple chapters of acswy, a big reason being because he’s “mean to mike.” it is, of course, vastly different from how he acts in the show and is probably a slightly jarring dynamic to be dropped into right off the bat, especially since the entire premise of the fic is that the reader has almost zero context for why he’s behaving this way, and even more so at the beginning of the fic before his and mike’s relationship develops further. to me and thea as writers, the importance lies more so in the context for it all: how mike and will would turn out after growing up without each other as best friends, with a lot of the cultural pressures of the 1980s removed but having some new ones of the 2010s/20s introduced; not going to high school together, being in the same friend group for years and getting closer over time with many interests in common, but also facing a lot of conflict and having that friend group be geographically separated while a lot of it goes down.

and with this context, what we would consider to be ooc would be if we just like. made will a straight up DICK or something lol. no nuance involved, constantly berating mike with no reason to do so, even with their unknown history, like just ragging on him all the time and never backing down, even when mike isn’t engaging (side note: giant personal pet peeve of mine that max constantly gets written this way but i digress). we see in the show that will is often snarky and sarcastic and will stand up for himself when needed, especially with mike — which imo is another sign of will’s trust in him and their bond, that he can be honest with mike and not fear genuine retribution, and in acswy, he knows mike will meet him where he’s at. he sometimes isn’t afraid to hit a sore spot, but he would never ever just be a jerk for the hell of it -> we even see him apologize after their fight in s4, despite it clearly being a very emotional moment for him and a lot of truth behind what he was saying. whether he intended for it to come out that way or not, he still felt bad for reacting that way and apologized to mike’s face about it. likewise, there’s a reason acswy will acts the way he does with mike specifically, and we were also intentional with making mike match his energy like he does in canon, which will counts on, even — the way these boys BICKER, oh my god — and he has his own ways of pushing will’s buttons which prove to be very effective. even in the early chapters there are a lot of moments of softness and real friendship between them that (we hope!!) make it pretty clear that it takes some effort to maintain this facade, that there is more than enough of their “canon” bond and dynamic and chemistry where being friends and having fun together is a much more natural state to exist in, and is where they usual end up during those brief periods where they let that mask slip. same principle if we had made mike some uber-jerk who had completely different interests than he does in the show (we are so glad that book annotator and zelda fan mike wheeler is ringing true for you all ☺️), or someone who’s super self confident and popular and charming (outside of will’s very unreliable pov) once he and will start hooking up. i think most people would look at that and look back at canon mike wheeler and say yeah that is Not my mike, because making will an actual asshole or making mike any of these things would be going against core character traits that are central to their arcs in the show. will wouldn’t be will if he was generally a confrontational dick, and mike wouldn’t be mike if he was popular and exuded self confidence and so on. that’s just not them! so to summarize, i guess the question to us is more along the lines of “would they ‘not do this’ in the show out of circumstance/lack of necessity (e.g: canon byler going to the same schools until s4, never having a reason for rivalry to develop, growing up living in close proximity to each other and all of their mutual friends, etc) or would they ‘not do this’ in the show because it’s antithetical to the way they have been written?” we find it much more interesting to put a character in a situation and then essentially work backwards in a way to see how they would react to it, rather than putting them in situations that correlate to things we have seen before, and therefore would probably result in them reacting in a way we have seen them do before.

and now coming back to what i think you were actually asking: i think my biggest tip to making those references without it being said outright is honestly just to have faith in both your readers And the creative choices you make. which sounds like a bit of a cop out answer but i simply can’t understate the important of trusting your readers to pick up what you’re putting down, and to trust that they’ll read between the lines for you. a lot of my favorite characterization moments in aus are ones that are really really subtle, where a character does or says something that is clearly a callback to something in the source media, but it isn’t explained in a way that’s actually calling attention to it — it always seems much more natural that way, like whatever they did is just a progression of who they are in that story instead of the author trying to make a point or force a connection. just off the top of my head a small example might be how i see so many authors in non-magic/no upside down aus still make will really struggle with the cold, often just as a throwaway line or paragraph which imo is much more effective for me than trying to explain why he’s feeling this way. or having him enjoy the same media as in the show in a slightly varied and less direct way (e.g: being into the new star wars shows as a continuation of his canon interests, putting him in theater club to play off of the posters we saw in his room, etc). i think it also helps to have something specific in mind that you’re trying to tie back, like an important moment for that character’s story or something that stood out in the source material. like, i love writing lucas and dustin bickering over stupid stuff bc it takes me back to them in s1 in the principal’s office or s2 in general, or one of my personal favs in my own fics was one where i had will be on a constant rotation of fun patterned socks. he’s creative, he’s an artist, it’s (hopefully) a pretty clear connection to make once i write it in, and i really do think a modern version of him would get a kick out of something like that! and sometimes people just won’t pick up on what you’re trying to say and that’s okay too! everyone reads fics a little differently so some connections might be more obvious to some people than others and so on. from my experience as a reader, i find it pretty easy to connect the dots between an intentional and thoughtful moment of characterization vs one that doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head, or the author felt the need to spell out for the reader which maybe took me out of the moment a little too much or something. to me, making those choices and translating canon to an au is honestly the hardest part, especially with a modern au and a show like st that is So defined by the period it’s set in, so if you’ve already got that out of the way i genuinely think you have the rest of it in the bag as well. unless you worked through it in the month it took me to get to this in which case i am so so so sorry LOL

okay that’s been my word vomit of the day, hopefully any of this made sense or was useful at all, but thank you again for your kind words and support and for thinking to ask us! always always happy to chat writing, even if it takes me a million words to do it 😗

[certifiedducky]

adrien purring to self-soothe is such a good example of someone taking a character trait and pushing it further within the bounds of canon i think. i remember the first time i read a fic where plagg called him out on it my jaw dropped and my heart broke.

[angel-clouve]

*sighs*

I understand now...

I have found the keywords.

"Italian mafia with bombs"

... technically speaking Gokudera is only half-Italian but you get my point, right? 😂😭

pro-tip: if you ever wonder why one or two of your current fictional crushes seems to be different from your usual favorite type of fictional characters, just look at your list of past/childhood crushes and you may find some unexpected results hashsdkdkdlldl

[sha-brytols]

you don't understand this is so uniquely frustrating specifically because it means that his messy traits weren't even intentional. like he was never supposed to be an interesting character study on the psychological effects of living as a minority who has faced nonstop violence at every single turn against him and people like him and how that weighs down on you he was never supposed to be a mirror to how an unjust society inevitably breeds hatred he was never meant to be a philosophical exploration on morality and violence and when to compromise vs. when to stand by your values like this whole time he was just supposed to be an insane unhinged maniac who only existed to be hated do you understand why i am slowly descending into madness

like i wouldnt want them to kiss anders ass at every possible narrative opportunity (veilguard literally sucked all possible enjoyment i had for solas doing that .) but SOMETHING‼️ SOME NUANCE? ‼️ PLEASE SPARE SOME NUANCE‼️ I FEEL LIKE IM BEING GASLIT WHY DID YOU WRITE HIM LIKE THAT IF IM SUPPOSED TO HATE HIMMMMMMMMM

[hanzajesthanza]

should i change my headcanons based upon “i saw it in a dream”

[commajade]

its a rly insidious form of lesbophobia when people start calling a masculine lesbian a man if they do something personally hurtful or morally unsound. its fucked up when it's a real person which i've seen happen to my friends and it's rly annoying when it happens to characters. esp when it's ppl who say they love complex and flawed and morally gray female characters but when it's a masculine woman ur just gonna demonize her and say she's acting like a man.

[metanarrates]

the scenarios require an endless raising of stakes, playing games with people's lives until they paradoxically cease to have impact. a dokkaebi's life depends on playing this system well. in certain ways, constellation lives depend on it too. there is a necessity to create an endless churning of content no matter who gets crushed under the wheel.

but in kim dokja's wake, something changes. we have constellations who will continue watching an unpopular story, despite it losing a lot of what made it exciting. and we have a dokkaebi who will continue facilitating that unpopular story, despite the fact that its influence is waning. they have come to care about it regardless.

a lot of orv's situations and characters reflect kim dokja in some way, which makes sense considering that orv is a million words long character study in the form of a fantasy novel. but something I find interesting is that when kim dokja changes people, it doesn't make people any less a reflection of him, despite how much he often hates himself. instead, so many the positive changes he enacts are ones that make other people more like him. the ones who come to love the story will act more like the reader who loves the story above all!

[rmbunnie]

I know Morrison's Batman tends to be considered one of the greats, and I am definitely warming up to it more than I did on my initial read, but there are still some elements of it I found really didn't mesh with me. I feel like I can say this a lot more concisely than I did during my initial readthrough of Batman and Robin 2009, plus I've had more time to reflect and actually form a coherent opinion that wasn't a gut reaction, and keep in mind that I've read Batman and Robin in a vacuum Morrison-wise and can't speak on it in the larger context of their Batman run, but aside from just. very odd writing of certain characters, I feel like one of the more significant things that rubbed me the wrong way with this storyline was that a lot of the "weirdness" I'd seen hyped up felt either inconsistent enough that it didn't have a significant presence for me, especially towards the end of the run, or very surface-level.

One of the runs I see hyped up as some of Morrison's greatest work is Animal Man, especially for its metafictional ending. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet, but I expect that I'll enjoy it, or find it very interesting at the least (although author-inserts can come across a bit arrogant sometimes imo.) The point is I've heard good things, that it comes down to a very interesting and one-of-a-kind conflict in the end, which made me in some part hopeful for similar with Batman and Robin, (although I do have to admit I was reading it in part to see how off his Jason really could be.) I didn't really find that, tbh. There definitely were genuinely weird plot points with impact on the story which I feel were really successful, unfortunately it seems like a lot of them were at the cost of any prior characterization for the characters involved. Damian has steel implanted into his spine which allowed Deathstroke to control his movements and set off his emotional connection with Dick, Talia just had to be written horribly for it to happen. Sasha is a really interesting parallel to Damian/Robin-in-general. The conflict around her grotesque mask permanently fused onto her face and the fear that it'll kill her completely to take it off, the scene in which she gets said mask in the first place/the dollotrons, and the concept of a villain getting their own Robin in someone completely unrelated to Batman and the impact their legacy has had is all really original and cool, it's just that it's all dependent on a bewildering version of Jason that directly contradicts all previous characterization save BftC. To me the tradeoff doesn't feel necessary, but the events are inventive and have weight in the larger story.

In other areas though, especially as the run wrapped up, the zaniness that I see hyped up a lot, while providing a unique atmosphere, felt a lot like set dressing more than anything. In retrospect, the first time I really noticed this was the Professor Pyg dance page back in issue 2 or 3, I believe? But it became much more frequent towards the end of the series. The entire city becomes infected with a viral drug by Professor Pyg which isn't a major threat and doesn't serve anything in the story much besides being wacky, letting Professor Pyg say odd things about his mother sometimes and putting Commissioner Gordon... in a dress! Zany! (Professor Pyg is eventually... presumably?... torn apart by a parade of dollotrons and his narrative importance dies with him.) Alongside the Morrison-original villains like Dr. Hurt and Professor Pyg, there's a mysterious new player in town who's been orchestrating everything, and after a dozen issues of mystery it's the Joker, but wearing a mask and making edgy "differently-abled" jokes!

Dr. Hurt is interesting, and I liked his part of the story if I ignored the panels of auxiliary weirdness thrown on to add to the vibe, and I think there's something fun and interesting there about the legacy of Batman vs. artistic interpretations with his motive of ruining the Wayne's legacy (made more apparent with his talk about the Batcave being "the way it was meant to be in his head," the manor and Batcave "his to ruin," but Dr. Hurt kind of fades out of the story as Batman returns and is defeated by Joker, laying a banana peel on the ground. In the context of the theme of artistic interpretation and Morrison's commentary that they never cared to pretend the story was going to end with anything but a return to the classic Batman, I actually find this really interesting. A character heavily defined and reinvented by Morrison's writing being defeated by one of the most iconic Batman characters with a classic comedy trick from the 19th century feels like the conclusion to the contrast between Batman's legacy and the artistic license of the authors writing the comics: you can have your personalized elements, but the legacy of Batman is elastic and unlikely to be molded by them: certainly it won't be destroyed. Despite this, it didn't change the exhaustion of seeing the Gravedigger's mask come off and settling in for another comic where the Joker is gonna be doing classic zany Joker stuff.

As much as I'm frustrated with the way Talia and Jason are written during this run, I didn't entirely hate it, and the more I think about it, the more I find things I like. Some of my frustrations come down to taste, and are an unavoidable product of my personal taste differing from a pro comic author who had an established writing career while I was going to elementary school. I feel like some previous Batman comics were referenced in really exciting ways, for example the combination of Bruce's absence, a drug being used to gain control over citizens, an odd demonic presence, an imposter cult leader (If you can call Dr. Hurt that) prolonging his life through magical rituals, the background detail of complete chaos in the city, and one of the main villains being torn apart by a crowd of his followers, from the limited number of straight-up-Batman storylines I've read, felt pretty strongly like a nod to The Cult. But even considering the commentary on creative license vs. the consistency of Batman as a pop culture icon, the feeling of reading the comic was frequently that I was being convinced of a weirdness that didn't extend through the story down to the actual structure or plot points of the issue I was reading (with exceptions, such as the Sasha + Professor Pyg thing,) and although I appreciate the message of the return to status quo in the ending, with the hype of the story's inventiveness and uniqueness on my mind, it was kinda disappointing to realize halfway through that for all the weird window dressing, the story would be commiting to a much more traditional turn than what I was expecting.

[emmodii-mode]

Just finished my first playthrough of BG3. Romanced Lae'zel, but ending up turning into an Illithid because the idea of making Orpheus or Karlach do it didn't sit well with me (or my character).

I told Lae'zel to leave with Orpheus in the end (I heard she wouldn't stay with a ghaik anyway, which she's valid for, but also, it doesn't feel right to ask her to stay when I know how much her people mean to her). And like-

Her face before she flies off---

She looks so heartbroken and sad.

[llycaons]

tgcf art is fun bc xl generally looks really nice and hc generally looks really mean. they just. complement each other lol. that's true love

[truethes]

“go to hell” is basic. “i hope you have the opportunity to write a romatically dense character in a situation where even you can see the other characters romantic sense” is smart. it’s possible. it’s terrifying