#cause sure i can do silly cartoons but more often than not i like doing detailed stuff like this

[rallazart]

Ah fine I'll post somethin. Experimenting with designs and shit is all I'm doin. Nothin new.

(Not posting the colored in versions yet. These are only concept sketches. Keep that in mind)...

The digital "version" of ^this^ is just some lazy color blocking I did. (Pay no mind to the weird light effects); But it does add a little clarity to the original sketch that might be helpful. Note: the values will change to some degree later.

Full body type idea ^here^. The tail is fan shaped from proper perspective.

The basic blocks of his design include an array of different animal features i.e. plucked feathers and skin, goat horns and eyes, coyote skull and body, and lizard scales. Idk if anyone was curious though;

if anyone asks for more detail in the design inspirations and lore I might share it. I just don't really feel the need to post every part of my process yk (especially if I'm not 100% happy with it)

[eldritch-spouse]

Pinnie. I am going to eat your ocs I love them so much ahhfjwhdjiixjs /pos /gen

((If you want, how would member of the clergy react to being like- bitten?? In a loving playful way?? Cause I like- gnaw on things/people I like and I wanna make sure I don’t get my ass kicked))

-Valentine’s Anon <3

[I'm sorry, I don't use a lot of tone indicators, is "/gen" supposed to say "genuine"? Also, thenk ye eitherway.]

Reaction to being bitten (cuteness aggression?)

Morell will manually grab your jaw and shut it. Listen. He's poisonous. If you end up actually tearing a chunk out of him, which is unlikely, you'll probably have a quick reaction to his natural poison and die. It's really cute of your feral ass, but he would rather not see you spasm on the floor and froth violently because you were impulsive enough to ignore his warnings.

Santi moans. Because what else were you expecting, really? Although his skin is mostly very dark, he encourages you to bite harder so that a mark will be left. He loves wearing claims on his body, you're allowed to bite anywhere. He doesn't just return the favor, he's very opportunistic and will get as much saliva on you as he can. Then wait for the effects to take...

Grimbly's instincts tell him you're hungry when you're doing that. So he's probably going to get flustered and suggest you go out somewhere to eat. It actually makes him jump and yelp, even if your teeth are quite blunt, his lizard brain says you're going to tear him open using fangs you don't physically have.

Gallon will let you bite him and then promptly trap you. Have you ever seen those cartoons where a character gets their tongue stuck to something frozen? Yeah, that's you smartass. Then, he'll act as if you won't let go of him, which is quite rude, you know? He thinks it's honestly hilarious, you can eat a piece of him if you want, but he doesn't taste all that good.

Nebul will always see biting as a punishable offense. If you want to be a dog so bad, he'll get you a little muzzle. It's only coming off if you ask politely, and after an adequate apology, naturally. Matter of fact, maybe you'd like a chew toy too. Sit still, he's sure he has a bowl somewhere. Now that you've fully embraced your role as a mutt, things will be much easier. He's scary, you'll never know when he's joking or serious.

Vinnel wonders if you just enjoy the taste of fabric. Also, stop that, you're getting him soggy. In his dickish ways, the performer will rip someone's shirt off and offer it to you, so you can chew and drool on it rather than him. He may look like one, but he's not a doll, so kindly don't mess with his life support. He'd bite you back, but it's not worth the risk, so he just laughs and pinches you hard when you start chewing.

Patches shamefully enjoys the pain, so he won't really say anything about your weird habit. He's going to sit there awkwardly with bated breath, silently wishing you would bite harder, and in more places. He's probably the one who loves this habit of yours the most, all things considered. You'll probably get him to moan too at some point.

Fank-e thinks this is hilarious. Yeah sure, bite him all you want! It looks silly! You will most likely damage your teeth, he doesn't feel a second of it. But hey, if you're biting him, it means you're paying attention to him, so in his eyes, it's a good thing. Does he taste good?

Belo doesn't immediately understand what this behavior means, so when you bite him, the angel's just going to be upset and ask you why you're so mad at him. Once it registers, he's going to ask you not to do it so often for a couple of reasons. One, it's distracting, two you're soaking his fur, three- You're probably also eating some of his fur and that can't be good for you.

Sybastian is probably one of monsters you definitely don't want to bite, because he absolutely bites back, and a love bite from that bear trap of a mouth is a total gamble in terms of how maimed you'll get. He welcomes biting however, so do it at your own risk. More than that, he prefers licking, which is less dangerous for the two of you.

You have a lot of nerve to bite Krulu. You know he could just make your teeth fall off one by one if he wanted to, yes? Although he senses your affection, you must learn other methods of displaying it adequately. Do it too often and Krulu will pretend to return the gesture just to frighten you.

[quinloki]

hihi, I was wondering if you had any tips to writing characters?? Like making them feel more alive and such, and not having their personalities seeming the same, cause I’ve been only focusing on one oc lately(which is a self insert) and I’ve been wanting to add more to other ocs but I just.. don’t really know how to? Especially with the lack of motivation on adding to their stories n stuff

Hm... this isn't something I think I can answer easily, but I'll try to see if I can help a little.

I want to start by saying, having same/similarly characterized OCs/Readers when writing isn't bad. More than anything you gotta write what you like, and sometimes what you relate to more than worrying about having variety.

But maybe the story or character are stuck, and you're not sure what to do, or you feel like what you're going to do, you've done before, and you don't want to repeat it in this case.

Consider, and I mean this seriously even if it's going to sound silly, the Otome Archetypes. Or the Fighting Team Archetypes - whatever and however you want to think about it.

For instance: Your "fire" character in a fighting anime is usually brash, loud, ready to brawl and not too concerned about the plan or the consequences. Sometimes this causes trouble, sometimes not. (The Otome version of that one guy who owns the motorcycle.)

Alternatively, your "water/ice" character will be more subdued, strategic, often wearing glasses (the Otome archetype of "glasses character", rather obviously.)

Earth characters might be loud and like to party, but they're usually bigger than the fire character and more likely to be the Defender vs the canon. In Otome think you're (possibly) quiet type. A little like the glasses character, but less chatty and warmer.

Anyway, you get what I mean. Your typical archetypes used the world-round.

Characterization often means deciding on one of these loose, but well-defined, archetypes. If nothing else, it gives you something to focus your attention on to help stay in character with your character.

Now, the important part - Archetypes are like the Pirate's Code™ - it's more of a guideline. It's *always* more of a guideline when it comes to creations and creativity. So here's a good way to utilize this handy tool without getting boxed into something that might feel 1-dimensional.

I'm going to use Trafalgar Law for this example, and since you're following me I'm going to assume you're familiar with One Piece.

Law is the ice-character, or the glasses guy - laconic (not too chatty), seemingly neutral or almost grumpy in his demeanor. Cares for his friends but not apt to show it, strategic, and oftentimes ruthless. Usually butts heads with the more fiery types (like Kid and Luffy), because their way of doing things is so different. (Gets along with more water (Robin) and earth (Chopper) types.)

Even as Law stays within this archetype for the most part, the more we get to know him the more we see moments where he isn't. Where he gets angry at the same level as a fire-type, where he does something patently NOT strategic. This man's not cool, he's a nerd screaming internally like a cartoon Tasmanian devil about ninjas and Sanji's power suit.

Basic Archetypes are also good for putting characters into trouble too. The over-thinking water-type ends up captured because they were thinking too much and didn't act fast enough. The fire-type snaps and says something in the heat of the moment and hurts a friend.

Archetypes don't just give us a framework for the cool parts, but also for the embarrassing stuff and the flaws.

And you can mix and match too!

Have a strategic glasses style character who is more fire and destruction, loud and brash, but the smart bastard's always got the best plan. Arrogance might land him in trouble, but that hot mouth will cool while he stews on a new plan.

Maybe your bad boy is just a bad boy, but maybe he's also like, the basketball varsity captain, or the guy rocking massive community service hours, or someone whose taking care of a parent who can't anymore.

Nami is an interesting character because he cat burglar antics had a deep meaning behind them. Luffy's happy go lucky nature is all the more precious because we know what he's endured.

Conflict within a character's personality makes a great character, but it's not always needed. Sometimes the story forges the details for us. Yusuke Uremeshi from YYH was nothing but the much worser delinquent of his school and that was it. The character developed from the story, but we never got anything more than here's a delinquent, he likes to fight, he spends the entire series fighting.

And he's *really* good at it.

Once you set in a foundation you can tweak it - is your character Proud or Arrogant? Are they Kind or Nice? Are they Cruel or Cold?

Basically, what part of that archetype works FOR them, and what parts work AGAINST them. What do they enjoy - fighting, reading, skateboarding, swimming, hiking, puzzles, operas, etc. How do those enjoyments color their personality, if at all?

That's usually what the story will answer for you, in my experience - and let them grow!

LET YOUR OCs CHANGE AS YOU GET TO KNOW THEM \o/

There is absolutely nothing wrong with an OC changing and being redefined the longer that you have them. You can even use that growth in a story and help it mold their development.

Okay, the TL;DR:

You can have characters who look similar on paper, but the narrative will define them into distinctly different characters and sometimes you gotta write the narrative to get that effect.

You can have characters who look wildly different on paper, but the narrative will cause similarities. This isn't bad writing, no character should be 1-dimensional - even the villain who sees themselves as the villain and embraces villainy can still decide to save the hero.

Water your OCs and let them change - you might have wanted a daffodil and you got a rose instead. That's not a failure, that's just a success shaped different than you expected.

[kingboohoo37]

KBH RANDOM RANT

I'M BACK... at least I try to post more often. Streams will also come more regularly (surely...).

I'm slowly getting back to work so my time is still very limited. I thought this was a good time to bring back my random rants about fandoms since I just revisited an old classic from my childhood.

YEP we're talking about Kim Possible one of the most ludicrous fictional universes I've ever seen... In a good way!

First up: This show is FUDGING 22 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR... I'm really getting old...

The funny part about that is it was made during the peak of the 2000s... and you really notice that. The language that most teenagers use in this show is so stereotypical for that time it feels so nostalgic even watching it XD

Anyway, let's get the obvious out of the way. I know this is supposed to be a kids cartoon and I know that I'm an adult man but that doesn't stop me from watching it.

So, why is this show so great?

Good question! Its primary charm probably comes from its simple comedic attitude of telling a story.

The characters are so ridiculous that you should never be able to take this show seriously simply because most of their actions or the situations around them don't even make sense. This show just requires you to take in its vibe and go with the flow. I mean... a teenager knowing 16 forms of Kung Fu and saving the world on any given occasion is nothing that can possibly make sense. Don't forget: "Anything's possible for a Possible!"

Let's get into the characters:

Kim is your basic teenage girl, and she's here to save the world. You can't stop her 'cause...

Okay I'll stop xD

Apart from her being an ass-kicking girl boss, her main character traits are kinda the things you expect from a main character. She saves the world out of sheer will to stick to her morals. In short: she wants to help people. That obviously doesn't always work out and she sometimes ends up judging people by what they are instead of who they are. On top of that, she gets jealous easily.

BUT she is brave, smart, and makes usually good choices in the heat of the moment (except when it comes to love xD), and is otherwise very mature for her age.

Well... the opening song didn't lie. She really is your basic teenage girl. That doesn't mean she isn't cool xD

Well, obviously I can't end it without talking about the man and his very smart and hungry naked little friend.

What makes this show so funny is well... its ability to deliver comedy simply by a character existing and Ron Stoppable plays a big part in that.

He is pretty much a normal guy who just happens to be Kim's childhood friend and later somehow steals her heart xD

He is an absolute doofus. He is silly and rarely takes anything seriously. He is also lazy and loves his favorite junk food joint Bueno Nacho.

Despite all that he still cares for his friends, his naked mole rat Rufus, and usually learns a very important lesson after an episode.

He accompanies Kim on pretty much every mission and is usually more of a hindrance than a help. Despite all that Kim still loves him in her own way. And he also saves the day a couple of times, so it's not like he is a complete slob.

Rufus is just the cherry on top. Both of these guys are hilarious and I was honestly surprised by how much I laughed watching this show.

I could go on and on but I'm gonna try to finish up this post here before it gets too long xD

Even though every episode has kind of a similar structure, it never gets boring. The villains, the side characters... all of them add something very unique to the table. You just throw some characters together and boom the story kind of writes itself XD

Season 4 was my absolute favorite part of the show since guess what ... that was when Kim and Ron started dating and BOY DO THEY MAKE A CUTE COUPLE.

Ahem... anyways. I do not regret watching all 87 episodes in the last 2-3 weeks. If you're looking for a comfortable. goofy and funny way to escape reality for a moment I can only recommend this old classic.

[ectopuppy]

which ben 10 series do u like best??!! im a sucker for the original series bc of nostalgia personally, but they are all good in their own ways

this is an impossible question to answer so im just gonna talk about why i love each series im sorry and thank you anon for gifting me this opportunity to ramble about The Hyperfixation (tm) o7

This is going under a cut btw. It's a little under 3000 words of unedited thoughts so like, just a heads up lmao

Why is the Original Series Good?

So first! Before I get into it! I overall just fucking love Ben 10 conceptually in general! I've always loved aliens and sci-fi and superheroes so you can imagine how excited I was to stumble onto this show airing on teletoon when I was just a tiny Kiki.

The OS has a lot going for it, but the big one is, of course, the nostalgia factor. Iconic as fuck! Fun theme song! Max is there! Yay!!

The BEST character in the OS is Max and I WILL die on that hill. Even as a kid I fucking loved him. Ben and Gwen are fun characters, but Max is the much needed reprieve from them constantly bickering. (Which is one thing I'm glad there's a lot less of in later series.)

Ben is a compelling hero, and the OS is an amazing START POINT for him. While he does have character growth in the OS, I would not be THIS obsessed with him if the OS was the only Ben 10 media that existed. He's a kid. A bit of a brat, but always TRYING to do the right thing. Which he's not always great at considering he's, you know, 10, but he really does try.

Something a lot of people seem to brush past when talking about Ben is that at the beginning of the series he was actively friendless and being bullied at school. I feel like that's a huge factor in why the Omnitrix is so important to his identity in later series. (or even in the Xylene episode when he finds out the Omnitrix was supposed to be for Max) He really didn't have much going for him before that. Being a hero is very likely one of the first times he's felt like he belongs somewhere, you know? Anyway..

Gwen is also very fun in the OS. UAF filed down her teeth just a little too much in my opinion. A lot of her personality in the OS is her THINKING she's sooo much more mature than Ben despite also being a fucking grade schooler. (They are literally the EXACT same age, right down to sharing a birthday.) She's is just as immature as Ben, no matter how much she thinks she isn't. It's just that her smug "I know better." attitude doesn't cause outfacing issues as often as Ben being impulsive and a little self centred.

The OS also benefits from being the "spaghetti on the wall" series. Things just kinda worked however the writers wanted at the moment. Big point here: Magic got to just be magic. (I have made a whole ass post RE: Anodite Gwen so I wont get into it here, but I like the retcon. That statement does not conflict with the above.) Gwen getting fed up being sidelined and going "Fuck it I'm learning magic." is so good and I love it.

I feel like it is impossible to not like the OS in some form, because it's the Original Series. Everything that happens later can only have happened BECAUSE of the OS. Is it my favourite series? No. But it's charming and silly and fun and I love it. c:

Why is Alien Force Good?

Alien Force is a tonal downshift for the series. The era it was made in was the era of Gritty Cartoons for Cool Boys, and it shows. Now, this is not a bad thing to ME, but I know a lot of people don't like the heavier atmosphere of Alien Force, especially in its opening arc. Like... episode 1 (or 2 not sure, but it's in the premiere) of AF has a dude straight up just fucking die, which is kinda. A lot. I can see where people are coming from.

HOWEVER.

Personally, I love the entire DNAlien arc, and it's use as a coming of age story for Ben. A big part of AF is Ben realizing that he needs to grow up. In the OS he was a kid. Max was the leader and the beacon of morality. In AF Max is MIA from episode 1. Gwen is more mature, and has mellowed out a lot, but she just isn't a leader. Kevin should never be put in charge of other people, so he's out. So it's Ben. He has to step up and lead, because there IS nobody else.

But, also the show is not gloomy! It has it's moments, and I get why people might watch the premiere and think "Hmm, too dark.", but AF is silly as hell. I will point to the Alien X episode as my basis here. It's smack in the middle of the DNAlien arc, and it's dumb as hell. Again, I have made a whole ass post about this, but the gist is: I love Alien X being a god being with the ability to do LITERALLY anything, but Ben gets so frustrated that he refuses to use it unless the universe is actively collapsing. (Also, the incurseans are there, and they are never not silly lmao)

But to me, the best thing AF did for the series was give it structure. The OS was extremely episodic, but the front half of AF is held together with a tight plot line. The back half not so much, but it does have a lot going for it character wise. Case in point:

Let's talk about Kevin. c:

Kevin was always a fun villain in the OS. Any time he showed up I knew we were in for a fun time, so him becoming part of the main cast (As a hero and friend no less!) in AF was a major selling point to me personally. Unlike with Gwen, I feel like they sanded him down just enough. He's still kinda sleazy and a bit of a shithead, but now he's trying to do better.

I'm aware the explanation for this behaviour is that the Omnitrix energy he absorbed in the OS drove him crazy or whatever, but that's not something we get up front if memory serves. He really does seem like he naturally just grew up and realized acting how he did when he was 11 wasn't exactly getting him anywhere good.

Kevin's arc in the back half of AF plays really well with Ben's arc. Ben is at an all time high after saving the universe, while Kevin gets mutated again and has a really shitty time. Ben getting humbled while Kevin gains confidence just works really well in tandem, I think, and they end AF on somewhat equal footing.

AF also gives us some of my favourite side characters so I really love it on those grounds alone tbh. Mostly talking about Paradox here, but also Albedo, and The Plumber's Kids (especially Alan I love him he's so baby <3), and Sandra. God, I love Ben's hippy dippy granola mom so much it fits him so well.

I could make a whole fucking post about Paradox to be honest, and this post is already insanely long so I'll be brief here. He made it a billion times easier for the writers to play with timeline bullshit without having to sneak retcons past the audience every time. He's also just insanely fun. Silly Time Man. I loves him!!

I also really love Julie and Omniverse did her so fucking dirty, but that's a whole thing and I'm sure I'll get into it when I get there in my rewatch so I'll save it.

Again, I don't know that I would say AF is my favourite series, but I will say AF DOES happen to have my favourite EPISODE of the entire continuity though. "Con of Rath" is the best Ben 10 episode and I will fight you on this one.

I'm about to pivot into Ultimate and seeing as I haven't gotten there in my rewatch I am going to have less to say about it (and Omniverse) since they aren't fresh in my mind and I don't want to be spouting half remembered nonsense or go dig through the wiki to fact check (and spoil myself on things I don't remember). I know this post is stupid long, bear with me a bit longer.)

Why is Ultimate Alien Good?

Every new series of Ben 10 does something to change the status quo in some way. In AF it was aging up the characters and relegating Max to side character status. Omniverse does much the same, giving Ben a new partner and pushing Gwen and Kevin aside. Ultimate changes things in a different way, though, and I'm NOT talking about Ultimate forms.

Ultimate's big shake up is actually the name of it's first episode: "Fame".

Now, in this house we love a secret identity, lemme get that out up top. For Ben, though? The fame works. He never really honestly HAD a secret identity the same way most superheroes do. He'd always just kinda done his thing, and had it work out. All of his villains knew who he was. (To the point that "Hit 'Em Where They Live" kinda makes no fucking sense? Zombozo is dumb as shit so like maybe he didn't? But Charmcaster DEFINITELY did, and Ben was famous OFF earth already? It's whatever, but like ',:| ya'know.)

The important thing about making him famous is that it gives him a new avenue for character growth. As in my dude needs to get his fucking act together good god. Like, it's Ben, when it comes down to it he buckles down and does the right thing, but fuck man. This is a character trait that will haunt the rest of the series. There are episodes of OMNI that focus on Ben needing to get his head on straight wrt being famous.

It circles back to my point from earlier, though. Ben was NOT popular before "Fame". His friends included: Kevin, Gwen, and Julie. That's it. He's on a soccer team (At least at the beginning of AF I feel like it never comes up later.), but he never talks about his teammates. That one bully whose name escapes me is on okay terms with him after "The Gauntlet", but I wouldn't call them friends. But after his identity is leaked suddenly everybody likes him. He's gone from absolute nobody to celebrity overnight. Of course he would love this.

This is also an extension of one of Ben's core character traits: He NEEDS to be a hero. Actually he needs to be THE hero, because that is his entire self identity. It comes across (both in universe and from a meta standpoint) as Ben being conceited and selfish, but underneath it is really just a sad little boy who is clinging desperately to the ONE thing he's ever been that people liked. The Hero.

If Ben isn't the hero then who is he? He clearly doesn't know as of the AF finale. He loses the Omnitrix and completely breaks down. Even though he's an expert tactician and a damn good leader, he doesn't even know who he is without the Omnitrix.

Azmuth of all people is the one to tell him to get his head out of his ass. I don't think any other character could have done it, though. Azmuth does not care about Ben's feelings, but he's also someone who (whether he likes it or not) sees ALL of Ben's worth. Max or Gwen would be too soft and Kevin's words wouldn't hold the same weight. Azmuth is someone Ben looks up to while also being someone who won't pull his punches. If he's telling Ben he can do something it has to be true, you know?

That aside, lets talk about the "Ultimate" in "Ultimate Alien".

The Ultimatrix is... weird. It's interesting, don't get me wrong, but it is so completely and clearly just a marketing gimmick. The Ultimatrix can be as cool as it wants, it is not making it out of this series alive. Also, everything I find interesting about the Ultimatrix gets dropped. The first episode has Ben be apprehensive about using the Ultimate forms, but then it's just never brought up ever again for some reason.

Also this shit:

WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN????? WHY IS IT NEVER TALKED ABOUT? 😭

It all just feels so fucking meaningless knowing the Finished Omnitrix is going to replace it. Like, Albedo made this peice of shit. So even if I hadn't watched parts of Omniverse first I would have put together that Azmuth would inevitably replace it, right? But it doesn't really matter I guess. That's my personal gripe with Ultimate forms, though, so I wanted to get it out here. Ultimate's does give us "The Ultimate Sacrifice" which is an episode I remember enjoying though, so its not a complete wash.

The thing with Ultimate as a series it that it's really just Alien force... 2!! to the extent that fans refer to them as a collective. "Ultimate Alien Force" Like, my header up there ^^^ was "Why is Ultimate Alien Force Good?" when I first started writing the AF part, and I only changed it so I had a smooth transition to talk about "Fame". They are so intrinsically linked in my brain that I didn't even blink lumping them into one. It makes it hard to find fault in Ultimate when I love so much of the things introduced in AF that carry over, you know?

Now onto the one I was soooo close to saying was my favourite:

Why is Omniverse good?

Omniverse is very, very special to me. I did not watch UAF as a kid. It started airing just as I was hitting my "I'm too old for cartoons" phase, so I just.. never watched it. I wouldn't have ever really gotten into Ben 10 as much as I have if not for someone talking about how much they liked Omniverse on my timeline when it was airing. I watched a large chunk of Omni before doubling back to watch all of the OS (Which I had only seen bits of growing up.) and then UAF.

I fucking love Omniverse and a big reason is:

Him 👆 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

I would kill and die for Rook Blonko.

He is mine moste beloved boy. My babygirl. My right hand arm etc.

But beyond The Boy 💖 Omniverse has a lot going for it. It's another tonal shift for the series, this time back to the more innocent and silly tone of the OS. Like I said, I like the tone in UAF, but Omniverse is just so bright and charming it's hard not to enjoy it.

The art style is also very fun in Omni and matches that lighter tone really well. (There are some stylistic choices I'm not personally big on, but it's whatever.) Where UAF had scaled back a lot of designs to give off a pretty generically American Comic Book style, Omniverse lets characters look interesting again! I'm thinkng specifically about Animo and Charmcaster here (Charmcaster's UAF design is so boring. Omniverse puts her back in her cool robe/tunic thing from the OS.), but in general the characters in Omni just have more interesting designs than they did in UAF. Like, Paradox isn't just Guy in Labcoat in Omni lol

I also think the ten episode arc structure does Omniverse a lot of favours. It gets to have the fun silly episodic nature of the OS while also holding onto the structure AF gave the series.

Beyond that, based on my memory of the series (which I have not watched since it finished airing so it's not exactly perfect) I don't really have much more I can say about Omni. It's fun, and has good characters and plot lines. It's just a really good entry and was a solid ending to wrap up the whole four series continuity.

And so, finally, I can wrap up this fuck off long post.

Like I said up top, I can't definitively say which series is my favourite. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses, and are good in their own ways. If pressed, I would probably say "Um... Omniverse maybe?", but I love the OS and UAF so so much it's not a confident answer. (having not watched Omni in a hot minute also doesn't help lmao)

Thank you for reading my big dumb post. If you got all the way to the end, I love you. I mean, if you stopped reading it I also love you, but if you managed to get through all, uh, 2800ish words of this post without tapping out, you are on the top shelf. <3

I'd love to hear your thoughts, or answer more specific questions if you have them!

[fractualized]

thinkin about... our modern gritty dark Batman getting pulled back into the Silver Age somehow... and seeing all these villains that (from his perspective ((he has only experienced the modern age))) have killed so many innocent people and caused massive devastation... but all they're doing now is robbing banks and putting dish soap on the roads so the police can't catch them... what would this tortured Batman think and feel about these "monsters" convincing Robin to stay inside and watch cartoons all day (this is their entire evil scheme)... would he be happy? could he enjoy being Batman again if his villains reverted to their goofy goober state? i am... thinking.... about it... would like your opinions (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

Anon, I promise I'm going to answer your question, but first I'm compelled to clear up a misconception about the Silver Age. (If you don't give a crap about this, you can skip ahead to the bats.)

The Silver Age of comics, between 1956 and 1970, is known for being chock full of goofy shit due to the introduction of the Comics Code Authority. Superheroes are already silly in many ways, but in the Silver Age it often got silly in this way:

[from World's Finest Comics #128, September 1962]

However, while the Silver Age ramped up fantastical plots and used a light-hearted tone, that doesn't mean characters' lives stopped being at stake. Sure, the villains' schemes during that period may have involved more robberies than murders, but the villains remained dangerous and not too concerned about getting people killed.

For example, Alfred died!

[from Detective Comics #328, June 1964]

Or here's an instance with a couple of fave villains: Lex Luthor and Joker using a wacky weapon on Superman.

[from World's Finest Comics #129, November 1962]

This silly-looking concept is actually kinda horrifying. It did wear off, but Superman noted that too many doses could kill him since, you know, his particles were repeatedly separated. The storytelling breezed past this, but the consequences were still there.

Even something as dumb as being attacked with a cactus wasn't banal.

[from Batman #110, September 1957]

Later in this same story, other guys are firing guns indiscriminately at a wedding.

The restraints of the Comics Code were not about making the bad guys harmless and did not bar the portrayal of death. Per the text, the Code was more about reminding readers (mainly children) that Crime Is Bad and pushing writers to reflect Good Morality— with no sexy bits. Crime needs consequences and should never be portrayed as glamorous! Legal authorities are good and should be portrayed with respect! And everybody better be fully clothed with no suggestive poses!!

So all that's to say, if Bruce found himself in a Silver-Age throwback, there'd be fewer deaths, I think, but that doesn't mean his job would be easier— especially if he's randomly transforming into a human buzzsaw.

🦇🦇🦇

Alright, with all that out of the way, I would like to answer your question in the spirit of your question. How would modern Batman react to persistent but ultimately harmless villains?

When reading your ask, I first thought you meant modern Bruce getting pulled into a different universe, not the villains being suddenly mentally altered as you say at the end. I'm going to answer for both scenarios just 'cause, and I think the answer is different for each.

In both cases, Bruce would start out thinking it's a trick. The rogues have concocted an elaborate ruse where they all pretend to be benign entities, and he needs to figure out why! After all, they've seemingly reformed before, only to fall back into their criminal ways. Heck, Joker successfully pretended to be a whole other person for months on end, and Bruce completely fell for it. He's not falling for it again!

Bruce also has a history of reacting poorly when just one of the rogues has purportedly changed, much less all of them at once. He's immediately doubtful before he has definitive reason to be. (For examples [yoinked from distortopia], see "the Joker is evil" from Batman: Joker Time #2, "the more content the rat, the less likely he'll leave his hole" about Riddler in Detective Comics #837, and "the moment you return, I'm under suspicion" from Two-Face in Batman/Two-Face: Face the Face.) It's true that he's often right and the rogue has turned back to crime, but still. What's the point of continually sparing their lives and handing them over to Arkham or prison if he doesn't see rehabilitation as a possibility? Shouldn't he at least be hopeful in the face of positive developments?

Instead, in this scenario, Bruce probably gets so focused on figuring out the truth that he ends up "interrogating" a number of the rogues, and it goes too far.

That's probably when the suspicion stage ends. Bruce recognizes that the rogues are not putting him on. This is just how they are now: their schemes amount to mere shenanigans.

At this point in an alternate universe, I think Bruce then accepts the change precisely because the villains are not "his." They're the combatants of some other Batman who has much lower stakes to worry about. He probably feels jealous that this Batman's war on crime is closer to having an end. Perhaps for a moment he entertains the idea of staying— but the thought passes quickly, because Bruce took on responsibility for his Gotham and would never abandon it.

In his own world, I think Bruce perceives the change very differently. Sure, he feels relief that the death count from these absolute maniacs has cratered. But as time goes on, I think the change nags at him. It's so drastic to go from near-constant DEFCON1 to like… a neverending children's birthday party. How could the rogues change so easily without a care? It's not like Batman couldn't have achieved this state of affairs on his own. Hatter tech is available! Yet as far as I know, he's never used it to tame his adversaries. Mind control isn't lethal, but it's a line Bruce has never crossed. If the rogues change, he wants it to be on their own.

Whatever happened to the rogues cannot have been their own doing. Their violent crimes were caused by their own fixations and greed, and they simply can't have just let that all go after years and years. And Bruce knows this because he fought them for those years, because he never relented no matter how impossible the situation, because he's been obsessed with saving Gotham City since he was a child. If he can't let go, how could they? If they can, what does that say about him?

I think Bruce then pivots from thinking the rogues are up to something to blaming an outside party or force for the change, and he spends a lot of time trying to figure out who or what it was. 

And all the while, 1) he's vigilant for signs that the villains have reverted. After all, if they do, and he's not ready and people die, it's his fault. And 2) the rogues are still committing goofy crimes. They're not dangerous, but I'm sure they're obnoxious as hell— and they're still guilty of their previous awful crimes, even if now they can't imagine doing such un-fun things! Inevitably it would grate on Bruce too much and he'd take the stress of the unsolvable mystery out on them. Again.

Apologies if you were looking for a fluffier answer! Unfortunately, Bruce has always been so stuck on being Batman that I think it would be years before he could truly accept harmless rogues and see any kind of solace in them. He could get there, but it'd be a long road (hopefully not so long that it ends at his death bed).

[paperboy-pb]

Are there any characters with Down Syndrome in Paperboy?

Yes, one of Matthew's classmates! One of my favorites, actually :]

(UPDATE: 09/06/2023 -- Here's a picture of him!)

He's a very friendly Asian boy named Karl Ho & is mainly into video games. Last time I posted art of him on the IG was December 4th!

I don't want to spoil too much, but I'll tell you a little more about him!

Karl is very friendly, silly, social, but calm. He's always down to make a new friend and spends a lot of his time either watching cartoons, or gaming with friends. Half the time he wears pajamas to school... just because he can. He's always looking for fun, and as of late, he seems to get along better with younger kids, because they're less judgmental & (sometimes) they have more in common. But of course, his two BEST friends (Aaran & Rudy) are indeed his age & all in the same class with him and Matthew. He tends to stay in this trio more often than not & is rarely spotted without them.

Like stated above, Karl has Down Syndrome (+ intellectual disability as well,) so this causes people to act... "weirdly" towards him.

Strangers see his face & whisper to each other. Adults at school talk down to him like a baby; and while no one in class has the audacity to bully him outright, sometimes certain classmates tend to write Karl off / "forget" about him because they think he can't understand things, like the drama that goes on between kids. Especially now that they're in middle school, as social dynamics are becoming more complicated & a lot of kids' interests are moving on to more "mature" things, meanwhile they see him as very childish. (For example, one of the other kids, Levi, is big into scary things like Creepypasta & horror.)

So of course, Karl tends to be out of the loop more often than not. He considers almost all his peers as his friend, but only really has the two good ones.

Karl is actually fairly perceptive though, & almost ALWAYS notices when this happens. And he doesn't like it very much, but he stays quiet, pretends like he didn't see or hear a thing, because he actually isn't sure how he wants to handle it yet. He doesn't like being seen as a baby-- he's the biggest kid in this class! Aaran in particular is always the first to remind people of that.

And not only that, but he isn't all innocent, either: he's not always happy, he makes mistakes, he can bad words just like the other kids, and sometimes he follows the crowd when he shouldn't, just for the sake of feeling included. Plus... he's actually the most girl-crazy one out of the boys, lol. Little man definitely wants to find a girlfriend.

He's not just simple & sweet-- he's competitive in games, kind, a mini hopeless-romantic, not the best at speaking up, and always good company. Albeit a little dorky.

And Karl knows why people do this, but at the same time, he doesn't get it & wishes they wouldn't. It's not fair. And hopefully one day, he'll start to actually voice that himself.

...

As for him & Matthew-- they get along pretty well! Matthew tries not to talk to him about personal issues, though; Matthew doesn't think they're close enough for that yet.

I can definitely see Karl spamming him over Discord to play Among Us or something on a Sunday night, & Matthew VERY enthusiastically joining, lol.

[elfdragon12]

You seem both sensible and like you’re actually having fun, which seems to be a rare combination for Transformers fans on this site. Not sure I’ll continue Skybound but you are convincing me to give Beast Wars a chance.

I am trying! I do know that I can be opinionated about certain things, but I do try to give new things a chance and actually enjoy it. I think part of it is realizing when I'm not having fun and either stepping back or focus in on what I do have fun with. Also writing up posts on certain opinions and saving them to drafts to check up on how I'm feeling later rather than publishing them right away.

If you aren't enjoying Skybound, then it's alright to take a step back from it. I personally am because it's the first time I get to follow along a comic TF story from the beginning and I think that its pretty interesting what they're doing with it. I did really enjoy the G1 cartoon and think exploring it as a tragedy/from an adult lens is interesting. I believe that it balances it's more tragic moments with the heartfelt pretty decently. I just want people to actually give it a fair shot rather than brushing it off because it isn't like IDW1.

Also, a trait I've noticed in myself is that, when I realize that something I like isn't as popular as I'd like it to be, I start to ride extra hard for it and, boy howdy! There's a lot in Transformers that the general fandom doesn't pay attention to! But it's part of why Blaster ended up usurping Grimlock as my overall favorite. I think it helps me come off as having fun because I want folks to see there's more to enjoy than just the mainstream.

I do think you should give Beast Wars a shot! It is a legitimately good show, led by a couple of guys who had no real interest in Transformers before they got involved! XD The graphics and rendering are dated because computer animation was a new art form (Veggie Tales, a pioneer in the industry, only started in 1993, 3 years before Beast Wars), but the animation is still generally solid! The character writing is fantastic though! Dinobot gets a lot of talk for good reason, but all the Maximals are complex characters and most of the Predacons are as well (the buttmonkey Predacons not so much, but that's okay). I do think, out of all the TF shows, it embodies being "for all ages" the most as, while it does have lots of silly kid show shenanigans, the overall story is mature enough to be interesting for adults. I mean, how much kids will understand the deeper parts of Dinobot's arc and how he's utilizing the famous Hamlet soliloquy is debatable. I mean, there's a character based on Hannibal Lector! In a show for kids! XD Also, right after the Code of Hero episode, there's the episode about how abled-bodied/neurotypical people railroad those who aren't and speak over them, often only causing their hurt. It's a whammy of an episode (also, while Nightshade is the first non-binary character, Transmutate is the first agender character whose only pronouns in the show are it/its, though part of that is no one ever bothering to find out if Transmutate has any preferences of its own. TFWiki speaks in the general of Transmutate with they/them. Transmutate being female was only introduced in Beast Wars Uprising). Beast Wars is a really good show and I heartily recommend!

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

responding to that last ask, i do notice that folks who take P5, and really all the games, a lot less seriously tend to not be bothered by the slapstick humor, even with the emphasis on topics such as physical abuse and societal corruption, so that could be a part of it, especially after seeing the same anime tropes coming up so often and seeing them played more or less the same (that's not meant to be a jab that's just kinda what persona games are) just something i notice since it's typically the most hardcore fans that get the most upset i realize

In all honesty, yeah I've noticed people that take a super casual approach don't really notice issues like more hardcore fans do.

P3/4 have the chibi models to disconnect from reality (as well as more obvious chatter effects and such...imo than P5), and P1/2 sprites even more so. P5 isn't exactly super realistic, but more so than prev games, plus it has the balls to actually criticize the physical/sexual/mental abuse of society.....only to use it as comedy later.

Yeah Persona is pretty anime, and that's fine (I mean I grew up on the Three Stooges so like.....I can go as far as live action slap stick too). It all comes down to framing for me.

Does it do a good job indicating it's slapstick (easier the more cartoonish you get, which is easy for cartoons and anime) ex:

2. (not really a deal breaker in a COMEDY, but if comedy's not the main genre it can be) Is it even? Like does one char always slap stick another, or does the recipient get to slap stick back? Or is it a free for all? (ex: like Angel Beats, Asobi Asobase, and MPGIS is a free for all, Yui/Hinata, Ichigo/Rukia and Ichiko/Momiji like to slap stick each other and are even, but I don't like Sakura punching Naruto bc sometimes he doesn't even deserve it and she's not exactly a great char herself TT0TT it gets tiring having it be so one sided...most of these barring Bleach and Naruto are comedies or a dramady like Angel Bleach are so.....yeah TT0TT Kinda skewed but still)

3. (this is def a big problem I have with P5, but I'm sure it's not the only one with this issue) Cake and eating it problem/tonal dissonance: They medium has a message that would....make slap stick unfortunate. Like it's a really hard line and you'll have to really land the dark comedy. Angel Beats can thread this very well.....P5 doesn't. Tbf AB is part comedy, it can be a dark comedy (I mean it's gonna have to be when it's a coming of age story about dead children). P5.....doesn't spend a lot of time on humor (which isn't bad in theory), but when it DOES it's........unfortunate. It just doesn't mesh well.

Maybe if it leaned MORE into the anime it would've lessened the blow. Wait no scratch that, I know what happens when you do that. You get P4 anime. orz

"Oh Silly, you're the only one that doesn't like it! It's beloved!" Hahahahahahaahaaaaaa oh. OH I know. But there's one scene that I KNOW people hated, cause they hated it when it airs, and NO ONE talks about it. It's the Kanji dungeon segment/episode. When you try to go full anime slap stick you get tonal whiplash instead (which is P4 anime's problem, esp with the new original humor and putting in humor where it was a more serious moment). So I'm afraid that also would happen to P5 if they went that route.....orz

But analyzing my own feelings and where my brain draws the line aside.

Yeah it's probs that the devs are just throwing anime tropes in there bc......those tropes are funny right? Haha? Not realizing the narrative disconnect it makes when it does happen. TT0TT

[absolutely-esme]

I like what I'm seeing.

Furthermore, because Gotham's ectoplasm are lower and the process happens slower, it's not something everyone has to deal with. People who purchase and go through groceries at a normal rate will likely never see food animate, because the process takes a little longer than it would take for the average person to either use something up or throw it out because they aren't sure if it's still good.

On the other hand, people with ADD who have a different sort of relationship with time? They end up thinking that the trope in cartoons where spoiled food starts moving if left for too long is based on a real life phenomenon.

An unsupervised kid with little to no guidance on how to manage their kitchen might find themselves confused and wary about why the food just attacks sometimes. Spooky Space Eats becomes something of a lifeline for a young Tim Drake because he's the only source Tim can find that addresses this aspect of cooking and how to handle it. He even provides an explanation for what causes the phenomenon. (The portal to hell is probably not in Tim's house because his food doesn't animate as often as Spooky Space Eats', but it doesn't stretch the imagination to think that there might be one somewhere in Gotham.)

Tim is comforted and emboldened by his new favorite cooking show. He learns what precautions to take, when the issue is most likely to crop up, and how to most effectively deal with it.

Tim is a little sad when the stream ends, but at first he just thinks that the hotdogs damaged the camera or life just got too busy to keep streaming. Then the ghost who looks like Spooky Space Eats pops up. When the implications sink in, Tim is devastated. Another one of his heroes has died. The fact that he's still around doesn't make it better. The fact that Tim was already Robin and should have been able to do something might make it worse.

Every time the food animates, Tim finds himself wondering when the day will come that he's just a little too tired or the food gets in a lucky shot.

The phenomenon of food animating if left too long is something nearly everyone in Gotham has heard stories about, but most people think it's just a silly story to emphasize the importance of managing food properly. Fresh food generally gets rotated through more quickly than it animates and canned foods take much longer for ectoplasm to seep in because of the way they're sealed.

Alfred doesn't know the stories because he grew up in Britain. He also has no inkling of the phenomenon because he certainly wouldn't allow food to spoil in any household he's in charge of. This leaves him with no frame of reference for Tim's food related anxiety.

Tim also hadn't heard the stories because they tend to be passed by word of mouth and Tim got less direct interaction than others with much of it being from people who hadn't even learned the stories (because people from wealthy families rarely manage their own kitchens). This left him utterly baffled and unable to find information about what was going on until He found Spooky Space Eats cooking stream.

Food in the Drake house was also animating a smidge faster than in the rest of Gotham because some of the Artifacts Tim's parents brought home were supernaturally active in ways that slightly increased the Ambient ectoplasm in the house.

Dc x Dp prompt #1

Danny open a YouTube channel teaching how to cook.

Bonus point : During the live, the food came to life. And he had to fight the food while chats were watching him.

[cryingjuiceboxx]

My creation that will never be complete. The start to my documentation of a tmnt series I've had in only my head and notes app.

My theme is an Absurdist fiction, mystery, spy fiction. I'm still not sure if I wanna lean mor paranormal or sci-fi but I don't want both of the elements. I'm also leaning more to the intention of that of a children's book. The time frame is 2008-2015 (probably 2009)

Starting with my laundry list of character details:

Leonardo Hamato

oldest

Leader

Gundam and lego enjoyer. Watching people not doing

Big fan of 90s cartoons (he-man, Thundercats, transformers, etc), anime, and music

Plays games most with Mikey. They do online dnd groups. Leo tends to DM

He is tactically smart: he keeps a diary ( or a blog?)

Prone to rambling and being over polite

Looks up to April, mostly cause she older and he feels she's got everything figured out. Called her senpai for a bit till she told him to knock it off

Tried to get his brothers to call him senpai for a bit

Prideful and overprotective of brothers, especially raph.

An inauthentic person

Teachers pet

Tends to get lost in his own world

Least physically Affectionate

Botany and plant enjoyer

Raphael Hamato

Youngest

Has a passive anger style. Tends to go mute when experiencing heightened forms ofstressed, angry, overwhelmed, sadness, confusion, etc.

The hardest working brother to worrying degree. But not a people pleaser

Talks to himself alot.

Worried about blowing up at people

Prone to stuttering, voice cracks

Swims alot, likes to he in water

Most artistic/into art. Specifically: painting, portrait painting, and photography

Grumpy boy

Sharp teeth

Reality TV junkie

Often goes out to the surface with Mikey early mornings

Has the most common sense of the turtles

Resting mean face, but pretty soft spoken

Takes things very seriously. Not literally.

A try hard. Doesn't really know why or what he's trying to prove. Just wants to be and feel proud if himself the way he thinks his brothers are very confident in themselves

Feels very babied by Leo. More embraced and frustrated than mad.

When it comes to physical stuff, if it shouldn't be done, he'll do it (like making an impossible jump or trying to bust down a wall with your body)

Michelangelo Hamato

2nd Oldest

Will disappear for long stretches of time because he's following an animal

Has hearing aids

Great at scavenging. Tech for donnie, art for raph, etc

Has the most stamina and energy

Most naturally gifted at ninjtsu

Quickest at picking up skills, but worst at remebering and memorizing what he learned without aids

Covered in handmade bracelets. Beaded, friendship, silly bands, ect

Takes advantage that Leo like to take the bulk of responsibility so he can chill

Goofy, slacks off from responsibility a lot

Most materialistic

Donetello Hamato

3rd Born

Most passive and rarely angry (that doesn't mean never)

Also enjoy Gundam with Leo

Witty (punny)

The most gentle in nature of the brothers

Takes takes very litterally more often than not

Jokenly calla Leo 'cheif'

Has the best memory. But sometimes, the context and importance taks time to really sink in

Can, has, and will copy people's handwriting

Can pick locks. Learned all his skills from YouTube and library book simply because he wanted to see if he could.

Loudest talker and has the Loudest laugh

Has braces

Least materialistic

I had this note that he's a Whitney Houston fan???

Equipped with knee and elbow pads. Stickered.

Splinter/ Yoshi Hamato

Still deciding if he's pet rat or rat turned human.

But has a bug association with farming and farm life.

He and donnie built a greenhouse underground. He plants and farms. Help bring income into the house

Anxious parenting style

Very Affectionate despite his kids varying

Splinter tries to have check in's with the boys. The frequency varies in their needs. They all hate it but it does feel necessary (?)

Tidbits about both of group

Raph and Mikey both do vigilantly work, but they did it on opposite sides of town. They didn't realize if for a long time until one saw the other leaving a crime scene chasing after a theif

Mikey and raph talk the most in sign.

Leo is the best at reading lips

None of the turtles are over 5'5"

Splinter is maybe 5'7" - 5'10"

Mikey and leo tend to indulge in overcompensating for wanting to connect to their roots (?) (I haven't compelty figures out what that means, if I'll even keep it)

Leo is angry (and maybe holds a grudge) that Mikey and raph have been going up to the surface for years. Less because it dangerous and more becuase he didn't and felt that he couldn't and that they could get away with it.

Raph and donnie were hot wheels and beyblade kids

Mikey gets a cat later.

Raph has a Guinne pig or a bird named Monty

Raph and Mikey are tied in physical affection. They were always at Splinters side with a strong grip on his robe

Leo feels very awkward and uncomfortable with physical affection but will take part in it to please others

Whenever I think of Splinter I think of this "I don't have to do anything. I choose to. I want to" I don't know who I stole that from

It takes Leo forever to stop calling Splinter sensei outside of teaching. Splinter feels really dishearted about this but doesn't comment. Though Leo is a teachers pet, he an Splinter are rhe most distanced.

I feel raph and Splinter are the closest (subject to change. I also feel mikey)

Donnie tends to play basketball early in the morning on the surface

I have a note about Leo and is vanity but I might change that.

Leo and Splinter bond the most where their farming

[doodlestab]

Omgg recently I’ve been obsessing over CQ and deep-diving into a bunch of accounts to find out more stuff about it because there’s just so many characters! The world seems so vivid and alive, with a bunch of interesting concepts that I’m rlly interested in :000

But ahh, I’m still struggling to find out exactly how it came to be and what’s the whole idea behind it and such. If you feel up to it I would absolutely hear your own explanation of it, you as the creator, but only if you can obviously <33

Oh this is a dangerous question to ask me, because I could go on and on forever. I'm gonna write everything under a read-more and come back up top if I can summarize it all in a paragraph afterwards.

Okay I came back up like 6 paragraphs in. there is no way I will be able to summarize this so if you're really interested, prepare for the read.

So the concept of CQ sprouted first when I was probably about 11 or 12. I had nothing to do, I was often sick and stuck in bed at home, all I had was time on my hands. It was all conceptual for a while, until Adventure Time came out in 2010. That really inspired me to start drawing and developing my own universe because I remember being so fascinated with such an expansive world like the Land of Ooo. I was 13 at that point, and started drawing more too, so I had a laptop, a dinky little tablet, and still tons of free time.

The concept started out like this: I love bright colors, I love tons of characters, and I love silly antics. So I'll make a bunch of bright colors into characters, and make them be silly. In my mind they were always stick people, 2D abstractions, cartoony, etc. Those characters are what I call the mimes, which are the pale white skinned, single-color oriented characters you see me post all the time. Since the idea sprouted, they've become more than just 2D cartoons and sort of just their own physical characters.

After I'd curated that concept, I went on to flesh out the world. Made some "main characters" which were really just some of my first attempts at character designs that weren't weird animal creature thingamabobs. Tim, Gary, Samantha, Hannah, and Michael were the ones I believe I made first. That's sort of why Tim especially seems soooooo... bland. The average cis white dude with a silly T shirt. But as basic of a guy as he may be, he still is my guy and I love him so much and he will never not be my guy and also never not be the face of CQ. Even if he adds almost nothing extra to the group (ability wise), he will always be in the story just to be everybody's friend.

This feels like it's getting a little over descriptive, but really the concepts of characters and world building all came together in bits and pieces over the next couple years while I actually figured out a cohesive plot. I knew what I wanted but I wasn't sure how to communicate it, so I wrote out a sort of play-type script for it. I just slapped down dialogue, threw notes in on the side to remind myself what was going on in any given scene, and just went. I rarely looked back while I wrote, and it went on to be about 700 or 800k words of pure mess.

At this point, I was in a voice acting circle with a lot of good friends. So I gave the characters voices too!!! Because it was fun to see the characters come to life and I could tell my friends had a lot of fun with them too. The voices and talking to other people about the characters really helped me flesh them out even more. So I went back and revised the script to make it easier to be acted out.

I also got into animating around that time, too. So all together I was like holy cow. It's all written out, my friends have some awesome voices, I can animate... I could make this a little web series or something!!! And that failed. Cause I was like ambitiously 15 with really flimsy writing and a poor grasp on the flow of animation.

BUT! It was still a very exciting and developmental time for CQ. A lot of characters had been created, the concept of the mimes finally got fully fleshed out. It's much more of a spectrum now because of my love of character design, but at first I'm pretty sure the original mimes were Uppsulka (Red), Foxglove (Orange), Maggie (Yellow), Twiddle Niddle (Green), Holly (Cyan), TyV (Blue), and N & O (Purple).

I made more pretty quickly but those were the ones I'd had in my heart for a couple of years at that point. This was also around the time that my thinking got very very compartmental. As in, my OCD got the better of me. There had to be an be an opposite equal to everything. Not a bad thing, but ultimately something that would just make the world a little too complex for me to handle. Each mime had to have a living counterpart, it just felt like it had to be like that. So for every living person, there was always a new mime being designed alongside it. There was also the mimes concept themselves-- they're the concept of light. So of course, now I have to have a concept of dark, too. Weird creepy shadowy creatures were almost a thing.

Those shadowy beings still actually exist lore wise, but over time I melded that concept into the past of the plot. Light beat dark, dark is no more, influx of light (mimes), efflux of dark (shadowy dudes). It was right around here that I feel like I'd solidified what I really wanted to do with CQ? I think? I mean of course I'm still developing it all even now at 25, but right around then was like. Ah! Okay. Now I have a workable story.

Light beats dark, light rains into the physical land, the people that were already living in the physical land are like wtf get out? But these beings of light are like wtf we JUST got here. And also we're like way stronger and more abstract and creepy than you so *kills you*. And thus a band of heroes has to inevitably rise and resolve this issue.

So now at this point I have like 16 or 17 mimes and living people, so thats like wow over 30 characters. Also not to mention all of the side bit characters I'd made for side plots along the way. I love an expansive world, a huge roster of characters, and diversity in design and interaction... but I really had to settle on a limit for main focus characters. I still struggle with that. I still consider all of the characters you see me draw often as main characters. Now there's just more *mainlier* characters. Or rather, they've gotten their own story and development in groups. But whatever, because this is sort of getting too far from the topic to even be justifiable x_x

Basically the story is about concepts from a different plain of existence come to the physical realm, and everybody scrambles to figure out what the fuck is going on and how to get things back to normal. I don't call it an alien invasion story but it kind of is that. Just like. An accidental invasion that they can't reverse. Woops!!!

I'm not sure how to end this ramble because I know I could still go on for ever... but I'd probably just stray too far from the original question if I did.

Oh yeah also I did have a few attempts at launching projects for CQ. The really old comic from like 2014... an attempted video game... another comic.......... I've just never been happy with how I start it off. And the preferred method for how to tell the story I want keeps changing. Right now I want to animate it. I don't know how far I'll get. But I'll keep working on CQ until I get everything I want out about it out. (...so to those still interested even now, I'm honored that you enjoy the ramblings!)

[lasquadrasfuckhouse]

Hi!

What do you think about la squadra(separately) with s/o that is very childlish? Like, not a little child ofc, they can get serius when it has to be, and they talk ,like, normally (without "owo uwu" shit). They just loooove some cute things, animals etc. They also love watching cartoons, play games, and many other things likke that.

If you don't want to write it that's okay :)))

Bye bye <3

awwww i love it!!!!!

la squadra with a cutesy and playful partner 😚

risotto ✂️

he loves cute things too, he gets it. he adores how excitable and sweet you are and you absolutely count as cute things that he loves

the two of you will fawn over the neighbourhood cats together and every time you run into his office with fun shaped snacks to share cause u both love them (like gummies or cookies or chocolates) his heart goes ❤️❤️❤️❤️💕❤️💕❤️❤️💕💕💕

he appreciates that you're not afraid to get serious when the time calls for it too but seeing you without your normal attitude is so jarring and sad for him, he'll work twice as hard to fix what's wrong to see you smiling again. you're so full of love and wonder despite everything and that's so precious to him, he's protective (he knows and respects that you can handle yourself he just loves u) and would never want you to change for the wrong reasons ya kno

you absolutely balance each other out very well and you're fucking adorable to see because he's so stoic and scary and then ur this energetic sweetheart

he's not really one for cartoons or video games but he'll indulge ur interests!!! if he has the time to watch a cute movie with u (like disney) he will pay attention and give u his honest opinion

prosciutto 🚬

OPPOSITES ATTRACT HUH

honestly when you first joined the team he was an ass about it, thought it was unbecoming of an assassin to behave so childishly (the others already give him a headache) but the fact that you stood your ground actually really impressed him. you're still an adult and you're not unreasonable, you know when to take things seriously, you just have your eccentricities like everyone else in this circus and he came to appreciate your point of view and your seemingly boundless enthusiasm for nice things in life. he later expressed as much to you during his apology for being an ass.

you temper each other. he'll be your grounding force and you'll help him loosen up

he does like how ur sweet and open with your affection. if he grumbles about sharing the bed with plushies that's code for 'cuddle me instead'

he also loves bringing you to cafés that do those fancy or fun shapes in the lattes cause he loves to see your eyes light up and fawn over how 'its almost too pretty to drink!!!' it's really quite adorable how excitable u are and prosciutto is not immune to it

pesci 🎣

he very very much loves and appreciates it, you're a big comfort to him. the instant you chugged milk with him and gave him a silly grin with a milk moustache, he was in love

your sweetness and energy picks him up and when you've dropped your attitude he will take on the WHOLE WORLD to hear you laugh again. he's very protective and he's the first to jump to your defense if the others tease you or otherwise give you a hard time

he could listen to you gush for hours. he will absolutely sit and watch cartoons with u. he's not the greatest at video games but he'll try his best for u

because of his name you'll often lovingly make that cute fishy face at him with the kissy lips and ur eyes crossed and his heart explodes every time

he has somewhat of a sweet tooth, he likes things that have a light sweetness to them rather than anything super sugary. you'll share desserts and it's very cute

formaggio 🧀

he LOVES IT. he's just as fun-loving, there's never a dull moment with you two whether you're playing a dumb game you made up out of boredom, you're dancing and he's twirling you around, or ur in a pillow/tickle fight and play wrestling. you tend to get each other into trouble but you both snicker about it. two peas in a pod.

cats like you more than they like him but he can often get his pets in if the kitty is curled in ur lap and u both get giddy about it

you definitely game together. he's not as into the cartoons but he'll still watch em with you, he thinks they're cute and you're cute, but he may fall asleep during movies

he's a very grounding support when things require you to be serious, you work together hand in hand to solve the issue so u can get back to laughing

and he will do anything to hear u giggle, doesn't matter if he makes a damn fool of himself, he doesn't care. as far as he's concerned your laugh is the best sound in the world

illuso ✨

oh, he will tease you about it. probably in a way that's kind of mean when you first join, but you aren't bothered by him or concerned with his opinion. if you point out that he's the childish one for trying to get a rise out of you when you're just minding your own business, that has EVERYONE appreciating you because it's unbearably fun to see illuso taken down a notch. that has him huffing and retreating for a bit and having a think. when he comes back, he's less of an ass. as you grow closer, he apologizes.

now the only way he teases is gentle and loving and fond, because you really are quite adorable and he wouldn't have it any other way. it honestly kind of freaks him out when you get serious but he doesn't show it, he'll just place a gentle hand on your arm or your waist and work with you to resolve the issue. he's relieved when you smile again

he warms up to your plushies because they're nice cozy additions to his piles of pillows for lounging around on and they make u happy

he may keep up his aloof air when he picks up a controller with u or watches over ur shoulder like he has nothing better to do but he gets REALLY into it and competitive, or intensely supportive and backseat gaming if ur going solo

he honestly loves how sweet u are because that sort of thing doesn't really come easy to him

melone 🍈

he thinks ur absolutely adorable and makes sure u know it. he's playful too in a more relaxed sort of way so he mellows you out while still having fun

he loves to hear you gush and wants to get involved in ur passions. he's pretty good at gaming but he'll get more into admiring/analyzing the design aspect of it and same w/ cartoons, he's concerned for all the babies out there because they deserve good stories that make them think and benefit their growth and he will think out loud about how a show/movie fares in that regard after you've watched it together

he can talk a lot about animals with u too!!!! every time u grin or coo at a cute creature or Stay Very Still so a butterfly will land on u and giggle cause it tickles, his heart is doing backflips and he can't believe someone as wonderful as u exists and loves him as much as he loves you

ADULT COLOURING BOOKS!!!!! he absolutely loves to fill in the pages with u and add onto the designs outside the lines in all sorts of colours

he admires that ur not afraid to get serious when it's called for but still so sweet, he's so drawn to you and you make everyone's day better and just light up the room

ghiaccio ❄️

he also loves cute things. that includes u. but it will take him a while to admit out loud how adorable you are because he's flustered about it

forget normie relationship milestones like moving in together, the moment u both started slowly familiarizing your plushie collections to each other, swapping or gifting ones u saw and HAD to get for them or keeping two of them together because they're friends now Do Not Seperate!!!!, he knew this was Real

one of his favorite pastimes is sharing a big big cozy sweater with u, it doesn't matter if it's a bit tight with two people in it or that ur faces are squished together, he'll wrap his arms around u (if u haven't already put ur hands in the sleeves too) and cuddle u against him like a fluffy, snuggly, grumpy cat. welcome to sweater town, population u and ghiaccio

ur both very into pokemon too. you'll spend hours with ur heads bent together over ur gameboys with each other's companion games for that generation and help each other with trading and version exclusives

he's the first to yell at anyone for teasing you and he honestly gets a little freaked out when you go serious but he won't show it. he'll want to address the problem as quickly as possible tho and discreetly hug u when ur giggling again

sorbet and gelato 🔪🍦

THEY LOVE IT UR ADORABLE. they're both playful in their own ways (sorbet is more chill and dry wit sort of playful, gelato is no impulse control and hyena cackling sort of playful) and they love to have fun with u

it's also like.... the world is fucked up and they're both kinda fucked up (more than kinda), and they know you're not like an innocent baby or at all incompetent (hell, you may be kinda fucked up too, who isn't when ur an assassin) but it's just. nice to see someone else having fun and being sweet and enjoying things about life. so they are very protective of you when things get serious, they never EVER want to see you become embittered and will do absolutely anything to get you laughing again as soon as possible. which, guaranteed, they do

gelato has always had a short attention span so he knows what to do for entertainment and sorbet knows how to entertain, he may be the more patient one but they both like to mix things up and keep the surroundings interesting. they will play all sorts of games with u, video games or card games or stupid shit like beer pong or making a game of how many marshmallows u can each fit in ur mouths. you'll all go for a nice walk in the park and nothing is more relaxing for sorbet than kickin back on a bench while his rowdy babes end up tussling in the dirt. be free

of course, u and gelato also drag him into the dirt and put flowers in his hair and he would want nothing less

they'll both squish ur cheeks and lovingly tease u about how cute u are. blow a raspberry at them and they'll give u a kiss

sorbet will throw u over his shoulder and carry u around (no matter ur body type, he's strong!!!) + gelato will smatter ur face in kisses, just to hear u squeal and giggle

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi. I hope you had/are having a great summer break. I (INTP) am hoping for some perspective about an issue. Recently, my mother, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, became incredibly frustrated that I corrected her with an alleged “I know everything” attitude.

It’s an issue of concern because she revealed that I always do this. I guess this was the straw that broke it, especially given that what we were discussing was very trivial. (Maybe the frivolousness of the subject is precisely what made my correction seem more pedantic, unnecessary, arrogant.) She says that my attitude disregards her long life experience, and that if she were a stranger, she would think of me as a “snot-nosed brat who knows nothing about life” instead of as a “wise young person”, which is the viable alternative. She said that I am closed-minded and that I shoot everything down. (The problem of small-mindedness is what you addressed the only other time I wrote to you.)

I don’t know why I come off as arrogant. I’m sure that I’m not. I asked my mother what it was that made her think that, which she thought was a silly question because what she sensed was a general demeanor rather than specific behaviors. In the end we were only able to establish that my lack of eye contact was one of those factors. I can work on that, but surely that’s not determinant. What makes people think of others as arrogant? Should I stop correcting people? I don’t correct others in order to feel superior to them. I do it because I like to debate, in order to keep my thinking sharp, and because there is something painful about friends/family having false notions. I think it’s fair to say that my intention isn’t rooted in arrogant soils.

Granted, my suggestion of stopping correcting people is black-and-white, given that there is the grey option of changing the *way* I correct people. I’m just wondering if it’s an unhealthy habit in the first place. But given how prevalent a thought process it is (i.e. questioning people’s statements and finding faults), the process of getting rid of it may be akin to self-directed psychological violence. I mean, this is the same mode of being that makes me good at what I’m good at. (There’s also the option of keeping the thought process, but not correcting people aloud, but I don’t know what else there is to talk about other than analyzing ideas and their faults. Maybe I should analyze ideas for their strengths too, and express that side more than the faults.)

So anyway, let’s go with grey: So far I’ve tried thinking of an arrogant person that I know in order to understand my behavior, but I can’t think of anyone. Also, no matter how hard I try to put myself in someone else’s shoes in order to simulate an interaction with myself, it doesn’t really work, and I can’t see the arrogance, except if I were to just tell someone “that’s wrong” without any explanation. (I wonder if that’s what went wrong in the conversation with my mother.) Either way, this whole issue boils down to the fact that I’m not arrogant by any reasonable criteria that I found online, but that I come off as such. This was longer than intended. Thanks for your kindness and help.

-----------------------

Here are some questions for you to reflect on. They are meant to increase awareness of your underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values. Answer honestly:

Do you care about your mom? Do you care about how she's faring, what she's experiencing, what she's thinking or feeling, what she needs and desires, what she hopes for or aspires to, etc?

If you care, how do you SHOW your care to her?

If you don't care, how does that affect your behavior toward her?

Do you believe that the mother-child relationship only goes one-way? (Is it the mom's job to do for you but you owe her nothing?)

You say you like to debate to sharpen your mind. Innocent enough. I like to roller skate to keep myself physically fit. In an ideal world, I would never take my skates off. Does my enthusiasm for roller skating mean that I slap my skates on anywhere, any time? No. Surely it is inappropriate to skate around a hospital or the supermarket. Not only could I seriously harm myself, I would also be exhibiting flagrant disregard for the safety and well-being of others.

What you like to do for yourself sometimes comes into conflict with other people. If you care about people and hope to have healthy and happy relationships with them, you have to take their needs and wants into consideration in every interaction. You have to abide by ethical rules and principles that allow your needs to be met without neglecting the needs of others or interfering with their ability to get their needs met. Without ethics, society wouldn't be able to function, because it would just be a free-for-all.

You mention small-mindedness. It is quite small-minded to walk around the world only thinking about what you need/want. In the best case scenario, you are completely oblivious to others, and they will perceive you as clueless or self-absorbed. In the worst case scenario, you only interact with people for your own personal gain, and that would make you an exploitative or even abusive person. Is that the kind of person you want to be?

Do you basically treat people as though their sole purpose on earth is to debate you and help you sharpen your mind - to serve you? Do you launch into debates with people without asking for consent or checking to see if they want to be corrected? If you do, they will call you arrogant, not because you've put yourself on a pedestal and call yourself superior like an evil cartoon character, but because you are communicating to them that your needs/wants are most important AND you don't give a damn about theirs.

Webster's definition of arrogance: "an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people". You believe that you know better, otherwise, you wouldn't grant yourself the social authority to intrude on people's boundaries, invalidate their experience, and correct them uninvited. You believe that you are smarter, otherwise, you wouldn't automatically assume the dominant social role of corrector. You behave as though you are the more important member of the relationship because your main priority is YOUR need to feel better (about your skills or about what others believe) while overlooking the other person's needs. Seems like you fit the definition quite well.

Despite that, I wouldn't call you arrogant because I understand that small-mindedness is a difficult problem to overcome. I see the effort that you're putting in to understand it. I'm charitable because I'm not the one who was hurt by your behavior. When people feel hurt, they often have difficulty expressing it. Maybe it comes out clumsily or they aren't able to explain their hurt without hurting you in return. Expressing one's true feelings is to make oneself vulnerable. If someone doesn't trust you to understand and validate their feelings or, worse, they believe that you will attack them for their feelings, they will not be completely honest with you. Your mom is trying her best to give you the benefit of the doubt by saying "if you were a stranger...", but she doesn't feel comfortable enough with you to express her hurt fully and explicitly as it happens. Why? Because the very reason she is hurt in the first place is that you have shown very little regard for her feelings. Following from the previous post of yours, the root of the problem is that you have such a poor understanding of feelings to begin with that you view them as inconsequential in yourself and others (very immature Fe).

I believe you have no ill-intent. I have said before that the typical Ti dom never sets out to hurt people on purpose. Rather, they hurt people unintentionally because their perspective is too small: 1) they don't grasp that other people's needs may be very different from their own and thereby fail to consider them, 2) they don't know how to empathize with different perspectives and validate them, and/or 3) they don't understand that SHOWING love and care is necessary for people to justify continued investment in the relationship.

In other words, Ti doms tend to hurt people out of negligence or acts of omission. Some of them get frustrated at not being able to solve their relationship problems. They might try to convince themselves that doing nothing means that no harm can be done, so they adopt a passive stance in the relationship and perhaps even train themselves to keep their mouth shut (self-violence). They fail to understand that there's more than one way to cause hurt. Instead of learning better relationship skills, they check out mentally and emotionally. Being checked out only makes it worse because you hurt yourself and you keep hurting others by being even less attentive to their needs.

The foundation of meaningful relationships is showing care. In a healthy relationship, people trust you to care for their emotional needs and not violate their personal boundaries. If you only attend to your own needs/wants in social interaction, you are signalling that you don't really care about the other person. This problem with your mom shows that you give little to no consideration for emotional needs and personal boundaries. If you don't want friends, it's entirely your choice to be alone for the rest of your life, pretending that you never leave any footprints behind you. If you want friends, you'll have to put out more effort to be a better friend, by paying more attention to the consequences of your behavior.

Doing things that violate trust and boundaries, even if unintentional, causes hurt. When people feel hurt and don't feel safe to express the hurt, they are liable to say/do negative things. To have good emotional intelligence is to see past the surface of their negative words/behavior and grasp the underlying emotional needs that were unmet and/or the personal boundaries that were violated. Only then can you be a morally responsible member of a relationship, in terms of owning all the ways that you impact people, both positively and negatively.

Arrogant people don't care about the social impact they produce. As long as they get what they want and don't lose anything, the existence of others is of little importance to them. If your mom is important to you, then learn how to show it better by listening to her when she tells you about her needs/wants. You hyperfocus on the literal meaning of the word "arrogant" and whether it is true/false of you, as though proving it false means that there's nothing wrong. You need to listen to the people you have hurt, if you want to understand why your behavior is hurtful. Alternatively, you need to educate yourself about emotional needs, interpersonal boundaries, and what constitutes un/ethical behavior and why.

[acircusfullofdemons]

I'm finally home it's time to talk about RoseCrow/GhostRose aka the relationship between Jonathan Crowley/GhostCrow & Alice Rose/Mad Hatter. @sugarcoatedsadism ik u were interested in this so here <3

(this got SO LONG I'm sorry)

SO. where to begin.....I guess with how they met? It wasn't anything grand tbh. Every once in a while, Ozzy/Birdie hosts a "Villain Party/Meeting", where all (or, most) of the villains in the city gather so they can network & make plans on how to further terrorize the city. There was a lot of buzz this time around, as Alice (who I've mentioned as being the newest/youngest villain) is finally invited after proving she wasn't a one-hit-wonder (basically, it's been roughly a few months to a year since her debut).

Some of the villains - like Daisy Green/Thorn - Alice had already met due to a couple run-ins with them (both pre & post villainy). Still, it was nerve-wracking for her & she didn't really know who to talk to.

Enter Ghost. He didn't go to these meetings often unless specifically requested; being around crowds made him uneasy. The only reason he went was to see what all the fuss was about Alice. He had, of course, seen her work on the news. Mind Control/Brainwashing was....an interesting choice, and while he could see the use for it, Ghost wasn't sure if it would be worth it to try and gain an ally in Alice.

I'm going to speed this up along because it's already 3 paragraphs But the two of them do end up talking! It's nothing major, a short convo of Ghost welcoming Alice & telling her this isn't like those silly little cartoons she seems so fond of. That was that.

Their next meeting proved more.....productive. They were paired up during a meeting to cause a distraction while some other villains did a heist. Well, it went a little awry when the City Hero showed up & Alice ended up having to drag Ghost's bleeding body back to her apartment & nurse him back to health. Not ideal for either of them, but oh well. Because there was really nothing else to do other than read or watch tv, Ghost ended up sparking many conversations with Alice. He ended up enjoying her company by the time he was fully healed. After all, any other villain would've just left him there, a mess of blood and broken bones, waiting for the City Hero to take him to ArkBat. He chalked it up to her being naive. She'll learn soon enough that if she wanted to live as a villain, she needed to put herself first.

It was like that for a bit. The two would hang out occasionally, then often, then all the time. Ghost became Alice's "mentor", if you will. He basically showed her the ropes of the whole villainy thing. It became apparent that he was protective of her, but then again, so were most of the villains (especially Daisy/Thorn). Why wouldn't they be? Alice had, for many, integrated into their little Villain Family as a baby sister.

But that was sort of the problem. Everyone saw her as a "baby". A toddler trying to play with the Big Kids. It bugged the hell out of Alice, and she'd often confided in Ghost with this. Ghost was the only one who treated Alice as, well, Alice I suppose. I won't get into her whole backstory, but people treating her as a baby/doll/pet-figure is pretty common & a major reason she became a villain. So for Ghost to treat her like an actual adult....well, her feelings for him grew.

At first, she thought it was a stupid crush. Like, obviously. It started when she was first taking care of Ghost. Some weird Savior Complex had taken hold of her, surely. But no. It got worse, to the point where she had to recognize that, yes, she did have a crush on Ghost. Okay, fine, no big deal. It's normal to have crushes on people older than you, isn't it? Besides, all her new friends were older than her, it was bound to happen eventually. At least it was with Ghost, and not someone who'd take advantage of that little tidbit if they ever found out they were the object of her affections.

Meanwhile, Ghost was having a little trouble. He liked Alice - though, that was the problem, wasn't it? He liked her too much. He thought about her a little too often, looked at her a little too long for him to rationalize it in his mind. Fun Fact: Ghost is very bad at....feelings. Human things in general, tbh. He honestly thought that perhaps Alice had hypnotized him somehow, though quickly realized this wasn't the case after seeing her process for brainwashing victims. She wasn't capable of doing it without him noticing. Not yet, at least. (Besides, Alice had already made it clear when they started sharing a hideout that she didn't want to hurt any of her new "friends".) Still, he needs someone to talk to. Not any of the villains. A small part of him was, foolishly, afraid of what they might think. He didn't even know what to think. So, he turned to the only person he could: Lannie.

I can't explain Lannie here....there's too much to go through, but the tl;dr is that Lannie is Ghost from another dimension, talking to your alternate selves is a common thing all villains can do (minus Alice until recently). Anyway, he talks to Lannie, a Harley Alternate, & Jervis (Alice's Alternate). They help him work through his Feelings & give him the courage to confess to Alice.

I haven't really thought about how Ghost would go about confessing to Alice. Or....maybe it would make more sense for Alice to confess since she thinks he's not interested, she might just want to hear it so she can get over the crush. Either way, the two have a deep talk about their feelings & decide to be a couple. It gets mixed reviews, with a lot of people glaring at Ghost, but it was Alice's choice to date him so they're all just gonna have to die mad about it.

idk what else to say so I'm gonna end it here. hope that satisfies your curiosity, if not then I'm sure this post is proof that I can & will go write an essay on my paras unprompted.

[tiifalockhart]

Secrecy

Anonymous asked: Can you please make a Sora x fem Organization member Reader? One where Sora has to date her in secret because of what sides they’re on.

Pairing: Sora x Organization!Reader

Word Count: 2k

Warnings: mentions death, emotional numbness, alludes to anxiety 

A/N: helloo I’m back with another Kingdom Hearts one-shot!!! I really liked writing for Sora and I can’t wait to do more hehe, I hope you all enjoy!!

Ao3 || Masterlist

The days you’ve spent in the Organization remained uncounted. It had felt like an eternity by now, every day blurred together. 

Xemnas continued to push his ideas as Saix piled missions on each of the members. You wanted to say you were tired, but you were never sure. Realistically, you could keep going until you’re inevitably defeated, but you didn’t want to. Something about it just didn’t feel right. Your missions were odd... The whole goal didn’t make sense to you. Even after members began to disappear, you still felt unsure. 

Once Roxas and Xion were gone, and Axel kept mentioning the idea of disappearing, you began to sway that direction as well. Nothing was making sense anymore. Xemnas’ goal of collecting hearts for Kingdom Hearts wasn’t making sense. You grew worried, members of the Organization were slowly disappearing or being picked off one by one, and you didn’t want to be the next one. 

So, that fateful day when you finally came face-to-face with the perpetrator, you were... Confused. He seemed to be a little younger than you, his companions looked like they had quite literally jumped out of a cartoon. They were the ones taking out the Organization members? You laughed at the thought. 

This seemed to catch the boy off-guard. He tensed and immediately summoned his weapon, holding it towards you. He yelled something at you, but you weren’t listening. Your eyes fell to the weapon he was holding. A keyblade... So that’s what it looked like.

Xemnas had told you that you should avoid it, that you were too weak to face it... You’d show him, you’re a lot stronger than anyone gives you credit to be. With your selfish desire, you fought him. He put up a stronger fight than you expected, but he still seemed to be slightly inexperienced. When the fighting stopped, you stared at him, a curious glint in your eyes. 

“Tell me, what is your name?” You asked, maintaining your mysterious aura. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stood straight. 

“Sora, and this is-” You raised your hand to stop him. 

“I like you, Sora. We should meet again, some time.” You replied, a small smile forming on your lips. It wasn’t a lie, he interested you. How had someone so inexperienced and young gained a power like the keyblade? As the darkness consumed you, the last thing you saw was him running at you, before you appeared back in The World that Never Was. 

You hadn’t seen him for... Who knows how long. The concept of time was lost on you at this point. You refused to seek him out this time, it would feel... Wrong to go out and find him. You were lucky enough he managed to bump into you at Twilight Town. A sly grin formed on your features as you looked down at him. 

“It’s good to see you again, Sora... Where are your friends?” You asked, raising a brow as you looked around for them. He seemed to be caught off-guard by your appearance, causing him to back away and summon his blade. A quiet chuckle left your lips as you waved your hand dismissively. “I’m not interested in fighting.” You pointed out, leaning against the nearby wall.

Sora stared at you, a slightly confused expression forming on his features. “What do you want, then? Shouldn’t you be with your friends?” He asked, the emphasis making you cringe.

“They’re not my friends.” You retorted, crossing your arms stubbornly. “They’re coworkers, it’s totally different.” You stated, shaking your head. “Shouldn’t you be like... Fighting a bunch of stuff anyways? Why are you here by yourself?” You asked, raising a brow. 

He shrugged. “I... Well, I don’t know. I’m just here.” Sora replied, tilting his head to the side with a quiet chuckle. 

You narrowed your eyes suspiciously. “I see... So, you’re just here because you can be? That’s it?” You questioned. Even Axel can give better excuses. 

Sora nodded and raised his hands in defense. “What, are you saying you’re here for a different reason?” He joked. The two of you snickered, before you sighed. 

“No, I usually wander around here around this time. I used to spy on a couple of friends who bought ice cream here.” You explained, shrugging as you continued to walk. Sora followed you like a lost puppy.

“Do you like ice cream? They have pretty good sea-salt ice cream here apparently.” He pointed out, as if he were hinting at something. Although, it went straight over your head. 

“Mm, no. It’s not really my kind of dessert.” You answered, beginning to walk towards the clock tower. 

“Well, what do you like?” He asked, stretching his arms behind his head. “Surely nobodies have favorite foods.” 

You glanced over at him, raising a brow. “Are you trying to ask me on a date?” You asked, you voice carrying a slightly surprised tone. He chuckled and shook his head. 

“No, of course not.” He replied, winking. He was definitely asking you on a date. 

“Uh... Right. Well, I can show you where I like to hang out, I guess.” You responded, still bewildered by his boldness. 

The two of you ended up enjoying your secret date. It was like nothing you’ve experienced before, even when you were whole. When it came time to part, you felt yourself... Dreading it. Sora was a lot more fun and goofy than you expected, it was quite charming and refreshing. You actually found yourself genuinely laughing, more than you have since you became a nobody. 

As the two of you walked towards the Twilight Town plaza, you turned towards Sora and looked down at him. “I enjoyed your company today... I hope we can do it again.” You mentioned somewhat awkwardly, unsure of how to end your ‘meeting.’

Sora snickered at your flustered state, shrugging. “We will. How about a couple of days from now? We can meet in Hollow Bastion, I’ll be there.” He offered, wiggling his brows. 

You chuckled at his humorous state, waving him off. “I’ll consider it. Don’t tell anyone about this meeting, though.” You reminded as you backed away slightly. A dark pool formed around your feet as you waved goodbye, watching as he waved back before disappearing in the surrounding darkness. A sigh of relief left your lips as you arrived back at the Grey Room. You received no questioning gazes from anyone, not even a sassy “Where have you been?” from Axel. The paranoid feeling that you hadn’t realized was there dissipated as you quietly entered your private quarters, a shaky sigh leaving your lips. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea... Xemnas was allowed to indulge himself, wasn’t he? Why couldn’t you?

A few days passed since your first date. You actually seemed to be looking forward to seeing Sora again. Even though you were on different sides... You knew you liked him. You silently waited in the shadows, hidden away from any prying eyes as you waited for him. When the time came, you quietly wandered out of the shadows, searching for the brown-haired boy, before raising a brow once she saw him. 

Your second date went smoothly with him, you ended up showing him a secret area that many people didn’t have access too... He seemed interested enough. You found yourself smiling and laughing at his silly jokes and gestures, even though nobodies weren’t supposed to have feelings. It was weird... Something you haven’t felt since you lost yourself. You felt yourself falling for him more and more. 

Over time, these dates became more frequent and slightly more risky. You felt gazes on you every time you returned to the Castle, Axel would occasionally ask you where you’ve been, you weren’t sure how you should answer him, so you usually blurted out some random mission title before rushing off. Sora didn’t seem to care though, he was just happy to see you every so often. 

One night in Twilight Town, the two of you sat peacefully on top of the clocktower. Neither of you spoke, you simply enjoyed the comfortable silence. Sora eventually brought up conversation. “You know... I’ve had a lot of fun over the past months. I like hanging out with you.” He explained, glancing over at you. 

Something similar to a blush formed on your cheeks as you nodded in agreement, staring down at the plaza below. “Yeah... It’s been pretty nice.” You replied awkwardly. 

Sora nodded hesitantly as you two descended into another silence. Suddenly, he perked up at looked over at you. “So, I’ve been thinking... Maybe you should join our side.” He offered, causing you to raise your brows in surprise. How was he so bold?

An awkward chuckle left your lips. “Sora, you know I can’t do that. I’m a nobody.” You replied, shrugging. “Plus, Xemnas wouldn’t enjoy the idea of one of his members getting out.” You added, sighing softly. 

Sora shrugged as he looked over at you. “All we have to do is get your heart back, right? Sounds easy enough.” He pointed out, tilting his head to the side. He was so naïve... It was kind of cute. 

“I don’t think that’s how that works.” You answered, your legs swinging over the edge of the clocktower. 

“I think we can do it. Surely it’s possible. When I find out, I promise I’ll help you.” Sora grinned, an optimistic tone to his voice. You raised a brow and nodded hesitantly.

“If that’s the case... Then I suppose I can join you. There isn’t much left for me here anyways.” You replied, glancing over at him. 

That conversation didn’t go much further than that, but you had faith in Sora. If he truly had a plan to somehow bring your heart back, you wouldn’t stop him. As you returned home, you felt more gazes on you as you wandered the halls almost aimlessly. Was there truly a way out of this daily numbness? 

As time went on, you and Sora saw each other less and less. You were drowning in missions as Xemnas prepared to face these supposed “Warriors of Light” or something, and Sora seemed to be busy himself. You felt that numbness beginning to consume you, since you really had no one besides Axel. Even Axel seemed to be down in spirits. Morale was low and you never thought you’d miss anyone again. Sora was like... A sunshine. You missed the warmth he made you feel. 

It wasn’t until he and his friends suddenly appeared in the World That Never Was. When the two of you met near the entrance of the Castle, a confused expression formed on your features. “Sora? What are you doing here?” You asked, causing a light hearted laugh to leave him. 

“What do you mean? Haven’t you heard already?” He replied ominously, causing more turmoil within you. Him and his party ended up running by, disappearing into the Castle and leaving you confused beyond belief. 

Suddenly, it all clicked. The keyblade, his friends, his random disappearance. He was... 

You ended up following him inside, catching up to him after his fight with Xigbar. A conflicted look formed on your features. “How... Why... I’m so confused...” You whispered between breaths. He simply shook his head. 

“I promised something, didn’t I?” He asked, cocking his head to the side. “But... I think I have to defeat you in order for your heart to return.” Sora admitted, a conflicted expression forming on his features. 

“Defeat me... Like, in a battle?” You asked, taking a step back. He hesitated, then reached out to take your hand. 

“I know, but it won’t be bad. It’ll be like waking up again, you know?” Sora attempted to reassure, but you were still reluctant. 

“Did you... Was this a plan to betray me?” You asked, your voice shaking. Sora opened his mouth to speak, but you quickly cut him off. “I trusted you... And this is what it came to? Wh-Why?” You asked, a distressed tone to your voice. He tried to defend himself, but you weren’t listening. 

Eventually, you two did fight. You felt betrayed and in danger, and he had no other choice but to fight back. It wasn’t until you couldn’t hold your weapons anymore when you finally gave up with fighting. You fell to your knees in front of him, watching as black particles began to float from your hands. It seemed to be inevitable. 

Sora stood before you, a guilty look on his features as he stared down at you. “Look- I-I’m sorry-” He tried to apologize, but you stopped him. 

“If what you’re saying is true, then I suppose this is for the better. If it isn’t... Well... I guess we’ll find out.” You explained, looking up at him. You didn’t remember much after that, it felt like you slowly fell asleep, lulled by the slow release of numbness. 

When you woke up again, you were somewhere completely different. The concept of time was lost on you, and you could hardly remember anything from the time between. You slowly sat up, noticing that you no longer wore the Organization coat, instead, you were dressed in your clothing before you lost your heart. A confused look formed on your features, until you felt someone’s presence near you. 

Your eyes widened once you saw Sora next to you, currently asleep. A quiet gasp left your lips as you were overwhelmed with emotions, immediately tackling him into a hug and embracing him tightly. His eyes flew opened as he let out a surprised yelp, before grinning once he realized what was happening. 

“Hey... You’re finally awake!” He replied, looking down at you. You nodded happily and pulled away slightly. 

“Yeah... I am... I guess that you were right.” You replied awkwardly, your brows furrowing. “Thank you, Sora.” You whispered, cupping his cheeks. 

Now, it was Sora’s turn to blush. His cheeks heated up as he stared down at you, nodding hesitantly as he looked away. “Y-Yeah. Come on, I have to tell the others you’re awake.” He murmured, standing and grabbing your hand, guiding you out of the room. 

You allowed him to pull you along, a smile on your lips. It had been so long since you felt anything like this, but surely, this is what love feels like.