#is integral to his character

[iamfuckingsorry]

So I know the fandom loves seeing young Kim as a punk, with leather jackets and combat boots and a million pins and patches and in general fairly anti-establishment and also somewhat openly gay at least within the community

And I'm not gonna lie I love it too

But there's also this idea that I can't get out of my mind, and it's Kim in what is called "epa-kultur" over here. 15 year old kids too young to have a driver's license or a car, but one of the friends in the group has six older siblings and managed to get one of those cars that are only supposed to go up to 40 kmph that you can drive with a moped license, but that can definitely go up to like 150 if you flip the right switches. It's 30 years old and absolutely shit but you all love it anyway. You drive around, a shitty speaker in the back playing terrible electronic music too loud to really hold a proper conversation while inside, nine kids packed like sardines sitting on each other's laps (one of the backseats is taken up by a speaker), ending up in an unused parking lot to get drunk on 3% beer. The car's broken half of the time but that just means you play bad music and get drunk on cheap beer while trying to fix it with random parts you got from a friend of a friend of a friend, always fucking up in some way no matter how hard you try so the car will inevitably break down again within a week. Until you eventually really do get fairly good at fixing it, and then you just end up checking all the bolts and connections all the time instead. And like it's definitely a small town/rural thing over here. It definitely would not be a thing in Revachol, and especially not in the part of Revachol Kim grew up in, where you're happy to have a roof over your head and food to eat and you're probably reasonably rich compared to your neighbours if your family has a car. And while it's very different nowadays especially with younger kids you could still get a lot of the ideas common in more conservative areas, about gender roles and queer people and whatnot.

And I just love the idea of 15-year-old Kim with a group of other kids like this, feeling a tiny little bit like he finally belongs somewhere for the first time, trying to figure out a way to get some money for a car part for his friend's car, drinking even though he doesn't really want to because that's what you're supposed to, casually making sexist jokes that make him strangely uncomfortable even though he doesn't really understand why, fully convinced the only reason he tries to find any excuse to spend time with this one guy that is so impressive and knows so much about cars is because it's the first time he's found a good friend, because why else would you feel this way about a guy

and then after a couple of years maybe he does bring up possibly feeling a certain way about men when he's a bit drunk and he immediately gets made fun of, and when he doesn't react fast enough and say that obviously he was kidding, eww that would be so gross, he gets called a hundred different slurs without hesitation, not just homophobic ones but racial ones too, and he realizes once again that there really isn't a single place in this world where someone like him could truly belong, no matter how it might feel in the moment.

(and then maybe he does get a leather jacket and some patches a few years after that lol)

[k1d1c4rus]

thinking about how armand was turned bc he was dying from being stabbed by a scorned grown man who was in love with him. he nearly died from rejecting unwanted advances. its such a key explicit detail of his origin that teaches him yet again that what he wants is utterly unimportant and even deadly in the face of survival. everything about his character is informed by the fact that he adapts entirely to the situation he is forced into because that's the only way he can survive. he adopts the satanic doctrine for 200 years not because he believes in it but because he knows that is the only way he'll survive and as soon as lestat arrives he knows he can abandon it. for half a millenium he believes he can't get what he wants and also survive, he has to choose one or the other. God.

[straylaughs]

neuvillette is just so peak character to me because everytime we see him do some regular human things i instantly remember that he's literally the hydro dragon sovereign incarnate, one of the 7 elemental dragon sovereigns who ruled teyvat before the primordial one and descenders came, a being that possesses power that far surpasses archons and you're telling me he fell for a marketing scheme

[chloesimaginationthings]

Oooo I love the way you draw Jeff he's cute <333

I hope I did Jeff justice.. gotta love tired men

[palossssssand]

New character incoming! Ugam is a character I've had for quite some time and finally got around to making his ref. He/she, runs a small clothing store in Splatsville. Ugam is the first friend Kinoga makes on the surface and takes them in when they struggle to make do on their own, collapsing in front of her store.

[glorious-spoon]

my controversial opinion is that i'm fucking baffled by the amount of discourse revolving around tommy from every direction. he is such a nothing character. he shows up, advances buck's storyline, and dips. that's it! the only thing that distinguishes him from every other love interest is that he's a guy. and yeah, buck's bisexuality is a big deal.... for buck. it's not a big deal because of tommy. tommy could have been literally any guy, and the one thing that we consistently see throughout their relationship is that they don't know each other very well at all, because the point of this relationship for buck isn't about him falling in love with tommy, it's literally just about him dating A Guy as part of his process of figuring himself out.

[jesncin]

"Kyle Rayner napping while balancing a rubber ducky on his forehead" prompt for DC Gotcha for Gaza (requests now closed). He's napping after thumbnailing a bunch of comic pages :<

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

What a dork

[akisstobuildadreamon]

Happy Pride Month! Thank you Courier for finding grandpa our beloved leader a holographic emitter!

(Mr. House explained but the Courier clicked through everything.)

(original)

[elcucurucho]

look I love the qcellbit skater arc with all my heart but it is so important to me to recognize that this isn’t the start of him being lame and cringe. he’s been lame and cringe the whole time

[meidui]

so confused when people hate miss agent margaret carter because what do you have against a woman with big beautiful brown eyes who pummels people with her entire body weight

[messiahzzz]

assorted morena dekarios headcanons:

she possesses a sharp wit and is very perceptive, but is also incredibly kind and gentle

strong presence & really eclectic taste. she loves bright colors, extravagant patterns, collecting paintings, and all kinds of knick-knacks. her house is a reflection of her personality: warm, welcoming, and cluttered with ✨precision✨

has a penchant for big jewelry (especially necklaces)

gale deems her “unavoidable” because she has a way of seeing right through him, sometimes even going beyond motherly intuition (and because you’d spot her everywhere)

she always strongly supported gale’s individuality and wanted to give him every opportunity to grow into the person he wants to be

this often clashes cause she does worry about his safety constantly

on that note: would do absolutely everything for her son

her ex-husband had little interest in raising gale and deemed him too exhausting/high maintenance. morena eventually encouraged his decision to split, knowing his presence would do more harm than good

loves books but doesn’t bother to keep them in good condition (much to gale’s horror)

as he got older their dynamic grew to resemble a friendship, which is also why he refers to her by her first name

they banter a lot and it is very entertaining to watch/makes their similarities even more obvious

surprisingly strict whenever the situation calls for it. it’s a sudden 180. don’t mess with morena dekarios

claims she’s not interested in gossip, but is very curious nonetheless

possesses extensive mixology knowledge, but hates being drunk. life needs to be experienced to the fullest with all senses at all times

she’s a natural dancer despite not having a whole lot of practice

very welcoming to a romanced!tav and the rest of gale’s new friends. she has already been filled in by tara and withers. naturally, as long as her prince is happy she is as well

almost rivals gale in the duration of his crying during his own wedding. once he begins to read his vows she’s immediately brought to tears

actively tries to get to know a romanced!tav and makes sure they feel included in their family whenever possible, but will also respect if there’s no interest/some apprehension

she is very respectful of gale’s privacy and knows when to step back, albeit no less worried

she has dark, long, curly and thick hair that is hard to tame. (the envy of all her neighbors her age) she usually puts it up in a claw

tara has her own corner in morena’s sitting room, including her very own cozy armchair. no one else is allowed to use it.

[mxtxfanatic]

Alright, last jc-centric post before the clock strikes midnight, but it actually pisses me off that Wei Wuxian and Jin Ling’s convo in the Iron Hook Extra is being recontextualized to say that either Jiang Cheng was never abusive or that Wei Wuxian is encouraging Jin Ling to stay in contact with his abusive guardian, because outside of the fact that Wei Wuxian only witnessed Jiang Cheng slapping Jin Ling once out of the myriad of times he does so in the story (in Guanyin Temple), the point of this scene is to reveal that even if Jiang Cheng has missed his chance to do right by any other character, he is finally doing right by Jin Ling!!!!!

Jiang Cheng spends the entire main story of the novel verbally abusing Jin Ling, ripping into him about how he disgraces his Jiang and Jin heritage by not being some kickass legendary cultivator by age 14, how Jin Ling needs to “know his place” by never questioning or talking back to Jiang Cheng (lest he be slapped), rigging nighthunts so that Jin Ling can get his ego stroked but never actually learn anything useful, and all around treating Jin Ling like a child he can keep pressed beneath his thumbs forever. And then Guanyin Temple happens, and Jiang Cheng walks out of the situation and decides against hitting Jin Ling for criticizing him. And then the Banquet Extra happens, and we hear that Jiang Cheng has taken a more passive role in Jin Ling’s nighthunts where he only exists as outside support if things go wrong but otherwise lets the boy figure things out on his own, rather than teaching him to cheat and harm others in the process. Then we get the Iron Hook Extra where we hear about how Jiang Cheng stormed Koi Tower to threaten the Jin elders into accepting Jin Ling’s rightful place as Jin leader, rather than just whisking Jin Ling away to continue to be treated like an incompetent child under his rule.

For once, Jiang Cheng is making steps to support someone else using his power and authority as a Great Clan leader instead of lording said authority over them to coerce them into subordination, but when your conception of Jiang Cheng’s character is “he did absolutely nothing wrong ever, and if he did, that means others let him and therefore it’s not his fault,” you ignore his growth! He’s finally learned how to have a healthy relationship with someone where the goal isn’t to keep them trapped in his sphere of influence! He has finally let go of his entitlement to “benefit” from his relationships! He is no longer treating Jin Ling like an unruly child but as a young clan leader who only needs a little bit of protection and support to truly come into his own! And that’s great!

If only his stans can see that.

[bigskydreaming]

Imagine looking at a character whose entire premise is that in every stage of his life, he's made every version of himself into someone that inspires people to such a degree that EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF HIM has people wanting to literally follow in his footsteps in some way or another.....

And coming to the conclusion that like.....the most important things about him are the sum of all his trappings. His entirely homemade developed from scratch could not exist if not for what he already was and brought with him BEFORE crafting this newest version of himself trappings, with his greatest trait throughout all of it being his adaptability; his ability and willingness to roll with the punches and not try to simply weather any opposition or changes to his life but instead reshape himself as needed to better fit INTO whatever new shape his life and the world around him takes. All while managing to carry the most innate, fundamental and necessary aspects of himself from one version to the next. Thus every single version of himself is different but simultaneously every single version of himself is also undeniably the same person.

The strength of this character, to me, will always be that he can be so many versions of himself, he can become so many things, all without ever actually losing or discarding any of the aspects of himself he considers most essential, the things he's not willing to lose or give up just to keep going. Finding that road not taken by most, usually because most never even think to look for it as an option. But one that he's always able to find because the one trick he's mastered in his tumultuous life is threading that needle of not just digging in his heels in an unproductive way but rather being selective about when and where he makes a stand and decides "this is not a thing I'm willing to compromise about" but here are places and ways I can and will change and evolve and adapt in order to make it possible for me to hold onto these parts and keep them as they are.

And that's why its always so mind-boggling to me that so many writers can't seem to think of anything else to do with Dick Grayson other than invent some new reason for him to just....not be that person, or to like just take the character whose most basic fundamental trait he's NOT about to compromise on is willingly giving up his spot in the driver's seat of his own life.....and make him just a passenger in his own life and stories.

Dick Grayson at age nine....at age nineteen...at age twenty nine....the one core thread running through all versions of him is the only way he's standing back and letting you call the shots for him or putting him on the sidelines in some way is over his dead body.

HOW he goes about that, what that looks like, who he becomes and what aspects of himself he plays up at some times and what traits he lets fall by the wayside at other times when they offer less in service to his primary goal here....that changes constantly. He changes constantly.

But those changes are almost always (or at least they used to be/should be IN MY OPINION) made with the intention of keeping certain things about him or his life as consistent as possible.

That's the duality of Dick Grayson that I'm here for. The inherent contradiction of him that COULD allow for endless conflict and breaking new narrative ground in all sorts of ways if mined properly:

His eternal willingness to compromise....but only ever in pursuit of doubling down on the ways he's not willing to compromise.

Forever walking that tightrope in ways that only a kid born and raised in a circus could ever hope to.

[transingthoseformers]

oh my god no imagine g1 Megatron getting Optimus pregnant and Optimus gives birth to a bunch of teeny gun babies

[deoidesign]

I need to paint my characters realistically every so often. for my health. I need to see him.