#this isn't even my usual wheelhouse of writing either

[nerdbarbie]

the weirdest thing so far is simply the fact that this comic is still a hit with The Youths™️

i kinda just started posting about my silly little oc without thinking about it too deeply because this is a comic series from before a lot of people who seem to really like it were born- which is NOT a dig or discouragement AT ALL. it's such a fun series and i found it really cathartic when i was an angry, nerdy teenager. im really happy it continues to thrive with new fans also discovering it

i just thought there'd be more nostalgic adults 😭

[aingeal98]

Y'know this is a really broad question and (since I know you're more of a Cass/stephcass kinda person) potentially out of your wheelhouse but I enjoy your perspective on lots of Steph related matters, so indulge me if you will: any thoughts on the argument that timsteph is/isn't 'unhealthy' and/or the characters are unfair to each other/bad partners?

Lots of qualifying clauses in that question, I know, but it's interesting to me because I usually see a lot of staunch arguments that either timsteph is completely/irreparably unhealthy (usually with one half as more of a 'perpetrator' in the eyes of fans) OR that timsteph is exclusively a great romance and that their various ups and downs are either inconsequential or the result of OOC writing.

I think the question is mostly interesting to me bc I see both sides of the argument and to me it raises questions about when things cross the line from "a fictional relationship we're meant to root for that simply contains elements of heightened drama which would be considered unhealthy IRL due to it's fictional nature which we're meant to excuse/suspend disbelief for" to "a fictional reflection of unhealthy dynamics".

This is a lot of yap on my part so again, no hard feelings if you decide to pass up tackling it.

Really good question that I had to think hard about. Ultimately the answer depends on if you mean they're unhealthy in universe vs out of universe, Watsonian vs Doyalist. I'm going to stick to pre N52 only as I think from N52 onwards they were... Fine? But kind of bland. The writers had erased all of Steph's backstory anyway so they had none of their history and were just kind of... Normal dating. But pre N52 in the 90s and 00s is where the unhealthiness is at its peak so that's where most of the discourse comes from.

So in universe I think both of them make mistakes and have certain attitudes and behaviours that could be deal breakers for some people, ie Tim's cheating and how he follows Bruce's footsteps dismissing Steph, and how Steph will sometimes overstep some boundaries because Dixon wanted to write the spunky bad girl pursuing the sensible chaste guy. But ultimately in universe there's nothing so bad that I'd write their entire relationship off as unhealthy, at least not before War Games. They had good moments and bad, and whether you think the good outweighed the bad or vice versa really comes down to what you personally can forgive and understand in a relationship and what you enjoy seeing in fictional romances. So Tim's cheating was an immediate red line for me even though I never thought him evil for it, just kind of dumb. And I'd understand if people still shipped them and thought them sweet despite that. So like, they have their unhealthy moments but I'd be wary of going to either extreme aka "Toxic and evil" or "perfect soulmates who's mistakes were ooc"

This is their pre war games versions I'm referring to. After War Games when Steph came back the writer for Robin basically used her as a tool to give Tim angst and show how cool he was. It's the worst Steph's ever been to Tim but it was also so poorly written and clearly biased thay even from an in universe perspective I can't take it seriously. Everything pre war games I wouldn't count as ooc but this... Yeah this deserves the extreme. It's not even "She wouldn't do that." it's more "Why are you not showing us why she's doing this. How am I meant to accept this when her motivations and characterization is so poorly written." It's like a lesser version of when writers lazily butcher Talia to benefit Bruce or Damian. There's no explanation or motivation for Steph's actions that make any sense, so I have zero interest in that version of Steph because she's even more of a prop for Tim than she was during war games, which was an incredibly disappointing way to bring her back and one of the reasons I'm very glad she got her own batgirl run.

Which brings me to out of universe. Because while in universe I'd hesitate to slap the unhealthy label on them the way I would on say, versions of Bruce that hit his kids (I think there is a big difference between the unhealthiness of timsteph and the writing of Batman as an abusive father, and I think Bruce's dynamic with his kids crossed the line from dramatic to unacceptable and toxic a lot more frequently and more extremely than timsteph did) out of universe looking at them from a perspective of how it benefits their characters I would say it's super unhealthy for Steph. Which is ironic because her romance with Tim and her featuring in his comics is how she became a constant character, but the writing is always trying to remind us that Tim is better than Steph, more heroic than Steph, more suitable for this life than Steph. Only the writing is so bad that, like with a lot of Tim's writing, the proof comes down to "Because Batman said so idk."

And that culminates in the failure that is War Games. Steph becoming Robin is all about getting Tim back. Both in universe as Bruce's motivation and in reality as the writers plan. While Steph is being tortured horribly Tim is helping is classmates as a civilian, and the writing hammers us over the head about how capable and competent and perfect Tim is to the point that I felt nauseous reading it because it felt like such a disgusting way to uplift him. And then when Steph comes back, she's not allowed have any actual emotions or feelings about what happened to her. The writers just throw her into a dumb Tim and Bruce plot without any care about how she would actually think and feel, and the same happens in Red Robin. It's all Tim Tim Tim and only her Batgirl series and her reaction to Bruce being alive actually allow her to be shown as a person and not just a prop to uplift Tim.

So basically in universe they're not my cup of tea but they're not like, abusive or anything. They're just shitty to each other sometimes, but they love each other and have their good moments pre war games. From a Doylist perspective though? I've yet to see timsteph written in a way that actually uplifts Steph's character, as even when she's written by someone who likes her and wants to keep her around such as Dixon there's just so much misogyny in how their dynamic is written. So I'm hoping they never get back together and just stay exes with a past so painful and complicated they don't want to talk about it with anyone, but especially not each other.

Thanks for the ask! I hope this made sense lmao I rambled a whole lot

[wh0refornikolailantsov]

hi!! I'm a big fan of your writing:)) would you consider writing a one bed trope with Tolya?? if not that totally okay! hope you have a good day

Thank you so much.

Yes yes yes yes yes. I have discussed this topic at length and I love it. One bed trope is a personal favourite of mine. Fluff isn't my wheelhouse but I try.

One Bed - Tolya Yul Bataar

Content warnings: this got unintentionally angsty(?) in places, I am sorry that wasn't my intention, it's a skill I seem to have. Not Beta/Proof Read.

One room, that is what the man had said when you had asked if there was space, "yes one room, on the top floor."

With the brilliant gift of hindsight you realise you should've asked more questions, and not just handed the man your money and taken the key attached to a small round stone that you did not recognize. But you are tired, and the assumption the man made looking at you, and the tree like giant with the tan skin and golden eyes beside you, had not crossed your mind.

Clearly it also had not crossed Tolya's either, and had he been any other man than the one he is you might have taken a slight bit of offence to the prospect that he hasn't even remotely considered it. But this was Tolya.

Warrior in practice, scholar at heart, Tolya.

You knew it wasn't personal, the idea that he hadn't considered you in that way, he didn't seem to consider people at all from what you could tell. But that didn't stop people considering him. Even Zoya, gorgeous, terrifying, Zoya, had made a comment about how if he knew how to turn such poetry onto her then she might consider giving him a chance.

He had just blinked at her, and asked why she thought he would want one.

You had been sure that no one was impervious to Zoya's beauty if not her charms, and yet Tolya had brushed off words that men would've killed for, like they were some dust on his arm.

"That's unfortunate," Tolya says, meaning the size of the bed more than anything, which you can understand, given you wonder how he might fit on it at all. But given the size of the room, having Tolya sleep on the floor is beyond out of the question. The room is barely bigger than the bed that it contains. You let yourself wonder if sleeping on the dirt road might have been a better option.

Because for all the ways you were sure Tolya hadn't thought of you, you knew you had thought of him in return. Sometimes in just fleeting moments, but you couldn't even blame yourself. To spend so much time with those strong broad shoulders, that gentle humour, that laugh that lights up those golden eyes. To spend so much time with someone who manages to be simultaneously as dangerous as he is gentle. Kindness and empathy is not usually found in such abundance in those raised to be mercenaries. You had asked Tamar once if she thought it was being Heartrender's, the ability to feel the way others do, sooth and aid them, or make their heart stop with movements of the hands, that made Tolya kind in spite of the brutality of what the job often brought. She had shrugged.

"I think he is just like that," she had said, "maybe it's the faith.. He believes deeper than anything I've ever known."

So you couldn't blame yourself for the way you felt your heart rate increase when he have you a knowing smile, like there was a joke that only the two of you understood.

You couldn't blame yourself in the way your gaze lingered a moment too long on him.

You couldn't blame yourself for all the thoughts, the wishes, the dreams, because you at least knew they were only dreams. They were yours, they were yours to keep. You could not blame yourself for that.

Anyone who knew Tolya, the way you know Tolya, would not blame you for that.

Tolya moves onto the far side of the bed, laying down and looking up at the ceiling. He looks so comically large against the frame that you let out a small chuckle. He throws you a glance and there's that smile that reaches your eyes and you try to keep your heart from jumping. Tolya does his best to not read you, as you've asked him not to, but you wouldn't blame him for noticing the ways your heart skips, and you do not want to be having a conversation about it. So you try to keep it as in control as you know how. "Just one night," he says, "there are worse things."

"You won't get neck pain?" You tease.

"Is my sister here?" he asks. You let out another laugh, a gentler one this time. "I'll be fine."

You sit on the floor next to the bed, and for a moment Tolya thinks you might be taking off your shoes, but when you don't move for a while longer, he props himself up on elbows to look at you.

"You that tired?" he asks.

"Exhausted," you respond honestly.

"Do you need me to carry you into bed?" he offers. You nearly choke on the air in your throat.

"No, that's really not necessary," you tell him. He watches you for a moment and then it occurs to him, you planned to sleep on the floor.

"I do not mind sharing if you are comfortable with that," he says. The last part rings in your ears, if you are comfortable.

"I," you try to find the right words that won't give you away. Won't tell him that you're scared to sleep next to him in this small room on that small bed because at such a closeness he won't be able to not hear your heartbeat, and the way it races by being close to him. He won't be able to ignore the way his warmth makes your breathing change. And you won't be able to keep those thoughts quiet, those thoughts about how you could stay there, that close, breaths length away from him, forever, just still, just quiet, next to him, and that would be more than enough. "I move a lot."

"And I snore," Tolya says, "or at least Tamar complains that I do." You bite the inside of your cheek as you try to fight smiling too wide at such a simple thing. "But if you're uncomfortable, I will take the floor-,"

"No," you insist quickly, "I am perfectly comfortable, Tolya, if I was going to have to share a bed with anyone I am glad it is you." You immediately regret those words and cannot fathom what compelled you to say them. He just smiles and you can't imagine it being harder to keep your heart out of your throat.

You climb up onto the bed next to him and you pray to ever Saint you know that you are not blushing too deeply, that you will be able to calm the rapid drum in your chest.

You role onto your side and Tolya is looking back at you. He must be able to hear how out of sorts your heartbeat is because he softens into a calmness you know comes before this question. "Would you like some help calming down?" he asks. He does not ask why you need it, he only offers to help, never asking more of you than you are willing to give. You have always hoped he has felt the same about your treatment of him, never asking him for more than he wants to give.

"Maybe, to help me sleep," you says, voice barely a whisper. He reaches out, taking your hand, he gently runs his thumb over the veins by your wrist. You look at how small you look in his hands, those hands that could save or end lives, and have done as much, which hold you with nothing but tenderness as he sooths your heart into a slow rhythm to match his.

You feel the tiredness from the day settling over you as the calm deepens, you know sleep is so close but you keep your eyes open for a moment more, watching him be gentle with you, enjoying this moment. There has not been much time for these types of moments recently, and the importance of this one will not be allowed to slip you by.

For just this little while you are safe, you are here, next to him, and you can pretend for a small time that the world outside these walls filled with war and darkness and fights started, ongoing and yet to come, does not exist. The world is just these four walls, yourself and the man you love silently, as he makes you feel safe in the way only he can.

[weaselle]

yes exactly! (preaching to the choir? let's call it a duet)

In addition to my obsession with science and nature, i sometimes write fiction, and i totally agree that there's plenty of room for diverse characterization - for example I could find a flanged male orangutan who is a goofy trickster just as believable as one who is a usually stoic but occasional berserker... but i'd be startled to find a large number of flanged male orangutans in a tight group with little or no social friction between them.

As you note, a male bonobo is less likely to be a group representative or leader. Either he wouldn't be in such a position, because bonobos are absolutely going to send a female bonobo to do that job, or you'd have to have a narrative reason and make character concessions about it. For example, your male bonobo might have had leadership forced or otherwise bestowed upon him from outside, in, say, a social situation defined by chimpanzee values, but then you might have a character who is extremely uncomfortable in this role, or, perhaps over-eager to be the one in charge for once while perhaps being under-prepared for the realities of that leadership role.

If you want to get deeper into examining the plasticity of roles within the species (especially as a means to say something about our own species) you could have a male bonobo who is in fact quite well suited to leadership and takes to it easily, but finds it difficult to wield that leadership within his own species group due to bonobo societal preconceptions about male suitability for such roles.

In other words, just because he is a male doesn't mean he isn't well suited to leadership, but he meets so much resistance from other bonobos (even other males) and THAT in and of itself interferes in his ability to lead other bonobos. Could be quite a moving commentary.

All these things are possible and make interesting narratives, but it only feels true if you draw from nature's source material to develop that kind of plot and characterization. If one simply assigns whatever behaviors and characteristics one wants to any species, there's no point in calling them by their species name, you might as well just say the labs mixed all the DNA and now what you have is a highly hybridized APE genome that allows significant variation in physicality and stop pretending they're based on any specific species.

I mean eventually, any anthropomorphization of an animal for fiction is going to run into nature vs nurture, and there's certainly an argument to be made that those behaviors and norms we think of as defined by species are actually defined by the prevailing cultures within those species

for example, we thought we understood baboon behavior to be one thing, but when a multiple decades long primate stress study focusing on a troupe of baboons witnessed all the high ranking males and most of the highest ranking females of that troupe suddenly die (poisoned meat was set out by ranchers to kill lions but was found by the large baboon troupe, and guess which baboons insisted on getting to eat most of that delicacy) we saw them turn into something we had not conceived of as normal or even possible for baboons.

The whole troupe became something we didn't think was in the baboon wheelhouse -- namely, the troupe's patriarchal social hierarchy dissolved and became something much more similar to bonobo society, with females having roughly equal social status, and grooming circles determining social status instead of bullying. In fact, with baboons the "teenager" males typically are the ones to leave their troupe and join another troupe, and when young males joined this troupe? The troupe re-socialized them! enforcing and maintaining their new social structure

SO it IS very possible to have members or even whole groups of a species acting in ways we don't currently see from that species, but you kind of have to talk about that on purpose if you're going to do it, most likely by showing a lot of the "rule" so you can highlight the "exception" to it.

When i see fiction based on real animals in nature that simply ignores all of this, it's a big turn off for me

I'm (FINALLY) reading the novelisation of DotPotA and they keep calling Koba a chimp.

[vampyr-game]

You mention Jon's pharmacy is very illegal, can you emphasise on that? Just as in like, he shouldn't be handing things out to anyone or? (Don't mind the asks I'm excited to have a vampyr lover active today)

SO. many thanks to @scoriasoil for bringing this to my attention, since historical medicine is more their wheelhouse than mine: as i understand it, the Pharmacy Act of 1868 sought to separate the fields of medical PRACTICE and mediCINE. if you weren't licensed with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, you couldn't sell (or distribute) medicine that you had made yourself.

(you also had to label it with your name and address, which Jonathan is definitely not doing with his smudged little bottles he dug out of the garbage.)

remember how Strickland asks Reid to follow up on a pharmacy order for him? that's how one is SUPPOSED to get their medicines. of course as a doctor you can prescribe things all day, but not things YOU MADE. as an explanation for why, see: Strickland almost poisoning one of his patients with unsafe dosages in that very same quest line.

there's really no reason Jonathan should even know HOW to make medicine and see greater success than Strickland. the explanation he gives Nurse Crane is essentially that they "made do" on the front lines but like. lol. lmao. that's not exactly a degree in pharmaceuticals, and of course SHE isn't going to snitch on him, but it's funny how candid he is about it.

all told this is probably a writing room oversight (which should not surprise us by now), though practically speaking there's a justification to be made that things are dire enough that no one is really asking inconvenient questions, either. @scoriasoil has a lovely aside to that effect in their fic, Catch Me When You Can:

Usually mixing medicine fell into the purview of pharmacists, but amidst the war and the flu, dependable apothecaries were hard to find. Jonathan’s past flirtation with haematology made him uniquely equipped to play chemist in a pinch, and even Ackroyd did not pose many questions about how Jonathan sourced a flow of remedies. The hospital needed them too much.

but yes. legally speaking, Jonathan is akin to a doctor who sells dope on the side. or, distributes it for free--but you know, the first one is always free.